Beady Eyed Knitter

Don't faint - I'm actually posting something...

2007-04-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a loooong time, hasn't it? I guess I sort of went into a bit of a depression and lost interest for a while in my poor blog. However, I didn't lose interest in my knitting and have knitted tons. I now have 18 pairs of handknitted socks in my sock drawer and my Dad has 3 pair in his. Woohoo! I've knit a few shawls but still haven't worked up the nerve to try a sweater. My excuse? I was waiting until I lost weight so that I wouldn't have to knit so much. Hey, I lost 40 pounds and that makes a big difference sweater-wise!

I've taken pics of almost everything I knit, so I'll be posting pics of my FO's. Be prepared to see lots of socks!

I saw this and had to do it:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Call off the search - she's alive!

2006-07-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Over a month since I last posted... yikes! It was a very busy month with our business and the days just seemed to end before I knew it.

I did manage to finish a couple of pairs of socks. The Embossed Leaves socks are finished and I'm quite pleased with them. I had plenty of yarn left over and could have done another repeat on the leg, but I wasn't about to rip them back and knit them over.

I didn't bother with trying to make the socks match. I'm fine with them the way they are.

I like the smooth heel flap with the purled edges. Hopefully, it'll stand up to wear.

Finished with a star toe. Another first for me and I like the look of it. The pattern is a bit difficult to see with this yarn, but I like it.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Interweave Knits Winter 2005
Yarn: Austerman Step
Needles: Addi Turbo US 0 using 2 circs

I really enjoyed this pattern. It was easy enough to be a take-along project but not so easy that I got bored. The yarn is soft and springy albeit a bit splitty. I'm dubious about the aloe and jojoba benefits in the yarn but I guess I'll find out in time.

I found this in my mailbox last week:

I'm really not sure how I ended up ordering it. It must have been sleep deprivation. Yeah, that's it. I don't even remember how I came upon it. I mean, I wasn't (really!) actively looking for silk yarn but when I saw it on the Little Knits site, I was absolutely mesmerized by the colors. I finally decided on the Indian Summer and Dusk colorways and placed an order. Within 3 days I was taking it out of my mailbox. Boy, was I impressed! Sue Little shipped it out the same day I ordered it and even included a handwritten note of thanks on the receipt.

Let me tell you, this is some beautiful yarn! The colors are deep and rich and it's got that lovely silk crunch when I squeeze it. I've got them sitting right by my desk where I can ogle them on an hourly basis.

That's about all I've got time for right now. I've got a pair of finished Elfine socks and a couple of partly finished lace shawls for my next post. Oh, and a few (okay, 14) skeins of Koigu that I got on a field trip with Monica last weekend. We had a fun day!

This morning I'm going to meet my Mom's best friend, Linda, her friend Bernice and Bernice's boss, Melody, in Palm Desert. Yes, Palm Desert. In mid-July. Yahoo weather shows that it is supposed to be 119 degrees there today. Yes, I agree. I'm nuts. But, there's a good reason that we're going. We're meeting at a yarn/fabric/bead store. Enough said. I'll be taking plenty of water with me and towels to cover the black leather seats, which are inside a black car. That I'm taking to the desert in mid-July. I know, I know. I'm nuts.

Is it just me?

2006-06-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, my sister gave me a gorgeous ball of recycled sari silk yarn. I do mean gorgeous. As in bee-yoo-ti-ful! The colors were deep and rich - burgundys, reds, fuschias, teals and even a bit of lime green. I was totally enamored of it. It was big, too - 249 grams!

For months it sat next to my desk, where I could gaze lovingly at. I'd pick it up and heft it in my hand, marveling at it's weight. I'd turn in over and over, admiring the deep, rich colors and drinking in their beauty.

I'd dream of different projects to use it in, never settling on one. This had to be used in something very special. Something that would show off the beauty of the yarn in all it's splendor.

The silk had been spun into a delicate yarn - somewhere between fingering and sport weight. Oh, how I longed to knit with this lovely yarn, but still I held out for that perfect project. Finally, I decided on a simple shawl. I'd use the same pattern as I'd used on my lovely green silk. It would be perfect!

Excitedly, I set up my ball winder and swift in the family room and proceeded to wind my treasure onto the swift. I wanted to see how much yardage the skein actually held. As I wound, the colors began to change and lighten. How wonderful - the silk was graduating from dark to light! The light in room was not very good, so I couldn't quite make out the details. No matter, I'd soon be able to examine it fully under my Ott Lite.

On and on I wound and then, oh darn, a knot. No matter. I'll be able to work around that. Then shortly, Rats, I came across a complete break in the yarn. Ah well, no matter, I'll just start a new yarn cake. Deciding to forgo measuring the yardage, I started winding the yarn from the swift to the ball winder. I could hardly wait to start knitting!

I finished winding the first ball and began to wind directly from what remained of the original yarn ball. As I gazed at the ball I'd just wound, I could see that there was a very noticable difference in color between the two balls. Hmmm, would I start with the lighter color at the bottom of the shawl and end up with the darker, richer colors around my shoulders or vice versa? I wished that the lighting in the room were better so that I could see what the lighter colors were.

At last, I finished winding and took the 2nd ball off the winder. This second ball was bigger and felt a bit different than the first one. Excitedly, I made my way to my Ott Lite, sat down with my treasured yarn and turned on the light.

Hmmm. Is it just me or is there a difference between these two balls?

What the ...??? Are my eyes deceiving me? If I hadn't just wound these balls myself, I never would have believed that they had come from the same ball.

I slumped to the floor in utter dejection. My yarn, my beautiful yarn - it was all a lie! All these months I had treasured it and it was all a deception. A few yards of beauty wrapped around ugliness. "Oh, the humanity!", I screamed to the heavens. My dreams were gone, my hopes for a beautiful, richly colored shawl were dashed.

Hmmm, what can I knit with a small amount of furry string?

The Amazing Lace!

