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I got very little sleep Friday night and have been struggling all week to recover. Not enough sleep is yet another one of those things that exacerbates my MD. But the good news is that the bridge was down after Friday and the rest of the weekend has been clean up. It’s been a rough week with cutting back my meds and then the whole bridge business messing with my sleep. Hopefully this week my body will start to get adjusted and I’ll get back on track.

Anyway, on with the knitting! Remember how I said I was almost done with my Embossed Leaves Socks and they were the prettiest things I’d ever made? Well, I frogged them. Both of them completely. I started out with aluminum needles because I didn’t have the size I needed in bamboo (which I prefer) but then I got the bamboo needles midway through the first sock and switched to those but then my gauge changed so I went to needles a size bigger for the next sock but it still seemed too small so I went bigger again. By the time I was nearing completion I realized that, yet again, I was in denial about my gauge issues. One sock was too big, one sock was too small. At least at that point I knew what size needles I needed to use to get them just right (2.25mm for the record). And, knowing myself and that I wouldn’t be able to stand them not being perfect, I frogged them, rewound my yarn, and started over. I’m doing both at the same time since this seems to be the only way I’m capable of making two objects of the same size. Work on one for a while, get to a good stopping point, switch and work on the other for a while, repeat. And now I’m flying through these. This picture was two days ago, I’ve now turned the heels and finished the gussets on both socks so they’re in the home stretch:

They fit, they match, I’m happy. In between the frogging and the restarting, I finished up Stephen’s Birthday Socks:

The pattern is by Sockbug and is called Garter Bars. It’s a nice easy pattern and very gender neutral. The yarn is Tofutsies in colorway “Footsteps” - I love working with Tofutsies yarn and although I don’t care for these colors for myself, the striping was interesting to watch as I got further along. Most importantly, Stephen likes them and they fit, but he doesn’t get to have them till Friday!

Here is Clapotis with two stitches dropped although I’ve now dropped three. It’s such a fun pattern! I’ve decided this will be my birthday present to myself.

I’ve been taking a break from spinning for three or four days now. I had been spinning every day and just loving it but I was getting a lot of pain in my right thumb and shoulder and decided to take some time off rather than aggravate it. I think it’s due to the pinching and lifting the spindle into the air as I draft more fiber before I wind on the spun yarn. I really want a wheel but they’re not cheap so I’m taking a break and looking into a super light weight spindle. But, I do have some newly spun yarn from before this break so I’ll post that soon.

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Anyone who lives in the St. Louis area knows about the construction on highway 40 (aka I-64) that began earlier this year and will continue for the next four years. It’s a huge project and it needs to be done but man is it an inconvenience for people who live near or commute via the highway. My man and I are lucky, we both work close enough to home that we can get there without the highways but we do live very near the highway. In fact, if you walk one block down our street, it dead-ends at the highway.

So far the construction has been mostly a slight nuisance. A large intersection near our home has been one huge traffic jam for months now and you can’t get on the highway going westbound there anymore. Well, there is a bridge about three blocks from our house that goes over the highway. Until one week ago when they closed it, I drove over it nearly every day. Still not a huge problem, detour around a few more blocks and you can drive under the highway. But this is the weekend that the Boland Bridge is coming down, along with two others. Houses in our neighborhood have been popping up for sale like you wouldn’t believe and tonight the reality of it has hit. You see, they do the major construction in the middle of the night so as to have the smallest impact possible on traffic.

So why am I blogging at 2am? They’ve started taking down the bridge. It’s not deafening or even loud by any means, just irritating. Hopefully the work they do this weekend will be the most heavy duty as they take down the bridge. Hopefully the next six months in which they will be rebuilding it will not interrupt our sleep. But if it does, I have good ear plugs.

Now I’m wide awake though so might as well get some stuff out of the way…

1. Chapter 25 of Anne of Green Gables is now available for downloading. I know these have been sporadic these last few months but life has been chaotic. Now that it is settling a bit I hope to release podcasts once a week.
2. Thank you for all your good, and sometimes funny, suggestions for keeping our brick oven apartment cool in the midst of our heat wave. We successfully survived the worst of it with some big pieces of cardboard, black plastic trash bags, and a window air conditioner moved from the back office (which is not connected to the central air but also is almost never used right now) into the living room. That extra bit of AC plus blocking the light has made a huge difference. It hit 105 here this past week so let’s hope that from here on out we will be heading towards fall weather.
3. I am constantly moved, saddened, and encouraged by reading peoples’ responses to and comments on my post about my ongoing battle with Meniere’s Disease. I’m glad some people found what I had to say helpful and for those who are looking for more help or people to talk to, please read this post I wrote on the many resources and online communities that are available for you to investigate further.
4. For those of you who want to know about my health, it is okay. I’m not having vertigo or symptoms at the same severity as I was prior to the Gentamicin injections. However, my balance is damaged and I am very sensitive to visual and aural stimuli and easily go into sensory overload when in the presence of my triggers. I saw my doctor last week and he thinks that my vestibular system has had enough time to rest and it’s time to give it a jump start to get it working well again. I’m decreasing my meds, both to minimize side effects and build up my tolerance. I’m doing some simple exercises designed for people with bad balance. And I am walking a mile a day. Trying to, anyhow. I’ve been wanting to start getting regular exercise and I’ve been lazy about it but now with doctor’s orders to walk a mile a day I’m more motivated. It’s hard with the weather the way it has been and with our local rec center being $7 a visit until I can establish residency but I’m working on making the walk a part of my routine. The good doc says that walking will help improve my balance, energy, and mood. I wouldn’t mind losing some weight while I’m at it of course! So, slowly, slowly, very slowly, I’m fighting my way back.
5. I’m working 12 hours a week at the library doing cataloging and miscellaneous technical services. I set myself up with a laptop in our meeting room and it is quiet and calm and a good environment for me. Besides the not making much money part, working part time is ideal for me right now and I am grateful that my boss is willing and able to let me continue part time when he now has to find someone else to work my old hours.
6. There was more I was going to write but I can’t remember and I think I may be able to sleep through the jackhammering now if I go lay down.

