A Chronicle of Needles

There was lots going on this week. With the October colorwork KAL coming up, I decided to rework the pattern for Pippa's Fair Isle sweater, ready to start October 1st, when I got so far as picking the yarn to use. I still need to pick out the needles.

It took me two evenings to rework the chart, but it's done, and I'm pleased with it. I may find sone mistakes as I'm knitting, but I don't see any right now.

I managed to get a little more quilting in. I'm close to filling in the cross-hatching in one section. I have five needles threaded, but four of them are "offstage."

Monday was taken up with trying to find an appointment for our Pfizer booster shots. We would have been eligible to receive it in August, if they had been available, because August 18th it had been six months since our second dose. I started by wanting to get some questions asked. How long did I have to wait after my flu and pneumonia shots? Is the booster the same formula as the original doses? I decided I needed to ask a pharmacist those questions, so I called a pharmacy I have done business with. After being on hold for 45 minutes and hung up on, I tried another one. Another 45 minutes, only this time I hung up. I decided to try making the appointment online, thinking maybe my questions would be answered by going through the process. I tried the website of one of the pharmacies near me. The website said they were making appointments for Covid-19 shots, "Click Here." That took me through a process during which I had to give my personal information so they could determine if I was eligible and provide me with information I already knew. After about four screens of filling in information, I was told there were no appointments available. I tried several other pharmacies with the same result or with the ability to make an appointment later in October, the earliest being October 21st. Unhappy with that, I reached for my phone to call the Health Department. I got a cheerful person who recommended calling the nurses at the Covid-19 Hotline. She gave me the number. That number was answered by live person who was ready to answer my questions. You can get all three vaccines administered the same day, she said, so no need to wait. The Pfizer booster is the same vaccine as the first two doses, so any place that has the Pfizer vaccine can give me a booster. Then I complained to her that I had tried to get an appointment and was unable to get anything sooner than October 21st, so she recommended either calling Urgent Care, where she said they HAVE TO pick up and answer the phone and where they can administer the vaccine or there would be a pop-up clinic on Wednesday at the downtown library, which is practically next door to my church from 1:00 until 5:00 PM. DH and I had a chat and decided the pop-up clinic would be the best bet. The nurse recommended getting there at least a half an hour before the clinic started.

Wednesday, we drove into town, parked and found ourselves in line behind five other people about 45 minutes before they were scheduled to open. Some workers were already putting up pylons for the line, and just after we arrived, a couple of ladies came out with clipboards and forms to fill out. They came back with bottles of water. We chatted with the other people in line as we waited. The young man in front of us was getting his first dose. Several people behind us were getting either their second dose or the booster. Everyone was masked, and we were standing outdoors, so we weren't worried. The sun was shining. It was a pleasant temperature and there was a slight breeze. By the time the clinic opened, people had lined up clear to the end of the block, and maybe around the block out of view.

When they let the two of us in (together) they took our names and gave us each a $50 gift card. (Yes, they actually PAID us to get the vaccine.) Then they took us to the next vaccination station, where we each got our shots.

We had to wait the required 15 minutes after getting the shot, during which time I signed in with V-Safe and reported that I had received my booster. When we came out, this was the line.

Just as with our first two doses, we both had soreness at the injection site the next day. The soreness is gone now. No other symptoms, other than relief to have it done. I saw that statewide, only 131 booster or third shots had been given the day we got ours. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, after all the hoops I had to jump through.

No needles involved here: We managed to get in five walks during the week. The stroller has helped, even though Rocky doesn't usually spend the entire walk in it. He often walks half of the time, either all at one stretch or for a little while and then back in the stroller (rinse and repeat). He walks pretty well where the light is good and the trail is flat, sloped upwards or downwards, but if the trail is sloped sideways, it's difficult for him.

Somehow I managed to get the stories written through October. I still need to do the photos for two of them.

Sunday was the Annual Blessing of the Animals. Trinity Episcopal Church in Bend usually allows us to bring our pets into the church (perhaps not cows, horses, sheep, etc.) for blessings, but the pandemic makes that unsafe. Last year was virtual only. We sent in photos and someone put them together into a slide show. The pets were blessed by long distance. This year, we did that again, but we had a separate, outdoor blessing after church at one of the local parks. We took Rocky's stroller, so we could move quickly without having to carry him.

