I Lied!

 I started another project on September 28 and didn't include it in the update.  It's a cowl for my husband, using the yarn he picked out.

Carry on.

End of September Update

WIPs (new ones are bolded)

Ten Stitch Blanket, Caron Cakes (started 2019)

Musselburgh, Gedifra Lana Mia (Started July 16, 2024)(Restarted August 28 - too large)(Finished September 7, 2024)

Walter's Blanket, Lion Brand Mandala Sparkle (Started July 16, 2024)

Stormy Day Jacket, Briggs & Little Heritage 2-Ply (Started August 17, 2024)

Goblin Socks, Hedgehog Fibres Sock (Started March 2, 2024 and I truly don't know why it wasn't added) FROGGED

Bright Stripes Throw, Caron Anniversary Cakes (Started September 5, 2024)

Musselburgh for Walter, Debbie Bliss Botany Lace (Started September 8, 2024)

Hibernating

Dancing Bees MKAL, Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace (started 2015 - oops)

Daughter of Thrain MKAL, Crystal Palace Yarn Lace (started 2017)(I think I'm going to frog this one)

Ceciliana, madelinetosh Tosh Sock, madelinetosh Twist Light (started March 19, 2024)FROGGED

Havannah, Sublime Yarns Eden DK (Started  July 16, 2024)

Oranje, Estelle Yarns Andean Heathers (started 2017, frogged and restarted on smaller needles 2024)

End of month yarn stats:  57 entries, 93 skeins, 28642.90 yards.  I bought more stuff.

August, how are you over already??

Alright, so yeah, clearly I did buy more yarn, thereby not achieving my mini-goal #4.  But, I did complete the other three!

Camping was fun (hit up a yarn store in Newmarket on the way - Serenity Knits - and grabbed two skeins I haven't seen before).  I also had to purchase another Briggs & Little Heritage for Walter's sweater (the Stormy Day Jacket) as I ran out during the first sleeve.  That was yarn originally purchased at Romni in July.

Earlier in August, I bought two skeins of jumbo yarn for a circular needle holder, so that's already in and out of stash, project completed.  Of course, there was also that trip to get jumbo yarn for my MIL that resulted in my also purchasing another ball, and then last week Walter wanted me to make him another blanket with the massive Caron Anniversary ball, so I got one of those, too.

I think some of this buying may have had something to do with the medication I was on (coming off it now), but likely not all!

Here are September's goals:

1.  Put the camping stuff away.

2.  Finish Walter's Stormy Day Jacket - it only has 1.5 sleeves, the button band, and blocking for completion (and I suppose it'll need buttons, too).

3.  Finish Musselburgh (again - I ripped it out because it was too big, but I'm halfway again).

4.  Survive the medication withdrawal symptoms.  This vertigo is ridiculous.

September.  September was wild.  I actually only bought 12 skeins (three entries) on the 14th.  One entry (of six skeins) is mine, one (four skeins) is my husband's, and one (two skeins) is my son's.

I also decided to frog some of the projects started earlier this year (Ceciliana and the Goblin socks).  Ceciliana's yarns weren't playing well together, and the yarn for the socks wants to be a hat (probably a third Musselburgh - that's a fun one to knit).

For September's goals, I got through 3 and 4.  I'm so close to finishing Walter's jacket.  It's currently blocking and needs buttons, but it's otherwise done.  The camping stuff is half put away.  It was a wild month.

Here are October's goals:

1.  Put the freaking camping stuff away.

2.  Finish Walter's jacket and his hat.

3.  Don't buy yarn.  Seriously.  I don't knit that fast, really.

4.  Sharpen the reed knife and keep practicing.

Escitalopram Update

 I think it's out.

I no longer feel exhausted all the time.  I'm not clenching my jaw constantly or yawning.  I don't feel numb anymore.

It took a while to start fading.  A good two weeks went by with no improvement, then the dizziness hit.  It was pretty constant some days.  It's down to mild brain zaps in the evenings, and even those are getting less day by day.

I want to go to work again.  I've cried again.  I don't ever want to try another SSRI.

End of August Update

 WIPs (new ones are bolded)

Ten Stitch Blanket, Caron Cakes (started 2019)

Sockhead Slouch Hat, Wandering Cat Yarns Solo Cat (started 2019, frogged and restarted 2024)

Liesl, Cascade Yarns Color Duo (started February 18, 2024)

Little Drops of Water MKAL, JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 (Started July 4, 2024)

Musselburgh, Gedifra Lana Mia (Started July 16, 2024)(Restarted August 28 - too large)

Walter's Blanket, Lion Brand Mandala Sparkle (Started July 16, 2024)

Needle Holder, Lion Brand Wool Ease Wow! (Started August 4, finished August 5)

