Next week is my birthday. It’s not one which some would call a, “major birthday,” but for some reason I’ve been having a hard time with the very idea of it. I guess, technically, one could be no more squarely in the middle of middle age as I am, officially, right now. I think I fear getting old. I don’t think the prospects of aging gracefully are looking too good for me right now. But, this depressing little digression is not the point of today’s post.
For the longest time I’ve always had trouble saying what I want for my birthday. Sure, I usually come up with something, but it is a question I dread from my loved ones each year. This year was no different, but then last week it hit me. One of my favorite things that I own is my digital camera, which, literally, gets nearly daily use. My camera is a really nice one, but now it is a few years old. And, the technology has improved a lot in the last few years. So, even though it feels frivolous, when my husband asked me this year what I wanted for my birthday, I told him that I’d like to upgrade my camera.
He readily agreed, and three days later, voila! Amazon delivered.
Canon SX20-IS
It’s the Canon PowerShot SX20IS Digital Camerawhich is an upgrade of my older camera. It has twice as many megapixels, can use a larger SD card, is even more light sensitive, has a longer zoom, has a hot shoe, and can shoot HD movies. Those are just a few of the new or improved features. I’ve liked this camera because even though it is a digital camera that can be used as a point and shoot, it does so much more, and allows me to make all kinds of adjustments for different photo effects. I especially loved that my camera was really light sensitive, meaning that I can take indoor photographs without having to use the flash very often. This is important for photographing yarn, as regular readers of this blog will know that I do quite regularly. I really don’t like using the flash because I love the effects of natural light and the prettier colors and skin tones that I can achieve.
So the camera arrived yesterday, and even though it wasn’t my birthday for nearly a week, I had to open the box. My husband didn’t really expect that I would wait! He knows me too well. Much of the camera feels familiar, though it is slightly larger and considerably heavier. It has many of the same functions and works a lot the same way as my older camera, given that they are close relatives, and yet, I found myself getting frustrated with the minor changes and having to slow down on the learning curve. But, here it is only a day later, and I’m already getting the hang of it. I think I’m going to love this camera as much as I loved its predecessor. Here’s one of the first pictures I took with it:
So then, to add to the birthday joy, my mother-in-law called this afternoon and asked if she and the F-I-L could come by tonight to celebrate my birthday, since they’re getting ready to go out of town. We had just been planning to have pizza and an easy night anyway, so I invited them to join us. She brought cake! It was my favorite cake from the local Amish market. And then they presented me with this:
rainbow-y and pink yarn
Yarn! Can you believe it? They went on a European holiday this spring, and while visiting in the Netherlands, they came across a lady selling yarn in a market. My mother-in-law said she saw the woman making a scarf with this very yarn and she thought it was neat and that I’d like it. She took a picture of that scarf in progress to show me. it sort of knits up in solid pink and rainbow multi stripes. I think I will enjoy knitting this!
Of course, Tegan had to check out the yarn for herself:
Kitty wants the yarn
Finally, here is the first movie from my new camera. It’s nothing special, except that last week when I was at the Amish Farmer’s Market I fell in love with these really large wind chimes. They sound like bells, and are perfectly tuned to each other so that they actually make music when they move. They’re stunning.
caramel popcorn and TwinkiesSo here’s the ugly truth. I am addicted to sugar. And no, I am not saying this lightly; it is completely and utterly true. And ok, the facts are that I am overweight and middle aged, with a family history of diabetes. The proverbial icing on the cake, if I may borrow that sickeningly sweet pun, is that I was an insulin-dependent diabetic when I was pregnant with my second child. Now, I know that when I eat sugary snacks, my blood sugar responds in such a way that should indicate to any smart person that I shouldn’t be eating sugary snacks. One big improvement that I have managed to make is that I have all but given up on sugared sodas, so that is a plus. But I can’t seem to shake the senseless consumption of ridiculous, sugary things that should not even be sold with the label of “food.”
I’m a smart woman; I really am. I know what I should put in my body and what I should not. I actually like vegetables and fresh fruits, and relish the summer months when these things are so readily available. One of my favorite things is to go to a farmer’s market and load up on veggies. And I can do alright for a number of days or weeks without my sugar consumption being out of control. But when the stress hits? I turn into a sugar-craving monster and go out of control. It can be work stress, or home stress, or exhaustion or even extreme elation. And once I get on a bad streak, it’s really hard to come down.
Why?
Why, when I know what this dangerous drug, sugar, can do to me, do I continue to abuse it? On the logical side it just doesn’t make sense at all. So I know there must be some deep-rooted emotional reason why I routinely engage in self sabotage. It’s not just a Twinkie, or a Reese’s cup, or the dreaded Caramel Macchiato. Those are the things which are one by one, shortening my life by hours and days… and years. I know this to be true, but so far, I have not been motivated to change my eating habits. I need to find out what my “currency” is, as Dr. Phil would say, and use that. I know.
I have been lacking motivation to change. I know that the sugar itself can be affecting my motivation. So, it’s a vicious cycle. And help! I want to get out of it. Have any of you beat the sugar monster? If so, how did you do it? How do you keep your resolve?
Project Name:Jen’s Hello Kitty Scarf Yarn Used: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight Needle Size: 7 Date Started: May 11, 2009 Date Completed: June 24, 2010
Jen’s Hello Kitty ScarfNotes: Well, I am late in reporting on this, but you’ll be happy to know that I got this project done in time for my visit with my friend Jen last week. I think she liked it! It’s a simple scarf made with Barbara Walker’s “Twin Rib” stitch. I don’t know why, but this stitch has always called to me. I think I am done with it for a while now, though! All those K1, P1 rows were a killer! Remind me, please, that if I ever pick up a sweater pattern with large sections of seed stitch, that I should put the pattern down quickly, and just forget I ever saw it? Thank you.