Dusty had fun playing with other dogs while we were waiting for the festivities to start. The park is off-leash.

For some cuteness, here are Zachary and Daphne, already excited about flying to Oregon for Christmas. Zachary is reading a book about airplane trips to Daphne, and she is making pretend airline tickets for their trip. The reservations are made. (I can't wait!)

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Taina Shawlette, and now the new colorwork sweater for Pippa.

What's on my loom: Still the Trailer Rugs.

What's on my sewing machine: Still its cover.

What's in my hoop: The whole-cloth quilt, some progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Finding Treasure, based on a true story. Charlotte finds a $20 bill on the floor at the grocery story. What does she do with it?

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to Wildwood by Ellis Carson on the Audible app. LAIKA's next film will be based on this book.

What's in my wine glass: Cape Red from Western Cape Vineyards, 2020 (South African). Good choice!

What's my tip of the week: To make Huevos Rancheros I needed to line an oven-proof bowl with foil for each serving. I put one bowl face-down on the counter, put the foil over the bottom and then pressed a second, identical bowl on top. That way I have a foil liner that fits exactly. You can also do this to line a pan when you plan to freeze the contents after cooking. (This only works if you have two containers the exact same size, of course.)

Where's my book: The second proof copy of Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is on its way to me. I should have it by Thursday.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from booksellers worldwide. If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment, and that's 50% of the price when you buy there. Other bookseller take a much bigger cut. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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The 2021 Yarn Crawl Comes to an End

Well, the yarn crawl is over. The all-day Zoom event was a real highlight.

Each of the shops will have their hour available recorded on YouTube. Eventually, they will have their Zoom presentations available, although it may take a few days. Go to this link to watch. The ones that are already loaded will appear in green. In this day and age, all of them have an online business, so you can order from anywhere. Here are the shops with links:

Starlight Knitting Society

For Yarn Sake

Weird Sisters

Northwest Wools

Pearl Fiber Arts

Knotty Lamb

House of A la Mode

Close Knit

The yarn I ordered from Close Knit arrived, in two separate shipments and on two different days.

I cast on the "Russet" for the tea cozy as soon as I finished Charlotte's Dressing Gown. I have this much done.

The "Aubergine" and the "Silver Mist" are for some mittens from this book:

The next day, I received this lusciousness from House of A la Mode:

It's for a special brioche shawl. This one.

I bought some circular needles from Pearl Fiber Arts (size 000, two of them, so I can knit in the round). I also ordered the Kevät  kit from Knotty Lamb, but they were out of them, so I had to preorder for the kits they're having made up.

Here's another view, this time of the back.

It comes in cropped and regular length. DDIL ordered one. I got the cropped, and she got the regular length. I picked these colors:

It will be at least a couple of weeks before the kits will be ready.

Before I cast on the tea cozy, I finished the dressing gown I was making for Charlotte. You may remember from last week that I thought the blue would be enough for the whole thing, based on weight. However, you can see where I ran out of blue. To hide the color change at the bodice, I crocheted a chain stitch around the body using a slightly darker shade of blue Palette (fingering), right at the base of the white and then added some additional trim around the neck to hide my somewhat messy picked-up stitches there. I added the embroidered flower just because, and made a twisted cord bow from the same yarn. Anyway, Charlotte doesn't look too unhappy with it. (That's her Mona Lisa smile.) She is holding her sleep mask.

During the week Johan read to his great-grandmother, who has come to live with his other grandparents....

....and to his class at school.

I'm waiting for an update on Soren's activities. Maybe there will be a photo next week.

Their cousins in Wisconsin had a dance competition over the weekend. They had to go to St. Paul, Minnesota, and stay in a hotel for it. Daphne took Misty along.

Zachary took his Billy along.

I'm glad they both enjoy their dolls. It's so good for their imaginations.

Their parents, as educators, qualified to receive their vaccines this week. I found this online.

