Knitting In Between

Charity Raffle - Lots of Nice Yarn and More!

2010-04-03T12:40:00.003-04:00

Team Knitsburgh is raising money with an amazing raffle full of yarny goodness. Not to mention things like hand-turned wooden knitting needles and embroidered project bags! All the money raised goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to fund research. Research costs $87/minute, and as a team, we’d like to raise the money for 12 minutes. That's over $1000, so we really need your help! To learn more about Muscular Dystrophy, and how research is changing the lives of children and adults, visit the MDA’s website.

Here’s how the raffle works. For every three dollars you donate, you get one chance in the raffle. If you donate $15, you get 6 chances. So, if you donate $21, you get 8 chances. If you’re feeling generous, and you donate $30, you get 12 tickets. Get the idea? Once you’ve donated, PM me with your real name, how much you’ve donated, and which item or items you’d like a chance to win. If you don’t specify an item, I get to choose the item for you. If you have any questions, post them below or PM me and I'll answer them.

The raffle runs from today (4/3) through 4/17. To donate, click the 'Donate Now' button on our https://www.joinmda.org/pittsburghstridenride2010/TeamKnittsburgh". One last thing before you start looking -- none of us has a lot of extra cash (if we did, we'd be donating it to MDA!), so if you win, we'll be asking you to pay the postage. Items will be sent Priority Mail in the US, and whichever way is safest and still cost-effective for overseas.

Here are the items:

1 – Cascade Yarns Bollicine, 11 balls (957 yards) Color S20 Lot 839 Retail value $112.75 Only 4 balls pictured
Donated by Glory-Ous Knits

2 – Cascade Yarns Bollicine, 7 balls (609 yards) Color S90 Lot 839 and Inox Circular Needle, 29 inches, size 13 US Retail value of yarn $71.55
Yarn donated by Glory-Ous Knits
Needle donated by Puckerbrush Farm

3 – Crystal Palace Deco Ribbon, 6 balls (480 yards) and Threes Triangular Shawl Pattern
Yarn donated by Glory-Ous Knits

4 – Noro Lily Multi (354 yards) Retail value 36.75
Yarn donated by Glory-Ous Knits

5 – Autographed book, ‘Knitting Wool Diaper Covers From Start To Finish’ by Maggie Broderick, Retail value $25
Donated by Burgh Baby Gear

6 – Book, ‘Fiber and Fabric Mania, A Travel Guide’ by Michele Merin Retail value $15
Donated by Michele

7 – Hand-turned Purplewood Needles, Size 7, with pouch Retail value $20
Donated by Dunn Spun Yarns

8 – Handspun Angora Yarn dyed with coffee (68 yards) and Embroidered Bag Retail value $61
Yarn donated by McMahon Fiber and Rabbitry
Embroidered Bag donated by Susan’s Fiber Shop

9 – Kollage Fingerless Glove Kit with Milk Yarn Retail value $25
Glove Kit Donated by Carol's Needleworks

10 – Sock Pattern with [Araucania Ranco](/yarns/library/araucania-ranco-multy) sock yarn (376 yards) and [Lang Jawoll Aktion sock yarn](/yarns/library/lang-jawoll-color-aktion) Retail value $34
Sock Pattern donated by A B-Ewe-Tiful Design

Something Special Last Weekend

2010-03-26T14:17:00.002-04:00

I was at the Spring Nationals in York, PA last weekend. The awards for the year were given at a dinner on Friday night, and wonderful things happened! First, my partner's boy Basilisk took the Panda/Mutt/Blaze Ferret of the Year award for the second year in a row. Also, her boy Jitterbug took the Point Ferret of the Year, which my boy Strider took last year.

But before that, there was the very special thing that happened.

I'm going to take a minute here to tell a story -- those of you who know the Mongo story can skip the next two paragraphs! {grin}

Mongo was a beautiful hob that I got from another breeder about 6 years ago. One of the conditions of getting him was that I would finish him -- that is, show him until he got his Gold level championship. When I got him, he had less than 1000 points to go. We took him to three shows that year, and by the time we needed to get ready for the Winter Nationals, he only needed 87 points to finish. He also needed his distemper vaccine. So in mid-November, 2004, I sent him off to the clinic with my partner. He'd never had a reaction, so I was expecting him home in a few hours. That time, he had a severe anaphylactic reaction, and even though he had oxygen and anything else he needed, and she fought to keep him alive for three hours, he died on the way home.

It has always bothered me that I didn't get to keep my promise to finish him.

Last weekend, for the first time, the AFA recognized ferrets that died with less than 100 points needed for a Gold championship by presenting Honorary Gold certificates. Two were given. One of them was Mongo's.

I cried halfway through the Ferret of the Year awards, and I'm crying again as I type this.

