What a week

It's been one heck of a week.

I finished the tour de fleece with a personal record, seven skeins, two pounds, just under five miles of yarn.



When we last met, I had spun two.

This is a polwarth/silk blend, a two ply gradient, 817 yards. About five ounces.



Next was a lovely BFL. The fiber was a peach to pink to blue gradient and I split it to spin "fractal" three ply. One lengthwise third was left as is, one third divided in two lengthwise, and the last third divided by four lengthwise. The fractal color progressions will show up when it's knitted. It's 3 ply, so it's less yardage, 465 yards.



Next was a merino/silk gradient, the pictures do not do this skein justice, it is much prettier than it looks here. 652 yards, two ply.



Next, I did a gradient skein in two equal halves, then chain plied the singles to create a three ply matching sock yarn. This was a merino/bamboo/nylon blend and totaled 470 yards.



And finally, on the very last day, I spun this gorgeous camel/silk blend to a worsted weight 367 yards. I call it Champagne on the Champs, and I am in love with this blend.



The skein was still a little damp when I took the photos, it's shinier and more bouncy now.

We went to Hog Heaven Rescue's open house Saturday, we took my Mom along and it was a nice day. This pig tried to come home with us.



Here's a slideshow of the whole day. Hog Heaven does great work doing large animal rescue and I encourage you to check them out and donate if you can.



Healthwise, I'm not ok. Super stressed. Bob lost his job, which has thrown us into chaos. My face still hurts where I fell and my ear is still tender. I've been swimming and so on but my stomach issues are much worse when I'm stressed and I have not been sleeping well. This too shall pass, at least I hope so. He has quite a few leads and prospects coming up so please keep all applicable body parts crossed and if you have any leads for a help desk/tech writer type job please let me know.

For now at least we'll just keep buzzing along.

I want to ride it where I like

So the Tour de Fleece is underway. That means I am spinning, spinning, and spinning some more. Two skeins down and who knows how many more to go.

For the second year, I am spinning all Corgi Hill fibers, except for my traveling project, which is the Tsock Tsarina kit I got at MDSW.

The first skein was a UFO, I had one and a bit more plies done. I've been doing this a little at a time on my Fibership spindle so I finished it off, then plied it on the wheel. Huge yardage, 760 yards. The fiber is BFL/silk.



I'm pretty happy with it except I still need to add more plying twist even when I think I don't.



Pretty impressive yardage.

The second skein, didn't work so well for me, although the end result is good.



It's a merino/silk/yak blend. Also from Corgi Hill, this is one of the prizes I won for last year's tour. I only got about 300 yards out of it. It was hard to draft, I think the staple was weird for me, I was just glad to see the end of it. I did add adequate plying twist to this one, though.


The next one is a polwarth/silk blend, gradient, from bright teal through yellow into bright grass green. Not as jewel tone subdued as the prior two. Gotta mix it up now and then.

Needless to say all knitting projects are on hold until after the tour. I haven't decided if I'm going to knit in the Ravellenic Games yet.

Things are status quo otherwise, no further fainting spells and I've been careful to stay hydrated especially in this heat we've been having. We renewed our pool membership for another three months and plan to continue that as much as possible. Bob really gets a lot out of it and a day like today, it was wonderful to just get into the pool up to my neck in water, anything else was extra.

We've harvested our first green beans and our first tomatoes. (three wee cherry tomatoes but it counts!) The squash plants are fighting for life in the heat. We shall see if we get anything out of it. The collard greens look ok so far but it's hard to tell, they're small yet. Next year, we need to plant earlier.

We went to the Big Butler Fair last weekend. It was nice. Hot but nice. We saw a lot of horses, sheep, pigs, etc. A nice family day out.





Will update again soon!

They All Fall Down

Things are really coming to a head for me lately healthwise. Last week at work, I fainted. That’s a first for me, even back in my misspent youth when I was drinking heavily and doing inadvisable drugs while not eating, I never passed completely out. I passed completely out. I stood up from my desk, went to get a drink of water, everything went fuzzy, and I hit the floor. Woke up to find people fussing over me and my face feeling like it was on fire. It broke my fall, apparently. They called an ambulance and away to the hospital I went. Nothing broken, no heart or stroke issues, likely prognosis was dehydration due to the chronic gastric issues I’ve been having lately. So I have stern warnings to hydrate and a no-nonsense referral to a gastroenterologist.



