Furballs

YO's and stuff!

There is only so much stockinette a person can take before cracking. I made some socks, I made some mittens. Stockinette, stockinette. Sweaters are both in stockinette. I was so bored I could barely make myself knit anymore.

Add to this boredom, a real need to knit. I have been struck down with the crud that is sweeping the country and have been suffering from a monumental cold for the last week. I don't even know if it can be classified as a cold. That's where you still go to work, look like they really should appreciate your sacrifice, and take some Comtrex. No. I've missed most of the week at work and I have been totally useless to the universe for days. As long as I sit in my recliner and watch a good 16 hours of tv a day, I figured I'd survive it.

It's getting close. I think the demon is thinking about leaving my body. Not soon enough, though. My family is celebrating Christmas without me today. I'm feeling sorry for myself.

HOWEVER, if I can't be opening presents and stuffing myself with cookies, what do you think I'd rather be doing? That's right, I've been knitting something spectacular for the last few days. A year ago at my knitting group's Christmas party we all bought Zephyr for a lace shawl KAL. Well, we all bought yarn, anyway. Renee actually finished hers, Judy's been plugging along and is almost at the half way point. Out of six of us who jumped into this plan, that's pretty much the extent of the KAL participation. I think for a while Judy thought KAL had come to stand for Knit ALone. I've wanted to join in all along and have actually started a few shawls but none were anything I wanted to commit to. I even bought more Zephyr, thinking I just had the wrong color. But no. I wasn't getting anywhere. Then a friend gave me the Wing o' the Moth pattern as a gift and the original sage Zephyr was perfect and I took to it like a germ to a petrie dish.

Lest you think I have turned into a knitting blur like some popular bloggers, understand that this is all I've done. Sometimes I get up to make another cup of tea, but I get right back to business. And don't think the lace hasn't kicked me in the butt a couple of times, either. I had a dropped stitch in the very row BEFORE I decided to put in a lifeline, so that sucked and I lost 4 rows. Then, two pattern repeats later, I realized that on one side in every row I'd suddenly decided to skip the psso. But just on that one little fir cone. Still, there go 16 rows. Good thing I had that lifeline that time! I'm still trying to figure out how that error could be so organized. If my calculations are correct I only have two more repeats of the fir cone pattern.

Well, I've been away from the tv for a while now, I hope I haven't missed anything. As long as I'm trapped, I hope I am sucking up all the negative energy for y'all and you're all healthy, happy, and surrounded by those you love! (Please eat a bunch of those peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses for me!!) Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Weekend

Every year I spend some time volunteering with Sponsor A Family, a local charity sponsored by Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities. The program is for all people who need help at Christmastime, regardless of faith. I am not a churchgoer, but I really like this organization and it's become "what I do". This year I wasn't able to put in as much time since Mom was sick, but they welcomed me for the time that I could put in. My friend Sandy and I always adopt a family and we have a lot of fun shopping and wrapping presents for our "friends". This weekend was when people came to pick up their gifts and I man the check-in post. I've done it for years, I plan on doing it till I die. It's my favorite event of the year.

I always reflect on what were the important things I learned or at least revisited, over the weekend at SAF.

I learn over and over again that you can communicate with people in ways that don't require language. I was able to guide people to where they needed to go, how to find restrooms, what a gift card to Target was without having words in common (well, sometimes we'd hit on something we both knew: "Target money" usually was a winner). I'd brought along a mitten I was knitting for the slow times, and it was a common thread I was able to share with a lot of people. They'd want to touch the yarn, and sometimes they'd motion like it's a cuff? and I'd show them it was a mitten and they would light up and show me the cap they'd made for their daughter (and the daughter would look appropriately mortified) and we'd smile and get all excited that we'd had this "conversation".

Acts of kindness from a stranger are necessary for some people to feed their families. The recommended grocery gift is $10/person. There was a young woman with a toddler who was given a $100 gift card to the grocery store and she started crying. "Baby, we're gonna have a real dinner tonight."

Kids are amazing volunteers. They get to me every year. There are usually dozens and dozens of them there, running everywhere with non-stop energy. They run after packages, they haul stuff out to people's cars, they see snow and they grab shovels (you KNOW they wouldn't do this at home!), they lead people to the bathrooms when I am unsuccessful at directions, they bring cookies and pop to us old folks sitting at the front desk, all without anyone even asking them to. They are constantly looking for ways to help. I don't know, I'm GUESSING these are the same brats I see at the mall, but they're barely recognizable.

When I first started doing this, there were some people who had the attitude that they were entitled. I haven't see any sign of that this year. For a couple of years. Actually, there are a lot of recipients who ask if they can volunteer next year. A lot of the people who come in make it a point to shake the hand of everyone they speak to and say "thank you". They feel the love, even though it's anonymous.

Colors and Pictures and Everything!

