Sock Wars!

Today is hang out and clean day then do a load of laundry I starting working on the mate for the elf sock last Saturday Nancy (the knitting instructor) showed us how to do the Kitchner stitch but I got confused. She showed us how to do it with a needle that is bent but I forgot what she called it. Our "homework" is to make swatches of two different colors so we can take a third color and sew the pieces together using the Kitchner Stitch. She tried to draw a picture on the board but when she finished it looked like a 2 yr old on a sugar high went nuts with markers on a white board. I have a cat too--when my husband comes home tonight I am going to corner him. He has a 35mm digital SLR camera that can take my picture and pictures of my cat and my elf sock I have been saying I am going to put some pictures up on my profile for days now but we have been busy this last week. I've heard that if one felts it takes a few washings. I use to work at Joann Superstore as the Education Coordinator. I hired people that taught knitting, sewing, clay, jewelry and all other kinds of crafts. The knitting instructor that I hired had a great purse that she had felted but she said it takes a few washings. That store lady is too sassy for her pants Guess her mom never told her to keep negative comments to herself. I have a Visual Knitting Book that explains the seed stitch--I'll look it up for you. I am a visual learner I take my knitting when I fly because it eases my stress. I don't like to fly at all but I have to at times. Once I was on a plane and the turbulance was so bad that I was knitting my fingers off. I knit while I am waiting for my flights too cause that is also stressful. Esp. when my husband starts complaining when the flights are late, knit-complain-pearl-complain-knit-and on and on Mary

Dear Mary, Thank you for the offer for the seed stitch but it is one of the first stitches I learned. That's why the graph confuses me. It has the purl stitches over knit stitches on the graph--which is correct--but that doesn't match the actually knitting. I think I might have to read the graph from the other direction. I looked at the Kitchner stitch instructions in at least five different books and then more online before I could get it. For me it was little things like starting, keeping the yarn under the needles, and keeping track of what I was doing! Now I don't miss stitches so much as don't have nice even stitches. If I were a "good little knitter," I would do practice pieces rather than have socks with messy toes, but I've never been much of a good little anything! I'm hoping to have this sock done tomorrow night and give myself Saturday and Sunday (yes the weekend is actually April) to finish the other. It is just plain stockinette stitch in a self-patterning wool yarn. Last night when I was working on it, I kept thinking it looked so big. Never something a person my size should think! Sure enough, it wasn't too big for my foot. My other socks have had some kind of ribbed pattern so I guess that makes them look smaller. I need to get settled on what projects I want to make and keep myself focused instead of finding more and more to lust after. But it keeps me busy and out of the kitchen. So far so good in that area. Now my overindulgence is in yarn instead of food. By the way, do you know about the OH regional meeting that is going to be in Hudson, WI? That's right across the river/border from St. Paul. There is going to be a two day event in Minneapolis and then this one day event in Hudson. I've made plans to go to the Sunday Hudson event. I'm about 5 and a half hours from there, so I'll stay the night and make a mini vacation of it (it's on June 4th). I have my 5th behavioral meeting through the WLS program here tonight (ugh, more knitting time lost). We are required to attend twelve--two before surgery and ten after. It hasn't been the strongest part of the program--more support group than actual help in learning how to change behavior. But there are different people there each time, so at least I get to hear what others are doing. Here's to getting the socks DONE! Sally

Hi Sally, In my last knitting class I was told that odd numbers rows are knit while even numbered rows are purled. I think I mentioned that I am working on a hat? The hat has a pattern of a snowflake around the rim of the hat in a different color. I am so stoked because I am using two colors and learning pattern reading You are a quick knitter my friend! I am trying to stop throwing the yarn and start picking the yarn with my needles. I have heard that picking the yarn goes quicker than throwing. I am leaving this weekend--we bought a new car. My husband wants to put some miles on it so we are driving to Canada. I figure I will put my knitting in my bag and take it along. The problem with taking my Saturday class is that everyone is doing something different--which is great. What happens is that other people start knitting really cool stuff--stuff that looks cooler than what I am knitting. So then I want to knit what they are knitting with yarn they have picked. I totally get your lusting effect I planned on going to the Hudson event--that will be cool that you will be there! Maybe we could hook up and do something? I didn't know about the Minneapolis event--I don't see it advertised anywhere. I am going to the Spring Thaw next month at the end of the month. Learning how to change behavior is tough. I am still seeing the lady that did my psych evaluation because I figure this is a major life change. I think that one has to change the head so the body will follow. She is pretty good so far--in these early sessions I think we are getting to know each other. I have been to one support group and I plan on going to others but I think that going to a psych doc is a good idea too. Did I tell you that I had my meeting with the surgeon yesterday? I also have my picture up on my profile but I don't know how to put it on my posts. I see that your picture comes up when we post on the message board but I don't think mine does. How do you get your picture to post on the message board along with your posts? Mary

