Kate Kasts Off

doomed...

2011-09-20T20:28:00.003-04:00

Lately I have knitting startitis and a sort of knitters nastiness about wanting instant gratification and not having to work hard to get something I want. I go through these patches now and again (I have heard
tale that it is a common phenomenon amongst knitters, but it does not seem to be amongst the knitters I hang with so I must be the token ) where all I do is start new projects or dream about new projects
(especially projects above my skill level), or start and rip out projects, or generally hate the project I'm a being forced to work on (you would think at gun point the way I carry on!), and so nothing gets
finished and there is knitting strewn across my house.

I have also fallen off the stash reduction wagon in a huge way:

*    I bought the Bernat Thick & Quick for all those crazy cowls (my girlfriend ordered a purple one - well I might have told her to pick a color since she was getting one, but really what's the difference -
she's gonna love it and think she did indeed really need and want me to make it for her).
*    I ordered lovely hand-dyed yarn from katdry on Ravelry , whom I met during a visit to Wakefield, PQ at a local Farmers Market. Her gorgeous yarns had me smitten, simply smitten, from the get-go and the cardigan she was wearing was just the thing for my winter wardrobe, and so she dyed to order 4 skeins in a grey which I am picking up shortly - I simply can't wait! See what I mean about startitis?
*    I went to Fibrefest in Almonte, 2 weekends ago, and one of my favorite vendors was there, as usual, Julie & Vivianne Stewart of Fine Fibre Finds in Stittsville, ON (sadly no web page yet, so spotting them
free ranging in the wild is a real treat!). Julie & Vivianne un-ravel sweaters and other gently worn knitted garments no longer in service, and wash and re-skein the amazing yarns. These beautiful re-cycled
fibers are too much fun to pass up and so 4 skeins of a lovely blue-green-rust tweedy cashmere blend came home with me for a fraction of what it must cost in the stores. I love to re-cycle, re-use, and
re-purpose things, especially textiles and fibers, so I think Julie & Vivianne are amazing and should get more respect from local shops who profess to offer up un-usual and eco-friendly knitterly wares. Shouldn't re-cycled yarn fall into the category of un-usual and eco-friendly?? Anyway very good stuff these gals have indeed!
*    Next guild meeting is Vendors night - I'm doomed!
*    End of October is Creatif Festival in Toronto - that Susan and friend Lisa and I are going, and they are enablers of the highest order - I am double doomed!

In my defense I have knit from stash for the last 18 months, and my stash that is left is really not suitable for bigger projects like sweaters. It's all bits and pieces, odd balls of yarn, save a few bundles bought for specific projects and of course my sock yarn box (yes-it's a box full of sock yarn - what of it?). So when I go there to see what I have, I get frustrated because it's too much work to find a project that goes with what I have. It's good stuff for my charity knitting, and so I will continue to plug away at it for that purpose.

I haven't made as much headway on my WIP's as I would have liked, either this summer. I have made an executive decision last night at Guild when my friend Shelia confided she had taken her gorgeous but much too big, knitted T-shirt to the sewing machine for a re-fit. I have had a sweater vest that has sat in pieces all summer because I know it is too big, but I have no wish to rip out and re-do it. Simple - I'm going to seam it together on the machine and wear it with pride this winter! One down, many to go!

And that Laurie, Shelia and I went to the Richmond Fair on a re-con mission. That Laurie wanted to enter the knitting competition at the Fair so we decided to go have a look this year, and she and I have
committed to at least entering one piece next year (we think we can kick butt - our husbands think we're going to cause major grief and heartbreak amongst the rural knitting community).

I've charted my first (and almost last - you know I hate charts, right?)) knitted scarf, derived from the stitch pattern of the Mixt Cowl in the latest Weekend Knitter magazine. I made the short cowl as
specified in the pattern (of course you know I did - I'm obsessed with cowls, remember?), and liked the stitch pattern and wanted a skinny fall scarf in a lovely raspberry plum cotton blend from my stash, so I had to convert the pattern from in the round to flat (that Laurie made me do my own chart and I almost died - she's a task-master that one - don't say I didn't warn you). Took me 5 tries to chart it and even more to figure out why my swatches weren't working. But it is finally ticking along and just right for a small take-along project. Probably took me longer to chart than it will to knit the darn thing!

I finished one sock - not a pair; just the one. Sigh..... I could just slap myself sometimes.

Knit on....

He was my good boy...

2011-08-24T21:59:00.000-04:00

Aug 5th, 2011. Our beloved Sugar, 19.5 yrs old.

We miss our sweet little furry face.

Make me stop!

2011-08-17T20:37:00.011-04:00

Make me stop! Please! (ok maybe not this is too much fun!)

I can't stop crocheting these cowls! So. Very. Addictive. I keep digging through my stash yarn and hours later, look Ma!

Possibly the need for some small, but instant, gratification is the reason behind this prolific pile. All my projects are taking too long, and nothing is coming off the needles in a hurry. I needed some FO's in the worst of ways, and walking through Michael's to pick up picture frames, DD2 and I spotted this cowl from Lion Brand, and so it began.

I followed the first cowl pattern to the letter, then immediately started modifying the stitch counts and the stitch patterns for the next 3 cowls. DD2 has claimed a pale pink, and DD1 and I will fight over the chartreuse green and the charcoal, all by Red Heart. A creamy tweed is born of 3 fingering and sport weights lying in my stash, held together throughout, I suspect DD1 will snag that one. I am rooting through the rest of my stash to see what is suitable for more. I just can't help it!

Knit on.

2011-06-28T20:13:00.010-04:00

We have had a few weeks of wet, bumpy roads around our house _ I swear thre is a little black cloud over our head, so don"t get too close, cause you'll get wet!

Purl and I have quarreled again, and this time I have decided that she is just too heavy for me to manage inside tight turns, and so I have made the difficult decisionnot to ride her for a while. It was a very hard decision for me to ome to, Purl the ultimate Harley grrrl, being my dream bike, but at the end of the day riding safely is the first priority, riding a Harley is second. So I will I will find another bike to fill the void. I am sad, but have learned a great deal from her about the wondrous effect of a low center of gravity (as women it is usually not a desirable quality, but apparently it is a good thing in a motorbike!), and about riding in general. The time spent with Purl has not been wasted.

The G-man has also had his fair share, having been seriously rear-ended on his way to work a few weeks back. Physio and massage fill his weeks, and he is lamenting the multiple annoyances of having to deal with insurance companies, body shops, the medical community and, most importantly, the interruption of his golf season!

Happily my Kayla Shrug is well underway, the back is complete. It is surprisingly slow, even for me, who is not a quick knitter at the best of times, and I am finding the pima cotton yarn slippery and the thick and thin nature of it adds to the speed issues as the transition of pulling the yarn through each loop is slower than with a smooth yarn. Still I like the effect the thick and thin brings to the garment and the drape is fluid, and the hand just lovely to work with. So despite the lack of speedy knitting, I am very much enjoying the slow but steady progress. The next step is to pick and knit 200 plus stitches, which should drive me well over the edge. But once that is done, it will be straight single knit purl ribbing for miles and miles.

Last Saturday I went to my friend Laurie's house to her Knit-In, and we had a lovely time, gabbling away, knitting up a storm. One of the things I really like with this group is that we feel free to produce our various project problems for inspection and retrospection, and really have a good time working out the issues and coming up with ideas to solve the problem. We are all at various levels, with two working diligently on their Master Knitters, and this only adds to the interesting discussions we have over our knitting. I always learn so much from these amazing knitters!

I have had quite enough of knitting washcloths for a bit (it's a bit obsessive with me these washclothes) since the spring I have knit 25 of them in various colorways, as I plow through my substantial cotton stash; I think will be quite enough for various little hostess gifts for a while.

I have made little progress on my Plain Jane socks ( a pair is perpetually on the needles) but have managed to turn the heel, so the first one should be done soon enough. The second one, I am sure, will follow just as slowly.

I have made the decision to rip out my Citrine socklets. I'm not enjoying knitting the heel portion of the pattern, haven't for some time, and the knitting has stopped for more than 2 years, so it is ridiculous to have them still on the needles. Back to center pull balls it probably should go. The yarn is amazing, coming from Sanna as part of our Knit Tea Swap 4 several years back, and will be re-deployed into something else even more wonderful.

I have been thinking about mittens, having been catching up on my reading at Lene's blog, Dances With Wool. She was showing some amazing mittens, and I immediately thought how well Sanna=92s wool would be suited to such a project. I was even thinking that the cuff portion of the Citrine socks patt=
ern, which is without a doubt the most interesting part of the sock, would adapt to a lovely mitten cuff. Hummmmm...

This weekend we are off to a truck rodeo - a joint competition between the provincial truck enforcement officers and the best truck drivers, where the G-man is cranking a wrench to create the truck defects, judging truck inspections, and generally work his arse off putting them back together the right way! This year a number of officer wives are going to enjoy the evening festivites, and so hence, I will see my first truck rodeo ever! I have packed my Kayla Shrug and my never-ending socks to keep my hands busy for a few days.

In a few weeks we will spend a week at the cottage, during the mid-point of the summer. My intention is to bring only WIP knitting with me and see what can be completed before I return.

That is all for the moment.

Knit on....

catching up!

2011-06-12T16:34:00.000-04:00

I've unintentionally been away from my blog for another long spell. A dry spell perhaps, or too tired to say, but either way the result is the same. So a catch up is an order.

First and foremost: the family. Aside from some heart lurching moments with my mother and my aunt, who both became terribly ill within weeks of each other earlier this spring, all is stable, and the two matrons are recovering slowly but surely, much to our surprise and our great delight. DD1 is back to work ¾ time, and feeling pretty good most days. The fatigue is still her constant companion, but she pushes her endurance with yoga and now that the weather is improving, some lovely bicycle rides on her vintage style Electra around the neighborhood seems to be doing hera world of good. DD2 juggles job-hunting with part-time work, her bunny Artemis, and a nice new beau. And the G-man is travelling and working like a mad man, and seemingly quite happy about it.

Purl and I have started off another season, and are playing very nicely together. The first ride out was shaky for sure, but I remembered more than I forgot and after a few evening cruises around the neighborhood to get my bearings, I ventured out to the countryside and had a lovely and very satisfying ride last weekend. My biking pals have been more than supportive in their encouragement and understanding of my momentary stage fright, and as the riding season gets under way so do the plans for more training and cross-country tours. I made some equipment changes to Purl as well, and for the modest investment I had to make, I already see huge improvements in my handling issues. I began riding to work this week - getting up earlier (4:45am) and taking the long way home to avoid the heavy stop and go of rush hour traffic is a good way to ensure that I am sleeping like a rock at night!

And now the knitting. Which is also slow at the moment, as I have traded some of my former knitting time for more time spent in the gym over the past winter, and it is paying off! Still I've been working away at finishing things. Or ripping them out depending on my inclination. Either way the WIP pile is slowly shrinking. I've finished the Paton's Olive Cardigan which still needs to be sewn together. And some socks. And 3 sets of 8 dishcloths (part of my on-going stash busting) finished. Another of the never-ending TV watching baby blankets is at the halfway mark, and should finish up quickly now that I'm on the decrease side. I made 3 of the very trendy Katia scarves with the crocheted looking loops, and gave one to my housekeeper who apparently took an instant liking to it! I am working on something new - Haku silk wrapped wire yarn, from Rose Haven in Picton, ON to be worked with some wool, lightly felted after knitting, for a light and airy and artist summer scarf.

And my dear friend Katester (on Ravelry) and I went to the spring Creatif Festival in Mississauga, ON earlier this spring and spent a lovely afternoon wandering the mostly sewing and paper craft vendors. The yarn shop vendors were definitely an exception this year, with only two or three in attendance. I did however buy a few gorgeous skeins of steel grey Americo Pima Cotton to make the Kayla Shrug from Wendy at the Unwind Yarn House. Simply devine! I think I will cast on shortly (after I find my ball winder!) for that little beauty.

So there you have it. A major catch up. Now that summer is here I make no promises as to when you\ll heat from me next. Blogging takes a serious backseat to summer weather (and life - which is apperently not quite done messing with me yet!) and the chance to be outdoors. We ahve precious little summer time as it is in this end of the province and I want to take full advantage of it every opportunity I can get!

Knit on......

No February Blahs!

2011-02-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

I think I just found a potentially awesome pattern http://knitty.com/ISSUEw11/PATTconstantine.php?printOption=printImages for some Cascade that I am having over-dyed from dusty rose to something in the dark rusty brown family.

The actual color will be a bit of a surprise, since I have handed the yarn over to my good friend and Sunday knitting pal, Yvieknits, who has become renowned amongst our knitting community for her technical expertise in dyeing yarns. She truly has an eye for color and I trust her completely in this and can't wait to see what she does with my impulse yarn purchase!

While I waited for the yarn to be processed (I am in no hurry since I have 2 jackets to knit, a sweater to seam, a cardi-wrap and a vest to finish first), I was starting to keep an eye out for a suitable jacket pattern for the weight of this yarn, and this popped up on Knitty.com! How wonderful is this, a cape and yet not quite a cape! I love it!

Knit on...

February! Where? When?

2011-02-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

January slid by, and here it is mid-February already which has caught me completely by surprise! I have been so wrapped up in work, coughs and colds, and weekend jaunts to Quebec and Toronto, that I barely noticed the weeks slipping by on the calendar.

But in between all of that I have been knitting and seeing good progress. The Regia Hand-Dyed Effects socks are finished, and I love the way they turned out! And I was able to successfully make them very matchy-matchy which suits my Libra need for all things equal! You may recall the yarn was a lovely gift from Laurie and Lyse when I was still on crutches and unable to take the road trip to Janie H. Knits last fall, so that makes these socks that much more special!

And I am in the home stretch for the Ottawa Area Ravelers UFO-KAL. I had a few things on the UFO list - the Regia socks were one such project which I finished quickly both because I wanted to see how the yarn would turn out and because it would be incentive to move quickly onto the next UFO project. Then I picked back up the Olive Cardigan from Patons Falling For You pattern book and was pleased to see I was further along than I thought! So now all the pieces are complete and are blocking. All that remains is to sew the sides seams and add the collar and it will be done. I am aiming for total completion this weekend and hoping it fits as I have played with the sizing a bit, knitting up the larger size on smaller needles as I am somewhere in between the two sizes!

In between UFO's, I had some lovely Kroy sock yarn which was an impulse buy some time ago and so I pulled it from stash and whipped up another beret, which I am quite pleased with. I have 2 ½ balls left so I am mulling over gloves, cowl, light scarf or something to go with the beret. A little scarf seems to be winning out, since I could wear this set more into spring it is so lightweight. I am checking my books for a good candidate!

Next up after the Olive Cardigan for the YFO-KAL is to finish my Americo Cardi-Wrap. I definitely want it for spring, and have enough time to get it done, maybe even in time for the UFO-KAL deadline. Only a few inches of front section remain and the sleeves. No seaming required, so blocking will make this a speedy finish.

In other news, the leg continues to mend well, progress is slow but steady! The tibia is confirmed completely solid once again (my X-ray is very cool with all the hardware, at least to me!), and all that remains is to coax the tendons and muscles to ignore the hardware and move smoothly as I practice strutting my stuff! I still have a slight limp on cold days, but otherwise it is becoming much less obvious that I was ever injured, even when I wear heels! Purl has been fully repaired, sporting new handlebars and is ready for her spring ride as soon as the weather and roads permit.

And DD1 is marking her 3rd month of official remission and she is back to work part-time and feeling quite good over-all. We are all looking forward to celebrating her 1st year transplant-versary in mid-March! Hard to believe it's been a whole year - and what a year it was!

All for now. I'll be back soon. Knit on..

Happy New Yarn, eh, Year!

2011-01-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

So my year of self-imposed stash only knitting is finally over! Hallelujah! And while I see good progress, great progress actually, I am surprised at how much yarn I have left.

So one of the jobs I have assigned myself is to begin reviewing my leftover stash for real knitability, as in things I really want to knit, not just things I could potentially knit if I felt like it; and either find patterns to go with the yarn or gift the yarn to someone else.

To jump start this process and hoping to score a pattern for some beautiful Peruvian Baby Aplaca I received for Christmas I used another Christmas present and broke out my Chapter's gift card to purchase this gorgeous book:

I love this book! I have talked ad nausium about it with my Sunday Knitting group, and read it cover to cover already, and am headed back for more. It is well written, not over-whelming, and I think a large number of the patterns are well within my knitting abilities.

As well, our Sunday Knitting Group are having our 2nd year anniversary later this month and by way of celebration we'll be pot-lucking here at home with moi, and indulging in a little stash exchanging too! I need to get busy and bust that stash of mine wide open!

