Posting after Christmas...

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with Faith, Family, Friends and food.

Mom and I attended the 8 PM Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve. Fr. Dan took the opportunity to invite all the visitors and friends and inactive members to join us weekly. To encourage this action on their part, he kept his homily blessedly short! He is a wonder speaker. Always has something great to say. Almost always talks way longer than the attention span of his congregation! :)

Older son's Friends came to spend the night and enjoy Christmas morning with us. All the younger generation went out with friends on Christmas Eve. For the first time since my children were born, our Christmas morning started after 9 AM!

Presents and merriment ensued. Santa brought stockings full of goodies for all the regular residents of the home AND the guests. Presents for all as well...

My favorite - older son moved out late Summer. I overheard a comment he made to a friend, "I really don't expect to get much. After all, I don't live here anymore." and then when he received an abundance of goodness, he said, "I really didn't think I'd be getting this much. I don't even live here anymore." My response, "I guess you got a surprise."

What I really wanted to say, "Well, SON, you didn't cease to be my son when you walked out the door."

He got very practical gifts -- which I would have probably gotten him anyway -- pots and pans, a coffee maker, and other useful items for a bachelor pad. And some new clothes because he's lost a lot of weight. His job pays his living expenses, but doesn't yet lend itself to a wardrobe overhaul.

Distributing and opening presents with oohing and ahhing gave way to a pancake breakfast (made by me), then chips and dips and cookies (set out by me) as our final guest arrived.

Then commenced the cooking of the dinner (me again) and the eating of said feast (everyone) and then cleaning up (woohoo, the boys cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher; I just had to do leftover packing and cooking vessels)... I could barely stand by 6:00!

It was a WONDERFUL day. No fighting. Very little digging. Only an occasional walk away moment. A truly lovely Christmas!

May the Christmas Spirit continue to shine in your life and mine!

Christmas Preparations in earnest!

Wrote the list - lots to do! So, what am I doing? Blogging, naturally!

Mom is making Irish Soda Bread, so I need to stay out of her way. When she's done, we'll start in the Living Room and work our way through, cleaning and decorating as we go.

If the weather holds, I'll prepare the outside as well. If not, there is always tomorrow.

Both boys should be here today to help. Both boys BETTER be here today to help! :)

Found some fun over at Sandy's Knitting. She asks you to tell her what you think.
Now, I ask you to tell me!

My Johari Window

Some Christmas Fun...

Are you fond of Christmas songs? Do you know every verse? Check out your knowledge on this quiz:

Chicago Tribune Christmas Quiz

I got 96% because I was waffling between two answers on one question and picked the wrong, rather than the right, answer!

o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~

Some Christmas Games

Another bunch of Christmas games (mostly puzzles)

and even more Christmas games

o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~o/~


... and you thought Ravelry was a time suck... Muhahahahahahaha

What Ornament am I?

As seen at Mary Lynn's Blog:

You Are an Angel

A truly giving soul, you understand the spirit of Christmas.

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Jen is having a contest...

cause she needs a little blog lovin' and you are just the people to give it to her! Win some sock yarn! Cheer her up! :)

Go. Now!

One Pair, Two Pair, Pretty Mittens to Share

best colorful
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

One Pair for Soaring Eagles!

Plymouth Encore ColorSpun - 75% acrylic/25% Wool; Color 7124

two pair
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Two Pair for Soaring Eagles!

Plymouth Encore (worsted); Color 204 (on the left)

The pattern used for both is the mitten pattern from Ann Budd's a knitter's handy book of Patterns

The Colorful ones used the third column gauge at 5 - following the best I could.

Deep Forest Green ones used the fourth column at gauge 5 - following the best I could.

It is possible I have made some mistakes. If I did, I made sure I made the same one(s) on both mittens of each pair! :)

P.S. Two Pairs of slippers are almost done, too!

This and that and the other thing...

The many days of Christmas are upon us. The local radio station that usually begins all Christmas all the time after Thanksgiving started before Thanksgiving.

Light displays were up and lit in my son's new neighborhood before Thanksgiving.

