Author: mud&string

Mother, daughter, wife, grandma, friend, animal lover, potter, knitter, Catholic and finally, retiree. Will work for yarn and/or clay and tend to geek out on any and all the above at the drop of a hat, provoking glazed expressions from family and anyone I can buttonhole after hello.
Knitting

The one where mutants,

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mutants, I say, have taken over my sock drawer.  Here, look

Before

IMG_0769

After

Really, I came across these socks this afternoon and after looking close, they had huge, huge holes in them where I had dropped a stitch here and there and being a newbie knitter, just ignored them and hoped they’d go away.  They didn’t.  So in the heat of the moment, I decided to frog them, this is what I ended up with.  Very curly, very pink Jitterbug.  Here’s hoping that a nice soak with Euclan and slow drying will give me at least somewhat straight yarn.  It should work, right?

My Dad is here to get started on his radiation treatment for his lung cancer.  I think he’s a bit nervous about it, heck, I’m a little nervous myself and I work at the radiation therapy center where he’s going to be treated.  It’s true what they always say, it is different when it’s your family.  He’s the only dad I have, you know.  : )

Slippery Socks are going well.  I’m loving this colorway, like I said before, it’s a complete departure from the usual for me.  Who knew that I’d be so crazy about hot pink, bright orange and bright, bright yellow yarn, not me that’s for sure.  Here’s to stepping outside the box every now and then.

Silence is argument carried on by other means.  Ernesto “Che” Guevara

Knitting

The one where she admits

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to pretty much doing nothing but knitting and eating cake Friday.  That was the plan and I’m proud to say that I stuck to it.  Very enjoyable day, but I think I’m ready to get back into my regular routine.  My father is coming here tomorrow to get started on his radiation treatment, so I’m sure I’ll have more than enough on my plate to keep me busy.

The Slippery Sock is moving along.  I’m 1 1/2 repeats into a three repeat section.  It’s pretty fiddly but I really like how it’s turning out.  I’ll try a photo update tomorrow.  You’ll just have to trust me until then.

Is she the cutest kid ever or what?

Time has flown by for us this past year, I keep wanting to slow it down and savor but it just seems to go faster and faster.  Every day is a blessing though, and it’s not always as easy or happy as I would like, but a blessing nonetheless.
Doing the best at this momen puts you in the best place for the next moment.  Oprah Winfrey
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Knitting

The one where she takes time to

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tweak her blog a little.  I’m still a newbie at blogging and while I’m not as intimidated as I was, I’ve not explored the nuts and bolts of blogging, like style, what’s interesting, what’s TMI and what exactly is a blogroll anyway?  I’m working on how to get an About Me page, I’m not exactly computer illiterate, but I’m definitely a slow learner, so it’s pretty slow going and patience is not something I’m overly blessed with.

I do want to share my progress with the seriously impressive Slippery Sock.

OK, I’m about blogged out for today and Mr. Iknead wants to use the computer.

One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.  William of Occam (1285-1349); this principle of parsimony is known as “Occam’s razor”

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Knitting

The one where she looks

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back over the past few weeks and learns that, like so many other life milestones, time will be marked off as “before Dad’s diagnosis” and “after Dad’s diagnosis”.  None of us really knows for sure what we’re facing in the next few months, all of us are going to have to be a little more flexible, more patient, more compassionate, with a little more strength and wisdom thrown in for good measure.  At the moment, however, I’m not looking past Monday, he has an appointment then for planning and measurements for treatment to get started.

Am looking so forward to tomorrow, a day all to myself.  I’m going to knit, read and maybe nap.  Think tranquil, restful and totally mine.  No To Do List for me, not tomorrow.  Maybe a Not To Do List.  Never thought of that.

Ran across this image while surfing the net and thought it was funny.

A little yarn humor.

I learned much from my teachers, more from my books and most from my mistakes.  Anonymous

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Knitting

The one where her self control

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was tested, but she was able to hang on until it was officially WIP Wednesday.  Here’s my WIP Wednesday project, Knitty’s Slippery Socks.  I’m seriously in love with this yarn, surprisingly.  I lean toward blues and violets, so loving this particular orange/red/yellow colorway is a departure for me.  Could the knitting fairies be trying to tell me something?  Maybe something along the line of “Girl, everything you knit is the same (almost) color,  you seriously need to branch out!”

IMG_1027

I shall tell you a great secret my friend.  Do not wait for the last judgment, it takes place every day.  Albert Camus (1913-1960)

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Knitting

The one where she’s poised

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to buy an absolutely gorgeous yarn bowl on Etsy.  I’d never really thought about actually using one until I went on my winding binge a week or so ago and had yarn rolling all around the kitchen when it escaped the paper sack I had it in to prevent exactly what it insisted on doing, rolling all around the kitchen.  So, I hit Etsy and went yarn bowl shopping.  Here’s the result –

Sage and Yellow Yarn Bowl

The Etsy shop is CommonThreadsinCraft and I have a feeling that a long and happy relationship is in the future.  OK, a little self control here is needed; I need a minute to compose myself.  There, much better.

I have a WIP that’s burning a hole in my knitting bag but I’m trying to hold off until the official WIP Wednesday.  Must. Be. Strong.

A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.  Frank Capra (1897-1991)

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Knitting

The one where we decide

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what kind of treatment my father is going to undergo for his lung cancer.  We met with a radiation oncologist this morning, she recommended a course of radiation, then reexamination and further treatment if needed.  One thing at a time, one day at a time.  It’s to be started May 23, a week from today.  As someone who thrives on taking action, I think it will feel good just to start carrying out a treatment plan.

