Thoughts on the Night of the Beaver Supermoon

The supermoon just cleared the trees behind my house. It is really bright tonight, shining through my window, joy from the east. This moon is both special and hilarious at the same time: the Beaver Supermoon.

Oh, we have beaver here in Colorado! I used to go with my children at dusk to a local state park looking for them in a pond with a beaver lodge. The kids and I have seen adults and youngsters (kits) over the years. Sometimes they were in the shrubbery by the water, sometimes swimming across the pond, and I’ve even seen one chomping on a tree. I’ve accidently startled them (those tail slaps on the water will get your attention), and I’ve glimpsed them swimming across the water with a branch in their mouths. One summer we could see the drag marks in the wet earth as large sections of trees were dragged down to the water; these woody treasures provide both food and building material for the lodges and dams. Beavers are pretty special as their work in waterways create essential habitat for other species. This moon gets its name from the increased activity of beavers preparing for winter. It is also a larger moon this month, hence the name Beaver Supermoon.

This poster was on the wall in my classroom for years!

I’ve been simultaneously busy and stalled out lately. I have finally recovered from the absolutely horrible flare of never-ending tendonitis that forced me to abandon my knitting for almost a year. This is what my right wrist looked like last year at this time.

I tore the house apart as best as I could hunting for painkillers that I could take with this one!

The x-ray report after this adventure had the word “severe” sprinkled throughout it. My rheumatologist tested me for gout and pseudogout: both negative. She did write me a prescription for emergency prednisone and painkillers in case this happens again. Then the flare dragged on, and on. Then there was the car wreck and other adventures. I kept hopefully buying more yarn, and stockpiling new patterns, hoping that someday I could return to knitting.

Two weeks ago the pain finally stopped and I started knitting in earnest again. Look at what I managed to accomplish!!

My Extra Lite Bright is off the needles, finished and blocked. This sweater will become a layering staple for me this fall.

And just like that, I stalled out, consumed by endless yarny possibilities. I have all of this yarn! I have all of these dreams of new sweaters dancing around in my head; so many possibilities. What should I knit?????

As fate would have it, I also finished a book on the same day that I took that sweater off the knitting needles. Help! Double indecision!!! So many books waiting for me on my Kindle. Help. I’m on fire to get going, and unable to make a decision. Help me Supermoon, help!!!!

That’s how I ended up spending the day as busy as a beaver, kitting up yarn with patterns to make new sweaters. Yarn was wound, and a sweater was cast on… but I have two more sweaters that I have located needles for and I’m going to cast them on too. Three sweaters at once? Sure. Why not?!

The grey/pink yarn combo will become a Renaissance Sweater. The yarn in the middle (there are 5 colors there) is destined to become a Colorica cardigan. The yarn on the right has already been cast on and is becoming an Alchemist Pullover. There are some kits for more sweaters, but those are the ones that are seeing action right away. Why these three? Well… one is colorwork, one is a cardigan that will involve some lace and purling, and the third is just too cute to not get made right away. My hope is that no matter what my hands and wrists are up to, I will be able to get some knitting done.

Then there are the books. So many books. If I’m knitting three sweaters at once, maybe I should have several books going at the same time too. In that spirit I am reading and listening to all of these.

I’ve started reading Buckeye, listening to The Wedding People, and I’m pretty sure that I need a little Three Pines action right away, so it is going to be in action soon, too.

There are several other books nagging at me. I told them to go hang out with the yarn stash overflow. Still, they call to me. The yarn calls to me. I have fought my way through the indecision of making choices when surrounded by great possibilities. Is this what beavers feel when faced with a new stand of aspen? Whatever. I have made the decisions, I have made a start on the first sweater and the first books, and like the beavers that gave tonight’s moon its name, I am full of purpose and I have big plans.

There is a lesson here. A year ago, I was in a terrible flare, unable to knit or even read. The best I could manage was an audiobook, and even then, I had to play it over and over as I had trouble concentrating and following the story. I sought help, I tried new drugs, I stuck to my special diet, and I did my physical therapy. I came through that time, and now I am here, shining bright again. Just as the moon returns to full force at the end of each cycle, I have managed a comeback too.