We learned from the CDC that people who are fully vaccinated (two weeks past whichever dose is the final one––the second for Pfizer and Moderna, and the only one for Johnson & Johnson) can get together with others who are also fully vaccinated, and they don't have to wear masks. I see a future in which the choir can meet again. Some of us have been vaccinated, but our director doesn't qualify yet. Still, it won't be too long. In the meantime, some of us went to the church one-by-one to have a "professional" recording made of our performance for Palm Sunday.

In the meantime, we had to turn our clocks forward Saturday night.

What's on my needles: The tea cozy.

What's on my sewing machine: Dust.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Very little progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Brown Dolls? Pippa has noticed that Mariah's vinyl is brown and wonders why.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly, a little progress made, but it's a long book, and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry, Chapters 7 and 8. My church's Adult Forum is discussing it, two chapters at a time. Otherwise I would just listen to it until the end, but I wouldn't remember as much of it that way. It's really good.

What's in my wine glass: Trader Joe's Grower's Reserve Zinfandel Paso Robles 2019. I really, really like this one. I wonder if it's because it's from organically grown grapes.

What's my tip of the week: If you need to measure honey using a spoon, dip it in hot water first (or run under the faucet with hot water running) and the honey won't stick as much. If it sticks, use your finger to wipe the honey off it, then you can lick your finger.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post. 

Rose City Yarn Crawl!

Pippa's Red Crocus sweater is done.

As part of the knit-along in the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry, I cast on this Dressing Gown pattern. I had 51g of the turquoise yarn for a project that was supposed to take 49g. I thought it might be close, but I ran out of the turquoise yarn before I even got the skirt of the dressing gown finished. The yarn must be much heavier than what was used in the pattern. I didn't want to rip it out, so I decided to add a deep border at the hem and then continue on with the bodice and sleeves using some yarn I had, Wool of the Andes Sport in "Bare." I picked up stitches from the inside loops of each cast-on stitch and have been knitting in the opposite direction (toward the hem) with the white. 

When it's long enough, I'll bind off and continue with the white for the bodice and sleeves. This rework of the original eliminates three buttons, because I had started the buttonholes at the stated point in relation to the cast-on edge, and have to stop and make the armholes. I think I can do something decorative that will make it look as if that were the design from the beginning.

We've started the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which is entirely virtual this year. DDIL and I got together yesterday via Zoom to visit our first two shops. The first one was Close Knit. I purchased three skeins of Harrisville Highland worsted-weight yarn. One in "Silver Mist"....

....and one in "Aubergine"....

....for these Mummers mittens from Saltwater Mittens.

I picked up a skein of the same yarn in "Russet"....

....for this teapot cozy. DDIL picked up this kit, but she doesn't crochet (yet), so she was getting it just for the yarn.

Then we went on to House of A la Mode, where after much looking around and contemplating I picked up this  Things Created Equal "Basic Sock" yarn in "Frosty"....

....and "Glacial"....

....for this shawl. The pattern appears to be very entertaining. It uses the brioche stitch, but in a curved design. DDIL wanted this kit, but they were sold out, so she bought the yarn for it from what was available. She also picked up some DK from the Things Created Equal line.

It was a very busy week in my personal life, too. First, because my mammogram from the week before was questionable, I had ultrasound on Wednesday. Because that didn't show enough, they did an additional mammogram. The result: "See you in a year." It was nerve-racking, however, waiting for the radiologist to come to a conclusion, but his time was taken up with all the regularly scheduled results to read, and they had to squeeze me in. Everything was normal, and they didn't think it was because of my vaccine, although that's sometimes an issue.

DBIL came for dinner Thursday, as he planned to fly back to Arizona on Friday. We didn't use masks, because guidance indicated that we could socialize indoors without masks if we've all been vaccinated, and we had all three had the second dose of vaccine. We've all been very careful, anyway. He will be back when the weather warms up down there. DH drove him to the airport on Friday morning. I hope we can go camping together this summer.

I managed to get the photos for two stories taken this week and a third one written. Once the photos are done for the third one, I'll be scheduled through March 19th. That's the most ahead I've ever been.

