cabin fever

Posted on Posted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

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late summer has descended on us and the weeks are busy now—for some people it means getting those last minute items checked of on the to-do list before heading back to school or work. for us, it means scoping out the best places to get produce from this year’s so we can put some away for winter.

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our reduced kitchen space and lack of running water means doing very small batches at home in between bigger ones in a friend’s kitchen (beckie has been especially generous in this regard, giving me both overruns of fresh garden vegetables and a place to do big sticky jobs, like putting up fruits.)

holy cow, the peaches are deLICious this year, at least where we live! it must be all that rain we had early in the summer—they are large, super sweet and tasty, and juicy. AND abundant; which is is often not the case. i drove to our local farm, vogley’s, this morning to load up in preparation for a kitchen day tomorrow.

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some blackberries found their way into my car as well; these are easy, just put them in bags and place in the freezer. then sometime deep in the winter, i’ll pull them out to make a holiday cobbler, yum!

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i’ve been sticking close to home this week with a cranky leg problem and i’m getting stir-crazy. i’m not really sure what happened—i raced last saturday and had a really good result; my fastest time yet. afterward, i felt great, but maybe i didn’t stretch enough to offset that effort.

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back home, i worked at my desk for a while until it was time to work at our neighborhood block party—i manned the welcome booth, which was the best job because i got to meet and talk to all the kids (they had to come see me for tickets to the games). and basta!—somewhere between there and home, my leg convulsed into a grand seizure and i could barely move it for the next few days.

 

there’s no doubt that this development has slowed me down—just getting around the house takes twice as long. and of course, as soon as my mobility is challenged, i begin forgetting stuff so that i’m constantly just getting upstairs to remember that what i need is actually downstairs. i couldn’t drive most of the week either.

i had a massage and it’s been slowly releasing since wednesday, but still hard at the center of the muscles and painful at sudden moves or knocks. needless to say, there has been no running or bike riding for me this week and i’m kinda jumping out of my skin. today i did a some walking around the grocery store and noticed that inclines are a little challenging; good to know, since i plan to head out into the neighborhood later on, which is quite hilly.

sigh, it’s always something, isn’t it? good thing we have knitting at times like this . . .

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i finished another hat and took these photos before putting into soak, so if they look a little rough, that’s why.

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this one is based on my sign of four sock design and knit up once again in ecobutterfly qoperfina organic color grown cotton. i’m hoping it will fit david ; he’s really taken to wearing a cap in all but the warmest of weather and a nice cotton one would be perfect for the between seasons.

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you know, something to go with those sign of four socks, haha.

i also finished several secret projects, which i can’t share with you yet, but if you want to peek at one of them, you can see it here, while it’s sisters are here (kindly knit by vanessa and karolyn). they are the first projects in our 2013 fall in full color club, which launched this week; we are off to another flying start.

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i’m making steady progress on my briar rose sea pearl sweater and now you can really see how the patterning is playing out. once it’s blocked it will be even more embossed. the hem is now within reach—just two or three inches to go and i’ll be binding off. then the sleeves and i’m done. i think they’ll go quickly after all this knitting on the body.

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i am doing VERY well on yarn; i hesitate to say how much i think i’ll use in the end but so far, i don’t even think i’ve gone through a skein and a half (not at ALL a guide for buying yarn, haha, just an observation. who knows, the sleeves could end up being a black hole of yarn).

what i really need to think about is buttons—i keep forgetting. i have buttons from last year’s FIFC club that i saved for my collection—i need to see if they’ll work and if not, then i gotta get a swatch out to sarina at moving mud so she can make some pretties for it.

now another thing i’ve picked back up is the finishing work on my sticks and stones sweater, knit by karolyn in woolen rabbit sporty, colorway olive tweed.

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i honestly have not meant to let this languish, but when it got hot for a little while back in july i put it aside. then i traveled a bunch and got behind on deadlines and well, here we are. fall is just around the corner and it’s already pretty chilly at night so i need to finish this up and wear it.

i also need to get buttons for it—note to self.
(do i have a button problem building?)

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speaking of buttons, remember that highlander sweater that cherie knit for me? it got a nice bath last weekend and it feels luscious in our stone soup DK, color granite. it’s funny, we’re all remarking on how the granite yarn feels different than the pumice yarn—not better, but different. it’s amazing that when fiber is undyed, you can really feel the difference between batches.

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anyway, this sweater also needs buttons, but certainly i have something on hand, considering how many buttons i collect that are made from natural materials. it’s really only a matter of what size and how many.

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first up from my button box are these cedar gems—i love that each one has a little purply red at its center, like a beating heart.

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the purple and yellow colors int his wood really pop against the blue-brown gray of the sweater fabric and i kinda like it. i’m not sure the button size will fit these holes, but i could reknit the button band to accommodate that; it’s only a few rows.