Stormy Day Jacket, Briggs & Little Heritage 2-Ply (Started August 17, 2024)

Goblin Socks, Hedgehog Fibres Sock (Started March 2, 2024 and I truly don't know why it wasn't added)

Hibernating

Dancing Bees MKAL, Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace (started 2015 - oops)

Daughter of Thrain MKAL, Crystal Palace Yarn Lace (started 2017)(I think I'm going to frog this one)

Ceciliana, madelinetosh Tosh Sock, madelinetosh Twist Light (started March 19, 2024)(I think I'm going to frog this one)

Havannah, Sublime Yarns Eden DK (Started  July 16, 2024)

Oranje, Estelle Yarns Andean Heathers (started 2017, frogged and restarted on smaller needles 2024)

End of month yarn stats:  54 entries, 83 skeins, 26,704.00 yards.  I bought more stuff.

Oh, boy.  Okay, I know y'all are looking at the three projects started on July 16 - I swear there's a reason.  So, I was going to a concert (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on July 17, but I didn't have an appropriate knitting project, so I had to start one.  The first one (Havannah) was too complicated, so I started Musselburgh (which was perfect).

The only problem with Musselburgh was my needle, so I went to my LYS the next day (before the concert) and grabbed a better one.  And while I was there, I saw a shiny and got it, too.

Then there was the trip to Chinatown in Toronto, which was so close to another favourite LYS, so I got yarn then.

As for my goals . . . well, I didn't do any of them.

Here are August's goals:

1.  Put the camping stuff in my car for the camping trip at the end of the month.

2.  Block Liesl and the hat.

3.  Work on the MKAL (I'm four clues behind).

4.  No more yarn buying!!

August, how are you over already??

Alright, so yeah, clearly I did buy more yarn, thereby not achieving my mini-goal #4.  But, I did complete the other three!

Camping was fun (hit up a yarn store in Newmarket on the way - Serenity Knits - and grabbed two skeins I haven't seen before).  I also had to purchase another Briggs & Little Heritage for Walter's sweater (the Stormy Day Jacket) as I ran out during the first sleeve.  That was yarn originally purchased at Romni in July.

Earlier in August, I bought two skeins of jumbo yarn for a circular needle holder, so that's already in and out of stash, project completed.  Of course, there was also that trip to get jumbo yarn for my MIL that resulted in my also purchasing another ball, and then last week Walter wanted me to make him another blanket with the massive Caron Anniversary ball, so I got one of those, too.

I think some of this buying may have had something to do with the medication I was on (coming off it now), but likely not all!

Here are September's goals:

1.  Put the camping stuff away.

2.  Finish Walter's Stormy Day Jacket - it only has 1.5 sleeves, the button band, and blocking for completion (and I suppose it'll need buttons, too).

3.  Finish Musselburgh (again - I ripped it out because it was too big, but I'm halfway again).

4.  Survive the medication withdrawal symptoms.  This vertigo is ridiculous.

My Escitalopram Trip

 My doctor prescribed this for my anxiety.  I started with 5mg for one week, then 10mg.

Over the next two weeks, I didn't notice any differences except for extreme fatigue and yawning.  Then, by the third week, I'd started feeling a pressure-like anxiety, constantly.  I was clenching my jaw all the time.

By week four, I began feeling numb - it's apparently calling emotional blunting.  I didn't want to do anything I'd previously enjoyed, including my job (and I love my job).  I also went to a concert and afterward, I didn't feel that sense of loss that I usually feel after an exciting event.

I started getting the occasional bout of vertigo.  Once it was so bad I couldn't go anywhere.

On week six, I followed up with the doctor and they suggested that the dose was too low, and they bumped me up to 20mg.  Oh my.

I kept thinking that this was going to get better, the medication just takes time, and I'd eventually feel good.  Because of this, I kept everything to myself and didn't talk to my boss about what I was going through.

This last Tuesday, just past the seven-week mark, my doctor said it probably wasn't working correctly for me.  (To my surprise, the emotional blunting was not her concern, but rather the vertigo and fatigue.)  I've now got to lower the dose to 10mg for a week, then cut it completely.

The relief I felt when I realized that this wasn't normal and it wasn't working for me was like cool water on a hot day.  I finally told my boss what had been going on.  I know that the withdrawal from this medication will be interesting (brain zaps, apparently), but the knowledge that I will be me again once it's out of my system is what I'm fixating on.  Even though anxiety-me has issues, I'd rather feel again and be interested in things.

Also, the low-level panic feeling I've had for the last day needs to go.  I'll update again soon.

