i haven’t had a whole lot to say about current knitting finished objects lately, and honestly, it’s because i haven’t finished anything recently. that’s not entirely true: i have finished a few pairs of socks. but i don’t want to really talk about them until i’ve finished all five pairs. i’m looking at the set of five as one project. when all of them are finished, i will have something real to say. but just for the sake of acknowledging that i’m making progress, here’s a peek at the latest pair:
and apparently i’m just a glutton for punishment, because i decided that a relief project might be nice. you know, something to knit for when my fingers are tired of socks. something on big needles. something like… a blanket? WHY?! why, in the midst of a long-term project would i start an even longer-term project. no, actually, an ENDLESS project. i’m using up all of my gross worsted weight yarn scraps and knitting a zig-zag stitch throw. this is going to be one ugly blanket. or at least, it will be in approximately five years, when i finish it.
so after admitting that i started a blanket as my “non-committal knitting project,” i kind of hate to admit that i’ve also started reading ulysses. um you know, just one of the longest, slowest books i could choose to tackle right now, or ever. this is my second attempt at this book, actually, but this time i have a partner in crime, so i think i might be able to stick with it. and the thing is, for all its difficulties, it’s honestly kind of an enjoyable book. i’m keeping track of some of my favorite parts on my tumblr, so follow along if you wanna. maybe you’ll even want to take this beast on too, who knows?
yesterday i also noticed that the bridge reopened so i can start biking to work for the summer, which is awesome. at around the same time yesterday, i was thinking about switching from distance-measured running to mostly timed running. this winter at the gym i could run slowly for an hour. how about an hour and a half? maybe eventually two? i normally hate things that require patience, maintenance, stamina, etc. but suddenly those are the only things in my life. no instant gratification to be found. there’s no end in sight, for any of this, i’m afraid.
on saturday night i stayed over at nicole’s house so we could get up and leave for boston straight from there. we made pizza and ate gross snacks and also awesome snacks and then we candled our ears! this is something we’ve been talking about for a little while, and seriously, it was really cool. according to some things i’ve been reading, ear candling has been pretty thoroughly debunked. that said, my ears feel great, and we had a lot of fun. when you cut up the candles, it’s so wonderfully disgusting:
obviously i’m no doctor and i’m no scientist, but here is my endorsement: if you have a friend to do this with (doing it alone is probably really unsafe) and you don’t have tubes in your ears (also unsafe for candling) and you like things that are gross, why not just go for it? i mean, read into it and make sure you’re being safe of course. but then just go for it. whether or not the buildup inside the candle afterward is ear wax or candle wax, it rules to look at.
sunday morning we got up and went to boston for mass market 4, which was really fun! i’m always a little nervous doing a craft show i haven’t attended at all before. it’s hard to know what the overall atmosphere will be. like will my stuff not fit in at all, or will there be too many vendors selling things similar to what i have, or will the space be weird, etc? but this was a pretty good setup. the space was nice, the music was fun, and i thought there were a lot of neat things being sold, a good mix of vintage/thrift finds, handmade crafts, art and records. the day really flew by, too.
i just sold handspun yarn, no knit things, and my new zine. i got to talk with lots of really nice knitters and yarn-lovers, and that is always one of the most fun aspects of tabling. i got to meet ciara from learning to leave a paper trail, which was another really high point of the day. i always get so happy and nervous meeting people i’ve known through the mail/zine community/craft community, but not in person. so that was really nice! i sold a few zines and skeins of yarn and had a really good time. it was social but not overwhelming, which is good because i do get overwhelmed! and sharing a table with courtney was a lot of fun. her stuff looked great and sold well, which was not at all surprising, but still exciting.
that’s just a tiny bit of what she has to offer. you can go to closertotheocean.etsy.com to buy things soon. it was a nice day and i’m glad i got to be a part of it. the show seemed really well run and organized, and full of great things.
this morning over coffee, also, i read a really weird article on bbc news. i’m honestly a little unclear as to how this is on the front page. in 2009. is crowd surfing really a new or relevant news topic? and do people honestly get trench foot at concerts? keep your feet dry when wet? gary was convinced that i was either reading the onion or that i had written this article myself. but it’s real. it’s so real. i think i need to write to bbc and tell them to give me a job. i’ll write stuff like this all day long if that’s what they want.
