Hello, It's Me!

Yes, it's been awhile. I missed my third blogiversary, my birthday, all kinds of things. No regrets though, because I've been busy. Doug and I have been mowing on the evenings and weekends, when weather permits. Looks like we're about to have a thunderstorm here any minute.

I've started Zumba! It's been 4 weeks (eight classes) and I can really tell a difference in my movement and energy level. After months of little or no energy and therefore little or no activity I'm finally moving again. Of course, I can just barely walk to the car after class and don't even think of asking me to do anything when I get home but I'm taking baby steps.

I had a check up with my oncologist yesterday and after a very thorough exam she said everything seems fine. I'm scheduled for a mammo next month. I've been putting it off because of lingering tenderness in the incision area, but I guess I'll just have to bear up and get it done.

My hair is coming back like crazy! It's very fine baby hair, mostly white, but some darker strands are coming in finally. I can't say I'm thrilled to have to shave my legs again but it's pretty sparse so I'm not complaining.

And of course, I've been knitting. I didn't get to go to MD Sheep and Wool this year because of a wedding in the family (honestly, what were they thinking?) but I made a list and my wonderful friends went on a treasure hunt and found almost all of it. They also bought a few wonderful things that weren't on the list that they knew I'd like. I've got great friends!


I've bought more yarn since. In fact, I've been on a little spree but it's over now. I've got one more order coming and I'm done for a while. The center photo on the top row of the mosaic below is the Midnight Rainbow/Harlot's Peacock from Perchance to Knit that I ordered from the Loopy Ewe to made a Girasole (Rav Link) shawl. I've wanted it for a long time and since Sheri was offering a 20% discount to those of us buying yarn to join the Girasole KAL, well I had to buy it.


We bought a Canon Rebel Xsi DSLR for our anniversay and I'm slowing learning how to use it. All of the photos about were taken with the new camera. I'll post a photo of my new hair later.

In Heaven There Is No Beer

Turns out that's not necessarily true. On The Universe (History Channel) the other night they talked about huge clouds of alcohol floating about in the galaxy and how prevalent they are. Some are larger then our entire solar system. Though technically not beer, this is the kind of alcohol we drink.

Why am I talking about beer? Because shortly before my last radiation treatment I started craving beer. I have never been a beer drinker (or any kind of drinker for that matter). I drink less then 10 beers a year on average. But all at once I had to have beer, any kind of beer. I dreamed about beer. I longed for beer while I was a work. I drank beer before noon on the weekends. I sent my hubby out on late night beer runs. In the past month or so I have probably drank 5 six packs. That may not sound like a lot to some but it's unprecedented for me.

I told my oncologist about this craving and she thought it was very funny. She said it was nothing to be alarmed about. I guess my body is just screaming for yeast. I know that it's the yeastiness of the beer that attracts me. I'm hoping now that my treatments are finished, this madness will end. I thinks it's tapering off a little already. I meant to drink a beer last night, I thought about while I was a Charity Knitting at Y2Kint, but I forgot about it when I got home.

So the next time you raise a glass, think of me and rest assured that if you didn't want that beer I would definitely drink it for you.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays

Hi, everyone. I wanted to post a project update and wish everyone a happy holiday (whatever that holiday maybe) and a happy new year. I've been knitting every free moment and have finished a shawl and started a couple of new projects. You know me, one is never enough.

I finished the Baltic Blossoms Shawl for my step-mother. It's blocked and all I have to do is weave in the ends. I asked Sarah to model it for me but the camera batteries were dead and then later she was busy so here are pictures of it without a human for scale.



I really love this shawl and will hate to have to gift it but I can always make another one, right? This was quite a journey from beginning to end. But I won out in the end and finished it. The yarn is so pretty. Here's the stats:

Pattern: Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Spirit Trail Fiberworks Atropos Bombyx Silk in a one-of-a-kind colorway
Needles: #2 Knitpicks Harmony
Mods: I added 5 repeats to the body of the shawl and made the rest according to the pattern. I pinned out the points as scallops instead of points. I like that look better. I love nupps!



Meanwhile I've started a scarf from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. It's the kimono shawl but I cut the repeats from 10 to 6 so it's a little narrower. I'm wondering though if I should have cut them to 4 because it's still pretty wide and I only have 654 yards. I sure hate to rip it out now because I have over 2 feet of it done. I'm using Handmaiden Sea Silk 150g in Ivory. I've long covetted this colorway and finally scored a skein thanks to a generous gift from my wonderful MIL.