Our first Christmas card arrived on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is EARLY this year, which means that all of this stuff started way too soon for me! And I really like Christmas!

Anyway... Thanksgiving was peaceful and small (yay!). Worked on Friday. Shopped a little on Saturday (mostly for clothes for my son for a wedding we are attending next weekend. Only purchased two very small ornaments for Christmas presents). Finished (except for grafting) my international swappee's scarf. Hope it blocks nice. It is too late to start again and be finished on time!

And now for "the other thing" - apparently, I'm trifling! :)

You Are a Trifle

No doubt, you have many intricate layers. But deep down, you're a little squishy.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Camera is fading fast

Camera is fading fast
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Something is terribly wrong with my camera. I fear I am now in the market for another.

This was taken with my Canon S1 IS camera. Lovely camera - 10x optical zoom, compact flash card storage (this was important because my previous camera had this and I already HAD that kind of media!). Drawbacks now (not when first purchased) - only 3.2 megapixels.

I went to Office Depot (for some other stuff) and strolled down the camera aisle. Apparently, my Canon S series is now up to S5 with 10 megapixels and marvelous zooming capabilities. I wanted to see its macro capabilities too. Unfortunately, the power supply was wonky at OD and all of the high end (Canon S5 is the middle range of the high end) cameras were powerless. The $79 cameras worked great. The $299 - $749 cameras? Not at all. I was very disappointed.

Any and all camera suggestions are welcomed.

(click on the picture to see a better picture - camera took two before completely fading to fuzzy black like the old black and white tvs!)

Sweater is almost done...

Finished side
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

This is the 'finished side' except for some ends to be woven in. One more sleeve and my FIRST sweater will be complete! WooHoo. Click on the picture to be taken to Flickr and you can see the rest.

I was traveling with my son - taking him on college visits - and we had about 3 hours of down time last night...

I brought some of my knitting reference books with me because I was at the end of one sleeve and the body of the little sweater. It was getting difficult to maneuver yarn attached in two places waiting for a bind off decision.

I have EZ's Opinionated Knitter - which did not contain the directions for her sewn bind off. At least I couldn't find it in the book. That bind off had been suggested, but I did find a statement that the sewn bind off was not good for k1p1 ribbing. This sweater has k1p1 ribbing on the neck, sleeves and body 'cuff'.

I had The Knitting Answer book with me as well. Flipping through the bind off section I saw that Tubular bind off was considered best for k1p1 ribbing bind-off. Taking their word for it, I followed their clear directions and THEY WERE RIGHT! It was sort of like kitchenering a straight edge - but it worked and it really moved right along.

No longer in fear of a non-stretch bind off for top down sweaters!! :)

After Midnight...

Not sure this is true - but it was a cute quiz:

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

'tis a puzzlement

I want to know why the pictures of my sweater are not gargatuan when you click them, but the ones in my SCARF! post are HUGE! I took them with the same camera and uploaded them directly from the compact flash card. No intervening steps, like PictureIt! (which I usually use to make pictures "web ready" and thereby smaller).

'tis a puzzlement.

Well the sweater is almost done - have 1/2 a sleeve and 2/3 a sleeve to finish. One more body row of k1p1 ribbing in the main color and then stretchy bind off of the body. But I want to do a stretchy bind off experiment with the sleeves first (Momma didn't raise no dummies! Sleeves are smaller for experimentation than almost 200 stitches on a body!) So, I'll be sleeving on the trip home and through Criminal Minds tonight.

[will insert Pictures here later]

SCARF!

I got home from work today and was told I had two packages. Two packages? Couldn't be the scarf box. Rochelle mailed it on the 6th and was told it would take a week... um, no, it arrived today!!! WooHoo!

My Scarf Knitter - Rochelle - made a fabulous scarf and added great goodies to the box. Go check out her blog for the scarf details.

In addition to the scarf, Rochelle included some lovely hand cream, notecards, a sock blocker key chain with pattern!, and a Knitting Answers book.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here are a couple of photos. It's raining and dark, so indoor pictures were required. Not sure they do it justice!





sorry for the click to GIANT photos, forgot to resize. Will try to correct that oversight later.