And so 2011 begins anew. It will be interesting to see where my stash is at the end of the year - with luck, no bigger and much more well defined with a more managable amount of assigned projects.

Knit on.....

Last minute knitted goods!

2010-12-14T19:08:00.006-05:00

I got a request from DD1 to help with a Christmas hamper for a rather large family with all girls; specifically they needed hats and mitts. Usually I have some of these items set aside in my charity box, but this past summer/fall I had been focusing on baby blankets and there was not a mitt or hat to be found.

So last week I dug into the yarn stash, I came up with several large balls of Phentex Chunky, and grabbing my 6mm circulars I cast on and began knitting like a mad women! I had a road trip planned to the Eastern Townships of Quebec for the weekend, and knew I could get about 6 hours of straight knitting time there and back, and figured I could add another couple of hours in the evening and shuttling my Aunt around during the day on her various errands. So maybe about 10 hours or so over the weekend. My tally after the weekend – 4 hats and 1.5 pairs of mitts! Not bad! As of Monday, 4 hats and 2.5 pairs of mitts. Last mitt on the needles Tuesday night!

I didn’t know if there would be enough time to crank out 4-5 hats and matching sets of mitts, so I put out a call to my Sunday Knitting buddies, and God love them didn’t they check their own stashes and WIP’s to see what they had that would be suitable. Anja had 2 beanies already done up, just needing mitts, and Kirsti had a full set on the needles she could send along. Trust a fellow knitter to understand the need and step up to the plate! And at Guild last night, Yvieknits let me know if I ran short she had a hat to spare too!

Between the three of us in just a week, we managed 4 sets plus 3 extra hats (2 in a soft cotton which we will send along to the Chemo ward at the hospital where DD1 was treated, as we well understand the tender needs of the heads of patients who are undergoing treatment!). Outstanding! Pics to follow in the new year!

Kirsti, Anja, Yvonne – thanks for helping out! You guys are the best! It is so heart-warming for me to know that I can turn to my knitting friends and say “I need…”, and they always step up to lend a helping hand. Truly I am blessed to keep such fine company.

Merry Christmas all!

A goal for 2011...

2010-11-21T22:10:00.000-05:00

Already I have been thinking alot about continuing on my no-yarn-buying-total-stash-busting trend for 2011, but to be truthful, as happy as I am about having stuck to my goal for a whole year (that's nothing to sneeze at!) I know that I am weakening, and while I still have much in my stash, I am thinking to revise the goal slightly to allow for a small select amount of buying for 2011.

What I am talking about is something that was discussed in Knitters Review discussed back in 2008 - Slow Stashing. The idea appeals to me very seriously as a new way to continue to stash bust and yet enjoy the occassional foray into my LYS's without completely deprived and like I really had no right to be in there window shopping.

In some areas of my stash I am almost ready to do another purge as I am getting to colors or yarns (mostly gifted from other stash busters during my early knitting years) I just don't know what to do with. I feel like purging un-loved yarns from my stash earns me some yarn-buying credit. I'll be sending the yarn to a local school knitting club. More brownie points!

I have learned throughout this past year that I can control my yarn buying impulses, and not add yarns to my stash that I don't have an immediate purpose for, and so that keeps room in my stash to buy only yarn I know I can use.

I have been carrying about a huge guilt trip that I have not been supporting my LYS's this past year, and in such a bad economy this is an important concern of every knitter, if we want to have the quality and selection available to us that knitters are clammering for. But that doesn't mean I can abandon my own economic responsibilities to myself and my family budget and begin to buy willy-nilly again.I learned some great lessons in self restraint this past year, and that money not spent on OMG-I-love-this-even-though-I-have-know-idea-what-I-am-going-to-do-with-it yarn, means I have money in my pocket and space in my yarn storage for projects and yarn I know what I want to do with.

Instead I need to completely and fully adopt the Slow Stash Movement. And this is it, direct from Knitters Review: "At its core, slow stashing involves being mindful of every skein we own, and only bringing in new skeins that are truly deserving of our time, our attention, and our resources." Finally a stash management option I can really buy into (and use to resist the sale signs!).

I have the skills, I have the discipline, and I have the desire to have a well managed, well thought out, and well turned-over stash. This is exactly the right objective for me to embrace for 2011. Phew! And I thought making a new stash resolution was going to be very hard after the rocking success of 2010!

Knit on......

Still here!

2010-11-06T22:40:00.001-04:00

I am definitely still here! Apoligies for the lengthy absence. Life got a whole lot busier this last month. I had forgotten how much stuff there is to do when you can walk! Yes, I am walking around without my cane, finally, and that means I am back at the gym three times a week, along with the never ending physio (those people love their job way, way too much). It certainly makes for a busy week when you move as slowly as I still do!

And the G-man has been away on business for the past almost three weeks, so DD1 and I have had to fend for ourselves, which means..... I have been cooking. OMG, yes, I had to re-discover the stove. Interesting device. I still don`t like it very much but we managed, and I even lost 2 more pounds - when you have to make everything yourself you tend to be more moderate in your portions so you get two meals from every cooking session!!

In between I have been knitting and even started some Christmas knitting, using of course, stash yarn, in this case my leftover balls of baby bamboo yarns in various colors. I have been stash busting and working on other WIP`s in between.

Take a look at the gorgeous pashmina scarf from Scotland my dear friend Heather gave me for my birthday, and the great yarn that matched up and made a lovely beret (or Scottish Tam!) to match:

I also finshed several charity baby blankets - my latest method of speed knitting these little utility blankets is on the diagonal, adding a stich at each end until the blanket is about 36 inches on any one side, and then decreasing one stitch at each end, which allows me to crank these out while watching tv as well as use up my stash of less than desirable acrylic colors:

In more stash busting I whipped out another cowl from a skien of lovely handspun I won a year or two back at Guild - just the thing for Ottawa`s icey cold winter winds:

And these too, cosy wristlets from Taos yarn, to match a previously made beret and scarf - used the yarn to the last 6 inches!:

And last, but most importantly, can I tell you what wonderful friends knitters are I received this awesome skein from my friends Laurie of Nepean, found over here on Ravelry, and Lise, both from the Guild, who picked it up from a Janie H. Knits fieldtrip that I had been unable to mamage while still on my crutches. Just my colors, earthy, tweedy and simply lovely, and made even more so because of how it came to me! Talk about a pick-me-up! Thanks Laurie & Lise!:

And so you are now pretty much all caught up. Monday I begin the gradual transition back to the working world, having worked out a return to work plan for the next few weeks, and arranged some premium front door parking for the winter! i am ready, at least my head is ready - I hope my leg is too!

Knit on........

Time flies....

2010-10-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

On the eve of my 48th birthday I am am astonished at how much time has passed since the last time I really took note of my age! Seems to me the last time I looked I was in my early to mid 40's, a period in my life that I was really enjoying. I had learned to knit and was having a blast allowing my time to be consumed by anything and everything woolly!

But if I stop to think about the time, it was in the middle of my 40's that DD1 was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, and that is where I think I was no longer concious of the passage of time. It is hard to believe that almost 3 years has passed since then - it screamed by like a freight train, running the rails flat out, with barely enough time to be cognizant of the ever changing view. There, and then gone, in a flash - like when you are stuck in your car at the railway tracks, staring out through your windsheild, and then the flash and roar of the train as it fills the view, and then its gone and the barriers lift, and your vision clears, you move forward. And that's how it is that I have come to the surprising realization that tomorrow, I will be 48, officially in my late 40's. It is very, very weird to be here.

But throughout, the knitting has stuck with me, constantly soothing, always within reach, a welcome and sometimes necessary distraction during the crazier moments, the yarn with comforting fimilarity, slipping through my fingers on an almost a daily basis. And with every finished project I could mark the time on the tracks like a railway station, where I have stopped to re-fuel, or load or un-load some cargo. The beauty of all that knitting is that I am able to look back at the time - the time that went by in a flash - well marked by the projects, the train stations, that I created as I sped along those tracks, and see that the time was, indeed, well spent.

Happy 48th to me! Knit on....

Rip it, Rip it! WIP#5

2010-08-25T20:19:00.001-04:00

Sigh - this one's gonna have to be a complete do over. I still like the pattern - the front is done and the back is 2/3rds of the way completed. The problem (for the completed knitting, and not for me) is that I am 32lbs lighter and many inches smaller around, than when I started this item two years ago (see what I mean - not a problem for me, per se!) and a quick check of the now much-to-big fit assured me that I am making the right decision.

So I need to frog it, and knit it again at least 2 sizes smaller. But it will be great over a long sleeved-T this winter. So I will be calling the frogging of WIP#5 complete when the yarn is back in to skeins. It will become a new project when I am ready to start again.

Knit on.......

Addendum: Jody asked me how I lost the weight - I wish I had a secret to pass on, but it was the old fashioned way. Watch what you eat: lots of veggies for lunch and dinner and snacks- I love most veggies with hummus, high protien to keep from getting hungry - but exercise portion control, low carb - but couldn't give up toast and peanut butter for breakfast, no booze Sunday through Thursday (hey - a girl's gotta have some fun!).

Mostly the Sunday to Thursday rule made the difference I think - as long as weekends weren't too strict I could get through the week just fine. And I stopped "treating" myself at Starbucks to the fancy coffees and just had coffee misto's - I found I was just as happy with a great cup of coffee with steamed soy without all the sweet calories. Slow and easy kept it coming off slowly but surely.

And even though I have spent the better part of this summer on my arse, if anything that arse has shrunk from lack of moving (lost some muscle mass which will undoubtably come back), and my eating habits have kept any probable weight gain a bay. Yippee for me!

WIP#4 complete!

2010-08-21T13:48:00.002-04:00

Are you tired of socks yet? I hope not there are still two more after this pair to complete! DD1 is beginning to think I have a more serious illness than a broken leg - that there have been some brain damage, as is evidenced with all the sock knitting - I don't understand what she is talking about!

These were started when I arrived home from the hospital, and didn't have anything mindless or small enough to work on,already on the needles.so technically not WIP for long. Since I couldn't get upstairs to my stash (so still full-filling my second mandate to knit form stash) at the time, I road-mapped the G-man to my sock yarn stash cubbie, and I'll be dammed if he not only found it, but selected an excellent ball of sock yarn: Online Supersocke fancy color, colorway 940, 65 g .

I tried to find a link to this yarn but it would seem that the Fancy Color family is no longer available in the Online Supersocke line. None the less, there are lots of new color families at the Diamond Yarn site to choose from, and I can certainly recommend that you do. The yarn is sturdy, has a good hand, and works up easily. I was also able to easily match the color changes in the yarn so the second sock matched the first perfectly (i am a sucker for matchy matchy socks!) without any fiddling around.

Knit on.....

Addendum: Jody asked what pattern I am using. I am using my own generic 2x2 rib sock pattern, stolen from several other generic patterns,but mostly created from a German Sock chart of stitch counts for each foot size that I received with a sock kit for my first sock, with the addition of some techniques that I learned along the way, like wrap and turned heels which fit my narrow heel well. It is tailored to my foot, hence not to many others get socks from me unless, like the DD's, they are similar in siz,e just a bit longer! I cast on 60 to 64 stitches, depending on the yarn guage. I like to knit on 3 needles so the heel flap is simply the count of stitches on the needle with the most stitches- either 20 or 24. I do a wrap and turn heel, and simply decrease every other row for both the gusset and the toes.The result is a sturdy, utlitarian sock that hugs my foot without slouching or bagging, perfect for winter wearing inside my safety boots that I have to wear to work every day. I have yet to wear out a pair since I started knitting my own socks some 4 years ago, So I do indeed have a lovely drawer full! Lucky me!

A little treat!

2010-08-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I talked the G-man into taking to Chapters and Starbucks for a coffee and a browse through the latest knititng books. This is not as easy as it sounds since for outings I still rely on my wheelchair, which requires a willing pusher, and I leave the crutches behind, as the standing around is still exhausting.

I hadn't really thought I would find anything to new, and my knitting book collection at home is very reasonable and I have to be careful that I don't already have something reasonably similar. But I stumbled across this lovely book by Wendy Bernard from Knit and Tonic:

Chapters must have just got it in 'cause I hadn't seen in before. It is terrific - there are more than 10 sweaters I really, really like, and several that will be able to be made from stash yarn! The book is very well laid out, and Wendy does an awesome job of detailing the potential alterations and variations that could be done to each of her patterns to customize the fit or change the look. It's like getting twice or even more, the patterns in one book. As well she has utilized either top down or bottom up in round for most of the patterns making seaming all but obsolete, and patterns faster and more streamlined knits. What's not to like? this time I decided not to wait for a sale or a coupon or whatever and went ahead and paid full price. I think I got a good deal considering what I am learning and all the different patterns I can make up from it. Highly recommended!

Knit on....

ps. This doesn't count as breaking my no yarn purchases and knitting only from stash self-imposed sentance, does it?? After all the intention is to knit a few of these patterns from the actual stash, right?

WIP#3 C'est Fini!

2010-08-14T21:06:00.000-04:00

WIP progress continues. WIP#3 is done!

I had completely forgotten that I actually enjoyed knitting this easy lace pattern , lace and I frequently not playing well together - looks a little like dainty cabling without all the work. I'm sorry but I couldn't seem to get a good picture of the lace work being confined to indoor lighting. But it is pretty, and the socks are very, very bright! They will be just the thing to brighten up the dull winter days!

Knit on.....

Two down, lots more to go....

2010-08-09T18:44:00.000-04:00

WIP #2 complete!

Off the needles are the grey socks, started during DD1's stem cell transplant earlier this year. Like so many other half finished sock projects lying around, I had only a half foot to complete and the pair was finished. I can't for the life of me imagine why I do that - stop just short of the finish line - but I seem to have a thing everytime I get really close to finishing a project, particularly socks, I wander off to the next one. Case in point: WIP #3 is another pair of socks, also stopped just at the second heel, languishing in its project bag since ( gasp!) the summer of 2008. Ridiculous!

Knit on.....

We interrupt this WIP program....

2010-08-06T22:24:00.000-04:00

When you break your leg and have two major surgeries in under a week, the healing process is very slow. Part of that tedious process includes lousy circulation in the afflicted leg, which leads to an annoying ailment called hot foot/cold foot.

In addition, when you leg is in a staightjacket of sorts (a soft cast) it is very hard to put on and take off your own socks as is required due to the hot foot/cold foot syndrome, This requires you to beseech any passerby within earshot to please, please, just one more time, put on, or take off, your sock, again. Which you then realize is actually too hot, or too cold, anyway, and so the cycle begins again.

Yesterday as I sat, all but captive in my rented Lazy-Boy chair, cursing the lack of immediate family in the vicintiy to assist in dealing with yet another round of hot foot/cold foot, surrounded by baskets of stash yarn, WIP's, one pair of 6mm straights, and my laptop, I had a moment of genius. I know, rare, but it does happen: I needed light little ballet slippers I could wriggle in and out of myself.

5 minutes into surfing I happened upon this free pattern - perfect!

And a few hours I had the offending foot taken care of, and by the next morning a matched set.

Just what the doctor ordered!

knit on......

1st FO of self-imposed WIP challenge

2010-08-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

One good thing about being somewhat imobile for long periods of time is that some knitting is finally getting completed!

Witness: One charity Crib sized Blanket made entirely from miscellanious stash yarn:

No particular rhyme or reason to the placement of the squares - I just pieced them together as I pulled them from the stack. It has a very "Little House on The Praire" look to it, almost juvenile. And I am A OK with that. I was aiming for rustic, and that is what I got.

Next up, DG Confetti 100 superwash socks in grey.

Knit on.....

1 month check-up!

2010-07-26T23:45:00.000-04:00

I am exactly one month post accident today and in to the recovery phase (really? a month already? hard to beleive) and today was check-up day.

I am happy to report I passed the test! While I closed my eyes and squeezed the nurses fingers, broke out in a cold sweat and made wussy noises in anticipation of the pain (which has been my constant companion every day - I can truthfully say now I have never experienced pain of that magnitude, not even when I had the girls, and hope I never due again) my surgeon (what is it with orothopedics ? They all look like they walked off a daytime soap opera set, and mine is no exception!) gently bent my knee up towards my chest for the first time since the accident. Discomfort - yup! definitely. Pain- nope! Woo-hoo! A lovely bend to about 75 degrees, apparently a very good indication that I will obtain at least 90% or better return to full operating function! We are all pleased!