so, i wrote awhile ago about how much i love my reusable menstrual cup. if i had to make a list, in order, of issues that are very near and dear to my heart, taking care of ol’ uterus region is pretty high up there. so much so that sometimes i hang out around my apartment like this:
if that’s not dedication, i don’t know what is. so i was a little blown away when i realized people were finding my blog by googling “knit and crochet reusable tampons.” my first reaction was, is this a thing that’s happening, and i just don’t know about it?
but my second reaction was one of, i don’t know, disappointment? after doing a little digging around online, i couldn’t find a single source that would make me feel comfortable with the reusable tampon options i read about on blogs. obviously, i’m going to tell you why i feel that way!
first of all. i’m 100% not behind the commercial tampon and pad industry. a bleached, dioxin-soaked piece of rayon manufactured in a grimy warehouse is not something i’m going to put in my body. these products seem clean and sterile because they’re white and come in little plastic wrappers, but there are actually very lax regulations on what goes into them. a pure white product does not necessarily make for an actually clean product. these things also don’t biodegrade and are pretty bad for the environment.
so, for those reasons, i’ve been using the keeper since 2004. i really, really like it. reusable menstrual cups are great for your bod. there’s little to no association with toxic shock syndrome, they don’t contain any harmful materials, and they’re easy to sterilize because they’re not absorbent.
prior to getting my keeper, i used to make myself cotton and terrycloth reusable pads. i still like these for nighttime when i’m sleeping. the outer part is cotton flannel, with a terrycloth insert to make the pad extra absorbent. these can be washed by hand in hot water, or in the washing machine, and they’re a great alternative to commercial pads.
so i guess i can understand how people might think, if you can make and use a reusable pad, why not a reusable tampon? but i worry that people aren’t fully thinking this through, and i personally would like to say that knit reusable products should DEFINITELY NOT BE WORN INTERNALLY!! seriously!
first of all, a number of the knit tampons i saw were made with bright white yarn. this is not the natural color of yarn – obviously a bleaching process is still being employed. even the blogs that suggest organic cotton yarn didn’t address the fact that organic yarns are still often washed and treated with various cleaning agents that may not be ideal for internal use. and then consider how you will be cleaning these products – what kind of soap or detergent will you use? and do you know how much of these products will be retained in the very absorbent natural fibers of the yarn?
i don’t even want to talk about the sites that recommended using rolled up baby socks as tampons. do you have any idea how commercial fabrics are treated? or the quality of the yarns and dyes being used? probably not, and i find it irresponsible to recommend misusing these products.
obviously the idea of a reusable tampon seems more acceptable if you’re only worried about the environmental impact of the waste you’re producing by using them. but if you’re at all worried about the health of your vagina, WHICH YOU SHOULD BE, then you have to consider how dangerous it can be to use products that aren’t meant to be used in this way. yarn and fabric will usually include a list of the fibers they contain, but they don’t tell you how they’re washed, dyed or otherwise treated, and this is because they’re not meant to be used internally. i can’t stress this enough!
if you want to make responsible decisions in this area, i totally commend you. reusable menstrual products are better for your body, your budget and the environment. but that doesn’t mean that EVERY reusable product is a smart decision.
i’m including a nice little list of resources that i trust and recommend. this is an important subject and i would advise you NOT to let personal blogs or even general news articles be your main sources of information, and that goes for my blog as well. which is why i’m leaving you with these much more reliable sources:
the keeper – this is what i use, and i 100% recommend it!
the diva cup – this is what a lot of my friends use and like!
gladrags – cloth pads, menstrual cups, sea sponges and good info!
lunapads – more cloth pads and good information!
a guide to alternative menstrual products – a good introduction to the tampon industry and your alternatives!
seventh generation organic tampons – i haven’t used these, but if you’re going to use tampons, unbleached cotton ones are a healthier choice, and seventh generation claims to disclose all ingredients.
it’s also worth mentioning that while i obviously am all for diy ethics and making as many things ourselves as possible, i also think that it’s really awesome to put your money where your mouth is. why not spend a few dollars and support any of these great companies that are dedicated to providing us with good information and even better alternative products?
obviously, this is barely an introduction to the subject, and more than anything i encourage you to do some research before you start making your own internal products to save a few dollars. there are a lot of great options out there that will ultimately do just as much to save money, improve your health, and help the environment!
