Sunday, November 25, 2007

A Few Excuses

I'd love to brag about all of my knitting accomplishments since my last post, but I'm still creeping along on those scarves. And for that carrying case, well . . . it curls so much that it's become annoying to knit. The Softee Chunky blue/green scarf I'm making has proven to be quite a task. It's taking a lot longer to put length on it, which I'm assuming has something to do with the yarn itself. I'm also noticing that I'm knitting it pretty tightly, but I LOVE working with this kind of yarn. It may be 100% acrylic, but it's so SOFT compared to some of the other scratchy, cheap acrylic yarn I've picked up (this was an early, lack-of-knowledge purchasing mistake). And it's not as drapey, which I assume is what people look for in yarn for a scarf, but it hides little mistakes better and gives the scarf more substance.

There is a reason I've only done bits of knitting and reading Yarn Harlot. Way back, when my DP ("darling puppy") Dominick came into my life, he used to go on scavenger hunts and chew on things. Unfortunately, not all of these things were dog toys. One day, while Mommy wasn't looking, he found a very nice pair of reading glasses and decided to test their durability. It turns out that these glasses were, in fact, destructable. Thanks to DP, I then knew that my glasses were overpriced for such "low quality" and that I needed to consider a different brand of frames next time. But DP was not aware that I had already splurged all of my extra money on him . . . his adoption fee, vet check-up, Frontline/Heartworm medication, food, shampoo, doggie bed, toys, and the best for last: the monthly pet fee I had to pay to my apartment complex. Long story short, my reading glasses were destroyed and I could not afford to have them replaced.

I'm only slightly far-sighted, so I figured I could go on without glasses for a little while until I could buy another pair. Well, it's been five months since the "event," and I've been reading without glasses this entire time. It hasn't been so bad; if I read a little too much all at once and got a headache, I'd simply take a break, pop a Tylenol, and then continue reading. Well, since I've started knitting (obviously at close range), my headaches have become much more frequent and painful. And any fellow knitter would understand that taking a "knitting break" is much more difficult than taking a "History of American Government, Ch. 7 break". What makes matters worse is that I fear I've damaged my eyes even further. Now I will have to pay for an eye exam on top of new lenses/frames. While I can afford to take care of this now, I have to wait until I get new glasses before I can really tackle my knitting. (Although, it is quite a bad time of year for something like this to happen; money AND holiday knitting time down the drain!)

So, progress will be made as soon as the eye exam is scheduled!

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