The Funk and My Needles

This is usually not something I like to talk about but sometimes it's just better to get it off your chest. I am in a funk. Not just a fun funk... a depressive state in which nothing much matters. I have been gardening to try to focus on something but the real way to know there is something wrong is when I just can't think of knitting a thing at this moment. The attempt to pick up needles and knit a couple stitches is about all I can handle before I lose interest and put it back in it's place. Why I get like this, I have not a clue. It has happened on and off for years, just being another thing to try to work through. Deep down I so badly want to be normal and be knitting up a storm or having the energy to do all the things I would love to do at the moment. The problem is that so much more of me doesn't agree and just wants to sit and sulk. Now I shouldn't say I don't know exactly why I get like this because there are many things right now causing this problem, but mainly the fibromyalgia that has become a constant pain in my ass. But none of it is something that can be fixed easily, just things that I have to continue to endure. The fight is on to get through this and move on with life, and luckily I have a wonderful husband that is there with a hug whenever I need one. I know so many others in the world have to deal with depression just like I do, and some much worse than myself. It's not a fun thing to talk about but talking is the first step towards getting out of the funk and moving on with life.

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Green Thumbs

     Max and I moved into this house here in Bend around May of last year and we have loved it.... at least the inside. The yard on the other hand was something that needed quite a bit of help. After some talking with the landlord we got sod put in to both the front and back yard since neither had grass, only quite a bit of dust. While I was so excited to have nice green grass the problem didn't arise till the last few months when it became apparent that the sod was placed too late in the season last year and didn't get time to fully attach itself to the ground before the cold winter. So we do still have quite a bit of grass that came back but we have areas to fix as the weather tries to get warmer. In addition, there were no plants in the back yard and only a few in the front yard so of course I got giddy thinking of the possibilities.

     Max and I have now become Mr. and Mrs. Green Thumbs, working in the yard almost daily now to make it beautiful. Mas has put in so much work pulling out the dead grass to reseed it, fertilize it, water it... you name it he has been on top of the grass issue and it's starting to cooperate finally. I am so proud of the work he has done so far! And as he works on the grass, I have covered every bit of the gardens with lavender, geraniums, zinnias, poppies, and daisies. In addition I have put in catnip, potatoes, onions, pumpkins, carrots, and green beans. At this point there is no more room! I can't wait to see it all start growing and blooming.

   As we have taken over the yard, trying to make it look like a magazine cover, we have found a foe. A robin, who looks like he eats all day... everyday, has started feasting on my seeds in the garden. This beast visits regularly and probably lives nearby. It has now become our mission to show this guy who is boss because if I see anymore of my sunflower seeds on top of the ground rather than in the ground I might just lose a gasket. From what I can see, we just have to start testing out things and see what happens. If I have to create some crazy looking scarecrow thing I will do it. So if anyone has any suggestions, the suggestion box is wide open at this point.

   Our garden (and lawn) is on it's way and I will start posting pics as it finally starts to bloom. The plan is to have it ready for a big birthday party for my mom in June to celebrate not only her birthday but also that she has made it through the past year, going from breast cancer diagnosis to cancer survivor all since her birthday one year ago. I can't think of anything else that is more worth celebrating. So off to sleep tonight and on to more gardening tomorrow. I have barely touched my knitting needles in the past week because of it... I'm just having too much fun gardening with the hubby. But before sleep I have to prey to the weather gods. No more snow please!

Dying Fiber... and my fingers

I sometimes get in these moods where I just have to try something new. So the other day when one of those moods struck me, it was only right to grab the huge bag of  pure white fiber and just start dying. While you think I would know something about dying before starting... the fact was that I did not. Not a clue what I was doing and just going to wing it. Sometimes that's the best way to do something, just cross your fingers and go for it. Luckily I have some great friends that are on there are the drop of a hat via text when questions started to arise during the dying process! So I simply started throwing in some dye and hoping for the best. So the first batch went great with some pink dye and then I started to get ideas in my head. For the second batch I decided to use sprinkles (yes like the type you put on ice cream) to dye this batch (and yes! it worked). Before I knew it I had a green batch of fiber ready to go! So due to my great friend Judith we used the drum carder and I am about to spin up the combination of the pink and green colors with green Easter grass. (I will post pics as soon as it's done). So a few more rounds of dying has occurred and I figured I would post a couple pics of the latest rounds. One needs carded but the other is ready to go. So I am loving the dying world and can't wait to keep trying out more and more color combinations. But I do have to admit I tried natural dyes today and ended up tossing out all of it. They turned out horrible and I will never do natural dyes again! But the rest of it has been a blast and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon (unless I run out of dye... or fiber).

