Junuary becomes June

Wasn't there once a transitional period between winter and summer? I think it was called spring. Anyway, after months of wet, cool weather, this week it got hot.

Today was 101 F. The heat is making me dream weird.

Dream #1: Someone bludgeons Ziggy. I'm running around with him in my arms trying to staunch the bleeding and get him to the hospital.

Dream #2: Another cat, who looks just like Ziggy except that he is black, tries to pass himself off as the real Ziggy. I am tipped off to the scheme when I see both cats in the same room, and by the the fact that Ziggy is a Seal Point Siamese not a black cat. Alarmed, I try to chase the black cat out the back door. Then I realize I'm not sure which cat is the impostor.

What kind of lame dreams are those? If I have to wake up hot and bothered, why do I also have to feel ashamed at the ridiculousness of my dreaming. I blame Ziggy. He was sleeping next to my shins the whole time I dreamt, hooking me with his after-stretching retracting claws. Why can't he stay on his side of the bed?

Knitting update: I'm working on my first pair of socks. I started with a lacey pattern, but decided what I really wanted was a plain, straight-stitch footie. I finally got past the heel on the first one after 4 false starts.

Honeycomb Vest

My sister realized that knitting and tendonitis don’t mix, so she gave me some yarn from her stash. Included in the bag were four skeins of Silky Wool. When I saw the Honeycomb vest pattern calling for four skeins of Silky Wool, it seemed like an omen.

I’m the model in the picture (note to self: in future, find something less weird to do with hands), but the vest was a b-day present for my sister.

I’ll always remember this project as the one that inspired me to walk to Walgreens and purchase reading glasses. I also learned to cable without a needle. I’m glad I did.

Specs
Pattern: Honeycomb by Sarah Caster, size small. Published on knitty.com.
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, four skeins
Needle: size 4 circulars
Modifications: Increased the length by .5.” Knit front and back in the round. Omitted waist shaping since the vest has several inches of negative ease.
Notes: This yarn should come with a warning label. It is very stretchy. I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to knit with it again. It requires careful blocking and reshaping after washing, and I’m lazy about those kinds of things. It also took a couple days to dry even after a run through the spin cycle.

Love sees what it wants to see

Why is it, I wonder, that I never remember to avoid projects that have a lot of stitches to pick up, especially when those stitches are for ribbing? I guess, if you fall in love with a pattern, you dismiss potential complications.

It usually takes me a couple tries before I pick up the right number, at the right tension, so that everything lies flat. (Or is it "lays flat"... another thing I can't get right.)

The Honeycomb vest has ribbing around the neck and armholes. Ribbing around the neck and arms is either perfect or it's crap. There's no middle ground. I like to eyeball things and improvise, but that usually doesn't work for ribbing...I'm going to have to rip out the first armhole's ribbing. Sigh. I wonder if icing one's head is as effective as icing one's feet?

I hope the Honeycomb will be a success and that the recipient will like wearing it. I hope she won't mind if it's a day or two late. I hope she looks on it with the eyes of love.

Why today was great

I ran 53 minutes, including some pretty nice hills, and nothing hurt that wasn't supposed to hurt. Running down a hill, I felt a twinge on the ball of my right foot, but it went away after I adjusted my stride. I tried to soak in a bath of cold water after, but I'm too wimpy to go deeper than my ankles.

My remedy for sore feet is still ice, elevation, and knitting.

5 reasons to whine

1. The Honeycomb vest is nearing completion, and I may run out of yarn. There’s no chance of matching the dye lot since my sister purchased the yarn years ago.
2. I’ve had flu-like symptoms today and didn’t run. Last week I had a foot issue which kept me from my scheduled 10-mile day.
3. Ziggy puked twice.
4. Will the sun ever come out? I don’t want to live in a world of perpetual gloom.
5. Medical coverage in this country totally stinks.