Thanks to everyone who had a hand in this -- I don't think you have any idea how much it means!

Sweet As Honey Scarf

2009-12-20T01:28:00.006-05:00

The test knitting is done, the corrections and additions have been made, and the pattern is now available to purchase! Since this isn't a free pattern, I'm not posting it here, but I'm including a link to purchase the PDF, and several pictures. Let me know what you think!

Working On New Knitting Pattern

2009-10-24T11:19:00.002-04:00

Shartly after publishing the Threes Triangular Shawl pattern, I had an idea for a bias-knit scarf. I love the look of scarves knit on the bias, but they all seem to be either garter stitch or stockinette stitch, and I wanted something different. I found a stitch pattern I like, figured out how to start it and how to do the increase rows, and then things went haywire. For weeks, every time I tried a new way to knit the straight rows, I ended up with two corners instead of one, which meant the scarf wasn't a bias-knit scarf anymore. AAARRRRGGGHHHHH!

Finally, last week, I figured out what I was doing wrong. My personal test knit of the pattern is about 1/2 done. Once that's finished and I've got photos of the result, I'll be creating the PDF and having it test knit by others. If everything goes well with the test knitters, I'll be publishing it here. It's going to be a bit yet, but keep an eye out!

I'm feeling very accomplished right now. Not only did I figure out the problem with the pattern, but this scarf is one that can be knitted for either men or women -- the pattern doesn't scream to made for just one sex. I think I'm proudest of that!

Good News!

2009-10-08T01:46:00.002-04:00

I had an appointment with Dr. Arrogant today. To say I was dreading it would be an understatement -- who likes being talked down to?

I had several surprises in store for me. First, my appointment was earlier in the afternoon than it has been, and my wait wasn't as long -- about an hour, when I've been waiting for nearly two hours in the previous appointments. Second, Dr. Arrogant...wasn't. Or at least, not as arrogant as he has been. He shook my hand, he looked at me, he spoke to me (instead of talking at me), he listened to me.... I had a strong temptation to ask who he was and what he'd done with the doctor!

I told him how much better I was doing on the higher dose of Savella (averaging a 2 - 3 1/2 on my personal scale, which was my goal). He was surprised -- apparently, in his experience, most fibromyalgia patients don't show this much improvement on only one med. He expected me to say that the pain wasn't low enough yet, and I needed narcotics. Since I'm not on narcotics, and apparently won't be needing any other med than the Savella (at least for the present -- who knows what the future holds!), he decided that he doesn't need to see me every month. I only need to go back when I need a refill -- about every six months. He actually seemed happy to tell me that!

I've been thinking about why fibro patients so frequently need narcotics as well as meds like Savella, and I have a theory. I suspect that many fibro people are trying to get back to a pain-free life, instead of accepting that they will have some level of pain every day for the rest of their life (unless, of course, there's a medical breakthrough). I, on the other hand, have known for years that I'll never be pain-free again. I just wanted the pain to be reduced to the point where I could function, at least to some degree, on most days.

Would I like to be pain-free again? Hell, yes!!!! I don't even remember what it's like to not have pain. But until medicine discovers how to turn off the over-sensitive pain sensors in my brain, it ain't happening. Denying that will just use energy I don't have to spare.

Ferret Show Report

2009-09-28T15:58:00.007-04:00

This past weekend, we went to one of the ferret shows we regularly attend, the Fall Ferret Fandango in Gilbertsville, PA. It's typically a small show, and we tend to do fairly well at it.

This weekend, we did really well at it! Two of Ruth's ferrets took first place in four of the specialty rings. Dementor took first place in Green Card (for ferrets with at least 25% foreign bloodlines) and in Black Sable (which Ruth has wanted to win for a long time now!). And her 6 month old little girl, Myfanwy, took first place in the Chocolate and Point rings! Considering that it's only Myfanwy's second show, and she can still be a holy terror, that's absolutely fantastic!

The crowning glory of the day came at the end, when they announced the winners in the Breeder championships. (Brief explanation -- in the championship rings, the ferrets are examined and scored by three separate judges. The ferret that scores the highest across all three rings is the Best In category winner. There are 4 championship categories -- Companion [for ferrets neutered before 12 weeks old], Alter [for ferrets neutered after 12 weeks old], Adolescent [for intact ferrets under a year old], and Breeder [for intact ferrets over a year old]). The championship rings can be split into male and female if there are enough entries. At this show, the championship rings were combined -- there were nearly 80 entries in the Breeder category.

We had 5 boys entered in the Breeder category. When we got their scores, we could tell from experience that only one of them was likely to place, my boy Taranis. He's placed before, but never in the top three, so I was just hoping for a top three placement in at least one ring, so that he could get his Gold championship once he has enough points. They called the list of numbers (each ferret gets a number, and that's how the judges know them so there's no bias in the judging), and sure enough, Taranis was called back.