My face is all black and blue and I have nine stitches behind my ear where my glasses ripped the skin away. It hurt like a mofo. I still can’t sleep on that side. My cheekbone is numb and hurts all around it. The doctor said I probably bruised that one facial nerve that hurts like battery acid when you do anything to it. I’m mostly ok now but it was a profoundly scary experience.

Adding to that fun is that I went to a neurologist for a consult on this neuropathy and the news is not good. Nothing to be done about it. It’s permanent and the best I can do is hope to keep it from getting any worse. Which entails keeping my blood sugar in a totally unrealistic place for me. He ordered some more detailed blood work and is going to see if something else is up that can cause the leg cramps I’ve been fighting for a while. It’s all very depressing and boring and I’ve said enough.

I spun some alpaca


I made an alpaca neck warmer/cowl...



...and I’m working on a shawl out of the yarn Bob got me for our anniversary.

I think it’ll be pretty even though I’m having to heavily adapt the pattern because I hate it. I’m also finishing up some BFL/Silk blend that I started on a spindle and am contemplating my next spinning project. Because I am going to run out of time way before I run out of fiber. That’s a fact, jack.

Here comes the sun (flower)

I finished the Sunflower shawl early last week but didn't get it blocked until last weekend. And have not had a chance to blog about it until now!

I actually carried it with me to work on when we went to Cincinnati for our anniversary. Spent many happy hours visiting with old and new friends and knitting. I had a bit of a scare at the end, as the yarn almost ran out and when I was finishing the petals, I had to decrease on both the knit and purl side to avoid running out.

This is how close that was.


That is not a lot of yarn, y'all! I went so far as to contact the woman who dyed the fiber at Corgi Hill Farm to see if she could do me up some more. But thankfully, I made it.


The yarn is handspun BFL/Silk from Corgi Hill Farm fiber. The pattern is Tuscan Sunflower, available on Ravelry. I spun the fiber to a laceweight two ply, spinning each braid separately to preserve the gradient. I used size 7 needles, interchangeable knitpicks variety, almost having a heart attack when one of the cables broke and I lost about 40 stitches. I can't even find where that happened, now, I managed to get them all back. But it was a lace knitter's worst nightmare, especially one who never uses lifelines.
The Ravelry page is here.

I'll just post a bunch of pictures now and let them speak for themselves. It's hands down the prettiest thing I've ever knitted.









The drape and shine of the yarn is incredible, Anna Marie makes the most wonderful fibers to spin and I put the yarn quality down to her. You can't spin bad fiber into beautiful yarn.

Speaking of spinning, I have done a couple of yarns the last week or so. This one is
the lovely Handspun by Stefania corriedale I got at MDSW. It's spun woolen long draw and much better than my first attempt at that technique.



It's over 300 yards and will be hats for my older daughter and her boyfriend.

The second is also an MDSW thing, the batts I got from Spinner's Hill. Nearly 400 yards, a sport weight or so. I am thinking a garter-based shawl with a lacy edging, one just came out in Knitty this week that might suit.


And that's been my last few weeks in crafting!

Lame, Transit

Using lame in the context of disabled, not completely 100% ok, or in my case really not ok, using transit can be quite the adventure. Just to review, I have a few things going on. I have my bad leg, from my "tragic bowling accident" in 2008. My knee doesn’t bend right, the leg is weak, it’s the primary reason I use a cane. I have Meniere’s disease, so I have a balance disorder that makes me more likely to fall down, be unable to stand on a moving bus, and makes me hard of hearing. I now have peripheral neuropathy which causes gait issues, lack of good balance, pain, and sensitivity. I’m a damn mess, it’s true. I’m also fat, which is not a disability but does tend to complicate the things that are, as well as complicating how I am perceived.*

