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I Need A Hobby

I need a hobby. I mean, for some folks knitting is a hobby but not for me. So, I am thinking I need something to do with my spare time. I do have spare time worked into my schedule. I have some free hours and that’s usually spent playing June’s Journey on my iPad. I’m thinking that’s good for some of the time but there should be something for other times.

Reading. I used to love to read. That’s something that can come back and I’ve chosen what it is I want to read. A long time back, I purchased a lifetime subscription to Simplify Magazine. I haven’t looked at it for a minute and I recently logged in to start back. I also purchased a digital pack of Radiant Magazine – a digital magazine written with Nigerian women in mind. 

In this renaissance of my life, I want to take care of myself in all areas. The physical is coming along and I want the spiritual and mental to come right along with it. I am going to need all that in order to make the physical work. There is a great big mental ‘game’ that comes with the procedure. For the team that supervises my care, there is not enough of it. The psych eval was realtively easy and it doesn’t really prepare you for the mind explosion that happens.

What is helpful for me is a great support system. I am willing to do the work. The trick will be to sustain it. I have to begin making self care a part of the every day. I have showering as part of my schedule and for those times, it’s more than just running under water; it’s a time for taking time to make all of me better.

That also makes for better knitting. It makes everything better. Looking forward to enjoying this hobby.

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Starting Over Again

Starting over again can be rough. Especially if you have to select a new yarn to remake your most popular hat. I’ve made this hat a staggering number of times. The most being made with the yarn in the first photo.

The yarn that is discontinued. Well, these are all discontinued. But the first hat sold hundreds of times. It was a replacement for the yarn that was discontinued and also sold a lot. Can the third time be a charm? Or will it be going to well too many times? 

It took some time to come up with the yarn I was going to replace it with – so I came up with two, maybe three. This is the winner. I think this is a relatively new color so it shouldn’t be going anywhere soon. But I boat a big bunch just in case. And just in case it become popular. This is the second winner. This comes kind of close color wise. They are both beautiful and bring their own vibe. It will be interesting to see if either of them take off and sell like the first two did.

Tomorrow is Easter. Some say it is the most important day of the Christian liturgical calendar. I don’t have an argument one way or the other. But I know God is good all year round. We are also in the seasons of Passover and Ramadan. Whatever faith brings you closer to God or if you feel that closeness without organied religion, this is the season of renewal. Whatever blessing you need for the fulfillment of that second chance, I pray you get it.

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Knit or Miss

 

Do you see all this yarn? This is a knit or miss kind of thing. All of these skeins will never be used to make Mr. Honey anything. 

Mr. Honey announced at the beginning of my knitting/crochet career that I might as well not think to make him anything because he will not wear it.

Now, for the sake of disclosure, this yarn was purchased in 2019 from JoAnn and I don’t think any of it has been made into anything. It is sitting in the domesticated yarn area of the craft room. That area is located behind the doors away from the free range yarn. We can’t have the breeds intermingly. That would be disastrous. So, it’s not like this was purchased with the idea that I would whip up something for my man.

What he meant was, I shouldn’t make him a sweater because he doesn’t wear them. This is somewhat true. My mom got him a sweater that looked really nice on him and he wore it once in a while when we used to do winter family get togethers but those were rare. So he has a dresser drawer filled with sweaters he doesn’t wear.

Yet, I had the thought I could make him that sweater that he wore once a year and that would be enough. Both our birthdays are in the cooler months so he could rock it on his birthday – or on mine. That would fulfill the requirement of having something made with love.

Nope.

However, he will, upon occasion, raid my scarves. Though he would not wear a sweater I make, he has no problem building up a tidy scarf wardrobe. I will say, he only has a couple. He takes extremely good care of his things so he doesn’t need an annual scarf. I fear those would meet the same fate and the sweaters and see the inside of the drawer more than the inside of the coat collar.

I’m working on a scarf now that I don’t think he’s be interested in. It’s not very manly. But it is interesting and I like it. It’s called the Bamboo Stockinette Scarf and the item and pattern are coming. It’s not his thing – but someone out there will love it.

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Behind the Curtain

Thought I would give you a little peek behind the curtain. See that? That’s what I have going on at the moment. Almost. There are three projects missing. This is what’s going on right now in Knitsville. Finally finished the front (or back) of the poncho. Almost done with the 2nd of 3 golf club covers. There are also two hats in there. And a bag of yarn I’m not using.