Yay! I have a new camera!! I have something to show you! I'm sure your imagination has been doing just fine and none of this will be a surprise, but I'm just excited to have a real blog post.

First up, the Top Down raglan sweater out of Noro Blossom, a Knitting Pure & Simple pattern.

I like the colors in this quite a lot. At first I liked the little color baubles, but now I'm wondering how they'll hold up with wear and I think they're too big. I'm wearing thin on my admiration for this yarn all around. There's a lot of drag on it and I have to adjust almost every freaking stitch. It's wearing my hands out. I'll love the sweater when it's done, but for now we're barely on speaking terms.

The Red Koigu sweater is back in progress again. The sleeve is really going quickly so I'm happy with it today.

This is knit up to the armholes, then you make the sleeves, then join it all together and make the yoke. It's the Ann Budd Seamless Yoke Cardigan in her sweater book. I like the pattern as it is, with reverse stockinette ridges on the yoke. I thought I might break it up a bit and put in a couple-three rows of YO pattern along the way.

So here's where you come in.

I was not paying attention to what I was doing when I first started the sweater and didn't adjust the number of stitches after the rev stockinette ridges along the bottom, so they roll up in a very annoying way. I thought I would get some cloisonne beads (maybe pea sized) and put one every couple of inches around the bottom to weigh it down. It probably won't be heavy enough, though, so then I start looking at stone beads. Is that going to look okay? what about putting some matching but smaller beads in the yoke? Do you have other ideas?

Welcome Knitty People!

It's pretty darned fun to have a pattern on Knitty, let me tell ya!  (Matrix Mittens, if that's not where you're coming from)  I've had a lot of hits since yesterday, and I feel bad that my blog is in such a lousy state with no camera and all.  It's like company showed up and the house is a mess. 

Thanks for coming by!  Stop back after the weekend - I plan to fix this. 

Making use of your imagination...

My camera still doesn't work. I can't bring it in to the store to have them look at it because I'm pretty sure I'd come home with a new camera and that's not in the budget right now.

If you are interested in buying an 8-harness Mountain Loom 18" table loom from me, I promise I will buy a camera and post some pictures. For you. How about a violin? I'm cleaning house.

So, I have some FO's and you must close your eyes and picture them in your mind.

Today I finished some fingerless mitts for my aunt's 80th birthday. Her party is next Saturday so I finished them WAY before they are due, which is amazing. They are similar to Fetchings from Knitty summer '06 but I didn't do the cable up at the knuckles. I made them out of some gorgeous 60% angora/40% ramboulliet yarn I got from Toots le Blanc at Madrona last year. Say it with me: "Dreeeeeeeeeamy". They're in a natural, silvery white. And there's enough for another pair, so I get some, too!

I finished some socks, too. My regular 3x1 rib out of Auracania sock yarn. The yarn was a mottled brown with other colors and they came out great. I love them.

I made a couple of hats for donation. Nice yarn, basic hats.

I wasn't planning on making any gifts this year, but every day I think of something else to make. There's a Christmas stocking I owe a friend, I want to make some mittens for the woman who owns the coffee shop I go to (she gives me greatly reduced prices in exchange for knitting guidance - which she hardly ever needs). I am knitting a chicken (I need to get a camera), and if I exchange presents with my sisters, one of them doesn't have a felted bag yet. I'm sure I'll think of more.

Blogging effort made

OK, I know it's been a while and today I made the pledge that I would put up a decent blog entry. I got all of my projects that I've been working on lined up on a fence in daylight (hard to come by these days) and my camera appears to have died on me. I'm hoping it's a battery thang, but I can turn it on and off just fine, it's when I hit the "Take The Picture" button it shuts itself off. I tried to be a good blogger, I really did.

So imagine if you will... A red Koigu stockinette cardigan that I'm knitting in one piece. It is up to the armholes. This is where I need to start on the sleeves but all of my needles that size are in use so it's sort of on hold for now. It needed a break so my brain didn't turn to pudding, anyway. I think I am actually starting to miss it a little bit now, so it's not really a UFO.

I'm also knitting a top-down pullover in Noro Blossom, a discontinued yarn, I believe. It's stripey tan, gray, rust, black and brown and has a little slate and green and maybe a couple bits of purple and gold. It matches every single thing I own. The yarn is slubby so there's a lot of drag, kind of hard on my hands. I'm down to about halfway between the armholes and the bottom, so it's just that and the sleeves left. It shouldn't take long. The problem is that in October I spent about 5000 hours sitting in hospitals and I'm so sick of these projects I could scream. A week ago I swore off knitting completely, I didn't think I could ever pick up another pair of needles again. I've gotten over it, but I'm working on some quickie projects, like hats. Still not quite ready to face the sweaters.

The wardrobe could really use a couple of new items, though. I need to shake this off.

By the way, my mom had the alcohol ablation and she's doing great! We went shopping yesterday for her first outing and she held up pretty darn well! Thanks so much for all of your good wishes.

