Sunday, March 29, 2009

Where's Center?

My list is getting smaller. The little sweater that I made for my friends baby just fit him so we decided it should be a little bigger. Tore it out during Wed night church service and will make another, bigger.

Something really strange happened to the Ene Scarf. Never happened before, hope it never happens again but I really don't know what happened! I was knitting away but kept thinking "there seems to be more stitches on the left than there are on the right of the center marker." Well, instead of stopping and just looking I just kept right on knitting. Who has time to count when you only have so much time to knit in the first place. Well, yesterday I counted.

See how many stitches/markers are on the right side (backwards from what I said above)? See how many on the left?

Here's center. It was way over on the side, not in the middle. Now what do you suppose I did? I can't figure it out. No clue. Just kept happily knitting along! I had 18 pattern repeats on one side and 27 on the other. Did I turn too soon? Fall asleep at the circulars? What?
Then I got mad. Know what happens when I get mad at my knitting? It goes back to the cake state and gets put away. This is the 3rd thing I've tried to make with this yarn and I think it's jinxed. It's staying in the yarn closet for a long, long time now!
Remember poor Ruby? Her tail light? BTB fixed her all up and she's now happy as can be. She'd love a bath to get rid of the pollen that's all over her, but she's really happy with her new "lens." Bath this week now that we don't have to worry about any shorts. Poor Ruby!
Another new lamb for the collection. This is actually bigger than the one I posted about in my last post. I really didn't want to get it cause, well, you can only have so many lambs, but I just couldn't pass her up. She was just sitting there waiting to go home with me and meet the rest of the Scrappy Knitter Lambies. She's very happy here.
The Baby Girl is back in school, happily eating everything in sight, singing and enjoying life. She has had to give up so much with this thing. Her clarinet, singing, things you just don't think about being connected to your jaw. Now we just need to wait for her body to heal from it all and then maybe everything will be back to normal. She sure was a happy kid when she could belt out those church songs! I hope she sings forever, she has a voice like no other.

Happy Knitting!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

UFO's


Isn't this little guy adorable? He's the newest member of my Lamb Collection. He's from the people who make Soy Silk and he's made out of Soy Silk and he is SO SOFT! Lovehim, lovehim, lovehim! I got him at a wonderful LYS.

I made a list. I never make lists. If I make a grocery list, I forget it when I go to the grocery. If I make a "To Do" list, I don't do a thing on it, I do something totally different. So, this new list is just a list, but I'm really hoping to work it just right. I'm going to post it here so that maybe, every now and again, one of you Scrappy Knitter readers can pop into this blog and ask about one of the things on my list. Got that? Okay, here's the list:

  1. Harry Potter Scarf
  2. Kauni Sweater
  3. Norwegian Sweater
  4. Aiden Jackson's Sweater
  5. Rib Warmer
  6. Red Vest
  7. Striped Vest
  8. Goddess Knits KAL Shawl
  9. Mr. Greenjeans Sweater
  10. Hemlock Ring Blanket (brooklyntweed)
  11. Log Cabin Afghan
  12. Swallowtail Scarf
  13. Ene's Shawl
  14. Recipe Shawl
Isn't that scary? For some reason (attention deficit?)I get very bored very fast with my knitting choices. Why? What is so hard about finishing one project before going on to another? Beats me, but if you know, share, please!

The oldest UFO on the list is the Harry Potter Scarf. The Baby Girl asked for that way back, like in high school and she is now a junior in college! I HATE working on that scarf. Its a circular needle that's too short, doesn't bend and you just go round and round for 16 rows, then change the color and go round and round for another 16 rows. But, that's got to be finished! The last 3 items on the list are things I've just started in the past few weeks and am working on a little every day. I have to set up some type of schedule to add in my UFO's. Most just need to be put together, buttons put on or a small amount of knitting to be done. A few, like the Norwegian Sweater, made me mad so got put away. It's all done by chart, black and white, and one of the stitches was off and I couldn't figure it out. So, some need lots of work, some need very little.

I've been knitting since I was 6 and I don't remember having more than one project going at a time until I found all the wonderful knitting sites on the computer. Now, I'm not blaming anyone here, I'm just saying, if I didn't see all the gorgeous yarn, beautiful patterns, amazing knitting projects that all the folks are doing on Ravelry, Blogs, Knitty, I would be very happy working along on my child's boring Harry Potter Scarf until it was done, then go out and buy some more boring yarn at Walmart (who'd have thunk that all that gorgeous yarn you see in the magazines can actually be bought in a LYS or online, right at your fingertips?) and knit something else till it's finished....... That's how I used to knit. My Grandmother always told me I couldn't start something new until the something old was finished. I never did, till about 4 years ago. Sorry Grandma, I'll try to remember that but so far it's just not working!

So, my goal (never had goals in my life, and if I did they didn't work)is to TRY and finish one UFO a month. Maybe that'll motivate me to finish them all fast enough so that it doesn't take me 14 months to finish.....that's over a year! Wow!! Let's also hope that I don't add anything to this list before atleast a few things are finished! There are so many beautiful patterns popping up that I want to do. I've already got yarn and pattern for this beauty, and this one. I think I need AA for Knitters. Is there one of those somewhere?