What remains a mystery is if my actual knee will be kind to the newly manufactured tibia plateau upon which my knee joint sits once walking begins. Lets hope so! Still, another 4 weeks before any weight bearing activity is allowed and I intend to follow the advice religiously. But I am getting better on my crutches, and beginning to manouver around a bit. No up the stairs yet - dead lifting my own body weight up 14 steps on crutches causes quite a a bit of jolting around and I am unable to bend my leg out of the way and it bangs into the riser with every step, so I am still "living" on the lower level of my house, with period trips up the stairs, arse first!, for long re-juvinating showers!

All in all, I'm recovering on schedule, with no complications and for that I am grateful.

And yes, I am beginning to knit a bit. The scrap squares blanket that I started months ago is almost finished and I am now at the joining and finishing phase. And there has been a bit of work on the second sock that was worked on during DD1's extended stay in hospital prior to the accident.

Speaking of DD1, she continues on her remarkable recovery, baffling doctors with the reversal of her Pulmenary Hypertension. While she continues to be short of breath on exertion, and has lingering and puzzling body pain, she is leaps and bounds from where she was even this short month ago.

Knit on......

Just spinning my wheels.....

2010-07-09T20:27:00.027-04:00

Sigh... Purl and I are grounded. Let me set the scene. A lovely Sunday afternoon, All is well with the members of the family, DD1 is doing well, and DD2 is working, and the G-man is holding the fort. It is sunny, but not too bright, cool but cold.

the perfect day for a ride, and so we did. A few hours later I found myself having worked to the far outskirts of Ottawa. I was thirsty and being the mid-aged girl badly in need of a restroom, so when the sign said 16km to Cumberland, and I turned for the home of my motorcyle pal Peter. Finding no one at home, I confidently re-negotiated back down the tricky gravel driveway, and pulled out.

For fhat happened next I need to rely on the accident report. AlI I rememeber is no traction and then wham, traction galor! And then there was a ditch. When my heart stopped pounding and Purls kills switch kicked in, I realized that there was no way my right leg was letting me stand up, so so I pulled out my cell phone all the while cursing a blue streak.

As luck would have a pair of good samaritains, mom and daughter, stopped moments later and took over the mechanicals of the cell phone and called all the appropriate emergancy personnel, and kept me squared away and in good spirits while we waited. Can't say their names as I have yet to speak with personally, but ladies you are the best!! Simply the best!! I can only hope to pay forward the kindness, campassion and good humor as you showed me that Sunday afternoon.

OPS (Ottawa Police Services) attended and prompty imformed me he had found the problem with the ditch: there was a Harley in it! Good sport that he was though, he had is up and out of the ditch and tucked away safety in Peter's lean to. Sargent your Harley quip is forgiven in light of your brotherly biker concern for the sercurity of my girl, Purl!

So, up until this point, aside from the wee problem with my front leg, I was in good shape.That was until I discovered that when a person is in what is considered a vehicluar accident like myself, they need to be taken to the nearest emergancy room, and in this case that place was the Monfort hospital. OMG! I.DO.NOT.SPEAK FRENCH. Barely a word, and the Monfort is nothing if not French.

For now I will spare you the ups and downs of my 10 days there. The stories are hard and 2 surgeries later I am trying hard to forget most of them.

For now it enough to know that I my right Tibia Plateau was shattered and rebuilt over the course of a week and I`m grounded for the next few months. My stable now houses a walker, a wheelchair and some shiny crutches I have yet to make friends with. And a whole summer to learn how to play nice.

I have not let Purl see them, she would not be pleased. She too will need some TLC: new handlebars, a signal light, and front spokes checked and complete safety check before next season. Poor girl - she is stabled at Peter`s next to Miss Daisy, and will stay there until repairs begin. It is the best place for her for now, amoungest her kind while we both recoupreate.

And yes there will be knitting - as soon as the pain meds allow me to count sequencally, there will be plenty of time for knitting. A whole summer of knitting the days away...

Knit on........

Rocking the MRI at 5.0!

2010-06-26T12:06:00.001-04:00

Can you beleive it? Just as DD1 gets about halfway through her urgent MRI, the earthquake hits! Poor thing was stuck in the MRI rocking and shaking, like a kid wildly waving a hotdog in a bun! Scared the crap out of her, and she said it was quite an ordeal to un-hook the leads and IV's to get her outside to the waiting room. Still she was impressed with the staff as they quickly, calmly and precisely shut down the machine and assisted her in vacating the area. She was still shaking later that evening as she recounted the event.

Hodgkins, Pulmonary hypertension - Just a walk in the park compared to this! Definitely a story for the cocktail crowd! We are going to design her a T-shirt that says "I am a MRIES 5.0" - Magnetic Resonance Imaging Earthquake Survivor 5.0" - beat that if you can!

Knit on.....

ps. 06.27.10 - Sanna, bless her, asked if DD1 was ok, as in not injured during her earthquake ordeal. Thankfully, yes DD1 was just fine, well shaken, but not stirred!! No mumps or bruises from the earthquake - indeed we had very few and only minor injuries in the Capital City, remarkable considering we were the highest shake on record on the earthquake scale that day! However, as if the MRI incident wasn't enough, poor DD1 did crack her bald little head on the counter when her walker got stuck in the kitchen and she bent down to unhinge herself, so she is sprouting a lovely gash on a very bruised noggin after all! What a week!

Steady as she goes....

2010-06-15T21:30:00.000-04:00

DD1 is holding steady while we wait on an MRI - urgent ridiculous date. We expect a revised date, one much sooner, any minute now. She still can't walk more than 5meters without resting in on her walker seat, and so walkers and wheelchairs are part of our home decor, just for the time being, I hope...

In the mean time we have hired a dear friends daughter, who is a nurse on maternity leave waiting on their first baby, to spend 3 hours a day with DD1, and make lunch and drive to appointments, help DD1 in whatever way she can, understanding that bigbaby belly may pose the odd predicament! It is working out super well, and DD1 seems non-plussed about me no longer being there 24/7. A very good thing.

So Purl and I have been getting out and about, gaining more and more confidence with each ride. Last week I did my first on road run with Coach Peter (did I tell you that?), and this weekend was another 3 hour run with a nieghbor who sportingly accompanied me.

But this evening, I went solo! Yup - just me and Purl, hitting the road, out for an evening tour. Fabulous! Not one stall tonight - quite a feat if you knew how much Purls throttle and I argue every ride! But not tonight. Tonight was leasurely, down winding roads with little or no traffic, just like in the movies. The perfect respite from my daily grind, just like it was suposed to be, just like all my biker friends said it would be. It was awesome!

Knit on....

she who is Mom....

2010-06-08T21:31:00.001-04:00

She who is Mom has arrived. My Mom that is. THE Mom. Or, since we have an aging cat who this thinks my daughter is his Mother and I am the Gramma, she who is my Mom is affectionately known as the Big Gramma (in deference to her petite figure!).

I decided that after two years of DD1 having her Mom , me, for support, I finally needed my Mom for some of the same, and so she who is Mom, came, still driving her own car at 78 years old (we think she is 78 'cause she won't actually tell us how old she is - and she is still a whizz behind the wheel!) all the way from north of the GTA, about 6 hours driving time.

She arrived with 9, yes 9, boxed of baked goods from the local Erin Bakery; cookies, honey-glazed donuts, tarts, brownies, squares, danish, chelsea bun, and bread. O.M.G. heaven arrived in white paper boxes.

These are the delectables of my childhood, the treats I grew up with, the comfort food I crave; these are the joyous sweets I made sure to introduce my children too, and it is the comfort food they desire in times of uncertainty too.

DD1 sent the Big Gramma an e-mail asking for her to bring a few treats, and wow did she deliver! To save us all from certain un-seemly acts of wonton gorging, I promptly froze many of these delectables for the future. Still the honey glazed donuts must, simply must, be eaten the day they are made or they are wasted, and so those were demolished upon arrival. The danish made it to the the next morning for breakfast, and the cookies were shared with friends and family for Sunday dinner.desert and over the last few days.

Since Sunday we have eaten our way through every baked good type known to man-kind and my stomach aches after every meal, and I am on the verge of destroying a years worth of careful eating and a hard lost 30+ pounds.But the smiles on ours faces are worth everysweet bite.

Sometimes it's really good to have your Mom with you. I am glad she's here and not just for the baked goods!

Knit on....

p.s. She who is Mom, or Big Gramma, is actually going to be 80 later this year - we wrangled the truth this trip - can you believe it?? Wow!! Amazing!!!

Just hanging around home for a change...

2010-06-02T21:16:00.000-04:00

DD1 is finally home, and although it is without a doubt very challenging (she can only walk a few meters at a time, and the stairs are killer, almost literally!) we are so glad to get her back. For now we will take it one day at a timw, with just a whole lotta just hanging out going on here.

Knit on....

What the * just happened?

2010-05-29T10:59:00.000-04:00

In my last post, already 3 weeks ago, we were all coming along fine, DD1 was looking fine, and Purl and I were riding high (ok still in the parking lot, but coming along just fine!).

Then wham, the world just tilted out from under our feet. DD1's little virus that had kicked her back a wee notch went from bad to worse and turned into a pneumonia like bad-boy with attitude, and the next thing we knew she was in major trouble. A 3a.m. transfer from the heamatology ward to the ICU shook us badly and I spent the first week watching as my baby struggled to breathe without being intibated. The only way to explain it was as if she was running, flat out, for about 4 days straight. Normal breathing is about 15-20 breaths per minute - she was breathing at over 50 breaths per minute at some points, like running a marathon for days. The body simply cannot do this for very long, and and at some point usually gives up and emergancy intibation is required.

This is not an experience any parent should go through. I spent several 24 hour sleepless days at her bedside, preparing for whatever might happen. As it was, everytime the doctors thought they might have intibate, I would go and talk to her, gently caressing her like when she was a fussy infant, and slowly she would come back from the edge bringing her heart rate down just enough and her breathing back enough from the danger zone, and over 5 days she was able to avoid the worst interventions. Never under estimate the powerful un-spoken connections between a mother and child.

After a week of ICU she came back to the ward, but was unable to walk or breathe without oxygen. It has taken about 7 days for her to start walking and only yesterday did she start breathing without her oxygen for a few hours at a time. Everyday we have been bundling her up and getting outside for some fresh air which has done her a world of good and today she will get a pass for a family event which we are all so excited about.

So what happend? Was it a virus? Well maybe yes, maybe no - nothing ever came back conclusive from the tests in ICU. However, it was the "it-looks-like-she's-having-a-heart-attack" and another 3 a.m. CT scan last Thursday night and subsequent diagnosis last Friday that tilted our universe on its arse - as if the Hodgkin's wasn't enough, DD1 has a new disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. This is devastating news and it has taken us a week to just get used to the idea. I never in the the last 2 years of her Hodgkin's battle thought she wouldn't make it, but last week, for the first time ever, I really wasn't sure, and I, indeed all of us, was very, very scared.

Our initial research scared the crap out of us, I can tell you, as up until a mere 10 years ago there was no cure and a life expentancy of only 2 years. Now there is still no cure, but better long term management of the disease has changed the forecast and there are more and more reports of people living productive and longer lives with the newer medications avialable today. Still, it is very telling that there is no discussion about her long term prognosis as yet.

What does it mean for DD1's future? That remains to be determined. Only time will tell. First we will watch to see how well she recovers from this incident, as she is very doing well by all standards, better than expected - does't she always! and is expected to come home with support this week. And she will begin one of the newest and most promising medications on the market today, Tracleer, one of the latest wonder drugs to help people with this disease. She and I have spent many long afternoons this past week in the hospital park, DD1 all bundled up in her wheelchair, talking about how this will change her life, even more so than the Hodgkin's battle did, and how it will change all of us. What will her life be like, what will she do, how will she be. All questions I cannot, for the first time in 30 years of being a parent, come up with an answer for.

Have I done some knitting throughout this? Yes, when I could get my head to work right - a crocheted cotton hat for DD1, a second knitted one on its way, and I'm on the second of a pair of socks for myself. And in between, Purl and I continue our lessons with our most patient instructor Peter, who says I will be out and about for a nice back country ride very soon. This week we are practicing tight turns from a stop and controlled start. Apparently I have issues turning left, sigh.....

Knit on.....

That's a whole lotta horsepower, baby!

2010-05-09T17:31:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was motorcycle class - 2 nine hour days of nothing but motorcycling - pushing motorcycles, lifting motorcycles, riding motorcycles, and lots of sitting around on motorcycles! I can tell you I was never so tired as I was by Sunday evening! Motorcycle boot camp is more like it! Thank goodness I have been hitting the gym a few times a weeks ince March and dropped 30 pounds since last year - I would have never made it otherwise - it was without a doubt the hardest thing I have done physically in many, many years!.

By Saturday night I was fit to be tied, almost in tears, and really thought I had bitten off more than I could chew! I was struggling to master that damn clutch, having never in my life used one, and couldn't for love nor money stop stalling the bike whenever Ian, my instructor, spoke to me! By the end of the day we were both very frustrated with my lack of progress and my definite last in class status.

So that evening I made some calls to my biker friends and received a myriad of ideas, including two which seemd to make the most difference - one, change back from my full face helmet to my half helmet so I could actually hear the little 250cc engine (since hearing is the next best thing to feeling the clutch, and I didn't have a freaking clue what I was suposed to be feeling!), and most importantly two, stop worrying about passing the class and have fun! Remember fun?? - this class was supposed to be for fun!!! Yup - I had forgotten all about fun!!

With my attitude re-adjusted, Sunday was much better, although I still struggled with the gears, knowing nothing about what I was doing, while others whizzed by me! On a plus note, I had no trouble with balance, counter-steering, emergancy stopping, and cornering - and I was having some fun, having decided that if i was wasn't ready for the test, so be it!!

At lunch Ian and I had a little pow-pow and said he thought I might as well try the test and see what I could do. Imagine both our surprise when I passed! Poor Ian, he checked his numbers twice just in case he was mistaken - secretly I think he was hoping he had made a mistake! I had to really re-assure him I would not hit the streets on my new Sportster, and would stick to parking lots for a while, until I could control the throttle and change gears without difficulty. He did not seem very re-assured!

Fast forward a week later. I have been out twice this week on Purl - the weather not co-operating one bit - and have really begun to catch on to this shifting thing. Not to mention, I have since discovered that no one in class told me to close the choke once the engine was warmed up! No wonder 1st gear was so choppy!

The 1200cc engine of Purl is much easier to hear when it is time to change gears, and although throttle control needs some more work (it is big time sensitive!), I have been zipping around the parking lots doing figure eights and changing up and back through 4th gear (I have 5 speeds but the parking lot is only so big) with much more ease under the expert and very, very patient tutelage of my coach and dear friend Peter - this being one of those thing husbands and wives should never attempt to teach each other unless you want instant divorce! Much like wall-papering, if you catch my drift!

And so I no longer eye Purl in trepidation, but rather speak to her gently every day as I walk by on my way to and from work - I am learning to be the boss of my bike and she is becoming my friend, and we will (eventually) be allowed to play in traffic together with the others!

Knit on......

ps. 7 weeks post stem cell tranplant and DD1 is doing fab - she has picked up a wee virus which has stolen some of her zip, but overall everyone is quite pleased with her progress.

Vroom Vroom!

2010-04-18T14:02:00.000-04:00

Holy Mother of Pearl (Pewter Pearl, actually) - I've gone and done it!

I am now officially the proud owner of Pewter Pearl Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom motorcycle!!

This one actually:

I have to wait a bit to get my derriere in the seat (mostly because I still need to learn to ride it, and lessons don't start until next week - just a minor technicality!). I have a few modifications that are required as I am a bit too short to ride it as is. New curved handlebars, replacement back to whisper quiet stock pipes and removal of the unbelievably loud and illegal Python straight pipes (my ears still hurt!), engine or crash guards (depending on your point of view!), and a windshield will be added later this week. And saddlebags to follow, so I can carry my knitting, of course!

To say I am over the moon would be an understatement! I am delirious with happiness! I have just checked a big one off my bucket list!

Knit on!

Spring Cleaning...

2010-04-12T17:04:00.002-04:00

Midst all of the goings on in our house, I decided that there was one job I could do in the way of spring cleaning inside our house that could be done in small increments while DD1 was resting or napping (she is progressing beautifully, by the way, despite lots of fatigue, and is offically dis-charged as a hospital patient and now continues to be monitored only once a week! She is amazing!).

When DD1 moved home two years ago after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, we hurriedly dis-mantled my craft room and packed up everything in clear bins and stored it on a large metal shelf in the corner of the master bedroom. It was the best we could do under the urgent circumstances at the time, and there it has been hulking in the corner ever since. Over time I grew frustrated with attempting to get at my yarn which involved asking for help from the G-man to lift and put back the bins and instead found myself far too often wandering my LYS's for yarn I knew I had at home, somewhere!