The first judge started handing out her ribbons, and for 10th place, she called Taranis' number. I was thinking, well, they must have been scoring really high today. Then she took another look and said, "Oh, that should have been [another number]. Sorry!". No problem. She called everyone who won a ribbon up to third place, then called the second and first place ferrets up together, without saying which was which. And Taranis was one of them! So I'm thinking 'Cool! He's got his top three placement -- I'm good!'. And then she said he got first place! Well, I was in shock, but very happy.

Just a quick piece of info -- when they call the list of numbers for the winners, it's a combined list for all three rings. It doesn't matter if your ferret places in one ring or all three -- the number will only be called once, so you have no idea how many rings the ferret has been called for.

So the judge for the second ring started ribboning, and the same thing happened -- Taranis was called up for the first and second place ribboning. This ring, he got second, and I was floating!

Then came the third ring. I was not expecting anything -- I was perfectly happy with the placements I had. And once again, Taranis was called up for the first and second place ribboning. And he got first!

By this time, I was in complete shock. And I was thinking 'Okay, that's two firsts and a second. But that can't possibly mean what I think it means....'. And just about the time I finished that thought, the judge announced that my boy was Best In Show Breeder! She called him a 'joy to judge'!

This is my very first BIS Breeder. I've had a BIS Alter before, and Ruth has had BIS Breeder and BIS Adolescent, but this was my first! I knew Taranis was looking good this weekend, but I never expected anything like this. I'm still flying, and I'm so proud of my boy!

BIS TCF's Taranis Thunderer of RN, with his trophies and ribbons:

Muscular Dystrophy Stride-N-Ride

2009-09-16T13:23:00.002-04:00

Since I was a little girl (over 40 years, now), my Labor Day tradition has been to watch at least a part of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. I always try to see the end, so I know if that magic 'one dollar more' has been reached. In the past, I've answered phones at telethons, walked around the neighborhood and collected money, and done other fundraising activities.

For the past several years, the fibro has kept me from doing anything more than watch the telethon, but that's changing, thanks to the new med. Next year, I'll be participating in the local Stride-N-Ride to raise funds for research. I just got my fundraising webpage set up, and I've set up a group on Ravelry for people from my local area (Pittsburgh, PA) to join my team. Please, if you know anything about MD, if you know someone effected by it, if you know someone with kids (healthy or not!), if you just care about great causes, donate! My page is linked from the title of this post, and I'll add it at the end. Locally, research costs $82/minute (the national average is $87/minute), and my goal is to raise at least enough to pay for 5 minutes of research. Please help me reach my goal!

Thanks in advance!

Beth's Fundraising Page

More Pain Management

2009-09-04T10:47:00.003-04:00

First things first -- my insurance did give me pre-approval for the Savella! For an entire year! And for whatever dosage I was prescribed! There was rejoicing the day that letter arrived, let me tell ya!

I had another appointment with Dr. Arrogant last week -- he wants his patients to see him every 4 weeks. My pain level at that point was averaging 4 1/2 to 6 on my personal scale, with occasional forays into the 7 range -- better, but not as good as I want.

So, he came into the exam room, sat down at the desk and proceeded to talk to me without ever really looking at me. Asked about my pain level, made mumbled noises that I think were supposed to be encouraging, and was very obviously going to leave the room without asking me how I felt about the improvement and if I thought it was enough. So I said 'There has been an improvement, but I'd like to see more. Could we try a higher dosage of Savella?' Now, understand, I had done my research, and I knew that the drug could be prescribed up to a dose of 100 mg twice a day. I wanted to try 150 mg and see if that was enough. His reply? 'Well, the recommended dose is 50 mg twice a day,' -- the dose I was already taking. So I told him that I'd done some research and that it could be prescribed at a higher dose. He told me he'd have to check the information! Now, what doctor prescribes a med without knowing that it's offered at higher doses? The upshot of it all is that I left the office with a script for 100 mg twice a day. I'd be looking for a different pain specialist, but the pre-approval is only for him, and chances are that I wouldn't get pre-approved again if I changed doctors.I've been on the higher dose for 3 days now, and I think I'm seeing an improvement. It's been hard to tell because we went to a ferret show last weekend, and it always takes several days for me to completely recover from one of them. But in the past, it's taken at least a week, and I did some laundry today and lifted some heavy things, and I don't feel like my body wants revenge for it, so I think things may be looking up.

And in other news, my Threes Triangular Shawl is now listed at Ravelry! People seem to like it -- lots of nice compliments, and over 20 people have marked it as a favorite!

