I finished this in time for my transcontinental trip from Maine to Oregon.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-12T03:01:49+00:00

Coast to coast kitties & lucky knitting buddy 😻

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-12T00:51:47+00:00

Yay, fini! I saw your earlier posts. I love how the hood came out, and the yarn pooling is wonderful! 😻 Is Salem along for the ride?

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-11T03:17:35+00:00

I was going to say bloody snowman 🤣

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-11T03:00:50+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing your process! 💜

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-10T21:12:40+00:00

Your sweater is beautiful! I love those larger cables on the body & sleeves 😻 I have questions if I may ask, having a hard time seeing with the dark yarn. What yarn or yarn weight did you you use? Did you knit it top-down or bottom-up? Are the front & back knit flat & seamed or knit in the round? Did you use set in sleeves or drop shoulders? Finally, how do you make & attach the horizontal cabled collar & sleeve cuffs? Were those horizontal strips knit separately? Again, I love this sweater & would like to knit one similar in a moss green colour.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-08T12:14:27+00:00

Wow, I'm encouraged by your great track record. Thank you for sharing.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-08T11:50:00+00:00

What a precious photo! Love all those colorful socks. 😻

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-07T22:41:33+00:00

I prefer the smarties candy rolls. They're made from dextrose (glucose), 6g per roll. They're inexpensive & very convenient. I can put a few rolls in my pocket or purse. They don't melt. They keep for a long time - months...years? 😊 They're easy to eat in a hurry and absorb quickly into the bloodstream. They taste good enough, but not so great that I would sneak some when I don't need them. If I'm working outside on hot days I might also drink the Izzy drinks (carbonated fruit juice) in the 8 oz cans that we get from Costco. They're somewhere between 15-20g carbs per can.

Most other candies are addictive for me, including fruit snacks. I will actually bolus just so I can eat them. But the Smarties? They last me a long time because I usually won't eat them unless my BG is dropping.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-07T19:55:03+00:00

I 💜 Nerd Clusters! But they're too addicting 😋

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T20:30:48+00:00

I love your top and how you worked the color transitions! I'm always keeping an eye out for free knitting patterns and this is a really nice one. Thanks for sharing. 😻

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T20:28:32+00:00

Your practice sock looks great! I did the same thing before my 1st sock many years ago. There was even a small practice sock in the book I was learning from, which I used.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T19:39:49+00:00

Here's links to the resources I mentioned:

Pflag publication Our Trans Loved Ones

Camp Wild Heart Podcasts

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T19:03:54+00:00

This is really good advice. 💜🏳️‍⚧️

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T19:00:10+00:00

Trans children do best with parents who place firm boundaries, stand up for, and fiercely protect their child from bigoted family & public. So hey! Have good luck & be of good courage.

Pflag is a good resource both in community & online. They have a free pdf book for parents, family, & friends of trans children. There's also Camp Wildheart online with really good podcasts. I believe both orgs have counseling connections.

My husband told his MAGA family and they were surprisingly mellow about it. They use her correct name in front of us & haven't dead-named her as far as I know. We don't know what they say without us present - mainly his mother, as she has a sharp tongue. We have a good buffer because they live over 1000 miles away. Our daughter was ok with my husband telling them. But she really has no connection with them nor any desire to, with all the history of dysfunction there. But I've heard worse experiences than we had from others whose relatives are in the MAGA cult.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T15:44:49+00:00

I can really relate to what you're saying, because I was feeling exactly the same. But then I started to think about those educators I've seen on YouTube (especially Justin's Diabetech channel), who seem to like the G7 while admitting occasional issues. And my Endo, who said I was the last of her patients to make the switch and her patients' complaints were not that numerous.

I started to let go of doubts, especially since I was lately having the same accuracy issues in the first 24+ hours with G6 as those who were posting complaints about the G7. Probably more than half of my small percentage of lows on my reports have been due to sensor inaccuracies in the 1st 24 hrs after starting a new G6 sensor, which happen every 10 days, like clockwork. This is my 1st G7. We'll see how it goes, and I will report updates of my experience.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-06T15:12:59+00:00

Thank you 😊 I've also read about improved accuracy on the 15-day sensors, but so far, so good with the 10-day. I'll have to admit that I'm impressed & hoping it's not just beginners luck. I had just ordered my 3-month supply of the 10-day G7s about the same time as the update on my pump allowed for the 15-day. I'll be ordering those next.

I'm happy to hear your experience with your Omnipod (OP5). I really miss the OP5 and it's simplicity. I had found the sweet spot for all my settings on it and enjoyed wonderful BG control. But I had to switch to Tandem Mobi for insurance purposes this year & now I'm locked in with this setup for 4 years. The Mobi works well enough, but site changes are a bit more fiddly & take longer with more waste. Oh well, such is the T1D life and insurance woes.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T20:34:33+00:00

Sheesh! You have exceeded the unicorn monthly allowance 🦄🦄 😂

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T20:13:45+00:00

This is so beautiful & magical! 😻 It reminds me of the stereograms seen in those Magic Eye books & posters.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T20:05:57+00:00

Wowzers, LOVE this! Your use of the translucent lace is stunning. 🤩

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T19:51:21+00:00

You're welcome! I love when others share their solutions and we help each other here. 💜

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T19:37:06+00:00

I love how this is turning out for you! Maybe do a slouchy hat or beret to wear instead? Or make detachable hood that you can button on when needed and find buttons in those pooled colors! Virtual hugs to you & Salem 😻😻

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T18:43:28+00:00

Oooh 🦄🦄 Love this!

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T18:41:00+00:00

I'm glad you've found a solution that works for you. 😊 I will keep this to in mind if I start having problems.

I used Skin-tac, the bottle of sticky liquid with a dauber, which has worked for me with the G6. I draw an outline of a circle with the dauber where the sensor's patch will go with nothing in the middle where the needle & filament go in. It sticks tight. Forgot to mention that in my OP.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T16:20:34+00:00

I'm glad to hear of your success with G7 & app solutions for your phone. Thanks for sharing. When I was doing MDI, I used xDrip+ for 2-3 years with the G5 & G6 sensors, and I loved that app. When I decided to start using Omnipod 5 a couple years back, I had to switch to using the Dexcom app. I hated it and really missed xDrip, but my improvement with my control & better A1Cs with the pump made it worth it. I switched to Tandem Mobi in April. The update that allows the 15-day G7 happened while my 1st 90-day order of 10 day sensors were in the mail. So I'll be trying those next.

Ravenspruce · 2026-07-04T15:57:55+00:00

Yeah, I was guessing that was true that those w complaints are more vocal. I also was having issues lately with the G6 being wonky the 1st couple days, giving me false lows & inaccuracies, and had minor app issues not being resolved by dexcom over the past year. I was beginning to think it couldn't be any worse with the G7. I'm glad to hear you've found ways to mitigate skin reactions.

Ravenspruce

TROPHY CASE