Surgery Number ... I've Lost Count

So the 12th day of Christmas was Monday, which would make today the 20th day of Christmas...but, technically that's not a thing. However, today is the 19th day since my little procedure, and I am counting that as a definite thing! Thinking back to my hysterectomy in 2012, and my hip replacement in 2015, this back surgery of 2025 has been the best of the three! 

There has been relatively little napping, my stitches look good, and the worst part of this recovery was probably the allergic reaction I mentioned last week. Now that the intense itching is past me, I can revel in the fact that the last 20 days have allowed me to knit not one

not two

but 3, that's THREE!, full pair of self-striping, Christmas socks

PLUS five tiny gnomes!

The gnomes are currently meeting to discuss what I should cast on next...and now that I'm off the heavy-hitting meds, I'm also working on getting approval to return to work soon. Although getting back to work will ultimately cut into the knitting time, the paycheck will make me feel better about all the yarn I own!

I mean, we all knew I'd go back, if only for the socialization I'm missing...gosh! I hope I remember how to act around people. I don't want to have to go back to puppy school...wait, that's a story for another day, isn't it? 

Anywhoo, I'm recovering well, knitting much and doing my best to follow doctor's orders, so I can continue. Prayers and good thoughts appreciated! What's been your biggest challenge this week? Drop a comment (or send an email) to let me know how I can pay for you...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

A Tale of Two Cuffs

Hey friends! How has your week been? We returned from Gatlinburg on Saturday, and I went back to work on Monday, so I've been slogging through a little extra exhaustion...but other than that, it's all good here! I even finished my sweater this morning! 

This Neretina turned out great, and the fit is perfect (if I do say so, myself 😉), it even looks good before blocking!

It would be blocking right now, except for one thing...well, two things actually. After finishing the colorwork on sleeve two this morning, i realized it turned out much better than the first one. Mr. Pretty helped me take a Pic to show you...

...but I guess it's not something that shows super well in a photo. If you look closely, the white "pops" much better on the left sleeve than on the right, because my tension was a bit tighter on that first cuff than on the second. 

So now what? Its not so tight that it'll be uncomfortable to wear, even if I push that sleeve up a bit...but I'm not sure my sensory self can wear a sweater with one cuff tighter than the other, which says far more about me than about the sweater... 🫤 ...so (of course)  I've already ripped back that cuff and started to re-knit it.

Hopefully this isn't the start of a "now I have to rip out the other cuff" competition...lol! Even if it is, I do have some recent yarn victories to boost my ego...like a finished sock (that I started on vacation),

and some recently untangled yarn for a friend at knitting on Thursday. 

So, no matter what happens this week, I've clearly got this, and I'm looking forward to settling back into the routine. Just like when I was in school, I kind of love being back!

I hope you're getting enough sleep, and knitting time, too. Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

My granddaughter texted me photos of
the sweater she is crocheting...I'm so
proud to see and celebrate her
artistry, too!

I Can't Count

I won't [count], don't ask me...🎶 

Well, I WILL count, but I won't be very good at it. If knitting and crochet have taught me anything, it is that I can't count consistently. I am 57 years old, I have successfully navigated 13 years of public school and 2 years of college, and I'm no slouch at math. But yarn apparently brings me to my counting knees. My latest example is this lovely crochet afghan...

I'm working on this as a gift for an educator, which is a really fun idea I found online! It will look like a sheet of notebook paper, and I hope to also embroider a note on one side before the end of the school year. Super-cute idea, right? But, if you start with 132 stitches and some math for the proper ratio to match an 8½' x 11' sheet of paper, then notice later that you only have 121 stitches, well panic sets in! 

Not for you? Well, how nice for you.

Let me tell you that panic set in for me on Thursday, and I counted, and I counted, and I counted those stitches some more as I sat there with my friends. I thought I saw the place where I had started to accidentally miss stitches about 12 rows back, so I figured I could add in stitches gradually to get back to 132. I took a deep breath, and I started to do just that. I added those stitches very confidently until it was time to go home.

Friday morning, with another 12 rows and about 8 stitches added back in, I counted again. This time, I used some removable stitch markers to help me keep track of smaller sections of stitches as I counted. Guess what I found? That's right...

One-Hundred Thirty-Nine stupid stitches! 

I sat there, and I counted, and I counted, and I counted again. As it turned out, my stitch count was only off by ONE back there, when I started adding stitches back gradually. Smack-My-Head, which I did repeatedly as I pulled back row after row of double crochet, balling up that yarn to work with again as I went. I spent all day yesterday, including my lunch hour (it was lovely, I sat outside...in February...in Ohio...weird but lovely), trying to just work back to the place before I started ripping back...

By the end of the day, I was finally past that spot, and my stitch count was correct. I don't know what will happen this weekend exactly, but I do know that I will certainly mis-count something along the way. It is inevitable, because I just can't conquer crochet counting. Or maybe I covet counting calamities. Who knows? But when I put this yarn down, do you know what I won't do for you?