Soaring Eagles and other stuff

I tried to update my side bar to reflect this year's Soaring Eagles Project, but for some reason it only shows up sometimes!

Please check it out and help Rachel help the children stay warm this winter. They are looking for Slippers and Mittens this year. Last year, the overwhelming outpouring of love and handmade woolies was so great that there are plenty of hats to go around, but the mittens and slippers are needed.

If you are on Ravelry (I am radarkaty there), check out "The Greater Good" group to find lots of great places needing warm knit and crochet items!

That's where I found a new Yahoo! group - Macuwita sni - making warm things for the Cheyenne River Sioux in South Dakota. They will get my first sweater:

(ETA: better pictures and an update of progress)





The sleeve stitches are on holders and the body is moving along! :)

It has been a pleasant and quick knit. I'm using Cascade 220 and a top-down, raglan sleeve plain crew pattern. First Sweater - even if it is a Child's size 4 :) - and I've learned a new technique - knitting in the round on two circular needles. Two Socks on Circs - here I come!!!

Anyway, the bus has afforded great knitting time this week and I've been able to finish 4 rows coming in and 4 rows going home each day. I should have it finished by Monday. I have some weekend plans, but my holiday on Monday should allow for finishing.

RIP E.D.T.

Tonight, we lay to rest Daylight Savings time for another year.

I could use the extra hour as I recover from my flu. The only remaining symptom is tiredness. I give into the tiredness sometimes and I fight it others. Fighting is futile, I know, but I keep trying to do things and my body keeps telling me to rest.

Today has actually been the best day so far. I've gotten a few things accomplished - trash has been gathered, dinner has been cooked, dishes have been cleaned, 1/2 of the clean laundry has found its home in the appropriate drawers and cabinets and I've been knitting. Oh, and surfing the 'net, too! :)

Here's the most recent start - a top down plain crew neck sweater for a child, size 4:



I didn't have the right size DPNs (US7), nor the right length of cable on any of my US7 circulars (24") - so I am doing my first sweater, albeit a small one, on two circs! First sweater - new technique - I'm bustin' right out of my comfort zone!



I'm a little further along than this now and probably will be to the arm splits before I put it down tonight. This little guy is destined for the Cheyenne River Sioux of South Dakota. I joined a Yahoo! Group called Macuwita sni - which means "I am not cold" in Lakota. The group is newly formed but dedicated to sending warm sweaters for the thousands of children living at Cheyenne River in South Dakota. Check it out, if you'd like to help, too.

Back to the Stole (the "for me" knitting) tomorrow evening. That seems to be my evening TV watching knit and there is nothing good on TV tonight. Besides, I'm going to Chatters! Stop by and join the conversation between 8 PM and 11 PM (before we turn back time!)

My little icons keep coming and going...

Comcast is redoing their webspace and assured me of minimal disruption. I wonder what more than minimal disruption looks like? Haven't been able to even get to their main website, let alone log in.

Please forgive the missing icons! :)

Late breaking news... fever has been down all day and has returned with a vengeance. Doctor in the A.M.

Night-night.

edited to fix some grammatical and spelling errors. More than likely did not catch them all! :) (11/3)

A little progress and little heat

Seems I might have the flu - or something. 100 - 102.6 temperature over a thirty hour period. body aches, headache, chills and shivers, lethargy. Fever seemed to break last night and is hovering at 99. I feel much better today, but I'm not over whatever it was.

I did finish Hint 2 of the Secret of the Stole:



Hint 2 complete. Now, on to Hint 3. If I finish Hint 4 (insert maniacal laughter) by Friday and post a picture, I could win a prize. That is so not going to happen! Hint 5 is released on Friday. I'm a little behind.




A close up of the beads. The yarn looks two-tone here. It is not. There is a blue pillow behind the white blanket. The flash acted as an x-ray and the dark of the blue shows through the blanket. I do believe, however, that the truer color of the yarn is the lower half of this photo.

Stoling along...

