19 January 2008

Murphy's Law loves me

It figures...I've got a four day weekend in which I had mostly no concrete plans and could do as I wished...and I get the head cold from hell. I have become one with the sofa and the TV remote.

But lest you think I have been doing nothing but dozing and staring at bad movies (which there has been plenty of that), I've been working on the sock and my amigurumi friends. I've got some neat stuff to show you but not in this post. That requires some effort to take the photos and this is one of those lovely colds that sucks all the energy out of you. Taking a shower this morning warranted a nap afterward. This thing is truly evil.

I have discovered that knitting and crocheting are probably the best crafty activities you can take on when you are sick. So I bring you my Top Ten Reasons Why Knitting & Crocheting are a Good Idea When You Have a Head Cold From Hell:

1. There is no pattern you will not try. Your static position on the sofa will have you seeking out new challenges. What's that you say? You have a crochet pattern to make the Lost City of Atlantis? Excellent! Bring it on!

2. Keeping away newly completed amigurumi friends from your dog (who believes every plush toy on the planet is for him) is loads of fun. Yeeeaaahhhh....that game never gets old.

3. Everything you make is perfect. Every stitch is in the right place, your tension is wonderful and it holds its shape perfectly. (It may not look that way once you come off the high of your cold medicine but for right now, you are a genius.)

4. Flat stuff like scarves and socks come in handy when you run out of kleenex.

5. Your yarn choices are infinitely more interesting. Its especially thrilling when you select three yarns that all need a different size needle/hook. It just adds to the excitement.

6. You believe that you can knit and crochet much quicker then you actually can. You pull out more projects then you could complete in a year, much less a couple days. But it makes you feel like superwoman and the disillusionment is fun.

7. While watching umpteen million bad movies on cable, you begin to admire all the knitwear and crochetwear. You begin to believe that you can create said items because you spent a full ten seconds looking at it from one angle. You feel really really smart. (Did I mention cold medicine is fun?)

8. You can crochet laying down. Eight years of lower back pain has taught you well how to still accomplish things while in a horizontal state. Necessity is the mother of invention.

9. Knitting laying down is not a good idea. Especially with double pointed needles. Ouchie...

10. You decide that all of your friends need presents. For no particular occasion, just because. You love them, they need proof of that in the form of a scarf or crocheted octopus. This gives you an excuse to go shopping online for more yarn. Luckily, you are too tired to actually get up off the sofa and get your credit card so no actual shopping gets done.



The smaller Dotty is done, his house is mostly done but I'm still obsessing over the overall squishiness of the pumpkin house. (Quit rolling your eyes, Leann.) I've come up with two possible solutions for it but both of those require moving and since there is no energy for that, it will wait.

I've also completed the body for a Day of the Dead version of Frida Kahlo. Honest. This pattern is not a hallucination. You can go see it here. She's the second one from the top. I'm to the point where I just need to do her flower wreath for her head and then sew her face on. The pattern calls for a combination of crochet and tatting for the flower wreath. I imagine this makes anyone who doesn't tat twitch with anxiety.

I'm wondering if the lady who wrote it was also on cold medicine when she did that part because I can't figure it out. But don't worry, I've got skills. I dug through my tatting thread yesterday and pulled out a bunch of different colors and some shuttles. I also rooted around through my bead stash and pulled out some tiny skulls and flowers and leaves. I am fully prepared to get carried away with her finishing.

I also found a Yoda amigurumi pattern the other day. Mary and I want to make an army of these. And no, that decision was made without the influence of cold medicine, we're just weird.

Okay, I'm exhausted. Dooley is pleased, he gets to hug me all day. I hope this thing goes away soon, its most annoying. My next post should have some pictures.

5 comments:

Leann said...

I like the hood on yoda that would never fit over his ears.
Hope you feel better soon. I'll miss you today.

Pattie Wall said...

Hope you get well soon! I love the tiny looking size of Yoda and Frida, are they really that small? You have a lot of patience!

Fibra Artysta said...

Hi Pattie,

They can be that small but I'm not using yarn that little. I'm using a 4mm crochet hook so they are larger then the pattern. Which hasn't proved to be too much of a problem except for the pumpkin house, I think that's why it is kind of squishy and won't hold its shape. I think if I worked on a smaller hook/yarn then I already I am I wouldn't enjoy them as much.

Lynn

Anonymous said...

I hope you feel better soon, Lynn! But bravo for working while sick--I usually just lay inert under the covers and feel sorry for myself!

I miss you guys today!

City Girl Quilter said...

Interestingly enough, those are many of the same reasons I crocheted when I was unemployed. Being laid off is a lot like having a bad head cold, except you don't have a socially acceptable reason to drink cold medicine all day.

Feel better soon.