Riding Around Chicago

I have been eating great food and buying yarn:




That's right, Loopy Yarns.

Photos when I get home tomorrow of my haul. At least the yarn part of it.

Sock of Awesome #1

I cannot begin to tell you how fucking awesome this sock is - and that's not the cold medicine I took talking here.

Just look:




The sock is knit normally, but the cuff! It's in segments that you knit horizontally and vertically.




And better yet, it fits my fat leg!




It still looks cool when the cuff is folded down:




I'd begin casting on for Sock of Awesome #2, but I am hopped up on cold meds for this stupid plague I caught from work. I know I'd fuck it up six ways to Sunday, so I'll get about 14 hours sleep-that-really-isn't-all-that-great-sleep-without-the-nose-of-Darth-Vadar-mask.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with two words that came from taking my recent yarn purchase to SnB (so they could ogle and pet the yarn) for an upcoming project after the socks:

Zombie. Monkey.

Come To The Dark Side...

This is what I had to wear last night at my sleep study (click the pic for more info).

I've had a lot of experiences in my life. I've been around the block a couple of times, and backwards, too.

This was by far the most fucking bizarre experience I've had yet.

I showed up for the study, uncaffeinated-no nap-exhausted per directions, get wired up for the sound and light show...then get the mask.

Granted it wasn't the full face mask I was dreading. It also wasn't, mercifully, the nose plug version of the mask. However, when I put it on, it was a bit freaky...doesn't help I'm claustrophobic. I remained calm until the air was connected.

I made the mistake of opening my mouth to speak to the tech about the smell of the mask.


Holy. Hell.

I now know what a tire and/or balloon feels like as the air shoots out of a rupture in their surface.


Why? Because no one fucking tells you that with all that air being pushed down your nasal passages and into your throat to keep them open, that (naturally) if you open your mouth, air will come rushing out since it's opening with less pressure fighting against the air.

For 20 seconds, I seriously thought I was deflating.

Okay, go ahead, laugh...I'm laughing as I write this, but at the time, it scared the crap out of me.

Once the tech was able to calm me down and re-attach some of the electrodes I ripped off trying to get that mask off of my face and thrown across the room, I explained that as irrational as it sounds, I really thought I sprung a leak in my lungs or throat, etc.

I hope that tech gets paid damn good money. She didn't even crack a smile. She took my hand, squeezed it and said it frightened her the first time it happened, too. She said it also didn't help that I was extremely tired and wired up in a lab. It would get better at home, where I was more comfortable. I would be able to take it off and on, get used to the machine and air pressure. It took her about a week to get used to her machine.

She let me try the nose plug version and it felt like two turbo fans going up my nose. I opted for the more cumbersome, but less likely to rupture my sinus cavities nose gel mask.

So, I slept. Not great, but for about 2.5 hours at a stretch throughout the night. It gave the lab enough data to see what the recommended levels of air pressure on the CPAP machine will be for me.

I came home looking much the way I did before - jacked up hair, no makeup, looking like I had partied harder than my body could cope - took a shower, and then crashed for another four hours.

Here's to the adventures of being middle-aged, with larger than normal tonsils, and the methods one endures to get a decent night's sleep.

I need to go knit something.

Braaaaiiinnnsss...

One day soon, this will be a zombie monster.











I'm going to piece together a few of the monster patterns to create it.




Stay tuned...

Sock - A -Rama of Awesome

I'm 3/4 of the way through the first sock of this second pair. Here I'm ready to snip the yarn to create the foot opening:




And this is Tank, carefully averting her eyes lest her corneas be singed with the awesomeness of the sock...




I have to admit, I'm the only one that thinks this is awesome due to the fact it's my second pair using this pattern and they fit as nice as the first pair!

Otherwise, they're not so awesome...merely charming.

There Went Those 6 Hours

I had a sleep study last night.

If it weren't the pea-sized globules of adhesive squishing around on my skull that anchors the electrodes/skull wires whenever I moved my head or the finger monitor with the red-eye of death beaming out in the dark room, it was the nose/mouth torture device that was prohibiting sleep.

It's just like a nose tube for oxygen, except there's a small flap that comes down in front of your mouth - so up the nose and in front of your lips to measure air flow (or lack of), if you don't rip it off by hour 2 of your study, that is...I mean, honestly, in this age of bluetooth technology and virtual colonoscopies, a tube up your nose and wires stuck all over you is the best we can do?

