Knitting for Turtletots

I am knitting with acrylic yarn. Gasp, frown, sigh. I know. This is not my favorite material to handle. I have one project ordered for a mother of small children who needs easy, easy care and some balls of acrylic yarn let from one of my daughter's art projects. It is not as bad as the last time I used 100% acrylic, some years ago. These yarns don't squeak on my needles or have that unreal shine that screams "ACRYLIC". They even feel a bit woolly, at first. After working with them a few minutes, my fingers realize that there's no plush, malleable, live feeling to this yarn.  It is round, plied, lofty looking, but there's no squish to it.  It feels comfortable and non-scratchy, but I can't help thinking it would be better suited to a rug or mattress in its incompressible durability.

One of these projects will soon show up in the Turtletots store as a lime green child's sweater. It looks great as I am knitting, almost like the stitches are made by machine. Stitch definition is very nice, and all those decorative purl rows are standing out beautifully.  If only I could close my mind to the environmental horror of using all those hydrocarbons to make the acrylic, I might be completely satisfied.

I am in the middle of one of my famous all-winter-long flares. I had these before I was on Rituxan. I remember so clearly missing every single football game that my boys played in, and sometimes being unable to go to see family on Christmas day. This is the first one since Rituxan, and it may signal that the drug is no longer working for me. I've decided to tackle that from two angles. First, I am back on daily prednisone. If I need it, I need it. Period. Second, I've come back to reading Dr. Mark Hyman and I'm planning to jump on his newest group plan and stay on an intensive anti-inflammatory diet. My book hasn't arrived and his website will only open a preview of the plan, but I am predicting what it will be like from one of his earlier books, Ultrametabolism. My early interest in him was enhanced by the way he dove into the science of weight management. His suggestions relied on the latest studies and discoveries about the complex way our bodies take in and metabolize foods.  I'm hoping that this new one will incorporate the last decade of work, as there is much more to consider.

Meanwhile, I am knitting the pieces I mentioned as well as hats for nieces and adorable things for my Turtletots store. The pink hat and peach sweater are both organic cotton. I started making heliotrope flowers after my daughter showed me her extensive heliotrope crochet projects from class. I'm stocking this store with things I love and love to knit.

Lastly, an executive decision. No more boutique knitting if it requires me to put boutique prices on my etsy stores. I set out to make hand knit items accessible to most incomes, and I'm going back there. All the prices in my stores will be lowered by the end of the week. Whew! Feels good!

Peace.