Grey May

May 21, 2013 2:37 pm , 1 Comment ,

Well. Firstly, go here and take stuff. Please and thank you. I got a little nostalgic about one of those knits, took it out, tried it on and… ITCH ITCH ITCH. AAAAH! So yes, please take it all. A whole heap o’ FKS packages are going out tomorrow so if you hurry, you can get it right quick.

Yearly Reread

Yearly re-read is well underway. Emily is done, Jo and Laurie are 3/4 done, and I’m now on Anne book 2. Next up: Laura.

Blue Pop

You know how I said this yarn was unphotographable? Yup. But that photo is important: it’s the first time since the original Knitting Olympics that I have had a single project on the go. And I plan to keep it that way. Since I’m not knitting a whole lot and I’ve suddenly become allergic to all my knits and half my stash, it’s back to project monogamy for me. It’s a nice feeling, if a very unfamiliar one.

Fruity Kindle

That was the last of the strawberries for awhile. They seem to upset the ulcer/gallbladder thing. At least I got some British strawberries before then. British strawberries are the best.

Washi!

I have discovered washi tape. I have decorated my Moleskine (more on my new planner Moleskine hack in another post), I have decorated packages. And now I am out of places to stick it. Since I’m trying to keep on with the simplification/destuffing, I will not let myself go buy new things to stick it to. But goodness, it’s addictive stuff. Pretty too.

Another change coming up:

I am spectacularly tired of recording every moment for posterity. (She says while typing yet another blog post.) It’s not blogging, or even taking pictures. It’s that feeling of having to do something to record a moment in time when maybe all you want to do is live it. We’ve got an event coming up that does not allow cameras. And all I can think is thank goodness! Which isn’t a reaction I was expecting at all. Maybe it’s because without the chronic knitting and picture taking I’m not entirely sure what to blog. It could be purely mechanical: I’m too tired or worn out to be properly productive. And I want to spend my energy elsewhere. What little of it I have, anyway. This is a good point too. Except the overload of inspiration isn’t making me feel more creative. It’s making me feel like I can never keep up. Keeping up is most definitely an issue.

I thought about taking a break from blogging over the summer but makes the problem even more of a problem. I’m banned from something I might want to do and still enjoy because I’m not 100% sure what to do about it? It’s like walking away from the problem just emphasizes it. There’s lots to talk about, just maybe not as much to show.

In The Artist’s Way there’s a mention of how you have to fill the pot. You have to fill yourself up before you can give your energy away. And I feel like a very empty pot. Online inspiration isn’t filling it, tons of pictures and words and things to do/read/pin/share/like feels like more energy going out than in. Stepping back and simplifying is what I’ve been doing in every other aspect of my life, so why not here? I’m going to start thinking more, telling more and showing less. At least, I will try.

I’ll just take a moment to say a big thank you to everyone who has read my blog through all it’s many transformations. Here comes another one so stick around, yeah?

Posted in: inspiration + change, iphoneography

Life Without Photoshop

May 16, 2013 4:39 pm , 1 Comment ,

Is a frustrating, frustrating thing. It’s a routine thing – I have my routine and trying to figure out a new one while I’m not taking lots and lots of pictures is just annoying. (If I was taking lots of pictures, I would get the monthly subscription. Or use my old ancient dinosaur of a laptop which is still running CS2.) I’ve been testing replacements – PS Elements was useless, Pixelmator… no. I miss my Photoshop.

Apples

It’s not Friday but given the way things are going, I’ll take the opportunity when it presents itself.

Link Soup:

Health: is also frustrating. An as yet undetermined stomach issue (they suspect either gallbladder or an ulcer) and the waiting game of getting an ultrasound. Whatever it is is really taking it out of me with the pain. So that sucks.

Knitting:

Laser Beam Hat

Laser Beam Hat in KP Shadow held double.

ATHW Soft Sock

A sweater in this totally unphotographable-while-in-progress yarn.

Reading: Anne of Green Gables, Verity by Claire Farrell. Listening to The Story Girl by LM Montgomery (free from Librivox).

Watching: Eurovision, of course! Also A Young Doctor’s Notebook which is very odd: funny, rather gory, dramatic, weird. But it has Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe so you know, it’s very watchable.

Listening to: Enya. Yeah, I don’t know where the desire to listen to her came from either. I suspect it will go away really quickly and not come back for another 20 years.

Ok then.

Have a good weekend.

