Blocking Party!

I recently bought myself a hand held fabric steamer to help me with all of my blocking needs. With all of the cotton and acrylic in my projects, I knew I needed all the help I could get. Well, playing with a steamer is a lot of fun and dries incredibly fast. So, we'll do a lovely photo array here of my completed, and blocked, items.

This is the completely finished Dinner in the Eiffel Tower shawl. Yeah, I realize that one side looks flat, but once it's on, it's no biggie. It turned out beautiful and it's holding its block which is all that's important to me.

 This is a baby tunic I made with some leftovers from my Derecho shawl. It's all cotton and milk fibers. It seemed to love the steam.

 This is my flower shawl. I think it took me almost 2 years to get around to blocking this. The yarn was a cotton/silk blend and oh, so silky. It's a shame it took me this long to get it blocked.

And THIS is my Papillon scarf. It's crocheted and I only remember that cotton is one of the fibers in the yarn. LOL I'll admit that blocking crochet is a bit different from knit. At least from my point of view. Maybe it's just because I haven't done that much of it. 

This beauty was made with 100% acrylic yarn. It's super soft and I love it. It was fun watching the steam do its job as I could literally watch the acrylic fibers relax and spread out. It flows well and is holding the block beautifully.

I have one more item I need to block, but getting one's finger shut in a door sort of puts a crimp in things. ;-)  When that finger is feeling better, I will block my last scarf and I'll be all caught up with my blocking. Yes, I let it build up.

I would definitely recommend a steamer. It can work on just about any fiber, though I won't use it on 100% silk. Since it dries so fast, it works great to get a lot done in a short amount of time. No more wondering if that shawl will dry before bedtime. ;-)  The longest any of these took to dry was maybe 2 hours and that was me just being cautious. I'm interested in finishing up one of my 100% wool shawls now and see how it does with the steamer. I'll definitely have to write that up when it's finished. Don't hold your breath though. That critter has been on the needles since Sept. 2012. It'll be awhile. ;-)

Another One Bites the Dust

Yes, I realize that's a song title from way back when (dating myself here), but that's okay. It applies!  I started Dinner in the Eiffel Tower back in November of last year and I'm happy to say it left the needles last night. Whoo hoo!  I still need to weave in the ends and get it blocked, but I'll take what I can get.  To block it, I'll need a hand-held steamer anyway. It's rayon with a touch of bamboo and that means it won't take a 'traditional' blocking. By that, I mean dunking it in water and stretching it out won't do any good at all.  Most man-made fibers need to be "killed" to hold their shape. Darn allergies make it hard for me to work with animal fibers. I'll still work with wool as I can, but since I can't wear it, it's kind of pointless. lol

For some unknown reason, my phone was taking photos upside down last night. I think it had something to do with the fact it was low on battery.  However, you get the general idea. This is unblocked and the yarn is definitely a darker brown. I think it will be gorgeous blocked.  I'm hoping to run out and get a steamer later this evening. I'd love to see the two acrylic/rayon projects I have finished well... finished. :-D

I'm now getting ready to tackle a cardigan that's been on the needles for over a year. I'm working on the lace collar now. When that's finished, it will be time to work on the sleeves. I'm not sure how long that will take to get finished, but I hope before the project itself turns 2 years old. lol

Balancing Life

Lately, I've been trying to balance out the fact that it's spring here in TX already with my hobbies that require me to mainly be inside. The weather has been gorgeous, so we have been outside more as a family. As a matter of fact, we're in the process of learning how to play golf. :-D

During the day, if I can find the time, I've been quilting lately. I have so many tops waiting to be finished that it would be lovely to see them in that stage. I've been taking lots of quilting classes via Craftsy and they are inspiring me to keep going even though the actual quilting isn't my favorite part of the process.

In the evenings, I've been working on whatever knitting project I feel like working on at the time.  As I have 11 projects going at the moment, I have a fairly wide range to choose from. Lately, I've been focusing on my Dinner in the Eiffel Tower shawl. It's a lovely DK weight shawl. I'm using a rayon/bamboo blend, so this should be interesting to block.

This is the last photo I took of the shawl way back when. I'm now within 13 rows of finishing and should see it done by the end of  this month. It's done what all shawls do. It has bunched up on the needles so it's next to impossible to get a pretty photo of it.  However, when it's off the needles, a new picture will definitely be put up.

I am starting to think I need a hand-held steamer to help with these man-made fibers I'm using more of. I'm sensitive to wool and allergic to many other natural animal fibers, so I get the joy of playing with unusual fibers. Many of them apparently block the best with steam, so it might not be a bad investment in the end.

Well, if I want to see anything done, I'd better get my tail end off the computer. :-D  I hear a sewing machine calling my name. Or is that the coffee pot? Either way.... ;-)

It's Almost Over!!

