Finished the Blue & Purple socks. Information on them on Ravelry. I'm very happy with the results. Cat Bordhi's little hint on how to make the transition from heel/foot to leg to avoid holes was fantastic. That tidbit can be found on the videos I mentioned in yesterday's post.
I started out as a true blue, cuff down, DPN sock knitter. Didn't think there was any need to do it any other way as that just work perfectly and why fix somethin' that ain't broke! Then I tried afterthought heels. Okay, they work nicely, too. Magic Loop changed my sock knitting life, and I haven't even missed my DPNs. Toe up was still too much of a hassle until I finally mastered Judy Becker's Magic Cast On. For now, toe up, Houdini Socks are my preferred way of making socks. I love the way the heel fits, how professional the toe looks and how much easier it is to fit socks to others.
My friend, A, gave me a ball of green ww wool yarn she's not fond of to make Mittnz. Didn't use it for that, so CO a pair of wool house socks last night. Although just the toe is finished, they feel warm already. They will be donated to our next blitz, Feetz.
I occasionally write about living with my disability, Asperger's Syndrome. Today, I'd like you to go to Rachel's Blog and read about a bad day. This is how we feel, when the hope of having family and friends try to understand who we are, how it feels and accept us anyway, fails. Many of you will not bother to go read it, and some of those who do, will end up angry at me for putting this issue into your lives. The anger will be directed at me and whatever relationship I had with you will be gone. If I'm lucky, it'll all happen without a direct confrontation. I'll just quit hearing from you. (Don't worry, I won't keep IMing, I'm used to it.) When I'm not lucky, it'll happen with a great display of fireworks and ravaging words of anger.
There is a certain percentage of the population that hone in on those of us that are different and treat us in the most horrendous ways (understand, as I do, that my description of horrendous is how it makes me feel inside, not something most of the world would define as horrendous. Most people would say I'm overreacting. But trust me, that's how it feels...horrendous). They don't have to even know us. We are often the ones that are referred to as people that have "victim" tattooed on our foreheads, we emit some energy that triggers a violent (verbal to physical) response in others. When these people are confronted and really think about why they reacted that way, they can't give a reason. But the anger is there, the agitation, the drive to remove our genes from the gene pool.
We have these people, whom I call Genetic Bullies (they, having a gene for cleansing the species of weaklings), are in our families, (which are the hardest for us to deal with because we have this silly dream that family members love you no matter what), they are in our acquaintances, in our working world, and in our social environments. They "know" they shouldn't or can't act upon this rage inside them in a civilized world, but it doesn't diminish their reactions to us. The smart ones begin subtle campaigns to have us removed from their familial contacts, work environment, and social area. It makes it near impossible to keep a job. Getting the jobs are not too hard, keeping them is a whole 'nother story.
When it's happened so many times in one's life, one can safely say it's not a paranoid delusion. It's a reality. And it affects how we interact with our world. I've met a knitter, new to our knitting group and we seem to fit together like a handshake. Yet, I'm so tempted to change my name, phone number and disappear because it's the first time in 6 or 7 years I've extended myself past my immediate living environment. My past attempts have not survived and didn't end well.
You see, we don't have casual friends. Generally the people groups, as far as emotional commitment, are slight acquaintances or BFF. Nothing in between. And when you are a BFF, it's a total commitment on our part. Sort of a "love at first sight" thing. When those fall apart it's unbelievably painful. And the next time a person appears in our world we run, because the pain of it ending badly is too much to bear.
Unlike the popular hype, people on the autistic spectrum crave human company. We may not want to be right in the conversation, but we love being around people. There is a term for children, generally preschoolers, who like to play near others but not with them. It's called parallel play. Two kids will both be playing house, but it's like they are next door neighbors, each doing their own thing without interacting with each other, perfectly content to be near but not interacting. Lots of autistics feel this way. "In the world but not of it." Sometimes, however, we do find someone we'd like to be with. Kids rush into the relationship and bounce back from the rebuffs many times before they begin to be wary. By the time one reaches 50 it's easier just not to attempt the relationship. Lonely, but much safer.
Yesterday was devoted to sock knitting. I really don't like working with those huge needles I'm using for the shrug, not to mention mohair and wool is really hot to work with when the inside temp is in the 80s.