Posted in: knitting, photography, weekly thing

FKS/Destuff Post: The Allergy Version

May 11, 2013 3:09 pm , 7 Comments ,

Firstly, this post has taken AGES to put together. It’s long and full of stuff looking for a new home. Prepare yourself and then read on.

As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I have been having crazy allergy problems with things I’ve eaten/worn/used for YEARS suddenly causing allergic reactions. It’s been frustrating and annoying. Especially because I’m reacting to a large chunk of both my knits and yarn stash. This is just not fair but I’ve tested, rested, washed, dried, tested and rested again and I’m most definitely reacting. And since I can’t wear or knit with this stuff, I need it out of the house fast so I stop erupting in hives every time I accidentally touch it. So FKS it is.

I know I’ve spoken about problems with FKS but this is going to be a last gasp old school version wherein some things really are just free. Some things are swap only, the yarn is for flat out sale. Swaps are welcome for anything but since I’m having yarny issues, I’m going to have to be a bit picky.

Bonus round: scroll to the bottom for the last of the necklaces. I’m reacting to those too. *sigh* Still, more for you!

So. The rules:

1) If it says free, it’s free. If you want to swap for something free, yay! If not, ask anyway.

1a) First come, first serve. If you have tons of FKS already, I don’t care. If you want more than one thing, fine (within reason, of course). I do not take requests, reservations or orders. I am not a factory and this is the end of FKS as we know it. Any future knitting mistakes/allergies will be firstly met with screams and hair pulling but will then be quietly rehomed without any fanfare. So this is it, people.

2) Swaps! I have wishlists: books, non-fiction books, random stuff. Any of that is fine. However, if you want to swap something you’ve made or got in your stash, here’s the deal:

Yarn:

  • Knit Picks Shadow Tonal (NOT HEATHERED). Any color except red, purple or green, really.
  • Hand Maiden laceweight – this or this (too. many. pretty. colors.)
  • some Tosh Merino Light (in anything beige, cream or grey) and Vintage, to test for allergies with
  • MCN blends – Casbah especially (in any semi-solid, lightly variegated color really)
  • cashmere, especially heavy laceweight
  • some plastic stitch markers. I’m reacting to the ones I’ve had for years.

Fabric/Sewing Stuff:

  • flannel, fat quarters, cotton etc to make cowls – since I’ve had to throw out all my house cowls (knit in Dream in Color Classy/Chunky which I am now reacting to *grumble*) I need new ones asap. It’s a fibro thing – I need to keep the back of my neck/tops of my shoulders covered at all times to keep the pain and spasms down. If you make cowls of this type and want to swap for those? Yes, please! See this post for colors.
  • fat quarters, jelly rolls, fabric. I am going to commence to making my first quilt soon. (It’s in 3 Sisters Oasis.) That’s pretty much my style. I don’t do cutesy or wild but anything that looks like it belongs in a log cabin, aged manor house or French country home is right up my street. Oh, and I’m an absolute beginner here.

Other: Ask! If you make, produce or have an abundance of something cool, swaps could happen.

3) Money honey. Take my yarn and necklaces, ok? Swaps for yarn are ok, if tricky. Priority given to people claiming necklaces to buy over swap.

4) Additional pictures can be seen via the Ravelry links. Please express interest via the contact page with details of the item you want and any swap details. Items will be mailed upon receipt of swaps. Funds should be sent via Paypal, contact me for the address. Shipping costs included unless otherwise mentioned.

5) If you want it, ASK. This is all stuff I cannot wear or use and it’s either you give it a good home or it goes in the trash.

The Knitted Stuff:

Ghost Fiancee Hat

Dusk Cowl

  • Dusk Cowl in Tosh DK in Dusk. (Ravelry link.)
  • Pattern: Honey Cowl by Madelinetosh
  • Worn a LOT. Still looks great though. I love this cowl and I am so, so sad that it’s itchy now.
  • Care: handwash.
  • SWAP

The Knitted Stuff I Didn’t Knit:

Grey Cowl

  • Grey Cowl by Bertha in unknown 100% virgin wool.
  • 10″ high, 16.5″ wide
  • Care: handwash, dry flat.
  • FREE

Herringbone Cowl

  • Herringbone Cowl by Melissa in Malabrigo Chunky in Purple Mystery.
  • Pattern: Big Herringbone Cowl by Purl Soho
  • 11.5″ tall, 26″ wide (doubled)
  • Please note: this came from a cat friendly home.
  • Care: handwash, dry flat.
  • FREE/SWAP

The Yarn: (Ravelry destash page here.)