Dear Mary, I don't know how to get the pictures to come up--I just sent my picture in and the OH people took care of everything. How did the meeting with the surgeon go? Did he/she give you the encouragement you need as well as the information? I read your profile and it looks like you already know a lot. I really liked my surgeon--he is very skilled and just personable enough--but in some ways, I think he has the easiest job of it. I was fortunate to not have any comorbidities other than arthritis, but my BMI was really high. The surgeon said he'd try to do the WLS laproscopically, but there was a chance he'd have to go the open route. When I woke up in recovery, the first thing I remember doing was feeling my tummy to see if he had to go open. Fortunately, he didn't. How much more do you have to do before setting a date? I think you are so smart about continuing with the counselor. Especially with having moved to a new area, this has got to be a challenging time for you. Iowa is my seventh state to live in, and it gets hard after a certain age to establish new social contacts. Well, for me anyway. And to have someone to talk to about how we use food for so many different things! It's like the duct tape of the coping world--all purpose. If I'm sad, I eat; if I'm happy, I eat; if I'm bored, I eat; etc. I am really trying to use these first six "honeymoon" months to focus on my behaviors and not just the weight loss. I was driving away from the gym, which is just at the other end of the parking lot from a TCBY, ans thought,"This summer I can reward myself for doing the workout with a yogurt." That is the very kind of thinking I need to stop. Food can no longer be my reward even if it is something I can/should eat. Maybe I can substitute yarn! What kind of car did you get? I have a Mazda Miata convertable that I am looking forward to driving again this summer. I had gotten so large that it was too uncomfortable. It has been sitting in the driveway (with the battery dying) all winter. It is great fun to drive. I'm so glad to hear you are going to the Hudson event. It will be great to see you face to face (sock to sock?). I plan to drive up the Saturday before and not leave until Monday, so it would be great to do something. I haven't tried to learn the pick method yet--this old dog likes her old tricks--but have heard it is faster. I might need to if I do more colorwork so I can hold yarn in both hands. I did finish the one sock--even grafting the toe--and cast on the second. Now if I can just get the mate done this weekend, I'll be back on track with my sock goal. Take care, Sally

