Why do you blog?

This weekend, my teenage daughter observed me taking pictures of my wips. She asked me what I was doing and I gave her an evasive answer. She started teasing and went through several possible scenarios and finally ended with " I bet you are making a webpage so that you can say My socks are better than your socks!"

I just laughed and walked away. Both of my kids are very hooked into My Space. When she didn't suggest a blog or other social site it hurt my feelings, do they think I am too old a fogey for such!!!

But seriously, why do you blog?
I have not told my family about this space because it is mine. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I consider this blog to be my diary. As such, it belongs to me. It chronicles my progress, some of my knitting plans and connects in a small way to others with similar interests. I enjoy the reflective process and catch myself composing posts in my head throughout the day.

How bout you?

Useful Websites

The list could grow to be enormouse!!

I just want to share my two favorite today.
1. Have you subscribed to Bloglines? Once you identify the blogs that you read, it will search the list for you so you will know when they have been updates. My list has grown and I was using a great deal of my online time checking bookmarks and opening blogs that had not changed. Bloglines does all that for you and makes your blog reading more efficient.

2. I prefer charts to reading the knitting directions written out. VisiKnit will make the charts for you. Just type in the rows, submit and the program will create a chart for you. How cool is that??!!

What online tools do you regularly use?

Talk to your daughters, and sons.

I can't believe it has been a week since I blogged. I promise I have been knitting, and frogging and knitting some more.

I have been rather sidetracked. We had a tragedy at a local high school last week. As a former guidance counselor for the school district, I have also served on the grief intervention team. A senior, 3 weeks from graduation, as if that really matters, broke up with her boyfriend. He brought her to school the next morning. As she got out of the van, he began to stab her. He followed her out of the van and continued to stab her as school personnel ran to her aide. He got back in the van and drove off. A parent in the drop-off lane, followed him. She did not have a cell phone with her but would roll her window down and ask by-standers to call the police. The police followed her through these phone calls and he was captured within 1/2 hour due to her efforts.

The young woman died of multiple stab wounds less than 1/2 hour later.

The young man is a schizophrenic with a history of violence. The girl was a honor student with plans for college. Please talk to your loved ones about domestic abuse. If someone ever feels afraid for their safety in a relationship, he/she needs to get out!! It only gets worse. The percentage of teenagers who have experienced violence in a relationship is staggering.


The dust bunnies are taking over the house. I will get to them later in the week. I just could not face them. The emotional exhaustion of the week reminded me of why I left counseling. I spent several days counseling at this school, coming home and hugging my family and then sitting, knitting, crying and praying.

Hug your children but then please talk to them about domestic violence. We must have these conversations, even if they are sometimes difficult or uncomfortable. We owe it to our loved ones. Parents of students at the school talked about what should be done by the district to prevent this from ever happening again. Nothing could have been done on our side. Once she got in the van, he was not going to allow her to leave alive. The only way to prevent this is to have these conversations.

Itching to Knit LACE !!!

I have been working on Lacy but I think that she resents the fact that I had bought her yarn and kept her in a closet at least 4 years before starting. I am on row 94 of the back but the going has been slow and I have had to tink a bit. In fact, Saturday I had to take out about 10 rows. Frustrated, I decided I would pull out the lace projects and start the Amazing Lace projects.

My fingers are just itching to knit lace.

Knowing I had some quite time on Sunday afternoon and might finally be able to figure out how to graft, it was time for me to get the team together. It is training time!!!

I looked for the Twins. Where could the two halves of the Print 'O Waves shawl be? I looked here.

Oh, yeah, I picked up the table so we had a surface to eat dinner on Mother's Day. So where did Lacy hide them?

I checked in the craft closet - not an easy task as you can imagine. Where could that vindictive Lacy have hid them?We are not reponsible for for them not being allowed on the team, she just meet the criteria. She is too thick, too solid!!

Still no success. Well, certainly there is something else lace related I can do. I just can't give in to her!! Our team must practice.

The itch, the itch!!!

It must be scratched.

OK, something else lace related. Let's see what I can find.

1. Friday, the Heirloom Knitting book came. So there was lace reading.
   
2. Saturday a new lace pattern came in the mail. But still no yarn!!! Where is the Jaggerspun Zephr?
3. Monday, there is a package waiting for me. Could it be, please let it be..... Nope, it is the yarn for the baby sweater I promised a co-worker --- last February.
   

When I put the baby yarn in my Lantern Moon basket, guess what I found, yes the TWINS!!! The two pieces of the Print 'O the Wave shawl were in the bottom of the basket. OK diabolical Lacy, you are foiled!!! DH is at a meeting tonight, supper has been served, children are busy with homework.

Please meet my team mates. I hold in my hands the Print "O the Waves twins, soon to become ONE.

It is just me and LACE!!! OOOOOOOHHHHH............
I had forgotten the splendor of the lace, the feel, the smell of the silk and Seacell, the drape, the just absolute yumminess. The first leg of the relay is backed by HandMaiden Silk yarn with a blend of 70% silk and 30% Seacell (seaweed) in the Straw colorway. I shared my infactuation with this yarn in an earlier post.

