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.