Plugging back in

Oh hello.

I finished my big painting project before the end of my contract (barely) and then I decided to unplug for a while. I just needed a break.

And take one I did. From most everything. If it didn't have to do with my immediate project at work, my kids or the disaster known as my house...I pretty much didn't have contact with it. I've barely touched Facebook in the last few months.

But don't think that means I've been just lounging around eating bon-bons....though I will admit to a day or two where the MS had me bedridden. My MS has been the current that I have been struggling against the last few months. I feel like I've had to fight like hell for every inch of ground I've gained. Today was infusion day, and boy was I ready. But it seems I'm not the only one feeling this way. Whether it is the alignment of the planets or just this bloody heat, the rest of my infusion-mates had a rough month as well. I've said it before and I'll say it again. MS sucks!

This was the odd summer out in the last few years where I have actually had some steady work. And luckily for me it was on my own schedule. But you can read about that adventure at Footprints in the Sky.

When I wasn't working, or wrangling the Minions, my focus was on continuing the downsizing of the clutter. And to make a few things in the process. I've somewhat amended the Throw out Fifty Things idea to include a companion project: Create Fifty Things. When it all comes down to it, I am an artist and I love having a finished product at the end of the day. That was one thing that made my retail career so frustrating. Well, that and stupid people. I would work all day and have nothing to show for it. Even if what I do sucks, at least I can point to some scenery that looks different than it did in the morning and say "I did that today."

So what have I done the last two months?

I started by attacking my sewing corner that I had carved out for myself. I unearthed it and jumped in on a few projects.

 Little Miss has a few new dresses

and another waiting in the wings.

I made a bed rest for Little dude.

I'll have reviews of the all the patterns in a future post.

I pulled out my entire fabric stash. All of it. I kept finding fabric....some here...some there. Where was that cotton I had gotten for pajamas??? Oh here it is....with 4 other boxes of forgotten fabric. I washed much of the stash and was sorting it into Keep/Donate/Toss piles. I had started to assign fabric to patterns. And then....

the wall came down.




My husband. My...lovely...husband decided it was time to start the work on the hallway/livingroom renovation. And he ripped out walls...walls that when ripped out created a lot of dust. Dust that covered my recently unearthed fabric stash.

........

Yeah. I nearly killed him.

Instead I set about rewashing and ironing my entire stash. I packed them into ziplock bags before sorting them into Rubbermaid bins, knowing the renovation mess was not over yet. And that bit has stalled. I still have a laundry basket of fabric left to iron and put away...but it safely resides in our bedroom. Completely in the way, but away from the drywall and saw dust.

And in sorting the fabric stash and all of it's bins, I continued the can of worms that my yarn stash sorting had become. And in the time between when I first dumped all that on my living room floor and when I finished sorting, I made a lot of cuts. Some figurative and some quite literal. (Screw wasting any more time on this huge tangle. cut your losses, cut the crap yarn and save the one you will use) I felt like Homer Simpson as the football coach.

Of knitting I've done very little...if any. I'm stuck on a project. I started the Medusa shawl while on my trip to Texas. I love the pattern. I love the yarn; Ball and Skein Glissade, colorway Elderberry. I love the shawl but I'm in a debate with myself whether or not to start over on a smaller needle. I tend to knit losely, but I am right on gauge. It make be the silk content in the yarn throwing me off. I just don't know. And it is sitting off in the corner while I decide.

WIP Wednesday

And it is another Wednesday. The storms last week were rather harsh and brought some very oppressive heat with them. Heat + MS = bad things. The heat wiped out pretty hard. Saturday I ended up with heat rash of all things. I've not had that since my summer of living in West Virginia where our AC was killed by a rather intense year of cicadas. That was in 1999 (Brood V if you follow those things) and it was pretty insane. This is another story and shall be told another time...(which is the most repeated and annoying line in the novel The Neverending Story.)

Anywho Works In Progress

Dude and Little Dude's Shirts- I measured both of them and figured out what sizes to cut out. I never cut down my multi-size patterns. I just mark the size I need on the fabric. I was actually shamed by Little Dude into working on this. The fabric was sitting in a basket waiting to be ironed and cut, when he saw it and asked why I wasn't working on it. I replied that it was something that I needed some alone time to do. So he asked if he could go play in his room by himself. Point taken I cut out both shirts and LD's hat. Isn't that fabric fun.

Little Dude's sweater- I worked out the needle issue and got cast on and knitted away. I ended up turning the hem on Saturday, whilst the husband and I watched The Hobbit. I even managed to impress him with how cool that whole process is. It took the whole damn movie to do it, but I was busy watching dwarves, elves and hobbits. Now there is 11 inches of stockinette stitch to do. These are the moments when I wish I could knit in my sleep.

Painted the columns- This is a project that I will elaborate on in my painting blog shortly but I needed to show here. I have a pet peeve about bad painted marble, and I was lacking in projects in my final few weeks of work. So this:    

 Became this:

Garden- Despite having a lovely and large yard, I have not been able to create my much longed for vegetable garden. I just don't have the sun. Our neighborhood is named Timber Village for a reason. With all the lovely trees that shade our house and keep it cool in the summer, (and keep us knee deep in leaves every fall) I have not one spot in my yard that gets full sun. Not a single one. Community Garden to the rescue. For a mere $30 I was able to secure a spot in the community garden this year. For that price I get a 20' x 32' area to cultivate from the time they till it until early November. Unfortunately between surprising late cold weather and the fact that our lives were very hectic this spring, we got a late start on it. Last month we went and checked it out, put up fencing, and started some weeding. We picked up some plants this weekend but I didn't make it to the actual garden until yesterday....where I found the weeds to be thick and about 8" tall. It being my first day out of work I went to it. I managed to weed half the plot by hand. The husband came over on his lunch break, shoveled the paths and planting areas, and we got what we had into the ground. I went back again today to keep weeding. I have been diligent, knowing my issues with the sun. I had a snack and plenty of water. I wore a hat and applied sunscreen before I left the house to drop off the kids. (Daycare is right around the corner from the gardens). And this is what I ended up with today...      

                       Yep. I've got a trampstamp sunburn. And it burns like hellfire. The really annoying thing is that I applied sunscreen to that area. We are expecting rain on Friday and Saturday, so I'll be back there again tomorrow hopefully getting the majority of our remaining planting done. And maybe this time I'll remember the camera.


My Double Heelix socks are sitting in corner at the moment whilst I figure what bind-off I want to do. I made a few attempts at the interlocking bind off suggested but wasn't having much luck. This woman has great ideas but I don't know if it's my brain or what....her descriptions and illustrations don't help me at all. I can elaborate more on that when I finish my project and review the pattern. I found some YouTube videos but they either illustrate doing it in stockinette or in 1x1 rib. The sock is in 2x2. And I'm sure I'd get it if I could just see someone do it in 2x2. I'd do Jeny's Surprising Stretchy Bind Off, but frankly I don't like the ruffly look it creates. Especially on socks whose colors are inspired by the Incredible Hulk. I'm considering the Tubular Bind Off; I just need to spend a little more time with YouTube. Alone. Just me, the socks and the laptop.

That's about it...the other few projects haven't been touched since last week. But I did have to show this bit of fabulousness. Whilst weeding today I received a rather cryptic text from my best friend.

Name the source of this line: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Geek that I am, I immediately recognize and and reply that it is from Harry Potter and makes the Marauder's Map work. I think nothing more of it until I get to our knit knite and she hands me this:

And it matches hers perfectly.



 There is a reason we are best friends.

Well, that is all for now, and I am off. And yes, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Cheers.