well, hello!

one of the toughest years of my life, will end with one of the biggest miracles!

i've missed you!  life has been a little nuts over the last year(s), but i'll kick things off with some incredible news!  doug and i were in the middle of embracing a heartbreaking diagnosis of infertility (and impending hysterectomy) when the most amazing miracle surprised both us and my doctors - a sweet baby boy who is due to arrive in december!  i am still in complete shock and at a loss for words.  i can say i'm 23 weeks along and thankful to be feeling better than i've felt in years!  thank you for all your kind support and concern in the meantime.  i'm slowly picking back up the neglected pieces of my life, and hope to even share some work with everyone here soon!  i'm just taking it one tiny babystep at a time.  winkyface!

blue

my recovery regime ::  loads of kusmi tea and chocolate sent by kind friends + comfy clothes (the top and camp socks from doug and bottoms from my sister jenah have kicked my usual "athletic huxtable" look up a notch) + plenty of knitting (why yes, i have taken up designing doll clothes in my spare time. and sometimes i talk to the dolls.  and they always understand me.) 

it's getting to be a challenge to not feel blue about still being sick.  a recent unexpected emergency room trip (that's dumb, when do you expect to go to the e.r.?) sent us into a spiral of more tests and no real answers yet.  everything was really starting to wear on all of us, and then some people stopped by unannounced to just sit and visit.  the house is in a constant state of mess, i'm usually far from presentable and i'm starting to really care less.  the most recent visitors did so much to lift my spirits.  their encouraging words gave me a burst of hope.  right after they left, i was listening to a podcast that mentioned that patients in hospitals who are told encouraging words actually have a much higher chance of recovering faster.  i believe it.

the emotional challenge of whatever is going on is hard, but i still feel so well cared for.  just when we need it, we'll get a call, a text, an email, a care package in the mail, or someone stopping by with dinner.  it's making me realize that the thoughtfulness and kindness behind what you do is just as sustaining as the physical act of taking care of others.

prison crafts

oh man, i've started in on the kid crafts.  i'm just a step away from making license plates in my spare time.  i think i need to get out of the house.

at least i had an instant use for this fun pastime - little thank you gifts for the caring friends who have made my family meals while i've been sick.  people have been so thoughtful, showing up at our door with delicious food right when we need it.

dala horse, party horse

what a rough start to 2012, but i'm not losing hope.  i've had a lot of time to think of things i'd rather be doing than lying in my bed getting better from this nasty infection, not flu like i originally thought.   i hope to be stocking the shop soon with items from a sweet little collaboration.  and since everyone has been so awesome about my most recent knitting project, i've also been trying to work on translating the downton sweater to pattern.  i'm almost there.  i'll get it all out there once i'm back on my feet.

but, who knows when that will be.  i know i'm always talking about resetting my expectations, and i guess i'm not done.  the last month has taught me some hard lessons about weakness and limitations, but i'm so thankful for it.  the right words and encouragement have been there when i need to remember what's really important, and i'm grateful to be surrounded by people who make it easy for me to be sick and get better.  not like i'd want to do it again, but it's been a surprisingly uplifting time.

knitting and downton

there has been no better time to feel under the weather than these last couple cold and snowy days.  i'm tired of feeling cruddy, but have enjoyed making the most out of being stuck indoors and unable to much of anything.  and how did i luck out on getting sick while there's actually something good to watch online?  thank you, downton abbey!

and what goes better with a period drama than knitting?  after finishing a little valentine's present this last saturday, i decided to keep going on my hand knitting kick and see what i could make with four skeins of the perfect shade of grey lamb's pride wool.  i had been searching for months for a project to dedicate such a small amount of yarn to, but couldn't find one.  i considered adapting this beautiful sweater to a different gauge and smaller amount of wool, but was really itching to make something fast and easy.  i was shooting for a sweater that was more like a sweatshirt and found the solution to be a patternless, completely seamless top-down raglan.  i wasn't expecting to be so happy with the unplanned results!  incorporating the off-white cascade eco wool helped put a dent in my always too full yarn basket and made this simple sweater just a little more interesting.

five days of straight knitting and a very comfortable sweater to show for it.  and just in time for the weekend!

deer and the antelope

i hope it gets chilly this weekend. real chilly. i'm fighting hard to get rid of this flu and it doesn't seem to be working, so staying inside and knitting sounds just about right to me. valentine's day is right around the corner, and i'd love to make some small gifts again this year.

hey, thanks for all the nice comments on here lately. i mean, you're always nice, but lately i've been so encouraged. i hope you too have a restful weekend.

rolling with the punches

i got hit hard with a nasty flu that has kept me sick in bed since this last weekend.  here i had been so excited to get moving on those goals, so it's been hard for me not to get discouraged about the roller coaster of health i seem to be on.  i swear, had i been born in a different era and was a pioneer, they would have pushed me off the wagon weeks ago and left me for the wolves!  it seems i'm not the strongest one of the bunch.

i keep trying to remember that this is why i've set my goals to be reasonable ones that can be worked on over the entire year.  it will happen.  and i can't forget the clause i included that the goals can always change.

rosemary wreaths

i've been down over the last week, recovering from my surgery.  things went even better than we hoped, but we're waiting on all the tests and my biopsy results to come back.  i can tell already that this is not going to be a traditional holiday year, and i'm going to have to take things at a different pace.  i thought i'd have plenty of couch time during my recovery to make christmas presents and do a little online shopping, but all i can seem to do is rest.  my parents are here taking such excellent care of me, and i feel so grateful to have their help.

before my surgery though, i made little rosemary wreaths for each door in our home in preparation for christmas and my parents arrival.  they were so simple to make, and smell wonderful, too.   all i did was wrap twenty-four gauge floral wire around a jar three times, secure the wire around the top of the wire circle, and start wrapping sprigs of rosemary to the frame.  each wreath took only two sprigs, but i could have used more.  i kind of made it up as i went, but this tutorial is an excellent reference.

next up, the rosemary olive oil bread recipe from my sister-in-law that everyone has been requesting!  i just need to clear it with her that it's not a secret!

heck yeah, who wants a pair of socks?!

orange socks: knitpicks stroll in foliage

purple socks: bamboo + ewe in purple

i've got plenty to spare!  i have figured out how to knit socks on my knitting machine which has turned out to be a very dangerous thing.  i got so excited about my first pair turning out just the way i wanted them to, that i'm on my fourth pair.  good thing i have a basket of sock yarns to use up!  i knew that it was possible to knit socks on a flat-bed machine, but got so impatient trying to find a good pattern to use, i just made my own.  my first try worked out perfectly without even knitting up a test pair, which i can hardly believe.  i'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons why i'm on such a machine knit sock kick. 

as far as yarn goes, i absolutely loved working with the knitpicks stroll in foliage that my mother-in-law recently sent to me.  it knit up so beautifully on my machine and the socks feel amazing.  a close runner-up was this bamboo/wool pair, although it's slightly more itchy.  i made them just a tiny bit loose since i don't like tight socks, and can't wait to see how they wash up. 

we're enjoying a much needed quiet, restful weekend.  it's chilly outside and cozy in our home.  this week was full of challenges, ending on news that i need an operation that will hopefully improve my health.  i'm anxious, but much more than that, i'm relieved.  it's good to finally have some answers.

enjoy your weekend.  we get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow, which rocks.