Hey Sally I sent OH an email about putting my picture on posts. They said they have to do it from that end. My husband has a website so he was able to use the link to put my picture up on my profile--we just could not get it to go up on the posts. The meeting was okay--the surgeon kept us waiting for twenty minutes. I was late seven minutes so I could not complain. Other than that he was pretty pleasant, knowledgable and had a good sense of humor. He was open to questions and discussions about the surgery from both me and my husband--he checked out my hernia. I showed him my scar from when I had gallstones at age fifteen. He did not seem to think that a laproscopic procedure was out of the question. He saw my face when I clearly showed that another big long scar was not in my plans. My husband chuckled it off but the doc saw my face and expressed concern. I like that because it showed that he was listening to me and understood. It is one of those fleeting moments that does not mean anything to anyone except the person that it is happening to. After looking at my chart he seemed to think that I was in pretty good health with the exception of my weight. I have diabetes, asthma, acid reflux and various allergies. My heart is okay, no apnea and the diabetes is under control with one pill a day--so far. My BMI is 51.5 and I am 5'4" tall--I have lots of work to do I think the surgeon has the easiest job too--best paid even The real work is with us--the recipent of the surgery. It is about changing our attitudes and beliefs about food. We are in this really weird space--we have to eat. How do you give an addict a bit of something he/she is addicted to? I went to OA a few years a go--I thought is was all hooey. But I gotta wonder if they did not have the bull by the horns? In order to set a date I have to get this insurance thing straightened out. The surgeon was ready to get my paperwork together to submit to the insurance company but I can't until I resolve this problem. I moved from California on Feb 4, 2006 to Minnesota. I was covered in California under Kaiser Perm HMO--when we moved here we had to switch insurance companies. We had a day of overlap on Feb 1, 2006--we were covered by two different companies. We switched insurance companies because Kaiser Perm. HMO does not exist in the state of Minnesota. When I went to the WLS clinic I did not have a primary care MD here in Minnesota. The WLS clinic pointed me in the direction of an MD that was familar with bariatric surgery. I made an appointment with the new MD and got checked out--signed release forms and got some blood work done. I needed a doc here anyway so he got his bloodwork and ordered the WLS clinic's bloodwork. He also gave me an ekg because that is their protocol for diabetes patients. I paid my co-pays and walked away thinking that everything was all cool--not so. Last Saturday we get a letter from my new insurance company saying that my diabetes and obesity are pre-existing conditions. I have to show that I was covered under another insurance plan for these conditions in the last six months. I had a HIPPA Certificate from Kaiser showing the dates of my coverage but my husband said we did not need it and to throw it out--I threw it out. Guess what--we need it The insurance company will not pay for the services that I received from my new primary MD (lab work, ekg and exam). The insurance company requested all files from the doc's office to review my case to determine if I had those pre-existing conditions. My husband called his HR girl in California this past Monday on March 27, 2006. Kaiser will send out a new HIPPA Certificate in seven to ten days. When I get the HIPPA Certificate I have to fax it to my new insurance company. I am not sure how long it will take them to review it and clear me for basic services not relating to WLS. I am thinking that if I have the surgeon submit the baratric surgery paperwork it will just get denied. The surgeon has my paperwork on hold until I call him to let him know that the insurance problem is dealt with--then on with the show. The real answer is I don't know how long it will be until I get this problem resolved In terms of what I have to do for the WLS clinic--I have done it--they are ready to submit the approval paperwork. LOL this is a really long post!! I drive a powder blue 2005 convertible VW Beetle. Our new car is a Passat Sedan 4-motion sport something or another--it is pretty neat car. It has a navagation system that is pretty cool and memory seats with dual air control. I almost bought a Miata--they are the cutest! Wow how come you have moved so many times? We moved here because my husband got a promotion at work. I left my adult son in California and my dad is in Arizona. All my friends are in one part of California or another. My husband's mom is in New Hampshire but she makes me nuts. I joined the knitting groups for fun and learning but there is an element of socialization too. My husband works from seven in the morning until seven in the evening. I have been staying at home since we moved so I have to get out and do stuff. I was working at Joann's but I stopped working a month before we moved--that was only part-time. I am a nurse by education but I haven't been a nurse for a few years. I still have my California nursing license and now I have a Minnesota nursing license. When I worked it was easy to find friends and hang out--way easier when I got into management. These days everyone has small kids or a job--I don't have either. I can't talk about my kids or my job I reward myself with food too--like pizza. If I am on a diet and losing weight really well and exercising. I think I deserve a pizza and ice cream--so I eat it. Dang! then when I eat it--might as well kiss all the effort and pounds lost goodbye. 'Cause then I will treat myself--my husband will also give me treats. Or I'll behave for a whole week because I know on Friday that I will get a treat--trouble is I don't stop treating myself and get back on it. Food is such a dangerous obsession That is why I decided to stay with my psych doc--I need help. I have tried for years to go it alone but I can't. I use to think that made me weak--I don't care anymore. The truth is that I need help learning how to change my behavior. Yes, you are right too about being here alone in Minnesota without any friends. I was listening to an IPOD cast the other day--they were talking about WLS. This one lady got the phone (she was a Psychologist) that works in a WLS clinic--she said that persons undergoing WLS need everything. We need help with nutrition, exercise, behavioral changes, medical management and on and on. She said at that point we can be successful but WLS is not a quick fix--it takes work and education. It all seems so big and I'm so little even though I'm so big such is life Have a great evening--Sally Mary

Dear Mary, I'm so glad to hear that the surgeon was actually listening to you and not dismissive of your concerns. So many time doctors have been rude and essentially useless in my experience. I put up with their condescension just to be told to continue taking the over-the-counter medicine I was doing on my own! I have been fortunate in my health (Irish peasant stock!)--no diabetes, good blood pressure, etc. I didn't have a primary physician either--I don't go unless something is gushing from some place it shouldn't. So the surgeon recommended someone, he did an EKG, and everything was okay. I was surprised by how well the insurance went through without a documented history. I wrote a letter explaining why I didn't go to doctors--lack of insurance, not getting much help, and general dislike--to include with the regular stuff. I had my approval within a week or two. I waited a couple of months to have the surgery to do it over the term break at Thanksgiving. That also gave me some time to have my "last supper" days--the last pizza, the last fried chicken, the last potato chips, the last ice cream, etc.! I really like the program requirements my surgeon has. We have to attend a total of twelve "behavioral" meetings (four pre-op), and four meetings with the hospital's bariatric program whi*****ludes the physical therapist and nutritionist. And there is a support group that meets twice a month. So we are not just cut and dumped. I do a lot of reading up on topics on my own because I find that keeps me focused and motivated. In some ways I think it is easier for me as a single person to control my food environment than it might be for people with spouses and kids. I don't have to have anything in my house that I shouldn't eat. I can fix what I want or need and not worry about anyone else. And I am the only one who can sabotage me! I understand about not having kids when that is the easy topic for everyone else. I knew early in life that I was not the mothering kind and I wouldn't do that to any child. So I've never developed the "oh isn't that cute' fawning over baby/kid stuff. I'm not particularly fond of children as a group although there are individual ones I like. Fortunately most of my friends' children are older now, so they are past the "let me tell you how my child is the center of the universe" stage. Now instead of kids, it's our dogs! I have moved so many times primarily because of college or work. I grew up in Oklahoma and Texas, but when I was 19, I moved to Oregon. After living there a few years and starting college, I transferred to a college in Indiana. Then I went for a master's in Oklahoma. Then back to Indiana to work; then to Kentucky for a promotion; then to Ohio to go back to school; and now out in Iowa for a job. I joke about how I have lived in all the "O" states and am now working through the "I's." I am still racing the clock to finish the mate to my sock (I will get it done this weekend), but, of course, have been thinking ahead to my next project. I want to work on a summer sweater. I bought a really nice book last night that has a sweater you knit from side to side instead of from bottom to top. It was shown in a wool, but I'm going to try a swatch in a mercerized cotton. The way it is done, it winds up looking like there are stripes of different patterns, so I'm thinking about trying to use a variegated yarn in some of them to give it some color. I'm not always fond of how variegated yarn works up--they are gorgeous in the skein but the way the colors pattern isn't always pretty. But with the way this is knit, the actual rows using the colors would be narrow and long instead of wide. MUST get the sock finished so I can play with this! Well, best of luck with the insurance, and keep on knitting. Sally