The PRACTICE begins!!
We will begin the first leg of the relay. Despite the incredible odds, we have overcome the medling of Lacy, surely we can make it to the finish.

GRAFT, now what does that mean??? Speak to me oh twins, how do you become one????????? What do you mean the picture shows the wrong ends?? Oh, well, sure I knew you graft the live stitches on the needle, not the invisible cast-on edge. This is practice, right.......

Stash Building

This was fun and easy to create. The website is: Tombstone Generator.
If you create one, let me know, I would love to see it!!

I went by my LYS today to buy some needles for Lacy. I had been using the bamboo Clovers but the cotton did not slide well enough and the size 2 needles have quite a bend to them. In desperation, while traveling this weekend, I purchased some Boye needles at WalMart. They were better but still not my favs. I went by the yarn shop at lunch and picked up a pair of Quicksilvers. This is my first pair and I am not sure what I think. The density is different and I need to get the feel of the balance and the points. The 'slipperiness' is definitely better.

Really, all I wanted were needles. I knew I could stand strong against the temptation of sock yarn. They don't have a wide selection, just Regia. However, today I did notice some Online cotton. I thought I was safe and almost made it out and then.....

They have added Elsebeth Lavold books and some yarn. I was lost. This past week, a blogger showed some Hempathy. This yarn is 34% Hemp 41% Cotton and 25% Modal. The guage is 30-32 rows and 22-23 stitches on a US 4. I was lost. I was not successful searching for it online. I could find the book one place and the yarn another or not enough yarn for the sweater. Anyway, there it was in all it's splendor. I bought book #8. And enough turquoise Hempathy to make this sweater.

Did I stop, could I stop there??? NO, NO, NO. The shelf right above the Hempathy had the most luscious Alpaca and Silk Fino. I had a most difficult time selecting a color but ended up with a light dusty bluegreen. The tag has a color number, not name. The samples on the webpage are rather difficult to read and I do not have my camera with me to show the color. Just have to trust that it is beautiful.

When I got back to the office, I looked it up on the web and this is how they describe the yarn:
"In Italy Fino is a word used to describe the finest sherry available from the vineyard. Here at Alpaca with a Twist, Fino is the finest lace weight yarn we could imagine. A perfect blend of baby alpaca & silk lends a luxurious handle, a dramatic lustrous sheen, & an elegant drape that will impress nobility! When used as a single strand, it creates light-as-air, gossamer garments and & breathtaking lace effects in shawls and stoles."

Sounds exactly how it looks and feels. I am enamored, entranced, I just want to hold and stroke it until it tells me what it wants to become.

Yoga for Knitters

Yoga, really, you can do this. Don't run away! I am not too keen on exercise either. I certainly need too but who has the time when there is so much yarn!! My right wrist is developing something. It grabs my attention occasionally, especially if I try to lift anything. I imagine it is tendonitis. If I go to the doctor, she will probably tell me to stop knitting for awhile and since I am not interested in that, I guess I will not waste my money. This article in The Daily Knitter got my attention. It includes five exercises for five fingers that help to stretch and keep your hands healthy. Maybe a little late but worth a try.

Not too much knitting news today. I am working away on Lucy. I have reached row 61 on the back. I am still liking the 2-handed stranded color method. I have figured our a couple of things that are speeding up the knitting past a crawl or at least making me feel more coordinated.

1. As you knit using this method, you keep one ball of yarn to your right and one to your left. You are lifting or dropping the yarn to be carried so that the color you are knitting will 'trap' the yarn being carried. This keeps the yarns from twisting. I am pulling from the center of the ball and this also seems to help. The balls stay in place by my side and don't go traveling. However, the cotton has begun to tangle some as the ball collapses on itself. I have placed each ball into a separate ziplock bag and zipped the top almost closed. It will not prevent the tangling but may help to manage it.
2. I have kept the white yarn on my left, regardless of whether it was a purl or a knit row. However, I have discovered that the color that is being knit the most for that section should be on the right. Now, I am changing the location of the yarn (which side of my lap), even in the middle of a row. This has really made a difference in the ease in how the yarn is carried in the back of the sweater.
3. I have a metal board with magnets that I used to follow cross stitching patterns. I sometimes use it for knitting patterns. The board is just heavy enough to stay in place, either in my lap or on the arm of my chair. I still am finding that I have to reknit, especially on the purl side. The needles are a number 2 so the stitches are fine and it has been difficult in the evenings to see the difference between the sage and white yarns.
   

Plans for next projects (NOT SOCKS):

1. I have joined the Amazing Lace KAL. I hope to finish the Print O' Waves stole I have been working on. I need to graft the two ends together and knit the border. I have never done this before and need to have a quiet time to sit down and figure this out.
2. I don't think this will really take very long so I have purchased some Jaggerspun Zephr from RedBird Knits with the plan of knitting the Moon Dance Stole.
3. I also ordered a copy of Heirloom Knitting and Glossamar Shawls. I think I am really getting into the lace thing.
   

Poster Child for Sunscreen

Do you find yourself composing blog entries in your head during the day. I do. My inner voice keeps up this steady conversation that I then instantly forget or don't find time to enter.