2006-06-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at the beginning of the Amazing Lace! Selection is down to the final three and a decision must be made by Captain Lindsey. In the running are: Indigo Zephyr, Peacock Zephyr and Ruby Zephyr. Each have their strengths and weaknesses and it's not going to be easy to choose just one. Let's see what our group is up to.

Ruby is intensely studying the Summer into Fall shawl pattern, trying to decide on the best plan of attack. Indigo and Peacock seem to be calculating how far it is to Hawaii. Uh, does anyone know about any plans to go to Hawaii? No, me neither.

Moving on!

Ruby is really working those circulars in preparation for the task ahead. She jumps that thing so fast you can hardly see her feet!

Hmm, I guess Indigo and Peacock are just resting up a bit before they start their training.

After jumping rope, Ruby moves right on to the swift. Wow, look at her go!

Indigo and Peacock seem to be working on... uh... their tans...

Boy that Ruby is a real fireball! Here she is, well into the 8th mile of her daily 10 mile jog. Watch out for that car, Ruby!

Indigo and Peacock seem to be taking a nap...

After a refreshing shower, Ruby enjoys a healthy snack of carrots and celery.

What the ...??? Did they drink half that bottle of tequila already? Oh for crying out loud, somebody get Indigo some coffee!

Well, the competition has been ~~a joke~~ fierce. Captain Lindsey needs a teammate who works hard and is willing to go the extra mile. She's ready to make her announcement. Shhh, everybody listen!

And the winner is...

INDIGO!

Just kidding...

It's Ruby!!! Hooray! Hardworking, dependable AND good-looking! Let's have another look at our winner.

Congratulations, Ruby - great job!

Tune in next time to check out the progress our new team has made!

One of those (knitting) days...

2006-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday was one of those days where nothing seems to work out properly. Jim is up in Northern California for a few days and I thought it would be a good time for getting lots of knitting done. Wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

I was slammed with work during the day. On top of that, I was trying to get a brand new program set up and was back and forth on the phone with the software designer. He's the type that thinks you're an idiot if you don't intuitively understand something. Apparently, this is the type of software that conveys it's information by osmosis. Unfortunately for me, my cells seemed to be impermeable that day and I absorbed nothing. He never did finish ~~sneering at~~ helping me, so I've got to call him again on Monday. Oh joy.

I finally got time to sit down with my knitting late that evening. I wasn't in the mood for sock knitting, so I looked through some of my UFO's. Ah, just the thing! I pulled out the blue Via Diagonale that I hadn't worked on since January. It takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to knit but it's a good, mindless pattern and I could sit and talk with Mum while working on it. When Mum was in the hospital, I'd sit beside her bed all day and knit on this.

I'd knit about three rows and decided to measure it to see how much longer I had to knit it. Wait a minute. Something looks kind of funny here. Is that a dark blue line line or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!! I had to rip out about 40 rows. And you know what? Now that I'm looking this picture I can see ANOTHER mistake a few rows below the dark blue line. Oh, for criminy's sake. I guess this pattern isn't as mindless as I thought. That's actually about 10 more rows of knitting that I have to rip out. Hhhhhhhhhhhh. Great. I guess it's going to go back in the closet to spend some more time with it's sister.

There's nothing wrong with this one, aside from the small fact that I ran out of yarn. Yarn that, apparently, isn't available. The owner of my LYS has been trying to get the dark green color for months, but it's backordered. It doesn't really matter anyway, since it'll be a completely different dye lot. It's OnLine Clip, which is wonderful to knit with, just not in the Olive color. The purse is only about half an inch short at this point, which is fine, but I think it'll look funny with the handles and i-cord edging in the lighter color. Maybe, if my LYS owner can get me another skein of the dark color, it won't look bad if just the handles and i-cord are in a different dye lot. Hmmm, that's a thought.

Okay, so back to Thursday night. After putting the blue Via aside in disgust, I thought I'd cast on for the Adamas shawl. I had some Knit Picks Shimmer in the Happy Dance colorway and I'd been wanting to use it. I grabbed some size 5 circs and started in on it. After knitting through the first few rows, I could see that the stitches were just a bit too loose for my taste. I'd need to go down to a size 4 needle. Sigh. Rip.

Alright, so that didn't work out. Rather than cast on again using smaller needles, I decided to knit on my Koigu socks. Worked on the cuff for a bit and then tried it on. Too big. Crud. Rip.

So.... this is the sum total of my knitting on Thursday.

Actually, it's even less than that because I ripped out 40 rows of the purse. Soon to be 50. Hhhhhhhh.

Yesterday morning I woke up headachey and by mid-morning it was a full-blown migraine. The kind that makes you nauseous and light penetrates like a spike into your brain. Luckily for me, it was quiet on the work front, so I took an Imitrex and went to bed. Since we work out of our home, this was very easy to do. I slept for a couple of hours, took another Imitrex and gradually began to feel better.

By evening I was back to (ab)normal and deciding that steak was sounding pretty darn good. I never cook steak when Jim is here because he doesn't eat red meat. I, on the other hand, LOVE a good steak, so off I went to the grocery store. A nice t-bone sounded good. Not because I know jack squat about different cuts of steak, but because I can give the bone to Alfie to chew on. It's a major treat for him and he only gets a steak bone a couple of times a year. Holy cow (hee), steaks are expensive! The only steaks with bones in them came two to a package. $18 for two steaks! Did I buy them? Yes, I did. I did it for my dog. I think that only another pet owner can understand the logic behind this.

So, the barbequed steak was yummy, the dog was happy and there was knitting to be done. I'd decided to learn how to knit a Sherman heel and toe. Which of my beautiful new yarns was I going to use? I chose a yarn and got to work.

I can hear (blogless) Kelly in Alaska right now thinking "WTF??? All that great new yarn and she used WOOL-EASE???" Yes. Yes, I did. What can I say? I suck.

