Sweaters and squares and life oh my!

My niece sent me this clip she found on Vimeo. After listening to it, it reminded me that I am not alone, that I have someone who stands by me through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad, through sickness and health. That person is my darling husband. Despite his own health issues, he is there for me when I hurt too much that I can't even walk a simple block. 

Stand by Me from theRedPillRadio on Vimeo.

It also reminded me that I have a friend, a very special friend who also stands by me, who accepts me as I am. She is also by my side through thick and thin, giving me the support that I need. 

And all this reminds me that I cannot go through life thinking that I can do it alone, that I must be strong for others and forget about my pain. There are days that, yes, I can put my pain aside and be there for friends and family and then there are days that the pain is too much, that I try and bury it by keeping myself busy, but it comes through anyway. It feels like a beast with huge teeth gnawing at my nerves and muscles... and that's when I turn to knitting and crochet to keep me sane.

When the doctor told me that I have fibromyalgia, I didn't realise just how much it would hurt as it develops. I do hope it reaches a plateau sooner than later since it is already affecting what I can and cannot do. Between the fibro pain and the neuropathic pain I'd rather go with the neuropathic pain. This fibro pain is something that totally cuts my breath when it hits. I can feel it building and building when I try to keep going despite the fact that I'm hurting and then it just clamps down and I find myself unable to take another step and struggling for breath.

I've been volunteering as a test crocheter for a lovely designer, SmoothFox, and have enjoyed the process quite a bit. I've tested several squares and a beautiful blanket for her and look forward to testing more. I still have to take photos of the most recent test squares but I do have a photo of this lovely square that I completed a couple of weeks ago for her.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Square 12x12

As I keep testing other squares for her I will eventually have enough to assemble a lovely blanket of beautiful original squares.

I decided to participate in a sweater KAL with Spud & Chloe. I had never done a raglan type sweater before and I thought, why not join in, this way I get to learn how to do a raglan sweater and have immediate help and support if I run into a snag. So far it's going fantastically well. I love the top down construction of the sweater and the fact that it is seamless means no bulky side and underarm seams like other sweaters constructed separately. 

Raglan sweater so far

This one I am knitting for my 11 year old nephew. I decided to go with nice chunky stripes in navy blue and white. It's a great pattern and to have online support for questions and help is fantastic. You can see everyone's progress on Ravelry.

I have other projects that are almost done that I will post photos of in my next post.

Friday night

Anyone who says cats can't smile.... I offer the following proof!

Serious                                          Smiling
Click image for a larger version

Now isn't that a face you could just kiss?!

He always loves to lay in whatever yarn I'm working with or at the least when he's been denied the yarn bed, alongside of my leg so he can feel my elbow on his back while I'm knitting or crocheting. He's also a camera hog when I want to take photos of my work. But who could say no to that face?!!

This afternoon, I decided to put my new ball winder to the test. I've used it a few times before and wasn't happy about the fact that it has issues handling a 50 gram ball of worsted weight. I had been puzzling on how to resolve that issue and I figured it out! What I needed was to extend the bole of the piece where the yarn winds onto. I found a cardboard toilet paper tube fits over the original bole but it had to fit snuggly. 5 of those veggy elastics (the ones wrapped around the cauliflower) carefully applied on top of each other around the plastic bole and the toilet paper tube fit snuggly with no wiggle. I notched the tube just like the plastic one, attached my yarn and started winding. It works!!! It can now handle a 50 gram ball of ww yarn with no issues. I keep an eye on the winding yarn to make sure it's going where it should and let the yarn run through the fingers of my right hand from the ball to make sure it doesn't snag or have knots. Here is the fruit of my work! Gorgeous balls of fire engine red yarn all made up into pretty cakes.

Now I have yarn to start testing a 12x12 crochet square for SmoothFox!... and no Gambit in sight! Uh oh, spoke too soon, here he is looking up at me begging to be allowed on the desk so he can snuggle the yarn. Should I?

Knitting, knitting, knitting...

Let's see, I have the baby jacket I'm designing, with the hood half done sitting here.

Then I have a hairband half done that I started today because I wanted to keep my hair out of my face at work without tying it up (I have hair down to my hips)

And then, since I'm back temping at the hospital, I'm also working on squares for the blankets for the homeless.

And last but not least, I still have to finish my daughter's Little Red Riding Hoodie for her birthday which is next week!!!!!

I hate having so many things on the go. Thank goodness it's Friday! I should be able to finish the baby jacket, the hair band and my daughter's hoodie during the weekend. That will leave me with the squares for next week.

I will post pictures! this weekend :) I promise!!

I will also do a bit of research in response to the comment on pet patterns, that cat patterns are difficult to find with some finds of my own. So get ready for pics and links