Since I was home for an extended period of time this spring, I decided that I would re-vamp the craft corner with IKEA bookcases that could easily be moved out to another room when the appropriate time came once again.

Behold - the before and the after:

I am thrilled with my spring clean-up (I still have to tag the boxes for color content) and have continued right on into my sewing supplies and my not-yet-too-out-of-control bedroom closet.

Knit on.....

A Rare Moment...

2010-04-01T21:16:00.000-04:00

So last night I had a rare moment to knit a few stitches, having barely touched the needles at home this whole week, and I got to contemplating about what it was that I was working on and why it is that I was enjoying it so very much. It struck me as odd, sitting there all by myself in a rare moment of solitude these days, very, very late in the evening (the G-man having long gone to bed and DD1 still in hospital recovering from the nasty effects of her final round of chemo and her BMT - she is doing great, by the way - hoping to have her home for Easter!), that I was getting a ridiculous amount of pleasure from the simplest knitting of just plain 'ol mitered garter squares from leftover mediocre quality stash yarn.

I wondered why it was that working on my extremely expensive Alpaca cardi-wrap, while pleasingly repetitious enough and the end result will certainly be worth the effort, does not effectively sooth my mind and quiet my body in the same manner as does making a little garter stitich mitered square.

I am aware of the relationship that has been made between knitting and yoga, meditation or other Zen-like pastimes, but somehow it was even more than the peacefulness this little knitting brought, which was certainly present and most welcome. It was just that the simple feeling of real pleasure at the actions of my hands I was feeling that struck me as intensely out of proportion to the actual activity. After all, it was not a fancy square, not sumptuous yarn, not a particularly favorite color, not a special stitch - there was absolutely nothing special about it. And yet it pleased me immensely to work on it, row after row, square after square.

Perhaps it was exactly the absence of all of these exceptional things that allowed my mind to rest quietly a while (given the crazy state of our family, this resting thing has been seriously lacking of late), and perhaps it was in the resting of my thoughts that I found a perfect moment of pleasure that I was so obviously needing, once of course I had recognized what it was. Since this little blanket will be for charity, it is not just a little ironic that the old adage "It is more blessed to give than to receive" seems to have come to fruition here, as truly I felt very blessed indeed with this little gift of a moment of rare and simple pleasure.

Knit on.....

Hanging in...

2010-03-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

Hello all -

Just a quick note to say DD1 is hanging in and hanging on. It is a without a doubt a tough fight and she is completely and utterly exhausted, but so far she is following the plan and all is going to plan. Still you know it's hard when just brushing ones teeth requires several hours of sleep afterwards.

The tranplant was done yesterday (she is offically one day old!) and the 6 days of chemo preceding it have kicked ass hard. Now we wait and watch to see if her stellar batch of stem cells collected last fall can do their job. Keep your fingers and toes in the crossed position. And many, many thanks for all the good wishes!

Knit on (might be hard with crossed fingers so you may be exempt while knitting!)....

T-Day is March 18th...

2010-03-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

We're ready. And most importantly, DD1 is ready too. Bone Marrow Transplant day (or T-Day as I am calling it) is on the calendar. March 18th. We've a wild ride ahead starting on the 12th, and over the next month or so, but we are about as prepared as we can be. Bring.It.On.

In post Olympic news, I did finish my own personal and simple challenge of knitting enough squares for a charity baby blanket from my stash during the games, and 20 squares in navy and blue grey are piled up next to my chair waiting to be assembled.A good project while I'm off of work for the next few weeks or so caring for DD1 during transplant and recovery

And.I am still managing to work entirely from stash and on already assigned projects, and so far no LYS deprevation symptoms have kicked in!

And isn't the weather just grand?! I smell the promise of spring.....

Knit on....

p.s. I'll be back in a few weeks to report in on DD1 progress, so keep us all in mind, would ya'?. In the mean time she would be pleased to know I have done a public sevice announcement by directing you all to this site, and get to Know Your Nodes so you can all stay healthy too!

Happy hearts days!

2010-02-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day Ya'll!!

Another week of germ fighting in our household. My hands are raw from washing and endless Purel*-ing. We have been back and forth to the hospital for 4 days in a row as DD1 continues to fight off the raging bacteria that threaten to over take her body. I am reluctant to think we are out of the woods yet, as this is exactly the same scenerio that lulled us into false thinking earlier last week when she perked up and felt ok in the early part of the week, And then by Thursday afternoon it was evident that she was once again being assaulted by the viral and highly agressive bacteria.

Still tonight she remains the best I have seen her in the last 10 days, so that's something, I guess.

My socks are off the needles and the grafting done and I will endevor some pictures this week. I am wroring on new socks (hospital knitting) and some stash scrap yarn mitered squares which I have challenged my self to see if I can make enough squares for a charity baby blanket while the Olympics are in progress. This is not an official Olymplic project, but none the less the challenge is a good thing, and stash usage is also a good thing, as will be the resulting charity blanket.

In other me news I took some time on Friday for me while the G-man held the fort and did the hospital run, and i did something I have never done before.

I skated on the Canal! Now I have skated, but not in at least 10 years and maybe closer to 15 when I really think about it. None the less I ventured out, with my work collegues to cheer me on, the temperature was perfect and the skating conditions very good and had an amazing time re-learning how to balance on the thin blades of my figure skates. No falls, either! which makes me proud, although there were some very wobbly moments over the 5 km that we skated! But what great fun, good exercise (I can do exercise when I don't know I'm getting it!) and many, many laughs! It was a very,very good day - and long overdue.

Knit on.....

A short lived reprieve!

2010-02-07T18:06:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all of you, both bloggers and non, who took the time to send your encouragement to our famiy as DD1 heads down what hopefully will be the last, and probably the hardest, path to remission. You cannot know how much your good wishes sustain us all over here!

We have a short reprieve, and I did get some much needed zzzzzz's after DD1 was sprang from the hospital last Saturday afternoon, and we spent a few days this week doing normal routine things like working, dinner, and laundry. And then Friday it became apparent as the day went along, that DD1 was once again not up to par. By yesterday morning, we called the Heamotologist on call. I spare you the details (some require a strong stomach) and say that an attack plan was quickly put into place, executed and good thing too, because if we had waited much longer DD1 would have landed right back on 5West (the heamotology ward).

Today seems better although fatigue is constant, and it is clear her body is begining to take the beating we all knew was coming. Last night she wondered if it was this bad now, this time, would her body make it through the next round. She is amazingly resilent, and tough as nails, and stubborn beyond belief, and although I have absolutely no doubt she can get through this, it is still really, really hard to see her hurting so much, and feeling like there is little I can do that really makes things any easier for her.

In knitting news, continuing with my theme of knitting more for me and only what I really fell like knitting this year, a pair ot Toasties will be off the needles this evening. And yes, they are for me!

Knit on.....

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

2010-01-28T19:48:00.000-05:00

Ok - I admit it. I'm tired. Yup, just plumb tuckered out. My energy has eroded slowly over the last week like sand slipping off the beach with each rolling wave that comes in. My brain is increasingly slow at comprehending conversations, and my response time stutters along at half its normal pace. It's been a couple of weeks of higher than normal familial activity and it is starting to show, both at work and at home. I can't remember when I last had a normal sit down dinner at a normal time.

DD1's last round of chemo, DHAP, which is preparation for her BMT, went off without a hitch, but the side effects which usually hit about a week later, and to which she has largely been spared the most severe and dangerous ones over the last (almost) two years (hard to beleive it has been going on that long) finally took its toll on the poor lamb. Her counts tanked, and she picked up a bug and by last Friday night we headed to the hospital Emergancy room as her fever raged causing violent shakes and shivers, and a severe throat infection gave her massive amounts of pain. After spending the night in the Emerg isolation she was admitted, and I headed home after being up for 27 hours straight! Me? I am not quite as young as I used to be, I can tell you, and I was dilerious with fatigue!

And there she stays, not quite in quarantine, on IV antibiotics and pain-killers, but not allowed to leave either as her white cell counts, amoungest others, just don't want perk up. Low counts = highly susceptable to infection = no going home. After a week she is getting a bit stir crazy and I am feeling the effects of working from dawn and heading straight to hospital after and spending my early evenings keeping her company. Most nights I haven't managed to get home before 7:30 or 8:00, only to bolt down some dinner, do laundry, pack her necesseties for the next day, and fall into bed. the next day, do it all again. Last night after arrivng home, I tried to steal an hour to watch TV and knit, but all I could manage was the TV, my hands just couldn't knit - it was just too much effort!

I finished my pink hat to go with my Christmas scarf (I'll post pics later), and a pair of socks came off the needles last weekend thanks to all the hospital waiting time. Hospitals are good for that at least!

New sock yarn has been cast on for travel/hospital knitting, and a charity baby blanket is progressing very slowly, knit only when I am invited down to the G-man's man cave to watch new HD TV. I haven't the energy to contemplate picking up some lagging UFO's I should be working on. Much too much thinking involved in those. Hopefully some extra sleep this weekend will change that!

Knit on....

Twenty-ten - in with a bang!

2010-01-17T20:36:00.002-05:00

Ya"ll know what this icon is right??

It's the knitters call to action, and the Yarn Harlot has put it up on her site and I urge you to visit her and if you are able and moved to do so, please do your bit the help the devastated people of Haiti.

Knit on....

Merry Christmas to all!

2009-12-22T19:50:00.001-05:00

I wish you all a joyfilled holiday season, however you celebrate!

Peace and all good things to you and yours in 2010.

kate

Finshed this & that....

2009-12-01T17:34:00.004-05:00

This, step two, is finshed:
- DD1's stem cell collection - top scores in the stem cell production department for my girl! She's a machine!

This is finished:
- remember the postscript that had me churning our more scowls than a one decent girl requires, from this entry? Done!

This is finished:
- more from the I needed that catagory, I needed this too! Com'on - I had a scarf in this color - it was lonely without a hat, and such a nice one at that!

And there is another beret and scowl done in shades of caramel-y and chocolate syrup - yummy, and yes I guess even a decent girl might make herself too many scowls! Sadly no pictures yet.

I am enjoying this simple-knitting imterlude that I am currently in. I have choosen to knit mostly for myself, only what I want. It feels good to have something go easy for a change.

Knit on.....

A busy week.....

2009-11-15T13:12:00.003-05:00

Well DD1 has done magnificantly this week, and Round One of Bone Marrow Transplant chemo is over, and nary a VomiBag* was used! (we had quite the giggle over the "hipped up" trade name - I mean who thinks up this stuff, really?! Can you just imagine the commercials?!)

Her perm-cath was put in on Monday, Tuesday was spent in the ER for low blood pressure which is being attributed to an over-stimulated flight or fight response (gee, I can't imagine why that's happening! My body would wanna run like hell too), and Thursday and Friday were 10 and 12 hour days of DHAP chemo.

So far the nausea has been well controlled, thanks in part to a new drug called Emend (we are saying Amen to Emend! - which by the way is considered a luxury drug and is not covered by OHIP - imagine that! Like anything to do with cancer is a luxury! Grrrrr!! Don't get me started!) and her portable hydration pump (we call it the hydration spa!) from the Homecare nurses who are in everyday at the moment. Tomorrow most of the heavy duty nausea drugs are done so we'll see how she fairs with plain old Gravol.

Step two - today we start the Neupogen shots again - same as last year, but twice the dose and twice as long to build up those stem cells for collection (step three) next week - the localized, stabbing joint and bone pain associated with super rapidly growing stem cells is not fun, so heavy duty pain-killers will be introduced. I am becoming quite good with giving injections.

My lovely sister-in-law arrives shortly to provide some much needed support, and baring any complications I'm back to work tomorrow. It will seem very restful in comparision I think!

I am knitting in between despensing meds, doing laundry, disenfecting everything in the house every day thanks to H1N1, making toast and soy smoothies, helping with baths and washing hair, and recording everything swallowed! My 2nd beret and scowl in cream and muddied brown tones are done, and I'm working on the set commissioned by a work collegue in a lovely soft heathered grey.

Knit on....

I needed them.... really....

2009-11-03T16:40:00.004-05:00

I needed another scarf and hat - an actual set, for the fall. Really. I did. If you can imagine, I didn't have a matched set to my name. Shameful really, for someone who calls themselves a knitter. I needed something for those 6 a.m. forays across the parking lot at work which is the size of a couple of football fields.

And I saw a scarf, more like a scowl (scarf morphing as a long cowl, hence a scowl) at the local department store for ridiculous prices, and since one of the things I like to do is try to re-create run-way looks for next to nothing I got these whipped up in no time:

My beret is standard issue, no fancy work this time. The pattern is Taos Beret - google, you'll find it.

The scowl is really just a long (6ft x 10in) retangular scarf join at the ends, but not a mobius join (don't twist). Just a straight end to end join. Had I been on the ball I would have done a provisional cast on and grafted the two ends together, but now with the cheesy seem, it looks store bought, which was the point of it all!

Lightweight for Fall, made from 4 skeins of inexpensive Bernat Satin at 2 skiens for the price of 1, my cost, with yarn left over for mitts maybe, was about $7.50 for the set.

And to cinch the deal, the very same scarf/scawl and beret style were featured on Oprah as this seasons must haves for fashionistas everywhere!

And now I'm back to my Patons Cardigan, back and fronts done, sleeves and turtleneck to go.

Knit on............

postscript: that Susan asked about the yarn which completely an economical purchase, so only 100% acrylic and was as cheap and cheesy as they come, so not so warm for our Ottawa winters, but lovely and comfortable for a lightweight fall set. I'll do a more practical woolly set for the January freeze. And yes, I own a stupid number of scarves with no hats - I shunned hats until recently, but age has a way of reminding you that suffering for vanity sake is ridiculous - and when warmth looks this good, I say bring it on! Funnily enough I wore my set this morning in the nippy 2*C , and was all but accosted by a collegue (who literally ran across the parking lot) from another building demanding to know where I got them! Happily I confessed my accomplishment, and when she expressed her sadness in knowing she couldn't get a set, I did what any knitter would do when confronted with copious expressions of admiration - I caved and offered to make her a set too! Good thing I like this knitting stuff!!!

Yup.. still breathing1

2009-10-13T18:16:00.002-04:00

The days are flying and I've little finished to show you. The baby bibs are finshed and waiting for photos. The Patons Turtleneck Cardigan is well under way, back finshed and front left 1/3rd complete. Clapotis is missing the correct needle size (likely on a WIP I've forgotten about!) and so its start is delayed. Socks on the needles are one down, 2/3rds on second to go.

DD1 and I made an un-scheduled stop on our way home from Princess Margaret Hospital (she went for a second opinion - no real new revelations, which is fine by me and I think by her too, so we are full steam ahead into her Bone Marrow Transplant.) in Norwood, ON when traffic flow ground to a halt. The Thanksgiving Fall Fair was on, and since we missed our annual trek to our home fair in Erin, ON, we pulled in and parked and spent a leisurely 2 hours meandering the fine, fine fair that Norwood puts on every year.

Smitten we were by the ginormous heavy horse competion - magnificant creatures!

And darn it, I was without my camera and there was spinning going on in the craft barn!!! You know I spent some quality time oberving that! And DD2 bought super warm Alpaca boot insoles, locally made of course. It was a great afternoon and the best way I have ever spent time out from a traffic jam!

Meandering about in the warm fall sunshine, I was able to soothe the rage (at myself) I had felt moments before the traffic jam, when officer friendly nailed me for speeding (in my defense I was passing some lunatics who could not hold their accelerators steady and I about ready to throw up from the speed up/low down thing that they were doing all along Hwy 7)!

And so I blew past them at the first passing lane I could find (few and far between on Hwy 7 as you might well know!) and Bam! Busted! Lights and all! I completely forgot it was a zero tolerance weekend! It was my first ticket ever in 30 years of driving. I am mortified I can tell you! And to add insult to injury, it seems the G-man forgot to put the new insurance card in the little holder in the glove box, so guess who is paying the second ticket for that!! So $330.00 and 3 points poorer, when the fair came in sight I welcomed the break and a chance to redeem the day.

So there. Now you are caught up, and I am left to figure out if I can wriggle my way out of the points and into a lower fine - my own officer friendly (the G-man, who thought this string of bad luck I was having very funny until he broke his car windshield putting lumber in it and closing the door - hard! See how that 350 bucks hurts dude?), is on the case! Now we will see if it pays to sleep with a man with a badge!!!

Knit on....

.

falling behind....