That's right. 

I won't [count], don't ask me...🎶 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and count) in Good Health!

I Give Up

I'm never knitting again.

April Fools! I've already started a new pair of socks!

What's your favorite prank? Mine is pretending to quit knitting. 

Ha! 

No.

Thanks for stopping by, and keep on Knitting in Good Health!

Springs in the Clocks?

You know what today is? It is the eve of Daylight-Savings-I-Hate-My-Life Sunday. Now, don't get me wrong...I love the extra hour of daylight as much as anyone, but "springing forward" and losing that hour of sleep is still pretty painful. 

So how do you fill a day that you know will bring you one hour less of everything (because tomorrow will start on time, whether I get enough sleep or not)? Well, if you moved into a new-construction home about a year ago, you grab some blue tape, a notebook, flashlight and hubby, and you go through all the drywall issues to be addressed by the builder before that year-long warranty is up!

Nail pop and drywall tape exposed...

Yeah, it was a super-fun morning! Lolz...but at least there was knitting at the end, and we will see the grandsons tomorrow.

Bright Axis Sweater, so fun!
Loving the stripes!

Not sure what else we will do with the day, but we have already set the clocks forward, so perhaps we will not stay up too late. We will probably also nap when the boys nap tomorrow, so nobody call me between 1-3pm! I will be snoozing! When I wake up, maybe I'll do some more knitting. Perhaps there will even be pictures like this one!

This is the face of a boy holding a milkshake
AND an orange pop!

What will you do today, as you anticipate the coming of springtime and summer? Whatever it is, as my friend Jim often says, "Keep the shiny side up!," and a spring in your step!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

I Got Your Back!

My quest for the perfect self-striping sock yarn for my Bright Axis sweater took me to an unexpected place this week. The land of canes and steroid packs for hip and back pain...

Don't worry about me too much, I'm fine...but I am moving a little slower. I'm not sure what I did exactly, but that hip pain that concerned me (please let my hip replacement be okay, and it is, whew!) was determined to be muscular, lower back pain. It was severe for a couple days, and I am eternally grateful to good friends who "had my back," so to speak! (Thanks for the fancy, flowered cane, Ruthann! It is just what I needed for physical and emotional support this week!)

With my extra down time, I shopped all the self-striping yarn dyers I love, and happened upon a perfect match sock set in the "Sesame" colorway from Must Stash Yarns! I've been lusting after this colorway for years, and just happened upon it this time...super yay! I mean, just look!

Some of the girls at our Thursday CKW Knit Night were having a "winding party," so I brought my new yarn (and my cane) with me, and look how perfect it's going to be: 

While I waited for Thursday, I worked on a new sock for one of our granddaughters in KP Felici. Sunset is the colorway, stunning is the sock!

All that knitting and planning has been therapeutic, and I am getting back to my old self! I am also getting ready to find my way to Sesame Street on my Bright Axis! Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? These boys are excited to help me, as long as Sesame Street is at the bottom of this snowy hill! Lol...

Hahaha! One of them is way more into winter sports than the other, but they both love to be outside, in general! Pop Pop loves to be outside, too, so he's got their backs! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Birth of a Stripey Sweater

When you wake up on a Saturday morning, and the world looks like this:

You know that bird watching will be limited...except on public television!

Of course, even though this is not the best day for a leisurely stroll in the park, the days of the annual snowpocalypse are good for something...KNITTING! This. This is what I am all about, especially since I have finally cast on my January sweater for this year!

Some years, I start the sweater on January 1st. This year, I was still deciding on a pattern when the ball dropped in Times Square, but I did finally settle on one that had been singing to me from Ravelry for a few days...Archer!

The construction is a bit of a challenge, but I am loving every minute of it so far! From its alien, crab-like beginnings,

to the emergence of the arches and their stripey fill,

this one has captivated my knitting heart! The color of the yarn in the skein was stunning, 

and while the knitted fabric reads a little less pink, with more caramel tones coming through, it is no less stunning...

especially in the caramel/cream stripes that will become the main body of the thing. Oh! I can't wait to wear this one!

My plans include lengthening the body so the sweater can be worn with many of the LuLaRoe leggings in my closet (because I think I am up to 24 pairs of those now...yes, Virginia, I have a little LuLaRoe "problem," thank you for pointing it out), and finishing out the split hem in the Hawthorne yarn that is the main color of the shoulders!

For now, as I watch the stripes multiply and accommodate catonlap on this snowy Saturday, I can only dream of the day that I can snuggle into this sweater to greet future snowy Saturdays! Until then, here I sit, knitting contentedly and making a lap for cats!

What is your favorite thing to do on a snow day?

Thanks for stopping by! Whatever you are doing today, I hope that you are also finding some time to Knit in Good Health!