Its really April 12?

Geez... its April 12th and I haven't posted anything since 2008. Sorry to anyone who reads my blog. I have been trying to figure out why and what has happened to the knitter in me.

One thing - my 93 yr old Mom passed last December. I spent the next month or so staring at the wall. Even though she lived a long life, it left such a big hole in my world. I lost 14 lbs and stopped everything. One wonderful thing is that my old friends from my teenage years reconnected with me and now I have them back in my life.

But that doesn't explain everything. Coming out of the fog - all I have wanted to do lately is read. I had a week off and finished reading 3 books. Did very little knitting. I think its that I can get lost in the books - don't have to do any thinking and I want to get lost. And going back to work - I have been working long hours including an all nighter last Friday night for a release. No energy left to knit.

So what is this all about? I think it is partly because I started knitting the "Festjakke jacket" by Solveig Hisdal. If you have knit it - it is a fair isle pattern using Fingering weight yarn. 355 stitches. Takes an hour to do one row (for me). I am struggling to pick it up. But I don't want to start something else until its done.

I also realize that I'm not as inspired as I once was. I think its partly due to Ravelry... yes Ravelry. I used to peruse the blogs with all their daily photos and information. Lots of new yarns and projects. Now - more and more have stopped blogging and spend more time on Ravelry. I just don't have the time to spend going through all the Forums - mostly without photos. I like using Ravelry when I have a project which I didn't know which yarn to use, or a yarn which I didn't know which project to use.. but I don't use it to get inspired. Maybe its just me.

Anyway - after this long spiel - I have very little to show you. I finished knitting one pair of plain Ranco Multi socks (that I started last year) and started a new pair with BlueMoonFibers STR yarn. Just stockinette toe up.

I hope I get inspired again one day. I have a whole stash to knit and if I don't start soon it will never get done. If it ever starts again I will post here. Otherwise I don't want to bore you with my gibberish!! Hah!

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

This will probably be my last post this year. Have a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah everyone! And I'll see ya in 2009!

Me and Splitty yarn!

I decided yesterday I wanted to finish the Part Cashmere Autumn socks I have been knitting since Sept (arghh!!). I did the gusset, the wrapped stitch part, and was almost at the end of the section where you pick up the stitches at the end of each row. Then I noticed that I had dropped a stitch. I really really tried to fix it. But darn - this yarn was so splitty and also very sticky.. that I couldn't sort out the stiches after awhile. I admire those of you that can work with this stuff. I guess if you never make any mistakes??

If the 1st sock had fit better I may have tried longer. In fact - I ripped it back all the way back into the gusset.. but once again, when I tried to get the stitches back on the needles - it split all over the place. That was it. Bye bye socks. And I've learned that - me and spitty yarn don't get along - at least with size 1 DPN's.

But now I'm happy. I started a new pair this AM with normal yarn, nice soft, non-splitty yarn. I think the color is Navaho.. but I wound it up last summer and can't remember the vendor. It may be Lime & Violet or Araucania Ranco Multi but I can't be sure. But I sure like it:



I also learned that I cannot start a new pair of socks and watch The Dark Knight. sigh.. And that I prefer the wood DPN's to the metal ones despite the fact that brown yarn is very hard to see with the Harmonies.

Need to go out and shovel soon.

One more week until vacation! Yay!

Later: I dug the Autumn sock out and managed to get it back on my needles about 14 rows into the gusset. so all's not lost. I am going to do the heel REALLY slow the next time so that i don't make any mistakes.. I'm a sucker..

Monkey See! Monkey Do!

Unlike the Yarn Harlot I'm not even going to suggest that I don't knit things based on what everyone else is doing. In fact, since the Internet, my stash has grown in leaps and bounds so that I can follow the leader.

When everyone did Kauni, so did I. When everyone was doing Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid, so did I. So I had to try the Noro 1x1 ribbed scarf. I found some Noro Silk Garden on sale and tried to pick out coordinating colors. Having finally gotten to the point on my blue wrap cardigan where I would have to block it before I could do anything more - I decided that I needed color in my life. Something relatively mindless with lots of color.

What I loved about the Kauni was the surprise of finding the combinations of color. This shawl has that same property - which is why I think everyone is so drawn to it.

So here I present the start of mine:



I love it.. love how the colors blend. Magic. But don't try to frog this yarn. I actually knit twice this much today, realized afte rabout 3 inches that I had dropped a stitch on the edge. Ripped it out and started over again. Noro Silk Garden has all these little threads wrapped around the yarn and when you frog it - they get unwrapped. I had to pull a lot of the threads out since they were all tangled up. Oh well - I think it still looks fine. Oh - Noro also has lots of knots in it. I unknotted them and reknotted them with longer ends so I can weave them in easier. What a pain. but worth it!

Two weeks until my Xmas break! YAY!

Bye Bye Cable Needle!

Ahhh.. I finished the last of the cabling on my Jo Sharp Wrap Sweater. Bye bye cable needle - I am not going to miss you at all. You just slow me down. Maybe one day I will learn to do cables without a cable needle.

Here are the finished sleeves (I'm so glad I did both at the same time):



Now I have to block it, seam it up, then do a bunch of ribbing which sounds wonderful to me right now. But I think its time for a break. I probably won't get to any of that until Xmas break. Here's a photo of the 5 pieces. This is such a big sweater it wouldn't all fit into one photo!



I have had a really good Thanksgiving week off. But I'm also recovering from an allergic reaction to Zyrtec (actually happened twice before I figured out the source). Woke up with my face and eyes swollen and on fire. No breathing problems so I decided to treat it on my own. I can't take hydrocortisone so the first 5 days I used antibiotic ointment, Benadryl cream, and aloe vera gel. That helped but it wasn't going away 100%. I still looked like I had a bad sunburn. Yesterday I did some googling and found Aquaphor Healing Ointment (by Eucerin). Geezz.. this is a miracle cream. I guess it is mostly used for diaper rashes - but its fabulous for adult rashes too. And a big jar is only $9 at Walgreens. I am using it over Oil of Olay Sensitive moisturizer. The red is almost gone. I'm still a little itchy but I think the worse is over. I look human again.

Have a good week!

Break time

I really need a break from all this blue.. so I took this photo:



I've done about 32.5 cm and the pattern calls for 44 cm total (I may shorten it by an inch) - so I don't have too much more to do. It will be nice to do something other than these unending cables.

And that is all for today.

I'm grateful

Not a lot of knitting going on around here (or at least not any that looks any different from what I have been posting since last August - hah!) - but its all about Thanksgiving today:



I am very grateful:

1) For living in this wonderful country where we have so many blessings and freedoms.
2) For almost 31 years of employment with a career that gives me challenges and the ability to learn from others.
3) For 35 days a year of vacation which gives me time to get away from #2 when I need it (hah!)
4) For my family (especially my 93 yr old mother) who puts up with my quirks but nourishes me with love, encouragement and other things I need.
5) For my beautiful home and backyard which takes up a lot of time but gives me a haven from the world and peace.
6) For peanuts and Victor mouse traps which helped me rid of 5 mices (so far)! I thought the photo was relevant since I have been naming them (Minnie, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Uncle Scrooge thus far).
7) For my amazing Charlie, Belle, and Jesse - my life revolves around you - and without you I would be empty. You make me laugh, make me crazy, make me happy.

I have so much and on this day - when so many in the world are suffering and in pain - I am so grateful and thankful for all these blessings.

Having said that - I wish this face rash which I got from an allergic reaction to Zyrtec would go away@!!!!