My Mystery Stole 3/Swan Lake (no longer a mystery, but it was when I started!) is creeping along... I think my work on the other stole will help this one move more quickly. I had never attemped lace of any significant size and never worked with laceweight before trying this stole. I'm almost 1/2 way through the pattern, using Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud on US3 Addi Lace circular needles. The very thin, but lovely, laceweight alpaca cloud makes for slow deliberate knitting on my part.

I have been working on my Secret of the Stole, too. Hint 4 comes out tomorrow morning. I've not quite finished Hint 2 (19 pattern rows to go, out of a 167 total revealed through Hint 2). I have developed a bit of rhythm with it and may well catch up by next week! That's my goal anyway. I'm doing this in a fingering weight and it moves a bit faster than the laceweight... it is building my confidence to work more quickly with the lace weight.

So.... I signed up for the Mystic Waters KAL as well! Triangular shawl, rather than a (mostly) rectangular stole. First pattern charts were posted Wednesday. I've printed them, but haven't started. More on that later.

Other things have been keeping me busy.

I went on my annual Women's Retreat on Rhinebeck weekend! Check the archives for last year to see a bit of what I saw this weekend. The theme changes each year, but the venue is the same.

I was able to finish twelve more 6" squares for Summer's Hope project at the Hugs and Stitches Yahoo! Group. I promised 24. Those 12, the 9 already completed and the three more I finished yesterday fulfilled my promise and filled the box. They'll head to GA on Saturday and will be assembled with other squares into afghans for children suffering with cancer.

I have completed three and will have at least two more 8" squares to send to San Diego for new blankets/symbols of hope for families that have lost everything in the devastating fires.

I completed the last of 6 hats to be added to the HAP table at a craft fair on November 11 to raise money for the Handmade Afghan Project. Deborah has received requests to send the afghans to Landsduhl Hospital in Germany and to a medical facility in Afghanistan. Postage to send fully assembled afghans was not part of the original vision, but we are all rising to the occasion and fulfilling the request. Since expenses are rising, the group got a table at a community craft fair and members made various items for sale. If you are in the Silver Spring, MD area on November 11 - stop by Fairland Community Center and check out the goodies!

Back to Stoling along now...

Secret of the Stole - Hint 1 Done!

Hint 2 is printed. Eyes are too tired to continue, but I'll try this week to qualify for the prize before I retreat for the weekend.

Wazzup Wednesday, October 10

It's been busy. It's been hot. I've been roasting. But, I've been knitting too!

Secret of the Stole - left point, right point, bead close up. My camera is doing all sorts of weird things* and these were the only 'good' photos I could get of my progress tonight.






That's Wazzup with me. Wazzup with you?

* I hope it's just the batteries needing replacing. Can't afford to replace the whole camera by Saturday and I really need it on Saturday!

She Posts! On a MONDAY!

Today is the observance of Columbus Day -- so I have the day off, being a Federal employee. I'm usually enjoying an early autumn day of chopping down the summer flowers and greenery that have died, and getting the garden ready for mulching. However, today it was NINETY degrees F in Southern Maryland. 90, Nine Zero. Insanity.

I did get some things done. And did a few things I should have done during the summer - but it was too hot in July/August (after all it was summer time and 90 degrees! (Hahahahah -- Mother Nature, she laughs at me!)

The pool related things needed to be done today because, even though the high is still expected to be in the upper 80s this week, my pool is supposed to close tomorrow. It's hot work closing a pool in 90 degree weather. It turns out that the pool person would prefer to come on Thursday... so I have been given a reprieve and have taken it! I'll finish up the cleaning, putting away, finding of the closing stuff, etc. after work tomorrow and then I can drain the pool to below skimmer on Wednesday evening and hopefully avoid heat stroke.

On the knitting / crocheting front:

No new crocheting done. I finished Fetching:




I started a new hat - always have a hat on the needles!

I started Secret of the Stole, Hint 1 - got half way through Hint 1 yesterday, should finish tonight. Goes much faster then MS3 - because (1) I had never knit lace before MS3, so there was a learning curve and (2) I have fingering weight, rather than lace weight and it moves along much faster for some reason!

I continued on MS3.

In non-crafting news...