Heya Sally, My husband is putting up pictures of my elf sock and Kitty--url is www.cbem.com/mkp We are going to Los Angeles on the weekend of the Spring Thaw. I registered for the Thaw before my husband asked me to go with him. I am going to have a few "last suppers" myself. I am thinking that all this insurance stuff should resolve and clear by May 1, 2206--I hope anyway. I am that way at my house--my husband eats whatever I cook. I cook stuff that he likes--is amenable to change. I would be stuck if he were not supportive--but he is. You and I have the same feelings about childern--so does my husband. Sol and I are not kid people--I was never a kid person. I love my son with all my heart but he was my son. I am going to take my yarn with me this weekend. I am not pressed for time to finish my lame sock--next class is April 8, 2006. I am going to take my hat because I was supposed to go to free knitting help day at the yarn store this Sunday. I am going to miss that one because I will be in Duluth with hubby bear. We are not getting bac****il Sunday night--in time for Sopranos and Big Love. There is no class this Tuesday so I have a bit of time to work on the hat. I didn't get a chance to watch the instructor purl with two different colored yarns for the hat Mary

Dear Mary, Love the sock--and cat. My Sylvester is about the same colors but with longer hair. He is a Maine Coon cat--a breed I had never heard of before moving here. I don't know all the characteristics of the breed, but he is very laid back (aren't all cats?) and gets along with the dog well--well most of the time. I keep looking at him and thinking, "those are great color combinations; I wonder if I could make a sweater to match the cat?" I'm not sure what the "Spring Thaw" is? Is that the big OH event? Sioux City is just a bit too far from most of the things they do. That's why I was pleased about the Hudson event. It sounds like you and your husband are quite the travelers. I wish I could get away more--more interest than time and/or money. I do hope to spend some time this summer traveling back to my old haunts in Ohio and Indiana. I need to get some kind of website going to post my knitting. I see all the different blogs and find them really fun to read. But I don't know that I want to put that much effort into it! Well, hope you had a great weekend and got some fun knitting done. Take care, Sally

Hiya Sally LOL on a sweater to match Sylvester. I think you would have to take up spinning and dyeing. When we were in Duluth over the weekend we went to the Wolf Study Center. The female wolf that they had was beautiful--she had the greatest coat. Her coat colors would make the most wonderful ski sweater with matching mittens and hat. I saw the Spring Thaw on the boards here--I think it is an OH event. Traveling is one of the things that my husband and I have in common. One time we decided to go to Los Angeles to get a person's autograph on one of our DVDs. We drove like bandits--got the autograph then drove home. We have done lots of car travel while eating gas station sandwiches. We have watched the sun come up while stuck in a wash in Death Valley I forgot my knitting bag this weekend I remembered everything else but forgot my bag. When I came home I saw it sitting by the door waiting for me. Did you finish your socks? What did you think of my elf sock? It was suppose to be a baby sock--what baby do you know that has such a toe? I don't know many babies but I don't think their toes look like that I would love to see your knitting!!!!! You don't have to blog or do a fancy thing. But it would be cool to see your knitting--it is not like I can go to your house and knit with you. Or meet you at Caribou to see what you are into knitting this week. I think you have a lot to say and what you say is interesting . Mary