This is an alpaca wool blend called Paca Peds, Singing the Blues. I'm putting in an afterthought heel because I like the patterning of the yarn and hate to see it broken as it is when doing a heel flap heel. Sixty four stitch CO, and my K2, YO, K2tog pattern on the instep. I tried to do a short row heel but really got confused from the directions I was using in Favorite Socks. Anyone have any good directions for short row heels that are really written out step by step. Once I see how they are done it won't be a problem....I hope.
I was a bad girl and played on ebay yesterday. Purchased a 32 inch #3 and a #4 Addi. I got some Cascade Fixation and it calls for a larger needle. I've gotten addicted to Magic Loop and needed needles to make the socks.
We have another intake this morning for Youngest Granddaughter. I'm not exactly sure what this one is for, medical expenses, I think. All these different agencies so we can insure she gets the help she needs. Autism is expensive if you want help and just miserable if you can't or don't want to.
Well, summertime wouldn't be summertime without tagging some blog walls. Stacy got me, and I'm passing on the favor (see below). Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who “tagged” you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Write six random things about yourself. 4. Tag six people at the end of your post. 5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. 6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.
I start to panic if there isn't any butter in the house. It doesn't bother me if there is no meat, eggs, milk....but if there isn't at least 5 lbs of butter in the freezer I feel like the wolf is at the door.
I live in the desert and really hate the heat. If I could live anywhere it would be up in the cold country where it rarely gets to 80!
I am psychic and have been a professional tarot reader for many years.
I studied acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for many years. Never got certified but still tend to use TCM instead of western medicine as much as possible.
I see ghosts.
For many years I thought I'd been abducted by aliens but then found out I was autistic. Of the two, I'm not sure which is better.
I had planned to sit and make Mittnz yesterday, but family took my day again. (Thursday's are supposed to be my day off, such as it is.) Anyway, Youngest Daughter needed to see our acupuncturist for her sciatica pain, so I was comandeered to drive her there and take Youngest Granddaughter and Youngest Son out for lunch.
Second Son surprised us by bringing his son over to visit. Third Grandson is autistic. He's spent a full school year in classes and has learn to verbalize many new words and exhibits less external autistic behavior. He played with an electronic toy, naming all the numbers from one to ten. He verbalizes appropriate responses to some questions.
So my crocheting time was eaten up by more important things. However, I did get two pair done.
It's supposed to be down right chilly today....not even getting to 70 degrees. Weather anomalies.... The plan is to sit and make mittnz. We'll see what surprises happen today!
Remember the Emergency Knitting Bag I shared with you yesterday? They are all sold out! None till June 10th or so. But you can get on the waiting list!
Google must be having some serious server issues. It took for ever for my gmail to load, had to go in through a back door to get my Reader to load, and Blogger is sure takin' it's sweet ol' time to get anything done.
My latest progress shot on the 2nd Bones sock. Just starting the gusset decreases, so if I work on it I'll get most of it done today.
But I'm getting the guilties for not making Mittnz. Some of the members have finished 32 pairs, and I feel like an underachiever for my 17 pair!
I watched a really good movieyesterday morning, Snow Cake, that had been recommended by Debbie. Sigourney Weaver plays a high functioning adult autistic.
Then Youngest Daughter picked me up so I could go see Prince Caspian with Eldest and Youngest Sons. Really good movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I didn't remember the story at all. I had the rest of the day to myself and just knitting, dozed and caught up on my TV shows. It was a nice day.
Abby's comment on yesterday's Asperger's post reminded me of Jenny Joseph's poem, Warning.
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. Perhaps around 50 we do finally start, at least, to give ourselves permission to quit following the rules everyone around us thinks we should follow.
I finished up Bones sock #1! It's just a little big for Youngest Son so I think once washed and blocked it'll be just perfect. I really am happy with the way the color pattern picked up again in the foot but find it so interesting it's got narrower bands of red and white stripes than the top! How weird is that. But it's find, it didn't pool and that's really what I was afraid of.
Second sock has been CO and about five of the seven leg inches finished. The patterning is similar which is very surprising since this skein has four breaks in the yarn. It's the damaged skein of Hill Country Yarns I bought from Discountyarnsale.com. I e-mailed both companies and Hill Country never responded and Discountyarnsale said they'd credit my account but never followed up to say they had. I emailed them with new pictures twice yesterday and got their canned response, but no human has contacted me yet.