Update on Pain Management

2009-08-12T10:47:00.002-04:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since my appointment at the pain management center. First, let me say that the doctor did not impress me. He's arrogant and obnoxious, and talked down to me until my partner made it clear that she was a veterinarian. I.E., a medical professional that couldn't be bullshitted.

That being said, he definitely knows his stuff as far as fibro goes. He did the pressure test to confirm that I have it (no doubts there!), and then he started telling me about a new drug, Savella. Very few side effects, and those show up in a small minority of the people on the drug. He gave me a prescription and a coupon for a free titration pack to get started with. It took a few days to get started -- no one carries the titration pack in stock, and finding a pharmacy to take the coupon was tricky. Say what you like about Wal-Mart, they took the coupon!

So, today is day 10 on Savella. It's my third day at the full dose (5o mg twice a day), and yesterday I did something I haven't been able to do for a long time.

One of my big jobs around the house is cleaning ferret cages. It's physically demanding, and for the past two years it's been such a painful thing to do that I haven't done it any where near as regularly as I should, especially the part where I change the bedding, which frequently requires getting down on my hands and knees to clean the lower part of the cage. When I've done it, it's taken an hour and a half to do one average sized cage -- the bigger ones have been impossible! Yesterday, I cleaned an average cage in 45 minutes, including a full bedding change! I used a foam kneeling pad, where I've been using both that and strap-on knee pads. I was able to get up and down fairly easily. And while I'm more sore today than I was yesterday, I should still be able to clean another cage!

So, while the doctor is not a fun person to be around, he does know what he's talking about. And that's what I really care about!

My First Knitting Pattern -- Threes Triangular Shawl

2009-08-07T13:55:00.017-04:00

download now
This is exciting to me! I designed this months ago, but due to other things haven't had a chance to try knitting it until this week. The project is still on my needles, so no photos yet, but I'll add them when it's finished.

I've always liked the look of the original K3P3 Prayer Shawl, but I prefer a triangular shawl to a rectangular one. I kept thinking that there had to be a way to incorporate the pattern into a triangular shawl, but couldn't figure out how to start. Then I started knitting a scarf from the book "101 Designer One-Skein Wonders" and realized I'd found the start for my shawl. From there, it was trial and error until suddenly things started working. Once I had the pattern, I set it aside and got distracted by other things. This past week, I found the paper it was written on and set out to test knit it. After a few false starts, and some corrections, I got it working. As of now, I'm the only person to test knit it -- I welcome any and all comments, especially if you find mistakes! I'll be putting this on Ravelry as a free pattern once I've got my shawl finished and some pictures taken. Enjoy!

Threes Triangular Shawl

by Beth Bowles

Abbreviations:
kfb -- knit into the front and back of the stitch
s1wyif -- slip one stitch purlwise with the yarn in front
yb -- put yarn to back of work
yo -- yarn over
k -- knit
p -- purl
co -- cast on

Gauge -- not vital. This shawl can be knitted with any weight of yarn, using the appropriately sized needles. I'm using an aran weight cotton, on size 10 needles.

CO one stitch
Row 1) kfb
Row 2) s1wyif, yb, kfb
Row 3) s1wyif, yb, kfb, k1
Row 4) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, knit to end
Rows 5-7) Repeat Row 4 -- 8 stitches on needle
Row 8) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k3, p1, k2
Row 9) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, k3, p1, k2
Row 10) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, k3, P2, k2
Row 11) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, k3, p2, k2
Row 12) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, k3, p3, k2
Row 13) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p3, k3, p3, k2
Row 14) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to end
Row 15) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] to end
Row 16) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, p3, k3, p3, k4
Row 17) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, p3, k3, p3, k4
Row 18) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, p3, k3, p3, k5
Row 19) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [k3, p3] to last 5 stitches, k5
Row 20) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [k3, p3] to last 6 stitches, k3, p1, k2
Row 21) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, [k3 p3] to last 6 stitches, k3, p1, k2
Row 22) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p1, [k3, p3] to last 7 stitches, k3, p2, k2
Row 23) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, [k3, p3] to last 7 stitches, k3, p2, k2
Row 24) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, p2, [k3, p3] to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 25) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to last 5 stitches, p3, k2
Row 26) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, [p3, k3] to end
Row 27) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] to end
Row 28) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k1, [p3, k3] last 7 stitches, p3, k4
Row 29) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, [p3, k3] to last 7 stitches, p3, k4
Row 30) s1wyif, yb, k1, yo, k2, [p3, k3] to last 5 stitches, k5

Repeat Rows 19-30 until shawl is desired length. For the most even appearance, end on Row 19.

Bind off.