The Countdown Begins!

Only a few more days till the 30 Hats in 31 Days challenge begins! I have been planning patterns to knit up as well and figuring out what yarns to use out of my stash. I am actually going to start organizing the yarn and patterns into ziplock bags so they are nice and organized. Luckily my order from Knitpicks.com showed up today with my 16in circulars to knit my hats with since I think that length is easier to knit with. May 1st will come before I know it and the knitting craze will begin. I will be posing the hats on here to show the work every couple days. But I would love to extend this to even a bigger number in the next 6 months... but let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. There are so many projects that have to get finished in the mean time that sleep may not be an option soon! So the countdown begins to the challenge to end all challenges!

Tulips, Daisies, and Paychecks

     So a great opportunity came up in the past few days all due to a great friend of mine. Years ago I was a florist for the longest time and I loved it. Waking up each day and knowing you were going to get paid to play with flowers was a great energizer. So lately as I have been searching around for the best job for my situation at the moment I found a listing for a florist position here in town. I was so excited when I saw this since these jobs are few and far between... plus it was something physically I would be able to handle at the moment.
     Now you may be wondering "What about baking?!" since I just got done with school. Unfortunately getting diagnosed with fibromyalgia has put the baking on hold due to all the physical needs to do the job. Having it happen while at school and trying to finish pastry was one of the hardest things I had to do, and knowing that at the moment I can't go ahead with a pastry career has been very hard. But in the past I have also went to school up in Portland for advanced floral design as well as being a master gardener through OSU extension service. Flowers are a passion and knowing I get to go back to that, or at least have the possibility at this moment, has been amazing. So later today I may get to change my working status from unemployed to florist (and fiber artist...we can't forget about knitting)!

Another Shawl Ready To Wear

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

Just finished up this shawl for a test knit for a designer. I used sock yarn and the colors turned out great. This might just be one that I will have to keep for myself.

The Hat Challenge to End All Hat Challenges!

I have decided that I need a challenge. I find that I love things like test knitting and knitted orders that have a due date. They make me push myself that much farther... and don't give me an excuse to procrastinate (in which I have a Ph.D. in). So thus I declare starting May 1st, The Hat Challenges to End All Hat Challenges (that is the whole name) shall begin. I have the month of May to see how many hats I can complete. I might want to scream by the end but I will get it done. There are 31 days in the month so giving myself one day to relax, my challenge is to knit 30 hats by midnight on May 31st. I will be posting photos to prove it as well. No cheating here! So I have the rest of April to get the projects done that I have in progress at the moment. I challenge anyone else that would like to join me in this challenge! Everyone is welcome.... I dare you!

A Little Funny to Start Year 30...

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

So it's the first full day since turning the big ol' 30. Thanks to my wonderful hubby for my new spinning wheel and being the rock that I have needed for so long. Thanks to my mom and dad for the wonderful shopping spree and dinner. You are the best parents a girl like me could ever have. And thanks to all my friends and family for the wonderful birthday wishes and goodies. I have to admit I nearly had a panic attack about becoming 30 but thanks to the people around me... it may not be that bad. So the first full day of being 30 is going to include some lunch with my knitting gals, knitting/spinning with even more knitting gals for awhile, and come home to probably movie watching with the hubby... and more knitting. So to get the day started off right I figured we needed a knitting funny.

Trekking in the Argyle Frontier

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

So this isn't technically argyle but it's as close as I have ever gotten. I have been test knitting a fingerless mitten pattern for a person on Ravelry and just finished. The green and purple turned out great together and has offically gotten me hooked on exploring argyle even further with my next projects. But for right now it's back to focusing on getting things done for the Prineville Fiber Festival... and the few other projects that are haunting me in my knitting bag at the moment.

Another one of my designs...

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

So it sounds like I will be teaching a class on using handspun yarn to knit with at a Fiber Festival at the end of the month. So I designed and knitted this hat to teach in the class. While it's not perfect it turned out better than I expected and hopefully I will be posting it on Ravelry.com to sell soon. Woo Hoo!