I Knit Because I'm Nuts

Ow...Seriously Ow.

2011-11-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

The whole family suffers from migraines. Normally I can work through mine but this past weekend I had to do the napping, caffeine thing to get over it. Migraines generally leave me weak after an episode. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but since starting Paleo, I feel so much stronger that I decided to lift weights anyway. Big mistake. I did one deadlift, set the weight in a bad spot and tried to move it laterally. The attempt produced an audible pop and instant pain in my side. The doctor says I ripped the oblique muscles on my left side. The pain is impressive. I've missed two days of work so far because I can't sit long enough to drive and the pain is bad enough that I need both the massive doses of ibuprofen and hydrocodone. So migraines and lifting don't mix.

On a more joyful note, the doc said that I didn't have to give up weights entirely but I will have to isolate the abs and work around them. Not a worry, most gyms have machines that help with that. Of course, I have to walk to the gym which is a bit rough with the pain. The pain should pass soon and I should be back to my routine.

Anyway, I am exhausted so I'm headed back to bed. Before you work out, make sure that you either have a spotter or you aren't overly tired. It is what I should have done and it would have prevented this setback.

Primal

2011-10-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago my husband looked at me and said, "I want abs like Gerard Butler had in 300. We're going Paleo."

Being me, I has some serious misgivings at first. How was I going to find time to hunt, skin and butcher food? We live in a city, how was I going to forage? OMG, would I have to quit my job for my husband's abs? What about chocolate? I love chocolate too much to live without it. I thought this change was going to kill me. Little did I know, my existing eating habits were probably already taking that liberty away from me.

For those not in the know, Paleo isn't really about hunting and foraging (although you can do that too), it is about eating more naturally and cutting out grains and dairy. There is evidence that suggests that grains cause gastrointestinal inflammation and that dairy (because most dairy animals are grain fed) also causes gastrointestinal inflammation.

So, in an effort to support my husband's quest for a supremely amazing body, over my fall break I pitched everything that wasn't paleo. This was an immense amount of food and took 4 trips to the dumpster. Goodbye five different kinds of flour, goodbye cereal, goodbye random processed foods. So after the purge, I was left with honey and a bunch of spices. Because rice is sometimes allowed on this diet (as a cheat, the diet is technically lower carb) and because I like seeing rice in the cupboard, I kept the rice. We haven't actually touched the rice since we made the change. It is just some weird psychological thing for me.

On the day before we made the change, we had a little celebration meal that included bread and cheesecake. Bread being my husband's beloved nemesis and cheesecake being mine. I think I might have had a stomach bug of some kind or maybe my body had finally decided that the inflammation in my stomach was too much to bear because the cheesecake came back up...back up in a way that looked like my body had put it back together and chucked it up my esophagus. Weird. Needless to say, I felt like hell for the next two days. Fortunately for me, we weren't eating inflammation causing food anymore.

After three days, I noticed that my stomach didn't hurt in the mornings and that my hideous acid reflux was on vacation. I also began to notice that my joints weren't sore all the time. Freakishly during those three days, I spent a huge amount of time urinating. I mean way more than could be accounted for by what I was drinking. I started to think that I had diabetes insipidus. Fortunately, after about four days, my body wasn't waking me up every two hours to urinate. After five days, my joint pain was almost completely gone and I had a bounce to my step.

Since I'm a little bit OCD, a little bit ADD, a little bit chronically depressed, and slightly aggressive to begin with, I typically have little awareness of some of my milder moods (btw, the hubs says that they are not mild and neither does my mom...moving on). After a week, my mom called and visited with my husband (they adore each other and sometimes my family calls just to talk to him...he is a really amazing person). While they spoke, I overheard him say, "It is like she a totally different person! I had no idea my wife was this sweet and personable. She is even nice in the mornings. If I didn't like it, I would be afraid that pod people took my wife and left me with a nicer one." Apparently my mom agreed.

So, being me, I got kind of mad. My grandmother came from Irish stock so my temper can be decidedly reactive. Once I calmed myself down (3 minutes later instead of the usual 3-7 hours), I figured that they were probably right. I still have a temper but it is more manageable. I also don't light up all the time and the littlest thing. After exploring potential reasons for my more manageable temper, I figured that it was probably because I was not in chronic pain anymore. I was not in chronic pain because my esophagus was no longer attacked by my stomach acid; my stomach and intestines were no longer processing mucus instead of nutrients; and my joints were no longer inflamed like I had arthritis.

Zero gluten + zero dairy = happy, pain free me.

So far this diet is totally sustainable. I will keep you posted on the results.