2009-10-01T18:19:00.008-04:00

Where on earth did September go?? I bought some mums for the front step (no pic, sorry) and these for the kitchen - such gorgeous colors! As a Libra I am very partial to the richness of fall colors!

And I finished these (exceuse the poor layout - photo blogger upload was not helping at all tonight!):

and this you already knew I'd finshed :

As the days zoom by, I know I am falling behind (pun intended - you knew it was coming so stop groanning!). I have been madly knitting the Mason-Dixon Bibs 'o Love and am just finishing up lucky bib number seven.

Then I desperately need to get Clapotis on and off the needles as quickly as possible, as it will be required soon by the recipient. I wound the yarn yesterday, details later.

Knit on....

Scrambling for a tissue....

2009-09-20T15:46:00.002-04:00

Not much knitting or motorcycling news here, although I have started some Baby Bib O' Love's for a good friend's pending arrival. My cycling classes are on hold until the strike is over, and looking more like it will not be until the spring.

Two weeks ago we received news on DD1's status in her on-going fight to over-come Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Sometime in October she will begin the 1st of 3 rounds of high intensity chemo in preparation for a autologous bone marrow transplant.

This has left us scrambling for tissues, taking a deep breathe and making plans to provide the extensive care she will need. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Knit on....

just checkin' in...

2009-09-10T19:56:00.002-04:00

Not much going on around here. Work is, well, work - never ending, dull, blah, blah, blah... but it pays the bills and fills part of the day.

After work, well, not much else as the drive test folks have not yet settled their strike issues and I am still not able to write my M1 license. That means I have to push out my motorcycle classes by another week! Bummer...

In the mean time, I'm checking on on these folks: Sanna - that's a totally cool vest!!, and that Susan - who has a way cool husband Wayne - look what he has accomplished!!!

I finished my Shrug - as I thought might happen, my substitution calculations require more finessing, so while it fit me, it looked way, way better on DD2 (I'll edit in some pics later), and so she now has something warm to pull on when lounging in her new abode. Yup - she's gonner as of next month, heading off to room with pals, and try her hand at the whole independence thing. I fell better knowing I have have covered her from head to toes in woollie goodness, and hope it will keep her toasty warm while waiting at the bus stop during the nasty winter that I know is just around the corner.

That is all - oh, a pair of socks on the needles of course (doesn't everyone have a pair on the needles?). And now I'm pulling out all the baby stuff for a pending arrival later this fall (not mine, praise be!). Bibs of course, and I've got a charming baby kimono pattern, socks - for sure... and, oh yes, must do a carriage blanket I guess. I've got travelling time this weekend coming up, so must go up and raid the yarn stash to see what I've got that is portable.

Knit on...............

Kate

Grumble, but no rumble....

2009-08-24T15:48:00.002-04:00

The strike by the Drive Test folks has left me stranded without an M1 (learners permit) for my motorcycle class which would have started this week, so I have been left on the side of the road, so to speak, until they settle their issues and I can re-schedule my test. I'm all grumble, and no rumble!

And so I'm knitting while i continue to study my handbook, on yes - more socks, and this. Easy, peasy - I'm on the second sleeve and headed into the round and round 2x2 ribbing that serves as the collar and waistband, after just one weekend of knitting here and there. And even better, I used yarn reclaimed from a sweater a few years back that was in my stash, in much the same color as shown. My contrast is much more subtle - main color held double with a new yarn I found at Yarn Forward called Fame Trend, colorway 655.

On a plus note, the G-man has asked to see what kind of bike I'm eyeing (see it here) to purchase next spring and wants to know exactly where I plan to park it in the winters (that's what biker buddies with big garages are for - I know just the one I can bribe with a well loaded Starbucks coffee card!), so I'm taking that as a very good sign that he's accepted my newest hobby, God love him!

Knit on!

Kate

Inching forward with my plan.....

2009-08-16T20:13:00.002-04:00

I'm collecting my biker bits (and some "babes" along the way):

got this:
http://www.power-trip.com/ladies/ladiesjackets_jetblack.html

here:
http://www.greenmtnharley.com/default.asp

met Tammy, who really helped me find the right jacket and gloves:

and Fran, who's picture I cannot find on staff yet, but who was so enthusiastic on learning I was going for my license and moving into the drivers seat, that she high five-d me over the counter and made me promise that I would come back to Vermont and ride with her. I can't think of anything finer!

I've been knitting and studying all weekend!
knit on..........

What is she up to now?

2009-08-11T16:19:00.004-04:00

Here I am....

2009-08-02T19:04:00.005-04:00

I am staying here for the long weekend with friends. They live in this amazing house in Old Quebec City!

Even the never ending rain can't dampen the charm!

And while I travel, the sock maufacturing fest continues....

Knit on.

Stash bustin' big time!

2009-07-17T20:03:00.002-04:00

Have you seen this yet?

Rachel John....EXTEREME KNITTING

Whoa - definitely the biggest stash busting maneuver I've ever seen!

Knit on................

Foot Fetish...

2009-07-12T17:13:00.004-04:00

I'm freakng myself out with all the socks I've had on the go lately. You'd think I couldn't knit anything else!

These are finished:

And although this picture was taken only last week, these are the same as the green bamboo above and are now done too, pretty in pink:

There is a pair of Online socks finished sitting on my favorite chair waiting to be grafted and photoed, and another pair started to keep in my purse in case I am out and about and bored out of my skull! I think there is another pair waiting in a bag somewhere that needs grafting too.

I can't seem to pick up anything else. My chair is surrounded by WIP's but I keep finding another pair of socks in my hands.

Not sure what this says about me. I know for fact my feet are not cold. I have been barefoot since the beginning of June regardless of the crappy weather we've been having. It's principal with me: summer = no socks.

Knit on.......

Summer vacation....

2009-06-24T18:21:00.002-04:00

A proper blog with pictures and all when we get back from the cottage. All is well and we are enjoying the summer all that it brings now that it is finally here.

The Americo cardi-wrap is in it's final stages, with only the sleeves to do - it will go to the cottage and I will hope that a few afternoons by the St. Lawrence will have it completed or nearly upon my return.

A few pairs of socks are done, and more on the needles, and a charity baby blanket is also in the final stages.

DD1 raced in the Ottawa Dragon Boat Races and did very well for a novice team. For it me it is truly incredible that she is well enough and strong enough to have participated in such a physically demanding sport a mere 16 months after her Hodgkin's diagnosis, and only 6 months after her last chemo. I'll post some pictures of the race and our amazing paddler when we get back from the cottage.

In the mean time, I wish you all a wonderful, sunny summer.

Stay well, and knit on!

Quiet time....

2009-05-14T18:25:00.004-04:00

When I was a little girl, very elementary school aged, we spent the summers at our summer home in the Town of Erin (that home eventually became a permanent one).

With four small children underfoot during those long hot summer days, my mother, to save her sanity, instituted "Quiet Time". If you were of napping age, well, that is self-explanatory. Those in between napping age (at either end of the spectrum) were instructed to find something quiet and stationary to do for a minimum of one hour and leave my mother in peace.

Various acceptable activities included reading, hand sewingdolls clothes, playing very quietly in one of the numerous tree forts that occupied different sectors of our 65 acres, or just lying in the fields of tall wild grass inside the small clearings of the evergreen forest hand planted by my family, his family (including me) and friends who came to visit in the early years before the big house was built. In fact, day-dreaming the afternoons away while staring at the clouds and imagining what they looked like, was a very acceptable pastime on those long summer holidays.

And so it was one evening last week I found my self alone, sans the G-man and both DD's, unexpectedly for several hours, between work and a late supper. For 4 hours I blissfully knit and read on my front proch while the sun, so infrequent of late, streamed brigfhtly on the porch where I sat. At one point there was not a sound, no cars, no neighborhood children, no barking dogs, just the sound of little birds in my cedar hedge going about their daily business.

And so it was, as I sat on my porch and knit and knit and knit, that I recalled those "Quiet Times" of my childhood, and wished with all my might that I could go back and re-institute those mandatory periods of peace, those moments of day-dreaming freedom into everyday life. I think we would all be better off for it.

Knit on..........

Pina Colada anyone?....

2009-05-09T17:06:00.001-04:00

What a crazy couple of weeks!!

In between coughing and sneezing and losing our voices DD1 and I went been back and forth (she drove almost every other day, poor lamb!) to Montreal to the McGill Fertility Clinic in a last ditch effort to salvage the G-man and I some future grandchildren! Collection day was the worst with both of us fainting after an obscene number of tries to get a IV line in (an unfortunate side effect of chemo has left DD1's viens scarred and all but useless), but the good nurses persevered and one very large Visa bill later (no OHIP does not cover this even for cancer patients - call your MP!) we have 5 grand champions on ice! Money well spent, I think! Your can't get any better grandparent guilt complex than your grandchildren owing you their very existence, now can you:))))

And so as we came to the end of the week, and the end of our colds, DD1 was as ready as she could be for her heamotologists' appointment to get the Bone Marrow Transplant underway. I should have known something was up when she made pina colada's for supper that night! Seems while she was been prepping for the big bang, her body was doing some covert manouvers of its own, and lo and behold her mass has shrunk a substantial amount all on its own!

To say we are all amazed would be an understatement! There were more than a few tears of relief over those yummy drinks, for sure! And the paper umbrella? The transplant has been postponed for at least three months as they take a watch and see approach!

Does it get any better? I think not!

Knit on......

Busy, sneezy and

2009-05-05T17:01:00.002-04:00

Just popping in to tell you we're fine, but battling summer colds (at least I thought it was just a summer cold until the G-man informed me my symptoms are 5 out of 6 for N1H1 a.k.a. swine flu...great...just great....:(.

The cardi-wrap is growing, 25" now and ever so squishy and lovely! Just lovely!

Knit on....

Americo.....

2009-04-17T14:35:00.008-04:00

The Americo Waffle Ridge cardi-wrap is on the needles!!

And the first few rows went something like this: knit 3 rows, tink back two rows, knit 3 rows, tink back 2 rows. What was up with this simple little waffle weave stitch?? My fingers had a complete breakdown, I tell you!! Finally after about the 6^th repeat, it is now under control and I’m getting about 2”-3" done each evening – with 60” more to go it will take forever if I don’t keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race, or so the tortoise says!

Still, I’m just loving the gorgeous coppered coloured Alpaca as it flows through my fingers – simply heaven, the quality speaks for itself. The other fabulous but sadly blogless Kate, from my TAFK group (which is on temporary hiatus) has started her Americo Tina vest, too and reports back the same heaven felt knitting sensations! Sometimes I just like to sit with it on my lap and pat it like a small pet!

Totally aside from nothing, will ya check out this crochet gone wild by artist Carol Hummel (google her and read her explanation for this piece under her portfolio section if you are interested in her explanation of creating a tree cosy!):

Really messes the eyes, don’t it??

Knit on….

Finally fini!

2009-04-05T12:12:00.004-04:00

Holy mackeral that took a long time! And no wonder - check it out - I thought is would never end:

But I am pleased, the detail is lovely and it will be so nice to wrap myself in it, in all it's woolly goodness:

And now to cast on for the Americo Cardi Wrap!!!

Knit on......

2009-03-30T17:36:00.003-04:00

What can I show for another month having ticked on by?
Not a heck of a lot apparently!

But I did find my mum a terrific new young dog to keep her company - this is Jordie! Very cute, if I do say so myself!

In knitting news I have resurrected a shawl using the gorgeous Aerquipa from Wool-Tyme purchased last year (I am so ashamed it has taken that long!) that was lounging about unfinished, and am down to the last 2 repeats. I WILL finish it this week!

And a pair of socks is off the needles and waiting to be grafted and photo-ed, and a new pair is on in the needles -
Mary Maxim Bamboo

A bit splity this yarn is and way, way too slippery for my favorite Knitpicks Nickel Plated double points, so I am breaking my steadfast dislike of bamboo needles (too hot in my hands) and will transfer the stitches over on the next round.

I do like how the colorway is shaping up, though, and the 75% bamboo and 25% nylon has a lovely cool feel to the knitted fabric and I am looking forward to wearing these babies over the summer.

So, I guess I have done a wee bit after all!
Knit on.....

One thrum at a time.....

2009-02-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

I think I am finally recovering from my pre-holiday bloggers burn-out. Not that I was ever a prolific blogger to begin with. Not like that Susan anyway, who faithfully hits the keyboard every couple of days with her entertaining stories about dancing and school, and pictures of her incredible FO’s! I so admire her commitment to the blog! I was always glad to just get around to blogging at least once a week. By early last fall I was happy if I got an entry in once a month!
But somewhere around November of last year, it all become too much – the calendar was full, DD1’s chemo was coming to an end after a long eight months and her exhaustion and the long term effects were constant, and I just couldn’t focus on anything else except getting through each days. The holidays loomed, the transit strike sucked the life out of me – the 4:30am mornings had me falling into bed at 8:30pm, the freezing temperatures - which never excite me at the best of times - had me grumbling about extreme layers of clothing required just to survive, and more recently the news that DD1 will have to continue her extreme fight against Hodgkin’s just knocked me flat on my ass. My brain was foggy, my energy had flat-lined, and writing was out of the question.
But now I find I want to blog a bit again, just a few words, here and there. I’ve missed it, and you! I am taking it as a good sign.
So where am I at these days?
1. We’ve been on holiday – me, the G-man, DD1 & DD2, the whole dang family – Barbados was gorgeous, sunny, and the warmth seeped some life back into my body and mind.
2. The transit strike is finally over after 51 days, and the buses running, and although that means that work here in Transit Supply is ciaos, I can manage.
3. The weather here is fine – only one coat required, and no shovelling. I can do that.
4. And DD1 has re-ignited the flames of determination, and with a take-no-prisoners style, is teaching the family all about “Clean Eating” and “Clean Living” to help ready her body for the next stage of her treatment. It can only do us all good!
5. And, after numerous projects being cast on that have been laid aside for various reasons, most of which have nothing to do with the project but more to do with my fuddled brain, I have found a small knitting project that is actually pleasing me immensely. See here?:

Yup – thrummed mittens! I’ve never knit a pair before. With yarn from my stash, which makes me doubly happy! Cottage Craft worsted weight, from my trip a few summers back to St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick. The roving is Fleece Artist – now how could I resist the chance to pop up the thrums with those gorgeous colors! The pattern is from Yarn Forward, their own shop version.

They are for my Mum since she recently told me how she showed up for snow-shoeing at my sister’s farm wearing only a pair of Dad’s old woolly work socks on her hands – she couldn’t find her mitts!

My knitterly disbelief was enormous – how could I have let this happen? My very own mother did not have a pair of handmade woollen mittens? How could I have not made her a simple pair of mitts by this point in my knitting career? I was mortified enough to dive into my stash immediately and pull out some straights and drive over to Yarn Forward to procure some suitable roving!

I’m loving them, and so does everyone else in the house! I can see that thrummed mitts will be intermittently my future for a bit. That’s ok, I’m ready for a break from just toting around socks in my purse!

Knit on………….

2009-02-01T16:49:00.001-05:00

I’ve been gone a long time, and I had thought that when I came back to my blogging world it would be with a renewed sense of purpose and energy. I thought that after we, and especially DD1, rested from slaying the dragon, I would be on such a high that the words here would practically write themselves. I though we would resume our easy days, and the enjoyable little diversions from the daily grind would resume, and life would go on. My simple knitting forays of the New Year would once again take center stage.

Call me cocky, foolish, over-confident, or naïve, whatever you will – I thought for sure DD1 had rigged the fight, with her as the undisputed victor. That the battle against Hodgkin’s would be over by Christmas and the New Year would find her standing inside the fight ring, raising her hands high and accepting the applause and accolades she so truly deserves for a battle well fought. I allowed myself to think it was over, she had won, and life goes on.

So when she came to us last week, barely one month post end of chemo, and asked us to stop watching TV and listen - this only two days after her follow-up PET scan - my heart tripped, my confidence cracked, and a week later my gut still feels like someone hit me. I was wrong. I was fooled. I feel tricked out of something that I thought was somehow rightfully ours, or rather hers, to have. I foolishly thought it was, well, a done deal. I thought we, she, had beaten the odds.

The problem is, her opponent didn’t play fair and stay down for the count of 10. Her opponent still stands, and has the gleam of a comeback clear in his eyes. He has refused to be beaten, and my certainty in the outcome of this fight is shaken to the core. I was certain, you see, because I have absolutely no doubt in the strength of my daughter. It has long been known that you don’t mess with her and walk away unscathed. Her ability to endure, overcome, persevere and continue knows no limits; her courage is, and always has been, beyond measure. I know this about her without question and I have always known it. She is, quite simply, a winner.

