Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Stomach Saga Continues....

.....on my other blog! It's still not over, and now I have a cold or something (do you get fever/chills with a cold?).

Is there a way to transfer blog posts from one blog to another? Including the comments? I suppose I could copy and paste, but how would that work for comments? I'd like to take the non-knitting posts from this blog and put them on my other blog.

And how do you find out how many people have looked at your blog? Cause I know you're not all leaving comments! LOL.

I promise I will have some knitting content soon. It's been a very rough month and I haven't knitted a whole lot.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I'm Back!

Howdy!
We're back from our lovely cruise on (unbeknownst to us when we booked) the newest and largest cruiseship in the world. And yes, we did "Get Out There" and we "Climb(ed) The Wall". Picture evidence to follow :) (at a later date).

Over (Canadian) Thanksgiving, I became ill---nausea, stomach pains, and then the lovely diarrhea. I RARELY get issues like that. On October 4th, I had an eye exam, and the usual drops to dialate my eyes. But they took forever before they began to contract again (the drops went in around 2:40 and at 6:30 I was still very dialated) and I was getting nauseous--from the extra sun, I thought. Thanksgiving Monday was really bad, but then I felt better for a few days. But on the Thursday, it all came back. We had to leave for the airport at 2:30AM Saturday Oct. 13 (we were going to leave at 3AM but Rob forgot to pay the hydro bill). I was nauseous and couldn't eat.
Over the week, I was all shades of green. The diarrhea would come and go, slowed by Imodium which I hated using but I wanted to enjoy our trip! But by the time we got back on Saturday, there was no stopping it. I couldn't eat, or drink, and could feel myself getting dehydrated. I'm usually a big water drinker, so I was feeling BAD.
Yesterday I got in to see the doctor, who thinks it's a bacterial gastrointeritis. Similiar to a 'stomach flu' but bacteria instead of viral. I guess viruses have fairly short lifespans (well, except for HPV and HIV), and bacteria love to multiply. I took one antibiotic late Monday night and one Tuesday morning, and had NO bowel action until about 4:45pm on Tuesday! I'm less nauseous, and most importantly, I can get fluids down again.

I'm the only person I know to go on a cruise and lose weight. But my clothes are still tight; I guess from bloating (oh, the gas has been horrible. Totally horrible. Imagine my fear with a 3hr plane flight?).

I'm going to try to set up another blog for vacation photos and whatnot. Just to further illustrate how sick I was--I knitted for only about an hour on the flight down, not again until the next Sat. as we waited our turn to disembark, and only about 30 minutes on the flight home. So, there, you have some knitting content :)

Friday, October 05, 2007

Happy Birthday!

Please go to my other blog....Mom and Dad V on the sidebar, for a litle family birthday tribute! Or, if you come here for the knitting, LOL, check back later :)

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Some Good, Some Bad

The Good: Another top, just like the white one, but without the pocket, and with the proper sized sleeve elastic. This is a light beige crinkle cotton gauze that started out life as a summer time baby wrap for Megan's first summer. My fondest memory of it was picking blackberries, and feeding her (9 months old!) berries as fast as I could pick them. We ended up with a big purple splotch on the wrap, but it washed out fine. I never liked back carries with the wrap (although we haven't tried since moving on to back carries with the MT), so it had a limited timeframe to use. I had cut the fabric so it was half as wide to use as a wrap, and it was JUST wide enough to fit the front piece of the shirt on it! I'm not sure why the back is made in two pieces, except that the same pieces are used for a dress with a zipper.
I did put the back darts in this time, and like the trimness they give. I'm proud of them too. Just before doing them, I read in a book how to do them--sew from the center to the point. I would have started at the point and ended up with a pucker. More ends to tie off, but a much better look!
And now, the Bad:

Knitty.com Coachella.
I had totally passed over it, even though it said it could be worn with a halter bra. Then I saw Rachel's sweet version and thought, it looks good on her! And it didn't take too long! Then I saw it on Lisa. I could use the Patons Fresco I have kicking around! I thought the verigated would add some interest, and when I first tried it on, I liked how the stripes go upwards. The first time I tried it on I was braless and I thought it looked okay. I don't know what the hell happened for that photo there! OMG. Looks like my surgeon should be on the "When Good Docs go Bad" shows on TLC, LOL. I didn't know what size to make, but Rachel made the 29" size for her 38" bust so it would be snug. I also made the 29" size, I think I was planning to some how increase a bit extra for the bust, because I didnt' want larger armholes. But I think I forgot to do that.

I think it's too snug around my ribcage, where I have some extra padding that I really don't like.
And then, I ran out of yarn. I don't know yet if I made it to gauge, or even how long it ended up, but I'll check that later. The problem is (other than I don't think the blues look as good with jeans as I was hoping) that the bottom rolled edge hits the waistband of my jeans, and gets pushed up. And even when worn with something else, it's too small to pull down over my belly/hips.
I like the pattern. It was quick and easy for maximum results. But the yarn I used is too thick--not gauge wise, but it's a flat, tubular ribbon yarn that knits up thick. And I think I needed more ease to compensate. And more length. So this item won't be cruising with us in 10 days time (what happened to losing 8lbs before the cruise?!). I'll finish it up (weave in the ends) when we get back, and maybe I'll think of someone just as short as (or shorter) me but skinnier. And I do think I'd make it again, but I'll be more careful about gauge and yarn choice and sizing.
And for tomorrow's post, come back and see ANOTHER Knitty.com disappointment!
Edited later--I realized after the cruise that I DO have a halter back bra, although it doesn't fit all that great. Maybe I'll try the top on again, now that I lost those 8 pounds, LOL