I had a little accident

2006-05-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

I accidentally ended up with a bit more sock yarn than I thought I would. I'm not sure what happened. Well, actually, I went to Michigan is what happened. You see, my LYS doesn't carry these yarns and I had to get these while I could. I mean, what if there is a sudden halt on the production of sock yarn and I don't get to try these brands out? Or, what if I'm not able to get back to Michigan for a while and I'd only bought a couple of balls? Or, what if THOSE yarn shops stop carrying this yarn? What's that? Yes, I KNOW I can order these online from a hundred different places, but that's not my point. What's my point? Uh... well... erm... Oh, yes. It was an ACCIDENT. It was out of my hands. Besides, one of my favorite sayings is - everything happens for a reason. There must be a good reason why I ended up with so much sock yarn. I must not question it. I just have faith that it is so.

Wanna see what I accidentally got?

Koigu KPPM! Oh, and Cherry Tree Hill on the far right. Okay, that one I got at my LYS, but only because I didn't think I could get Koigu. Anyway, 4 different colorways of Koigu! You've already seen my attempts using one of the colorways. I ended up frogging it and will try something else.

Austerman Step and Opal. I didn't even realize that the Step had aloe and jojoba in it until after I'd bought it. I'm using the green Step for Cascading Leaves from the Winter 2005 Interweave Knits. Here's a close-up:

I know it's a pretty poor close-up, but that's the best I could do under the circumstances. The circumstances: trying to take pics of all that yarn before Jim got back from doing laps at the pool and had a stroke upon seeing it all. The pattern, like most patterns, would probably be best suited to a solid or very subtle variegated yarn, but I'm fine with how it's turning out. I'm knitting them on 2 size 0 Addis.

Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch. I got these just because I liked them and the yarn seemed a bit thicker. When I got home from Michigan I found that my LYS is now carrying this yarn. Oh well, there must have Been A Reason why I had to buy this in Michigan.

Assorted yarns. Plymouth Socka, Opal, Trekking XXL, Meilenweit Multieffekt, Online Supersocke 100. I got the Trekking XXL in April, the first time I went to Friends of Wool in Holland, MI. I'd been reading about it and wanted to try it. That night, I decided to use it. I typically pull yarn from the inside of the skein and that's what I tried to do with this. I just couldn't find the end and, after about 5 minutes of fiddling, ended up pulling a huge wad out of the center. Out came a completely separate ball of yarn. Not having used Trekking XXL before I thought, "Oh! Maybe it's just separated into 2 separate balls - one for each sock." However, the inside ball ended up being wound all funky and I threw the whole thing into my suitcase in disgust. After getting home, I re-wound both and found that the inside ball was actually 2 smaller balls. No knots, just completely separate bits of yarn. Weird. Anyway, the entire lot is 114 grams, so I actually came out ahead.

Cotton sock yarns. Regia, Plymouth Socka in 2 colorways, Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy and Meilenweit Cotton Fun. Normally, beige wouldn't be a color I would choose, but the Cotton Fun feels SO soft and nice that I just had to buy it. I HAD to.

Dalegarn Baby Ull in green and red and Plymouth Dreambaby D.K. in two shades of green. The 4 at the bottom are actually a green-gray in light and dark shades, but they didn't photograph well. These are so soft and nice and I thought they'd make nice 2-tone socks.

Knit Picks yarn. Okay, these I DID order from online, but only because they were on sale. You wouldn't want me to miss out, would you? All of these are Sock Memories and they are really thick and soft. I'm looking forward to using these.

More Knit Picks. On the top and far right is Dancing, bottom left is Simple Stripes and the red/orange is Sock Garden. The Sock Garden is really lovely to work with and I've already used the Hydrangea colorway to knit these:

This yarn knits up so nicely and these socks feel great! I knit these on 2 size 1 needles and decided to try a round toe. I like the way the round toe fits. The yarn knits up into a thick, very soft fabric. Of course, purple being my favorite color, I love these socks.

KidSilk Haze in 2 colors, JaeggerSpun Zephyr and Trendsetter Yarns Sorbet. My LYS doesn't carry KidSilk Haze or Zephyr, so I HAD to get these.

Last, but not least, JaeggerSpun Zephyr in 3 different colorways. Okay, I got these online, too, but they're for the Mystery Shawl 3 and 4 groups that I joined. I couldn't decide on which colorway, so I got the 3 I liked best. 8 ounces of each. Woo! I'm going to use one of them for the Amazing Lace project, but I haven't decided which one.

Hey, accidents WILL happen.

A challenge!

2006-05-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

I just read about The Amazing Lace this morning. I'm in! I'm going to do the Summer into Fall Shawl from the Mystery Shawl 3 group. Woohoo!

Amusing stuff

2006-05-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

I've got some knitting stuff to post, but haven't got around to editing the pics yet. So, in the meantime, here are a few interesting pics:

Jim and his friend gathered stray golf balls one day and dumped them out on the carpet to inspect them. For some reason, known only to cats, Ollie thought it would make a nice place to nap.

Last May, I took my Mom to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. While we were there, I spotted this water tower painted like an ear of corn.

When we drove back from the Mayo Clinic, we took the scenic route through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We stopped at a Bob's Big Boy in Manistique. Instead of the usual Big Boy statue, we found this. Love it!

I did this as a swap piece on the Bead Art Forum. Humpty Dumpty is beaded over a wooden egg form and the 'wall' is beaded over a little box I bought at JoAnn's. I painted the inside of the box with Lumiere paint (love that stuff!) and added a fried egg.

This piece now resides in Washington. Jim wanted me to keep it, but I decided to send it in as a swap piece.

Just a quick post...

2006-05-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'll be flying back to Michigan again. We're having Mumma's memorial service next Saturday and then will scatter her ashes on Mother's Day.

I miss my Mumma so much.

On a lighter note... some pictures of FOs.

My So Called Scarf. I finally got it washed and blocked. I love it! It came out wonderfully soft and drapey and it's, by far, my favorite scarf. It took 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden.