This is a boring knit but the yarn is so yummy that it keeps me going. In fact I think it's slowing me down because I keep stopping to admire and fondle. I worked on it at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis last Friday while we drank a couple of beers and waited to see the Bacon Brothers.



I'm also working on a scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush out of Filatura di Crosa Superior. I can't remember the name of the pattern right at the moment and I haven't photographed it yet. It's going fast but the Kimono Shawl is my first priority.

That's about it for knitting right now. I have to wrap up some presents tonight and we're ready for Christmas. We going to relatives tomorrow and the LYS is having a Boxing Day Knit-In so I'll probably go to that for a while. I don't intend to do any shopping on the day after.

Monday will be my last chemo treatment and I'll be so glad to get it over with. Thank goodness it fell after Christmas. Then I start radiation sometime after the first of the year.

I hope you all have great holidays and enjoy it however you see fit. Happy New Year, y'all!

I could survive for 1 minute, 9 seconds

I'm still going...

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last update. I've been knitting like crazy so I have a lot to talk about.

I've been on a lace kick lately. I finished the Swallowtail and gifted it to my lovely co-worker. I really enjoyed this knit. The pattern is well written and easy to follow and the yarn I used, Handmaiden Sea Silk, is just beyond words. I think it's the perfect yarn for this pattern. It was a true pleasure to knit with and I wish I could afford to make more projects with it but it's a bit pricey for my budget. This photo shows the actual color of the yarn much better.


This put me on a path to nupp central. I purchased an online pattern that features nupps, Baltic Blossoms by Evelyn A. Clark and started it right away. I started it using Filatura di Crosa Superior of which I have 660 yards. This yarn is my most cherished possession and I didn't want to waste it. The small version of the shawl would have left me with 200 yards, not enough to do much with but not enough to knit the larger size. I did the body of the shawl before I finally made up my mind that I just couldn't live with the thought of wasting those 200 yards. So I ripped it out and started over using Spirit Trail Fiberworks Bombyx Silk Atropos. I have 500 yards of this so I did the body for the smaller size but I also went down a needle size. After knitting 9 repeats of the body and the first two lily of the valley charts I decided that the shawl would be too small. So I ripped out the LOV charts and added 5 more repeats of the the body pattern for a total of 14 repeats. With the smaller needle size I'm hoping that 500 yards will be enough to finish this.


Here's what it looked like before I ripped out the LOV charts. I ripped it back to the where the first lifeline is shown but unfortunately I had already removed the lifeline (I know, I'm an idiot). So I had a lot of fun trying to pick up all those stitches in SILK yarn but I eventually succeeded. I'm now back to where the first lifeline is shown but with 5 extra repeats of the body pattern. I'm ready to start the first lily of the valley chart. I'll have to do some major improvisation if I don't have enough yarn to finish this because the colorway was one of a kind.

Meanwhile, my friends and I went to Stitches East for three wonderful fun-filled days! I took two classes and really enjoyed them both but especially the Cable Variations class taught by Melissa Leapman. She is a really good teacher and kept the class moving even if it meant leaving some folks behind. The class description clearly indicated that it wasn't for beginners. I felt so sorry for the lady who sat beside me. She didn't know what an SSK was! She didn't even really get started on any of the examples before she had to quit and move on to the next one. I think she was in tears at one point. No one should ever cry over knitting. That's just wrong in so many ways.

I made some purchases at the market preview Thursday night. I bought a skein of gorgeous tencel laceweight Almaza from Just Our Yarn. Yes, that's the real color.


It's seems to be a very fine lace weight, perhaps closer to cobweb. I just couldn't resist the color and shine.

I bought two skeins of Jojoland Harmony, which is also a very fine lace weight. I'm into bright colors right now. Maybe it's because of the gray/brown yarn I'm working with right now.


I haven't worked with either of these yarns so I hope they will lend themselves to an enjoyable knitting experience.

I hung around the Windy Valley Muskox booth a little too long and ended up buying two balls of Golden Crown Suri Alpaca with the intention of making some sort of lacy scarf. They also had gorgeous pima cotton and beads to make a beaded scarf so I bought that as well. I forgot to take a photo of the cotton but here's the alpaca. I've started a scarf that I'll talk about later.


My hubby wants a scarf made from muskox but he's going to have to cough up the cash for that yarn because it's not coming out of my budget. It's nice but there's too many other yarns I'd like to have.

Let's see, what else did I buy? Oh yeah, I bought a skein of Creatively Dyed Beaches sock yarn. Probably won't make socks out of it though.