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next up are these smooth antler buttons, which is what i used on my original highlander sweater and they worked out so well (i still adore that look).

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they look ok against this fabric too, but i’m not sure they’re my favorite. a little too white; they look a bit like they are jumping off the front of the sweater.

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i do have some that are more gray and have really cool edges; these are actually pretty awesome. but they are almost impossible to work through regular buttonholes, they tear at the fabric too much for my comfort. i’d have to do a loop closure to use these (but that can be arranged—who knows, i just might!)

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then there are these horn buttons, which at the moment are sort of my favorite (but the cedar ones are too). can i just say?? i heart horn buttons; they are SO old mannish.

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i got these when i was shopping with karolyn at churchmouse yarns in bainbridge. they are a little small though; i need to call the store and see if perchance they have slightly larger ones. three-quarter inch size would be perfect.

anyway.

what i’ll do is leave these choices out in my studio so i can see them as i walk by for the next few days. over that time, one of them will rise above the others. and just in time too—the nights are getting chilly.

ok, that’s it for today; i have to go to bret and connie’s party; it’s their anniversary today.

19 thoughts on “cabin fever

  1. sorry to hear you’re under the weather! could it be your IT band? would using the roller help? just a couple of ideas.

  2. Time to check the shoes again, or use some kinesiotape when running.

    Perhaps having a home TENS unit would be beneficial and I’m sure your chiro could set you up with that.

    Love the horn buttons, by a country mile, no provocation intended.
    From a Canadian chiropractor

  3. Hi Anne! I am sorry about your leg! I know this will sound crazy, but have you ever tried pickle juice for leg cramps? I had a really bad one a few months ago, and it worked like magic. No hobbling, hopping around crying, unable to put my foot down. I heard about it on The Chew. Unfortunately, my husband gave me juice from bread and butter pickles-dill would have been preferable!

  4. Horn buttons, Anne!!! They are *gorgeous*. I love the slouchy hat and the Highlander looks great too. Stone Soup is just awesome yarn.

    Sure hope the leg cramping eases up soon. Sending lots of healing vibes your way.

  5. As someone who is still seeing a PT from time to time after being hobbled last Thanksgiving, sending you fast healing thoughts. I love your plan for observing the buttons like that. My dad used to have us do that sort of thing with items we thought we didn’t like but had to choose one from – like pictures after having our pictures done. It’s amazing how your mind’s eye subtly sorts out just the right one, even when it isn’t an obvious selection.

  6. Glad to hear you are on the mend. Leg cramps are certainly no fun. I love those cedar buttons the most. (And I really love the new club patterns, those cables are pure genius!)

  7. I sure hope you are feeling better soon. Glad the massage helped a bit. Watch out for the altered gait you’ll develop to accommodate your injury. That in itself can cause a new injury, yuck.

    Wow, your neighborhood block party looks fun! We just had one last night and it was a LOT smaller. We all fit onto my neighbor’s patio! Maybe 22 people? It sure is nice to know your neighbors (most of the time, heh).

  8. I’m so sorry about your injury – sending healing thoughts to you. Love the horn buttons.
    Thanks for all you do Anne – it’s truly appreciated.

  9. Leg pains are awful. Maybe a visit to the doctor is in order. Hope you are better very, very soon.
    Love everything you knit and design.

  10. Anne, You have been so busy, now with the Harvest coming in. Peaches here in Texas have bee so very Sweet.
    Sorry to hear your leg is giving you fits. Keep stretching it. .I myself had an accident with a small stepstool and tired knees. Went to step up and it folded catching my shin for about 6″ rather deep now I have to be careful keeping my leg up. so knitting is being my life line (thank goodness)
    This all happened as we were heading out for a trip to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. We managed to have a great time.

  11. Peaches look good. We’ve been getting them in from Georgia and South Carolina this past week. Sorry to hear about your leg cramping. I usually mix 3 parts honey to 1 part vinegar and put that in some warm water when I get charley-horses…usually happens to me at night though for some strange reason.

  12. I actually love your Highlander without buttons, just open as is. It seems to emphasize the vertical lines a little more.

    A gorgeous design.

  13. I love the purple-heart cedar buttons.

    If you’re not fed up with suggestions on leg care: would floating (not swimming) in a pool help relax your muscles? Just sit on the pool steps, up to your waist in the water, and let the water support your legs. A hot tub might be even better, if it’s big enough to let you stretch out your legs in front of you. Also, to prevent muscle cramps in general, drink LOTS of water and be sure your diet includes enough potassium (bananas are great there). Dehydration and/or a lack of potassium will trigger cramps.

  14. Horns. Totally. Although I DID buy some antler buttons in Alaska a couple weeks ago. . . but the Horns; they are so. . . .horny!

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