Ravelry Rocks!

If you don't know, you should know about Ravelry. Google it or go to ravelry.com to find out more! I received 3 skeins of yarn, l-o-n-g discontinued that I needed to complete a sweater that I'm knitting for my grandsons birthday. First of all, I thank God for having found the one remaining tattered ball band with all of the identifying info on it. (It was wadded up in the bottom of a plastic bag filled with trash in my creative area waiting to be thrown away, God only knows why I was compelled to go through the trash, I had given up on finding this ball band!) I then went online and googled the yarn, nothing. Ebay - nothing. I searched Ravelry for yarns listed in members' stash and there it was. I then located the 3 skeins of the yarn in the right color, owned by someone that was willing to sell or trade it. I messaged her, she responded and today, my DH brought it in and presented it to me. It couldn't have come at a better time. I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and was wishing I could move to Australia, where it is summer now. I was hating the DMV in California, I was having a having-to-deal-with-my-ex-husband-so-I-can-see-my-grandson-that-I-haven't-seen-in-two-years-crisis, I have a case of the I'm-tired-of-the-snow-and-cold-cabin-fever-recovering-from-knee-replacement-surgery-blues, and....enough already! The yarn worked! D.D.

Carpe Diem

Hell hath no fury like a tactile deprived woman revitalized! (Thanks to William Congreve, not Shakespeare, for the original sentiment.) I have been knitting like mad. If I hadn't slipped and fallen on the ice outside of the building where I participate in physical therapy on Monday, I would also be spinning like crazy and weaving with abandon (it's hard to navigate the stairs to the basement where the fiber stash and loom are housed) as well.

I've been knitting in the car, while DH drives, I knit during the 10 minutes that my knee is being iced at physical therapy, while I'm flexing my knee in the continuous passive motion machine, while watching dvd's, and I dream of knitting in my sleep! It's like being re-united with a long lost love.

I'd forgotten the delightful sensation of cashmere, silk, or merino yarn gliding through my fingers, drinking in the various hues, tints, and shades - some bright and thrilling, others subdued and soothing, the excitement of planning a project, stroking and caressing the yarn in my stash, fantasizing about the drape, fit, and silhouette of the finished garment, delighting as the heft and weight of the piece grows, nestled in my lap.

I pray I never have to be robbed of the joy I gain from my fiber pursuits again. But just in case I'm knitting every available moment today.

D.D.

Tempus Fugit

The sum of days since I last posted has taken me by surprise! The best laid plans of women, especially ones who knit, oft go askew (to paraphrase Robert Burns)! 2009 was to be a year of much knitting, spinning, weaving, creating. I gathered yarns, patterns, ideas, tuned up the Gilmore loom, inventoried fiber and warp threads, made sure the Lendrum was in good order. I planned, plotted and dreamed of beautiful handmade gifts and treasures sure to delight the maker (me) and the lucky recipients (too numerous to list).

My trip to Sacramento in February of '09 wherein I began the Great Adult Surprise Jacket Adventure, ended with me having my first ever case of sciatica (childbirth labor is less painful), followed closely by bursitis of the hip, which then segueway-ed into a low back episode that required spinal injections, and finally a total knee replacement surgery in September plus a bonus - the manipulation of said knee in November that was more painful than the surgery.

Now, I consider myself to be a healthy person. I can count the number of times (pre-sciatica) that I had taken so much as an aspirin since August 19, 1984 (my sobriety date). I was determined to get through the post surgery and rehabilitation process without narcotic pain relievers. HA!!!! Total knee replacement surgery is no walk in the park (pun intended)! So oxycodone and oxyconton saw me through the first 3 weeks, (there was to be no knitting or anything else that required focus or attention). Then there was Tylenol 3 for a couple of months, still not much in the way of focus, as a matter of fact I began to worry about my lack of ability to concentrate. I think I understand how people with ADD/ADHD might feel.

I also went off of the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy protocol I had been on for several years, so I was thrown into instant menopause; the brain-to-mush and emotional yo-yoing that lack of estrogen on the neuroreceptors causes had Jekyll/Hyde propensities that were terrifying to my DH and me! No one died!!!

Can anyone say imbecile?

Enough whining.

I'm back to knitting with a vengeance. I've completed the cashmere sweater from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, as well as the cashmere booties and a hat adapted from the Ann Norling Kid's Fruit Caps pattern for my new great nephew, Owen. I'm knitting the Cider House Rules vest from Interweave Knits Fall 2000 for my DH, and I'm making my grandson Malakai a sweater for his birthday in April. I've been needing an earflap cap to weather the weather (well below freezing), so I'm designing one to knit it out of alpaca that's been stashed.

Time and my fingers are finally flying together again. Thank God!

D.D.