This week has been a little different. I’ve been driving to a local park and ride since I have my car while my daughter house- and pet- sits for various family. The drivers are not accustomed to me, and that is fine. Tuesday and Wednesday, the same driver came and both times I asked him to lower the bus so I could actually get my leg in. (the low floor buses are very high, paradoxically, for stepping into. Most other types, I don’t need to have the bus lowered, but the low floor, every time unless I’m on a curb.) Both times, this dude started lowering the bus, as soon as my foot hit the step, he started raising it again, not very safe, but hey, I’m in and ok. Why leave it down for the rest of the passengers, right? Thursday, he again pulled right up and opened the door. I was a little exasperated. I said “ You’re going to make me ask every time, aren’t you?” He very defensively said “WHAT???” I said “Could you please lower the step.” He yelled, “Hey lady, give me a break, it’s early in the morning, I didn’t even see who was getting on the bus.” I shook my head and sat down. This guy is a jerk. He drives like a jerk. He doesn’t look to see who is getting on the bus? Sure hope there’s not an axe murderer there at the stop one day. It’s common sense to look at who is boarding, as a former driver I know you ALWAYS look because you want to know what’s coming. You want to know how many people are waiting and what kind of mood they’re in. So the “didn’t see who was getting on” thing is 100% bullshit. Dude was being defensive because I called him on being an asshole.

Now, not all drivers are like this. I'd say most of them are at least decent and some of them are awesome. Just like any other walk of life. But the ones who are like this? They are the ones that make our lives harder and even bordering on hazardous. They're responsible for our safety, and they are abrogating that responsibility.

I’m not the only PWD (person with a disability) who rides that bus and he is equally assholey to all of us. For instance, there’s a woman who gets on later than me who has serious trouble walking due to a hip replacement and he knows this because she rides every day. He will not wait for her to sit down. If she asked, he probably would, but you know what? It gets old. Part of it is this.
http://www.shakesville.com/2012/04/disability-101-remembering.html

http://www.shakesville.com/2012/04/disability-101-remembering-part-two.html
Part of it is just getting sick and tired, over and over, asking people to accommodate you. Reminding the world and yourself that you are deviating from the norm. It gets old.

It’s not asking a lot for a bus driver to see someone old, someone with a cane, someone who has demonstrated problems ambulating because they ride your bus every day, and be a little bit considerate to them. To make it easier for them to step up. To make sure they have a seat. To make sure they are seated before you gun the gas pedal. Like Melissa says-

“It is important to recognize that "forgetting" disability is a common unconsciously or consciously deployed strategy of people and places that are unable or unwilling to compassionately interact with people with disabilities and meaningfully respond to our needs.”

Port Authority of Allegheny County trains their staff in the Americans with Disabilities act. Perhaps the training is minimal. Perhaps some drivers just don’t give a shit. Perhaps the training needs a component of awareness, like trying to board a bus when your knee doesn’t bend, or trying to stand while you are having balance issues or vertigo, or trying to walk on a moving bus while your hip feels like you have a metal spike jamming into it, or having your shoe lined with razor sharp carpet tacks while you try to step up into a bus. Back in the day, they used to make them navigate a bus trip blindfolded, but they probably don’t have the budget for that these days. I’m not asking for them to do that, just to be more aware, more considerate, put themselves in my Birkenstocks for a week and see what it’s like to have to ask over and over again. “Could you please put the step down?”

*I’ve been called a fatass under a driver’s breath. I am indeed a fatass, I admit that and even embrace it most times. But it’s not my fat ass that keeps me from getting my leg onto that step, it’s the nerve damage, the titanium, the scar tissue, the swelling that does that.

Travels and Travails

Last weekend, Anna and her friend and I took a trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. I had a good time, despite some serious social anxiety/insecurity stuff that is still kind of bothering me. I took a lot of photos, I’ll link to the set at the end of this, but here are a few favorites.




Newborn lambs, literally born four hours before this photo was taken.


The crowd on Sunday.



Random adorable kid with alpaca.



Random adorable sheep in a hat.

I got some yarn…


And some fiber…


And two new spindles.




We stayed there all weekend, arrived Friday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon. Much more sensible than the mad dash to New York and back that Anna and I made in October.