Ah, Vacation!

2009-11-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

So I went on vacation with the family and it was super crazy whirlwind but I got a bunch of crochet done. Now if only looking for a job would go as well. Sigh. Anyway, my little crochet peeps follow.

For Sparta!

Trojan Man...

The Vampire Queen.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

It has been months since I last posted anything. I apologize for my delinquent blogging behavior. I was a little busy applying for a teacher training course and getting all that squared away. So, it wasn't like I was doing nothing; I just wasn't making yarn art.

Anyway, I've been knitting a present for my sister: an adult human sized sweater! My first, probably not my last, adult-human sized sweater. Oi, I hope it isn't too big for her.

I also spent some time making a passel of amigurumi friends from the Lion Brand website and from Needle Noodles' book: Creepy Cute.

The Cthulu is my husband's new desk friend and the rest are for my dad. I am working on a ninja for my mom and a Blood Elf for my husband. I modified Needle Noodles' Valkyrie and Amazon from her book to make the elf in a "Lovely Black Dress." For those not in the know, Blood Elves are one of the races in WoW, er World of Warcraft, on the Horde side. And the "Lovely Black Dress" is a prize from the Love is in the Air world event...

To preemptively strike at all your questions:

Yes, I play WoW.
No, I'm not really a super nerd. I am kind of geeky and somewhat awkward but generally pleasant.
Yes, I actually have real life friends.
No, they don't all play WoW.
Yes, I have met many of my WoW friends in real life.
No, I don't play an Alliance side Night Elf Priest. My main toon is an Undead Warrior (arms and prot, for those who know and are wondering) and I know it is weird that I play this combo.
Yes, I raid.
No, WoW does not rule my life.
Yes, I do other things.

Anyway, hope this answers your questions. If you have any other questions regarding knitting, crochet, WoW, or some combination of those things, feel free to contact me.

FOR THE HORDE! (sorry, it just sort of came out)

The Yellow Brick Road

2009-04-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Remember the yarn from last week? Moda Dea Bamboo Wool Chili Pepper Red: sparkly and delicious.

I made toddler sized ballet slippers based on Twinkle Toes. Instead of knitting the attached laces, I knit the shoes plain. I added the ribbed border as instructed. To create the cross ties, I knit two 4-stitch i-cord tubes per slipper. These tubes were 16 rows each. I then sewed the tubes onto the slippers. Very Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I'm thinking of making a matching dress for my friend Dave's baby...for next Halloween. I think she would be a bit small to wear them this Halloween since she's due in July. I better start working up a Toto amigurumi to match.

Knitting Glossary

2009-04-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Knitting Help.com's Knitting Glossary is an amazing tool! I discovered it because I couldn't figure out how to purl through the back loop of a stitch. The videos really helped me figure out how to do it where still photographs and drawings just weren't cutting it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these little videos are worth a million. Thanks Knitting Help.com for such a wonderful utility!

HAPPY EASTER!

2009-04-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Bunny and her Easter grass friends wish you and yours a Happy Easter (or Passover, or Spring Equinox)...er, you understand.

These little gems are a present for my Dad who loves all things amigurumi. Happy Easter Dad! Sorry they are late.

Bunny is egg shaped and knitted with boucle yarn. The pink and peach colored Easter grass are knit with cashmere yarn dyed in orange and pink lemonade Kool-Aid. The green grass is knit with Caron Country yarn in Loden Forest. I modified the Mochimochiland grass pattern so that the grass was 2.5 inches instead of 5 inches tall.

Here is the bunny pattern...

BUNNY

SIZE

One

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Height: Approx. 5 inches

MATERIALS

Boucle yarn in cream or white (works with any yarn but I thought the boucle was cute)
Scraps of pink and black yarn.
One set of four US #6 double-point needles
Fiberfill (I used polyester fiberfill but natural fiber should work also)

GAUGE

Doesn't really matter

PATTERN NOTES

CO: Cast on

SKP: Slip one stitch, knit next stitch, pass slipped stitch over

K2tog: Knit two stitches together

M1: Make one stitch by inserting the left needle, from front to back, under strand of yarn which runs between last stitch on left needle and first stitch on right needle; knit this stitch through back loop.

DIRECTIONS

Body:

CO 9 stitches. Arrange stitches so that 3 stitches are on each of three needles. Join as to knit in the round.

Round 1: Knit all stitches.

Round 2: [K1, M1] 9 times. (18 stitches)

Round 3: Knit all stitches.

Round 4: [K2, M1] 9 times. (27 stitches)

Round 5: Knit all stitches.