This is my newest toy. I bought it to take with me to Boston but of course, it didn't come in time. I, for some reason, can't get Ravelry on my Blackberry (don't laugh) so thought I'd get this. It's 9"! And pink! And I just love it! The Baby Girl has had it on the couch and in her bed while she's recouping, but once in awhile I get to play with it again. Does everything the big laptops do but mostly geered for surfing the internet and e-mailing. Awesome little gadget. It's a Dell Inspiron Mini 9" and because I ordered it in pink (lots of colors to choose from), $5.00 went to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

This silly little pug was chewing on this bowl that I had on the floor to hold my yarn while I wound it. When I was done she decided to start playing with it and with her head in it, she fell asleep! The reason I looked down at all was because she was snoring but it sounded funny. Yup, sounded like she was down in a well. Nope, she was down in a cool whip container. Love that pug!

Thank you for the well wishes for the Baby Girl. She's doing very well, eats EVERYTHING, and goes in Thursday to have her stitches out and for a checkup. She is soooo enjoying being able to eat real food again. She was getting quite tired of Slim Fast, mashed everything and soup. I've loved having her home and babying her (as much as she'll let me).

Happy Knitting!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Surgery, Medical and otherwise

Yup, left here at 5:15 a.m. to get the Baby Girl to the hospital for her 8 o'clock surgery and I backed right into her friends truck. NOT happy! 'nough said.
Pretty sad, but I love what they did to her hair. She has really curly hair, like banana curls, and I'd say someone liked playing with it cause usually after this it's tucked up in the bandages to stay out of the way. She had 5 stitches on each side and the incisions are where they'd cut if you had a face lift. So, if she ever does, she won't have to worry about new scars, they'll already be there.

We were home again by noon! She got up this morning and took her meds and ate pancakes! HALLELUJAH!!!!! Lets hope this is the final TMJ surgery for this child.

I'm battling the extremely thick pollen and have a wonderfully painful sinus infection, so, I'm finishing my tea (an actual tea bag cup of tea, imagine that? first time ever!!!) and going back to my chair. The pain has got to go away sooner or later.

Happy Knitting!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggitey Jig

Now, if this post was written by my friend Stringplay, she'd look up that poem and have it all written out here for you, but, since it would take time from my knitting I'll let you look it up. LOL Google is my best friend.

I'm home. Boston was AWESOME! Spending 4 days in very close proximity to your hometown in the dead of winter is more fun than I could tell you. AND, we had a mini blizzard the day we left and I had to sit on a plane and watch it be deiced! 15" of that beautiful white stuff I got to walk through, kick, shiver in and fly back to Atlanta in. I wasn't "scared to death" but I was thinking "how weird is this. I hate to fly (used to), always said if I had to sit on a plane while they deiced it I'd just have to get off." Well, I didn't, sat right there in my seat and never once thought - what if. I even knitted while on the plane. I NEVER have been able to do anything while on a plane except pray, A LOT! Great time, great time. I'd love to show pictures but I have a slight problem with that too. My adorable son took some great one's too, but I got home, took the smart card out of my camera to have the pictures printed at the store, decided to wait till I went to my oldest daughters store (less crouded) and now I don't know what I did with the smart card. I know it's around here somewhere. So, when I find it I'll be sure and plaster my snow pictures all over this blog.

Okay, yes, I do knit. So, here's the knitting of late:This is Ene's Shawl by Nancy Bush
from Scarf Style
I'm doing it in Knit Picks Shine Sport. I want a big, big shawl to wrap around myself when I'm cold, reading, sick, and it has to be big enough to wrap a pug and hotdog in cause if I have a blanket they have to be under it too. And this Shine Sport is cotton and modal so it won't make me itch and it's super soft.

This one I call "Waiting." But it's actually a recipe on Ravelry by Orlane and it's a really fun, easy pattern and I'm doing it in some DK weight cotton that I have, again cause I can't stand itchy yarn. Why "Waiting?" Well, the Baby Girl is home for Spring Break and she goes in Thursday to have her jaw operated on again. This is the biggy; incisions on both sides, just in front of her ears, they're taking out the cartilage and sanding down the bone/hinge of her jaw because she has bone spurs! It's still outpatient surgery but they said it would take longer and there's a longer healing time, so, while I wait, pace, worry, and pray, I'll knit "Waiting." Send good thoughts our way for her, she's really suffered with this thing long enough.

So, aside from all the things I don't have pictures of (like the beautiful Boston snow storm), that's about it. I'm staying home for awhile, need to do some spring cleaning, give the honey and the pug and the dachshund some attention, then I'll be going again, I'm sure. But, for the next several weeks I'm staying put.

From a Scottish Yankee, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Are you making corned beef and cabbage? Got mine all ready to go in the pot! YUM, I can smell it already.

Happy Knitting!
PS Here's a special hello to an "old" online friend who also has heart problems. Here's to you kid! And here's hoping your heart is fine!