This post has very little knitting content. I guess I will start with the knitting and then you can sign off if the other bores you. I have 39 rows for the back of Lucy completed. I am using the two handed knitting method described in the video on the Philosopher's Wool website. The only problem is that method is used to knit in the round and as I am not comfortable using steeks, I am knitting pieces in a stockinette stitch. It still works with some manuipulation of the yarn, although I don't think I would ever be able to describe it. I spent a good part of Tuesday knitting, once I found all the yarn and directions. I was tempted to stay home on Wednesday but decided I had better go in to work. More on that latter. I knitted at the barn last night because I did not want to get near the horses. Face is sore and did not want to get bumped or pulled around.

OK, now to the nonknitting stuff that the title refers to. We have a joke at work, I think it is pretty widespread, that when we retire we will be the greeter at Wallmart. The assumption being that there will be less stress in that position. Well, after taking the dressing off my cheek yesterday, I decided that I will be more suited as the poster child for sun screen. There are two incisions instead of the one I was expecting. They are both about 3/4 of an inch in length. The area between the incision and my lower eye is holding all of the swelling and color. The corner of my eye feels like it has something in it. I imagine that is from pressure on the tear duck from all the swelling. It really is not uncomfortable today. The stitches do not come out for 2 weeks. The doc told me I no longer need to keep a dressing on it, however, after the reactions I have had with a dressing, I don't think I will chance it.

The reaction to the dressing and the purple eye has been an eye opener.

1. I started work yesterday at a middle school. The reaction of the students to my face was interesting. Some visibly startled, others were quick to look away, some stared.
   
2. I bought gas today at a gas station that I frequent. They know me to talk, they know where I work, you get the idea. Well, when I walked in, they smiled, said hello and then instantly looked down and did not chat as usual. No question about what happened, are you OK, what's up, beautiful day, etc.
   
3. Some of my co-workers have had a difficult time trying to find a place to focus their eyes but the majority have been very natural. At some point I think I will share this experience with them.

I can't help wondering what it is like to live with a permanent disability or disfigurment. Do we distance ourselves from others due to our discomfort. I remember reading a study this spring about obese people and how differently society treats them. I believe I am now going to make a concerted effort to establish eye contact and nod to the world. I have really missed it.

WHERE CAN IT BE!!!!!!!

Yes, I know I am shouting! I meant to be shouting. I am feeling yucky and can't seem to find anything!!!

Four years ago, I had a Melanoma removed from my leg. I was very fortunate, it was very shallow. In fact, all of it was removed through the biopsy. I still had to have surgery in case there was anything else. I was on a 3 month schedule of visits to the Dermatologist for 3 years and now I am on a 6 months schedule. He found a spot on my cheek that is not normal, is not Melanoma or any of the other named pre-cancerous conditions but the team decided it was best to remove it. I had it done yesterday. Not bad, just achy and very swollen and bruised. DH stayed with me and would not let me up from my chair to do anything. Sounds ideal does it? Well think again.

In the first half hour I had finished the round toe decreases on the watermelon socks. The yarn is Suffolk wool that I purchased from Fresh Isle Fibers. Living in South Carolina, I find fingering weight to be warm enough. I used the free pattern on the website for ankle socks. The yarn is from local sheep, was full of grass and straw that fell out as I knitted and the dyes are all natural. I used a size 3 circular needle. The needles were too short and it was rough on my hands. I have not washed them yet. The webpage says it is ok to machine wash and dry. We will see.

OK, I finished the sock so what now? I had a book I had been dragging around for a couple of weeks and decided to finish that. I have a stack of books I haven't read but remember I felt yucky and nothing was speaking to me. The unspeakable, unmentionable happened, I just did not feel that I could knit one more sock. I don't dare count the yarn that I have in boxes. I have a 3" binder full of patterns. I have several projects planned but I just COULD NOT start another sock. I didn't think that I could pay attention to lace - it was time for a SWEATER. But where oh where could it be. Every time I got up and slipped into my workroom, hubby fussed at me to get back in my chair. He was adamant. I found the yarn for one sweater and the book for another and could not find the rest of the stuff! WHERE COULD IT BE!!!!

I finally gave up and stgarted a new sock, yep, just didn't have it in me. The yarn is a Regia cotton in Surf that I purchased from Elann. The pattern is Sunshine Socks by Vicky Jueng. It is a top down patten on 2 circular needles in 2.50mm. The cuff has a mock cable and folds down. The heel is an Eye of Partridge.

Well, DH has gone to work today and I am on a search and destroy mission. I was determined to find the missing yarn and book. Success!!! The missing yarn was Rowan 4 ply cotton for Lacy.

The other sweater is a Jo Sharp design, Essential is a gray Silkroad DK Tweed. This yarn is a Wool/Silk/Cashmere blend.
The pieces are all together. Now I need to decide. I like to knit the correect yarn for the season. I guess I will probably start Lacy, even though I know that I may not finish it before the weather starts to turn cool. I think I have had this yarn at least two years I have been a wimp about the color work. I think today is the day to jump in.

A picutre of one more pair of socks. I finished these last week. They are of the Regia cotton.