My finished Kiri shawl. I think it turned out great. It took 2 1/2 balls of Crystal Palace Kid Merino. I think I used size 6 Bryspuns.

This is a simple triangular shawl made with Great Adirondack Yarn Company's Mohair Boucle. I liked the colorway a whole lot better when it was in the skein. Once I got it wound, I was really disappointed with how it looked. Before I bought it, I waffled back and forth between this colorway and a blue/mauve/cream colorway. I finally decided on this because the skein looked so vibrant. However, now it just looks kind of so-so. I should have gone with the other colorway.

A simple washcloth made with Lion Cotton. I got a sudden urge to make washcloths. I knit up about 8 different patterns before I found one I liked. Size 7 needles.

What could this be for?

Felted bags - what fun!

I really like how these came out! They're for my sister's birthday on the 9th. I'll give them to her this evening when she comes to take me to the airport. She loved the one I did last fall and these are much more her colors. The green one is knit with 2 skeins of Cascade Pastaza and one skein of Laines Du Nord Portofino. The striped one is knit with one skein of Pastaza and 1 skein of Cascade Quatro and 1 skein of Laines Du Nord Portofino. The Pastaza was knit with a single strand and the Quatro was doubled. Size 13 needles.

Last but not least... Jim put Ollie up on the shelf in the closet and he decided that he likes hand-knit items.

Beautiful

2006-04-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this picture and I just had to share.

Isn't this lovely?!

*Edited - because Monica asked me about the photo - The east side of the Carrizo plain, in the Temblor Range, about 50 miles due west of Bakersfield , California . Photo taken by Barbara Mathews May 14. 2005

On the knitting front - well, not so much.

STILL working on the hippopomatomus socks. I like the way they're coming out but, dang, it's taking f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to get through this pattern. The yarn is Knit Picks Sock Garden in Star Gazer Lily and I LOVE IT. It's soft and bouncy and the colors are lovely. It's actually a bit brighter than this pic shows, believe it or not. The way the colors are spiraling is really pleasing me. At the rate I'm going on these, I'll have them done in time for Christmas. Next year.

I decided to use my new Koigu with the Crusoe pattern from Knitty. Because I wanted to make sure I used as much of it as possible, I started from the toe up.

Well... it started off okay but take a closer look:

The top of the sock, because it's stranded, isn't as stretchy as the bottom. The bottom of the sock is coming out longer than the top and it just isn't going to work. Dang. Guess I'll have to try something else. I really like this pattern, though. Very easy to knit. When I first saw it I thought, "Yeah, right. I'm not ready for that." However, after I got the Koigu, I took a closer look at it and went "That's IT? That's what I thought would be difficult?" It's a simple, two-row pattern that you can remember after just one glance. Easy! I'll definitely be using this pattern again. Only with a variegated yarn that has more yardage in the ball.

Somehow, I got on a washcloth kick. I bought a ton of Cotton Twist on sale at my LYS with the intention of making nice washcloths. I tried about 430 different washcloth patterns and didn't find any that I liked with this yarn. Finally, I found a round one that may work. I've got several almost finished washcloths lying here, but I haven't sewn them together yet. I just keep staring at them, hoping the washcloth elves will sew them up for me. So far, they haven't made an appearance at my house. Maybe I'll wait a few more days and see if they show up...

Slow Recovery

2006-04-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough few weeks. I still find it so hard to believe that my Mumma is actually gone. I'll be going along through the day and suddenly it hits me that she's not here anymore. My breath catches in my throat and it's as if someone has knocked the wind out of me. I know that it will ease over time but, sheesh, it sure is difficult right now.

Well, I thought it was time that I posted some pics of finished projects. I've been on a sock kick lately because I just haven't been able to concentrate on knitting lace. Besides, I went a bit nutso with the sock yarn and I need to knit down the stash a bit. I visited Friends Of Wool while I was back in Michigan and found all sorts of great sock yarn. I found Koigu (!) and, as I've not worked with it before, had to get some. Also, Opal, Trekking XXL, Lana Grossa Meilenweit (Multieffekt and Mega Boot Stretch). At Juicy Yarn & Beads in Saugatuck I came away with Socka in several colorways. Altogether I came home with yarn for 11 pairs of socks. Also, I may have made a wee order with Knit Picks and received a few balls (okay, 22) in the mail. So, lots of socks in my future. I'm sort of becoming obsessed with getting some Socks That Rock, but I'm trying really hard to resist buying more yarn until I knit up at least half of the current sock yarn stash. We'll see.

Okay, on to pics:

Love these socks! They were fast and fun to knit up. So much so that I immediately started another pair in a brighter (!) colorway. No pics of those yet.

Pattern: Broadripple
Yarn: Cascade Fixation
Needles: Size 3 Bamboo

These socks were finished months ago, but I forgot to take pics.

Pattern: Out of last summer's Creative Knitting mag
Yarn: Paton's Grace
Needles: Size 3 Bamboo

Love this yarn! It's 100% silk and was such a treat to knit with!

Pattern: Just a basic YO K2tog with increases
Yarn: Curious Creek 100% silk - YUM!
Needles: Size 17

The lovely Flower Bastket Shawl from Interweave Knits. It was a delight from start to finish and only took about 5 days. There are about 5 extra repeats of the pattern. I gave this to Jim's Mom for Christmas and she loves it.

Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave Knits
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Laceweight - 2 balls
Needles: Size 6 Bryspun circulars (love these!)

Socks in the works:

Pomatomus - 2 socks on 2 circs in Knit Picks' Sock Garden - Star Gazer Lily
Gentleman's Sock - 2 Size 0 circs in Schaeffer's Anne
Child's First Sock - 2 circs in Baby Ull - Purple
Crusoe - 2 circs in Koigu

Also, I'm knitting up a quick washcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting's new book. I'm really enjoying reading this book. I got the Yarn Harlot's new book 'Knitting Rules' last week and love it.

