Catching up … and good news?

Knitivity Posted on by

I feel like such a schmuck for my absence, but I’ve spent a lot of my energy paying attention to my health issues.

This week I have to do bloodwork at the lab on Monday, and then do a CT scan and a cardiac stress test, both procedures on Thursday … and all fasting from the night before. Yuck.  That will help the docs figure out what sort of surgery I’ll need to fix the aorta.  And then on the 10th I’ll have a colonoscopy to figure out what’s wrong with my lower tract.   What fun!  (not!!)

I saw the cardiac surgeon who told me NOT to do anything strenuous, not to exert myself or lift more than 10 pounds, etc.  So I’ve been doing very little and as much of that as possible.

Anyway, since I’m not supposed to be doing the heavy labor of dyeing (hefting bins of wet yarns, etc.), I’ve not been able to work for several weeks, so things are getting tight.   BUT… my granddaughter offered to come tomorrow when I get out of clinic, and dye up a batch of yarns for me.

Sooo…. who wants some DEVYN-ity Sock yarns?  I don’t know how many she’ll be able to get done, but I’ll have a full batch ready to go.  As a guest artist, her colorways will be of her own making, and definitely one-of-a-kind (or two-of-a-kind Twinsets).   🙂

They probably won’t be ready to show until Tuesday, and then not be ready to ship until Friday or Saturday.

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Well, this is awkward.

Knitivity Posted on by

As many of you know, I’ve slowed down a bit in recent months, dealing with some health issues.

I won’t bore y’all with the day-by-day details, but when my Medicare kicked in on November 1, I made sure I got myself into the clinic to start getting myself sorted.

Short version — I am dangerously high diabetic, and was put on a fairly aggressive regimen of insulin shots (3x a day), I’ve seen a diabetes counselor, and my daily finger-stick numbers are coming down by strictly monitoring what I eat and doing what I’m told.  The endocrinologist started off with “you’ve been SO sick for SO long…..”  Eeek.  I thought I was just slowing down a bit.   Apparently fainting in the grocery store isn’t ‘normal’ for most people (my daughter in law was with me, since it was too cold to walk to market — good thing she was there).  My doctor told me NOT to walk to market on my own any more, at least for a while.

The G.I. doc will be exploring my innards in early January.  The urologist explored some of my other innards earlier this week, revealing other issues to deal with down there.

And just this afternoon, my PCP called with the results of this morning’s CT Scan and the aorta ultrasound.    The CT scan was okay, they just want to check it in a year.   The ultrasound, however, revealed a 5cm x 5cm aneurysm (roughly 2 inch by 2 inch).  So along with getting my blood sugar under control, I will likely be having surgery in the next week or two, depending on what the vascular surgeon indicates.

None of that, of course, directly relates to amazing colors, lovely-knitting yarns, or weekly Blog Reader Special deals.  Except that until the aneurysm is sorted, I’m not exerting myself very much beyond basic survival functions.  The doctor didn’t indicate there was an immediate chance of it bursting, but he put in an URGENT referral for me to a vascular surgeon to get it taken care of, so it is a pretty big deal.

So, until I know what’s happening and when, and how it will affect my ability to work and continue making pretties for you (and make money to live on), I’m not doing that (i.e., not busting my ass to create weekly BRS collections).  And since I don’t know what’s involved or how long I will be out of commission, I truly don’t know what sort of help I will be needing over the next month or two.

I am sincerely hoping this is a temporary hiatus, but I did want to let you know why I’ve not been putting out weekly yarn collections, now that I have actual doctors finding things and telling me what I need.  I feel like I have let you guys down, and I apologize for that, but I hope to be back at it soon.

 

 

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What to make of it?

Knitivity Posted on by

Last week I showed a new Phydlbitz Sock collection.  I was not  pleased with #875-876.  They were supposed to be Black Spotted and Black Solid.   The Solid came up in varying shades of deepest charcoal, and the Spotted black dots bled out to make rusty brown marks around the black.  Plus part of the Spotted came out with a shadow of a hint of a suggestion of green in some areas.   I was not happy with them as something I could show with the rest of the collection for sale.   So I claimed them for myself.

Now, my question is: What do I do with these?   I’m thinking of a scarf in a simple stripe pattern, changing balls every two rounds, knit in the round.  Or doing spiraling stripes in two-color stranded work, but even on a size 5 that would end up a rather heavy scarf, and wouldn’t yield as long a scarf, since I’d be using both strands simultaneously.

I’m not experienced with entrelac, although it would be an interesting harlequin pattern.