Ups 'n Downs

Well, there's the good news and the bad news.

Bad news is that since I last wrote, Mom has had two more heart failures. She went into the hospital again this morning. She still hasn't seen the cardiologist today, so we're not sure what the game plan is yet. She's having a harder time coming back from these episodes, too. Very worrisome. She met with a doctor at Mayo last week who advised more drugs and possibly the alcohol ablation, but after today I don't know if any of that has changed.

So, however you send healthy, caring thoughts and wishes... All are requested and most welcome!

The good news is that I'm making my business website public. I'll be adding a couple of gallery pictures soon, but otherwise it's ready to go. Please come vistit!

www.northernpalmdesigns.com

I've been working on a new sweater out of Noro Blossom. It's coming along nicely and sometime soon I may even post a picture of it! The red sweater is ready to split into front and back, which feels like a monumental achievement. I am knitting some socks that I could not be any less interested in and will probably never wear. Yet I persist. I think it's because they're red and it's just too much red with the Koigu sweater going on. I'd probably love them some other time.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

You know, I think I've used this title before.

I have been absent lately for a number of reasons, and they all seem to be wrapping up nicely.

First, my mom was very sick. A week ago I got a call at work that she'd made it to the hospital with heart problems. This time they were half way to the hospital before the EMTs found a pulse or blood pressure. Really freaking scary. They did an angiogram and put in a pacemaker/defibrillator and there's talk of doing either alcohol ablation or open heart to take out the "muscle bundle" that's developed in her heart. She's home now and, though tired, is doing really well for an 81 yr old who pretty much died last week.

As an aside, a while back I'd made up a 4"x4" sheet that has my and my sisters' home/cell/work numbers, Mom's insurance and SSN, doctors names and numbers, medical condition, drug allergies and her preferred hospital (it took both sides to get it all on there). Then I laminated it so it wouldn't get wrecked. She's got one in her purse and one next to the phone and I have a copy in my purse. I can't tell you how many times this has come in handy. When the EMTs show up at her door she hands it to them and we don't have to worry about Mom getting the wrong drugs or going to that awful hospital we ended up at last year.

Second, work has been crazy. This is a common complaint just about everywhere, so I won't dwell on it because I know I won't get a lot of sympathy. :-)

Next, my pattern business is JUST ABOUT READY! Actually, it is ready, but I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a business trip and won't be home to fill any orders I hope to get, so I'm waiting till I get back. Look back at the end of the week and I'll have the link. Lisa will have all four patterns at Stitches East next week, if you happen to be there. I also have patterns at Needlework Unlimited and 3 Kittens here in town.

My big GOOD news is that I had a pattern accepted for the Knitty.com winter issue!

As far as knitting goes, I made a pair of basic 3x1 ribbed socks and have been knitting and knitting and knitting on the red Koigu sweater. I think I'm at the arm hole point but haven't measured in a couple of days.

It's the best medicine

I am in a crazy-busy time right now - work is crazy, I've been working many, many hours getting my pattern business off the ground, one of my trees split in the storm, my dryer broke, it's been pretty much non-stop. Some of it's fun, some of it just costs lots of money. So anyway, that's why you haven't heard much from me.

Crankiness was starting to take hold and I needed to take action.

Knitting:

and spinning:

The knitting is Koigu, it's going to be a sweater of some sort. I'm sure you're all green with envy at the vast expanses of stockinette.

The brown spinning is more of the Border Leicester/Icelandic roving I've shown you before and the yummy orange stuff is about a sport weight, 80% coopworth, 20% mohair blend from Hidden Valley called Apricot Blush. I get a hankerin' for Tequila Sunrises while I'm spinning it!

Kids these days

Tonight I went on an outing with extended family to Circus Juventas, which is a circus school for kids. It's a non-profit school where their goal is to teach teamwork and self confidence. There are almost 700 kids in the area who go. I only just heard of them this year, even though I drive by the circus tent a couple of times a week. They have a big production every year - probably a dozen or so performances. Amazing stuff. The best 75 kids perform, and they range in age from 7 to 21. They were doing trapeze stuff and juggling flames while doing flips, hanging by a foot 40 feet up in the air, tossing girls doing the splits across the room, it was incredible. Jumping from the ground to someone else's shoulders, lots of typical and not-so-typical circus acts. There were these three girls on a triangular trapeze thing. One was in the triangle hanging upside down, she had hold of the middle girl's ankle. The bottom girl had hold of the other ankle, so this middle girl was hanging on to nothing, doing the splits 30 feet up with people ripping her in two. In unison about five of us all went "OW!" It was pretty funny, but holy cow! I have never felt so old and decrepit and generally stiff. I am exhausted just from clapping. If you live in town, you must go see this show! Only one more week! Tickets are cheap, and Peter Ostroushko leads the musicians, which is a double bonus.