Saturday, February 28, 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Fiddly




Well, this little bit of knitting is the tiny fruit of my labors.  I think I spent at least an hour yesterday afternoon working on it.

I showed it to Mr. Man and told him I spent an hour on it, and he asked if I had to start over a few times.  I replied with a sigh, “Many.”

You see, I’m attempting to begin a piece of knitting at the center, which requires (at least for me, right now) using double-pointed needles.  Think of the child’s game of pick-up sticks, and you get the idea of the tiny tools involved.

Now, beginning and casting on with double-pointed needles is always a bit “fiddly”.  And after you knit a fair amount, things get under control.  But the beginning is usually a bit challenging.

Factor in that I am using size 3 needles and wispy laceweight yarn, and “fiddly” sort of became “maddening”!  LOL

Truly, I just had to stop where I was after 2 rounds and take a break.  I wasn’t even sure I was still friends with my laceweight favorite yarn by the end of it. 

(Thankfully, later that evening I knitted on my current scarf project with the same yarn with ease!)

I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this project.  It may be too much for me right now.  I just wish I could find some way to have better “needle management”, so the crazy sticks don’t dangle and twist as I work.  That’s when I can get lost.

Casting on and beginning a project with double-pointed needles isn’t the easiest knit with worsted weight yarn, and it can be challenging with sock weight yarn.  But laceweight??  Yikes!

In the world of Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, this is not “flow”.  But it’s good to challenge yourself occasionally.  I just may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew this time.

As my grandmother would have told me, “Maybe you need to put it on the back burner and let it simmer awhile.”

And my mother would have said, “Perhaps you need to cogitate on that a bit longer.”

Yes, I definitely need to have better needle management somehow…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog


Friday, February 20, 2015

Cat Cartoon



I just love this!!

I have had this for many years
and it always makes me smile.

TGIF!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog


Monday, February 9, 2015

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

THE Cure for the Hiccups



I learned this method for curing a case of hiccups when I was little.  And it works for me every time.  Sometimes I may have to do it twice, but never 3 times.

You drink a few swallows of water with your hands over your ears. 

Not cupped hands, and not with your fingers “in” your ears exactly, but closing your ears with your finger knuckles, kinda, so you can’t hear anything.

And, of course, it doesn’t have to be water.  I suppose any liquid would do.

(I find that it helps to concentrate and listen to my own swallowing.)  J

The only tricky part was needing to do this when I was at school when I was little.  But I learned to hold the water fountain button down with my elbow so I could keep my hands over my ears while I drank.

Now, I usually facilitate matters by using a straw.

Simple and easy, and it works for me every time.

Now!  I bet you can’t wait to get the hiccups, so you can try this out, right?  LOL

XOXO,
Lucky Dog