A sigh of relief...

I walked all day without crutches. It was slow and the high school kids are calling me tiny Tim, but no crutches. I'd do a dance, but I'm not QUITE that stable on two feet yet.

In even better news I am DONE with the Bird In Hand Mittens. They are gorgeous. Yes, I skipped some of the braids. Yes, My mom (who they are for) doesn't dig the piquot edging and made me leave the rolled edge. Yes, only one is blocked. I'm calling them done anyway. And, I'm going to block the second one tonight and give the to my mom tomorrow because I have a conference that will put us in the same city.

I'm so happy. Now, on to the sweater I'm knitting that I want to finish before our new LYS opens!

Ahh Tuesday

First, I can walk like 10 steps without crutches. This makes me very happy. I love being able to get a glass of water all by myself.

Reading-- Twilight so good, but I have a million other things on my mind and I can't just sit and read it.

Watching-- My husband recently bought the Twin Peaks the series. He loved it when it was on and I've never seen it. We watched the first season when I was stuck on the couch. Not so bad.

The couch sitting will continue for awhile, because even when I can walk again I know that my ankle will swell up and I'll have to sit and ice each night. Not good for productivity or the Spring Break shape I'd like to be getting in. (Oh, yeah. Going on Spring Break for the first time in 8 years. Who am I going with? My parents. Yeah. They have the same break I do; Clay can't get off work. It is sit in Btown alone or go to sunny FLA. I'm going. Too bad they work out with personal trainers and I'm stuck on my ass on the couch post surgery. Its going to be great when my mom's skinnier than I am.)


In the world of knitting I've had lots of time on my hands. I, finally, casted on for the afghan I'm making because I know that it will be slow progress. It is pretty complex. When it is long enough to show the intricate details I'll photograph it. I'm also working on a sweater that I've put on a deadline. I want to finish this sweater before Bloomington's LYS opens. February 22. But, first on my list is to finish the other Bird in Hand mitten so I can't stop feeling like a fucking idiot. I knit the first one and it turned out to be the left, not the right mitten I had intended to knit. No big deal, I knit the thumb backward and it worked. So, this time as I finished the cuff and started the thumb gusset. I looked at it really hard to make sure I didn't mess up. I needed a RIGHT mitten. So, which pattern am I using? The left hand pattern. Why? Because it makes a right hand. I'm evidently not that smart... But, I've decided that rather than really try to figure out the problem behind this I'm going to just keep knitting. At the end I'll have a right and a left mitten and they'll look like the picture... Oh, except for the Estonian Braid. I only put one of three on each mitten. Those little buggers are the worst knitting invention ever! Okay, okay, they look beautiful, but they take me nine years. Maybe if I was knitting on bigger needles I could deal with it, but no more braids on size ones. Ever.

Ahhh... one down

I love these mittens (well this mitten so far) but they are not the most fun to knit. Plus, I screwed something up somewhere and had to knit the thumb backward and all sorts of other things. But, I'm so glad that this one is finished and that it looks very nice. I just have to block and embroider the little bird on it. So, for the moment I'm casting of an afghan to get away from the size 1 dpns, and later tonight I'll go back for mitten two.

Three weeks later, same story

It has been three weeks since my last post and I can happily report that my left foot is healed! I can't even feel the screw in it, and I walk like a normal person! The bad news? Yesterday, they (Yes, they, that's what I call people who shove metal into your foot. Yes, I know I need it, but I don't think that should keep me from being cranky) put a screw in my right foot. I have from today until Sunday to sit on the couch; then
it is back to teaching.

I had big plans for my blog and they petered out so I'm starting again. My goal (which needs to be made public so that I feel the need to stick to it even though I'm sure no one reads this) is to post twice a week. Let's say Tuesday and Friday. Maybe I'll get hyped and I'll post more. That would be awesome, but not I'm not promising shit.

I think on my twice weekly post I'll post about knitting, books, and movies. My husband and I subscribe to netflix which makes me a happy camper and allows us to inexpensively watch a million movies a month. And, since I teach high school English I try to read constantly. Oh, and an important note about what I read. It is a LOT of young adult literature. So, don't get all judgemental.

So, here are my "stuck on the couch" knitting projects. The scarf above is something that I have been asked to knit by a student's parent. She picked the color; I picked the design. It looks like a cable, but it isn't. It is a stick I found in a afghan sampler book from the 50s. If I put the pattern on the web but I give credit for the stick to the book do you think that's stealing?

This is the very beginning an awesome sweater from Interweave. Am I going to crutch over and find out what it is called? Hell no. Right now it is just knitting in the round for eight inches so I'm working on it in between other projects so I don't go crazy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this yarn though. I think it is called Top of the Lamb.

To the left you see the pattern that is currently kicking my ass. It isn't hard per se, but the stitches are itty bitty and I have to constantly look at the chart. Oh, and the picture it is upside down. These are going to be mittens, the Bird in Hand mittens to be exact. I downloaded the pattern from ravelry. Oh, and I'm knitting the right hand chart, but the thumb is in position to be the left hand mitten... So, I'm trying to decide if I try to knit the right hand again and figure out where I messed up, or if I knit the left hand chart in hopes that I mess up in the same way and make it the right hand mitten. Thoughts?
It is supposed to have a really cute picot edging, but they're for my mom and as I went to hem the stitches to make the picot she asked me not to. She thinks that the rolled yard will keep her wrists warmer. I'm totally making myself a pair with the edging. It would look WAY better. But, she's the mom, and she can't knit to make her own mittens, so... what can I do?

reading: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It is young adult lit, and it is about vampires, but it isn't hokey in the least. I can only put it down to knit. Two of the nurses in the hospital had read all of the series (Twilight is the first one) and loved them.

watching: Atonement. Go see it. Right now. And, then tell me that you don't kind of want to have sex with James McAvoy in a library.
Saw 4- I had to see it. Not as good as the first three, but bloody as fuck. Good stuff, because I enjoy that sort of thing.

can i walk yet?

I can't sit on the couch anymore. I'll die of boredom. I just finished blocking this shirt... and I've sort of lost that want to knit. Well, I want to knit lots of things, but I don't have the yarn that I want to do it with, and I can't find it at any of the stores near me. I did order some online, but I wasn't paying attention and the lady who runs the online shop is gone until January 10. Woops.

Today I have been walking on my own a bit better. The screw in my ankle seems to be cooperating, and it is a darn good thing because I about killed myself yesterday. I caught the edge of my crutch on the Christmas tree skirt yesterday morning and took a tumble, and then we went to Red Lobster and after assuring my husband that I could crutch to the door I wiped out on some ice. Because of my pride I sat through dinner with a wet bum and painful knees and elbows. Luckily, both times I fell I did not hit my leg.

For now I should write thank you notes for Christmas and try my hand at driving. After I find some food.