In fiber news, I’m spinning a sock kit-this is one of Tsock Tsarina’s lovely kits and I figured if I’m going to be adventureous enough to knit one of her kits, I might as well go all the way and spin it too.



Making a lot of headway on the Tuscan Sunflower. I am going to go one more petal row than the pattern offers even in the larger version because I want to use most of the yarn. Hope that doesn’t end up being a mistake.



I love how lace always looks like cat yack before you block it.

I’m also making headway on the Cassis Cardi that I started over a year ago. Yes, that is a sleeve!



I think this year’s Ravelympics will be me doing a lot of WIP wrestling because I have a few long-term UFOs that need to be dealt with.

In slightly more grim news, the results of the nerve test are in and I have a cracking good case of peripheral neuropathy. My doctor prescribed neurontin but it is not helping. I see her in two weeks, perhaps we can come up with a plan, but from everything I’ve heard, once it gets going you can stop the progress but you can’t really roll it back. I hope I am wrong about that because it has me seriously messed up in the head. I don’t want to live with this kind of pain for the rest of my life.

In happier news, Anna is currently house, bird, and dog sitting for my mom and she made Mother’s day dinner. Lena and a friend of hers and her boyfriend came over too and we had a very nice afternoon with delicious food. I got to wear my awesome new dress.





Bob and I are going to Dayton for our wedding anniversary. The annual party where we got married seven years ago. It seems like only yesterday, and it’s our first trip away in a long time.

A Tale of Two Sweaters

I stopped smoking in 2006 and learned to spin and knit shortly thereafter as a way of keeping myself occupied and by making fancy things that didn’t smell like smoke. As happens with these things, it turned into an obsession. I started off spinning with a spindle but quickly found I was too impatient and got an inexpensive wheel. I learned to knit shortly after taking up spinning, mostly because I wanted to learn how to knit socks.

My most recent socks.

I spun this gorgeous sparkly taupe yarn (that I have no photos of, bad pre-ravelry me) from a vendor who doesn’t even exist any more. I had spun a small amount of the pound of fiber on the spindle but quickly decided I needed something BIG out of it. Once I got the wheel figured out, I decided it would be a sweater.


Now I’m a large woman and large women and bulky yarns are not supposed to go together, but I didn’t care. In January of 2007, I had spun the roving into 800 yards of shiny, bulky, soft wonderfulness. I got ready to knit.


I’d never knitted a sweater before. I decided to use the Basic Pullover pattern from the Sally Melville’s “The Purl Stitch”. Had I known then what I know now, I would have not chosen it because holy cow, knitting in the round is so much easier. I dutifully knit front, back, and two flat sleeves, and stitched it together. The seams are a mess. I used the spindle-spun skein to crochet a pretty border on the bottom, sleeves, and neckline.




The messy seams of messy doom.


The sweater is ridiculously warm, and very rustic-looking. It fits perfectly. I like it, even though I don’t wear it very often because it’s just too warm.


Five years later, I have made a few more things. I’ve made some sweaters. I’ve made some socks. I’ve made a shawl or two. I’ve spun some yarn, to the point that I’ve gotten a lot better at it. My friend Roz showed me the Warriston pattern, a smock of interesting construction and compelling details. Being wiser now, I ordered commercial yarn to make it.

Warriston was my first bottom-up raglan sweater. I learned all kinds of new techniques and tricks during it. It also had its share of frustrations as there are some minor fit and stylistic issues that happen frequently with larger sized knits. But it came out fine once I sewed the cowl down, and I can ignore the slightly gappy raglans.




Had to bump up the green in processing to get close to the actual color of it.

Both sweaters took me a little over a month to knit. Warriston had a long break due to hot weather-nobody wants a pound and a half of wool on their lap when it’s 80 degrees out. Warriston also used roughly twice the yarn, because that’s the difference in the length, the trim, the cowl neck, and the relatively finer yarn.



I actually really like both of them. They represent me as a knitter in all my imperfections. I grafted one armpit on Warriston backwards, and there are a few places where the pattern goes a little wobbly. The seams of the Basic Pullover are a mess, and the yarn itself is obviously an advanced beginner’s work. I wouldn’t trade either of them for anything, though.