I should have gotten back to work on the Drunkard’s Path but I didn’t instead I did more reading and had a dentist appointment which seemed like a waste of time as they messed my crown up and now I have to go back in on Thursday for them to put the permanent one on. I do not like dentist appointments to begin with so this is a pain in the you know what. My shoulders & neck get so tensed up, my jaw sore etc – something I would rather do without! When I got done there I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things – most of which they didn’t seem to have as they were doing inventory and there were tons of people in the way and shelves seem to be empty without anyone restocking because of the inventory I guess so that means I will run back over on Thursday after the dentist appointment to get what I couldn’t find.
There was quilting done on Country Charmer Monday night though and I am on the last border.
I might be done with this by the end of the week – I am not pushing myself and in no rush I take a lot of breaks as my thumb pain continues to be off and on but not continuous I will see an orthopedic doctor that specializes on hands at the beginning of July for an injection in the thumb and see if that will help – otherwise we might be discussing options if it doesn’t work. My hand quilting days of doing a lot of quilts might be coming to an end in the next couple years and maybe down to one quilt a year – who can tell. I hate to give up my hand work.
We were to get a ton of rain and instead we made it through Sunday at 1/4 inch and Monday a 1/2 inch – nothing Tuesday – instead it all went straight across the southern part of the state flooding small towns and more to come during the night. The original forecast was to be about 2-4 inches for us – we could still get some today or Thursday but I think the worst might be behind us now and that we escaped the heavy rains. Keep your fingers crossed – I still have one small area a little distance from the house that has a small amount of standing water – it should evaporate soon the heat is coming and will be in the high 80’s now for the rest of the week I think.
I have been looking over videos and tutorials on sock making and think I have settled on Winwick Mum of the UK now to see if I can finally settle on what size needle and when to start. From looking over all the video’s and tutorials it can become very confusing when trying to figure out needle size as they all seem to suggest something different – anywhere from size 2.5 to a 6!!what the heck is with that! how can so many use such a variety of sizes? I think now I am suppose to have a size 4 needle which I do not have except in straight needles. In the meantime I might do more knitting practice on a scarf with cables which I haven’t done or crochet a scarf instead while I continue to think about socks LOL. And no I do not believe there is a place near by to take a class on sock making but I might look into it more at some point but it isn’t anything I feel a big rush on with all the tutorials out there and on line classes, sooner or later I will find one that will suit me – or I might give up entirely and stick to scarfs and afghans and crocheting!
Yes it seems like a lot of complaining today so I will leave you with some pretty flowers which did brighten my day in the morning.
And a couple first year blackberries – I think I have a total of 9 on two plants – more to look forward to next year.
Not open yet but looks like I will have some good size sunflowers from the scattered sunflower seeds that the birds left in the winter.
I don’t like going to the dentist either. A couple of the grocery stores by me are redoing and updating their stores. Besides not restocking the shelves because of construction they have changed up where things had been. So now dog food is in the aisle where paper goods were etc.
I am a crocheter myself but have always wanted to learn to knit socks. Hope you find needles that will work for you.
My old dentist retired and handed off his patients to another, younger one. Most of the hygienists went along, too, because I really like mine. The new dentist is very sweet but I don’t see him much. Good luck with your next appt.!
As for knitting, a friend of mine from the genealogy club also runs a weekly knitting group, very informal, at the public library. I was hoping to attend some of their meetings but then the pandemic hit. Maybe it’ll start up again in the fall and I can attend once in a while – not every week as I don’t like to schedule myself too much.
Dear Karen
A trip to the dentist will put each and everyone of us in a grumpy mood, so sometimes we have to let of steam, in a way that release all the frustration. Since eliminating eggs from my diet the arthritis inflammation is a lot less, with the pain in my joints almost gone. Weird, we buy free range eggs which have not been enriched. Pricey, but maybe their is something in it after all? We have supply chain funniest here too. Good luck with the crown on Thursday. Hope today is a much better day for you.
Sorry your trip to the dentist led to a new crown,…. Hope they pay for it! Crowns are pricey!!! I love your flower pics … trying new things like sock making with a tutorial you can get into is good to stretch your brain but so would a cabled scarf!!! I would love to see that come to life!!! Your flowers are lovely even though accidentally planted sunflowers 🙂
Kathi
Well, what a day you had! No wonder you were frustrated! I’m going in for my temp crown next week too, so I’ll think of you and hope that your appt goes smoothly this time around. I have no suggestions on the sock making, so I’ll just let the others chime in on that. Your flowers are just lovely! I hope today is a better day!