I’m definitely going to start the Slippery Socks from Knitty.  It’s written for dpns but I think I’ll try it on magic loop.  ML has really got me spoiled, it’s just easier for me to handle a long circ than to wrangle 5 dpns.  Here’s the link:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTslippery.html

Here’s the intended yarn –

Jitterbug Ruby Saffron 100% superwash merino

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.  Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

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Knitting

The one where the Papoose

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has her first birthday.  That’s right, as of today, Susannah is one year old.  Mr. Iknead and I missed her party because of other family issues, which was hard for us, but sometimes things like that happen.  My father has an appointment in the morning with a radiation oncologist, that’s why we missed the festivities and it’s difficult to have to assign priorities, but sometimes it’s a necessity.  Hopefully, radiation treatment is an option, since surgery is out of the question, but if it isn’t, well I guess we’ll have to suck it up and move on to the next thing regarding his lung cancer.  Trying to stay positive here.

The En Point Pullover continues to move along, but not as quickly as I would like.  I think I have too many projects on the needles at the moment and none of them really get the attention they need to become FOs.  I’ve had my eye on Knitty’s Slippery Socks but have been able to stave off actually starting another project until I get one of my current problems off the needles and into the Legendary Land of the FOs.

I just looked at the clock and it’s past time for me to settle down for the night; I’m having a challenge getting a picture of a project I’m lusting after  posted and my frustration tolerance is at a low ebb.  Maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow.

Here’s the obligatory blog photo.  She looks very concerned, doesn’t she?

Writing is a struggle against silence.  Carlos Fuentes (b. 1928)

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Knitting

The one where home really is

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where the heart is.  It’s where I know all the quirks, which door sticks and which door will never stay closed, where to find the corkscrew even though I don’t drink and knowing exactly how many potato peelings it takes to stop up my disposal.  I can remember every detail, where I was sitting, whether or not the TV was on and what I was snacking on when DD and DSIL called to tell us we were going to be grandparents and what was going on when DS told us he was going to propose to (now) DDIL.  I remember sadder things too, what we were doing when we got word that my DSIL had been in an accident and was in the hospital, the last time that Cheyenne, our sweet weimaraner, climbed down off the couch and what was happening when I noticed that my parents had gotten old.  I’ve been away from home most of the last couple of weeks, but I’m home now and really do feel wrapped up nice and tight, the way I think a newborn feels when it’s swaddled, fed, warm and secure.  I’m happy to be home, can you tell?

For my FO Friday, a less than perfect pic, but here’s the Brittany Jumper in all it’s glory.  I’ll post again when I get a photo of the Papoose wearing it.

Cute buttons, don’t you think?

Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.  James Thurber (1894-1961)

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Knitting
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Sock project isn’t exactly lighting up the dials. So far, my socks don’t look anything like the picture. Hoping that when I get a few rounds done it’ll look more like I think it should look.

I’m becoming an expert at posting with my iPhone. I know I can post pictures too but I don’t know how yet. I just haven’t had time to work on learning it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back in the computer groove soon.
He who hurries cannot walk with dignity. Chinese proverb

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Knitting

The one where she doesn’t care

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how odd sock toes look when they’re just started.  I need a WIP Wednesday project and this pair of toes is it.  I’ve felt more than a little down today, thinking about what’s going on with my family, Mom and Dad specifically.  It hit me suddenly at Target when I thought looking for a birthday card for the Papoose for her first birthday was a good idea.  So, I was looking at cards and it suddenly dawned on me that Mr. Iknead and I were going to miss her first birthday party because my father was diagnosed last week with lung cancer, pretty advanced we’re told, and I have to make yet another trip to DeQueen to pick him up to bring back to Little Rock (this will be my fourth trip in a week and a half) for an appointment with a radiation oncologist.  Put that on top of Mom’s dementia and her being in a nursing home, I suddenly felt piled upon and had to fight back tears, it’s so hard to have to make a choice between my grandchild and my father.  And I’m fighting tears again.  So, sock toes it is, with a little Josie Pug thrown in.

The difference between life and the movies is that a script has to make sense and life doesn’t.  Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993)

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Knitting

The one where we learn

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that surgery is not an option for Dad’s lung cancer.  We met with the surgeon this morning, who, after looking at Dad’s scans, pulmonary function tests and examining him, told us that with the number and size of the tumors, along with disease encasing his aorta and probable invasion of the chest wall itself, surgery is just not a viable choice.  So, what we’re left with is his strong recommendation that Dad undergo radiation treatment and possibly chemo.  I work at a radiation treatment center, so we should be able to get in for a consultation and get treatment started pretty quickly.  That’s at the head of my to do list for tomorrow.  Our spirits are good, obviously not wonderful, but not horrible either.  So, that’s the situation for the moment.

One happy thing about today, we were able to get in to have a PET scan without having to make another appointment, necessitating yet another trip to Texarkana.  We ended up spending about 5 hours altogether at the imaging center, by the time our appointment came around and then three hours for the scan, I got a respectable start on my newest sock project.  No pictures today, sock toes always look weird to me anyway.  Tomorrow.

I’ve about half decided to go ahead and start another blog, but I may feel completely different tomorrow.  We’ll see.

Love in its essence is spiritual fire.  Emanuel Swedenborg  (1688-1772), Swedish scientist, religious teacher and mystic

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