Sweet Sixteen

It took Mom 16 minutes to get from the car into the house. YaY! She's home. She is pleased with the layout of her room and all her new equipment. She has had a good meal and is taking a nap. I will check on her in a few minutes. She has to do two more rounds of exercises and one more round of meds then she can get some rest. She looks great too, her eyes are clear and there are no pain wrinkles in her forehead. My Sister went home to her babies, and to get some much needed rest. I am actually listening to podcasts (from more than a week ago - glad you like your socks Carrie!!) and getting a little knitting done. I gave her a bell to ring when she needs something. I was going to sit downstairs and knit but I could see she thought she needed to keep up her end of the conversation, instead of going to sleep and resting. So the boy dog and I came upstairs. He's still being a little standoffish because Granny all of sudden has more legs than him, and wheels too. The walker scares him a bit. He should be used to it in a day or two.

Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, we feel you!!!!

Her first steps

Mom is up and about. She is able to walk down the hall from her room now. Tomorrow I take lessons on the exercises I will help her with for physical therapy. Her hospital bed arrived this evening and is all set up in the family room downstairs. She is doing so well her doctor is releasing her on Sunday instead of Monday. The coffee my BIL took her today may have had a little to do with it too - bless him. Indy will be very glad to see her, he did not eat Wed or Thursday morning. He misses her. We also moved the furniture around in the family room and he cannot watch television from the couch, which really confounds him. I took him to the groomer today, so he has his summer cut and will not be shedding all over the place.

I actually got a little knitting in while doing laundry. I turned the heels on two socks and may actually get to start the toe decreases tomorrow night. My BMFA STR Rockin Sock Club package arrived. I really like the short version of the pattern - I don't wear knee highs. Very interesting yarn. I also got a new toy - from Europe. That's all I will say for now. Monday things should be settling in and our new routine will be in place. The new stove is being delivered Tuesday. The old one pooped out the week before Easter. We had no cake for Easter, a first in this family I can tell you. My sister is baking a cake and meat loaf for us and bringing it over tomorrow.

So I should be able to get some photos and make some progress on my knitting. I really thought I was going to have more time to knit, not less. Just too much to do. Next week should bring some stability and normalcy.

Whwew

Our little chicka dee has a new wing. Great news - Mom came through surgery with flying colors. Her surgeon was extremely pleased with the results. She is resting comfortably and pain free (still doped up - almost the same euphoria that is caused by socks that rocks). It was a very long day but with a very happy ending. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

It's a Girl

Well Mom got her last X-rays taken this afternoon and they have given her a pink hospital bracelet for check-in in the morning. Her surgery is scheduled for 5:45 am. We have some rearranging of furniture to do and throw rugs to stow away. The hospital bed is to be delivered Friday, that's if she does not have to go into rehab. Praying for sock-sanity. :) Gotta keep busy. Day time TV makes me nuts!!!

. . .and on

Swiftly Casting On

Yep, Christmas in April. My swap pal Phyllis found me an impossible to get Hiroshima Holiday music CD. I bought all 3 Hill Country Christmas colorways last year but I still don't have any Holiday socks. The commercial ones are all too tight at the top. So I took the receipt of this CD as a sign. I swifted up the Red Green and White skein and cast on. I will have my Christmas socks this year, and a little Holiday sounds in April. Thanks Phyl.

Having A Ball

That Electric Yarn Winder is starting to look a lot more affordable.

Ramping UP

Getting into gear. I have my tools, yarns and patterns all organized and ready to ramp it up and get some socks cast on.

2 Steps Forward 1 Step Back

I completed the heel of my Lace Anklet and 2 repeats of 6 on the foot. Very slow going with this one. I had lots of trouble distributing the stitches on 2 circular needles after picking up the gusset.

I cast on my Boot Sock in Knit Picks Swish Truffle and Black and a Monkey Sock in Fearless Fibers Sublime. I am going to frog the Monkey sock, the yarn is too fine for the pattern. I want a heavier sock weight for these socks. The Sublime is almost a lace weight and it is gorgeous enough for a wrap of some kind.

2nd Week 2nd Pair

I completed my Sister's pair of Yukon socks. I decided to make mine in the similar colorway of Cape Cod, so all three of us will have similar socks but Mom and Deb's will match. Love the blues.

I Need to Knit I Need to Crochet

Must Knit Faster Must Crochet Faster.
Do you ever have the feeling that you are behind in your projects and must knit or crochet faster or you will never complete anything? No, I am sure you don't. After a long e-mail chat with Adrienne of the famous Inspirational Wednesday Podcast, I have come to the conclusion that I am a process knitter/crocheter. I am bi-craftual by the way!! I love finishing a project - of course. But what I really love is knitting or crocheting each stitch and watching the fabric grow. A benefit of that is I see any errors pretty quickly because I am always spreading out and enjoying the fabric as it develops. I am definitely not a product knitter. Half the time I don't know who the intended victim recipient of my creations will be. I change my mind often before the Christmas tags go on the bags!!! And what in the world am I going to do with 52 pairs of socks?? I just like to knit socks. That is why yarns like Socks That Rock and Fearless Fibers are my favorites. I enjoy watching the striping, pooling and self-patterning develop as I knit. I almost don't want the striping to match when I knit KnitPicks Memories yarns, because I want to see the full potential of the yarn. The pudding is in the process for me. I read about knitting & crocheting, I watch DVDs and videos about knitting & crocheting, I watch TV shows about knitting & crocheting, I go to conferences and take classes on new techniques. I read blogs and listen to podcasts about knitting and crocheting. I love the process, mine and everyone elses.