The breaks in the yarn all occurred in the first inch and a half of the sock, before the pattern had really established itself, and they are all in the white yarn.
Youngest Daughter and granddaughters spent the night at a friend's house last night which gave me a nice quiet evening and morning. Eldest Son and I are going to the movies to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian today. I always enjoy going to the movies and I'm expecting this one will be as good as the first one.
Youngest Granddaughter's first speech therapy session will be this Wednesday morning. When the evaluator was here, she questioned whether we really wanted the "autistic label" on her. I've thought about it a lot since last June when my sister said the same thing. It really isn't a label to those on the spectrum, it's part of our identity. So we don't shy away from it anymore than we might shy away from using "Native American" or "Irish". I guess we still aren't past the day that these kinds of words are derogatory nouns rather than the adjectives they really should be.
Here is pair twelve...and even dozen now! These are so quick to make it just boggles the mind. I have another pair for my upstairs project and another pair started downstairs.
Today Youngest Granddaughter is being evaluated by Child Find. Although they don't diagnose, they can help determine if she will qualify for some extra help. I really don't know what to expect from them or what help it will give us. So much of what I see appears to be ways to make the autistic child appear "normal." I'm not really interested in that. I want to learn how to make the life of a child on the spectrum better for the child, not for the community around it.
I think many parents want their spectrum child to appear normal. They don't want anyone to know their child is autistic. As a person on the spectrum, I don't have those goals. I want to learn how to help her quality of life better. She is on the spectrum. She always will be. Passing for normal just creates anxiety within the spectrum person. Although everything looks good from an outside view, the insides are churning. And sometimes that's the way it has to be in order to get something one needs. But it's not a way to live life. I know. I've been trying to do it for over 50 years.
I imagine deaf parents feel very much the same when someone wants to "fix" their deaf child. There is nothing "wrong" with being deaf and there really isn't a need to be like the hearing people.
It was just a quiet day. I am about half done with the heel flap of yellow sock #2. I got several hours of quiet knitting in. Which is rare for me. Generally there is all kinds of noise going on from various sources. But yesterday, everyone kinda left for large blocks of time.
My autistic grandson, K, and my son came over for a visit. My son, Z, is working nights now, so we save a couple TV shows for him to watch. Thursdays is his day to "catch up". He watched TV and I knitted. K wandered around looking at things and seemed to be perfectly content. He loves my aquarium screen saver!
Yahoo....tax refund just went through...may stop at my LYS for some "real" sock yarn today! My no calorie Valentine's treat! Which of course is great incentive to finish up my yellow sock today....or as soon as possible!
Today's my day with F. Remember I'd told you he'd knitting one sleeve on his pinwheel sweater inside-out? Well, he cut the sleeve off, picked up all the live sts and today we are going to get great practice learning and perfecting the Kitchener Stitch! F and his husband, B, are going out for Valentine's Day tonight... Dinner and a movie. Some days I really miss not having some kind of a significant other. This V Day was probably the worst I've every had in that respect. Now, to balance that out, I can remember more than a dozen V Days that were totally ignored by various significant others in my life.... So, I'm officially not complaining!
Yes, Joansie, I cast on a sock! Aren't you proud of me? My sock envy got the better of me! I think they are going to be pedicure socks but that may change.... Anyway, I'm really happy with how the dye job is translating into a knitted item.
I finished up the skull and cross bones wash cloth for my grandson's pirate birthday cache. It hasn't been washed or blocked yet so the picture is hard to see.
My autistic grandson, K, was over for a quick visit last night. The pic is of K and my son, Z. K is such a sweetie...I just wish I could spend more time with him. His mother doesn't allow me to see him, so my time with him is stolen time when my son figures she can't find out about it. Very sad, but.... whatcha gonna do?
Today's my day out with my best friend, F. I get to go knit for the day. I'll have the car today, tho, so maybe we'll go out. He's running into problems with his Pinwheel Sweater, tho.....
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My son, Z, is working nights now, so we save a couple TV shows for him to watch. Thursdays is his day to "catch up". He watched TV and I knitted. K wandered around looking at things and seemed to be perfectly content. He loves my aquarium screen saver! 
So, I'm officially not complaining! 
