Jun 11, 2007

knit one, rip out two...

I'm sitting here looking at my half-done sweater back. I love the colors. I love the tighter stitches this time. It won't drape as beautifully, but it will be warm and it will fit. I think I should be saying a mantra as I'm making the stitches, but nothing comes to me. Everyone says that knitting is a meditation. For me, it's excitement. I'm always excited to see how things turn out. I'm excited for this sweater, too, because I don't have many warm sweaters to wear this winter. I've made two, so far...one tan one that is too small and a green one that is nice to wear as a top with jeans or a skirt. I love it, but I can only wear it so many times in a row before it starts to smell like I live in it. The tan one is scheduled to be ripped out and re-done. All this knitting and ripping...I learn from it, and I enjoy experimenting with different techniques, but I want them all to turn out great, so I don't have to ractice wththe ripping out, too. I've got THAT technique perfected.

I'm saving some pretty brown yarn to make a long skirt for myself. I'm studying various skirt patterns to decide which, exactly, would be the best one for me. I hope to be able to skip the ripping out portion of the skirt experience. It's at this point that I miss my knitting machine the most. I've thought of ordering one from Bond America, but the thought of what the shipping costs might be makes me put that off. I haven't even checked to see what it would cost. I'm scared to look. I almost bought a spinning wheel with my tax money, but the shipping would cost more than the wheel is worth. Maybe I'll just have a look, anyway. Nothing like window shopping, heh? If nothing else, I might be able to bring mine back with me in November.

4 comments:

Wondering Through Life said...

I don't know what to type here... I'm so glad you have your knitting to keep you busy and your fingers working in the cold...

I know how cold you get and to be honest, I'm worried about my friend right now. I wish we had known how very cold it gets, I could have gotten an elc. blanket for you before they took them off the shelves at Wal-mart.

Kat, your other post broke my heart... WHY isnt' someone helping those people learn to survive ?? Peace Corp or the churches, SOMEONE...

On a task now to find out more about the Highlands and What the people are going to do.

Stay warm my dear friend !! HUGS and much Love, Lisa Catherine

Kathleen said...

Yeah, the temperature there in the highlands is about 15ºF. Actually, not that cold for a mountainous area, I didn't think. But still - too cold to be without heat. I cannot understand why, after centuries of living there, no one has built a fireplace in their houses. Why do they not use a cookstove that could double as a heat source?

The biggest thing is that the people only think of getting through THIS winter. There seems to be no thought of next winter, or maybe when warmer weather comes, they forget about how cold they were last winter. I don't know. I do know that EVERY YEAR, someone dies of the cold up there, and it isn't because they got lost on the trail. They are dying in their beds of the cold temperatures.

And the thought of an electric blanket is great, but the ones at home won't work here, because of the difference on electricity. If I plugged in a US electric blanket here, it would burn up in 3 minutes. I found out the hard way. I plugged in my curling iron from the US on my wedding day in Trujillo. Three minutes later, the plastic end of it had melted off and some of my hair was torched off, too! It's because we use 120 AC electricity, and here they use 220 AC.

JC said...

Kathleen, The pumpkin for Traz was to stop the loose stools, but it really didnt seem to work. Nixie got sick that next day, I guess it was something going around. The vet isnt sure what is causing his leg trouble, but the pills are helping (now that I was brave enough to start them up again!) I hope all is well in your life. I sure enjoy your blog. Jill

Kary said...

oh - do stay warm!! I hope the people who need help get it! Big hugs!! (Love the 'Truth About Pit Bulls!' article - you are awesome for posting it!)