So what’s missing? An afghan. A new scarf I’m designing and a bandana from Purl Soho.

There is busyness in the business. These are good times. 

In the other news, I have taken some more selfies and I guess they will be coming in other posts. As of today, I am -58lbs. 56 days and 58 lbs. Not bad at all. I can take averaging more than a lb a day. I can take 1/2 pound a day so I’m not blocking the blessings by wishing for something different. But enough of that. Back to knitting.

I am having the urge to buy yarn. When I don’t need it. When the yarn I want to buy is sitting in the closet and I think there’s some in free range. I am on the lookout for some chunky yarn and since I can’t get the anniversary cakes anymore, I’m thinking Brett Marble Chunky. I think I bought some the last year or so. The fact I can’t remember should tell me something. But what it seems to say is I should get some because I only have one skein of the colors I bought that’s sitting in the closet with the domesticated yarn. Then I look on the Premier yarn site and they have chunky galore and I think I will be buy from there. I probably will buy from there. They have solids, tweeds and other chunky goodness.

Heaven help me.

 

 

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The Forest For the Trees

Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. But sometimes, looking at a tree doesn’t let you appreciate the majesty of the entire forest. I think I can explain what I mean. See that? That is a dresser in my craft room. That dresser looks pretty neat. And it is. But it wasn’t always. A few scant hours ago, it was cluttered and dusty. I decided to clean it and dust it as part of Lent.

We usually give up something for Lent like chocolate or coffee. But then, the day after Easter, we have chocolate and coffee. I don’t have coffee; don’t drink it. Haven’t had chocolate in a minute, either. You get the point. We pause something; we don’t actually give it up.

That makes Lent kind of a game. I wonder if God has that kind of humor. We certainly aren’t fooling him. In the past, I didn’t give anything up for Lent. Even if it was a game, it was one I didn’t play. But this year, I want to be more mindful. So I gave up being cluttered and untidy. Not for me. But for Mr. Honey who likes neatness. I am working on a lot of things about myself for myself. This thing I am working on me for him. I didn’t tell him because that would seem braggadocious. I’m just doing it. Starting with the dresser.

In knitting news, look what I’m working on. This is Robin’s poncho and it’s being worked with that big cake of yarn known as the Caron Anniversary Cake. Now, as far as I know, these are all out of stock and they don’t have any new ones coming down the pike. But I have a couple of these to make this poncho because the client wants it big and squishy. There’s 1000+ yards in these balls and I want to use all of it to make it.

I am enjoying it. I will write a review on it just in case it comes back. (hope it comes back with some great colors.) I have a ball – maybe two – of it somewhere in the free range stash. 

This has spoiled me for chunky knits. I will turn to James C Brett and hope the Marble Chunky that I’ve been keeping for pets will suffice.

 

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Learn Something New

I decided to learn something new today. It’s already bigger than what’s in the photo. This is the 3D Petal Granny Square. (I’ve linked to the video here.)

I purchased this yarn just because I liked the color. I don’t usually do RHSS. It’s rough. Though I’ve heard it softens a lot once it’s washed. But the colors spoke to me and I had a coupon so it came home. Then I was back at the store and I saw just three lonely skeins of it on the shelf and decided the family should stay together. So, I had 1928 yards of a yarn I had no idea what to do with. That blows the year of yarning dangerously all to heck.

There was the thought it would make a great beanie – and it would. But then the 3D square popped up on the feed from my phone and I thought: ‘Pretty square. Won’t have to change colors. Let the yarn do the work.’ Cue the video. Video was easy. Square looked fun. Could sell the afghan. Everybody wins. And here we are.

I also have a bandana on the needles. Haven’t taken a photo yet. I am frogging the Hooded Turtleneck Cowl I was making. I didn’t like it in the end. The problem could be I followed the pattern and you know that never ends well for me. This is part of what happens when I learn something new. One of the new things is I will change the pattern.

There are no plans to redo it right now. But should the urge hit me, I will definitely rework to my taste. The Bandana Cowl is a Purl Soho free pattern and will look pretty in Autumn I Love This Yarn stripes.

I also started Robin’s poncho over. There isn’t a needle long enough to hold all the stitches. It’s being made in two pieces and will be joined at the seams and then the neck picked up.

I’m off to take a selfie and to get dinner in the oven. Today is Thursday and that’s leftover night. I have a Bible Study at 7 so dinner is at 6 or so. Mr. Honey is having spaghetti and I am having leftovers from our date night last night from Famous Dave’s.

