>A quick make & a big whinge…

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I’m sure you are as sick of hearing about how sick I am as I am about telling you – but we all know whinging makes you feel very slightly better, as you snuggle under a blanket of self pity… so skip the next paragraph if you just can’t bear anymore!

…but seriously, this is ridiculous. The mysterious pain has returned, and  quite frankly, it hurts, or seems to hurt, worse than ever…. to the point that I have been awake since 4am, can’t sit, stand or lie comfortably, can’t bend over or stand up straight. You’ll tell me to go to the Doctor, but, I won’t. I have been to the Doctor about this. I have been to emergency about this. I have even had a small procedure in hospital that ‘they’ thought might relieve this, only weeks ago. They don’t know what it is. Of course I don’t know what it is. I thought maybe it was the wheat thing – but I have been eating wheat & gluten normally now for a few weeks without issue, until yesterday… is it possible to only get (severe, bring tears to your eyes) pain with an incredible build up of wheat or whatever over time?? I don’t know, and I’m frustrated, upset, and ridiculously uncomfortable. My temper is short and I’m feeling so down, because I know that even when the pain goes (please go soon!) it will be back and again I will have no recourse. *sigh*

Despite feeling like death warmed up, I still wanted to make something today. I didn’t want to let the pain dictate to me, I didn’t want to fail the promise I made to myself more than anything, to get back on the creating train. I thought I’d cheat though, and make something that didn’t actually require any physical effort – an animation for My Poppet’s Animation Friday which I have been meaning to do, but when I popped over to have another look at how to do it, I saw her post about knitting needles, with a link to these knitting needle bracelets, and I thought “That looks easy enough”. I have been meaning to make these for ages, they were in a magazine – maybe even Better Homes & Gardens, about a zillion years ago, and I have been collecting colourful knitting needles just because…

They were quick (so quick they’re still wet in the photos!), they were easy and that is my making done for today. They are bright & made me smile. They are even keeping Le Punk occupied while I type which is great, because I certainly don’t have the energy, poor love.

>My Creative Space…

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…this week, finds me twiddling my thumbs. Having finished the pink vesty thing, I am now trawling around for my next knitting project – joining Rav was perhaps not the best idea I’ve ever had… so many things I’d love to make! How to decide..?!

So for now, while I mull over the plethora of choices, I am content to flick through a pretty great book that landed on the doorstep a couple of days ago.

I’ll be honest & say I didn’t really know what I was buying when I ordered Naughty Needles online – all I knew is that it seemed like everyone who bought it loved it & it was DIFFERENT. Well… different it certainly is, and fun, and funny, and naughty is certainly the appropriate word…

I can’t see me actually making a single thing out of this – well, maybe the cape, when I am all expert-knitty & down with the kids, but I like that I own it all the same, it has a cheesecake pinup quality that had me at hello.

If you want to share your Creative Space with us all head over to Kirsty’s & share away!

>Pretty In Punk.

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I finished the knitting I showed you in last week’s Creative Space – I was actually five rows off finishing when I ran out of yarn on Saturday evening so I had to wait until Monday for the shop to open & to pick up some more… that is the definition of knitting frustration!

I should have done a gauge swatch. Should’a, but did’na. You can tell by the ‘beret’ that is more skull cap, but whatever, the top fits okay, no thanks to any competence on my part.

I enjoyed knitting this up infinitely more than my first finished project – the natural, soft & yummy yarn certainly helped, and I seem to have gotten into the knitting groove.

I joined Raverly last night – I have less than no idea what I’m doing over there, quite honestly, but it seems the place to be. Feel free to ‘befriend’ me if you’re there too, and we can muddle about together.

>I actually… finished something… knitted….

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Ummmmmm…. wow.

At the grand old age of 28, this is my first ever real knitted anything that wasn’t abandoned half way through, messed up entirely or a scarf.

I know the colour is… questionable, but to be honest, I didn’t actually think I would finish (don’t you just love that cheesy grin? That’s what you get when you say “SMILE!”)…

I love that I am equally clueless about knitting AND crochet, meaning I can turn to the other when one is giving me a headache – and I can add stuff like a cute crochet rose to a garishly coloured knitted vest.

