Immunosuppressed Knitter

Sorry for the crappy photo; I took a quick shot with my phone. 

Today is my mother’s birthday.  I tried to make her a pair of socks, but she refused when she found out I had also gotten her a non-knit present. REFUSED.  Who refuses handmade socks?  I knew I should have cast-on before she opened the books.  The top three are self explanatory. The bottom three are the His Dark Materials [The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spy Glass] trilogy by Philip Pullman.

Carol and I have both read the Hunger Games trilogy so we’re waiting to debrief with her when she’s done.  I have His Dark Materials as audiobooks, but I’m waiting for my mother to get to them so we could, in theory, read them at the same time.

The other news of the day is that I no longer have to take Noxafil (posaconazole), the yucky liquid, fake cherry infused, anti-fungal medicine… AND …drumroll please… I get to lower my prednisone dosage!  If I do well on that, I get to lower the dosage again in another month. Yay for less prednisone!  Stupid steroid.

B-day Present for Carol

Pattern: Knucks by Pamela Grossman

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish in Amethyst Heather, Persimmon Heather, Moss, Twilight, and Cobblestone Heather

Needle: US 4 circular ML

My mother has immersed herself in the art of bag making.  She has knit 2 bags so far.  Since she’s the one who created the patterns, I told her she should sell them!  The materials cost roughly $25 a bag and would, of course, vary depending on which yarn and materials are used.

How much would you pay for a bag my mother knit?  I know it’s really difficult to put a price on someone’s labor, but I’m asking because it has to be realistic.  In the ‘market’ it seems the general consensus is to sell a hand-crafted item for three times the cost of the materials.  No one in their right mind would pay $75 for a hand-knit bag unless it had some famous designer name tagged inside.

I’ve been asked by people to knit them various things if they bought the materials and paid for my labor.  The difficult part is that knitting, to me, is a labor of love.  A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’ve already gotten to experience working with the yarn and see the yarn go from string to a finished item.  Due to this, the end product is something I’m usually happy to gift to friends/family for birthdays and special occasions and holidays and generally whenever I’m in the mood.  So, taking all this into consideration, it is extremely difficult for me to assign a specific cost for my labor; I have yet to knit something for profit.

Anyone want to share their 2¢ ?

Note: These bags are not for sale; they are for only for show.

I can think of two noteworthy things that happened in 2011.  1. I did not have to be admitted to the hospital. 2. I knit 6.8 miles of yarn : 30 completed projects.  I suppose this is a good thing as having a boring, uneventful life means I am healthy enough to be home.

The other big news of 2011 was Carol’s engagement.  Fidel will officially be initiated into our family this year.  Here’s hoping I will be of sound body and mind to attend the wedding.

Upon reflection, it seems the bulk of my expenses boils down to 1. rent 2. medical bills 3. eating out/groceries and 4. knitting.  This year I was going to join only one sock club, but I found out about a fairy tale themed one and gave in.  Last year I made a commitment not to buy any new yarn or knitting related items and lasted 9 months.  Not too shabby.  I won’t make the same declaration again this year, but I will make a conscious effort not to buy anything unless I’m making a specific project that requires yarn I don’t already possess.  I can already hear the “yeah, yeah, yeah’s.”

After discovering that I completed 30 projects I have decided to start logging the time it takes to knit each project; it should be interesting.

On a completely unrelated note, I kicked Carol and Fidel’s butts in Scrabble! Best quote from the game, “What’s a gatone?”

The weather here is beautiful.  The air is brisk, and it’s bright and sunny.  I know I’m lucky to live here, but I often take it for granted.  Since I’ve gotten sick I really try to appreciate the little things.  Yesterday Carol, Fidel and I drove down the coast to Half Moon Bay.  Along the way we also stopped by the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach.  We didn’t stop at the famous Mavericks Surf area because there were so many people, but among the surfers we saw a guy paddle surfing!  It was pretty cool… I had never seen that before. We ate lunch at a quaint italian cafe in HMB.  Their gelato was delicious.   On our way home we stopped by the New Leaf Community Market just for a look-see, but I ended up purchasing $50 worth of goodies that are hard to find elsewhere.  Granted, $50 doesn’t really go a long way at a store like that, but it was worth the stop.

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Christmas gift for Fidel

Pattern: Mind Reader (Tankeleser) by Tora Frøseth Design

Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Merino in Dora WD

Needle: 3.0mm 40″ circular ML

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I have to say one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year is a mannequin head from Fidel.  I have been wanting one to block and display hats.  We have named her Gertrude.

Christmas present for Kathy, my respiratory therapist

Pattern: Susie’s Reading Mitts by Janelle Masters for Dancing Ewe Yarn

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend in Wildflower

Needle: US5 circular ML

Christmas present for Elizabeth

Pattern: ZigZag Mitts by Jen Hurley [modified]

Yarn: Socks That Rock Lightweight in Blarney Stone

Needle: US8 circular ML