It’s Thursday morning, I just came back from driving Radley to work, fresh cup of coffee on one hand and I thought I’d sit for a minute and tell you what we’ve been up to.
It’s been a little under two months since we moved to Ottawa. We still don’t have any furniture besides my 2 desks for work, my chair, and some bar stools. We are still painting – and have to finish that first before we can set up our bed and get a couch. Sadly, I’ve lost 2 of my plant bb’s so far – my Monstera that I propagated and my Alocasia. I blame it on the extremely low light we are getting. Crossing fingers I won’t lose any more. No shelves yet for these bb’s – Radley tells me there are no studs on the wall I wanted to put them on 🙁
For the most part, the movers did a great job with our stuff. We do have to put in a claim for a few items (all mine, of course) that broke during the move, like the drawer I use to organize my cut fabrics and my tripod (which is why I have yet to record a new podcast).
We are at capacity for storage so on our recent trip back home to Toronto, we actually had to pack again and bring back some of our things. We found a YouTube video on how to fold up a mattress (because we ended up buying 2 unintentionally) and after packing the boxes, it didn’t end up fitting in the car! So it had to go on the roof. Yes, we drove (what was supposed to be a 4 hour) 5+ hour drive with a mattress on top of the car!
Within a week of moving, I immediately started working on Starlight’s order for Knit City. Did I tell you that I finally have access to a washout sink? The only caveat is that it’s located in the parking garage. I have to go outside my unit and bring my wet screen down the elevator to the garage to clean. It’s quite a production let me tell you but everything seemed to be working out ok until all of a sudden one after another, things started to go south. Supplies weren’t arriving on time, some got lost (my fault, I updated my address but didn’t think to change the ship-to name. Things that were addressed to Pearadise Island couldn’t be delivered because Pearadise Island isn’t listed in our directory!) And then… I hurt my wrist.
Still not sure how I’m even remotely functioning now because for a while there I couldn’t even brush my teeth. It was torture. I immediately stopped working, obviously, had to ice it, and wear both a wrap and wrist brace because I could still feel pain with the slightest movement. Radley brought home Deep Relief Gel Cream for me and I applied it every hour or so then wrapped it up. I was out of commission for about a week then all of a sudden it started to feel better. I’m not sure if it was the cream, the wrap or the brace or a combination of all of it and resting and elevating it but it did start to feel much better. Fair warning though – I did get a rash – from the cream or the brace I’m not sure as I was using both – so be aware of that in case you have sensitive skin like me.
It still hasn’t cleared up to this day but I’m grateful it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. If it’s you, mom, who helped me get better, or some other divine intervention – thank you! I still have the tingling sensation on my fingertips at the end of the day, and I know I need to go and get this checked out. Radley, my friends, all are telling me to get this looked after, and I will! I’m really just afraid the doctor will tell me I can’t knit or sew for a while. Can you imagine? What would I do? My dad had carpal tunnel and I was the one who picked him up after surgery. His recovery was brutal. He was in tremendous pain. I think remembering how tough that was for him is part of the reason why I haven’t gone.
The stubborn me decided the stars lined up for me because a week after I felt better, we were driving home, and I thought, perfect! I can knit! I deserved something new after that brief heart attack. I could’ve knit on one of my sock WIP’s but instead, I reached for some yarn I picked up from Rhinebeck last year. I bought it specifically to make a matching hat and mittens to go with my Rivulet.
// Yarn: Hinterland – Watershed in “Eastview” //
I’ve been wanting to make Michelle Wang’s Quadri for so long and knew it’s what I was going to turn these yarn into when I bought it. To me, cable hat knitting is the perfect project to take along for a road trip. It’s portable – just the right size for traveling and because everyone usually brings their own things to keep themselves occupied, it was perfectly engaging. I didn’t have to worry about being distracted while looking at charts.
I did remember to stop and rest every couple of rows. I didn’t want to re-injure myself. I really shouldn’t have been knitting and let my hands rest longer, but I needed to knit. You know? My soul and my hands were asking for it!
The kids stretching their legs at a rest stop. Vanessa is wearing her Laylow shawl here.
This was how far I got during the drive to Toronto. I didn’t knit on it again until we were back on the road to Ottawa a few days later. While in Toronto, we attended our cousin’s wedding the next day and the day after we just hung out and enjoyed each other’s company. I mentioned we don’t even have a couch yet so it was really nice to be able to be at our home and be comfortable and spend some time with Ryan, too!
It was a quick visit. Before I knew it, we were back on the road again. My hands had a few days rest and were anxious to knit again. I saved just enough of the hat for the ride back home.
I finished it but it was already dark when I did so no FO shots yet. Let’s save that for next time! Besides, there are going to be a couple more road trips before winter hits- hopefully! We have a few more things we need to bring back home! That means I need to plan the next road trip project soon. A pair of mittens I think to go with my hat! I do have the matching DK yarn for this and would love to know – do you have a pattern you can recommend?
Off I go to contact the movers and file a claim. Hopefully, I can get a new set of drawers soon so I’ll have somewhere to put the fabrics I’ve been prepping for my upcoming shop update!