Today I'll be "visiting" all the shops in the Crawl. Each shop gets an hour to show off or demonstrate. If you're interested, click on this link and scroll down to "Zoom Shopping Event." I don't know if this will be available after today, but they may have a recorded version on the website later.

What's on my needles: Charlotte's Sleepover Dressing Gown.

What's on my sewing machine: Getting bored with nothing to do. The machine, not me!

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Not much progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "The Survey." Emil and Billy get some surprising advice from Pippa. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry. The second has given me inspiration for at least one story.

What's in my wine glass: Provare red wine from David Marchese in California. A new one for us. I liked it. It's slightly spicy.

What's my tip of the week: You don't really have to add water to frozen vegetables when you cook them in the microwave. There is usually enough ice in the package to cook them nicely.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post. 

Flipping Sides

Here's how it looked half-way through Clue #3, the brioche stitches. 

The Mystery Knit-along is coming along, but I still haven't started the last clue. You can see from this photo that you work on one side, then flip it around and do the same thing on the other side, but with the colors reversed. It's interesting, and I've learned a few new things, but keeping the yarn from tangling in the extra needle is a nuisance. Fortunately, the rows are long now.

Nothing left but the fancy bind-off after I finish this section. I should have it done in time for the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which will be virtual this year. 

I did some more flipping when I made pancakes. We celebrated Shrove Tuesday by enjoying our own pancake supper at home, instead of going to the church.

It was a very busy week. Rocky had his eye checkup on Wednesday. The ulcer on his left eye is smaller, and it has good blood vessels coming to the area, so we can stop the antibiotic drops when they are used up. The other eye drops will need to be continued, probably the rest of his life, and in both eyes. He will get checked again in May.

That afternoon we noticed some of our neighbors, a doe and two yearlings, in our next-door neighbor's front yard.

Later that day, I recorded my part for the virtual choir performance on Sunday.

Thursday was our second dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. It wasn't as crowded as three weeks ago. They have halted giving appointments for the first dose.

They don't let us take photos during the actual procedure now, but we could take a selfie after we finished. I flipped sides and had my shot in the left arm this time, not because I had any trouble with having a sore right arm, but I was trying to make it easy for the nurse to administer the shot. The chair was facing that direction.

There was mixed rain and snow on the way there and back. I tried to get a photo of the huge snowflakes, but my phone focused on the raindrops on the car window.

We both had sore arms the next day, but no other side effects. We had read that people are often sick after the second dose, so we had planned on not doing much for the next couple of days.

Unlike many people we know who live elsewhere, our power was on the whole week.

What's on my needles: The Mystery Knit-along shawl.

What's on my sewing machine: Nothing right now.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt, but no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Hearing with Your Eyes. Emil explains to Pippa how sign language works.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry and just started The Black Madonna by Stella Riley. Bishop Curry's book is very good. The Trinity Adult Forum is studying it, two chapters a week. Stella Riley is an author I've enjoyed in the past, so I know I will enjoy this one.

What's in my wine glass: Plaza de la Reina Monastrell Tempranillo from Spain. A friend has been posting his travel photos, one per day, during the pandemic. We're just visiting lots of different countries by drinking wine from all over the world.

What's my tip of the week: To keep straight whether I gave Rocky his eye drops or not, I use this list and the special tape for keeping track of where I am with my knitting.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

A Shot in the Fairgrounds

We took a ride to the Deschutes County Fairgrounds this week. That gave me some knitting time in the car. This is my project for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit-Along.

I thought I would spend some time sitting (or standing) around, waiting, so I took my knitting with me when we entered the exposition hall. No knitting happened, though, until the ride home.

What was I doing at the Fairgrounds, you might ask? I would have been asking the same question a week ago. That was when I found out that the vaccine the governor was expecting turned out not to exist. The new plan was to start vaccinating people over 80 around February 8th, and sometime after that, people over 75. We were thinking maybe the middle of February for our first dose.

Then Tuesday, I received an email saying that people over 75 and essential workers (including teachers) could make appointments for the first dose at the clinic run by St. Charles Health System, the organization that runs our local hospital. We clicked on the link and discovered we could get the first dose of the vaccine as early as late Wednesday. We didn't want to have to drive all the way home from the Fairgrounds after dark, so we picked mid-day on Thursday.