I'm getting over a nasty cold or a severe allergy attack or something nasty in the nose, throat and chest.

I'm preparing for my 30th High School Reunion. I'm co-chairing with a few other Alums. Event is Saturday. Lots to do!!

Hopefully I shall return on Wednesday and let you know Wazzup with me!

Wazzup Wednesday, October 3

Seems since I instituted Wazzup Wednesday, Wednesday is the only day I post! Life has been crazy busy for the past few weeks. Hope to have some time this coming Columbus Day weekend to take some pictures and post some FOs and WIPs and Wishes! :)

Today, words (and links) will have to suffice...

FO - a Charmed Knits beret in wide stripe, Ravenclaw colors.

FO/WIP - FO = Sock #1 of the pair. WIP = the Second Sock to be cast on tonight during Criminal Minds. Received the Yarn in the last Knitters Tea Swap from Emma

FO/WIP - FO = right hand Fetching; WIP = left hand Fetching.

WIP - Irish Hiking Scarf - a disappointment with Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Pines colorway - it is beautiful - but... I bought two skeins, same color, same dye lot, two different colors - the second skein is significantly darker than the first. :( I'll decide what to do after it's finished... But I'm not starting over! :)

Wazzup Wednesday, September 26

Bad Blogger! Me, that is! It's been a week.

Had a wonderful time at my cousin's wedding. It was, however, a tiring time - driving 6 - 7 hours on Friday from home to the hotel to the airport to the hotel to my cousin's house back to the hotel. maybe it was 8 hours of driving?

Saturday was changeable weather - but a lovely event!

Sunday - check out, drive to the airport, drive to the other Aunt and Uncle, then 7 hours to home again... Tired.

This is the last week of the year at work. Tiring.

Baby shower tomorrow... have one more border row to go on the afghan I'm giving as a gift. Collapsing on the bed soon.

ETA:




Finis!

So, Wazzup with you?

Wazzup Wednesday, September 19

Well...



Mittens



A Cloud Hat



and a Hat to go with the mittens!

I am crocheting a baby blanket - but there is no picture yet.

I am also getting ready to take a trip to NY, Long Island to be more specific, for my cousin's wedding on Saturday.

I signed up for the Secret of the Stole . Another mystery lace knitting project. It is a Yahoo! Group. Hints begin in early October through November. If you are interested, sign ups close on October 4, 2007.

That's Wazzup with me. Wazzup with you?

Some real, live knitting!

Warmest Mittens, the start
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

I began this mitten last night. What you see is beginning of a pair of Warmest Mittens using Patons Classic Wool Merino in Burgundy and Wisdom Yarn Fair Isle (100% Wool) in a variegated, complementary colorway; US 3 (for the cuff) and US 4 (for the rest) DPNs; and handmade (by someone else) stitch markers. Pattern indicates, by using this yarn and these needles, I will end up with a woman's medium. Only time will tell if I get that size! :)

I've also worked a bit on my Irish Hiking Scarf and am nearing the halfway mark. It would be really cool to finish that this week. Since the MS3 thing won't be done by Sept 22. Perhaps I can finish the scarf and present it to my Aunt for her birthday instead of Christmas. Then, if it gets cold in NY before December 25th, she'll have a warm scarf top wear!

Wazzup Wednesday.

My Blog sent me a message: "Miss you. Wish you were here." I haven't had anything to say or show. I have been singularly uninspired. I think that last heat wave just zapped me. So, here's the scoop. In order to battle this inertia, I have created a Wazzup Wednesday posting initiative.

On Wednesdays, regardless of outside influences, I intend to post Wazzup in my life!

Presenting my first Wazzup Wednesday!

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


This is Wazzup in my world:

1. Got my Ravelry invite a bit ago - My name there is Radarkaty. Look me up! Friend me! Invite me to your group! I'm a little shy. I've posted a little but have not fallen in ... that is not why I wasn't here. Just didn't have much to say - here or there!

2. Younger son started Senior year of High School.

3. Older son moved out with a friend. Had a job. Lost a job. Found another. Stops by periodically for stuff he didn't move out yet (and still has his hand out for the $$, and still doesn't want to earn it).