That's about it for now. I'll leave you with a picture of Alfie:

Lost

2006-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

My heart is breaking. My dear, beautiful Mumma is gone. She left this life on 3/26 at 3:41am.

Mumma fought that insidious disease right to her very last breath. She never, not for one moment, gave in. She fought and fought until her body didn't have anything left to fight with. Even when we told her it was okay to let go, even begged at times, she wouldn't give up. She left this earth under her own terms - just the way she'd always lived her life.

Dad called me early on the Thursday morning and told me that the hospice doctor had said Mumma only had a day or two left. She'd woken about 4am that morning in horrific pain and the pain meds weren't working. She'd always been allergic to morphine and the Dilaudid only did a so-so job of keeping the pain in check. Luckily, the hospice doctor was due to visit that morning at 10am. He examined Mumma and then sat on the bed next to her. He explained very gently that she had very little time left. She said she understood and wanted to stay at home. The doctor called for a nurse to bring stronger meds and she was at the house within half an hour. Even though Mumma was allergic to morphine, they decided to try it. The nurse rubbed a powerful anti-nausea gel on Mum's chest and slowly began to introduce the morphine. After an hour and a half the full dose had been given and there were no adverse reactions. Dad said that the pain lines went out of her face and, for the first time in about 15 months, she was pain free.

The nurse told Dad that it was only a matter of hours before Mum went and so he called me with the news. I'd already booked airline tickets for that evening for Carolyn and I and we were hoping that Mumma would hold on until we got there. I told him to tell Mumma that we were coming, but if she couldn't hold on it was okay. We didn't want her to go on suffering just so that we could see her.

Well, she DID hold on. I called Dad at every step of the journey to let him know where we were. As we flew through the night I would send out messages to her, "We're coming, Mumma. Your girls are coming to you." We changed planes in Atlanta and, let me tell you, that hour and a half layover seemed like the longest layover ever. A friend picked us up at the airport and sped us on to the house. He managed to shave almost 15 minutes off the normal hour long drive. We arrived at the house and rushed inside to the bedroom.

There she was. There was our beloved Mumma. She appeared to be in a coma, but Dad assured us that she could hear us. We went to her and kissed her and I told her that we were here. There was no response, so Dad took her hand and rubbed it and told her that her girls were here. She immediately opened her eyes and looked at us. The look of profound joy on her face was beautiful to behold. Mum was almost past being able to speak at that point but told us that she had waited for us. We cried and told her how much we loved her and thanked her for waiting for us. Even though we'd told her many times throughout her illness how much she meant to us, we told her again and then let her know that it was okay to let go and move on. We all thought she'd let go after we got there, but she didn't.

Mumma fought for almost 2 more days. I sat by her side constantly, only leaving the room when absolutely necessary. We talked to each other and to Mum because she could still hear us, even if she couldn't respond. When her pain would get bad, Dad would administer the morphine by putting it into her mouth. It was terribly bitter and we could tell that it was horrible for her, but she didn't fight it. She knew that Dad was only doing it out of love. Her breathing was very slow and labored and we'd count the breaths. Only 5 or 6 a minute, sometimes with pauses of 30 seconds. At each long pause we'd hold our breaths and wait to see if she'd gone, but then she'd breath again and we'd let out our breaths, half in relief that she'd taken another breath and half in agony that she was still hanging on and suffering.

Throughout that time Paula, our friend and neighbor that lives across the street, would come and sit with us. She'd called me when the hospice nurse was on her way over to let me know that she was going over to sit with Dad and wouldn't leave him alone. She sat with him all that day, into the evening and right through the night. God bless friends like Paula. It was a great relief and comfort to know that Dad wasn't sitting alone with Mum, but had Paula there for company and support. Paula is family and we all love her.

On Saturday night Marti, the minister from Mum and Dad's church, came over. She had been in California and had come straight from the airport. Throughout Mum's illness Marti had made weekly visits and was a great friend. She'd called from the airport and let Dad know when she would be arriving. Mum heard Dad telling us this and we're all sure that she was holding on until Marti got there. She arrived about 7:30pm and Mum opened her eyes and smiled. Marti spoke gently to Mum, prayed with us, sang a little and gave Mumma her own personal benediction. About 10:30pm she decided to go home and said goodbye. Mum opened her eyes again and moved her hands as if wanting to give her a hug.

At around 11pm Mumma seemed to slip into a coma and we could tell that she wasn't in terrible pain anymore. Carolyn and I layed on the bed with her, me laying beside her and Carolyn laying with her head on the footboard, just as we'd sat hour after hour on previous visits. Dad sat in an armchair next to the bed and held Mumma's hand. We were all exhausted as we hadn't slept for a couple of days. Gradually, we all drifted off and slept peacefully there beside Mum. About 3:30am I woke up and realized that Mumma's breath had quieted down. Carolyn had been awake for about 15 minutes and had just lain watching Mum and seeing her breath get quieter. Mum started breathing these little, quiet breathes and we knew that the end was very near. We talked gently to her, giving her kisses and stroking her hair while we told her how much we loved her. As she breathed her last breath, one little tear ran down her cheek and I knew that she was sad that she finally had to leave us. She'd fought to stay with us as long as possible. I told her to be like a little bird and fly back home to God. Our beloved Mumma was borne up and away on our wings of love.

We'll scatter her ashes on Mother's Day and have her memorial service the day before. She'll be scattered on their property at the site of her favorite view. It looks out over a little valley with fields and woods. Two of her dog's ashes will be scattered with her and when the other dogs go, they'll be scattered there, too. Finally, when Dad goes, his ashes will be sprinkled with Mumma's and they'll be together once again.

Mum never let this disease get her down. Some people get angry or bitter at having cancer, but Mumma just got more loving. It actually brought out the best in her and she was such an inspiration to so many people. She never complained about anything and was so appreciative of all that we did for her. The illness brought her and Dad so close together and made their love something wonderous to behold.