I am paralyzed in a way I never have been before. I feel thick headed and foggy and directionless. My words stick in my throat, and what comes out is not always what I really want to say. Mere thoughts make my eyes tear up. I watch the TV, read a book, listen to the radio, and something or someone brings me to tears. Where the first time through this fight I was able to quickly corral my emotions into action, this time I am having trouble. I am lost like I have never been. And as a parent, it is remarkably frightening. I can only begin to imagine how DD1 is feeling and yet she continues to show remarkable leadership and drive.

Yesterday evening I ventured out to a Guild meeting. I haven’t seen most of my knitter pals since well before Christmas. Understanding, as knitter-ly women are apt to do, they knew instinctively that all was not well and without a word the hugs began and went on and on and on. We huddled together, too many for the small table, and I relaxed in their comforting presence, drew refreshment from the rowdy laughter, and my mind gratefully accepted the welcome diversion they provided.

Today DD1 has undertaken to begin to change our eating habits to “clean” organic foods (see this magazine http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/minisite/ce_index.htm for ideas on how to do this). No easy task as we are slow old fools and set in our ways. Next up is a complete swap out of all non-organic household cleaners. It is all a bit over-whelming, and I am still stumbling out of the starting gate, but DD1 is off and running, her determination to effect major change for maximum health benefit now setting a new bar inside the family to reach. But she is right. She has no more time to waste. She cannot leave anything to chance as round 2 commences.

To kick start the need for rest and rejuvenation during this temporary eight week hiatus before DD1’s next match begins, the family is jetting to Barbados on Monday. One whole glorious week of sun and sand. No snow, no minus –20* plus wind chill, and no transit strike (yes- it is still on, day 42)!!We’ll make the most it. There is no more time to waste.

Now what should I knit while I’m vacationing? Here’s what I’ll have to work around:

In the presence of greatness….

2008-10-21T17:22:00.001-04:00

Now some are die-hard fans, and some are not. And that’s just fine. There’s something for everyone I always say!

I don’t know if I am a die-hard fan, per se, but I do think that hanging out and listening to those extraordinary people who think seriously outside the box (ok – on another plane completely!) will certainly increase the odds that my brain will be stretched severely, and like a rubber band, it will never quite be the same size. And I think that brain stretching is a very good thing!

And so it was that last Tuesday when I went to hear color knitter and quilter extraordinaire, Kaffe Fassett, give his "Kaleidoscope of Colour" lecture. My brain was so stretched that I’m afraid I can’t really tell you what he said exactly. Unfortunately I don’t regurgitate lengthy lectures very well. It is more what I recall feeling and seeing, bits and pieces with blasts of intense color from the slide show images, that still, even a week later, pop in and out of my mind without warning! Ultimately, what I did take away from it all is that there are no absolutely rules to color combining, and that color theory should be damned! DD1, my own resident decorator, would be horrified at his irreverence of color theory usage I’m sure! The other lesson is to become more observant about the colors in our surroundings. Most of what Kaffe does comes from the environments he visits, which he then translates in to the colourful textiles he is known for.

I know that I am not remotely so bold as to use the unbelievable number of colors that Kaffe Fassett does in his garments and quilts, and even in his sitting room at home (there’s a sight for you to take in if you can find a picture of it!)! But I do know that since that lecture my eyes are busily seeking bright and unusual color combinations wherever I look.

Do I want to wear these wild colors combinations – no, not really. His sweater combo’s are a bit too much of an attention getter for even for me! I prefer more gentle mixed hues. But I like to be aware of how color can work un-expectedly together, and even if on a more subtle note, ensure that I do not pass by a combination just because it is outside of my usual color box. It is interesting to note however, that although Kaffe is mostly well known for his bright color work, he has a strong affinity for working in tone on tone, in particular, the greys and neutrals found in stone work, and left to his own devices without heeding any specified customer demands, he will often work in that color palette to exclusion of all others. I feel somewhat vindicated in my feelings for gentler color mixing. Still, I will never look at bright (some would say gaudy!) color mixes quite the same way again.

In an interesting coincidence, I was visiting my Aunt in the Eastern Townships a week earlier and had zipped in to the LYS in Sutton, PQ and snagged two balls of Regia sock yarn, and discovered later that they were part of the new Kaffe Fassett color line. Apparently my feet don’t have the same concerns about wearing a cacophony of riotous color that the rest of me does! See what I mean:

I did have a couple of tangible takeaways

from my wondrous evening of color – signed copies of Fassett's latest book:

And of course, I needed to have Fassett’s famous student, and textile designer in his own right, Brandon Mably’s book, signed of course, which I actually think I may use more for inspiration of actual items to knit, as they are much closer to my own tastes.

So that was the stellar start to my week of fibre-y over-load! Next instalment – Creativ Festival 2009!

Knit on……….

Sock it to me, baby!

2008-10-14T17:09:00.001-04:00

Finally a picture – I’m rapidly moving past last weeks sock impairment challenges, and have completed enough pairs for a good photo shoot.

I’ve been eager to eat up some stash sock yarn too, before that Susan and I head off to the Creativ Festival this coming weekend, because of course you know there will be some serious stash shopping taking place, and we’ll be making no apologies for it!!

So there they are all finished, even the toes are made up!

And I’ve already got another easy, peasy, ribbed sock on the go to knit on during the Kaffe Fassett lecture tonight, with some variegated Regia that I’m trying for the first time, something I hope one of the DD’s will like the feel of, so I can move them away from acrylic sock yarn.

As well the ripped out OnLine Clown sock for DD2 is back on the needles and well under way – I have memorized the lace pattern now (after the third sock, that’s not really a surprise!) and moving along easily too.

I realize I’ll have to take some knitting on the train, and had thought to take sock yarn as it is small and I can take two pairs for interest sake. I have a small lace shawl that is almost done I might take too. After all, it is a 5-hour train ride one way! I won’t worry about the return trip home, as I’m sure to have new things purchased at the festival to amuse me, even if it is only more sock yarn!!

And this, to show you too, a wonderful recent addition to my knitting library from my DD2 for my recent birthday!

Knit on......

One step forward, two socks back…

2008-10-06T16:13:00.001-04:00

As ye shall knit, so shall ye frog! Rip it! Rip it!

My knitting is stepping out in the wrong direction!!! This past week I finished two socks, the second OnLine Clown sock for DD2 and the first of a pair of blue bed socks for my Aunt.

As I reached the toe of the OnLine sock I had great difficultly with the decreases not equal under sole with the top of toe, and after some serious examination I realized I had cast on an extra set of stitch repeats at the very beginning causing the count to be completely off and the sock to be much wider than its mate. Everything had worked beautifully, heels and gussets adding up nicely with no indication of trouble until I reached the toe. Groannnnn….. the only saving grace is that I am going to enjoy the lace pattern all over again!

I had also thought to do a quick pair of bed socks while travelling to the Eastern Townships in Quebec this weekend. Nothing fancy, easy knitting in the car, but the light worsted blue wool I was using knit up wider than expected and they too were to big and had to be ripped out – all that travel knitting time gone to waste! Shame!

Where is my head I am wondering? I am certainly distracted by all of my family and work obligations these days, but usually knitting stops my head from spinning and helps me to narrow my focus and concentration on just my handiwork, which is generally very restful for my head. But these slip-ups and errors in counting and measuring are down right silly and annoying – I have too many WIP projects to finish to waste time frogging all my hard work!

Knit on....

Dyeing to get coloring!

2008-09-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

So last night was the first meeting of the season of the OKG, and what treat we had! The owner of Knit Knackers, one of our LYS’s, gave a very good demonstration (hard to do with 100+ ladies knitting and gabbling!) on how to dye 100 % wool using nothing more than Wilson cake icing dyes, a big pot, some vinegar and some cling wrap!

Very easy to do up in your own kitchen! You can even skip the boiling water stage and use your microwave instead! Who knew?!

My tablemates and I were quite excited by this demo, and when we all expressed similar interests in learning the skill more intimately, we resolved to have our own little dyeing party in one of our own kitchens. So some organizing will need to take place to get wool blanks and the other supplies.

It was really quite amazing to see all the variations that could be created with the same dye colors, depending on the method used in the application. For example, I did not know that the black Wilson dye color separates when added to hot water and if you do not stir it, it will produce beautiful mixes of greens and purples, but not black, that randomly saturates the wools.

There were so many examples of great “home-dyed” yarns that it was hard to contain myself!! I did however go and caress a few skeins to see the colors up close and personal, and later at home, fell asleep dreaming of steaming vats of color and soft woolly kaleidoscopes!

I can tell you, I am very, very, very much looking forward to planning our little “dye-party”!! And yes, Susan – you’ve on the exclusive invitee list – I made sure of that, since I know you’ve been wanting to do this too, for ever so long!!!

Knit on….

I’m thinking the unthinkable……..

2008-09-19T16:05:00.002-04:00

I’m going to do it. The unthinkable, that is. I have finally decided after almost a year of agonizing. I’m going to frog it.
There I said it.
Out loud.
And in public.
There is no turning back.
Unless, of course, you know better than me.
I’m open to suggestion.

I have been thinking about the various comments of some of the designers I have had the pleasure of listening to live and in person over the last year, Lucy Neatby and Sally Melville for two, with regard to WIP’s that lounge in our stash. They all agree that rather than let those WIP’s lounge about from indecision, just frog it and move on, or change it into some else completely.

In my heart I know they are right, but honestly it is easier said than done! All that time and effort! Would it be wasted? Would I feel I’ve failed somehow? What if I didn’t have an alternate plan for the yarn – my ever-increasing stash needs no help! At least in the WIP stage I can say it is not technically stash yarn any more!

I have several items sitting there. Most of them I still love, and must continue to work on finishing, especially as they are winter items, and fall is upon us already.

But there is one; one that I love the yarn, and the idea, but I have grown away from the actual design, and my abilities have grown too, and now I would like something slightly different.

I have this in the final stages of completion, with only one shoulder to finish and I still love the color I choose:

But , I’ve changed my mind about the style. I would like something a bit more fitted through the waistline. I was thinking of knitting the ribbing much, much longer, like up to the bottom of my ribcage, then the top portion as shown.

But, here’s the catch – this vest is knitted from the waist ribbing up. I am not sure I can rescue the top and sacrifice the bottom and make new ribbing down?

Any thoughts?? Advice?? Words of wisdom?

Do I just frog it and start over?? Oh, the unthinkable!!!

Knit on…..

Busy, busy, busy.....

2008-09-15T18:11:00.002-04:00

The days are flying by, and with just a few days of extreme humidity as the exception, Fall has arrived early and the mornings and nights are quite chilly. Good for sleeping, but makes for a rude awakening!

With the chilly days in mind, a friend asked if this could be made for her tiny little niece, and so I did. And I asked for and hope to receive soon an action shot of the recipient wearing her new poncho. The color is most accurate in this photo, a lovely dark pinkish purple - perfect outdoor wear for a little girl.

I am very pleased with the results as the pattern did not call for a hood, so I had to devise one, and calculate the appropriate size, having never seen the child. Apparently it fit well.

The yarn was new to me, Diamond Tempo Chunky, in colorway 355, a nice acrylic/wool blend, sturdy but not itchy, with good weight and drape, and gently hand washable, a nice feature for working moms.

I enjoyed knitting with this yarn, and have inadvertently ended up picking another 6 skeins of Diamond yarn up at my LYS for my next project (not telling what it is yet since I'm making it up as I go, but I will tell you it involves freeform cabling. Yikes !!!!).

Here - check out that applied i-cord, then picture me frantically doing i-cord in bed at 11:30 at night (I have to get up at 5:30am so be at least a little sympathetic would ya!) while the G-man snores obliviously beside me, so as to have it delivered in time.

I’ve almost finished another pair of OnLine socks, and another baby blanket, ripple crochet in boy-ish stash colors continues to grow too, with rows added daily.

Last week I hung out with the Ottawa Knitters Guild (OKG) at the Museum of Civilization and enjoyed hearing Sally Melville, who has recently moved to Ottawa and now calls this home, speak to the Vogue Knitting Tour group from New York City. I could listen to Sally all day – she really makes me sit up and think when she speaks about “Knitting as a metaphor for life”, which is her favourite subject!

Strangely the Vogue Tour Group did not put on any kind of presentation, either to promote the Knitting tour or Vogue Knitting Magazine in general. We (the many members of the OKG in attendance that evening) thought it very odd and quite disappointing, especially as many members had gone to great lengths to bring and display a large number of garments knitted from Vogue Knitting Magazine patterns over the years. It was generally thought that Vogue had missed a great marketing opportunity with all those Canadian knitters in attendance! We did however have a chance to speak with one of the tour escorts who has a dream job working at Vogue Knitting – lucky gal!

So, now I’m all caught up.

Knit on……..

Finally!

2008-09-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

Today we received great news!

The first good news in a long time, and the timing couldn’t have been better, coming just as DD1’s optimism was showing serious signs of cracking from the long strain that she has been under. Today I dare to breathe deeply again. I feel a bit winded, as if I have been running flat out for a long, long time and now I can take a minute to catch my breathe.

There is tangible evidence, X-rays pictures to prove it is truly for real, that DD1 is winning her battle with Hodgkin’s! This week marks the exact halfway point of her chemotherapy program – 8 sessions done and 8 more to go.

At her halfway check-up at the hospital today she received the good news that the brick sized mass in her chest has shrunk smaller than a small egg! Amazing!!

We feel as if we finding our way out from the tall dark forest that we have been lost in for quite a while and finally able to see the sun light at the edge and we are giddy with renewed hope and determination and tears of happiness have been freely flowing throughout the afternoon!!

Knit on……….

Finding rhythm…

2008-08-25T18:11:00.001-04:00

I’ve an old rhythm going. I’ve been crocheting again.

It is a blessed relief to return to something my hands know how to do instinctively. Knitting is a challenge I love with a fierce passion these days, but it still is not second nature as yet, and I must constantly focus and watch much of my work as I go. But crocheting, the first skill I learned involving sticks and string as a young women, is something I can do without much thinking.

There is a rhythm to crochet, it is by nature very repetitious act, especially when making blankets and afghan’s, and in those long rows a wonderful zen-like state takes over and before you know it I’m in the zone.

And so it was when I was suddenly presented with several hours of time in the car last Friday without a knitting project suitable for long repetitive rows while gazing out the windows at the scenery. At the last minute, as we loaded the car, I remembered my stash reduction commitment and a few more balls of Red Heart still lounging about, totally suitable for crocheting and equally good for the Ottawa Inuit Community Resource Center baby blankets I have been working on.

I grabbed two skeins and my crochet hook, and as we headed out the driveway I chained the foundation row, and began. I was startled to look down a time later, about a three-quarters of the way to our destination, to see how many rows I had accomplished. Darn near a quarter of the blanket was sitting in my lap! My fingers had worked steadily without thinking leaving my head free to enjoy the sunny countryside unfolding as we drove. It was the same for the drive home a day later.

This is the rhythm I still strive to achieve with my knitting. This total loss of time and effort, and complete feeling of ease and satisfaction that comes when your head no longer needs to engage in the activity of your hands. I know this peace will come with to my knitting in time, after all I have only been knitting a few years, and crocheting for more than 25 now, so it makes sense that I am not yet in the same place with my knitting as I am with crochet.

So every now and then it is a complete and total relief to return to the skill my hands know first without being told what to do.

Knit on…..

BSJ done – like dinner!

2008-08-18T18:11:00.001-04:00

It is done and I am very pleased and the recipient seemed delighted to receive it this past Sunday!

Here it is:

The yarn is Vanna White worsted weight, in an acidic green (I have color corrected the photo as closely as I can to match the actual, but still it not quite right) and the contrast is a handsome teal – I was advised that the recipient preferred wash and wear, no hand washing, and so I did just that using 100% acrylic although I think EZ would roll over in her grave if she knew I didn’t use real wool! However, the Vanna White collection has a wonderful color range, and I had a hard time choosing, especially as we don’t know if the baby will be a boy or a girl. Still I think these colors will work for either.

I am starting to get my head around EZ’s way of dictating her patterns, but confess I still relied heavily on this spreadsheet from the boy who knits to keep my counts straight. The matching hat is a simple stockingette stitch round and round, with a contrasting rolled brim. Fairly unisex styling to go with the unisex BSJ.

I’m eyeing the mitred mittens in the Knitting Workshop as my next EZ project. And if you have not read EZ’s “digressions” in Knitting Around, I totally recommend doing so – it is an amazing glimpse into what must have been a truly fascinating and adventurous life of EZ.

