April 25, 2011

round and round

To all who kindly asked about my mother this week.... She's doing OK. Her kidneys are giving up doing their jobs, but she found a new friend named dialysis. My sister, aunt (my mom's youngest sister) and me, and sometimes my brother (he is living a bit farther from the hospital than me and sis) , my sister's grown-up son and daughter are visiting her, doing errands for her.

Thank you, my friends, and I'm so sorry I don't send y'all e-mails personally.

Instead, here's a picture of my on-the-go project.
donuts/scale vest WIP
It's another use-up-leftovers project. I haven't decided yet it's going to be sleeveless or short-sleeved, how its neckline would be shaped (other than it will be steeked), nor how long it would be (tunic or vest?). I'm just knitting round and round, and round.

Week comes, week goes. Mom's doctor looks a leeeettle bit more relaxed.

Oh, and Mom likes this light blue (at the top). GOOD.

April 15, 2011

Everywhere I go

What a hectic week.

Monday, my mother was hospitalized. She had been having "a prolonged session of coughs after a cold or pollen allergy or whatever" for a couple of weeks or so. She knew her already weakened kidneys decided "to cut another level of their works" over last weekend, went to see her doctor first thing in the Monday morning, and he didn't let her go home. Her heart isn't working so good, neither.
She had one pair of pajamas in her bag "just in case". What a woman.

Tuesday, my first day at work. My husband got a day off for my daughter coming home (after her first school lunch!) and for himself recovering from nasty cold (bronchitis, I suspect) he had last week. I could have time to visit Mom straight from my work, thanks to him.

Wednesday, my last meeting at kindergarten PTA in the morning. After that, to the public library to return books, and my daughter's swimming class.

Thursday, after my no-worry-I'm-in-my-school-for-one-full-week daughter went to school, I hurried to a mass-selling appliance store to buy a small radio for Mom. She has an old AM radio in her hospital package (she had made beforehand and my niece picked it up at her house and delivered to her on Monday), but it doesn't work somehow. Now, after one month after the massive earthquake, almost all portable radio which works with AA battery is sold off. No date for re-supply. D and C battery is pretty thin on the market right now, so it's no use buying bigger plays-everything type boom box. I found one of just three of those pocket palm-sized AM/FM radio (in 980 yen. Score.), got extra batteries (AAA) for it and brought them for Mom.
Found out that either radios can't get AM wave because of noise from hyper-tech hospital machines or whatever, but FM broadcast sounds clear like in the middle of a park. The old one, which my father was using at his hospital even during his last stay, is now in my possession.
I hurried back again, but at almost home, got a message from Mom's hospital. Her doctor needs a form signed by family member to give her some farther treatment. After a couple of calls, I reached my big sister she said OK to go to hospital after her work.

Today, my big bro is visiting Mom. Thank goodness it happened to be his day off. My daughter comes home at 13:30, and after that, her gymnastic class. It's once-a-week chance to see her old kindergarten friends and release their tensions at new schools.

All through this week, I am rubbing and squeezing this.
cell phone carrier, Selbu (raven side)
It's my cell phone cozy. Has ravens.

Pattern; Annemor #5 by Terri Shea, in Selbuvotter
Yarn; Diana Collection Fiore, colorway 01 and 02 (white and black)
Needles; US 1 (2.25 mm)
Finished; January 2010

cell phone carrier, Selbu (pigeon side)
On the back side are pigeons (just an exchange of colors).


Before I made this, I was using small fabric bags. My last knit one;
cell phone case
which I was using in US was too small for my Japanese cell phone, and happily adopted by my mother-in-law.
Pattern; from Hiking Socks by Nadia Severns, in Vogue Knitting On the Go: Socks
Yarn; Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock, colorway SY-32 (little lirac) and SY-17(purple splendor)
Needles; US 1 (2.25 mm)

My mother's condition needs very close watch. Yet she is still cheerful and can't stop talking. It's our family joke that she can't breeze without talking, like sharks can't breeze without swimming.
Talk, Mom. We'll hear. From time to time (: P)

April 09, 2011

Done before starting

It's not my old unblogged project. A new one.

commuter sleeves

Pattern; Siren Sleeves by Kelly McClure (free download from Ravelry)
Yarn; Nikke Victor Solfa, colorway; 401, 2 balls = 1 for each sleeve
Needles; KnitPicks Harmony socks DPN #US 2 1/2
Note; I wanted to use up whole ball to knit one sleeve. So, I made a short one (from garter band to knuckle), picked up at CO edge, knit in stockinette stitch for 40 rounds, and switched to k2p2 rib until the yarn run out. ... Actually, I miscounted and make one sleeve with 40 rounds of stockinette and another with 45. I can live with that.

It knit up too fast. I mean, I was going to make this project as my "commuter project", a small mindless project to carry around. It just finished itself (sort of) before my commute starts.

My job to teach Microsoft Office ® (am I using this symbol correctly?) to freshmen at a local college is starting on coming Tuesday. It gives me a 20 x 2 min. train ride and a 10 x 2 min. bus ride. About 60 min. of promised knitting (& hopefully audiobook) time.

I'm excited to have a job (it's not just some knitting time. Paycheck!), and at the same time, I'm feeling nervous, naturally.

It's about 7 years since my last working days.
My daughter is a new 1st grader (Japanese school year has just begun, you know.) I need my mother's help so someone is at home when my little school-goer comes home, until her school time extends into afternoon (in a couple of weeks). Thank goodness my mother is keeping herself healthy enough.
I'm TEACHing. More than 100 youngsters.

For my peace of mind, I'd take this is a good omen. I mean, my (hand)work, materialized more easily than I expected.

And I'll start something mindless for my train time.

April 02, 2011

40+

I started this blog to talk about my finished knitting project, basically. "Basically" because I was going to talk about not-yet-projects, mere thoughts and anything gives me inspirations & motivations to my knitting.

On the other hand, I'm keeping track of my knitting on Ravelry. The record there is more precise and whole, naturally. Ravelry is a database (and some more, of course). This is a blog. There's no rule that I have to post on every project I finished. I can just pick up some favorites and write whatever innocent, and let it flow away into the cyberspace.
The other day, the "collector in me" has made a list. According to it, there are still more than 40 projects (that I know of) yet un-blogged.

Sigh.

I'll start crossing one project by one off the list.

One post (at least) every week, I'll promise. Starting.... next week. Maybe assigning a day of the week for this blog helps me to get the peace of mind, and rhythm of life.