I suppose that, eventually, I'll get used to the idea of her being gone but, for now, I just keep thinking "How can it be? How can my Mumma be gone?" It just doesn't seem possible.

Love you, Mumma!

Sigh...

2006-03-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

It's been ages since I've posted. I just don't have the energy for it right now.

My Mumma is still hanging in there. Carolyn and I flew back in late January as it looked like Mum was failing. However, she rallied beautifully after we got there and fought her way back from the edge. We were there almost 2 weeks and we came home happy and full of joy. My Mumma is a fighter and refuses to give in to this insidious disease. Tuesday was her 66th birthday and we never thought she'd make it. Yay Mumma!

I went to a Bead Retreat in Las Vegas mid-February with my beloved friends Kelly, Cyn and Dot. What a fun time we had! I can't even tell you how happy I was to see my dear friends and spend so much time with them. It was so nice to get away and have a bit of vacation from stress. I miss them so much.

Jim is still suffering from seizures and we had a close call last night when we found that he had been undermedicating. He's now back on the proper dosage and I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying very hard that his seizures will subside. It's a terrible thing to watch someone you love become so debilitated by something so uncontrollable. Between him and my Mumma, the stress level is very high. Sometimes I don't even want to get out of bed in the morning. But, life goes on and so must I.

On a lighter note, the weather here in Southern California this time of year is glorious. We had a bit of rain but that doesn't last long. Today the sun is shining and it's about 60 degrees. Beautiful!

Here's a picture of one of our cactus flowers taken a couple of summers ago:

Things you may not know about me...

2006-02-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Lindsey!

Lindsey is the world's tallest woman.
Only fifty-five percent of men wash their hands after using Lindsey.
Only one child in twenty will be born on the day predicted by Lindsey!
Grapes explode if you put them inside Lindsey!
A thimbleful of Lindsey would weigh over 100 million tons!
Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like Lindsey.
During severe windstorms, Lindsey may sway several feet to either side.
There is no lead in a lead pencil - it is simply a stick of graphite mixed with Lindsey and water!
In the Spanish edition of Cluedo, Lindsey is the victim.
Red Lindsey at night, shepherd's delight. Red Lindsey at morning, shepherd's warning.

Typical

2005-11-16T01:11:00.000-08:00

What is it with us Geminis (Geminians?)? Do we have no self-control? Are we not able to exercise the least bit of restraint? Do we not know how to utter the word 'No'?

Apparently not.

It's not enough that I've already got approximately 283 UFO's strewn around my office. It doesn't matter that I only have 1 more evening of knitting to do until I'm finished with 'My So Called Scarf'. Oh no. Not only do I have to start a new project, I have to start TWO new projects. No one ever said I did things by halves. Okay. Maybe they have. Maybe a LOT of people have. But you don't have to point it out.

First of all, I'm almost done with My So Called Scarf.

I just love the colors that have come out of these skeins. To my mind, it's like a flower garden that I'll be able to wear around my neck. I'm much happier with it after frogging and starting with the other end of the skein. The only color I'm not crazy about is the bit of brown, but I can live with it. But, would someone please tell me what the deal is with the Noro Silk Garden? Can you not buy this stuff without getting at least one knot per ball? The first ball had one knot and the second ball had THREE knots! That's a bit much, if you ask me. Go ahead, ask me.

I'm loving these new Crystal Palace Bamboo needles. There's a sticker on the package proclaiming them a 'new design'. They're slicker than any of the Clover bamboos I've got and they swivel on the cord. REALLY nice to work with and, I think, worth the $14.25 price tag.

Last week I bought the Essential Stripe sweater pattern from Wendy's Knit and Tonic site. This is one of the projects I had to begin before finishing my scarf. I had some skeins of TLC Cara Mia yarn in my stash that I'd bought on sale at JoAnn's. I was just going to use it for making hats, but it's actually really lovely to knit with. It's got 13% angora and it's knitting up really nicely. This is my very first attempt at a sweater and I'm hoping that it's successful. I did have to go up a couple of needle sizes to get the gauge right, so we'll see. At any rate, I'm enjoying it and it's knitting up pretty quickly.

Finally, I just HAD to cast on the Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2004. I just HAD to.

Oh, what a treat this yarn is to knit with! I just happened (what are the odds?) to have in my stash the exact yarn called for in the pattern. Misti Alpaca in Laceweight. The very yarn I just happened to buy during one of my (numerous) recent trips to the LYS. What luck! How fortuitous! It must have been destiny. And so I cast on. How could I not? It was destiny, I tell ya.

It's been cooler here in the evenings, which means more cuddling.

Alfie and Ollie, trying to keep warm on a cold (65 degrees) Southern California evening. You can see why I needed to start on the Essential Stripe sweater. We're practically down into single digits! Brrr!

I love Silk Garden

2005-11-12T01:43:00.000-08:00

I've had 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden #87 in my stash for quite some time and just didn't know what to do with it. I'd bought it not long after I learned to knit with the intention of knitting a scarf, but quickly got bored with knitting garter stitch scarves. Since I only had 2 skeins, it wasn't enough to knit a very big project with, but I didn't want to waste it on a project unworthy of it's loveliness. So, I just kept it in my stash and fondled it lovingly every so often.

A few months ago, Tammy posted a pic of a scarf she'd knit using the free My So Called Scarf pattern. I immediately knew that it was the perfect pattern for my treasured Silk Garden. A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to casting it on. I think it showcases the yarn beautifully. I got sidetracked with something else and put it aside for a while. The other night I picked it up and started on it again.

Unfortunately, as you can see, my tension changed drastically as I got used to the stitch. Also, I didn't like that the inside of the skein started with brown. That was the only somber bit in the entire skein and I just didn't like the fact that I would always be looking down at brown. Yuck. I love beautiful colors - purples and greens and oranges - and that's what I wanted to see. So I frogged it and started knitting from the other end. Ahhhh! Much better! Lovely pinks, blues, greens, purples, all flowing beautifully. By the time I got to the brown it fit in just right.