Yes I must knit and crochet, but nope, I don't need to knit and crochet faster. Slow down and enjoy the stitches.

As Knitty D says - it's not a competition.

Nearly There

Second pair of Fifty-Two - and my Sister still likes the yarn, yeah!!

On Sabbatical

My Mommy has an ouch. My Mother will be having hip replacement surgery on the 25th of April. After a brief stay in the hospital she will be coming home to me and the Grand-Doggy for lots of love and care. My Sister, Brother and a host of friends all plan on making her recovery swift and as comfortable as possible. I will be off work for 5 weeks. Soooooo - guess what I'll be doing? Yep - knitting socks. Be warned my mileage and socks per week will soar. I have made her one pair of socks, but I have a pattern for Bed Socks that I want to make for her too. Probably next week. Pray for her, she needs to be free of the pain!!!! I'll keep you posted on how she's doing, and if she takes me up on my offer to teach her to knit. I predict she is going to get bored with the magazines and soap operas pretty quickly.

The Recap

The Masters, what can I say? There’s a bunch of guys being paid a bunch of money to tell you what was wrong but here’s my two cents. There was something missing from this years Masters Tournament. The course was overly complicated given the fact that no moisture had touched it in days. The pin placement was unrealistic for the conditions the first two days. The wind was horrendous and the temperature was frigid. All that said, what was missing most was fun and excitement. Because the course played so badly the gallery was taken out of the picture. They rarely had anything to cheer about. The champion Zach Johnson is virtually unknown. So many of the major players missed the cut that the field was missing many of the fan favorites. Sergio Garcia is always good for a laugh. Ernie Els is a play maker. The fan favorites that were playing were struggling so badly that their fans were moaning or silent most of the time. I hope mother nature gives them better weather next year and the course architects go back to previous layouts.

I finished two socks and started another, there was nothing else to do – watching the players was just too boring most of the time.

Week One Pair One

I finished my pair of socks for week one of the 52 week sock plunge. I am almost half way through my second pair so I will complete week's two socks early and be able to spend some extra time on the lace anklets. I will go ahead and cast on some more plain socks in Fearless Fibers or Lorna's Laces. I have not knit with of those yarns yet.

and in My world

County Clare sock 1 complete, sock 2 heel is about to be turned.
Yukon sock 1 heel has been turned, sock 2 has been cast on and the cuff is complete.

A brief break to be taken when the Masters goes off to make my Big Brother a 3 layer German Chocolate Cake - cause I love him that much.

All other chores are done. Reading, Knitting and watching the Masters :) ~ cause I roll like that!

Oh We Are In Trouble

The Players have got Bogey Fever at Augusta. I was right about the cut it was +8 and the 12th hole has been bogeyed 90% of the time.

In Death Match another couple has committed suicide and the hero Dr. Lash is about to undergo the grueling process the candidates go through to find the perfect Match.

The Masters!!

What do you think that green jacket would look like knit in a moss stitch?? I love the Masters Golf Tournament. It occasionally causes me to drop a stitch or two when a putt that should have dropped misses the hole by an inch or two. Nerve wracking, competitive, scenic course and usually a little (often more than a little) player drama.

*********************
Can Philly Phil defend his title?

*************************
Can Tiger pull a bunny rabbit out of the hat?

**************************
I will be working on some stockinette something or other and following it all very closely.

The Leaderboard: http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/leaderboard?MSNHPHMA

The course is playing particularly tough, it looks like the cut is going to be around +8 this year.


Check out the 12 th hole. You are way on the other side of the bridge aiming for a little flag. You gotta avoid the bunkers (sandy spots), the water between you and the flag, and you don't want to end up in the pines behind the green. What fun!!!! But hey, it is a $7,000,000 tournament.












*********************************

A Really Good Read

It was opening day for the San Francisco Giants (they lost) and this always causes a delay in traffic. The time is tripled onroute to the entrance to the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge. So I stopped by the bookstore on the way to the vanpool to see what was new on the shelves.

Two exciting finds:
Easy Knitted Socks by Jeanette Trotman
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I flipped through Easy Knitted Socks while waiting for the van to come and I can tell you, the shaping, circular knitting and other techniques sections are worth the price of admission. The patterns hold some interest too, the beaded argyle and lace panel socks have been added to my to do list. This is the first sock book I have bought that includes knitting socks on two straight needles. It is a great resource. Go get it!!!

I started reading the intro to SPM Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting on the van, and I was on page 51 of Casts Off by the time the Van pulled into Antioch. The book is pure validation people. I highly recommend it.