I did manage four hours of sleep, so it wasn't a wasted night, but I had to remain in bed until the entire six-hour cycle of the test had elapsed. Instead of going home at 3 am to the comfort of my own bed, I had to lie around for another two hours. *sigh*

As I mentioned elsewhere, I came home with no makeup, hair all jacked up, strange markings on my face, rumpled clothing, missing my bra, exhausted, and craving carbs when I got home. It was like coming home from one of the best parties ever, except for the fun of participating in such a party...

Today has been an odd mix of napping, knitting, and watching 3rd Rock From The Sun. Tank has been hanging out with me, keeping pace with all the napping quite well, thank you.

Rolling Along

Life has not been very groovy in Sumo Knitter Land. More medical tests. I have the Ick. On round two of meds. Stress at several levels from various sources - work isn't the only culprit.

So today was Gran duty day, which went better than usual in the time management area. It was so much better that I was able to come home and take a much needed (and lusted for) nap with the Tank.

And I was lucky enough to finish a pressing item or two on my long list for today. However, part of the suckage this week is the laundry room isn't working at my complex. The Gran graciously offered me the use of her washer and dryer tonight when we were doing the "bananas in a bag" gig, so I took her up on it. I loathe the laundromat.

One of the many nice things about hanging at the Gran's is that I'm sort of forced to leave work, college, etc. at home since she doesn't have internet connection and I'm not about to type a 1,000 word report on my BB. This means knitting time:




Yes, since the lace cardigan has miles of 2x2 ribbing that's dragging me down, I slapped another pair of socks on the SNA needles and took off today with them to the Gran's:




The yarn is from a Tucson store, Purls, when I visited out there in February. It's from Pagewood Farms, "Alyeska."


And even if my day is just shit from one end to the other, Iris never fails to cheer me up a bit, hanging out with the Buddha on my dining table.

A Whole Box Of Happy!

This week has sucked major dirt. I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday, for *many* reasons, and not for the least reason of this arriving from Jimmy Beans Wool today:




Layer one:




Layer two:




Iris senses that there's possible monster making from all this yarn:




Iris is one clever monster.




(And cute, to boot!)

FO #14 - Monster 1

Remember Iris the Gourmet Monster kit?

She is done!

Prior to being pulled together:




I want to proudly point out how I turned the heels on Iris' legs/feet!




Big ass bag of polyfiber - no name brand that was on sale at Michael's:




After trying out three types of seaming, I went with a drawstring type closure so Iris would seat better:






As the designer, Rebecca Danger, suggested I didn't stuff the entire legs and arms, just the feet and hands.




I'm not too proud to admit that I suck ass at sewing and hemming. Another reason I'll never be a surgeon...




So far so good - I thought about the eyes being off-kilter and decided to keep them like that:




Time for some teeth:








Ta-dah!




Iris was hanging out when I realized she may look better with a belly button that is the Danger Craft touch:










While I can't sew or hem, I kick ass in embroidering belly buttons!




Tank is cool with the new addition, kind of:




Tank: She's fine. She goes after my marrow bones, I'll bite the bitch.

Memorial Day 2011

To those who have served, who are serving, and are training to serve in the our Armed Forces, thank you.

And thank you to the families who support their service persons.

FO #12 and FO #13 - baby items

The prego cousin is due in about two weeks, and her shower was yesterday, so I can show off the knitted items I made for her now. She's expecting a boy, and due to his Italian heritage, they have chosen Enzo for his name.

Baby Enzo's Sun hat:










* * * *
The down and dirty details:

Yarn(s): Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK

Purchased: The Yarn Shoppe - Davenport, IA

Needles: size 5/size 6

Time: for me - 6 hours; for most knitters, 2-3 hours
* * * *


Enzo's Baby Carrier/Stroller Blanket - this is meant to be long enough and wide enough to cover the baby without overwhelming him. When my daughter was wee, I had way more blanket than baby. This measures approximately 28" wide and 36" long.




* * * *
The down and dirty details:

Yarn(s): Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK

Purchased: The Yarn Shoppe - Davenport, IA

Needles: size 8

Time: for me - 10 hours; for most knitters, 4-5 hours
* * * *

Later this year, I'll be knitting him a seed stitch cardigan in blue stripes!

Wild Weather

Last night was a wild ride around here. Tank and I hung out in our bathroom while the tornado sirens blew three times in 25 minutes. Luckily, we only had some wind damage in our general area.




* * *

In other news, a gorgeous book a friend gave me for my birthday!





















* * *
Shopping news, my new SNA knitting needles arrived. LOVE. THEM.




* * *
And here's Tank an hour ago, riding around while we did errands: