by lilMDP 4 Comments
So periodically I get these “brilliant” ideas to give up caffeine. They have yet to work. This last one was a real doozy. I made it about a day and a half before my body completely rebelled and I ended up with a near miss on a migraine which ended up just being a two day headache. I took the hint and immediately resumed my coffee habit.
I’m thinking that at this point it would probably be easier to give up a crack habit than to kick a coffee habit.
by lilMDP 3 Comments
Naps are magical creations or life altering tonics, if you will, that in some situations can save your sanity if not your life. And DEFINITELY the lives of others around you.
Point in case: In the last week or more my schedule has been all out of whack and I haven’t been getting enough sleep. I was cranky (to say the least) with nothing even vaguely resembling patience or compassion. I was this close to turning into the same dragon that the evil Queen in Sleeping Beauty turns into, when it occurred to me that what I really needed was a nap.
Friends, let me tell you. In one small hour I was transformed from a blood thirsty, deranged monster into the very paragon of virtue, patience and fairy-godmother like compassion. Not to mention the wonders it did for my skin! You’ve never seen such a healthy glow. It took years, YEARS off my face and I felt like a school-girl all over again.
Now friends, if you feel like you could kill someone right this very instant or your brain is so addled you can’t even walk straight much less think another coherent thought, I suggest you run out right this very instant and get yourself a nap. It will change your life. Trust me. You’ll thank me afterward. So will the people around you.
by lilMDP 8 Comments
I find that I want to be more creative. I want to explore other avenues of creativity besides knitting. I know! Blasphemy! But it’s there nonetheless. I stil desperately want to learn how to sew. You would think that having two sewing machines would be incentive enough. However, I am absolutely terrified by the thought of using either of them while simultaneously dreaming about all the things I could be making with at least one of them. I need one of my sewing friends to rescue me. (HINT HINT Keri. Bibby. I’m looking at you two.)
You know, I dream of all these different projects that I want to knit, but I won’t let myself start any new projects because of the stupid scarf of DOOM for my mom. I want to knit a cowl or three with some of my handspun. I want to make some colorwork mittens if I could just pick a pattern to knit. I stupidly want to knit another sweater. I love the idea of knitting a sweater, but the follow-through gets me every time. I have one sweater that is so close to being done that is, oh, three or four years in the making. Maybe I should just indulge myself and cast on for five projects in the next week. I’ll probably feel better if I do.
I want to card more roving to spin up. I want to dye more roving to spin up as well. I’d also like to spin up some yarn and then dye it as well. Just to do something different.
I’ve also suddenly taken an interest in decorating the house. I have been known to lean toward minimalist tendencies and decorating was not high on my list of priorities. I was a function over form kind of a gal. I was also somewhat nomadic so I tended to view decorating as a waste of time as well. All I can say is thank goodness for IKEA. IKEA satisfies the minimalist in while indulging my need to decorate my home. Is that some kind of paradox that could possibly cause the world to implode? Probably.
by lilMDP 6 Comments
I was having an e-mail conversation with Tonni and we got on the subject of unfinished projects and she was lamenting over how many sweaters she would have to wear if she would just finish them.
Tonni, by the way, knits some of the most gorgeous stuff out of her handspun. And not only that, but she knits fast. And she finishes a hell of a lot more projects than I do. But I?m not bitter. Or jealous. Really. I’m not.
Anyway. Moving along.
I had this revelation about why we knitters have such a hard time sticking to just one project at a time or are sometimes *cough* unable to complete a project.
And as for sticking to projects…. if it’s not for me, I can finish it in a fairly timely manner. But projects for me? It takes me about 2 years to finish a sweater because I’ll get bored with it (usually when I get to the sleeves) and then I’ll start something else. I think it’s Thrill of the Chase Syndrome, you know? You look for the perfect yarn to go with the perfect pattern and then you start it. It’s charming for awhile, but then you feel like you’ve conquered the challenge so it’s time for something new. Next thing you know, you’re hot and heavy with another project.
Sometimes I feel like I can let go of all my inhibitions in life when it comes to knitting. Because, really, who’s going to know? Unless you blog about it, of course.
Which brings me to the dark side of knitting. Being a floozy. Knitting behind another project’s back. Screwing up projects, knowing they’re screwed up and continuing to knit on them anyway. Ignoring gauge. Things of that nature. But what is the fun of being a floozy without someone to share all your sordid tales, right? I?m talking strictly knitting here.
Plus, there are some fantastic cautionary knitting tales around the blogosphere that have kept me from doing something stupid. Sometimes. These tales are more like public service announcements than embarrassing stories and really, incredibly thoughtful of the knitblogger.
And really, isn?t that what most knitters are? Conscientious and helpful. And most of the time they?re willing to cuss right along with you after you make a stupid mistake. Once they?ve stopped laughing at your stupid ass.
And that is why I love my knitting friends.