Round 6: [K1, M1, K8] 3 times. (30 stitches: 10 on each needle)

Rounds 7-12: Knit in stockinette stitch.

Round 13: [SKP, K1, K2tog, K5] 3 times. (24 stitches)

Rounds 14-15: Knit.

Round 16: [SKP, K1, K2tog, K3] 3 times. (18 stitches)

Rounds 17-18: Knit.

At cast on edge, thread trailing yarn through loops and cinch to close body. Weave in ends. Stuff bunny body.

Round 19: [SKP, K1, K2tog, K1] 3 times. (12 stitches)

Rounds 20-21: Knit.

Round 22: [SKP, K2tog] 3 times. (6 stitches)

Add more stuffing if necessary. Break yarn. Thread yarn through loops and tighten to cinch end. Weave in ends.

Ears (make 2):

CO 6 stitches.

Row 1: Knit.

Row 2 (and all even rows): Purl.

Rows 3 and 5: Knit.

Row 7: K2tog, K2, SKP.

Row 9: K2tog, SKP.

Row 10: K2 tog.

Break yarn and thread through loop. Weave this end into ear. At cast on end, tack edges together and attach to bunny body. Weave ends into body.

Finishing:

At the back of the bunny body, make a running stitch circle and cinch to make a tail (As shown in the picture below). Create two french knot eyes below ears with black yarn. Create a satin stitch nose with pink yarn.

Where the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch Can I Find Yarn?

2009-04-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

To those who ask this ever present question, I offer you Knit Map. My super amazing knitting friend Stacy (from Stacy in London) and Matt (who is super amazing in his own right) created this utility to help yarn junkies like myself find yarn shops and post about yarn shops. Ah, yarn...the nectar of the gods.

Knitting Psychology

2009-04-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

While living in Orange, CA, I would go to Velona Yarncraft in Anaheim Hills for an occasional abundanza yarn fix. Once during a visit, I noticed little sheep made out of wrought iron and roving. I had no idea how these little chatchkes were used so I asked. The lovely proprietors of Velona indicated that the little sheep were used as a calming device. Apparently they were developed by a psychologist who found that touching natural fibers lowered blood pressure and increased cognitive function. I was working in a difficult job at the time so I was sold. I brought the little sheep to work and it seemed to help. I remember loaning it to office mates who seemed to need it.

Since leaving that job, getting a new job, and moving about quite a bit, I sort of lost my mind. I don't mean this as a joke. I lost my ability to cope and function. I held my mind together during some extremely stressful times but my hold gradually deteriorated over time until I couldn't function at all. This was one of those rocking back and forth completely unfocused kind of things. I was trapped in a haze of self loathing. The only thing that made me feel remotely real and capable was knitting. It was one of those things that you don't question at the time, you just use it because it helps you. Now that I'm able to manage my emotional state better, I think that the knitting was as important to building my confidence and rebuilding my emotional self as the hours of cognitive behavior therapy was. Apparently the use of crafts and cognitive development isn't anything new.

The University of Michigan defines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression as psychotherapy that focuses on practice of exercises to address current issues and symptoms. "CBT for depression involves several essential features: identifying and correcting inaccurate thoughts associated with depressed feelings (cognitive restructuring), helping patients to engage more often in enjoyable activities (behavioral activation), and enhancing problem-solving skills." Knitting helped me correct my thoughts of being worthless. If I was capable of creating worthwhile things, then I could not be worthless. It helped me enjoy other activities and it helped me solve the problem of what I really wanted to do with my life by focusing my attention on something other than my lack of direction. Knitting helped me be mindful of my thoughts and feelings while transcending my thoughts and feelings. The idea of acting mindfully is not new. Buddhist monks have used this and taught this to many as a means of achieving enlightenment for years.

In Bernadette Murphy's book Zen and the Art of Knitting, creativity and the transcendence of self are discussed. The book explores the relationship between knitting and meditation which is referred to as contemplative knitting. Contemplative knitting goes hand in hand with mindfulness and well being. Mindfulness and well being are consistent with cognitive behavior therapy for depression.

As Tara Jon Manning writes in her article Mindful Knitting, As you knit mindfully, "you find a wonderful sense of synchronicity as your hands, your intention, and the comfort of repetitive work in concert." "It provides us with a feeling of comfort, relaxation and open space. It captures our focus and attention completely. Placing intentional thought on the work of our hands develops the essence of mindfulness, purposefulness, being on the spot."

In the ever growing chaos of the real world craft mindfully to benefit your mind and your contribution to a healthy global consciousness.