Now it’s back to the last of the charity squares to get the knitting madness that surrounds my favourite family room chair, under control! Winter is fast approaching and these desperately need to be knitted up and gone, gone, gone off to the Inuit Community resource Center here in Ottawa!

Knit on….

A quiet moment....

2008-08-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

I’m still here. But I’ve not much to say. The days are plodding by, entrapping us in the limbo that falls between normal and surreal.

Work, home, eat, sleep. The same as everyday. Normal.

But surreal and ever present in the house is Hodgkin’s cruel taunt that cancer does not take a vacation. Where summers should be for lounging and rejuvenation, good food and friends, and week long trips to cottage land, these days following chemo, DD1 is now reduced to many little episodes of sleep, sleep, and more sleep, punctuated by un-happy glances into the mirror at her Sigorney Weaver go-army shaved head. There is nothing for a mother to do. Neither hugs nor re-assurances are convincing enough that she is still an incredibly beautiful young woman. She is a study in contrasts, both vunerable and strong in the same moment. If I were a skilled photographer I would try to capture that contrast, but I know I am not and would miss the essence of her beauty.

She and I sat companionably last evening in the chairs on the front porch, talking of how hard this time is and the changes it is bringing about her, the house to ourselves for a change, but enjoying none the less the last of the fleeting sun, she knitting a new baby blanket in lovely ice creamy pastels, and I plugging away at the BSJ. It was that quiet time that I cherish and can never get enough of, where the noise of neighbourhood children begins to quiet, the birds start their evening songs, and I can breathe, somewhat safe with the assurance that we have made it through yet another day.

It already smells like fall in the early mornings, and we have not yet had a summer. Tomorrow we’ll do it all over again.

Knit on.

Hard act to follow…

2008-07-31T11:31:00.003-04:00

Everything is going to seem rather mundane around our place for a bit now, after yesterday’s excitement.

Still I have a few more pics, as promised.

DD1 showed off her finished baby hat and booties at last weeks TAFK (Tuesdays Are For Knitting) session, customized of course, in her usual just-the-right-finishing-touch way – see the wee buttons? These are for a little boy who will arrive later this summer, just in time for wool-wearing season! The bootie pattern is from Bernat, and happens to be in the 2009 Knitting Pattern-a-Day calendar, and the hat is the Umbilical Cord hat from the original Snitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller

I'm still working on the Green OnLine socks, aptly named Clown socks for how the colors seem so garish to me! DD2 has claimed them when the are done.

And a stack ‘o squares, 10 done, for the baby blanket in progress. Knitting loves crochet so the edges are being detailed as you can see. As well I'll use crochet to join them in to a lovely little blanket. several of my TAFK members have also done squares, so I'll have some more joining to do shortly.

I know, I have a short attention span, so yes there are several projects on the go…..

And apologies to this Susan , with whom I am supposed to have a knit-a-long for this item, I have had to start the EZ BSJ ahead of her since I was suddenly presented with a deadline a mere 3 weeks away!! Susan, all I can say is watch your stitch count – I’ve already ripped it out once!!

And brewing in the back of my mind is the fact that here is still time to submit something to the 2010 Knitting Pattern-A-Day calendar, which isn’t due until October 15, 2008, 10:00 pm EST.

Now back to your regularly scheduled knitting. There is nothing more to see here.

Knit on…..

Now that's kinda cool!!!!

2008-07-30T21:22:00.008-04:00

Well you have all seen this before, I'm sure. The Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar - and that's what it's going to look like for 2009.

How do I know about it beside that fact that it is on Amazon.com? Well I got one. Yes. Delivered. By courier.

I didn't know it was coming. I was annoyed by the silly sticker on my door which arrived during working hours, which of course I would not have arranged. And I didn't remember ordering anything anyway. Which it turns out I didn't.

So how come I have one before it is even released?? Let's think about that. Took me a minute too.

I HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED!!!!!!

Let me tell you there was a few minutes of freaking out around our place this evening!!

And the very gorgeous DD2 is the November 27th calendar girl!!!

Do you remember this picture from a ways back, like over a year ago??

Well later this year you'll find it in here along with the pattern. And look closely - DD2's picture even made the calendar jacket!!

A million thanks to Susan Ripley and the
Knitting Pattern-A-Day team at http://www.knittingpatternaday.com/index.htm for making my day!!

I am so doing my happy dance right now!!

Knit on.....

ps. you should give it a try, there's lots of time. Why? This is why: http://www.knittingpatternaday.com/knittingcrochetcontestrules.htm

I’m sure I’ve been busy ...

2008-07-24T20:40:00.001-04:00

I’m sure I’ve been busy doing something, but most weeks I can hardly remember what I’ve done the day before! The days of summer are flying by at an outrageous pace, and what sun we’ve seen seems like a rare bird. Still, it must be sun enough – just look at my begonia gone wild:

We’ve have been busy with household maintenance chores that were not done in the spring as usual. The G-man is still busy finishing the basement; the doors arrived yesterday. It will soon be time for picking the paint color, a job for DD1 as she is an interior decorator by trade, with an amazing eye for color!

And DD1 has not been idle either, despite her bi-weekly torturous chemo regime. I don’t know how she does it, and frequently worry that she is over-doing, but that’s the mother thing to do! She is doing very well in her battle with Hodgkin’s, although the days of recovery from the chemo are stretching longer each time, and are becoming a bit harder to bounce back from. Still she is amazing in her strength to keep on keeping on. Truly I am in awe of this girl of mine!

On her good weeks, between medical appointments, she has gutted the main bathroom and installed new lighting, a gorgeous mirror, new shower curtain and painted. New flooring as been ordered too, and will be installed in due course. I may splurge on new faucets too! I am very excited to see the finished room, as this bathroom has been in quite a state with nothing done to it since we moved in 5 plus years ago, and it was very, very tired indeed and in need a facelift.

I have been painting baseboards and patching in various rooms, a tedious job, but all the daily living has taken its toll and there are too many nicks and scratches to ignore any longer. And lastly the exterior house touch-up painting needs to be done too. Does it ever end?

In knitting activity, there was a full house of Tuesdays Are for Knitting crew in attendance this week, some just there to socialize and of course the hard-core knitters like myself and that Susan who can’t imagine knitching without knitting at the same time! A very good time was had by all! There were the cutest cupcakes for Heather’s birthday, but we gobbled them before I got a picture – yes, they were quite yummy!

The stash busting projects are coming along nicely, and my charity blanket has 9 squares of 12 completed. Knitting loves crochet too, and I have edged the plain squares with more stash yarn for a updated granny effect. . pictures to follow when the lighting is better.

And I was going to report 2 hats and 2 pairs of mitts ready for Anita but DD1 has claimed the darker green variegated set, so I’ll have to whip up another set.

News Flash !!!!!: Don’t forget about the Third Annual Ottawa Knit Out 2008: http://www.agriculture.technomuses.ca/english/activities_events/index.cfm Sunday August 3, 2008, 12 - 4:30pm at the CANADA AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, MEMORY PARK, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, ON – I’ll be there, will you??

Knit on……

Scrap-ghans….

2008-07-08T16:52:00.003-04:00

I love the idea of no waste at the end of a project. I thrill at useing up every last piece of string, and cannot tell you how pleased I am when the clipped ends pile at the completion of a project is less than a fistful.

I always wind up the last bits at the end of a project, to the point of ridiculously small balls that seem too small to do anything with. In fact earlier this year, when I emptied my craft room in the frenzy that accompanied DD1’s urgent return home, I purged my stash of precious little balls to the waste bin, not being able to justify the even now limited storage. Of course, as with all things let go in haste, the squirrel in me is severely regretting my hasty purge. Now I need those little balls to add to my mitred squares for the scrap blankets that I am making for Anita:

However, I think It won’t be too much of a problem. I still have a great deal of plastic bins filled with full skeins of stash afghan style yarns. And so, I will just have to get to knitting them up! And you know exactly what will happen as each skein gets knitted up. Yup – those little balls will appear to replenish my collection. Like I said, it will not be much of a problem!

It’s a never-ending cycle. Buy yarn. Knit yarn. Wind little balls. It makes me happy to see those little balls reproduce. And each time I pull out a familiar color I can reminisces about the original project that produced the little ball of color.

What is the fascination with these little balls? Well I just love scrap-ghans! I love the thrifty use of seemingly useless bits and pieces and the wonder at the time it must have taken to piece all these bits together.

Let me show you a prime example of what I’m talking about:

I received two of these gorgeous blankets some 20+ years ago from my ex-mother in law, Betty, for the DD’s beds when they were quite little. The blankets have survived numerous moves and were one of the few important things other than the gorgeous DD’s and my beloved Jack Russell terrier Buttons, salvaged from that first marriage! It was Betty that first put a crochet hook in my hand, and I am forever indebted to her for instilling in me my love of yarn!

The blankets, although slightly worn with time, but holding up extremely well (a credit to their maker who always produced beautiful quality items), are as charming as the day Betty put them on the DD’s beds, and I marvel every time I pull them out at the commitment and foresight it took to produce all those squares. Each blanket has approximately 220+ squares! I remember that at the end of each her project’s, after the last tails was darned in, out would come the crochet hook and the bag of little coloured balls to which she would add the newest ones, and little brightly coloured granny squares would magically appear, bordered by the lovely cream colour.

I never really thought about what they would create, or how they would look when all joined together. But I learned that even the smallest ball of color could add just the right bit of umph! to an otherwise bland square. I certainly had no concept of how many squares would be required, but I surely now understand why this would be the type of blanket produced over a long period of time, since a knitter or crochet-er would have to complete a large number of other items first to generate enough scrap balls of yarn to produce and collect such large numbers of squares.

So I have been making my own squares for a while now too. I have shoe box full so far, but probably not enough for a full Scarp-ghan yet. From half skiens and leftovers. These are solids, destined to be bordered by something, probably black to make them pop. Of course you know I'm keeping the leftovers from these wound up in little balls for, well, you know.

Google key words like scrap blankets or scrap-ghans or scrap knitting or crochet for some more inspiring examples. Go look at Sanna’s recently finished Mother and Daughter patchwork blanket for some wonderful inspiration.

And so with another recession looming on the forefront, climbing gas prices, and my creative spending subsequently being severely curtailed in favor of another commodity that I am very partial to, food, I intend to go back to my roots and that of my grandmothers, and do what women have always done in times of economic lack: use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without! When it comes to yarn, I’ll be using it up alright, every last little bit of string, you can be sure of that!

Knit on…….

Warm fuzzies….

2008-07-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

It was just what I needed. A diversion. A reason. A purpose. A cause!

Charity knitting always does that for me. It takes me away from my own trials and tribulations and causes me to stop and count my blessings, however small they may be these days, and become aware that there are always, always, always those who are less blessed and in need.

On that accord my fingers fairly flew yesterday, during coffee breaks, lunch hour, during the commute, and over tea with a friend on the patio. Oh I do love such immediate gratification!

Needed: one teenage hat, please.

Delivered: one teenage hat, thank you.

No. No really. Thank you!

Thank you for asking for one, or several. Really. I enjoy making them. It was fast, and easy, and made me feel good all over to know that it might in some small way brighten someone’s day, and at the very least keep them a wee bit warmer next winter. I consider a privilege to be asked to help, and will do my best to do my bit.

And I hope you won’t mind if I get a warm fuzzie or two along the way. In this big wide world, it is not often that anything we do has such genuine impact on anyone any more.

Why yes – I certainly have started another one already…. I have plans for matching mitts too, of course!

What? Pictures?Oh yes - sorry, hummm.. Where is the damn camera?....

Knit on…….

Clowning around…

2008-07-03T16:34:00.000-04:00

So after last week, a little clowning around was required, and I would say this second pair of OnLine lacey socks fits the bill. Or at least the colorway does (my picture taking skills do not do the colors justice - they are truly vibrant and verging on violent!)!!

DD1 and I both found the colors too jarring as they knit up, but DD2 has been quite happy to claim them for as suitable for her personality (we are not sure what that says about her given the aforementioned violent comment....), and so they will be made to fit.

The pattern is a freebie from www.JemsYarn.com called Lace Ribbed socks. I searched for a pattern like this because although I working on improving my lace knitting skills so I can get back to Sanna’s yarn and finishing up the Citrine Socks I have in my WIP pile, I still confess to liking a bit of ribbing to keep socks firmly attached at the ankle. I do hate me a baggy sock!!

I am enjoying the simple lace repeat, it’s about all my poor brain can handle at the moment, although the heel setup was less than stellar, but I muddled through, and the result is satisfactory and I’m clicking my way to the toe. The second one will be just as quick.

Oh yes – the gorgeous orange OnLine Holiday lace socks from last week are done, but I messed up at the toes and the damned Kitchener stitch (I was hurrying to finish!), and so a re-do is an order before I model them for you. But I still love, love, love them!!

And in an effort to right the equalibrium of my world, I have taken on some charity knitting in hope that I can generate some good karma to surround me. Once again I am hooking up to support Anita at www.findingfortygatheringknitting.blogspot.com and help her fulfill her quest to send teenage hats, mitts, sweaters, socks, and baby blankets to the Innu Community in Labrador. I’ve got one hat already half done. Check out Anita’s site if you can help her out too!

Knit on….

Better hand me my raincoat….

2008-06-27T20:56:00.002-04:00

My spirit is sagging. Right along with the weather, which continues to rain, intermittently every day, just enough to keep my geraniums from showing their full potential, and more than enough ironically, to dampen my spirits.

It’s been quite a week. Read on, if you dare.

DD1 is trudging down the tough cancer road: it is fraught with roadblocks and wild emotional side roads and it takes everything we have to navigate it some days. But I remain solid that love will get us through it all, but wow, it is really, really, really hard some days!

My still-new-to-me 5-year-old fridge, quit. Just like that. Not worth repairing apparently. After only 5 years. Yup – I’m ticked off! Money for a new one was duly handed over. Ouch.

A long time acquaintance, a person who truly rejoiced at life, and lived it large, fully and passionately, and imbibed everyone he met with his love of living, met with tragedy and died suddenly, leaving behind a large black hole in his huge human circle.

And the one that threw me the most. The one that has left me simply reeling in its wake: dear, dear friends of ours have announced the end of their marriage after 34 years. Knocked the wind right out of me. I totally never saw it coming. I am still shedding tears, selfishly as much for me as for them.

Now please excuse me. I really need to go kick something.

Knit on…

Wiggin out....

2008-06-21T11:19:00.002-04:00

This is what happens at the end of a loooooong week when you have a wig, and chemo patient, a few drinks and a grumpy cat:

Knit on....

Check, check… and check.

2008-06-19T11:16:00.000-04:00

First Alligator sock is done. Check.

Yup, just like that. And I am still madly in love with it. Ask my DD’s. And their friends. And my co-workers. And the G-man. I pull it out of my purse everywhere and say, “Look. Look what I did. Isn’t it beautiful?” I’m driving them all crazy!

And DD1’s chemo #3 is done. Check.

The nurses and other patients in the hospital chemo daycare also liked my sock too. Yes – I showed them. We are there for a long time, and we have to do something to pass the time and distract ourselves. Might as well admire my sock!

Cast on for the second sock. Check.

I’m halfway through the ribbing on the second Alligator sock. It will be a quick knit I think. Too bad! Did I say how much I am loving it??

Knit on…Check!

I am enchanted….

2008-06-13T11:09:00.001-04:00

Look.

Isn’t it so pretty?

I’m completely enchanted by it. This is my first attempt at a lace sock – usually I just like plain Jane ribbed socks. The little yarnover’s within the 2 x 4 ribbing are thrilling me to no end, and the fact that I have been able to memorize the pattern sequence is a triumph of major proportion for me! I’m zipping along, resenting every moment I cannot pick it up and work on it.

The colors (which do not show with the camera as richly as they really are) draw me in every time I look at it, and I am compelled to pick it up and admire it. My DD’s are dropping very, very broad hints about foot length, and stopping by to say admiring things about the knitting. But it will be mine I tell you, all mine!

It is very close by. I took it to work. I usually have my sock knitting in my purse near by, but this time I couldn’t let it languish hidden away for the day waiting for a chance to pull it out and have a go. I have it on my desk, out front and center, where I can rest my weary computer eyes on it now and again, and I become instantly refreshed! I’m showing it off to my colleagues too!

I adapted the stitch pattern from Creative Knitting Magazine May 2008, Baby Alligator socks – I just doubled the stitch pattern to fit my size. It’s working out perfectly. The yarn is OnLine, of course. The colorway – Holiday – how appropriate! It is a holiday every time I look at it!

Total enchantment, I tell you. Total.

Just mumblings...