It seems none of us enjoy a trip to the dentist, lol! I have one coming up in a couple weeks. Hopefully, you’ll find a sock knitting method and needle size that works for you! I have never tried that, but imagine the size of needle depends on the type of yarn and what style you want the socks to be. I’ll look forward to seeing what you do! Pretty flowers! Glad things are drying out a bit.
I would like to knit a pair of socks also. I’ve made a few scarves but I’m still a rather new knitter. I’m finding it very awkward to use my hands in this way. There is so much to learn, and lots of practice needed before I feel as comfortable with knitting needles as I do with sewing needles!!
Thank you for the pictures of your plants. The lilies are especially beautiful.
I wonder which is the bigger stress for people – the dentist or hygienist? The practice I used to go to had a hygienist with the nickname (not to her face though!) of Bloody Alice. I did not look forward to dentist appointments. I changed dentists about 15(?) years ago and love my current hygienist. Then again, I’m fortunate to not have had more than cavities, so I’ve spent far more time with the hygienists than the dentists. So far – knock wood it stays that way!
I hope you find a solution so you can keep hand quilting. It would be a sad day to give up something you enjoy so much. I’ve tried to knit. One thing that throws me is trying to switch between knit and purl stitches, let alone trying increases and decreases. So right now, I’m stuck at plain garter stitch scarves.
Ohhh That last border – its looking so good! I sure hope that hand doc can heal you!!! Love the flowers!!
I love knitting socks. When I finally learned how, I actually cried in class I was so happy. I learned to knit socks on double pointed needles (dpns) but since have tried the 9-inch circular needles and am currently trying the magic loop method. May I suggest you take a look at EarthtonesGirl.com? She is an excellent instructor and her videos are superb.
Bummer on the troublesome day. Reminds me I need to schedule cleaning for me and the kiddo’s. We got the rain you didn’t get… which was very needed. I have a book on sock making I should pull out and look at. I think my one sock I made… still has the instruction sheet with it if I should ever dare to make the second one!
Your hand quilting is so incredibly lovely. I hate to think of you having to do without so I will think good thoughts for you and hope for the best!:)
I sure hope you don’t have to give up hand quilting as I know how much you love it. So you don’t have deer to eat your lilies? Or do you spray. We just mixed a batch of something to spray that the deer don’t like, we sprayed it on the hostas.
Ugh! I’m sorry you have to go back to the dentist. And that your thumb is causing you grief. So glad you didn’t get as much rain as predicted. If only you could send it out west! Your flowers are gorgeous!
I have knit a lot of socks. I have a short attention span, and can finish them (usually) before I tire of the pattern/yarn. When I knit my first pair, I was unaware of their reputation as difficult, and just followed what the pattern said – very simple really – I used the free pattern on the handout at the craft store. I learned to knit them on 4 dp needles, but find one long circular, used in the magic loop method, much easier. As for needle size, that depends on your yarn and knitting tension. Whatever gives you the gauge stated in the pattern (not the yarn label), keeping in mind that a tighter tension wears better.. My preference is for 2mm (US size 0) for most socks, but your mileage may vary. Good luck!
I’m not a fan of the dentist either. Hopefully the orthopedist will be able to give you some good options for your thumb. Not stitching wouldn’t be a fun option. Isn’t it crazy we go from cool and rainy to hot and steamy in like 24 hours? It’s enough to give you whiplash. Happy stitching this week. Looking forward to seeing Country Charmer come off the frame.
If you’re going to be knitting with 4ply (fingering) yarn, you need a needle that will give you 7-8 sts per inch (30sts to 4″) when knitting in the round. If you have a look at the tension tutorial in my Sockalong tutorials, it tells you how to do a gauge swatch in the round to check it. Most people find that they can get that gauge using 2.5mm needles which I think is US1-1.5.
If you use thicker yarn, you’ll need bigger needles – but your socks will knit up quicker! If you would like to try something thicker to start off with, have a look at my blog for the free DK(8ply) pattern (it’s on the patterns and printables page) which you can use in conjunction with the Sockalong tutorials. For that weight of yarn, you would need US4 needles and you can still use your straights to work out your gauge (you can use the same tutorial in the Sockalong tutorials) although it will be a little bit more fiddly than using double pointed needles.
Good luck!
I actually love going to the dentist. I love having my teeth cleaned and my dentist is a cutie pie. 🙂