I try not to complain often about my aches and pains, but the past few weeks have been pretty rough.  I took a knitting break while we were out of town, but I've been having to take it easy since we've been back, despite my itching to knit like a crazy lady.

I've struggled with arthritis since I was 14, so it's nothing new but it does get the best of me.  As the weather heats up, things always get worse, and my regular regimen of supplements and prescriptions weren't cutting it.  So I did what I always do: go to the doctor and see what's next on the list of things to try.

My doctor prescribed a new (to me) NSAID that's supposed to be pretty good.  Hopefully, it gets me back to knitting freely soon.  I'm a big fan of resistance bands and have barely been able to do the stretches and exercises that really help keep my knees and elbows limber and reduce stiffness.

Arthritis is a pretty common challenge, and it seems like it's most debilitating for people who are active with their hands.  I can't count the number fibery types, jewelers, painters and illustrators, etc. who have to learn new techniques, find new tools, or take long breaks to prevent permanent or long-term pain.  Repetitive stress injuries are also a frequent complaint for those of us who work long hours on our crafts with few breaks and don't pay attention to our bodies.

It's always 'just one more row!' for me, and my body punishes me for it.

I'm dying, here!  We left to visit family, and I got notice today that my alpaca is waiting at the post office for me!  All of this time, I've been waiting and waiting and pining away for it, and it arrives a day after I leave.

Oh the injustice!  Oh the humanity!

My MIL is checking on the house, so I'm going to beg her to go pick it up for me so it doesn't wait too long in the cold, dark, unloving post office. :)

This week, I'm happy to share iKnitQuiltSew with you all!  Sandi is obviously passionate about what she does; and, after flipping through her shop and blog, it's apparent how genuinely caring she is as a person and how much love she puts into her creations.  I've looked at her lovelies before, and I'm always struck by how sweet her shop is and how much fibery talent one person can be blessed with.

I'm particularly enchanted with this little guy:

How could you not love such a charming little face and a well tailored outfit?

As a knitter, I had to pick a pair of her booties.  She has many different styles in traditional and some more wild colors, and I am in awe of her patience!  Whenever I attempt a pair of booties, it's like the world is against me, and I can never get two that look even remotely alike!  Here's a pair of blue, newborn booties that are absolutely perfect.  It doesn't get any sweeter than that.

I encourage you to stop by her shop and her blog.  On her blog, you'll find features from other artists and photo tutorials.

I've posted about a bazillion times about the alpaca yarn I've ordered, but today I'm very excited.  The Bolivian post service update shows that the yarn left the country three days ago.  It's not tracking in the US yet, but it's so nice to see it finally moving along on its journey.

It takes an average of two weeks to arrive, according to them, and it's only been one week.  I'm champing at the bit to get my hands on those lovely little skeins!  Until it arrives, I'll be compulsively running the number through track-trace and the USPS website to see if there's any news on its location.

I've reached an all-time high number of listings in my shop, so I've decided to slow down a bit on my tabi production.  I really want to beef up the number of traditional-toed socks before cool weather sets in, since they did so well last year, despite the limited colors available, and I was pretty stressed in getting them made.  I placed my order for the new yarn last week, so I've got awhile before I'm able to dig in on that.

While I wait, I've decided to work on some of my personal projects.  Things are pretty slow in etsy-land, so I figured it'd be a good thing to take advantage of.  I really want to crank out at least two sweaters before it gets cool, and have about six Chrismukkah stockings that I'd like to finish.

Knitting really causes a special kind of seasonal madness.  In June, the pressure starts to get warm woolies ready for The Season, so orders of wool, alpaca, etc. start arriving.  Thick sweaters, thrummed mittens, and warm slippers start production in the heat of the summer.  If you're not planning or already working by July, a little bit of a panic starts setting in.  By the end of August, you'd better have a nice bit of product stocked up, or the pinch is really on.  

And I'm a willing participant.  Below is the first repeat of the cabled cuff for a lovely, classic stocking.  I plan on making six of these, and I'm getting a head start!

I've been playing ring around the rosie with the supplier who I buy my alpaca yarns from for the past few months, and I finally gave up on Tuesday.  My refund is being processed and I've already placed another order with another supplier.

About a year ago, my favorite tabi yarn supplier dried up and I had a mad scramble to find a new source.  After that, I apparently learned my lesson and have spent a few hours each week keeping tabs on prices, shipping times, etc.  I'm very glad I did because it was much less painful to lose a supplier when I had another two lined up and ready to go.

I originally ordered only three colors (green, blue, black), but I decided to rethink the colors with this second order and I have black, gray, olive, and a lovely, soft lilac on their way.  I'm going to pay back twiddletoes for some of the lilac because I have a few women in my life who will love a pair of socks out of it over the holidays.

So we'll see how this goes.  I've been itching to play with more alpaca, and the brick/rust red that I ordered retail just isn't doing it for me, for some reason.  I'd like to have some blacks, grays, and greens ready for Father's Day.

I've mentioned a few times the lace piece that I'd been working on for my grandmother for Mother's Day.  Well, it went out in the mail on Tuesday to her after I soaked (mmmm, grapefruit Eucalan!) and blocked it.  I'm a terrible blocker, but it turned out pretty well.  It's 70% Angora, 25% Wool, 5% Nylon, so it's pretty crazy soft and a bit fluffy.

So here it is, for your viewing pleasure.  Don't look for any mistakes or you're sure to find them! ;)

A few weeks ago, I got notice that a bunch of yarn that was backordered was on its way to me.  I've been waiting and waiting and planning, and it still hasn't arrived.

I called and it turns out that it won't be shipped...and they haven't refunded my money.  I've spent several hours trying to rectify the situation, and it's pissing me off more and more.  I'm itching to knit more alpaca socks, but I'm tired of making them in blue!

I'd like to make a black pair, definitely, and maybe I'll start on a green pair for my brother for the holidays.  I'm craving alpaca and I can't have it.  I'm even shunning a lovely yak blend that I was itching to use.

Gah!  The frustration.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working on knitting up some wayward yarn from my stash.  I just finished a pair of gray tabi (size L) out of the wool/acrylic blend, and my mind just took the gray and wandered the entire time I worked on them.  I wanted so badly to pick up and knit another pair of socks that it made it very difficult to finish.  

It's not that common that I finish a pair and immediately, like within two minutes, dash to pick out yarn for a new pair, but that's what happened today.  The new pair will be gray with a few hot pink stripes.  I hate to list two gray pairs in a row, but I can't let this one go!

While looking for my next project, I ran across six balls of a wool-acrylic blend yarn.  I vaguely recall receiving it a few years ago from my mother-in-law, and it's been stuck in one of my stash boxes since then, awaiting a project.  

I did some experimenting with it, knit a couple of swatches, and found that it actually had a pretty hand and excellent memory.  Both of those qualities made me automatically assume that it'd knit up into nice socks, and indeed it did!  I'm actually pretty impressed and listed the pair in my shop.

They're a bit less, price-wise, than my 100% natural fiber socks, which is probably a good thing.  They're also easier care than most of my current listings, and I hope both appeal to people who've been put off before. 

I have two more colors that need to be used up, and I hope to get to them in the next week or two.  It's great to see my item count climbing!  Of course, it'd be nice to have to work my butt off to keep things stocked, but I might actually reach my goal of 50 items by the holiday shopping season.