Set A Timer

Last night at the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild meeting we had a Physical Therapist speak to us about keeping ahead of muscle aches and strains when we're knitting. He talked about sitting up straight and putting a pillow on our laps so that our arms are supported and our neck isn't so strained from looking down. He showed us, and had us stand up and do, some stretches, very basic but they felt great. He also said to get up for 10 minutes every hour to change our position, get a drink, and generally give our hands, arms and shoulders a break, and to set a timer if we forget, it's that important. It was an excellent program and a lot of people came. Thanks, BLKG and Sean French, P.T.!

Longtime readers know how I love knitting with big needles and bulky yarn to get a finished item faster. Well, I'm zooming along on the Neck Cozy. I've got about a quarter of the bulky yarn to do and then I'll need to find a big flashy button to put on it. Hey, maybe I'll find one at Arti Gras this weekend. See? An excuse to go. Excellent.



I ordered some more 29" Susan Bates Velocity circular needles from YarnSupply.com last week and they came on Wednesday so I frogged back the garter stitch of the Ogre Baby hat to the ribbing and am taking another run at it in stockinette. Doing the purl rows was hurting my hands so I decided that a baby hat wasn't worth injuring myself. Pretty mature thinking, eh? As an added bonus I like the way it looks better now anyway.

I can't say enough good things about the Velocity needles. They're sharp and slick and the cable is thin and flexible--and they're very reasonably priced at yarnsupply.com, even with paying the shipping they're less expensive than at JoAnn's.



Lookie! Lookie! Lookie! I noticed these when I came home from work the other day when Snowstorm Ethan's dump began to melt away. The green nubbins in the snow are daffodils that I planted more than 30 years ago. The others are hyacinths and daffodils that nestle in the corner where the porch meets the house and get the first warmth of the year. It's very heartening in this long month at the end of winter.