Knitting Again

Life, so far, without the cast or boot on my leg/ankle, has been interesting. There is more pain than I thought there would be, even when I’m not moving. I guess my dreams of pain-free living so early in the healing process were a little unrealistic. Since doing anything in an upright position is uncomfortable, it’s been hard to exercise.  I’m doing some walking but I’d like to be able to do more.

I’m heading back to the gym tomorrow to get on one of the bikes.  That’s probably the easiest way for me to work-out right now.  Then, depending upon how it goes, I may  try the treadmill for a few minutes. Maybe the conveyor belt will give me a little help. It’s really important that I work through the pain. As frustrated as I am, I have to keep going.

Knitting Progress

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve begun knitting the sweater sampler. My knitting time has been limited but I think I’ll be able to get it finished by the end of the month, even with all I have going on right now. I got a little sidetracked by the call to knit a pair of socks. I’ve been wanting to start another pair since binding-off Dayflower but hadn’t come to a firm decision on which pattern. The Smoldering Hearts sock pattern was very appealing but I Instead chose (Black)hearted.

As much I wanted to start the socks, things kept getting in the way. Then, while waiting to get my hair cut, I clumsily cast-on for the socks in the lobby of the hair salon.

Sure, casting-on is normally a simple and quick process for me but I cast-on using the cable-on. I’m still incredibly slow but I think the more I do it the faster I will become. How slow am I? I think I could cast-on using the long-tail cast-on in probably about a tenth of the time it took me. Am I a glutton for punishment? Why am I using the cable cast-on when the long-tail would have probably sufficed? I will never know when and where something will work well for me unless I give it a real chance. Giving it a real chance means trying it more than once.

As I sat in the salon, executing each stitch a snail’s pace, different people asked me what I was making. They were all shocked when I said socks. I had to explain to most of them that normally it wouldn’t take so long for me to get started but that new techniques had a learning curve. There is a distinct possibility that my knitting in public Friday scared a few people away from knitting rather than drew them towards it.

Ruffled Socks, With Hearts, in Red, Started on National Wear Red Day, A Day of Awareness for Heart Disease in Women

I’m hoping to finish the heel today. Depending upon the knitting time I get this week, maybe I’ll be able to cast-on the second sock by Wednesday. Once I finish this pair of socks, I will probably immediately cast-on another. I’m enjoying knitting again, especially socks. This could work well for me while my leg/ankle is healing since I wear socks every day. Once I’m back to my normal shoes, I may be knitting more socks than I’m going to need. I am, willing, however, to take that chance.

I took a look at Cat Bordhi’s video tutorial of Judy’s Magic Cast-on. As happy as I am with cuff-down socks, the next thing I want to try is the toe-up method for socks. I’d also like to experiment with different heels and toes. Sock knitting looks better and better to me.

General Health and Awareness

Friday was National Wear Red Day. Heart disease is still the number one killer of women.  I’m trying to eat better and exercise to prevent heart disease. I wear red each year, sometimes wearing the cute little dress pin, in support of the cause. The American Heart Association has events to help educate the population. The Go Red For Women Campaign, in particular, targets women as many still believe breast cancer is the number one killer of women. While we need to what we can to sustain good health, many people, for whatever reason, are still unaware of risk factors. Please take a peek to see what you can do for a healthier you.

Super Bowl XLV

Now it’s time to watch the Super Bowl. I’ll be cheering for the Steelers. I’m not a big enough fan to knit Pittsburgh Steelers‘ accessories for myself. Then again, that might be a fun way to do a little color work.

Go Steelers!