The Battle of the Sweater Pattern (And a Blankie): Yarn-Along #6

Yesterday's pity party is over.  I'm feeling pretty okay physically today, so we're focusing on that.  Even though I'm still pretty frustrated overall, I've decided only one day's "Woe is Me" is allowed as I believe in getting those negative emotions out before they sour much more than your mood, but I also want to limit such nonsense.  Done, handled, so time to move on!  We've got too much knitting and crocheting to do before December 25th to be moping about unanswered questions!

Today's post will have two separate projects in it as I'm alternating between them.  One is knit, and one is crochet.  ...there's also a few books...I've been listing to a lot of audiobooks the past few weeks...and reading a ton of manga...

In my defense, I live about an hour and a half south-east of Buffalo.  Yes, the Buffalo that got hammered this week with over FIVE FEET of snow in less than 48 hours.  We got maybe an inch where I live (and even less where I work), but some of my friends closer to Buffalo (as well as my company's northern offices) are totally snowed in.  Regardless, people in my area buckle down and prep whenever Buffalo gets hammered with lake-effect snow as my town is just barely outside Lake Erie's snow belt.  My area can often get hit with whatever wasn't satisfied with burying Buffalo, and a few grocery stores in my area are running out of items as their shipments are tied up (...buried...) in Buffalo.

THE CRAFTS: I am making some serious headway on AB's Moroccan Tile Afghan.  I'm more than halfway done at this point and still loving the pattern.  The colorway is slowly, slowly growing on me.  I'd liken it to a drier wine: it starts out punching you in the face, but you slowly warm up the flavors and the richness of its depths.

Or maybe it's brightness has just blinded me...I really can't tell anymore.

Either way, it's super warm and super soft, so it fits all the requirements my sister-in-law and I had for this project.  Trying to get it done in the next week or two so I can blast out a similar one for AB's baby sister, E.

After my annual crafting/Christmas shopping trip with my mom November 7-9, I have started a very ambitious project for myself: a hand-knit cardigan.  I'm a huge fan of wearing sweaters in colder weather, and I adore cardigans.  The problem I find, though, is that I'm pretty limited at times to what kinds of cardigans I can buy and wear.  I'm sensitive to wool (if I wear it, I itch terribly and sometimes get small patches of hives wherever it touches my skin), so I avoid that at all costs.  I also sweat myself about through if I wear acrylics that are too densely woven.  That leaves cotton at my disposal for my wardrobe in regards to hand-making cardigans.

Because I'm limited to synthetics or cottons, steeking a sweater could be a huge hassle.  Steeking, for those unfamiliar to the term, means you knit a garment in the round, cut your knitting in a predetermined place, then secure your cut edges before knitting off of them.  With wool yarns, the fibers of the yarn itself can often secure a steek beneath a crocheted edging or the picked up knitting.  Cotton and synthetics are not that skilled, however.  Steeks done in garments of such materials have to be machine-secured under at least one row--maybe two--of machine-sewn edges.

Now, I don't know about other knitters, but I am NOT brave enough to try that on a knitted garment I plan to wear to work.  I had resigned myself to not knitting a cardigan anytime soon, until I found Knitty's Shapely Boyfriend pattern on Ravelry.  Top-down construction (meaning no need to sew in sleeves) plus a back-and-forth construction (meaning no steeks to cut), all in a free pattern meant Cherish could NOT resist running for her KnitPicks interchangable cable needles.

The yarn is a cotton yarn I got at Hobby Lobby on sale during my trip.  (I'm telling you, it was destined for me to make this sweater!)  It's greyish-white with flecks of lime and plum throughout it.  I absolutely adore how it's working up in the garment.  I get some of my beloved variegated yarn action in a subtle, easy-to-wear effect.  To tie it all together, I'm doing all ribbing on this pattern in plum yarn of the same brand and weight.  I'm waiting to choose my buttons when the project is done, partially to ensure they'll fit just right and partially as I want to perfectly match them in style to the sweater's finished looks.

For anyone following this sweater on Ravelry, you know it's been...an adventure.  I started it on 6s as I usually have to drop all projects I make down two sizes.  Whelp, I forgot that is when I crochet projects, not knit them.  My knitting gauge in this yarn, to my shock, was pretty darn spot-on to the recommended needles.  I'm off by a row or two in stockinette, but that should be easily compensated for in the pattern.  I err on the side of being a bit short-trunked when I try on clothes, so I figure I can cut down on or add rows of straight stockinette when the pattern calls for such sections to customize the fit to my body.