I started out knitting this on size 11 aluminum straight needles because they were nice and slippery. Silk is a bit sticky and the aluminum needles worked well with it. However, I couldn't knit sit comfortable in my chair and knit with those long needles. My shoulders started aching and I kept hitting the cat in my lap with the ends. I only had size 11 circulars in plastic and that slowed me waaaaay down. That silk yarn did not want to slide over the plastic. So, what's a girl to do but go out and buy more needles?

I bought the new Crystal Palace Bamboo circulars that swivel on the cord. LOVE them! The needles are just slippery enough and swivel smoothly. They were a bit pricey - $14.25, but worth it. I'll definitely be buying more.

I took the following pics when I was in Michigan last month visiting my parents. The trees were starting to show the fall colors in earnest and I got some good shots. Here's what my Mumma looks out at as she's sitting in bed:

Some lovely little wildflowers:

And, lastly, a little family I happened upon:

I'm on a roll...

2005-11-11T01:37:00.000-08:00

2 nights of blogging in a row - woohoo!

I just happened to open up an old issue of Creative Knitting (March 2005) and found a pattern for some cute socks using Paton's Grace. I'd made a cotton chemo cap for my Mom with 2 skeins that Melanie sent me as a surprise and liked working with the yarn. I decided to try out the sock pattern and went out and got 2 skeins of Grace in the same colorway. I'm knitting these on dpn's, so here's the result thus far:

I really like the colorway and the pattern knits up very quickly because they're knit on size 3 needles. I knit up one sock in just a few hours.

Here's the result of a recent visit to my LYS:

Do I know what I'm going to use these for? Not really. I was sort of thinking about using the Kid Merino for the Flower Basket Shawl from the Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I'm not sure which shawl I'll use the Misti Alpaca for, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I already had 3 skeins of the Elba, but decided I needed a 4th. I'm making a little wrap with a drop stitch, but I'm sure it'll be too cold to wear it by the time I'm finished. I just absolutely fell in love with this colorway way back in May when I first saw it and just had to have it. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Finally, I'll leave you with a shot of Ollie, enjoying some of my knitting magazines:

Oh man, I suck

2005-11-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

It's only been 3 WEEKS since I last posted.

When I was in junior high I was given a 5 year diary for my birthday. For the first year and a half I diligently wrote in it every single day. Of course, there were only about 5 lines available per day, so it's not like it was a huge undertaking. Pretty much, it took 2 minutes and I was done for the day. After about a year and a half the entries kind of dwindled to maybe a couple of times a week, then a few times a month and, finally, there were no more entries for the remaining 2 and a half years.

Then, when I was in 11th grade, I was given a new journal. It looked like blue denim and had little gnomes in the bottom of each page. That was the year I was deeply and passionately in love with Monty Johnson. I'd go on and on for pages about how much I loved Monty and how gorgeous he was. It was really sickening. He liked me, too, but I'm sure he didn't wax poetic about me to his journal. He was a year older than me and I thought he was so sophisticated. We were briefly considered an item until he met *gritted teeth* Melissa in the school musical. He dropped me so fast it wasn't even funny. I was heartsick and couldn't even bring myself to write about it in my journal. Since I didn't have anything else to write about, my journal languished, neglected, in my drawer. That was pretty much the end of my journal writing.

The point is, blogging is online journaling and I suck at it.

Okay, now that you know that I suck, let's see some finished stuff.

Finally, a picture of my blocked Pi Shawl. This pic was taken while it was still pinned out and drying. It took almost 500 pins to block it! The only place with enough room to block it was on the living room floor. We'd just had the carpet professionally shampooed that afternoon, so it was clean and pet hair free (for about 15 minutes). It may look like there's a slight stain in the middle of the shawl, but it's actually on the old sheet underneath.

When I went to visit my Mumma in Michigan last month I gave her this shawl. She's lost so much weight from the cancer that she's cold all the time.

While I was there, I made Fiber Trends felted clogs and felted hat. Both turned out great, but I felted the hat about 5 minutes too long and it's just a bit too snug for either my Mom or me. I'm told that I can re-wet it and really stretch it out so that's what I'll try to do.

I haven't taken a pic of the hat yet. I must say that I'm very pleased with the clogs and I wear them every day. Both the hat and the clogs were very easy to knit and I had them all done in about 4 days.

Yarn: Cascade 220

Needles: Size 13 Bamboo 24" circulars

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs #AC-33X

Time: About 3 days

I'll get more stuff up in the next few days and I'll really try not to suck at this blogging thing.

Home again

2005-10-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finally home again after spending almost a month in Michigan with my parents. My mom has pancreatic cancer and I was there helping to take care of her. I took her to the Mayo Clinic in mid-May and the oncologist there told her she had 4-6 months to live. She told him that she didn't accept that and was going to beat it. She's plugging along and is determined to persevere. There have been ups and downs, but she just keeps on truckin'. Go Mumma!!

I did a whole lot of knitting while I was there and completed several projects. I'll post pics in the next day or so. I didn't get in 'til late last night and I'm still beat. Tonight is Knit Night at my LYS and I'd like to go but, after being gone for almost a month, I think Jim would truly feel neglected.

I've noticed the newest thing on a couple of blogs this morning, so I'll jump in and participate. I went to Google and typed in 'Lindsey needs' and this is some of what I got:

1. Lindsey needs - to get a life (okay, maybe it's true but, sheesh, isn't that a little rude???)

2. Lindsey needs - to raise money to help with her expenses (true, so much yarn, so little money)

3. Lindsey needs - a little break from her social life (huh? WHAT social life? I thought you just told me I needed to get a life?)

4. Lindsey needs - a room to match her sweet and colorful personality (awww, you're making me blush)

5. Lindsey needs - to be punished somehow (I beg your pardon?)

6. Lindsey needs - to gain some weight (uh, you're obviously thinking of some OTHER Lindsey)

I'm sitting here wearing my newly felted clogs and loving them. I'm hoping that Jim will want some so that I can knit some more. They're fun and FAST!

