stupid body

today has been a great day, and yet i am all crankified.

i reject suture (stitches) in my skin. my skin heals but then reopens in pieces to spit out the 'hidden' stitches in all their disgusting glory. being responsible and generally a 'good' patient, i tell my new doctor so she can note it in my file. she, of course, stares in consternation at my file for a few moments and then asks the question i have been assiduously avoiding asking myself...

What will happen if you ever have to have internal stitches, say abdominal surgery?
Well... maybe they could use hemoclips.

this, of course, is not a particularly good answer or intelligent approach. so blammo, now i have to make time to see an allergist.

which was today.

this is all well and good, really, since i have miserable allergies anyway and could use a better regimen than excessive layering of antihistamines. the allergist, of course, had no real insight regarding the suture issue. she is thorough, however, and used a comprehensive diagnostic approach. unfortunately, the upshot of this was that she determined i have mild asthma.

now, i have suspected this for a couple of years given my perception of bronchospasm in certain hiking altitudes and my inability to breathe around bathroom cleaners.* that doesn't mean i was really ready to have someone else know it or - more importantly- diagnose it. this, of course, devolved into a ridiculous panic attack, made worse by albuterol-induced jitters, that i am going to die an horrible death like my grandmother.

i am better now, but getting over the hump required a semi-choate call to my mom and a generous slice of carrot cake.

*Sheepie style i did not share this information but they caught me out with routine spirometry. darn them.

Desert storm
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

on the very much upside, though, word has leaked to me that the big external grant proposal i slaved on in July is going to be funded for the most part. this is HUGE, amazing news. i also have started thinking about a third grant (number 2 was submitted ~10 days ago) that would be a fun collaborative effort.

so, enough babble. what's in the photos? (yes, i can hear you from over here.)

these are my recent (2nd and 3rd) spinning attempts. Desert storm is Australian Merino, 2 ply. i just love the mango yellow color and would spin just that for ages. the skeins don't 'match' because i did not know to split the whole darn roving, spin through onto one bobbin and then spin through the other split on the second. instead, the mango was unevenly distributed, making for lighter and darker skeins. still i am pretty happy with them.

My first attempt at Navajo chain plying
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

this is a Romney and Corriedale blend. more importantly, it was my first attempt at Navajo plying. the four things I was trying to determine were:

1. Can I spin finely enough for 3-ply yet? (Apparently)
2. Can I employ more of a long draw technique? (A bit spotty at first but getting there)
3. Can I figure out chain plying? (Apparently)
4. Can I successfully execute chain plying? (well, this one needs work.)

the yarn is definitely overspun and overplyed. The former is partially a result of hopping into such a different fiber type directly from Merino and trying to switch to more of a long draw and less of a point of twist technique.

the latter is partially from battling the overtwist, partially from learning a new technique, and partially for being so stupid as to decide to do it all while in the throes of an high g's cold.

I am hopeful the second skein will turn out better. i have spun up the fiber but am waiting for my head to clear a little more before i re-attempt the plying.

in knitting news, i continue to clicka clacka away on the Sweet Peas, while Valpuri waits dejectedly in my project basket. perhaps i will work on Valpuri during tonight's football game...