Pain

2009-07-06T13:06:00.006-04:00

I have fibromyalgia, for those of you who didn't know it, and that means that I am constantly, incessantly, in some degree of pain. I'm on a couple of pain meds, and they dull it, but they don't get rid of it. Today, for example, my lower back hurts and my upper legs are screaming. If you've never experienced chronic pain, count your blessings. It steals your energy, your willpower...well, really it steals your life. Everything you do becomes an evaluation of your pain level and how much you can really handle doing before it exhausts you. Every day is an exercise in what degree of tired you're feeling right now. And I am, as the saying goes, sick and tired of being sick and tired.

So today I took the first steps to, hopefully, get some actual function back and gain a bit of control over my life. I called the local pain management center. Apparently, it's not as easy as calling and getting an appointment. They wanted some of my records, so I called my primary doctor (who I love -- he spent two years testing me for everything under the sun before we got a diagnosis and never once told me it was all in my head!) to arrange for that, and set up an appointment for my regular checkup while I was at it. They'll fax the records to the doctor at the pain management place, he'll look at them, decide if he wants any other tests or things like x-rays, and then they'll call me to set the next step in place.

Fibro has also stolen my long term memory, which means I can't be trained for any job (we won't get into my opinion of Social Security and what they think disability is). I don't expect learning to manage my pain to bring that back. I've (mostly) come to terms with the fact that this is who I am these days. But having the energy to do more around the house would be a blessing, both for me and my partner. Sometimes, I think she has to be a saint to deal with my frequent uselessness. Then she get pissed at me and the illusion vanishes. :)

Anyway, I'm hoping that this is the first step to a better quality of life. I'll try to keep things updated here.

In knitting news, I've been working on chemo caps for my partner's cousin. I've finished 4 of them, and will be sending them out tomorrow. I've got 2-3 more I want to do, but she started chemo last week, so she needs them.

Added about half an hour later: Just got a call from the pain management center! I have an appointment July 21! That's a lot faster than I was expecting. They wanted to offer me a chance to come in tomorrow at 10 AM, but we've got a ferret having babies either today or tomorrow, and it looks like it will be tomorrow, so I had to wait. But there's a light in the distance....

Elegant Essentials Is Open!

2009-07-03T15:31:00.002-04:00

Right now, there are only two items in the shop, but keep checking back -- that will change over the next week. The photos are not the best -- it's a little glary today, and I'm not used to taking pictures of shiny silk, so they blurred a bit. But you should be able to get the idea! Let me know what you think!

New Etsy Shop

2009-06-30T13:25:00.003-04:00

I've been dyeing silk scarves for the past few weeks, having fun experimenting with different colors and techniques. The problem is that now I have nearly a dozen hand-dyed scarves and not enough people to give gifts to, so I'm going to open up a second Etsy store. Right now, the name will be 'Elegant Essentials', unless I come up with (or someone suggests) something better. That name will also encompass my partner's gorgeous hairsticks/shawl pins. They're either wood or bone sticks, with strands of semi-precious gemstone beads dangling from them. They're absolutely stunning to look at, and believe me, they work wonderfully as shawl pins -- I've used them that way!

If you've got any suggestions for a shop name, please post them! If I choose a name that's suggested by one of you, there will be a pretty thank you gift!

Wow! Has It Been That Long?

2009-06-25T11:10:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates -- I've been working on a crochet project (yes, I learned to crochet, although knitting is still my favorite) for most of the last 4 months. I finished it about 2 weeks ago, and I've been recovering since then.

I was working on an afghan that was raffled for a Dragonriders of Pern club that I belong to. In the Dragonriders books, dragons come in 5 colors - the queens are gold, then there are bronzes, browns, blues and greens. The afghan had a knitted center square with a dragon in relief. That square was a vibrant yellow (for gold), surrounded by a ring of afghan squares in the same color. going out from that there was a ring of light tan squares (for bronze), then brown, blue and green. Each ring was, of course, larger than the ring before it, which was perfect since the dragons in the series are more numerous as you move from gold through green. I joined the rings with single crochet in black yarn, which helped set the colors off nicely, then I added a border in black as well. I finished it at 11 PM the night before it had to be somewhere for the raffle! The afghan raised a decent amount for the club, even though the annual get-together where it was raffled was smaller than usual this year, and it went home with someone who truly appreciates the work that went into it.

I wasn't able to get any good photos of it before it was raffled, so I'm hoping that the many people who took pictures of it at the get-together will share them with me. If I get some good photos, I'll add them.

I'm going to be adding a second Etsy shop soon. I've just recently gotten interested in hand dyeing silk scarves, and I'll be selling them as soon as I get a small stock built up and come up with a name for the shop. I'm leaning toward 'Elegant Essentials'. What do you think?

I'll try not to be so long between posts, but no promises!

Congratulations To The Winners!

