ABC Along - B is for...

Baby baptismal blanket
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

a boy's baptismal blanket, featuring the Blessed Mother.

At Jesus Divine Word Catholic Church, a parishioner began a ministry to make prayer shawls and baptismal blankets. The shawls are available for the Pastor and others to bring to those in need of the comfort such a gift can bring.

The Baptismal Blankets are used as the white garment placed on babies during baptism, symbolic of putting on Christ. These blankets are smaller than a baby afghan might be, but beautiful in their symbolism. About 20" square, a pink or blue ribbon is woven through the edge and tied at one corner. A Miraculous Medal is tied to the blanket as well.

I heard our Pastor was skeptical at first, but they have been well received by the families bringing their babies to be baptized in our Parish.

Glacial Gauntlets of the (Black) Wolf

Robbyn of The Yarnpath designed these lovely fingerless mitts - Glacial Gauntlets of the Wolf. When naming her pattern, she settled on Glacial Gauntlets based on her yarn and bead colors. When she offered her pattern, she suggested that any color combination would be good, regardless of the name of the pattern and put forth some ideas. I thought her black with red beads alternative would be make fabulous pair of Gauntlets for my niece. I went off to buy black yarn and red beads.

Here you have my Glacial Gauntlets of the Wolf in Black with Red Beads. Well, you have ONE of them anyway. Second to be started tonight! I might have to make another pair for my niece.

The pictures could be better. Black and red is difficult to capture. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm trying to take a picture of my own arm! When I'm finished number two, I'll get some picture taking help or, perhaps, modeling help!


Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss (70% merino wool, 30% silk; 220 yds/50 grams) in Black (I bought two skeins. However, I believe I will have enough in the first skein to make the pair.)

Beads: Jewelry & Craft Essentials, Glass 'E' 6/0 in Red/gold lined

Needles: Size US2 dpns; size 12 crochet hook (for bead placement)

Click on any to be taken to my Flickr photos

ABC-Along 2008 - A is for Absent

Absent
Originally uploaded by radarkaty.

I signed up for the ABC-Along 2008. The first posting was due yesterday. Ah, well. The picture was TAKEN yesterday.

I had a hard time being inspired with the A of the alphabet.

I needed to get a new mouse. (did you know that it is now called a Human Interface Device? I'm sure you did. I'm so behind in these things). I had a roller ball mouse and it was sticking badly and no amount of cleaning worked to make it better.

I noticed I had very worn spots on the mouse - I had worn down three spots to the bare plastic! :)

And then I looked at the keyboard. As is my fashion, keyboards that are 2 or more years in use have missing letters. The keys are still there, but if you need to look at the keys to figure out where your hands should be placed or to verify the letter - you are out of luck! You must know your QWERTY to work on my computer!

I present - A is for ABSENT.

FOs for your pleasure

Patterns: Sweater - Patons Upside Downer raglan in Child Size 4; Hat - generic beanie pattern

Needles: Sweater: circular US5 and US7; Hat - US8

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heather for the purply color; Cascade 220 wool for the white. Total of three skeins. Still have some left, perhaps enough for a smaller hat.

Hat turned out bigger than I thought, but it'll fit somebody. These are donations for the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservations through the Yahoo! Group - Macuwita sni.

edited to correct the name of the recipients. Had the right link, but the wrong name!

Secret of the Stole, the second...

I haven't finished the first, but the Second starts next week... and I signed up.

Why don't YOU sign up?



Sign up at the Yahoo! Group. Start knitting!

First hint will be given Friday, January 18th. Sign-ups close the day before.

Waddya waitin' for? Go. Sign Up! :)

Slow and steady...

...wins the race, right? Well, I hope so, because my Drop program has run into some serious snags.

I have made a bit of progress, though pictures wouldn't prove it - so I didn't take any! My two starting areas - walk-in closet and yarn corner - are thinning slowly. Several bags/boxes of ungivable stuff have been made ready for the dump. Several bags of donatables are started. Piles of like items to be culled and consolidated and properly placed are appearing on the landing.

This will be a marathon. I mustn't lose sight of that this early in.

Snag 1: The weather got HOT (well, HOT for January 74 - 75 degrees) and I don't do well with HOT and small places and who wants to turn the A/C on in January???

Snag 2: Both of my sons needed doctor care. 4 hours with one took Monday evening (meds, doctor's note, home to Baltimore for him). 2 hours with the other took Tuesday (meds, three days out of school, little sleep last night). Got a lot of knitting done. Finished a hat. Not a lot of cleaning up!

Snag 3: credit unions, banks, certified checks, refinance closing. Suffice to say it took time and thinking power and, again, not much in the Drop program was accomplished.

All the snags should be finished by this evening (sons are on the mend, closing is at 6:30) and new plans can take shape. Mom will be heading to Florida sometime next week - which will give me a few extra rooms to use as sorting/staging areas.

My goal: to be finished with the upstairs areas before she returns in March. This goal will allow for more 'snag time' - because you never know when the snag will get you!

As noted above, I have finished a hat. I need to weave in some ends, take a picture and send it off. Picture posting soon! Promise!

Drop the Weight in 2008!

That is my one and only New Year's Resolution.

It seems as though everyone makes that resolution. Weight loss programs see a giant spike in membership with huge numbers of people sign up in January, responding to the promises made in the ads and price specials. I venture to say more than 1/2 (making up the statistic - could be more, could be less) are gone from local meetings, have stopped changing their eating habits, are back to their old ways long before their special membership runs out. I know that has been my MO over the years.

But, I'm not talking about that kind of weight - at least not initially. While I certainly have many, many pounds of love to shed (over 100!), before I can do anything about my body weight, I have to do something about all the other things weighing my life down.

Here are two examples (and these are not even the extreme ones).




One of many books shelves in my house. You might notice that there is also a "book floor" there. Every set of shelves has the floor as an extension. There are even segments of floor without bookshelves covered with books and magazines. This is clutter beyond clutter. I need to cull the books, saving my most precious and donating/recycling the rest.




The Yarn Corner in my room - the mere tip of the mountain of rubbermaid containers, boxes, bags and other storage vessels filled with yarn and patterns and notions and more which can be found around my home. Again, clutter beyond clutter deserving of a good sort.

Before I can wrap my head around taking care of my physical well being, I must take care of my surroundings. Changing my body needs me to begin from a place of peace rather than frantic clutter. I've been hiding behind the clutter and avoiding the process. I made myself a promise a while ago -- to drop the unnecessary, the unwanted, the unhealthy -- to conduct a radical purge and cleanse of my life.

I have been afraid. Perhaps I won't like, or won't be able to handle, the incredible changes that must take place. What if I don't like the me that is on the other side of the clutter, the other side of 100 lbs? What if I'm a fraud? What if?

Or

What if I Drop the Weight in 2008 and Find 2009 to be just Divine?

By May 13, 2009:

I want my home to be peaceful, neat, tidy, simple.
I want my body to be healthy.
I want my spirit to be alive, active and open.

With God's help and my determination (and a few swift kicks from my sister!), I will meet this goal!

LET'S DOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!