I need something simple and both easy to do AND easy to put down quickly — I’m thinking of a take-along project for all these clinic visits that I have to do to in order to sort out what’s going on with my body.  If I have to be in clinic waiting around, I might as well occupy my hands and mind instead of stressing what else this or that doctor will announce.  Like, for example, I knew I had some issues going on, but when the endocrinologist said, “You’ve been so sick for so long….” it pretty much set the tone for future doctor visits. (I knew I was having issues, I did not think I was “sick”, but apparently I am.)   Next comes the urologist, the CT chest scan for cancer, and the colonoscopy.  Not a fun time in my life, for sure — feeling bad in my body and not having sufficient answers for all of it.   Other than out-of-control diabetes (which I AM bringing under control now, so yaayyyy for that), there are other issues going on.

So, anyway, I need a project to work on during clinic visits.    Any ideas for what might be done with these?  I DO like the idea of a solid/spotted combination, just not finding a project I really really want to do, y’know?

 

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A New Phydlbitz Collection

Knitivity Posted on by

Yes, I’m still here, and I have a fresh batch of Phydlbitz Sock for you!

It’s been a trying time for me — barely two weeks since my initial doctor visit, and there are several things I need to deal with, including more specialist visits to come, some internal scans, diabetes classes, and other stuff.  Some of it I anticipated, and some of it I guess they do for all new Medicare patients just for a thorough screening.   And getting accustomed to some new meds is really difficult for me, thanks to side effects and body changes.  After an incident at Kroger (I nearly passed out at the check-out) on Tuesday, the doctor says I’m not to go to market on my own, at least for a while.   Nope, I’m not critical or terminal or anything weird (so no diseases to be named after me!), it’s just a challenge for me, and I hope these side effects and so forth settle down quickly.   Suffice it to say I’m grateful the Medicare kicked in, and that I am doing what the doctor ordered, so as I shuffle through the process I am thankful for you and your patience while I get back into my regular weekly schedule.  🙂

Okay, enough of that…. onward to yarns!

I attempted to do a different kind of Twinset this week, with a speckled and a solid in each pair.  Most of them came out okay, but I’m not sure I want to do this again (although I will if you ask me to).   The intention was to have a solid and speckled Twinset for interesting stripe patterns.  There were also a few Singles in the bunch (#887-880).  As always, there is no obligation to take both skeins of a Twinset. Feel free to mix-and-match as you wish.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your numbered selections.   These are currently still drying today, and I have other dye jobs to work on for Monday, and will be in clinic most of Tuesday, so it will be Wednesday before I can get these reskeined and ready to ship on Thursday.

Phydlbitz Sock is 75/25 Superwash Corriedale/Nylon, 430 yards each, for $27.00.  For today and tomorrow, you can have Preview Pricing — $2.00 off each skein.  Just have your email request time stamped by midnight Monday, my time.

By the way, with colder weather moving in here (as it has already up North), I need to know what you want to be knitting with during the Winter months.  I can get sport weight and worsted weight yarns; all you have to do is ask.  🙂

Already claimed:  859, 860, 863, 864, 867, 868, 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 876, 879,  880

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New Yarns, and other updates!

Knitivity Posted on by

Nope, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, but it’s been a crazy time for me.  Besides working on some custom orders in recent weeks, I have also been dealing with some health issues that have made it increasingly difficult to actually get up and work and produce a regular supply of Blog Reader Specials.

My Medicare coverage started this month (I’ll turn 65 on Nov 27), and I wasted no time getting into clinic as soon as I could.  I did that on Monday.  And they wasted no time scheduling me for several specialists and new procedures, and then the clinic called me the next day with results of the blood tests, which resulted in yet another new appointment coming up.

I won’t bore you with the details, so suffice it to say I will be spending a bunch of time over the next month or two tracking down causes and treatments for this and that and other stuff, with all the appropriate poking, prodding, and scanning along the way.   And I hope it will enable me to get back on track and producing more wonderful yarns and beautiful colorways for you.   The one really good bit of news, and utterly surprising to me, is that my blood pressure was only 118/74.  Wow.

Okay, onward to the yarns!   Some of this collection are the leftover results of a custom job I did, and had to do over.  My client got her yarns in the end, and all the previous ones are now available for you.  🙂    The pink-and-green ones are all singles, not Twinsets.   They were all dyed the same time with the same dyes, and these will certainly coordinate with each other,  but I can’t honestly call them twins.

All of these are 100% Merino, sport wt., 330 yards, at $27.00 apiece.  This is an ideal weight for scarves and cowls that are fitting for autumn and winter, without being too heavy or bulky.  They are also good for hats and mittens.

These are ready to ship, and you can view the individual presentation photos over on the Blog Reader Specials page.

Shown below are all of the Merino Sport that have been dyed over the last couple of weeks, both from the custom job as well as other random dyeing.   The last 10 skeins are Twinsets and are so marked on the BRS page.

To claim the ones you want, just send me an email with your requested items and I will send you a PayPal invoice.  If you are new to Knitivity, or haven’t ordered in a while, please be sure to tell me your ZipCode or country, so I can calculate the right shipping and handling.

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