2009-04-13T14:21:00.002-04:00

The Etsy Knitters Scavenger Hunt is over. Congratulations to all the winners! Remember that you have until April 19 to use your secret code, so enjoy your shopping!

Countdown

2009-04-09T15:10:00.003-04:00

Okay, we're in the countdown to the end of the Spring Scavenger Hunt! After today, you've only 3 more days to win. Have you gotten the secret code yet? You've still got time -- go win and get special deals from 31 different Etsy shops, including Needle Bling! Think ahead -- here's a chance to get something special for Mother's Day at a great price!

Only 4 Days Left!

2009-04-08T15:09:00.002-04:00

Only 4 days left for the Etsy Knitters Spring Scavenger Hunt! I made a mistake in my last post -- I miscounted the honor roll winners. As of today, there are 24 winners, with 16 of them on the honor roll! You've only got 4 days after today to join them, so go hunting!

This has been a successful idea for me already -- two winners have purchased a total of three of my stitch marker sets! I'm hoping a few more decide to do the same, and I'm hoping they spend money at other Etsy Knitter shops as well!

Scavenger Hunt Update

2009-04-06T16:25:00.002-04:00

The Etsy Knitters Street Team Spring Scavenger Hunt is a grand success so far! Although winners only need to find 10 of the clues, 18 people have gone above and beyond to find all 31 clues! You can see their names on the honor roll at the bottom of the Scavenger Hunt page. You could be there, too! Go check it out!

Etsy Knitters Spring Scavenger Hunt

2009-04-03T12:53:00.003-04:00

The Etsy Knitters Street Team is celebrating spring with a scavenger hunt! Click on the title or the scavenger hunt box to the right to go to the site. Basically, there are photos of items from over thirty shops shown, and a list of the shops. Match 10 pictures to the correct shops, and you get a special code that's good for any of the participating shops. Each shop is offering it's own unique special for people who win the code! This is your chance to get a discount on that special pattern or yarn or set of stitch markers you've been wanting! Have fun!

Running For Research

2009-02-07T01:27:00.005-05:00

My partner's mother died a couple of years ago from lymphoma. Her sister, Holly, is running in a marathon to raise money for research to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma. Here's what Holly has to say:

Will you join me in supporting The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society? On May 24th, 2009 (my sister Avi's birthday!), I will be running the Vermont City Marathon with Team in Training (TNT). I was inspired to do this by my niece Kristen Johnson (2 marathons with TNT), the memory of my Mom, and in honor of my local team hero Mason Snider. Mason is just 4 years old and has been living with leukemia since he was not quite 2. He is currently in the maintenance phase of chemotherapy and will be in treatment until 2010.

I like running; it helps keep me healthy. I've run several half marathons, but never a full marathon. Running one with TNT seems manageable, unlike running from appointment to appointment trying to manage a disease like leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Working as a team makes training for the race possible for me, fund-raising as a team might eventually make more cures possible for all of us.Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. http://pages.teamintraining.org/uny/vermont09/hhellerross

Many thanks in advance.
Holly

To support this, I'm announcing a raffle. It will be run on the honor system. Donate to help Holly raise money and then post here that you've done so. You can donate whatever amount you can afford, even if it's just a dollar. You get a chance to win for posting. If you choose to post the amount you donate, you'll get a chance for every $10 you give. So, what are the prizes, right? 1st place gets 2 custom made sets of stitch markers from my Etsy Shop, Needle Bling. 2nd gets one custom made set, and 3rd gets a $10 gift certificate. Gift certificates can be redeemed for any item in my shop, or for special orders. Custom made means you choose the type of beads, the size of the stitch markers and the color of the findings. The contest will run until March 15. Holly's goal is $2000 -- let's help her go over that!

Help Fight Cancer -- Win Fibery Goodness!

2008-12-07T03:13:00.001-05:00

A fellow Raveler, Shirley, recently lost her mother after a 7 month fight with cancer. In February, her sister will be doing a solo sky dive to raise funds for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. To help her sister reach her goal of 1000 British pounds (sorry, don't know how to get the pound symbol to appear!), Shirley is organizing a raffle. All of the detail can be found here:

Ramblings of a yarn junkie: Sad news

I've donated a $25 gift certificate from Needle Bling. There are some wonderful prizes being offered -- if you've got a little cash to spare for a good cause, go donate!

No Sales

2008-12-02T13:40:00.002-05:00

Well, the sale was a complete bust for me. I sold nothing. Of course, the fact that my shop was listed in the 'jewery' section of the group sales page and not in the knitter/crocheter section could have something to do with it! I tried to contact the person who set up the sale site, but she either was out of town this weekend, or was just ignoring me.

I got a lot of views on Friday and Saturday, but no one purchased anything. I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with my stitch markers!