Shelter

Shelter in Almanac, 140 yards. £8

Tosh DK

Tosh DK in Forestry. £12

Malabrigo Worsted

Malabrigo Worsted in Cadmium. £12 for both. (Can you believe Malabrigo makes me itch? Not fair!)

Sparkleduck Merino Nylon Sock Yarn

Sparkleduck Merino/Nylon Sock Yarn. £8.

**

And now, the last Alice is. Signature Necklace update ever, aka: sparkly allergens. I explained a little here how I’ve started reacting to metal. I’ve been working out what metals I’m reacting to and I’m definitely reacting to my jewelry making supplies and the resulting necklaces. So. I’m sad about it but oh well. Give this stuff a good home if it appeals to you, ok?

How this is going to work: these are some really expensive, nice materials and the necklaces themselves took time, pain (shoulder injury) and energy to make. I feel the price fairly reflects that. HOWEVER. I get that’s a lot of money, especially taking exchange rates into consideration. So we’ll call that a ball park figure. You want the necklace? Make an offer. More if you can (because hello, awesome), less if you can’t. These HAVE to find a new home. Let’s work together to do that.

Materials:

  • all strung on silver Tigertail with Swarvoski crystals (various shapes and sizes), glass and ceramic seed beads, various metal spacer beads (mainly pewter), various beads in other materials (semi precious stones, glass, Swarovski pearls, acrylic), sterling silver findings.

Massive: These are mega sparkly with big Swarovski boulders and pearls.

Massive: Mega Sparkle

Massive: Mega Sparkle

Massive: Mega Sparkle

Sands. £35

Simple: These came about because people told me my necklaces were too sparkly for everyday. So they’re understated sparkle.

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Luck. £23

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Love. £23

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Sunshine. £23

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Autumn Leaves. £23

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Simple: Understated Sparkle

Cashmere. £22

Personal Collection (Tarnished): These are the necklaces I made for myself and they are worn, loved and a little tarnished. You can clean up the tarnish if you like (I wouldn’t dip these in any liquid though) or leave them as is. I rather like the patina on the silver.

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Sea Grass. £21

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Tarnish: Worn But Still Sparkly

Earth and Fire. £30

Right! Any questions, use the contact page. To arrange swaps, claim a free item or purchase anything, use the contact page. Link to this page with utter abandon.

Claimed:

  • FKS: Original Gloaming Shawl, Chevron Scarf, Manuka Shawl, Olive Sweater, Warning Light Shawl
  • Stuff Other People Knit FKS: Stripy Mittens
  • Yarn: Tosh Lace, Malabrigo Lace, OMA Merino/Cashmere Sock, sock yarn remnants, KPPPM
  • Necklaces: Sea Pearls, Elizabeta, Tahitian Sky, Spring, Roma, Arctic Ocean

Thank you and have a good weekend.

*phew*

Posted in: admin, life = whirlwind

That Thing Where You Want To Blog But… Eh.

April 27, 2013 8:42 pm , 6 Comments ,

Onion Flower

To clarify, the eh has nothing to do with blogging. More with the overwhelming exhaustion that seems to be plaguing me this week. I don’t think I’ve done much more than sit and read/listen to audiobooks for the last few days. Part of this is just because that’s life (can’t tell if this is Sjogren’s or fibro or both), part is because the weather has changed (that’s a fibro thing) and part because we’ve gone off-paleo (like off roading only with way more nausea!). That last one was not a good idea. A takeaway curry and some romano cheese (not in the same meal) and UGH. Anyway.

So much to talk about and so little brain power to do so. I shall revert to a list. I like lists.

On Knitting:

I seem to have developed a sensitivity to a large chunk of my knits. I don’t know why this is but there’s a definite difference between itchy wool and this reaction. And I can’t deal with it. So an old school FKS will be in order. And by old school I mean Free Knitted Stuff. Yes, free. (Although if you wanna swap, I will let you.)

By the same token, I have to test all my yarn to see if I’m reacting to any of that. So there will be a destash. That will not be free but swaps will be welcome.

I am going to have to test my Addi Click Interchangeable Circulars because the tips are nickel plated. *groan* I will be very unhappy if I can’t use Clicks. Although, really, the writing has been on the wall for some time about knitting. It’s just not something I can or am willing to do like I used to. Which is a bit sad. It brought me a lot of joy and a whole heap of awesome friends.