End of July Update

 WIPs (new ones are bolded)

Ten Stitch Blanket, Caron Cakes (started 2019)

Sockhead Slouch Hat, Wandering Cat Yarns Solo Cat (started 2019, frogged and restarted 2024)

Oranje, Estelle Yarns Andean Heathers (started 2017, frogged and restarted on smaller needles 2024)

Liesl, Cascade Yarns Color Duo (started February 18, 2024)

Ceciliana, madelinetosh Tosh Sock, madelinetosh Twist Light (started March 19, 2024)

Little Drops of Water MKAL, JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 (Started July 4, 2024)

Havannah, Sublime Yarns Eden DK (Started  July 16, 2024)

Musselburgh, Gedifra Lana Mia (Started July 16, 2024)

Walter's Blanket, Lion Brand Mandala Sparkle (Started July 16, 2024)

Hibernating

Dancing Bees MKAL, Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace (started 2015 - oops)

Daughter of Thrain MKAL, Crystal Palace Yarn Lace (started 2017)

End of month yarn stats:  49 entries, 77 skeins, 25,346.40 yards.  I bought stuff.

I finished Liesl and the hat, but neither have been blocked yet so I haven't called them officially completed.  It was really hot two weeks ago and would have taken forever to dry.  Then I went camping, so maybe this week I'll be able to block them.

I think I need to re-sharpen my reed knife from scratch and re-do the angles.  It's still bouncing off the cane.

I didn't practice as intended, but no worries!  We were rained out and the concert was cancelled.

Here are July's goals:

1.  Block Liesl and the hat.

2.  Sharpen the reed knife and practice scales.

3.  Work on Oranje - it's been out of sight for a few months and getting a little too close to being in hibernation.

4.  Put away all the camping stuff before August.

Oh, boy.  Okay, I know y'all are looking at the three projects started on July 16 - I swear there's a reason.  So, I was going to a concert (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on July 17, but I didn't have an appropriate knitting project, so I had to start one.  The first one (Havannah) was too complicated, so I started Musselburgh (which was perfect).

The only problem with Musselburgh was my needle, so I went to my LYS the next day (before the concert) and grabbed a better one.  And while I was there, I saw a shiny and got it, too.

Then there was the trip to Chinatown in Toronto, which was so close to another favourite LYS, so I got yarn then.

As for my goals . . . well, I didn't do any of them.

Here are August's goals:

1.  Put the camping stuff in my car for the camping trip at the end of the month.

2.  Block Liesl and the hat.

3.  Work on the MKAL (I'm four clues behind).

4.  No more yarn buying!!

End of June Update

WIPs (new ones are bolded)

Ten Stitch Blanket, Caron Cakes (started 2019)

Sockhead Slouch Hat, Wandering Cat Yarns Solo Cat (started 2019, frogged and restarted 2024)

Oranje, Estelle Yarns Andean Heathers (started 2017, frogged and restarted on smaller needles 2024)

Liesl, Cascade Yarns Color Duo (started February 18, 2024)

Ceciliana, madelinetosh Tosh Sock, madelinetosh Twist Light (started March 19, 2024)

Ophidia Hat, Debbie Bliss Rialto DK (Solids) (Started June 26, finished July 1)

Hibernating

Dancing Bees MKAL, Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace (started 2015 - oops)

Daughter of Thrain MKAL, Crystal Palace Yarn Lace (started 2017)

End of month yarn stats:  44 entries, 68 skeins, 22,783.40 yards.  I finished some stuff.

Whew, finished the necessary finishing in time (but barely!).  Went yarn shopping with my son and, inevitably, came home with more yarn for projects for him.  He's great at picking out yarns and projects for me.  Maybe a little to great at it . . . .

As for May's goals, finishing Corvin is literally all I accomplished.  I did not practice several times a week - it was an accomplishment if I managed to get one evening in a week!  But the concert was a success.  Next one is at the end of June.  Here are June's mini-achieve goals:

1.  Finish Liesl!  Seriously, there's not a lot left on it.  This is definitely achievable!

2.  Work on reeds.  I made an excuse of not being able to properly sharpen my knife, but I have new stones on the way so that excuse will be out the window.  I wonder what I'll come up with next.

3.  Continue to work on portable projects (socks and hat).  No finishing expected, just work on them.

4.  Practice, practice, practice.  Those pieces for the June concert may look easy, but I was flubbing a lot of the sections last practice.

I finished Liesl and the hat, but neither have been blocked yet so I haven't called them officially completed.  It was really hot two weeks ago and would have taken forever to dry.  Then I went camping, so maybe this week I'll be able to block them.

I think I need to re-sharpen my reed knife from scratch and re-do the angles.  It's still bouncing off the cane.

I didn't practice as intended, but no worries!  We were rained out and the concert was cancelled.

Here are July's goals:

1.  Block Liesl and the hat.

2.  Sharpen the reed knife and practice scales.

3.  Work on Oranje - it's been out of sight for a few months and getting a little too close to being in hibernation.

4.  Put away all the camping stuff before August.