After another round of MRIs in October, they decided I did have dequervain's tenosynovitis. In December, I was sent to surgery to fix it. Oh, that was just so much fun. Several weeks in a cast that went from fingertips to elbow is not recommended. I am now in occupational therapy to regain as much use of my right hand as possible. While I can tell it's not perfect, I can knit, crochet, and quilt again. I'd love to say the pain is gone, but I'm starting to think it might be permanent. However, I was reading that it can take several months for the sheath they cut open to fully heal. I am waiting for that to happen and then I'll make my final decision.

Awhile back, I started project after project. Mid-February, I started to feel overwhelmed by them all and decided I needed to finish things up! Darn it. I went looking for pictures and they seem to have all vanished. That's not cool. :-P  I guess I figure once I post them on Ravelry, I'm good to go. I need to see if I can reclaim those.

However, I have finished a cowl, a scarf, a pair of baby socks, an Advent Scarf, and I was busy working on a lace shawl when I screwed up a row royally and ended up putting it down when it became obvious I'd have to unknit a row, again. :-P  At that point, I switched to quilting. I have gotten a lot done there as well.  When I get going on something, I tend to abandon it partway through the process.  I have no idea why I do that.  But I had two quilts in partially pieced status and two quilts that need quilted. We won't talk about all of the other quilt tops that need quilting because, lucky for me, they are still stuffed somewhere from our move three years ago. hehehe I have finished piecing a quilt and it's layered and ready for quilting. I've added a few blocks to the other quilt being pieced. I've also started to prep another quilt backing to layer another quilt. I'll wait to do that until this other quilt is quilted. It keeps the cats out of the batting. ;-)

Ooh! I found the picture of the baby socks, so I'll show those off. I have since learned that you need to do both socks at the same time so that you have a better memory of what you did.  But, the point is, they're FINISHED!

I'll need to take photos of all the other stuff.  I'm not even sure I snagged finished photos of a few of them.  So, be prepared for "finished project photos" post before long.  Or at least, that's my plan. We'll see if I actually get there. hehehe  Now, it's time to finish procrastinating and get going on that quilt. It won't get finished just sitting there. I know this from experience. :-D

The Hand Saga Continues

You won't believe this. Today, I went into the doctor because my hand was bothering me again.  I figured it was carpal tunnel or tendonitis and they could give me some exercises to help with the pain.  However, when the doctor failed to trigger any symptoms using the normal tests, he called in his boss who happens to specialize in sports medicine.  He grabbed my hand and messed with it for a bit and before long, he had found something no one else had.  The scaphoid bone in my right hand wasn't moving.  The scaphoid bone is a tiny little thing, shaped like a peanut.  Apparently, when you shake someone's hand, it causes that bone to move.  Next thing I know, the doctor grabs one of the residents and proceeded to teach both the doctor I originally came in to see and the resident how a good hand feels and reacts (my left hand), and then had them do the same test on my right hand because that bone wouldn't move.  He told me it was an injury they didn't see in the clinic that often.  He apologized for using me as a guinea pig, but it was great fun.  I learn so much when stuff like that happens.  I even got to see everything on the ultrasound screen and was told exactly what was going on.

Oh, what is that?  It's a scapholunate ligament tear. Mine is only partially torn at this point.  However, I am being referred out to a hand specialist to have it looked at and fixed.  Most likely, I am looking at more down time from knitting and possibly surgery.  However, if they can heal this pain finally?  I'm all for it.

So, my knitting schedule is going to get changed. I was enjoying working on a different project every day, but that's going to stop now.  I'm going to focus on one or two projects and see how many I can get done before I'm out of commission again.  Hopefully, when that's over, I'll be able to knit relatively pain free again.  I am definitely looking forward to that!

I also need to take into consideration the fact I was hoping to launch a small Etsy shop.  Nothing too exciting.  I was only going to sell drawstring project bags for knitting and crochet.  Though, unlike most of the bags out on Etsy, this was going to be my personal design.  Perhaps I should go ahead and take a small break in my knitting and get those made.  It would be nice to have my shop open. I'll think about it. For now?  I need to admit it's really late and I should get to bed.

Head, Meet Wall

Well, it would appear that my Evenstar shawl is insisting on hating me.  Or at least bent on making my life difficult.  Recently, I had to frog around 30 rows.  Why oh why didn't I put in a lifeline sooner? We're talking 400+ stitch rows here, too.  That was no small amount of yarn.  So, in the passage of time, I managed to knit two rows.  I have other projects on the needles after all.  They also need my attention.  So, okay.  two rows done.   Yay!  Today is "Evenstar Day." (I'll explain in a minute.) I pull out my pattern, get out my project and start knitting.  No big deal. Until I reach the third repeat and mess up counting and screw up a twisted stitch or two for good measure....  Next thing I knew, I'd dropped 2 stitches and things were falling apart faster than you could say... well, pick a bad word for the situation. 

