Yep, I attribute my current allergy-free state to clean living. Well, clean eating, more specifically.

I don’t know what specifically did the trick. I do eat some dairy, but not a whole lot — just homemade fat-free yogurt from time to time. I do not eat anything that is processed or refined — no sugar, no white flour — stuff like that. And nothing with additives and preservatives.

Last summer I contracted an upper respiratory infection that hung on and hung on and wouldn’t go away. My primary care doc couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it, so I went to an ENT specialist at the end of summer and got prescriptions for several meds, including steroidal nasal sprays, to be taken daily. I started the clean eating at the beginning of December, and by the end of December I completely stopped taking all those meds, with no adverse effects.

And now, presto chango, so far no allergies. Long may that continue.

Several of you asked for information on clean eating. Google “clean eating” and you will find many, many great resources online.

In knitting news, I just got this:

I think it may become “something” soon. Something other than a skein of yarn, that is.

Lucy is ready for the a/c.

It’s always a quandary to come up with something to blog about . . . when I have nothing to blog about.

What to do?

I’m currently knitting on something that is sort of a stealth project, so blogging about it is out. I could cast on a separate “bloggable project,” which is what I usually do, but I haven’t. I’ve been too busy lately to try to figure out something bloggable. My knitting is all in a tangle! Worlds collide! Eeeeek!

I can post a link! I did a podcast this past week with Lara of Math4Knitters. You can access it here.

I can post a picture of how pretty it is outside. Last week’s unseasonably really warm weather has made Spring burgeon forth with a vengeance.

Interesting side note: I, who always have horrendous seasonal allergies, have not been affected at all by the extremely high levels of tree pollen we are having in this area. I attribute this to my clean eating regime, as all my respiratory issues have cleared up since I started this. Nice side effect, eh?

And of course, a cute picture of Lucy is always a solution.

She leads a rough life.

Momma can’t come to the blog right now.

But I wanted to let you know that the winner of the big-ass needles and silk yarn is Kathi Jobson. Kathi, we have emailed you!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am very busy. I need to get back to playing with my fluffy rat.

Unfinished objects — I generally don’t have many of those lying around. If something isn’t working for me, I rip it out and put the yarn back in the stash, or re-purpose the yarn for something else.

In the case of the silk ribbon and size 15 needles, I’m happy to give them away because I can tell that they are not going to work for me.

I do have some carpal tunnel issues and as soon as picked up the ol’ size 15s, I could tell that it was a Very Bad Idea. Instant pain and numbness ensued.

Yeah, I could keep the silk ribbon yarn and shove the needles into my needle stash, but it’s more fun to give them away.

And it’s interesting that some of you mention in the comments that the tiny needles are the ones that give you fits and make your hands hurt. Just the opposite of me.  It’s a good thing we all have different experiences or the world would be a very dull place indeed.

So . . . there is knitting going on, but I’m not sure if it is stealth knitting or not, so it is not currently appearing on the blog.

But look — I finished my cable swatch:

And the wide shot:

As I mentioned yesterday, I will use this as part of my class on cables that I will be teaching in various venues over the next few months.

It is seriously unseasonably warm here. (We are talking upwards of 90 degrees). The heat is supposed to break tomorrow, but Lucy wanted to show you how she feels about it now.

Can’t say that I blame her.

Okay, who wants the Sari silk ribbon yarn and the big-ass size 15 Addi Turbo needle? (I have not received the big-ass crochet hook yet, but if it comes in time, I’ll throw that in too).

You can have it on one condition — I never have to see or hear about it again.

You’ll have to buy your own copy of the latest Vogue Knitting should you want to make the vest. I’m keeping the magazine.

Leave a comment to this entry (see my tutorial on leaving comments that I posted last week — please do not email me) and on Thursday (April 8) at 4:00pm EDT I will awaken the might Random Number Generator (it is sort of like releasing the Kraken) to choose a lucky (?) recipient.

In other news, I am knitting a swatch.

Pretty exciting, no?

This is a test piece for my upcoming Cable Class, which will be taught here and there. (Picture me waving an arm vaguely).

Lucy sez:

“I think I’ll play with my fluffy rat now.”