4. High School Reunion is in the works. There is a bit of a niggling worry that no one will show - only have about 8 definites and it happens on October 13th.

5. Mom has been recovering from her broken wrist which was surgically repaired. Up until two weeks ago - she wasn't driving. This meant I was driving her places - which is okay, except it sapped the energy and left little time for creative endeavors.

6. Making plans for 3 family weddings between now and April 20th. First one is September 22. Then the Reunion on Oct 13. Then the second Wedding on December 1. Then Christmas! Then 2008!!! This comes up so fast!

7. Still plugging away on MS3 stole - I'm about 1/4 way through Clue 4 - the longest clue - and there are 7 clues total. Wanted it for the 9/22 wedding - looks more likely for the one on Dec 1.

8. I have finished two wool hats for donation to add to the other 6 already completed; one pair of toddler mittens (would like to do more of these); and am about 1/2 way through an Irish Hiking Scarf (.pdf file) for my Aunt (this sounds like progress, except I did the first quarter of the scarf LAST Fall!).

9. No pictures - haven't gotten the camera out lately and the light isn't so good at night. Good weather is predicted through Sunday - hope to rectify this omission soon!

That's Wazzup in my world. Wazzup in yours?

Labor Day Weekend

What I've been working on ~~



I was supposed to mail these out last week. They'll hit the Post Office tomorrow. :)

I've also been cleaning out a basement and a backyard. And making slow-bee progress on my MS3 ~~ which I'd like to wear to that event at the opening of this post! I actually want to wear it to a wedding on September 22nd, but will settle of the Reunion on October 13th!

Clue 3 complete

Clue 3.2
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Finished Clue 3 of the Mystery Stole - even though it it is no longer a mystery...

Click on the pictures and you should go to Flickr, where you can see a couple of other shots of Clue 3 as well as all the preceding shots!

On to Clue 4!!! Please send waves of good thoughts for the power of knitting to prevail; keeping at bay the power of TINKing (which seemed to prevail over Clues 1 - 3!!)

Clue 2 done

Clue 2 done
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Almost done Clue 3 too! Pictures when I take them.

Click on the photo and see the rest of the MS3 photos at Flickr.

VOTE: Labor Daze at WPOC

UPDATE: Voting is over - She won!! Thank you if you voted!

My cousin is in the running for a prize - she just needs your vote! :)

WPOC Laurie's Labor Daze

Please go and cast a vote FOR PHOTO NUMBER 10 if you are so inclined.

Thanks!

I broke the 1k barrier

You signed up on June 23, 2007
You are #10737 on the list.
913 people are ahead of you in line.
17197 people are behind you in line.
35% of the list has been invited so far



Woot! Woot! Less than a 1000 to go and I get to check out Ravelry!

ETA: At 9:20 PM (EDT) 8/24/2007, 767 people are ahead of you in line.

Hmm, hmmm, good!

My Mother and I took a drive to the River - to finish the Virtual Vacation gifting... We had a scrumptious lunch at Solomons Pier.


Stoney's Broomes Island Crab Soup


Crab Pretzel


Crab and Shrimp Dip

Virtual Vacation Swap

total
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Apparently, I visited Texas! Yee Haw!!

Debbie was a great travel guide. My ideal vacation was to just veg... and that's what we did. We saw her little corner of the world. She took some lovely pictures of our 'vacation' to remind me of our fun!

And then she sent me a HUGE box filled with goodies so that I will always remember my 'vacation' in Texas. If you click on the picture, it should take you to my Flickr page. You'll be able to see all the little notes about each item on the table. And you can check out the close-ups in my Virtual Vacation Swap set!

You may notice that my goodies FILL! my kitchen table! Debbie, your generosity is as big as TEXAS!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Web Painting

Click here to create your own painting.

MS3 Progress!

Clue 1 done.

Clue 2 commenced.

Woot! Woot!

sunflower extravaganza begins

My son came in today and wondered how he missed an 8 foot tall sunflower in the garden (he's 6'3") -- ummm... perhaps because, at almost 17 yo, you don't see anything you don't want to see? Or perhaps because the flower only opened in the last couple of days! :)

Life Does Come with Do-Overs!