Sorry for the inelegant post but, dudes, it’s late, I know you’ll understand. Knitting and spinning updates coming very soon.

Hmm, no pictures makes for a boring post. Here, look at the mutts being cute:

Oliver: Come out and play!
Rosie: I need my beauty sleep.

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We’re on the second story of a brick house duplex. It is a long and skinny type apartment. The living room is in the front of the house which faces west. The living room has lots of windows. When it is 100+ degrees outside and you have sun shining on those windows all afternoon (regardless of the fact that the blinds are closed), the effect is quite simple. It is like living in a brick oven.

Plus, being on the second story of a brick house, it is impossible to get our apartment to cool down once it gets hot. The last few days I’ve had the thermostat set to 70 degrees and the coolest the apartment has gotten is about 82 degrees. You can feel the heat increase when you walk from the rest of the house into the living room so I’m guessing that with our AC blasting, it is still 85 degrees in our living room. Hence, we live in a brick oven.

I don’t do well with heat. I overheat very easily. I tend not to sweat nearly enough so my body just stores up the heat until I get sick in one way or another. This aggravates my Meniere’s Disease and makes me miserable in general. The last few days I’ve been hiding out in the bedroom which is in the back of the house and thus far away from the afternoon sun and, as a bonus, there is a ceiling fan. St. Louis summers almost always get this bad. The humidity is what makes it unbearable. You walk outside and I swear it’s hard to breathe. But I’m not used to being this miserable even when I’m inside. Last year at this time, I was still living in my parents’ basement. Believe me, I’m very happy to have moved on and to be here with my man but I now see the advantage of living in a room that is 2/3 underground with 2 very small windows.

Okay, enough whining, I know it’s hot everywhere and most of you feel my pain. So, on to the knitting!

The Kauni is hibernating until such a temperature as I can bear to deal with 100% scratchy wool. The second Embossed Leaves sock is nearly finished. I finished the Camo Raglan Sweater a while ago but I don’t have pictures for you yet because of the whole 100+ degrees not going well with 100% wool thing. I’ve been knitting on socks for Stephen for his birthday. These are also my socks for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous group’s monthly challenge. (Get yourself on Ravelry’s waiting list if you haven’t yet!)

The pattern is called Garter Bars Sock and is by Sockbug. The yarn is Tofutsies in a brown/black/white colorway (737 - Footsteps). Here is a closer look:

It’s a nice easy pattern to memorize and Stephen likes them and they fit well so far so that’s good. Tofutsies is so nice to work with and I’m nearly to the heel flaps so those are going well.

Two days ago I decided to dump my rule of no more than three projects at a time and cast on a very special project I’ve been saving. You see, the Kauni is in hibernation, the Embossed Leaves Socks are nearly done, and I was craving something cool and smooth and shiny to work with. That’s right, there was silk in my stash and it was calling my name. As a graduation gift to myself I bought some La Luz silk yarn made by Fiesta. It is Amethyst, it is shiny, it is luxurious and even a bit decadent. I bought four skeins of it with a specific pattern in mind. I present to you the beginning of my Clapotis:

I’m farther than that now, on to the straight rows and I’ve dropped my first stitch and was highly amused as I unraveled it. I’m working it on 95 stitches instead of 107 because I decided I want it a big longer and skinnier than the pattern calls for. The silk is wonderful to work with and the color is just gorgeous.

That’s in natural light so it’s pretty true to the actual color, at least on my monitor. I’ve never worked with silk before and it is a real treat.

So, that’s the knitting update. I’m off now to figure out some way to block the windows because the heat shows no sign of breaking and I can’t stand this. I’ve had black trash bags recommended by a co-worker and Stephen found some big pieces of cardboard so we’ll see what I come up with. It won’t be pretty but hopefully it’ll be cooler.

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All kinds of exciting things in the last day! (And a bit of vertigo but it was the direct result of an exciting thing and thus worth it).