The pattern is from a ye olde opshop knitting pamphlet… I didn’t measure Punk or anything so I just totally guessed which size & hoped for the best. I am so chuffed, it hurts.

>My Creative Space…

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Having forgotten my decision to post MCS “the night before”, I am madly scrambling to do it now, before we head off only to return in the late afternoon when I, well, just can’t be assed.

Just a *teensy* bit excited to join in with Kirsty’s meme today… I’ve been doing lots of something I don’t normally do, snuggled up in front of the heater. Actually… two somethings I don’t normally do… and CURSING myself for not buying some of the lurvly yarn I fondled at Stitches & Craft… the only yarn I have being a mismatched hodgepodge from the oppy…

I have been… knitting!

A scarf! It’s all rolled up at the sides – according to my Gran, aka “The knitting sage”, if I’d knitted the first & last five stitches of each purl row that would nae have happened, but as I didn’t know that until the scarf was a considerable length already, I’m hoping an iron and/or a wash will sort it out when I’m done. I also learned from The Sage that what I thought was purling was actually some kind of weird ass backwards knitting, so we got that sorted out once and for all…

I have also been…. crocheting!

…and, enjoying it… for a change. Finally I’ve figured out how to (kinda sorta) understand bits of my crochet book & learned how to keep my circles flat… AND, how to make flowers. And roses. I am ridiculously, in proportionately proud of my roses… even if on the bigger one I ran out of yarn… I just can’t believe that;

a) I made that and

b) I made it with CROCHET.

It is, I think, a miracle.

>My Creative Space

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Goddamn I suck at knitting.

Yet still I persist.

Every couple of years.

At trying to make…. “something”.

I thought this would be a portable, relaxing endeavour while we move.

I was wrong.

Kudos to Kirsty for her magnificent Creative Space hosting skills, head on over!

>I only have myself to blame.

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…for the cold, cold rainyness that is today.

It is entirely my fault.

What with whinging yesterday about being sick in the sunshine, now we are sick in the drizzle. (Hehehe… that reminds me of the Aqua Teens episode where Master Shake is “The Drizzle!”… I luffs ATHF…)

It’s very cold now. And the rain is noisy. Waaaaaaaaaah!!! I know – I just can’t be pleased, but we all like a good whinge now and then do we not, especially when we’re sick.
*shnuffle*

All I want to do is go back to bed, bury myself under a mountain of warm blankets & pass out… but alas, that is not to be. All The Punk wants to do, with runny nose a-gushing, is climb furniture like a mountain goat & just generally get into mischief
.

I feel like, on days like this, I should know how to knit, or at the very least, crochet. Sure I can do garter stitch… but not terribly well, and even worse, with little to no enthusiasm, but it just seems like such a wholesome, warming thing to do in the cold…

…OK. Cue the spooky music… Punky is watching playschool & just now, as I was typing “knitting” the guy came on with some pretty knitting & is demonstrating how to knit….! Even TV hosts that look like Wiggles rejects know how to knit!!

My problem, or problems, with knitting are many. First of all, I am a very impatient learner. I’m all for a nice bit of instant gratification & knitting just doesn’t give me that – sure I can knit a dodgey garter stitch scarf, but it’s going to take a lot of time, and a little effort, and all I’m going to end up with is a dodgey garter stitch scarf….! So, then I look at pretty knitted things that I would just LOVE to own, but they are all quite beyond my basic capabilities, and rather than, you know, learning, I just give up in a huff. Even if I knew how to do all the fancy pants stitches I still don’t think I would particularly enjoy it. It would be like sewing but you have to make the fabric first… way too slow and again delaying that lovely feeling of having created something yummy.

I get that the pride in completing a knitted project could be of a higher quality than the pride from throwing together a quick pinnie, simply because of the time & effort expended, but again I don’t think I could apply myself enough to see if it was worth it. Give me lots of short burst of creative completion instead of a nice steady one any day…

I wonder, is there such a thing as Craft Diabetes…?! 😉

Ah… ignore me. The incoherent ramblings of a sick person. I am going to turn off the computer, find my fuzzy slippers & curl up on the couch where I can keep an eye on the rampaging Punk without having to… well… move.