When Thursday rolled around, we donned all our winter gear (except for the snowshoes) and took an umbrella, just for good measure, because we expected we would be spending some time outdoors. As we arrived at the parking lot, a greeter asked us if we needed handicapped parking and/or a ride to the building in a golf cart. We're both in good shape, so we said we could walk, which we did. People in the ticket booths checked that we actually had appointments. They gave us each a clipboard with a sanitized pen and a form to fill out. Other volunteers directed us to the entrance of the building.

They had ropes to keep people moving along, just like at the airport, with separation dots and tables interspersed along the way so people could have a place to fill out the paperwork without getting too close to others. They had boxes for us to leave our pens when we were done. Volunteers were available to help with the paperwork if needed.

Next they checked our paperwork, entered the information in a computer and assigned us to a "chair" for the actual vaccinations. They had a big screen with the number of vaccinations they had given so far. It said, "8,594." I don't know how long the time period was for that.

Someone was keeping track of the empty chairs and directed us to a person who had just finished giving a shot. DH got his vaccine first, while I took photos.

I took this selfie when I received my vaccine.

Because we were good while we were being vaccinated, we each received a a sticker. No candy, though, for obvious reasons.

We were told that it was the Pfizer vaccine. I didn't care which vaccine I received. I was just so happy to get it! 

More volunteers steered us to a place where we could make the appointment for the second dose in three weeks.

We had to sit in a big waiting room for 15 minutes to make sure we were OK before leaving. I could have gotten my knitting out, but I checked my emails instead and posted my photos to Facebook.

We had a place to take a selfie on the way out.

We saw a lot of members of the National Guard helping with checking people in and making appointments for the second dose.

As far as I know, Oregon is still just vaccinating essential workers (including teachers). I can only guess that the distribution somehow provided more vaccine to the St. Charles system than they could give if they just restricted it to those people already eligible. It has been very organized, so I'm pretty sure it isn't something like the situation where some Oregon health workers were stuck in a snowstorm after a semi jack-knifed and offered vaccine to other stranded motorists because they realized the vaccine would expire before they could get to their destination. Or even like the event the other night in Seattle, when a freezer broke down, sending workers scurrying to find people to vaccinate before the vaccine would spoil. Like in the Chinese curse, we live in interesting times!

We've been walking almost every day, sometimes along the trail, but when it's muddy, just around the neighborhood on the sidewalks.

Just when I was pondering whether I would dare go to the Rose City Yarn Crawl now that my immunity should be pretty close to complete about the middle of that event, I received an email from the organizers. The Rose City Yarn Crawl is now going to be virtual. That means a) I can participate for sure, and b) I don't have to make a decision about whether to travel to Portland.

What's on my needles: The Mystery KAL, and ready to CO for a project for the Love in the Sugar Grove JAL (knit and crochet) in the Goetz Doll group on Ravelry. (Not as racy as it sounds.) I should be able to start it soon, because I expect to have some time between the Mystery KAL Clue #2 and Clue #3, which will come out on Wednesday.

What's on my sewing machine: Sitting idle right now.

What's in my hoop: Still the whole-cloth quilt. A lot more progress this week. I like working on it in the evening in front of the fire. I have a good light over my chair, and it's good for my body to alternate between knitting and quilting.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pippa's First Snow! Pippa learns that not everything that comes down from the sky is rain. This story was somewhat time-intensive, because of getting the dolls dressed in all the winter clothes and then having them doing things in the snow.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann a nonfiction book. Very interesting, especially after having lived in Oklahoma for several years. 

What's in my wine glass: Akiyoshi 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Clarksburg, California. Nice.

What's my tip of the week: When I'm hand-quilting cross-hatching, I don't quilt straight across the quilt. If the quilt is stretched, the thread can break or the knots pop out from inside the quilt. Instead, I quilt in a zig-zag pattern, which will stretch without putting a lot of stress on the thread. I often use 3-4 needles, so I can work my way across the area without moving the hoop or unthreading and threading one needle.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.