Sunday, November 30, 2008

Beret-ing myself

Ya know menopause can last a long time, up to 10 yrs my doc tells me (OMG). You're not done with menopause until you've been free from having a period for a full year.

I wish I could shut this thing down by having a hysterectomy. Drastic I know but I HATE hormones.

Today I was crabby and felt all weepy all day long. Had no idea why. Duh. Freaking hormones.

Which is probably why I was also hell bent on making that beret. I just wanted to sit and do nothing because my belly hurt, my skin hurt, my psyche hurt.

I've been eyeing this beret by Crazy Aunt Perl (read her blog, hysterical and not just about knitting). She says it's super simple (and it is because I can actually understand the instructions). Her instructions are written out instead of using knit code (which I am too dense to learn).

My biggest problem is not having the same size needles she has (and no budget to buy new ones). So I punted. And I only had 1 skein of yarn.

My beret is more like a tam. I had more stitches than she did (because I had smaller needles) and as I began to really get into the decreases I realized I was going to run out if I kept adding a row of knit without decreases. So I decreased every row after about 4 rows of decrease/knit. So it's kind of poofy.

It could be worn as a tam or as a snood! I wonder if blocking acrylic (I know, but it was pretty) would help? I don't think acrylic stays blocked, not like a natural material.

I wonder if I'll wear it or if I'll just look at it and say, "Lookit, I made my first hat without dropping a ton of stitches". psssst, I did drop a stitch and had to "fix" it. I wish I were taller so nobody could see it but unless I grow 6 inches everyone is taller than me.

Yay for knitting a hat.

8 comments:

Donita Curioso said...

Ah, menopause. I think my last period was, like, four years ago. Bliss! Still dealing with the occasional hot flash but for the most part it's been cake. Perimenopause was the worst. So glad that's all over.

I know what you mean about wanting a hysterectomy. After I knew I wasn't going to have any more kids I was wishing I could just get rid of my uterus. I wanted to keep the ovaries, though. I liked those juicy hormones.

Lindsay taught herself how to knit. She's been making the cutest hats. I'll send her the Aunt Perl link.

I hope you'll be feeling better soon.

VO said...

Yay Lindsey! My mom taught me know to knit & bind off but that was the extent of it and I was probably in 2 or 3rd grade. So mostly I am self taught (and it shows cuz I'm only dedicated in the winter when it's kind of cool for CA.).

The PTB should have given us a switch we could turn on and off at will for hormones. Right now I'd settle for OFF.

Donita Curioso said...

I thought the hormones would taper off but they dropped off dramatically. It was like someone flipped a switch. One day I was loaded with sexual energy and the next, poof! Gone. It wasn't completely gone but it was greatly diminished. The physical response was nothing like it was before. Man, that pissed me off. I was NOT ready to let that go. Also, (and several of my friends have said the same thing) I kind of got stupid for a while. I just couldn't think. It was awful. Fortunately, that didn't last forever. And my sexuality came creeping back, though not at its previous level. Oh well.

VO said...

Ya gotta both love and hate hormones.

Mostly a pain in the ass if you're feeling all cranky and weepy, especially at the same time.

Donita Curioso said...

Hormones good- You still look youthful.

Hormones bad- Cranky, emotional, achy days.

Hormones good- Feeling juicy and sexy.

Hormones bad- Periods!

Hormones good- You keep your bone density.

Hormones bad- Increased risk of breast cancer.

Hormones mixed bag.

VO said...

Youthful - overrated when you're not youthful in reality.

Sexy - It's all in your mind anyway.

Bone density - had my test, good density, might need intervention in my 80's. Can live with that.

Donita Curioso said...

Woo-hoo! That's some good bone density. Both of my aunts on my dad's side ended up a bit hunch-backed. My grandmother shrunk about 3 inches. I'm gonna be a mess!

VO said...

I don't think it's a heredity thing. I think it's a diet and weight-bearing exercise thing.

Start lifting now.