In my excitement over the knitting and books I haven’t forgotten the chemo hats, port pillows, and zipper pouches that I also have to get done. Saturday, I get to meet up with all of my friends again for a sewing extravaganza to produce more zipper pouches, and one of my friends wants to take the three quilts that my sister started; they will go to a program for children getting their first bed. Who knew that this was a thing? Like the beaver, I hope that my work will ripple out and bring change in my community around me, supporting lots of new life.

Shine on Beaver Supermoon. Shine on.

Hannah and the CoalBear: She’s Knitting Again

Hi. I’m Hannah.

What a week, what a week. The Mother of Cats had been sad for days and days because she could not knit. It has been awful. She kind of moped around and didn’t take good care of the CoalBear and me. She forgot our TUNA one night!!! Her hand had been slowly getting better, but her knees suddenly got cranky and she hadn’t been going up and down the stairs so much. She tried to read a book, but she decided it was boring. I finally moved into bed with her and tried to groom her, but she just hid under the covers, so I groomed one of her sweaters to make it fluffy. Why did that make her cranky? What is wrong with this Mother of Cats? Maybe she should eat more tuna…

Look at what the Mother of Cats did!!! She gave me a chicken to groom and sleep with. My very own chicken!!! I love my chicken, yes I do. The week was starting to look a little better when…

The Mother of Cats found a leak under the kitchen sink. No. This is bad! There was a lot of commotion, and then this scary man came and worked on the pipes and replaced the garbage disposal. (Mateo the CoalBear told me: I DID NOT come out of the closet for the whole day!) The Mother of Cats had to do some cleaning and laundry, and I was hoping that things were getting better. Then it started snowing and snowing outside…

There is almost 2 feet of snow there on the catio. Once again, my informant is Mateo, because there was NO WAY I was going out in that stuff.

So, the Mother of Cats had to go out and clear snow. I was a little worried, but she wore her braces and got through it without her wrist getting any worse, and she seemed to be walking a little better. Hey. Maybe the week was starting to turn around?

By Thursday she was wearing a compression wrist brace and started knitting a little sock. So cute, right? Now after knitting for three days, it is starting to look cute, and I’m thinking that it could use a little grooming. Nope. The Mother of Cats keeps it zipped up in a project bag where I can’t get ahold of it. Don’t you think that the sock would look better if it was a little fluffy? As I’ve discussed before, the Mother of Cats is not good at sharing her things…

Do you see how I am sharing my chicken with Mateo? He’d better not groom it, though!!

This is Hannah, signing off.

>^..^<

Note from the Mother of Cats:

The beautiful sock yarn is from Spun Right Round and the color is called Ugly in the Morning. The name kind of fits the week. The background yarn is a black and white zebra twist yarn dyed in the colorway. Perfect, right? A zebra with lots of colors shining through. I’m making a pair of Scrunch Socks in this fun yarn, and every day I am able to knit a little more as my wrists recover and my flexibility returns. Yay for resiliency.

Talk about resiliency: My indoor roses are blooming!

A Month of Crutches and Panic Knitting: The Destash Project Update

It really has been a quiet month for me as I’ve been more housebound than usual as I slowly recover from bursitis and tendonitis in one (thank heavens only one!) hip. I’ve been doing my physical therapy, faithfully using my crutch whenever I have to do any prolonged walking (like going to the grocery store), and even started a gym membership so I can start on the reclined bike for the prescribed 5 minute workouts. It helps that it has been cold and I’ve been very motivated to get some projects done. I cleaned up my sewing room and started on some quilts, joined another book club, and began some serious panic knitting to get my yarn destash project back on track after a disastrous September shopping spree.

I entered the month with only 33.5 skeins out of the stash, and my goal is 50 skeins out of the stash before the end of the year. Yikes! I settled into the knitting chair, started an audiobook and began to catch up on knitting projects every afternoon into the evening.

I had two sweaters that were close to completion at the start of the month: the Climb Every Mountain (upper left) and the Koivua (upper right). I finished them up rather quickly (3 skeins used) and then cranked out the Understated sweater (bottom right) in less than two weeks, using up 6 skeins in the effort. Pretty productive!

This week I pulled out several skeins of yarn that were kind of rustic (not superwash), paired then with some mohair that I’ve had stashed forever and make MacKenzie (my very spoiled and demanding cat) a cushy padded sleeping blanket in three days flat while a series of cold fronts dumped a foot of snow and drove temperatures into single digits. It helped that I used big needles and 4 strands of yarn held together for the project.

