| Wednesday, February 02, 2005 |
| At Least Some Progress |
I feel like I've been stuck in a vortex where nothing changes, yet time goes on anyways. I'm still fighting this stupid virus, only now my coughing has gotten really bad.
After I posted on Monday I got to work on the first of the two commissioned dog sweaters, even though I was feeling pretty lousy. I did hear back from my doctor's office eventually, they recommended I try an over the counter cough syrop with codeine...exactly like the one I was already taking. They told me to stay home 1 more day, and if there was no change, to make an appointment.
So I started knitting. I first modified my Palm patterns. Oh, let me explain. I keep all my knitting patterns in my Palm. I create a database with a checkbox for each instruction. For example, a pattern file might open and have the following items:
-CO 45 sts w/ 6US (4mm)
-work 2x2 rib for 3"
-change to st st and work for 9" more
but each thing will have a checkbox so I can tick it off when done, plus a column for the total number of rows so far at that point, the number of sts I should have at that row, any special instructions, etc... I do this for each pattern I knit, I type up the pattern into MobileDB and import the database into my Palm so I never have to shlep around a big pattern book. I just have my Palm and it's always with me anyways, and it keeps my place so I know exactly where I am when I pick it up again.
Because the 2 orders were custom orders, I modified the patterns to fit the exact sizes of the doggie recipients. I uploaded the files, then parked myself on the couch in front of the TV and VCR and started knitting while catching up on all the shows I've taped in the past week or so. I did the ribbing and 1 full repeat of the heart pattern when I decided that it just wasn't working. The woman who commissioned the sweaters wanted something cute and had seen a little cable sweater she liked. The woman who owns?/runs? the pet accessories store looked at my pattern for the cables and one with hearts and thought the client would like the hearts. Unfortunately, the hearts just weren't standing out. You really couldn't tell unless you REALLY looked that there was anything on the reverse stockinette background. So I stopped it with the plans to bring it to the pet place and suggest I do the cable pattern instead.
This gave me newly available time to start on the sweetheart mittens, and I managed to complete the 21 rows of ribbing before bed. I know there are patterns for sweetheart mittens available on the net, but I'm using Ann Budd's book "A Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" or whatever it's called. It lets you choose your yarn, your needles, your gauge, and knit a hat, tam, gloves, mittens, sweaters, scarves and socks. Since I was sneaky and had traced Yannick's hand in his sleep, I knew I could make a custom-fitting mitten for him, one for myself, and just make a large one with 2 cuffs for the "sweetheart" mitten. As I mentioned a few posts ago, my mitten will have pink stripes in the cuff, his will have blue stripes, and the sweetheart mitten will have our matching cuffs.
Tuesday I didn't go to work, much as my dad would have liked me to. I was so exhausted from coughing all night and waking myself up coughing that I slept until 12 again. I still woke up with a headache, and I was annoyed because if I was going to be home, I would have preferred to have been up early to accomplish stuff.
I did manage to accomplish something horrible. Either from opening an email with no subject or "to" info, or from clicking "yes" to one of those "do you accept Whatever Company as a trusted blah blah" (I know, stupid of me), I somehow let something in that started slowing my computer down. Attuned as I am to how my computer's running, I right away ran AdAware, CWShredder and SpyBot to weed out any viruses, and quarantined/deleted whatever I found. Then disaster struck. I went to open Outlook to access my email...and it told me it couldn't find the file "outlook.pst" to open. I, naively, did a search on my computer and found a file with that name in my Windows folder, so I told the program to point there. Outlook opened...with info from 2001! It was an old file! And all my current stuff, every address in my contact list, every file, every folder, EVERYTHING IS GONE! I'm so furious at myself for not making a backup! I'm so stupid! Right away I called my ex 'cus he's the only computer guy I know, and he gave me the number of his "go-to" guy. So he had me shut my computer down to avoid any more problems and told me he'd come over tomorrow afternoon (being today afternoon, now).
I don't know how I managed to knit while being so distraught, but somehow I managed to finish Yannick's mitten up to the last 8 sts at the top where I had to weave the end through and pull tight. I decided to wait for daylight before breaking out the tapestry needles, so when I went to bed I had only that bit and the thumb left to do.
This morning I went to see my doctor and he gave me a prescription for a cough syrop with such a high codeine content that it's considered a narcotic and you're not allowed to drive, or get refills 'cus it's too easy to get addicted to it. Cool! :) I've been on it in the past, makes me dopey. I'm waiting until I go to bed to take it, which is why I'm still coherent.
I got home, knitted for a bit, then the tech guy showed up. He was here for almost 3 hours, and we managed to find the deleted .pst file. Unfortunately, at this point we still haven't been able to get it running properly so it will import into Outlook. The file is 182 megs yet it's importing with a total of 6 random emails. I'm really, really worried that I've lost everything. This is every email, all my contacts, my correspondance with Paulette Lane for the knitting calendar (shoot I don't even have her email addy now!), all the reciepts for everything I've ever bought online, all my Palm software's passwords...Everything Gone. I can't handle that.
Got only a bit of knitting done once he left, 'cus he called later and I had to go on the computer for a bit. So today stands with my mitten complete until a few rows after the thumb gusset. I'm at the part now where I just knit until it's the right length to start the decreases. Here's a pic:
Again, it's grainy and out of focus 'cus of the Palm, yada yada yada.
Shoot, I hadn't thought about all the Palm passwords before. Now if I ever have to reset it I don't even have the contact info to email them to get them back! I think I'm about to cry!
To Jenifer at 5337, from the comments:
Thanks! I brought the sweaters to a local pet accessories store, and she put them in her stock. So far the sweaters were left on consignment, so I haven't made anything yet. Whatever I earn won't be as much as I could make if I sold the sweaters myself and avoided the "middleman", but I don't have the time to go out and market them. That's for the 3 I left her. The 3 I'm working on now are orders she took from her clients to give me, based on the models the saw in the store, but worked up to their dog's particular measurements. And about your contest - I still don't "get" Borges, but I thought I was pretty clever with my guess based on the picture alone! :) Thanks for writing.
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posted by Jennifer Lori @ 11:18 pm   |
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