Sunday, November 20

Photos.





Opal 6 ply socks, color #1128. I am very pleased with these socks. They fit great, and the 6 ply yarn was so quick to knit up. I started them on October 8th. Not lighting fast I'll admit, but fast for me. I did 2x2 rib all the way down the foot, so I think they might have gone even faster if I hadn't! (I have never found a comfortable and speedy way to switch between knit and purl.) They also match better than any other pair I have made, surprising since I wasn't concentrating on it much.





"Must-Have Cardigan" from Hip to Knit. I am using Manos del Uruguay, as called for in the pattern. I have two sleeves finished so far, and have cast on the left front. (I only started this a week ago, so it is going for a record of "Sarah's fastest finished object")

Tuesday, November 15

Better.

Thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes; I am feeling much better today. I'm mostly past the pain stage and into the "these stitches are annoying" stage.

I'll spare you the details of my surgery, but I will say that the nitrous oxide wasn't horrible; not as good as being completely out, but a hundred times better than being fully consious. It did make me shake really bad while I was coming out of it, but that was about the worst.

Actually, I have a funny story about the nitrous. The nurse forgot to have me sign the consent form until after they started the gas. The had to sit me back up and help me hold the pen and clipboard to sign something that may or may not have resembled my signature. My husband said that sounded like something out of a bad sitcom. Hey, I couldn't make this stuff up!

While sitting around totally bored but in too much pain to get off the couch I finished a pair of socks and started a sweater sleeve. I'll have photos of both of those soon.

Tuesday, November 8

And the hits just keep coming.

**This post has been edited down from a much longer, much whinier version. The original post included:

1. My husband lost his job.
2. I am having surgery on Friday. (On my tooth/jaw/sinuses. It is as fun as it sounds, folks.)

We join this post already in progress...

I am nervous about the whole thing since they are giving me nitrous oxide instead of knocking me out completely. (This is because I have to be awake to follow some commands - plug my nose and blow - at certain times.) I have had general anesthesia twice and it didn't concern me as much as this. I am afraid of the "out of it" feeling that is supposed to be a good thing will freak me out. Anyone had any experience with this? I need to know that I am not going to die from a panic attack. (Which had been a very likely occurrence for me in the past.)

But Look! I knit something! Here I am looking thoughtful in my new hat.



Hmmm. Is there any chocolate in the kitchen?


I used two yarns from the Joanne Sensations line and this pattern from the knitlist. I have to say I am impressed with the Joanne yarns. The white is Dolcetto; the variegated, Cosetta.

Friday, November 4

Meet Belinda.





Belinda* is my first Knitted Babe. She was much more difficult to make than I had expected. Not necessarily the knitting part, but the finishing part. I did knit the body in two pieces like the book instructs, but I found sewing them together neatly was really frustrating. Although I had so much trouble putting the face on so that it didn't look scary when I was only working on the front piece, so I don't even want to think about how hard it would have been if I had knit the body in the round. One thing I did change from the book was to make her limbs i-cord instead of rolled stockingette stitch.

Her pants, by the way, and made from a pair of my husband's old restaurant work pants I found in the Goodwill pile. (It was difficult to find a stain-free area - the nice Goodwill people wouldn't have wanted them anyway!) I just sort of plopped her down on top of them, cut around her legs in a pant-shape and sewed up the seams.

Here is a close up of her face:





I sewed the pieces on and took them off so many times that I had to cut new ones since the felt was being to tear away at the edges. The hair is Opal Sock yarn (Rainforest Owl) that I knit and then took apart.

All that being said, I am very pleased with how she turned out.

*If you are an old-school GoGo's fan, you might understand why I named my Babe Belinda.