Well, back to the grind. Sigh... I'll post pics of my completed projects soon.

It's nice to be home and sleeping in my own comfy bed surrounded by (and sometimes covered with) my pets... and Jim, of course.

Houston, we have FELTING!

2005-09-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! My first felted purse! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I think I may send it to a friend who loves purses.

Here's the 'before' picture:

And here are the 'after' pics:

Yarn : Knit Picks Wool of the Andes - 220 yds/100gms - 1 skein of Natural, 1 skein dyed with Kool Aid
Finished size: 10"w x 6"h
Time: 4 days, including dyeing the wool and waiting for it to dry
Needles: 10 1/2 circulars
Stitches: Cast on 50 for the bottom and knit 42 rows. Picked up stitches all the way around and knit in the round for about 56 rows. Straps are 5-stitch i-cords, also knit on size 10 1/2 needles.

The next one I make will be much bigger. I'm thinking about using Knit Picks Merino Style for that one. I've got 10 skeins of it in Asparagus and Iris just sitting in my stash and begging to be used. It's 100% merino wool, so it should felt up well. Has anyone out there felted with Merino Style?

I'm very excited...

2005-09-07T01:15:00.000-07:00

...about trying this whole felting thing. When I first saw a felted bag I thought "Nah, that's not for me". However, once I started seeing more pictures of them and heard how fast they were and how much fun, I sort of changed my mind. I bit the bullet, dyed some yarn and set off to make a felted bag. Here's where I was yesterday in the whole process:

This evening I finished the straps, popped it all in a zippered pillowcase and tossed it into the washing machine with a couple of towels. Two washing cycles later I had a felted bag and it's now drying over my upended wastebasket. It was pretty exciting to unzip that pillowcase after the first washing cycle and pull out a felted bag! I decided it needed a bit more felting and put in back in the washer. After the second time through it was just right. I'm so pleased with myself! I'll get pics tomorrow after it dries and I get the straps put on.

Now that I'm finished knitting the bag, I've picked my socks back up. This is my second pair of socks and I'm knitting them on smaller needles this time. My first pair was done on size 3's and the fabric was a bit too loose for my liking. This time I'm using a different yarn - Lang Jawoll - and I really like it. I liked the Knit Picks sock yarn, but this seems a bit firmer. This was my progress yesterday:

This evening I knit several more rows and started on the heel. I'm really loving how this is knitting up. I'm only 3 rows into the heel and thank goodness, because I suddenly realized that I'd forgotten all about using the reinforcing thread that comes with this yarn. Whew! Just in the nick of time!

Socks knit up pretty quickly, so maybe I'll be able to finish a pair before I get distracted again by this:

It's the Shaped Triangle shawl from A Gathering of Lace. I'm using Knit Picks Shadow in the colorway Grape Jelly and I'm loving it. Can you tell that I love Knit Picks yarn? Can you tell that my cat, Max, loves it, too? That's his little kitty foot in the upper right corner. He's into EVERYTHING.

Anyway, I got my Gathering of Lace book from Amazon and immediately had to cast on this shawl. After finishing my Pi shawl, I'm hooked on lace and had to start another shawl immediately. Also on my list is the Flower Basket Shawl from the Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I've got some Knit Picks (of course) Alpaca Cloud that I'm thinking of using for that one.

Finally, here's a pic of a simple hat I knit up the other day:

I used a pattern from the Head Huggers site. The colors are actually a bit more vivid in real life than this pic shows. I used Lion Brand Micro Spun and the main color is 'Lime'. I knit one for my Mumma (my pet name for my mom) to use as a chemo cap. Her's is orange with red stripes. I love using this Micro Spun yarn. It knits up beautifully and I found it a real pleasure to use. I'm wondering what else I can knit with it.

I keep reaching over and feeling my felted bag to see if it's dry yet. Nope, not yet. I'll be jumping out of bed tomorrow like I used to do on Christmas morning when I was little. "Is it dry yet? Is it dry yet?" I'm such a dork.

Alright, off to bed with me. Will I ever get to bed at a decent time? I highly doubt it.

A few projects

2005-09-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at Kool Aid dyeing. Ta da!

I'm not usually a turquoise person, but it was my first time and I wasn't sure what I'd get. This skein is now well on it's way to becoming a felted bag - also my first.

Also, I finally finished the Pi Shawl I started in February. I finished this about a week or so ago but still have to block it. I've never blocked anything before and I'm still trying to figure out where to do it without a cat or two laying all over it. I don't think the queen size bed in the guest room will be big enough.

Yarn used: Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Fog - 50 gm/110 yds
Needle size: 8
Skeins used: 14 and a bit
Started: February 2005
Finished: July 2005

My first pair of socks! I used the directions from Lion Brand Magic Stripes, but don't really like the way the back of the heel turned out. I used size 3 needles, but I think the fabric is a bit too loose. I'm using size 2's for my next pair.

I knit these in about 2 days while visiting my parents in Michigan. My dad thinks I'm a genius (well okay, maybe I am) because I knit socks with stripes. Hee.

Yarn: Knit Picks Simple Stripes - 50 gms/231 yards
Needle size: 3 but should have used a 1 or 2
Time: 2 days

*Edited to add - Son of a b*tch. I've only had this up for 15 minutes and someone already put spam in my comments. Sheesh. The spam is now GONE.

The pressure!

2005-09-03T02:25:00.000-07:00

My very first entry on my blog - oh, the pressure!

This morning I tried my hand at dyeing yarn with Kool Aid and I'm pleased with the result. I only dyed one skein of Knit Picks 'Wool of the Andes', but I'm already planning my next color selection. It was fun and fast! I'm knitting up my first felted bag and and am loving the way it's coming along.

No pics yet, as it's almost 2:30am and I must be getting myself to bed.