...I also had to cast on 19 separate times...at least...I quit counting my redos after 19 times of it happening...  After that particular disaster (and having to very, very carefully count my rows to be sure I increased on time, I got smart.  I took a trick I had read in various knitting help blogs about creating safe anchor points.  I split some 4-ply yarn into two pieces of 2-ply and wove that through the last row of stitches before a major pattern change.  That way, I know exactly where I tore back to without counting as those stitches won't unravel until the pink yarn is removed.  When my sweater is done, I simply pull out all the pink parts.  Cheapest insurance I've ever bought!

THE BOOK: As I alluded to in the beginning of this post, Book Country in CherLand has been a bit crazy.  I was on vacation for a few days two weeks ago, so I had a ton of time to read to my little heart's content.  Observe:

• I finished The Help yesterday.  I cannot even explain how much I enjoyed that book--it's definitely one of my all-time favorites!  

• I'm also set to finish Insurgent tonight, the second in the Divergent trilogy.  That book I like less than the first but am still enjoying it.  I'll start its sequel, Allegiant, right afterwards...hoping that book is better.

• I hope to start listening to Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult tonight.  She's one of my all-time favorite authors, so this, I hope, should be a good time.  I really enjoyed its prequel novella, so hopefully it lives up to my expectations.  **NOTE** I'm actually listening to The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, another favorite author, instead.  I misread my emails: I'm on a hold list for Leaving Time but got The Year of the Flood.

• OH!  I've also read most of the manga Fruits Basket (has 20-something volumes to it) over the past few weeks/months.  It's a favorite of mine that I've never read completely.  Luckily for me, the library where I tutor has a complete collection!  I'm about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through all of the volumes, which makes me quite happy!

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Nevermind

Gallbladder was 100% normal.  Pain isn't "typical" of endometriosis.

So, once again, I'm sent off with no answers or any hope of answers.  I should know better than to expect anything more than that.

Hoping for Spoons

As mentioned in my previous post, I have unexplained pain issues that flare from time-to-time.  I've been doing way better in recent months, but my pains still flare up more than my husband and I would like.  My gynecologist recommended I bring up my findings from a diagnostic laparoscopy done in August 2013 to any doctors I see, partially as she can't figure out if I have endometriosis or something else.  As my moving last year meant I (finally) changed my primary care physician (PCP), I mentioned them to the new PCP, Dr. T., on Monday.

I don't want to go into details just yet, but I'm being sent for a very routine test this Saturday to determine a course of treatment.  Dr. T. thinks my previous surgery's results have a glaring clue my previous PCP should have spotted.  If  Dr. T, is right, 90% of my symptoms can be explained by one medical condition--one that a single laparoscopic surgery would cure.  My husband and I are kind of hoping I do, indeed, have this condition.  Endometriosis is a lifetime struggle; this other condition is a surgery-and-mostly-cured kind of thing.  We like the latter's prognosis a lot more.

If I do end up needing surgery, I plan to schedule it as close to the Christmas break at my job as possible.  That'd put the least amount of strain on my coworkers and also give me 3 solid weeks to recover.  I'd be good as new by the time work started up, though I'd be pretty floppy over Christmas itself.  Considering I had full blown shingles two Christmases ago, I'm sure I can handle that.  My husband is 100% supportive of whatever the results show, as is my family and his.  If I end up needing the surgery, I'm in good company--many family members in his family and mine have had it done.

So, as strange as this sounds, pray the test on Saturday shows I need surgery.  I'll explain more when I have the results.

Spoons...I Have a Distinct Lack of Them...

A few weeks ago, I had one of those days, seemingly from the moment I got up.  When I got up, I was doing pretty okay.  That's pretty good for me, to be honest: there are some days when I'm lucky to be up and moving.  Y'see, doctors think (but "cannot diagnose at this time") that I have endometriosis.  In my case, I get wicked pelvic and abdominal pain that nothing--not even maximum doses of ibuprofen or twice-a-day doses of Aleve--touches.  I could literally feel the pain before I fully woke up, and I would still feel it as I descended into sleep at night.  This went on for well over a year before even one doctor took me seriously.

