Monday, January 25, 2010

The Pink Collection

I have several projects on the needles right now, way more than I have usually. I'll usually have a pair of socks, a sweater or other big project and maybe one other small thing. But I am having trouble focusing on one and have a bunch of little and big ones all over the place! Part of it is, I have fallen in love with hand knit washcloths. If it's possible to believe, I never had one until my birthday a few months ago. And ever since I have been busy knitting them, with no plans to stop until the kitchen and bathrooms have all the washcloths they can hold. I've knitted about 7 so far and the fun of it isn't old yet.

Here is my pink collection for the kitchen.

The pattern I started out with is Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth and I think there are several other patterns out there that are the same. I used a size 5 needle and got busy. I made a couple of white ones and then started working with the pink. The gauge for mine is 5 sts/in and know that I know, I'll be able to customize some towels for myself.

So the first washcloth (using garter stitch) ended up about 10" x 10" and is just the right size for me.

Then I made one stockinette to see which one I liked better. It obviously was elongated compared to the garter stitch and not really the right shape for me.
 
The next one I made was a towel and I wanted to see how far one ball of the Sugar 'n Cream yarn would go. It measures about 12" x 9" and is a nice little hand towel. I think if I made more of these like this, I would use two balls and have a longer hand towel that would hang nicely.



One of the more exciting projects I have going right now are my Girls Night Out Socks by my very talented friend Wendy. We're up to Clue 3 and this is how they look so far. I did her first mystery knit-a-long back in May and ended up with some very cool purple butterfly socks. I'm having just as much fun with this one as I did the last one and I can't wait for the next clue. It comes out in a few days!

I'm still working on my Cardigan Azure, and am about halfway through the body. It's not one that I like to carry around with me and so it doesn't get worked on unless I'm at home. The swirl shawl is also an at-home project and hasn't seen any love since Christmas. It hasn't been moved to the closet though and I plan on picking it up again soon.

Knitting has been my lifeline lately and I'm so thankful I have my handwork in my life. My MIL has been sick and I have been doing all the grocery shopping and cooking (dinners only and a few prep things for breakfast and lunch) for her and my FIL. It's been good for me to work on eating healthier and also feeding those I love healthy foods. Everyone has been very considerate and thankful for my hard work and it's made me feel good. I am in a place in my life where I am ready to step up and learn more about healthy living and be more conscious about the foods I let into my (and my family's) body. A couple of my goals have been to eat almost all organic and no foods with chemicals in them. We're not completely there but each baby step gets us a little bit closer and I'm having fun playing the game. And it's kind of funny when Son #1 sees me get a vegetable he doesn't want to eat. He'll say to me, "I think that has high fructose corn syrup in it." :)

I've also started seeing a holistic chiropractor who has been very helpful in showing me how the adjustments she makes will help me. One of the things I really love to do at the gym is yoga and it's been really hard for me for a long time. I have a burning pain in my wrists while I practice, and I just thought it was my carpal tunnel acting up and I've had inflammation in my wrists during certain times of the month also. But I only get the pain in my wrists when I put weight on them, it's never when I'm knitting or anything horrible like that. And my back, I can just straighten up with a little resistance in my shoulders and the whole thing pops. It's kind of weird and I just though that after I had my second son, everything didn't tighten back up the way it was supposed to. The Dr. has helped me to understand how with some adjustments and healing, I will build the strength I wish to have. I'm really excited about it and have high hopes even though I've only seen her twice. I'm going to keep my thoughts positive and know that this is my year of health!

1 comment:

Yarnhog said...

I've been seeing my chiropractor for three years, and it's been amazing. I started seeing him because of pain in my hands and wrists, but the adjustments he does have a much further reaching impact for me. For one thing, I used to get sick all the time. I had nine colds in the nine month period before I started seeing him. In the three years since, I've had...one. One cold in three years. Seriously. The way he explains it is, when there is pressure on the spinal cord, the brain cannot communicate properly with the rest of the body and the immune system does not function properly. With adjustments, the pressure on the spinal cord is relieved and the entire nervous system operates more efficiently. I don't know whether it's true, but it seems reasonable, and the effects--for me, at least--are undeniable. I hope you have and equally great experience with your chiropractor!