Frog.  That's such a bad word in any needlework craft. However, while you're working on fixing your mistake, you can come up with various ideas on how to keep it from happening again in the future. Right now, all I can think of is running another lifeline every time I finish a row. That will take a tremendous amount of time, but in the end, it might be worth it.  I don't know how many more times I can frog this yarn. So, it would be better to take a little more time and protect it now, than to have it shred itself apart later.

Now, on to why this is Evenstar Day.  I have lots of projects in progress. You can call that a PIG, but we tend to call them WIPs. That stands for Work(s) in Progress. In the attempt to keep my various knitting projects from giving me guilt trips, I have assigned each 'major' one to a day of the week. On that day, I will pick it up and work on it. I do, however, reserve the right to override that day's project at anytime. Take yesterday for example. I have a cold and periodically run a slight fever. Yesterday I was supposed to work on a baby blanket. Well, I'm to the point where I'm assembling the blocks together. When you have a fever, the last thing you want is a baby blanket in your lap. So, I worked on a lace shawl instead.  I feel little guilt over it because it was a mystery shawl and I finished up the clue before the next one was released. Major win!

Anyway, I guess I should get back to picking up these stitches. Unfortunately, they do not place themselves back on the needle. 

Startitis and massive update

Wow!  It's been a LONG time since I've worked on this blog.  So much has gone on since the last post.  We can begin with my hand. :-)  On the bad news front, the therapy never worked and I was sent off to a specialist. He determined it was not my thumb and was probably either carpal tunnel or severe tendonitis.  After that brilliant piece of news, I began to do research on how to still craft with either of those problems.  Who knew that large amounts of B Complex vitamins would do the trick?  Within 2-3 weeks of taking 2 pills a day, I was back on track.  I am now knitting, crocheting, and quilting within limits.  I have to still take frequent breaks and wear my wrist brace at night, but that's okay.  I'm knitting again! I also only take 1 B Complex vitamin in the morning.

Many other things have happened since the last post... Things like my husband returning home from being deployed. A son getting ready to undergo knee surgery after he tore his meniscus in a few places. And I'm having mental illness issues.  But that's an ongoing thing as I was diagnosed as bipolar when I was 18. I just recently hit a snag and I'm working through it with my doctor.  I have my good days and my bad days.

Currently, I'm in the middle of startitis.  What is that?  Well, it's when you start a ton of projects and then can't make up your mind what to work on next!  I have a list of 10 things I'm working on in the knitting world alone. We won't talk about the unfinished quilts. It gets scary then. ;-)  However, I'm now stuck wondering what to knit next. It can be a terrible dilemma, especially for someone in my "condition." Too many choices can lead to extreme stress and panic.  Weird how that happens.  I'm now going around in circle wondering if I should keep doing what I'm doing and just picking up one at random to work on, or focus on one until it's finished and I can mark it off my list.  I'll admit it's very tempting to work on a single project until it's done.  But then I begin to think about the KALs (Knit A-Longs) I'm in and how I'd like to keep up with them, too.  Let me play "show off" for a moment. :-)

This beauty is called the "Fall Mystery Shawl 2012". It's a free mystery I'm participating in and this was taken at the end of the first clue. This is lace weight yarn in MadelineTosh Lace color Norway Spruce.  Unfortunately, it never does photograph right. There are also small gold beads in there.

There.  See them?  Pretty aren't they?  They look like they're glowing. It's turning out beautiful.  Also, this is the best shot to get the idea about the yarn color.

I'm also working on a stole called "Myrtle Mystery Stole".  I am using lace weight on this as well in a turquoise color and it's Zephyr yarn by Jaggerspun.

You'd have to look closer to notice there are tiny pink beads there as well. :-)  I love knitting with beads.  They're so much fun.  They take a lot of work to add, but it's worth it in the end.  If you're curious, I use the crochet hook method.

A few other things I've been working on are some socks for my oldest son, some summer lace booties for me, and at least 2 baby blankets.  Why?  Because I want to.  Definitely not because I need them. I'm done with the baby thing. lol  I'm also working on a cardigan which I should focus on for awhile. It's starting to get cooler here in Texas and it will come in handy soon.

So, there you have it!  A quick and dirty update on my current knitting.  Yes, I know. I didn't list 10 projects. Let's see here. I'm missing my Comfort Block of the Month afghan, Maluka (a shawl), and my never ending Evenstar. Though I did get another row added to Evenstar about 3 days ago.  That was exciting. :-D  However, it's getting late here. I declare the knitting 'struggle' over for the evening and I'll start again tomorrow.