As of about a year ago, I'm on a newish-to-me medication called norethindrone that, for the most part, is controlling most of my symptoms; I also found that limiting my caffeine helps keep some of the flare-ups at bay.  However, I still get random, horrible flare-ups of my symptoms from time to time, and often I can't find a trigger that led to said issue.

A few weeks ago, it was one of those days.

I woke up with my entire pelvic cavity spasming.  Think of muscle (or, if you're a woman like me, period) cramps, but make them take over your entire lower pelvis and make them borderline unbearable.  I also feel like I've got golf balls inside of my pelvis, one on each side but away from my actual hip joints.  Once I was fully awake, I quickly realized I had dull aches under my ribs on the right side and my entire abdomen was cramping.  My lower back is also cramped up...okay, no, my entire back.  These pains kicked in early the day before, and they'd been coming and going.  Advil and Aleve are my usual stand-bys for this mess: I take Advil if they're on the milder side and Aleve for longer lasting and/or tougher flare-ups.  That day was one where I counted down the minutes until I could take another 12-hour dose of Aleve, which was just barely taking the edge off my pain.

On days like those, I refer back to what a past student taught me once.  It's called The Spoon Theory, and it is mean to explain life with chronic pain and/or illness to those who don't have such challenges.  Basically, everyone wakes up every day with a set amount of spoons.  Those spoons have to last you the entire day as you cannot obtain anymore for the day, though you can bank spare ones from the previous day.  This is normally a very easy thing to do as many of our daily tasks take no effort (and, therefore, no spoons).  Those with chronic pain or illness, however, have to use their spoons for even the most basic of tasks (like getting dressed, using the bathroom, or [in my case on exceptionally bad days] even the mere attempt of getting into their car to prepare to drive to work).  As a result, their spoons run out faster, and their choices for how their day will go are limited; these people also have to bank spoons at the end of each day as running out may prove to make the next few days impossible for them as they never know how many spoons will be consumed by their conditions.

In my case, I find myself in a strange game of "Can I make it through work or not?" when I have particularly bad flare-ups.  Sitting up in bed--not even getting out of my bed--will take a spoon on those days as that involves bending from the waist.  The drive to work could take three alone (sitting in car and putting the seatbelt across my lap, the drive itself, and getting out of the car), nevertheless the drive home that afternoon.  I also cannot even begin to estimate how many spoons my teaching job could take as I never know how many times I have to move from sitting to standing and back in a day or if I'll have the energy to avoid sitting by standing all day long.  It is a very, very rare day when I can't make it through work, but often I come home too exhausted to do anything but face-plant into the couch.  I normally overuse spoons on my first day of a flare-up making some massive meal my husband and I can reheat for a few days--just to be sure we're both still eating okay.

Despite the pain and the effort ignoring it can take, I'm stubborn enough to go on without people knowing what's happening inside of me.  Often, the only clues people will be able to spot may be a shorter-than-normal temper or a determination to not have to get up out of my chair more than usual.  I carry around a rice bag--essentially, a cloth bag full of rice I heat to work like a heating pad--everywhere I go on terrible days; often, it's my best source of pain relief.  I never bring up why it's with me (even on 90+ degree Fahrenheit days), simply electing to use it when I need it so I can make it through my day.  My students, however, have learned that rice bag, if it doesn't leave my lap, means I'm having a bad day.

Days like those remind me of what I do and why I'm passionate about adult education.  Some of my students are what society considers the worst of the worst: it views them as drains on our resources and useless, selfish people.  However, if I show up at work with my rice bag or if they catch me quickly taking medication between classes, a few of my students step up to the plate.  They go out of their way to not make me get out of my seat in class, bringing questions to me or doubling their efforts to help each other.  They never come right out and tell each other that I'm in pain: instead, they find little, meaningful ways to help me out without making me feel like a sick, weak problem.  When I came back from a diagnostic surgery last summer, students literally wouldn't even let me carry a binder for weeks.  One of them always went and got the binder I needed off the shelf and had it on my table, ready for class.  Another would meet me at my office door to carry the books I needed to our classroom.   A third would walk the sign-in sheet around or bring any papers students finished right to me.

All of these are little things they don't have to do, that no one asked them to do, yet they still took the initiative.  Yes, some of these students have done some pretty horrible things in their pasts.  Others may simply be in the trenches of generational poverty and, sadly, cannot see a life for themselves past the one that they already know and that society routinely (and openly) despises.  Irregardless, they are deserving of respect as fellow people, just as we would want to be treated with respect.