Etsy Fest Is Coming!

2008-11-26T12:50:00.004-05:00

Seems I'm not the only Etsy seller having a sale this weekend. There will be sales all across Etsy. The details of each sale will be posted on the individual storefronts. For a list of people participating, check out this blog:

http://heatherknitzgiveaways.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-etsyfest-shopping-guide-sale.html

It's organized by category, so you can find what you're looking for more easily

Enjoy!

Etsy Update and More

2008-11-25T14:44:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a while. Things have been crazy around here. There's a flu bug running through the ferrets, and that means I have to feed several of them (all the sick ones) 4 times a day, as well as do my usual things around the house. Saying I'm exhausted doesn't really cover it. And one of the sick ones (a six-month old from one of this year's litters) bit me last week while I was feeding him, so now my right index finger is infected. I'm on antibiotics, and the finger has a wet/dry wrap to help it drain, but it really slows me down, since I'm right-handed.

Etsy update -- Needle Bling, my Etsy shop, has had 4 sales! Yea!!!!!!!!!! I've got lots of stitch markers on sale, and I've recently added gift certificates, so you've got no excuse not to give stitch markers as a gift! (grin) And this weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) I'm having a sale. 15% off everything in the shop except gift certificates. It ends Tuesday, December 2, so don't wait!

I've been getting questions about my fibromyalgia, so here's the background story on me. I was diagnosed about 12-13 years ago. I was working in a bank at the time, and one night after I got home my left knee blew up to about twice it's normal size. I figured I had twisted it or something, started favoring the leg and went to work the next day. After a few days of working during the day and babying the knee at night, nothing had changed so I went to see my doctor. He had no idea what had caused it, told me to keep doing what I was doing, and come back in a week if nothing had changed. That continued for about three weeks. At that point, the doctor told me to take two weeks off work. He wanted me to start the next day, but I had things on my desk that needed to be taken care of, so I worked the next day and told the bank manager what was going on. He wasn't happy, but what could he do?

So I took the next two weeks off, except for one mandatory meeting that had been scheduled before I started having problems. I stayed off my feet and the swelling went down some, but the knee was still painful. The day before I was supposed to go back, Ruth and I both came down with stomach flu -- high fever, vomiting, the whole nine yards. I called in and left a message explaining what was wrong and that I wouldn't be coming in the next day. That continued for three days. By Thursday that week, I felt well enough to work, so I took my doctor's note and went in. I worked Thursday and Friday, and when I went in on Monday I was called into the bank president's office. I was told that I 'wasn't a team player and they couldn't have non-team players on their team', and that I was no longer employed there.

I got my COBRA insurance set up and continued looking for a reason for the way my knee was acting. About a month later, my doctor (wonderful man, never told me it was all in my head -- this was the culmination of a two year hunt for answers about why I was so painful) sent me to an orthopedic surgeon. He looked at two years of blood tests for all kinds of illnesses and the MRI of my knee that we'd had done, tossed the file in a corner, said 'Well, that was a waste,' and proceeded to poke me in multiple places. I think I tested positive in 12 of the 18 pressure points. When he said 'You have fibromyalgia', my first thought was 'OMG! I have a diagnosis!" It was a huge relief, even though I had friends with fibro and had an idea of what it meant.

In the ensuing years, I've gotten progressively more painful, and my once-dependable memory has slowly become quite unreliable. When the memory first began to go, I was afraid it was early-onset Alzheimer's, but tests proved that it wasn't. Now I'm lucky if I can remember a conversation for 2 days, much less the 6 months or more that I used to be able to count on. I can't work because I don't retain the training, but I can't get disability because the lovely state of Pennsylvania doesn't think I'm disabled enough. grrrrrrrrrrr

Anyway, that's my fibro story. Nothing you all haven't heard/experienced before!

I Have An Etsy Shop!

2008-10-11T03:10:00.000-04:00

I've been playing around with making stitch markers for a while now, using up some semi-precious gemstone beads that I have from years ago, and I decided to go ahead and open an Etsy shop. I'm starting with 8 sets of six knitting stitch markers, and I'll be adding more. I've added a link from this blog -- check it out!

Further Adventures In Dyeing

2008-09-24T03:26:00.000-04:00

I re-dyed another two skeins with the stronger dye -- it definitely makes a difference! I've started knitting a scarf with the first two skeins. The second ones are for a hat and possibly mittens.

The collection of washcloths for the women's shelter is going well -- counting the one I'm currently knitting, I've got 19. That means I only need 11 more before I'm ready for the first delivery.