Oh yeah, and I took the 52 Pair Plunge. I have pledged to knit 52 pairs of socks between now and April 2008. It's like getting extra credit for my marathon sock knitting. . . .but who's going to wear all these socks? I have no more drawer space :Q

New Notions

I discovered some really neat tools at Patternworks under the Notions tab. They offer the Crochet Lite Hooks, I ordered one in my favorite size for making afghans, size "J". Love IT!!!

I have always loved my bamboo cable needles so when I saw the bamboo marking pins and tapestry/darning needles I promptly dropped them in my cart.

The White Bamboo Blunt Needles are on backorder; more about them after I try them out. I used the Bamboo Marking Pins to mark my button holes and button placements on the VYB sweater. They are perfect for bulky or worsted weight yarns.

The Pony Wool Needles I bought have a looped end instead of an eye; I found that to be pretty intriguing. I used the Pony needles last night to run my safety lines in my vest and jacket. There is no comparison, they surpass all of my other yarn needles. They are made of an extremely hard, smooth plastic that sounds and feels like a metal. They are slick and slide smoothly along through stitches. The loop at the end is a clear nylon cable which is stiff enough to thread easily, but also flexible enough to flatten out to fit through small spaces. Excellent needles, I highly recommend them. I cannot wait to try them for seaming.

Great new toys, I mean tools, out there. Go shop !! :D

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Safety First

I am one third of the way through my Vest and Jacket. I am going to run safety lines through at this point. Safety Lines are like umbrellas, if you carry one you never need it. But if you end up needing it, you are very glad you have it. If you are not familiar with safety lines let me explain. The safety line is like a big stitch holder.

Using a thread or yarn in a contrasting color and a different weight, I take a tapestry needle and run the contrasting yarn through all of the stitches on the needle. I do this at a point in the fabric where everything is perfect - the correct number of stitches are on the needles and the patterns match the chart or whatever. Then I proceed to knitting the second third or next pattern repeat. If any errors are found in the next section, and ripping back is necessary, I only have to rip back to my safety line. I can pull out my needles rip back and when I get to the safety line I stop. I just feed my needle through the stitiches on the safety line and start knitting again. There is all of my error free work with all of the stitches in the proper direction and everything, now back on the needles and ready to go.

One of my Instructors at Knit and Crochet 2006 Conference told me about this technique. Safety Lines are especially useful in lace knitting. I believe it is one of Elizabeth Zimmermann's unventions. There are lots of articles, examples and how to's on the WWW. I have read that the hole in the Knit Picks Options needles is a handy way to run a Safety Line in lacework; I have not tried it yet.

OVER DONE WITH GONE

Over Done With Gone
The Valley Yarn Berkshire Bulky Cardigan is off my needles. The Celebratory Burning of the pattern is scheduled for tonight at 8 pm :) Yay!!!

L&V MB Swap Pron Pal

I am speechless (yes it's possible). Wooly Swapper sent me an amazing package.
Look look look - please note the Malabrigo and Tofutsies - those were on my NEXT YEAR's wish list. I am still not over the rubber ducky . . . it lights up!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Full Inventory of Swag:
1 Delicates Laundry Bag (white)
1 Drawstring Laundry Bag (blue)
1 Project Tote ~ Cherries !
Carrington Organic Black Tea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ruby Vegas Shawl Pin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nestle Milk Chocolate Turtles (all gone :b )
Hershey's Kisses filled with Caramel
3 Gummy Krabby Patties
Sponge Bob Square Pants Easter Egg filled with candy
1 Box of Cinnamon Hearts in a LOVE tin
Light up Rubber Duck with Jelly Beans

Pupperoni BBQ Rib Treats for Indy (no wheat glutein!!)

Fresh N' Floss Booda Bone Pull Toy for Indy
Hiroshima CD ~ Obon (on the iPod)
Hiroshima Spirit of the Season
Tango Notturno European Jazz Trio
Eucalyptus Spearmint Travel Kit (in use on the Vanpool)

2 skeins of MALABRIGO in Buscando Azul

1 Skein of Tofutsies in Sea Blues

Sockret Pal Revealed

My Sockret Pal has revealed herself and gifted me with gorgeous socks and Easter goodies. My Easter eggs hatched a little early and there are stitchmarkers inside them. The wonderful lady is none other than Beth C., her blog address is http://topfrog.blogspot.com

She is very talented, generous and I am very lucky she ws my spoiler. My socks are a perfect fit!! They are Wildfoote Luxury Yarn from Brown Sheep in color SY-27 Pine Tree

Glorious Details:
Personal Greeting Card
Haribo Twin Cherries Gummy Candy (all gone :P)
Haribo Peaches Gummy Candy
Wafer Cookies in California, Capital of Sacramento Box
Lindt Milk Chocolate Gold Bunny
Knitting History, Fashion, and Great Knitting Yarns Book with ball of yarn and needles charm bookmark
Perla Bella glass heart pendant with gold filigree
Pez Easter ChicK
Cadbury Caramel Easter Eggs
Easter Eggs with Stitchmarkers - with chocolate charm and recipe of love and mitt charm
Two Skeins of Knit Picks Simple Stripes sock yarn

More pictures . . .