On Writing:

The Simplified Writing

I’ve been organizing and consolidating all my writing stuff. I can’t begin to explain how nice it is to have all the bones and ideas down in a single place and not in 35 different files/notebooks I have to dig through every time I need to get a new idea down or look up an old one. That’s not done but it is progress.

This does smack of procrastination, of course. Anything can be procrastination. But I feel easier in my mind that I can begin to pull ideas together more easily. I’m one of those people who get panicked and stressed when the tornado of “things to do” swirls in my brain. By having less stuff and dedicating time and energy to the stuff that matters, I hope to do more and stress less.

On Wardrobe:

The Simplified Wardrobe

On Twitter and Flickr there has been a lot of talk about fashion and what we wear everyday. And ever since the great wardrobe destuff, I’ve been trying to keep the number of items I have down while keeping in my style and what I want to wear. And also taking into account that what I wear most isn’t cute or stylish or even anything I like. It’s comfortable and when you feel like crap, that’s all that matters.

So this is my wardrobe (not including my house clothes). And I’m mostly happy with it. I need another pair of jeans and new scarves and cowls in fabric I’m not allergic/reacting to.

The Simplified Wardrobe

One thing that I noticed when I piled all this up was the color scheme. I didn’t consciously pick a color scheme, in fact, I’ve always thought it was a too limiting to pick a few neutrals, 2 main colors and 2-3 secondary colors. But I seem to have done it anyway. And it’s actually very helpful, especially when it comes to shopping for clothes and even yarn.

  • Neutrals: grey and beige.
  • Main colors: blue/blue-green and pink.
  • Secondary colors: green and black, sometimes yellow.

Which begs all of the following questions: why is that red sweater in there? Why did I buy bright purple yarn? Why am I always thinking bright colors are best when my entire wardrobe is a study in neutrals? Why don’t my accessories ever match a single item in that stack? Why did I ever knit an orange Clapotis? Why do I love that yellow dress so much? (It’s so happy.) WHEN did I start liking pink?!

Some questions are easier to answer. I own brown shoes even though I don’t like brown clothes because I hate black shoes even more. I am addicted to grey t-shirts. This is a very understated wardrobe compared to how I used to dress. J. calls that time in my life my “hippie rainbow phase” and while I’m happy to not dress that way anymore, I kind of miss being told how creative I am. Why do bright colors and wacky cuts automatically mean “creative” anyway? Can’t I be seen as a creative person dressed head to toe in neutrals?

It’s an interesting study, if nothing else. And hopefully it will stop all useless knitting/shopping. Hopefully.

On Finishing This Blog Post Already:

Have a good weekend, all. Oh, and thanks for reading.

Posted in: inspiration + change, photography

Anti-Procrastination, A Musical Rut and Unexplained Panic

April 23, 2013 3:07 pm , 3 Comments ,

Pretty much.

Currently: Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill & a salad.

Anti-procrastination: the art of your body/health sabotaging your forward momentum. I want to do but cannot. Add in perfectionist/Type A tendencies and this is probably way more frustrating to me than it should be.

Currently: Guilty Pleasures by Tasmina Perry (and boy, it is one!), salad, vitamins and water.

I mean, resting should be a good thing. Right?

Currently: Kindle + strawberries.

Somehow I never learned how to rest well. Or to accept limitations without collapsing into a depressed little heap.

This is confusing me. Caramel popcorn chocolate bar. Um, ok?

A Musical Rut: J. and I are both stuck about 20 years ago, musically. I’m currently listening to 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins. Which is pretty much when my musical taste decided not to move forward.

Gotta love a man who cooks. <3

I do try, I just can’t seem to find anything that I can handle listening to. It’s either boring or stupid or just not something I enjoy.

Currently: working.

Worse is when new music just reminds me of older (and better) music. I prefer listening to the good stuff, even if that marks me as hopelessly behind times.

Chucks

Unexplained Panic: probably not so unexplainable. Take the anti-procrastination and the feeling of a deadline (where none exists) and I’m probably just making myself panicky.

Busy Busy

I tend to do that.

iPhone photos from the top: I started taking pictures of what I was reading and my lunch, a crazy chocolate covered caramel popcorn bar, an excellent homemade curry J. made, working, new Chucks (my first pair) because they’re the only things I tried that fit my giant orthopedic insoles – the foot healed funny PLUS I walk funny anyway, more work which is getting done slowly, despite my health.

So. There’s that.

Posted in: iphoneography