Back to our regularly scheduled blogging

I’ve finally been able to hold onto a few cowls that I’ve knitted over the past few months. usually I’ve knitted them, received compliments on them and then given them away to the flatterers.

This first one was a really quick knit I read about here the pattern is Schmatta and it’s so warm & toasty. I finished it off with some white mis-matched vintage buttons from my button bowl given to me by a dear friend (thanks Tracy!).

This is me goofing around trying to get a shot of me in the cowl but not very successfully!

I really need to wait til there is another photographer in the house besides the dog & lizard.

Next up: The Crofter’s Cowl, my first journey into lace – oooo, ahhhh. I know! wow, and my first chart – golly so much all at once, but it was for beginners and I highly recommend this pattern by Gudrun Johnston, easy peasy.

I’m just a bit disappointed that the color way of this Kitchensink Dyeworks yarn didn’t really show through, it’s brighter in person. I guess I’l have to promise more photos.

I did a bit of Valentine’s knitting for the Monkey’s too. They each received a heart knitted from a pattern as unique as themselves.

Crafter Monkey received the red heart the pattern from HERE. Quick and easy, I knitted two and stuffed it with extra yarn from the skein.

Wee Monkey received the purple heart the pattern from HERE. Another easy pattern, I made two and stuffed it.

Monkey Boy was thrilled with the multicolored green heart – (he should be, it was a much fussier pattern than I expected) but then he is worth it! You can find the pattern HERE.

As I created each of theses hearts the days and hours before St. Valentines Day it truly made me reflect on the individuality of each of my Monkeys and how each pattern and the yarn I chose really embodied their personalities so much.

I’m letting the cat out of the bag…

Hi, My name is Kelly and I have Multiple Sclerosis. I was diagnosed in May 2009 after almost eight-teen months of wonky symptoms that caused me and my family to seek the help and guidance of what have become trusted health care providers. Chances are that the symptoms were there earlier, but just less annoying to be concerned with. Nationally approximately 400,000 people have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and 2.1 million worldwide. There is no known cure.

It has not been an easy road, this chronic disease is part of a larger group of diseases known as the autoimmune diseases which encompass diseases like: diabetes type 1, celiac disease, and Graves disease.

Multiple Sclerosis affects each person differently. The one thing I have learned for certain after talking with many patients, their family members, doctors, PA’s, and nurses is that we each are unique in our symptoms and treatments. For instance, I have been suffering from migraines for almost two years now and in all that time I have not run across one person who has had similar symptoms. Yet, I can knit up a storm (the mobility of my hands is not affected).

In January I experienced my first flare up since diagnosis. This event had quite an impact on my health, my marriage, my children, and our lives. It is something none of us care to repeat, it has made us stronger and treasure good health even more.

This flare up has reminded me to take nothing for granted; to live life each day, hug your husband & children lots, eat consciously, get regular exercise (both mental & physical), practice yoga, take my medicine, and ask for help.

For more information on Multiple Sclerosis please check out these quality sources:

National MS Society

Multiple Sclerosis Association of America

Multiple Sclerosis International Federation

National Institute of Health information page on MS

Bits & Pieces

What do you do with all those little bits of yarn that you snip off after weaving in your ends?

We have been saving our yarn bits & pieces for the birds. I remember reading over the summer from either a wonderful blogger or a magazine article (so sorry I can’t cite it) about how the family would save up theirs and then come spring time stuff them in an inexpensive suet feeder hang them in a tree for the birds to pluck out to line their nests with. One of the Monkey’s suggested we weave some of the longer strands through pine cones to be hung up on the trees too (great idea if you don’t have a suet feeder).

Our neighborhood birds will have a great selection of colors and fibers to choose from this spring. I can’t wait to spy the nests.

Monkey Boy’s Sweater

Just because there has been lack of blogging in the past two months does not mean there has been lack of knitting. We have been pining away for snow in Western New York, yeah, I know, for most of you that read this not from around here you think Buffalo = Snow. But we have had maybe two sledding days all season. Extremely insufficient and not a good snow shoeing day yet either.

This has been good news for the Mama who has been a bit behind on the Monkey sweater front. Cold nights and hot tea have been conducive for cuddling with Monkeys, wool, good books & movies.

Monkey Boy was a bit reluctant to try on his sweater in progress, due to knitting needles still attached and then because I reached for the only other thing I could think of to help hold the pieces in place = clothes pins! Hey, they worked!

His sweater pattern is based on this one but it is heavily modified. I started it in the round from the bottom up because I hate to seam! I’m using wool yarns I’ve picked up from some local fiber festivals over the past two years that are from regional farms that were giving me very close gauges AND of course were to Monkey Boy’s tastes. Green and stripes rank extremely high on his list of requirements.

Modeling for Mama to take measurements and pictures: Not so much!

No Monkeys were harmed in this photo shoot (they rewarded with chocolate!)

