Fire in the belly

If you're here for the knitting, scroll down to where the pictures start - I'm having a bit of a whinge first... you were warned!

This is not the "fire in the belly" of inspiration and determination. No, today's fire in the belly is of the literal type - yes, this morning I was mugged by the IBS fairy, who has not visited me for awhile. Silly me, I thought the fairy had forgotten me of late (really, no attacks since the wedding - it's a miracle!). But no, the fairy was just saving up her sneakiness for a big ball of pain to punish me when I was already tired and weak. Actually, being tired and weak (and stressed, and not eating properly) is what sends the signal to the IBS fairy to visit. So basically this week I sent the big bat-logo up, and this morning - BLAMMO!

Not to get too detailed, but there are different types of IBS. The type I get is (as mentioned) triggered mainly by stress, lack of proper rest, and poor diet. It is also the type that manifests as violent diarrhea - first a twinge of pain like someone's just kicked you in the stomach, then a cramping like the worst PMS in the history of the world, and then finally anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour of sitting on the toilet feeling like someone's reached up through your posterior with a flaming hand, twisted your intestines into some kind of bastard celtic knotwork, and is now trying to get all your digestive system to come out of you. Ok, that was pretty detailed. Sorry. It's excruciating, and one of those things that, being to do with digestive "Issues", people don't often talk about. Well, the Internet is good for many things, and one of those things is letting people know that this is a real medical thing (syndrome/disease, take your pick) and that it is not to be ashamed of, just coped with and treated as best as possible.

For me, treatment is generally a gallon or so of hot peppermint tea, to wash down a double dose of Imodium and Tylenol 1 (codeine is very helpful in slowing down the spasms of the digestive tract, as well as managing the pain). Then I sit in my recliner with a Magic Bag heat pack on my belly and knit until the pain dulls to a manageable level. The knitting, thank god, helps to focus my attention on something other than the pain. Sometimes it works well, sometimes not so much. But if I'm forced to just sit there, then at least I can accomplish something.

So today, while I'm sitting and whingeing and knitting and drinking a lot of tea, Peter is off helping our friends move (which I was supposed to do too, but not much help would I be!), and setting up some jobs for next week - little things for neighbours that are paying gigs but won't take much time. Then he will come home, bearing the recommended (and actually, pretty tolerable) BRAT foods - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast that will constitute my diet for the next few days. They don't do much for energy levels but they are tummy-friendly. Given the strength of this morning's attack, and based on previous experience, I figure I will need a week of BRAT to get back to normal. Also some extra sleep, which means that my correspondence course assignments, chores, and baking plans for this weekend will be curtailed pretty sharply. One batch of cookies instead of three, laundry spread over two or three days instead of one, and only as much studying as my brain will allow. Given the levels of codeine I expect to ingest in the next 24 hours, that's going to be minimal. So be it. I have a busy week of work and teaching coming up and need to be on my game by Monday morning.

Enough grousing (at least, here). I promised knitting and knitting is happening!

Here is a "no-pattern" hat, knit in Patons Astra, colourway "High Energy". It's toddler-size, and I really enjoyed how the colours stacked up in the ribbing and then swirled around when I switched to stockinette. Like melted Sorbet, I think. Very pretty and cute. I have other photos that I will post to Ravelry tomorrow probably with the project details. A fast knit, too, only a few hours. Love hats!

Another "no-pattern", this one in Patons Shetland Chunky, "Harvest Variegated" colourway. Roll-brim option which is fun if you hate ribbing. This is a modification of my old Tim Horton's Toque - I cast on 84 stitches instead of 92 which makes the rolled brim a little less wide and the whole hat fit a little better. I also knit it deeper so it covers the ears and won't blow off in a strong Ottawa February wind!

This, at last, is the beginnings of my back-to-school sweater, which is from the 2006 Knitting Pattern A Day Calendar. It is called the Silk Tweed Sweater and the pattern can be found here. Here's a picture if you don't feel like clicking the link:


Not having the budget for the very lovely Estelle Silk Tweed yarn, I'm knitting mine in Bernat Denimstyle, colourway "Stonewash". It's going to look very nice with jeans, I think. I like the styling of it - very casual but still feminine. The neckline is particularly flattering I think - I have a fuller bust than the model does, so I might even get a little cleavage action out of this sweater.

Now if I just had that kind of hair... actually, I now know EXACTLY what kind of hair I want. I want Stella's hair - Stella from CSI: New York. The only problem with that is that the actress is Greek and has that natural big-curly-bodyfilled Greek Hair, and I am a Celtic mutt with a cowlick in both the front and back of my hair. However, I do have a marvelous friend who does hair, and I am going to consult with her about the possibility of Stella-esque hair. The catch is, I am useless at fixing my hair too, and I'm afraid the big curls which look so effortless are actually an hour every morning to fix up. What I'd really like to do is just chop it off back to the short and spiky 5-minutes-wet-and-gel look I used to have. SO EASY! However, not all that flattering, as I see from my health card photo. And really, once it's short that's it - it's short. It's a two-year commitment to grow it back out and it looks like all kinds of crap in between times. Right now it hits right around the shoulders, is straight and thick and I can tie it back or twist it up with a clippy thing, so it's easy. Just - boring.

God, I'm rambling on. See, that's the painkillers working. More knitting!

Here is the Diagonal Lace Scarf from Midnight Purls, about half done. I had to rip and restart this twice but I think I've finally mastered it. The trick I've discovered is to load one episode of Cast-On, and start knitting the lace at Row 1. I can get through about 42 rows (7 repeats) in an episode, so I make sure I finish Row 6 before I take a break and load another episode. Then, CLEVER! - I reset the counter back to zero. It's so much easier to keep track of a six-row repeat if the total number is less than 60 than if it's up in the 80s or 104s or whatever. At least for me, I suck at mental math. So that's my solution. And it is growing steadily, and it's very VERY pretty. Here's a close-up (a bit fuzzy) of the lace:

I'm (half-jokingly) calling this the "Patience and Perserverance" scarf because I really REALLY don't like ripping and restarting projects, especially when I've invested several hours already. But - this is for a class sample, so it has to be right, and besides, it wouldn't do Ms. Midnight Purls justice to knit it badly, or to abandon it. I'm also determined to finish it soon so I can get back to all those half-pairs of socks, my sweater, and start on Christmas Knitting.

WHAT? Christmas Knitting already? I hear you shaking your heads, you non-knitting types, and for the knitters, going "oh crap, I should really think about that, too...". Well, I wasn't going to actually do Christmas Knitting this year - really! But I got Alison's Book this week and there's a lovely pattern in it called "Michelle's Shawl". My niece's name is Michelle. It's designed to be knit in Handmaiden Sea Silk - which I have in stash. And it would look stunning on Mich with her very porcelain-like skin and dark hair and eyes (the Sea Silk is deep ocean-y blues). So - I will enjoy the Sea Silk as I knit it, and then I will give it to my lovely niece.

But first - more Diagonal Lace. And I think I may take a short break from lovely Brenda's voice and see about an afternoon movie on TV. Might even nap - a nap would be good, now that the mangling of my innards has settled down. Anyway, thanks for reading all this - probably not what you were expecting when you stopped by today, but it's Saturday - I'm still in my pajamas, both physically and mentally. And I'm glad you did stop by, because the best of friends, you don't need to clean your house for, if you know what I mean. Time for tea. See you later.