I also managed to polish off a couple pairs of socks (very simple, mash-up socks that are winter workhorses…) that aren’t all that much to look at, but they used up another couple skeins of yarn.

See what I mean? These are just simple ribbed socks with a sturdy heel.

I have a couple of other projects on the needles at the moment, a cowl and another sweater that will take me through next month, and then before I know it I will be at the end of the year. The destash project kind of hangs over me so I have been knitting steady.

This sweater got started this evening and should really use up most of my Heilo stash. I have 20 skeins of the Heilo, so I have been saving this sweater back as kind of a ringer for the destash project. This is Barn from the book Knits About Winter (Emily Foden). It will be nice and warm for me as winter weather really arrives in the weeks to come.

This evening I totaled up the skeins used this month on my little spreadsheet (yes, I am that big of a geek!) and to my shock the total now is…

52 skeins!!!

I have made it! The destash goal is polished off and I will be way over it when I finish the Barn sweater. Whew! I can now shift attention to getting more sewing done and maybe even will be able to spin a little or do some weaving before Christmas if the hip behaves itself. Maybe bake some cookies. You know, go wild with the relief of having made my goal. Who knew that bursitis, tendonitis, and being on crutches for a few weeks would turn out to be a blessing in disguise? Every cloud does have a silver lining after all!

I will, however, be staying out of the yarn store until the end of the year! No more slips, no more slips, no more slips (chant along with me, people!), no more slips…

May your knitting be good, your books exciting, your chronic illnesses (if you are a member of that club with me) well behaved, and all your New Year’s resolutions met. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Knitting Speed Bump

A few weeks ago I went to see my primary care physician for help with shortness of breath and joint pain. I totally scored! I walked out of there with a tetanus shot (fail), inhaled steroids to control my small airway disease (win) and an anti-inflammatory gel to put on my swollen, painful joints (huge win). What a difference to my life these new medications have made. I can breath! I can walk without pain! I can sleep through the night! This is huge, people. Take that Sjogren’s and scleroderma! Feeling so much better I began to spend more hours up and about, and there was a lot more knitting happening too.

I got some socks finished right up. Here are my project notes.

I made a lot of progress on my Suburban wrap and was lured into knitting more than usual because I just had to get into the next section of the wrap. This is such a fun project with lots of color, texture and lace interest. So addictive. So hard to walk away from…

Oops. Then this happened.

One of the problems of getting better is that swelling is going down and the tissue is tightening up on some of my joints. My knees are really tight. My wrists are stiff. When I knit my joints loosen, so I thought I was helping them stay flexible. That is probably true to a certain point, but I guess I now need to be careful to not overdo things. Sigh. I am using the tendons in my left hand the most since I knit continental, and I push the yarn over the needle with my middle finger for each purl stitch. I’m really fast that way, but my tendons have totally rebelled in my left hand and wrist. To make things worse I can’t take NSAIDS or any other anti-inflammatory drug because of my scleroderma-battered kidneys and stomach. Sigh. My doctor ordered a knitting hiatus.

I want to be a compliant patient, really I do. I read a couple of books, managed to get through a couple of days without knitting, and then I snapped. I must knit!! Want knit now!! Knit, knit, knit. Why go on if I can’t knit? Sniff. Obviously this is totally unacceptable and I am going to figure out how to knit in spite of this bad boy wrist. Really, my left hand is the one having trouble, so maybe I can work around that. I tried to tension the yarn in lots of creative ways before I remembered that lots of people on the planet hold the yarn in their right hands. English knitting. I have never mastered purling English style, but now I’m really motivated!

I was in the last striped section of the wrap when disaster struck; stockinette means I have to purl back every other row.

I managed to continental knit with the brace on (okay, it is a little loose) and am moving my left hand very little by working slowly and relying on my right hand.

Working very slowly I am also managing to purl back English style. So slow. So awkward. So much safer for babying rebellious tentons.

Last night I finished the stripes and am ready to enter the last section of garter eyelet. Yay. Knit all the way! I can do this! Then it is into the last, ribbed section of the wrap.

Ribbing. That is going to be slow going. I think that I will check out Norwegian purling. Somehow I need to do this without moving my fingers too much. Yay. A new stitch to learn.

I’m on it!

Take that, scleroderma. You are messing with the wrong knitter!!