Good night all around.

 

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Free Range Yarn

This is the free range yarn. On my daily schedule, I have some sessions set aside to tidy the workspace. It can be a most productive 12 mnutes 34 seconds. The last time around, the yarn was all over the sofa – no one could sit down – and more scattered than it is here. So, I gathered it all up.

There is plenty in there to show you. The yarns to replace the fiber of my best seller hat. There are two of them. There are new yarns for prayer shawls and for some new items I have in mind for the new shop. New shop, you say? YES! Whole bunch of new going round here.

I have something on the hook that is really going to be cute and you will see it in due time. It is not my design and I haven’t even modified it yet. I’m doing it in a yarn and color I’ve used a lot but it will still look great.

The free range yarn is going to stay there for a bit because there is no place else to put it. I am hoping I won’t need to get to the domesticated yarn in the closet because that would be a pain to get to. I’m working on one final order and I have all the yarn on the back of the sofa. So, we should be good. 

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Three Weeks Ago Today

Three weeks ago today I was in surgery. Actually, by this time, I was back in the recovery room. I went in one way and came out another. As I awoke from the anesthesia, I realized 80% of my stomach was left in the operating room and my life was changed.

The change started 8 weeks ago and has been on the books for a year before that. 8 weeks ago, I had to start a liquid diet that was to last 2 weeks. I somehow contracted Covid 2 days before my surgery was slated and it was delayed two weeks. During some of those last days, I didn’t stick with a strict liquid diet – my two big splurges were gyros salads – but I was very good. I lost 23 pounds.

This road had been traveled before. But this time I knew I would go through with it. Still, as I was being prepped for surgery and as my doctor was explaining to m husband what was going to happen, there was a voice inside my head wondering what the hell was I doing. All because I didn’t want to disappoint my PCP. I had trapped myself and there was no turning back from it now. At the same time, there was another voice who thought this was m best chance of building this new life that had already had a spiritual reset. A physical and mental reset was earned and due. Though I had started down this path well before the spiritual reawakening, the spiritual was happening before I knew it.

This is scary, exciting and new.

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Anticpation is Making Me Wait

  Anticipation is making me wait. (Hey, Carly Simon!) I ordered these over the weekend.  Because I needed new needles. OK, I wanted new needles. I have enough needles to do whatever I want to do and probably what I need to do. There was a surge where I needed to get some new stuff. Not only did I get the needles but also some tweed yarn that I needed because I had some orders and I will need more of the yarn. 

This is the Karbonz Interchangeable Set. It comes with the needles sizes I use the most. So, why not?

I also ordered some cocoa butter and skin care products and something else but I don’t remember what it may be. I could look it up in PayPal. But nah. The yarn is coming but the order for the needles are still being processed. 

What is behind this buying surge? I made a bold move to begin this year and it is something I will share but I have to prep for it and that prep involves selfies. Taking selfies has made me a little self conscious and so I have to make the effort of getting my pretty back.

There are already some made and I will probably post them when I am ready to start posting because there will be a transistion from one state to another and it all should be documented. Stay tuned.

 

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On Hooks and Needles: The Sparkle Stocking Cap

On hooks and needles: a new stocking cap. Just when I thought there was not going to be a ‘break out’ item selling over the holiday, one of the stocking caps pulled away from the pack. Learning the lesson of listening to what your customers are saying while your customers are not saying anything, I knew I had to expand the stocking cap field.

But I knew I didn’t want just any stocking cap. I decided to do a sparkly one. This is Big Twist Twinkle in the color Mulberry. You can just make out the twinkly bits and it looks much better than the photo shows. The completed photo will be much better.

This will be the first product in my new GoImagine shop. Yes, I decided to give another platform a try and GoImagine says it is the ‘Marketplace that cares.’ You have to be US based and all of their profits go to social causes. Sounded good to me. I don’t remember what it’s like getting a shop off the ground but I am about to find out. 

The hat is a little further along that what’s in that photo and it will be ready in another session or two but it’s not going in the shop until some of its siblings can join. I have many ideas on the spreadsheet and they will come to fruition when the time is right. I am almost done with orders. There are six to go and three of them are going to the same place. Designing and creating can kick into high gear once they’re done. The idea is to make five items (including patterns) and then upload one item a day. Pinterest and Facebook are the social media latforms of choice because the data says that’s where my customers live.

I think the stocking cap will be fun. Hopefull, you’ll able to see it in the next post – or the one after that.