I was a bit annoyed with a poster on the 'Peace Work' group last week. She posted in the thread for the washcloths for the shelter, asking if once I have enough washcloths, would I be okay with sending future cloths to Hurricane Ike victims. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against helping victims of the hurricane. What annoyed me is a) hijacking the shelter thread and b) assuming that once I have enough for a delivery I'd be finished, especially since I stated at the beginning that this would be on-going, not just a one-time thing. So I told her to do the research, find out where things should be sent and start a new thread for it. And that yes, sending the washcloths to hurricane victims would be fine, as long as people didn't forget the women's shelter. She didn't bother to reply, or set up a new thread, although someone else brought the topic up again several days later. When I asked them to start a new thread, they did.

And that brings me to a public service announcement. The Houston Food Bank is in desperate need of monetary donations to help purchase food so that they can meet the demand in the wake of the hurricane. They're estimating that they will need to distribute 700,000 pounds of food every day for the next several weeks at least. No, you didn't read that wrong -- 700,000 pounds of food daily. If you can spare even a little, please donate!

Looking Better!

2008-09-12T16:38:00.000-04:00

Well, judging by the lack of comments, no one is reading this. Oh, well, hopefully someone will stumble across it soon.

So, I redyed 2 of the skeins yesterday. I'd mixed up new dye, about 4 times stronger than I originally used. I repainted the skeins entirely, and it looks like the colors are much brighter and more vibrant. This ought to knit up into some amazingly brilliant fall color

Perhaps Not Such A Failure

2008-09-07T13:59:00.000-04:00

So, the yarn has begun to dry overnight, and I took it outside and looked at it in the sun this morning. It's not as bad as I thought, although the russet and vermilion will definitely need to be dyed again. And I may touch up the burnt orange a bit -- depends on how it looks once the yarn is completely dry.

On a bright note, I got more washcloths and toiletries for 'A Fresh Start' yesterday. Counting the washcloth I'll be finishing today, that's 8 washcloths so far. The shelter's maximum capacity seems to be 20 women, so I want to have 30 bundles before I make the first delivery. That way, if they're full up, every woman there will get a bundle and they'll still have some left to give new arrivals as other women leave. No toys for the kids yet, though -- that part of the idea may not pan out.

Is anyone even reading this?

Dyeing Failure

2008-09-07T03:25:00.000-04:00

So I spent the day turning balls of yarn into skeins so I could dye it, and tonight I was ready. I set my yarn to soaking, mixed my dyes, got all my supplies together and proceeded to paint the six skeins I wanted to play with. My colors were rich fall colors, and I was eagerly anticipating the gorgeous yarns that would result.

Nope. Not at all the deep rich colors I was looking for. Instead of a rich vermilion, I got a pinkish red. Instead of a russet, I got an orangish red. Instead of a deep burnt orange, I got a run-of-the-mill orange. And the gold ochre was a pale gold.

On top of that, the sport weight skeins (two of the six) burned. I don't know if I can salvage anything, but I'm not betting on it. And I was going to knit myself mittens with those!

Now don't get me wrong -- the yarns are really pretty. They're just not the colors I want to get. And they aren't colors I'll wear.

I'm going to try dyeing the four skeins that didn't burn again, this time with stronger dyes. Hopefully, that will do the job!

Washcloths For Women's Shelter

2008-08-30T10:56:00.000-04:00

So, in my last post I mentioned a charity I'm starting up. It's called 'A Fresh Start', and it's to benefit my local women's shelter.

See, when women come into a shelter, they're frequently fleeing a really bad situation and don't have time to grab even the basics, like toiletries. So the goal of 'A Fresh Start' is to provide handmade washcloths and small toiletries for the women to keep. Right now, the women are given a washcloth when they enter the shelter that they have to return when they leave. I'm also collecting small toys for the children.

Yesterday, I received my first package of washcloths and toiletries. The washcloths were gorgeous and the toiletries were generously sized. I'm so excited -- it looks like this may actually work!

Beginnings

2008-08-29T01:59:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't promise how often I'll post here -- I'm new to this. But I thought I'd celebrate 11 months of knitting by trying something new.

So, things I'm working on -- a pair of fingerless mitts for a friend, an afghan for my mother, washcloths for a charity I'm starting up. Nothing huge or exciting, but then I like doing small things. Suits the quick gratification need that I've got!

On Ravelry, I'm Beth123B. I'm in about 21 groups, including one I started, called Peace Work. It's a charity knitting/crocheting group for people who are interested in creating a bit of peace through their fiber creations.

In real life, I'm a stay-at-home fibromyalgic, who takes care of our animals. My partner is a veterinarian, so needless to say, we have a menagerie. The largest part of the menagerie is the ferrets -- we're hobby breeders. Check out our website -- Ravensnest Ferrets. We've also got 3 cats and 5 dogs -- 4 Great Danes and a Papillion.

That's the bare facts about me -- if I remember to post more, I'm sure you'll learn more.