I also bought a couple books I've been planning to get. It Itches by Franklin Habit and Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. I have A Gathering of Lace on my list but I'm saving it for my Christmas list.


I cast on for the Lily of the Valley scarf using the Suri Alpaca from Windy Valley Muskox and I'm working on it off and on. Here's a progress shot.


This yarn feels so luxurious and decadent that it's hard to describe. It has a cool, silky feel and a fuzzy softness both at the same time even though I think those tactile sensations contradict one another. It also stretches a lot. I hope it blocks okay.

Somewhere in the the midst of all that I bought a skein of Malabrigo Worsted from Susan at Y2Knit and made another Better Bucket for me, since Hubby took off with the first one I made. I haven't blocked it yet and it's way too big for my hairless head but it fits over my head wraps and really keeps the cold off my bare head. The colorway it Noviembre, which suits it fine.


I had my fourth chemo treatment last Monday and spent the week on the couch too tired to even knit. No nausea, for which I'm so thankful, but extreme fatigue and weakness. This week I'm doing better. I only worked half a day yesterday but I'm fine today. Two more treatments and I'm done with chemo. My exams have been good. No new lumps in evidence so we just continue to treat all the side effects of the chemo and hope for the best. I've had to go on insulin and blood pressure meds but hopefully once the poisons are out of my body, I'll be able to go off those. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the hair loss. Bath time lasts about 5 minutes now because there's nothing to shampoo or shave. My eyebrows are getting sparse but may actually make it through without completely disappearing. My lashes are hanging in there too but I've read that they will be the very last hair to go.

New Projects

I have about six projects on the needles right now. I'm working on The Clementine Shawlette in some amazing hand painted fingering weight merino with sterling silver that was given to me by a dear friend. I'm also making a pair of socks using some Intention Yarn by Lime & Violet using the Nutkin pattern by Beth LaPensee that was giving to me by another great friend. Yet another friend (I know, I'm so lucky) gave me some Blue Heron Chenille that I haven't found the right pattern for yet but I'm looking. I don't have photos of any of these projects and I haven't added them to Ravelry either.

I've also started Print O' The Wave by Eunny Yang out of some gorgeous Penthouse Silk by Neightborhood Fiber Company that I bought a couple of years ago. I started several projects with this yarn but none stuck until now. I've got about 8 inches of the center panel finished and was going pretty strong on it until the Loopy Ewe got in a shipment of Handmaiden Sea Silk. I've been waiting a long time for some Ivory Sea Silk and there it was in my cart at last. That's when I saw the Moss color. Out flew the Ivory, in went the Moss and that was that. I had been saving my money for Stitches East in November but a skein of Sea Silk might be impossible to find there so I wasn't taking a chance. It came a couple of weeks ago and I fondled it and sniffed it and let it sit on the coffee table for weeks knowing that I wanted to make the Swallowtail Shawl but that I had so many things going right now that I just couldn't start another one.

You know where I'm going with this of course. On Sunday I finaly wound the skein and dug out the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits and started. It's going really fast because this isn't really a "laceweight" yarn.

I'm always working on baby socks and have a pair done. I'm working on matching handsies to go with these socks because I had a request for a set.

I've had two chemo treatments now, one-third of the way done, whew! This one left me tired, so tired. But I can't complain because I can handle tired just fine. I'm back at work this week and next week and then it'll be time for my third treatment. Friends and family are taking such great care of me. How will I ever repay everyone's kindness?

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow - Part II

I went to my beautician to have my remaining hair buzzed off last night. Here's a front view of the hair that was left after my first chemo treatment. It was driving me nuts under my hats. It was itchy and being pressed down in unnatural directions was making my scalp hurt.
Here's the back view. Lovely, isn't it?

First Linda Sue gave me a Mohawk because, really, how many opportunities does a straight-laced, white bread girl like me get to see herself in a Mohawk? It would have looked better if my hair had been thicker but of course it wasn't or we wouldn't be doing this in the first place.

Next she shaved off the top of the Mohawk and left me with some weird Hare Krishna type look.

Then she really got down to the job at hand and shaved it using a series of blades until there was just stubble left. The stubble is like velcro and sticks to all my hats and scarves. It should soon fall out though because my next chemo is on Monday.

After a lot of buzzing I finally ended up with the look I was after. I give you - Uncle Fester. Some black shadow around the eye and a black coat and I'm ready for Halloween.

Then we really got silly and Linda Sue gave me a wig that I could use if I wanted but it's really not me. Wouldn't you agree?

I'm going to order a wig from her that fits me better and looks more like my own hair. I know, I know, what's the fun in that?