Here’s a closeup of the Twin Rib stitch:
Closeup of Twin Rib stitch
So naturally, with the scarf project behind me, I felt a little twinge of geez, what do I knit now? Of course, there is my February Lady Sweater, but it’s been so hot in these parts lately that I can’t fathom knitting on it just now. I needed something small, in lighter weight yarn. I tried, oh I tried, to get excited about knitting a sock. It was a sport weight slipper sock, designed for people like me who get bored quickly. But alas, it only lasted a half a toe, and about half a day, before I yanked it out of my bag.
Still looking in my sock yarn box for inspiration, I pulled out some Sock! Merino by Lisa Souza, in the colorway, “Wild Things” (my favorite). I bought some worsted weight in the same colorway last year, saving it for a future sweater. But the sock weight yarn has been in my stash since 2007. I have two hanks, and it has always been destined to be a shawl. Hard to know what to do with it though, as I am not a lace knitter (yet) and the lace projects that attracted me most require more yardage than I have.
So what did I do?
Clapotis beginnings
I have cast on a Clapotis, a.k.a., the Great Common Denominator of knitting. There are currently 15,507 projects for this pattern listed on Ravelry, none of which are my previous three attempts at this pattern. I have tried this before, and –don’t shoot me!– I have gotten BORED with the pattern before I could finish it each time. So why is it different this time? The truth is that I don’t know, but I am hoping that the yarn itself is highly motivating this time. I really, really have always wanted to have a wrap to wear from this yarn. I should have a wrap in every color by now, for all sorts of options in the wardrobe, but I have not a one, except for the store-bought kind.
And so, as of two days ago, I am on a quest to change this. My hope is that the yarn is light enough that the knitting will not be too hot for this weather, that I will not drive myself insane with boredom, and that imagining myself wrapped in this amazing yarn come fall will allow me to be a success.
Next time, I have a more personal story to share. I hope you’ll cheer me on. Til then,
Sort of. Yeah, well. I don’t have an excuse for having been away for so long. Except that I’ve been in a funk. A stinky, gray, ugly funk. I’m trying to force myself out of it, but it hasn’t been easy. I miss blogging. I miss being excited about my knitting.
This weekend I asked my daughter to help me organize and put away all of my yarns. And we did it! It had gotten overwhelming in my den, with all of my new yarns from the last 6 months or so all over the place, and not put away in containers. This weekend we rectified that situation. My husband went out and got me two new bins, and we reorganized and re-categorized everything. I even found some stuff to give away, but I’m going to give the ladies in my knitting club a first whack at it. There’s not much in the discard bin, but it’s a start. I figure by now that at least some of the yarn that’s been in my stash since I first started knitting deserved some serious thought. If I haven’t touched it in 5 years, am I going to? Doubt it.
Little Bubbles Baby Set, cardigan yoke startedSo what have I been knitting? For starters, this little cutie. It’s the Little Bubbles Baby Set, by Nina Isaacson, of Knit Picks. I really like that this little sweater is so adorable and is keeping my interest by teaching me several new techniques. One of the things that was new to me was the “Little Bubbles” stitch that makes the cute design on the yoke of the sweater. I was a little confused by the instructions, but thank goodness for Ravelry, because the designer was just a quick message away. Not only did she explain to me the proper technique for doing the stitch (versus the way I had interpreted it in my mind), but she pointed me to a YouTube video that demonstrated the technique.
After watching the video and receiving Nina’s explanation, it all made perfect sense and off I went! I have actually completed more of the yoke than this picture shows, but hopefully I’ll have an updated photo soon.
I do find the cotton yarn to be a little fiddly to work with, so I’m saving this for an at home project, while my February Lady Sweater is still coming with me on my daily commute and to knit group and such. Sounds backwards, huh, having the big project along for the ride, and the teeny baby one for at home? Yeah, maybe, but I find it harder to work smaller stitches on smaller needles. Maybe that’s why I have yet to fall in love with socks.
But alas… about a year ago I started a pink scarf for my good friend Jennifer, whose favorite color is pink, and I never finished it. Jen used to live in my same town near me and our “birthday buddy” daughters went to the same school. But she lives in Michigan now, and I wanted to finish the scarf in time for her visit last year. Sadly, here it is, more than a year later, and she’s about to come for another visit. This time, I MUST finish the scarf and give it to her while she’s here. So, I’ll be taking a short break from BOTH sweaters for some marathon scarf knitting.
Speaking of which, I’d better get busy. Sorry I was away so long. I’ll try not to let it happen again. I’m still looking for my lost mojo, but hopefully I’ll find it soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll hang in there with me. I’d love to hear from you all!
which is an upgrade of my older camera. It has twice as many megapixels, can use a larger SD card, is even more light sensitive, has a longer zoom, has a hot shoe, and can shoot HD movies. Those are just a few of the new or improved features. I’ve liked this camera because even though it is a digital camera that can be used as a point and shoot, it does so much more, and allows me to make all kinds of adjustments for different photo effects. I especially loved that my camera was really light sensitive, meaning that I can take indoor photographs without having to use the flash very often. This is important for photographing yarn, as regular readers of this blog will know that I do quite regularly. I really don’t like using the flash because I love the effects of natural light and the prettier colors and skin tones that I can achieve.
. The cover of that book, when I had it as a kid, had cherries in the background.