So remember that you can't tell at a glance just what a person is going through.  Teachers (and people) like me may seem like we have it all together but may be literally screaming inside.  People who look rough may suffer in ways they can never describe.  Lend respect and love to all you can, and own up when you have a rough day.

And give yourself some forgiveness for when you screw up.  We all do.

Yarn Along #5: Christmas Crafting Begins!

Well, many days late is better than never!  Our week was crazy busy, but not for any bad reasons!  (Woot, woot!)  I was able to spend some time with my one younger brother and his wife and dog on Tuesday, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with my little sister-in-love.  I was, however, able to get some reading done, as well as some crocheting!

I should also note that at my workplace, I have started a crafting class for my students on a "As-You-Want" basis.  Those who want to learn to knit or crochet can come to a set room over Friday's lunch with whatever supplies they have or just their curiosity.  If they have projects they want to share, they can.  If they need lessons, I and other students instruct.  Regardless, they are met with openness and joy for crafting.  Many of my students were asking for stress relievers, so I'm hoping this proves to be an enjoyable one for them.  If they hate crafting, they can opt out; they can also come and go as they need/want.

After blasting out the minion, I decided to switch to a simple blanket project, one I need done by Christmas for one of my sweet, little nieces.  All I'm going to say about the colors is this: they were directly requested by a 5-year-old girl.  Enough said.

THE CRAFT: This week's craft is a Moroccan Tile Afghan for my oldest niece, AB.  When I saw this pattern, it screamed AB.  I filed it away in my Ravely queue for her, sure she'd want one eventually.  I was right, and she had a few very specific requests, which I will quote directly as, honestly, it was too darn cute to paraphrase:

AB: Aunt Cherish! If E is getting her own blankie, I should get one too! That's fair, right?
Cherish: I didn't know you wanted a blankie, but if you want one, I'll totally make you one for Christmas. What colors do you want?
AB: It has to be pink and purple and blue and shiny and squishy and soft and mine, Cherish!  You can make that, right?
Cherish: *winks*  I'm pretty sure that doable, sweetie.

Using that delightful conversation and what I know of her tastes, I picked 6 colors that would fit her bill in Caron's Simply Soft yarn, which was deemed by my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law as "Absolutely, 100% AB."  Hence the insanely bright blanket you're seeing up there.  I've yet to add in much of the pale pink and any of the lavender/lilac shades that I picked, though the lilac should happen sometime tonight if I keep making good progress.  The pattern called for 30 rows of each color, but I elected to do two sets of 16.  If I have enough yarn and want to, I may extend it out to three sets of 16.  The picture above is of about 51-52 rows of the pattern out of ~193 total rows.  Since that picture was taken, I'm up to about 55-56 rows.

The pattern is very easy.  You work across color B (making v-stitches: DC CH DC) in the Vs of the color A's previous row.  Securing the active loop of B with a stitch marker (...or a paperclip...), you pick up the active loop of A (still on the right of the project) and work across, going between the Color A Vs and securing both the previous row's space between V stitches and the space between the Color B Vs in your next V-stitch cluster.  When both colors' active loops are secured on the left side, you flip the blanket and repeat.  There are some unique (and optional) stitches to start rows and change colors, but the pattern's original website has links to some great videos that make it very easy to understand and master these stitches.

THE BOOK: I finished Dreams of Joy this past week, the sequel to Shanghai Girls.  I enjoyed it more than the previous book in some ways, yet disliked it more in others.  Not really sure what I thought.  My dislike may have come from one protagonist, Joy, who I often wanted to just slap upside the head a few times over.  Girlfriend's naivety drove me BANANAS.  Seriously, who steals her mother's money, flees to China, then marries a guy she's known like 3 months, all to not understand at first why it all went so totally sour during the famine.  I just: gah!  My teachers in elementary school often told me I had "little tolerance for the perceived stupidity of others";  though I am way better at that nowadays, that little trait of mine came flying out during many of Joy's parts.  I just wanted to slap her and drag her stubborn butt onto the first boat back to LA.

I'm now working through Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman.  I'm enjoying the story, though I do have to agree with some critiques stating that the author paints herself with a whitewash-coated-brush through a fair deal of the memoir.  I dunno: I guess I just assume that anyone chronicling a story of their life will instinctively try to paint themselves in a believable-yet-positive light, so I don't notice it as strongly as others.  Still a good read, though!

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