I dyed and went to heck

I’m sure y’all thought I musta really died cause it’s been nearly a month since a blog post, but that’s not the case, just really ill. So sick, that even the thoughts of sitting upright and typing for any length of time seemed too taxing… but I’m trying to ease back into the saddle of life minute by minute. My family & friends have been so supportive and helpful: Thank you all! Keep the blessings coming.

I have had time on my hands to finish a few UFO’s and catch up listening to my favorite podcast Never Not Knitting, Alana does such a great job that I was flabbergasted to listen to the fact that she may or may not be back after maternity leave (I really hope so – I love her style) check her out! As you can tell I started this post a bit ago but wanted to have more of a story to tell before I posted it:

The first thing I thought I learned when dyeing yarn was to test your yarn and dye with small samples. So of course I did this before attempting to dye nearly 900 yards of wool for a sweater project for me. I was looking for just the right green. Not too bright, not too olive, not too mossy, not to yellow-y, but the just right for me green. Yeah I know it when I’ll see it. My test samples came out wonderfully, I chose the shade I wanted and reproduced the dye recipe for the volume of water and wool.

It doesn't look any better in the day light! Ug!

So after a few tears were shed, I invested in some acid dyes and tried again….

Prepping the ugly with a good wash

I'm not foolin' around this time... scale, mask, gloves, measuring spoons.

Carefully monitoring with thermometer nobody likes pre-felted yarn!

Out of the dye pot and on to the laundry line.

I love how the color turned out, a rich chocolate-brown with navy undertones. Certainly not the green I had originally intended but a perfect color to go with the pattern I received for a gift from loneknitter: Idlewood designed by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. I have really been following Cecily’s designs and love everything that falls off her needles! If I only had the time to knit everything she’s been publishing. My Idlewood has been good therapy for me, a bigger project to just pick up and knit a few rounds when I’ve been healing mode.

My new workout

I just realized I forgot to tell y’all that in November I twisted the (fencing) Coach’s arm one day and asked for a special class = Mom’s with Swords – and got it! (Thank you Colin!) So I started fencing!! But there aren’t gonna be any photos of that. It’s strictly a women’s class for all of us ladies that want to get out and learn something new and frankly I can’t stand walking the treadmill or elliptical staring at the same walls the whole time (I’d rather be hiking). Besides nobody wants to see a picture of me all sweaty and yucky after being in the fencing get-up, AND I think I’d get impaled by the others if I even tried to take the camera out the bag during a practice session (they all know where the photos would end up).

After watching for almost a year, it was time to try on a mask, chest protector, glove, jacket and foil annnnd…… I loved it!!! I did keep going back and brought a partner (thanks Kristi). It is very mentally and physically challenging.  Much more different from the team sports I participated in high school and college (soccer & basketball). I get a great workout, it fills my competitive side, relieves stress (oh boy did I need this desperately in my life), has helped my coordination and balance (I’m not getting any younger), and I do believe is forging new mental pathways (this is especially good for me, again the not getting younger thing, and couldn’t we all use a new mental challenge?). And after all these benefits; I have been pacing myself against the Crafter Monkey with sit-ups, crunches, push-ups and now that we’re on break…  jumping jacks! I’ve sent packing twenty-one twenty-three pounds and don’t plan on ever wanting them back again! (I love that my skinny jeans have become my fat ones) It’s crazy but I really don’t feel like it’s hard to go or even like it’s exercise, I look forward to it, to the challenge, it’s something so foreign to myself and my muscles that I learn so much that it ends up being and education and workout all in one. Some of us Mom’s have commented at practice that we find ourselves lunging while doing laundry or advancing and retreating while putting dishes away, we laugh, but I secretly think the Coach thinks we’re nuts (hey we gotta work on our form in our own way)!

On the CM’s fencing anniversary – her one year anniversary of her introduction to the sport I had the opportunity to spar with my daughter. Now of course I do not have that much experience – only about six or so lessons versus whole year under her belt. She did not wipe the strip with me, I did give a bit of competition, nobody got hurt, we shook hands at the end, and I still gave her a ride home. But really all kidding aside…. it was so fun to fence her. I’ve watched her style develop over the months, so I kinda knew what to expect but she still had a few tricks up her sleeve and she is much faster than her ‘ole Mom… the bout ended 2-5 CM. Not bad for my first time, (I did score the first touch) I won’t let her live that one down – can you tell we had some verbal bantering going on beforehand? It was so great to see her get frustrated not only trying to figure out how I fenced but also because I fence left-handed, not because I am a lefty, but because my right hip was giving me trouble early on in practices, so I switched and now it’s much more comfortable. Although working with the left has put me at strength disadvantage it’s been a great way to balance out my body.

So now that you know what I’m doing in the New Year to stay fit and mentally challenged, What are you doing?  Are you looking for a new challenge? Join me!