Video Tutorial: Simple Backwards Loop Cast On

2009-04-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

There are so many ways of casting on your stitches. When I tried to teach my younger cousins to cast on so that they didn't have to constantly run to a more experienced knitter for the service, there was a great deal of frustration because they had trouble casting on the way that I cast on. I enjoy using long tail cast on because it generates a really stretchy edge but it can be super confusing. After a whole lot of self deprecation (because knitting really isn't easy when you first start), I showed them the backwards loop cast on.

One of my best girlfriends casts on using this method. It is fast and easy. As the queen of "the edge should look nice or I will rip it and start over", I get a bit frustrated with this cast on method because the edge doesn't always look neat and it isn't stretchy. It is really good for a beginning knitter because it provides a sense of independence and competence. Once this method is mastered, it is easier to learn other methods.

Mmmm, Stash...

2009-04-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

I love yarn! This is one from the stash: Moda Dea Bamboo Wool in Chili Pepper Red. The yarn is fire engine red with a slight sparkly shine to it. Fabulous! I'm making a modified toddler sized ballet slipper based on Twinkle Toes with it.

You Knit That?

2009-04-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm big on "instant gratification" projects. This translates to projects that take fewer than two days to finish (which equals about 8 hours of knitting on my planet). Stockinette stitch sweaters make me angry even if they are baby sweaters. I have yet to complete an adult size sweater. I guess that like my grandma in Singapore, if it is boring to knit, I don't want to knit it. Boring knitting is like torture to me. The more complicated, the better. My knitter friends who are older think this trait is insane. My younger knitter friends seem to agree. I guess we happen to have been raised in the gimme now computer generation. This means spending an entire month knitting a stockinette stitch afghan for a twin size bed is a bad idea because it is boring and we lose focus.

Anyway you won't see afghans here. Projects completed in the past few weeks include the following items:

Stockinette stitch baby sweater with lamb buttons in Sirdar Snuggly DK weight yarn. I thought I was going to lose my mind knitting it. I had to use a whole lot of the anger management that I learned in therapy and still I thought that one or more members of my family might end up abused as a result of the sweater. It was almost a week's worth of stockinette stitch and happens to be my first human sized (baby's count, they are just small humans) sweater ever. I knit it for my friend's impending bundle of joy. The lamb buttons and yarn came from Eva's Needlwork in Thousand Oaks. I love being in that store.

Pseudo-Argyle baby sweater in pink cotton blend with a silver triangle and cream cross. This was my second baby sweater which I started when the impending bundle decided to be a she instead of a he. This was much more fun to knit because the edges were cabled and it required intarsia. It is totally adorable! I have no idea where the yarn came from. I "borrowed" it from my mom.

Doesn't Knitting Make You Feel Old?

2009-04-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

My hair stylist asked me if knitting made me feel old when I first started bringing in my knitting to do while my color baked onto my extremely difficult (but patchy) gray hairs.

I was sort of taken aback by the question. I don't think my stylist was trying to be rude. Upon further discussion, she declared that she was interested in learning but didn't want to seem like an old lady. I was rather surprised. I'm the kind of girl who does what she wants (as my sister and husband can attest) without worrying too much about what others think so I never really thought that all knitters were old.

The discussion took me back to the Yarn Harlot's visit to Portland, OR. There were a horde of knitters and other yarn artists in the room. As she spoke you could hear needles clacking away and the slide of yarn from bags and baskets. Some were even spinning with drop spindles. All sorts of people attended her lecture: young, old, dark, pale, male, and female. It was an odd conglomeration of people who looked like they should have nothing in common. Yet there we were chatting, laughing, comparing projects, and generally thinking "here are some awesome people with whom I would hang out!" I didn't really notice, maybe because I wasn't really paying attention, that an overwhelming number of attendees were "old". So what age group actually knits?

The US Census Bureau doesn't consider this an important question on the census. However, The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA) did as shown in their The State of Specialty NeedleArts 2007. Apparently "knitting has the highest percentage of participants under 40 and is especially popular with those in their 20s." Proof that knitting is not just for old people. In fact, many of my friends do yarn art and they range in age from 11 to 80.

So if I don't knit to feel old, why do I knit? Knitting makes me feel relaxed and productive. Knitting offers me a chance to challenge myself in ways that I wouldn't otherwise be challenged and to create objects that no amount of money could buy on the mass market. Knitting gives me the ability to create gifts for people who have the money to buy whatever they want or who want something comforting that I created. Knitting is an outlet for me to contribute to charity. Knitting gives me access to a huge, normally untapped, community of people with a common interest. For the sake of the mental, emotional and friendship benefits, I knit.