Knit through the pain!

In an effort to try to get more rest, I have been reading and knitting (and sleeping) a little more in the last week than I'm used to. And as you can see, I finished the Diadomina scarf. As I mentioned before, I used the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern by Karen Baumer and I really liked it. I loved the fact that there was only a simple patttern to remember and no counting to do. It was perfect for the car ride up to my in-laws last weekend and great for sitting-on-the-couch-feeling-ill knitting. What a great pattern Karen!

I also finished a couple of rows on the Keepsake, but I'm not taking a picture again until I start working on the fifth color. I finally worked out a "system" for remembering the row and color that I'm on, so now it's easy to just do a row or two and put it aside and then easily pick it up again and know exactly where I'm at.

And about the reading that I've been doing. . . I love to read about science and I found a great book! It's called The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene. In it he explains superstring theory which is a unified field theory that is promising to unite the seemingly disparate ideas of general relativity and quantum mechanics. I'm still in the early chapters of the book in which he is explaining relativity, and the thing that amazes me is that he is making it easy to understand!

I'm still making my way through Anna Karenina too, but I've been so fascinated with the Brian Greene book that I have really neglected her.

Secret Pal

Are you out there? I know I haven't given you much info, so I'm going to answer "the list" of questions:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? Hmmmm. . . I guess I am. I'm not above using a little Kitchen Cotton to make a washcloth or something, but I generally prefer higher end stuff. I am a Koigu addict & I love Alpaca and Angora.

2. Do you spin? Crochet I do spin on both a drop spindle and on my Ashford Joy. And I'm learning more about crochet. I have Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet coming from Hamilton Books, but I could always use another good book on crochet.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) *Highly* allergic to smoke. Somewhat allergic to cats and dogs that aren't my own. Floral perfumes bother me so I stick to scents like citrus and natural herbals.

4. How long have you been knitting? Gosh, since I was little.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do have an Amazon Wishlist and there is a link over in the sidebar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Like perfume, I stick to cirtus and herbal scents -- nothing floral.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? I love chocolate! Especially dark chocolate or chocolate with coffee/espresso beans. Mmmmmm. . . now I'm thinking about Scharffen Berger Chocolate. I also love coffee and green tea!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Hmmm. . . knitting keeps me pretty busy now a days.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD) Husband keeps me in CD's and I don't have an MP3 player.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?I love red and I would say that I'm in the autumn color season. Olivey greens, browns, reds even oranges appeal to me.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Married with a 3 yr old, 2 cats and 2 fish.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) Winning the lottery :)

Not sure if that helps you any, but maybe it will give you a start. Can't wait to hear from you!

And now I should really go join the Secret Pal ring. I feel like I haven't gotten anything done with all this medical ridiculousness that 's been going on!

Comments

[Gaile]

I hope you feel better soon! Your scarf looks great, I love the way it turned out.

[godsend]

Wow! I've never even heard of TMJ! I hope you feel better soon. In addition to your scrips, get lots more rest. That always does a body a world of good.

Hmmmm. Now that I read that page on TMJ, I'm worrying about my son...He's always grinding his teeth in his sleep.

[lillium]

Sorry to hear about the TMJ - it CAN be rough. Especially since pain makes one tense and then we tense our jaws without even thinking about it. I'm not a teeth grinder (that's my son) but I do clench. Your scarf is beautiful - makes me want to make one - something else for my "To Do" list.

[Sandy J]

I've read Brian Greene's book -- it really is a great and very readable book for anybody interested in the subject who maybe doesn't know too much about the subject (uh, that's me!) Brian Greene came to my university two years ago and gave a lecture on the book. He is a very polite and well-spoken man, and very intelligent, and now I've got a signed copy of that book! :)

Hope you feel better soon!

[Jan]

I've been anxious to see something knitted up in the Diadomina yarn since I stumbled on their website last spring. The scarf looks wonderful!!

[Maggie]

I think one of the LYS in Toronto is carrying that yarn, so I'm going to have to copy you and make the multidiagonal as well...it's so gorgeous!

I suffer from TMJ troubles as well. My left joint is completely and entirely screwed up and I also am a grinder when I sleep, particularly when there's something on my mind. It comes and goes, though, so there is relief ahead.

Sometimes it's much worse than others. For a couple of weeks I could barely open my mouth, and what little did open, opened completely crooked. Then it passed. I'm okay now, but a few years ago I had a problem the opposite way and instead of having trouble opening, my jaw dislocated and could not close.

I don't mean to scare you, just pay attention to it. And flatten your sandwiches before you eat. ;)

[Wendy]

Glad to see you've got some knitting in! I hope you're feeling much better soon.

[Anne]

Hope you feel better soon! The scarf looks great! I made a couple last year and found them to be really fun and a great way to use the self striping yarns.

[nancy]

Did they give you a night guard? Alt he inflammatory agents in the world won’t be enough to make the pain go away if you are clenching/grinding your teeth at night. Besides, the guard will re-align your jaw, which will relieve the pain significantly and very quickly. If your doctor/dentist won’t prescribe one, get one of the do-it-yourself kind that you heat and bite. Bear in mind, you have TMJ now – later (if you don’t relieve it now) you may wind up like me, with teeth that split lengthwise due to the pressure that’s been exerted on them for so many years.