Exciting thing #1: I started working again. Just a few hours in the afternoon and only doing cataloging and web page stuff so I’m in a quiet, controlled environment. It was great to be back and feel useful and it’s wonderful that the folks I work with are being so patient and accomodating.

Exciting thing #2: My Kauni yarn arrived! It is lovely indeed and I can’t wait to get started but I’m going to finish my Camo Raglan Sweater first.  I’ve made a rule for myself of one sweater on the needles at a time.

Exciting thing #3: Harry Potter! Stephen and I saw a sneak preview showing last night. My cousin won tickets but was unable to go so we got to use them. (Note to self to make him a Gryffindor scarf as a thank you gift.)  We were sitting way too close and it was a huge screen so I had to constantly move my head back and forth to try to see the whole thing (this plus salty popcorn led to vertigo by the time we got home but as mentioned previously, it was worth it) but man oh man was it great. They did a good job fitting a huge book into two hours of film. Of course there were some things that I was disappointed to see left out but that’s always the case. Y’all are going to love it.

Exciting thing #4: I got my Ravelry invite this morning. I literally squealed. I’ve just been adding projects so far and I won’t go on and on about it because I know many folks are still waiting. If you are already on and want to friend me, I’m “AnnieC”.

Exciting thing #5: Finished Tofutsies!

Here is the finished pair:

A closer look:

These are a real mish-mash of patterns and elements. I did toe-up socks for the first time using the eastern cast on method that is in the most recent issue of Interweave Knits.  I did a heel flap on the bottom of the heel since that is where I tend to wear my socks out the quickest.  And then I was bored with stockinette stitch so for the leg I did the “Welt Fantastic” chevron pattern from “Sensational Knitted Socks” by Charlene Schurch.  It goes nicely with the stripey colorway and I think I wouldn’t have wanted it on the foot anyway since it is a bit bulky with the purl rows.  They’re just a smidge baggy so for my next pair I’ll go down a needle size.  I’ve already cast on a pink/purple colorway of the Tofutsies and have picked out a lovely pattern for it.  More on that later.  I also had quite a bit of yarn left over from the Blue Tofutsies so I’ll probably get a pair of ankle socks out of that.

Exciting thing #6: The chunky blanket is nearing completion so look for finished pictures of that soon!

I think that’s all for now.

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Chunky blanket with each color used three times and a little more than half of the yarn used up in total:

From here on out it is going to take a bit more planning so I don’t run out of yarn before I’ve finished a panel. I may have to start doing narrower panels, I’m not quite sure yet. But it is already a bit bigger than 3×4 feet so it’ll be a nice big thing when all is said and done.

So, did you notice this badge in my sidebar?

PledgeBank is this nifty website brought to my attention by Hugh via Kara. The idea is “Tell the world ‘I’ll do it, but only if you’ll help me do it.’” Pretty smart, huh? Takes advantage of power in numbers and supporting others as they strive toward goals. You can also sign up to be notified of specific pledges in your area. So, I signed Hugh’s pledge and now that it has been successful and I have thought up my own good pledge to make. This was pretty much a no-brainer:

You choose how much and how often and if five people agree to join me, then I’ll commit to donating $10 a month. Now that Hugh’s pledge has been met, I’ll be putting mine in its place in the sidebar.

Speaking of Meniere’s, I saw my doctor last week and he had some interesting things to say. He thinks (and I hope) that the symptoms I’m experiencing now are compensation and adjustment. He said that if he was my inner ear and he was already sick in the first place and then he kept getting insulted and operated upon and poisoned time after time for years, he’d be pretty pissed off. Wouldn’t you? I certainly would. So it needs some time to cool off, settle down, and heal itself. Makes sense. Let the healing begin! In the meantime I’m easing back into work tiny bits at a time and that is satisfying and a relief. I enjoy my work and goodness knows I’m broke.

It’s been too darned hot here in StL to knit on my chunky blanket so I’ve been working on my Blue Tofutsies and I’m having all kinds of fun trying out new things with them. I’ll post pictures and explain soon. By the way, how did I only just find out yesterday that an online yarn store dedicated specifically to sock yarn not only exists but is based right here in St. Louis?! It’s The Loopy Ewe and someday when I have spending money I’m going to pay them a visit. It could be dangerous for me to enter a den of so much sock yarn but I’m already rationalizing the idea but telling myself that it would be downright silly to pay for shipping. Just ridiculous, really.

Stephen and I watched Pan’s Labyrinth last night and I thought it was exquisite. Half fairy tale, half historical film, a stunning story, wonderful acting, great special effects, and a soundtrack that just makes your heart ache or soar that much more in all the right places. It has its violent moments and it is quite dark but, somehow, overall I found it incredibly uplifting. I may watch it again, or at least some of the special features before I return it to the library. Note to self to look for the soundtrack.

Speaking of good stuff to watch, we’ve been working our way through Northern Exposure and I’m loving it! Just the right blend of comedy and drama plus a great Native-American element and some magic realism type stuff. The characters are so well written and acted.

Well, this has been a real mish-mash of stuff but there it is.

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