ScratchCraft

Miscellanea

Weeks 11 & 12 in Review

Posted on March 27, 2011by Dan

Plenty of good things happened over these last two weeks. First, not only did I pass a two-year mark of being diagnosed with leukemia, I also (for the first time in more than two years) had a normal white blood count and my quarterly test came back negative. One of these days I’ll be able to approach these blood tests without much anxiety (perhaps when I have a dozen or so under my belt).

Even more exciting (as you see pictured in the middle frame below), the snow started to pull back from the ground, revealing signs of life. This has been such a long, cold winter. Both Virginia and I are so ready for some warmth and some green (not long after that picture was taken, another 6 inches of the stuff fell and promptly covered it up – we’ll get there one of these days).

I’m starting to go through some old family photos, and thought I’d share one of yours truly playing in the kitchen. This week, I replaced the Tupperware helmet with a cast iron wok, but other than that, not a whole lot has changed.

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Leukemia

Two Years

Posted on March 16, 2011by Dan

I invite you to commemorate my second anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer by making a conscious effort today to limit your exposure to cancer-causing agents and activities and increase those activities that fight it. So, maybe spring for organic produce at the market, take a long walk, choose a vegetarian option at dinner, and stop by the library to check out this book.

Have a happy, healthy day!

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Knitting
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- Spinning

Motivation

Posted on March 13, 2011by Dan

Recently, we both faced large projects in need of finishing — Virginia, a sweater pattern; me, a pound of roving. There were days when it seemed like neither of us would actually finish. But, even with projects that seem to drag the most, there’s always a possibility of finding that nugget of inspiration to push you through to the end (even if what motivates you is just getting it off the dining room table).

Virginia’s project, a pattern in Berocco #228 called “Nopareil,” was knit with some beautiful Blackstone Tweed.

Sometimes projects take on a more generous amount of inertia, making forward progress more of a slush. From what I overheard, this also must have been aided by choices made by the designer, in terms of construction, details and a collar that would not end.

Still, all in all a nice sweater.

My own project was spinning up a pound of roving. If you have been a regular follower of ScratchCraft you may have noticed a drop in the number of spinning-related projects. I have started to kick things back in to gear, but got a little ahead of myself when deciding to tackle a 16 oz. blend of Pygora, Wool, Mohair and Silk.

All told, I spun approximately 1050 yards of 2-ply yarn. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely fiber making a lovely yarn. But, if you aren’t spinning regularly, 16 oz. can feel like it’s taking forever (must be some sort of fiber equivalent of ADHD). At any rate, it’s done, and I think Virginia already has a sweater idea brewing.

My motivation to finish came with the arrival of my installment of fiber from Hello Yarn. This is “Scorch.” I knew that in order to dive into this luscious 4 oz. pile of goodness, I had to free up the spools.

And, now I can — tonight, in fact.

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Miscellanea

Weeks 9 & 10 in Review

Posted on March 12, 2011by Dan

These last two weeks were a bit of a rollercoaster ride, starting with the adoption of a new family member, Juniper Tulip.

Twenty-four hours later we had to bring her back to her foster family, both Virginia’s and my allergies were making it nearly impossible to give her the love and attention she deserved. Though heartbroken, we were glad to hear that she was promptly adopted by a large family on some acreage – giving her plenty to do, lots of love, children to herd (being part collie) and lots of room to run around. It’s amazing how quickly we bonded with her. She will always be our dog, even if we only had her for a day.