I'm doing over my MS3 stole! :)

I kept running into trouble. Knitting, reknitting, tinking, frogging, knitting... and I didn't get past the first of four clues. I decided to try again - Fresh. From the beginning. And it is looking so.much.better! Over 300 rows of pattern have been revealed. I am at row 31. But that's okay. I am not striving for perfection, just for the lack of GLARING errors. Little ones I can live with. Spot them from across the room? Um, no, need to fix those. So, I'm going to go slowly. A few rows a day until I hit my stride.

Since I'm doing just a few rows a day, I am also crocheting squares, crocheting rectangles into blankets, reading, taking care of my mother...

Oh, and I am also watching my first Sunflowers thrive despite the severe drought in my county. (I water the garden and am ignoring the grass!) They are four different heights - the tallest well over 6 feet! They are starting the tendrils of the blossom. In the morning they face East and when I return home at night they are heading West! They really do follow the sun... it is such a cool phenomenon of nature!

MS3 - or How I fell down the rabbit hole!

I finally finished Clue 1 Chart A! Those of us (6671 to be exact) that signed up for Melanie's Mystery Stole 3 KAL were given Clue 4 today - so you can see how far behind I am! (If you missed out on the Yahoo! Groups KAL, Melanie will be making the pattern available on her webiste, for a small fee, after the KAL is complete. Check out her others in the meantime)

I frogged at least 4 times. While I say this is the fifth attempt, it may well be my seventh!! :)

Here is the beginning... a nascent 50 rows:


It's looking very lacy, but pretty good for my FIRST...

... Lace project (besides the occasional yo on a couple of sock
patterns)

... Laceweight yarn useage

... chart following experience (I chose to follow the chart rather than
the written. It's working out pretty well, provided I remember to count
at the end of every row and fix or repair RIGHT AWAY!)

... beading project

Lots of firsts. I'm confident it will turn out just fine.

My yarn/bead choice: KP Alpaca Cloud in Moss with gold seed beads.

slips, drips, black, ack!

My mom slipped (slip) as she entered our front door on Saturday... she fractured her wrist and had surgery this afternoon. (drip) She has two lovely shiners that were once her eyes due to her forehead slamming into the stair. (black)

Ac(k!)rylic yarn as been my mainstay as I crochet squares for various causes. These are the easiest and most portable projects I can muster right now. And the two folks collecting these squares will be happy to have them!

I tried - four times already - to knit the Mystery Stole 3 posted by Melanie in a Yahoo! group (that is now closed to new members - pattern available sometime after the conclusion of the KAL)... with the fall, the ER, the surgery, etc., etc., I have not attemped the fifth try yet.

I am indeed both a Slow Bee and a Frequent Frogger!

I be trippin'!

The last week has been spent cleaning, clearing, cleaning, clearing... I'm getting refinanced and the appraiser came yesterday.

These


Became this:



and this:






Last night, I celebrated the clean :) Actually, some friends were heading to England/Scotland/Ireland and a few of us gathered at Clyde's for a delightful send-off dinner.

Work has been kooky, crazy, hectic.

Very, very little fiber work was done.

I made some Red Heart squares to mail away for soldier afghans. I've made some squares to mail away for Greensburg.

Today, instead of knitting through lunch, I walked the Mall and visited Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

Tonight, I'm getting ready for a trip to Chi-town! Visiting my sister and attending The Pampered Chef® National Conference.

Washing, folding, packing. So little fiber work!

I did join the Mystery Stole 3 yahoo group* - to knit a lace stole, clue by clue. Clues 1 and 2 are available. Beads are optional. Laceweight it recommended. Black or white are preferred colors. I have no beads. I do have sage green laceweight which I have frogged twice while trying to swatch. I think I need to wait until I get back from Chicago!



*It may be closed by the time this message posts as joining ends at midnight est (or is it edt?) tonight, Friday - on the off chance you have time to jump on the bandwagon with the 6600+ of us - click here ! If you missed the boat, Melanie will be making the pattern available when it's all over.