2008-06-05T12:18:00.005-04:00

Been wondering what to write about for a few days. It’s not that there isn’t anything going on. Lord knows my life is busy, busy, busy, these days! It’s more that I have haven’t quite (close, but not quite) finished anything yet.

Knitpicks Multi Peacock keep getting pick-up and put down as they are my travelling knitting, and there hasn’t been much waiting time in my travelling lately. But do you notice a trend with the striping of the knit picks yarn - once agian the stripes have gone bonkers on the second sock - I don't like this at all...

Still I could tell you what a fabulous time Susan (seen here with the lovely Alpaca cria's from Victory Farms) and I had with the Ottawa Knitting Guild roadtrip to Janie H. Knits in Perth last Sunday. While the weather wasn’t stellar, it didn’t really rain, and the drive was great given that Susan was an awesome passenger and navigator, keeping me laughing, and from taking the wrong turns!

We were both quite good I think with our purchases, only buying a few luscious things to amuse our selves, some sock yarn for myself and some bamboo and ribbon yarns that I had wanted to try in the form of some of my knitted caps. I did also get two new tools – it’s all about the tools, was the motto for the day. I finally purchased a WPI tool and a set of WIP tubes to hold my double points in my socks inside my purse. Oh these babies are just the ticket – should have got them a long, long ago.

Janie’s was a wonderful store – brimming with inspiration and wonderful selections of both new and old favourites. It really was hard to know what to look at given that I hadn’t a purchasing agenda like some of the other OKG members obviously did! There was a lot of debate about the husband un-awareness purchasing plan going on! I know I’ll be back to visit now that I know what she has.

This week, in between work and catching up on household chores, and DD1’s second chemo session, has been devoted to helping DD1 plan her Hodgkin’s fundraiser in the form of a Martini party at a local club, complete with draw prizes and the ceremonial cutting of her hair before it falls out completely from the chemo. Sadly the hair is well on its way to being gone. But I love this kid of mine – she’s a “if it’s going to happen, then go big or go home” kind of girl! Hence the big party tonight. Yeah, now that’s my girl!

So there you have – my busy week.

Knit on……….

Crackers….

2008-05-29T12:15:00.003-04:00

I think I am losing my mind. No I don’t think, I know. I’ve gone crackers.

I’m calling people by the wrong name, typing words that have nothing to do with what I’m trying to say, and returning phone calls to people, who, although seem happy to hear from me, are not the original callers!

This is how extreme fatigue hits me. I’m present in body, but the mind is completely out to lunch… it runs endlessly in circles, never really stopping for long on any one thought, leaving mayhem in its wake. Conversations I think I had, never really took place, actions I should have taken, didn’t, and plans that need to get made, don’t materialize.

I need a vacation, or at least a serious mental pause. I need to think of nothing. Absolutely
nothing. Zero. Zilch. Zip. A blank space (well obviously we’re almost there now, I can hear you saying!). I don’t even want to think about what’s for dinner, or what to wear, or where I need to be in the next 5 minutes.

So, since my schedule has actually been re-adjusted yet again (happens everyday lately), I see a hole. A big one! A whole day where my presence is not going to be required, I think. I hope. I pray! Knock on wood, and seize the day! Grab it now, and block it off on the calendar. Growl viciously at anyone who proposes alternate plans.

What is this opportunity to re-gain my sanity, rejuvenate my soul, reacquaint myself with, well myself? Why it’s a OKG roadtrip of course! Yup – going to Perth to Janie H. Knits
on Sunday! Woo-hoo! There’s going to be a Rowan distributor there, a trunk show, some local alpacas, and of course Janie’s amazing collection of yarn-y goodies to peruse. Heavenly! Just thinking about it is blissful, a state of mind I have not seen lately!

And yes, despite my pledge to knit only from my stash this summer (which I am doing by the way – I’ll run you down the list in a sec), I will allow myself a ball or several of something lovely from Janie’s store, but I will be mindful of my severe space constraints. Lots of skeins out, a few in is acceptable I think.

So what have I been knitting? Well, my stash knitting is not too creative, but 10 x 50g balls of mixed mohair/acrylic and three balls of Sidar cotton blend are being worked into a fat and thin mixed media scarf/shawl suitable for the fall. And 6 balls of various cottons, cottons blends, baby soft acrylic, and at least one ball of the softest bamboo have all been used up in knitting various versions of one-skein beanies.

They are cute, fun and knit up quickly and help me to feel I doing something personal for the recipient. I can’t say if they will be worn – but if they don’t, I’ll send them on to others in need. And I’m in the home stretch of my travelling Knitpicks socks where progress was stalled briefly after our hospital visits became less frequent, thankfully!

There, that’s 16 balls of yarn out of my stash! Not bad, now is it?

Knit on…………

With a little help from my friends…………

2008-05-20T12:11:00.003-04:00

All last week I have received gifts. Gifts given from the heart. Gifts of friendship, and love, and caring.

One of my closet friends, a very busy mum with one toddler and one babe in arms, found the time and energy to make us more than several wonderful microwaveable meals, I swear enough to feed us for a month, and delivered it along with her husband combining it with a badly needed visit with the G-man while I was yet again at Emergancy for another long late night. What a treat to come home from work on Friday and not have to cook on for most of the weekend, and we are still working on the leftovers, and I think there is still more in the freezer.

Another sweet neighbour had us over for dinner on Sunday night, allowing us to get a break from both the house and the care-giving, and DD1 some quiet me time with us still being close at hand. She has offered to be a neighbour on call several days a week, should our patient need anything in a hurry. What a dear she is, and how re-assuring for me.

And yet another darling friend, calls or e-mails everyday to check up on not only our patient, but all of us, to ensure we have everything we need, and to be the strong shoulder to vent on should it be necessary. I look forward to those encouraging daily affirmations that we are headed in the right direction, doing the right things, and the surety we will make it through this challenge in one piece.

My dear friend Susan calls me regularly to check up on us, offering her love and support, to remind me there is still a knitting life outside of my bubble, and charms me with details of her progress on her Kauni cardi, and the latest Japanese fabric choice for her nieces quilt. It is a bright spot in my day, and gives me time to catch my breath, clear my cluttered mind - she is the pause that refreshes me!

And on Friday the mailman brought something rather special from a far-away place. When I arrived home after work, it was sitting on the counter, and my heart jumped when I saw the address. It was from my friend Sanna in Finland. Now you will recall that Sanna and I have never actually met in person, but have become wonderful long distance friends through KTS4
last fall. It was evident early on that we had much in common besides knitting and tea.

When I unwrapped the pretty purple tissue, I found three things. A note, a book, and yes – a pair of handknit socks (look you can see here Sanna's picture better than mine turned out!).

Sanna had sent me a Mother’s Day gift along with her well wishes and thoughts for our family. I cannot tell you how touched I was, and how the tears of gratitude for her friendship and thoughtfulness filled my eyes. From so far away Sanna had sensed a need in this mum and she had known just how to fill it.

The lovely book, titled “Who will comfort Toffle?” is a classic in most Scandinavian homes, read to children and adults alike to provide comfort and encourage friendship and confidence in all who read Tove Jansson’s story. As you can see Sanna, the little storybook has been read by all the members of our family, and is already destined to become a standard in our home too!

As for the glorious socks, they are permanently ensconced on DD1’s feet, promptly claimed and happily pronounced them perfect for lounging in during lengthy recovery periods. The colour is a whisper soft variegated purple in hand-spun merino of beautiful quality. And need I say anything about the knitting, except that it is perfect in every way possible. The stitch pattern is simple and pleasing and shows the yarn to full advantage. Sanna even had the foresight to make these heelless, so they might fit any foot size. They are simply beautiful, and made even more so because they were a gift from the heart. Here they are in already in action:

Now can you see why I am so blessed? How I know that we will succeed in our quest for good health and happiness? How can we not, with friends like these supporting, loving, and nurturing us every step of the way.

As the song says:

How do I feel by the end of the day
Are you sad because you're on your own

No, I get by with a little help from my friends, with a little help from my friends.

Knit on…………

This too shall pass …

2008-05-14T12:14:00.001-04:00

The enormity, and the longevity of the situation is really starting to hit home with each member of the family. But we maintain a positive outlook, and truly feel we cannot lose if we hold to our belief that “This too shall pass”, which is the mantra our family has long used to outlast the most difficult of times.

To help you understand, if you are curious, this is what has changed our family, and our beautiful DD1, this past month:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodgkin's_lymphoma.

And to help pass the time spent waiting and keeping watch, the sock knitting continues, small and plain, but somehow very comforting. The sock knitting travels in my purse, always at the ready when my hands become too restless and my brain needs distraction. Another pair of Knitpicks socks in Multi Peacock colorway is almost complete, with the second heel to be turned tonight.

I’m glad I bought so much sock yarn earlier this year - my stash has purpose now – to keep me entertained while on a tight budget!! I found many yarns I had forgotten about when I emptied out my craft room to return to its bedroom status. I have sweater yarns and sock yarns, and yarns for wraps and shawls and many other lovelies. And even though I rid myself of all those little teeny tiny balls of the end of the skein for other projects, I still have an enormous collection of odd balls which will work up into warm and soft scrap-ghans and scrap-wraps, perfect for cozying up under, which I think there will be a lot of that going on soon.

Monday I took some me time (while the G-man held the fort, and DD1 was still in hospital care recovering slowly but surely) and spent the evening in the very excellent company of the OKG knitters - just what I needed to rejuvenate my soul. The topic was lace, and the samples on display were incredibly beautiful. Items included many shawls of course, and a hand knit wedding dress from the 1980’s, and hand knit lace nightgown set from the 1908 or there about was brought in by one member. Incredible work!

It was an inspiring evening, with lots of hugs and soul boosting affirmations from my knitting pals – surely just the place to be for refreshing my spirit!

Knit on……….

What do you think of this……….

2008-05-05T12:08:00.001-04:00

During the past month, as the enormity of our situation unfolds, I worked on the first pair of Knitpicks socks, the pair whose color stained my hands. The first sock knit beautifully, color staining aside, striping in an oh-so-lovely way. The second sock, started after the difficulties arose, looks like this:

Now why do you think that happened?

I am mixed – the rebellious side says leave it – it is a good reflection of the state of my mind at the time. The do it right and make it all match-y, match-y side of me says rip it out and re-knit it and make it stripe properly again..

What would you do?

Some news is not always better than no news…

2008-04-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

We have news.

The kind of news that no one can bear to hear spoken aloud lest it become more real than it already is.
The kind of news that clips you in the shoulder, without a passing glance, to see if you stayed on your feet – which of course you didn’t.
The kind of news that spins you off your axis and plops you right on your ass, leaving you dazed and confused, wondering what the hell just happened?
The kind of news that doesn’t even pass the Kleenex box when your eyes fill with tears, and run silently down your face.

For the past few mornings when I get out of bed, the planet beneath my feet seems shifty like when you are standing on a boat trying to keep your footing. On the surface nothing appears to have changed, and yet my eyes feel like they are looking through a warped pane of glass and everything has changed and is slightly askew.

We have been told to ready ourselves for a battle. A battle for a life they say. And so with the help of friends and family we have begun to prepare. The phone is ringing and the e-mail is full, the messages full of love and hope.

And within my little knitting world, the best of the best have come to be with us. One by one they have come to stand with our little family hand in hand, holding us just a little closer to their hearts, their purpose clear in their eyes. They are there for us and we are grateful beyond measure. And their hope is knitting us a safety net to catch the bits and pieces of our hearts and hold them together while we ready for what is to come next.

And while I am held together in their loving embrace, I am knitting too. Knitting my way through the tears and the anger and the immense fear that is threatening to swallow me up. I am knitting my way towards hope.

One stitch after another, my fingers are finding the rhythm again, seeking solace and comfort in the simple ritual of passing string over stick. No fancy stuff here, just simple repetition over and over, soothing my swirling thoughts, passing the time as we wait for the rest of the news.

Knit on……….

Still waiting….

2008-04-11T16:16:00.000-04:00

I really hate waiting. I know, who does? But I really, really, really hate waiting. It’s one of the reasons I started knitting, a portable way to kill time and have something to show for it. It is hard enough when you are waiting for something good to happen, but when you are waiting for something you know is going to be bad or worse, time seems to all but stand still.

I am seriously not good at waiting either. I am not, nor ever have been, a particularly patient person. I am a doer, a fixer, a sort-it-out-and-make-it-all-better kind of girl. Sitting around, trying to pretend everything is normal seems ridiculous to me. I like to get busy, and see progress and decisions followed by big action. Like many others I suppose, I feel better with constructive activity that shows purpose and produces results. You can load me up with a list a mile long, and as long as it gets me to the goal, I’m ok with that. In this regard, work is driving me crazy, as projects results are hard to come by and are long and arduous journeys. Not a very good distraction at the moment I’m afraid. And you might think that all this restlessness would translate into house cleaning frenzy, but no, this is not to be either. I may have the time but certainly not the inclination. The disorder suits my frame of mind.

I am un-focused, and I so I fidget, bite my nails, pick fluff off my sweater, over groom the poor cat, move piles from one side of the room to the other. I fuss over small things and people and I’m restless and have a hard time sitting still for long. And yet with all this energy I can’t seem to get anything accomplished. I flit from one task to another, pick up one project only to abandon it minutes later for another. I try to watch TV but the shows are trite and irritating and the people infuriating with their petty lives and problems, I want to reach into the TV and slap them and so I flick from one station to another but there is nothing that holds my attention. I try to watch the news but the gods are against me with every evening report bringing stories of the inadequacies of our provincial health care system, which send me over the roof with frustration. I try to read books, newspapers, magazines, but halfway through I realize I haven’t a clue what I just read.

My thoughts are scattered, interrupted, un-organized. It has taken me a week just to begin to write again, and even last night I voiced to Susan that I was still having difficulties with my words being all jumbled up like tangled yarn inside my head. In the middle of typing I find myself just staring at the wall, my brain twirling around.

I have hardly knit, working on just the second of my Knitpicks socks, which under normal circumstances would be well finished by now, but I only just started the heel flap last night. My fingers have forgotten their rhythm, and while working without careful watching, I am tink-ing back more than I am knitting, adding more to my growing frustrations.

I am doing my best to follow good advice to keep mind and body busy, and know that if I am successful, the time will eventually pass and all too soon we will receive the information we are seeking. This week there was a TAFK night, with yummy birthday cake for the other Kate, and last night was KnitNight at the Pinecrest Chapters, which is a great way to be distracted by all the other knitters and their projects. I picked up the Yarn Harlot’s new book in hopes that not only would it be entertaining (that’s guaranteed!) but that it’s short essay format would be an easier read on my frazzled brain cells. Tomorrow is a friends Stag and Doe, and dinner beforehand with more friends.

My friends, my extraordinary friends, are solidly beside me, those who know checking in frequently, listening patiently, offering up all manners of support, help and distraction. And those who don’t know yet, intuitively knowing as women do on some level that something is amiss, and holding their questions and waiting patiently for whatever is to come.

And as a family we are beginning to feel some of the initial shock finally starting wearing off, as reality sets in. And although gravely serious, the possibility of finally receiving long sought-after answers has offered at last some sense of pending relief.

Hummm - looks like some of the problems with getting the words out is starting to be rectified, if I look above this line. But I am still waiting……….

Knit on………..

Breathing deeply into a paper bag....

2008-04-05T18:55:00.002-04:00

Its been quiet here, I know. As we say in our family, we are having a moment. I hope you understand.

And although it is not going to be a short moment, I hope we'll have our little sail boat uprighted and catching the spring breeze shortly. I am not sure if I will share it with you, it's not exactly up to me, but I'm breathing into a paper bag as slowly as I can. Knitting seems futile but it is the only thing that is keeping me from running amuck in the streets, pulling my hair out and scratching my eyes.

Please keep my little family in your hearts, and I'll be back as soon as I can.

Knit on.....

Spring is in the air!

2008-04-02T16:11:00.000-04:00

I can see my rock garden – ok, about a half a square foot of it! I’m taking this as a sure sign that Spring is imminent. We are grasping at anything that remotely resembles Spring-like conditions around here. And with today’s –15*C windchill, we need all the Spring-y reminders we can get! So much for March going out like a lamb, as the saying goes. April is sounding like a pack of howling hyenas! Last night the house was fairly rocking and banging with the 50km windy gusts, and I feared my birch tree would finally give up the fight to stay upright, but this morning at 5:00am when I peeked out to survey the damage in the dim morning light, it was still there, standing proudly!

The first of the Knitpicks socks is almost finished – sadly, there has been some bleeding of the yarn, staining my hands badly as I knit. I am hoping it will wash out without fading the socks too badly, as I love the vibrant colorway. I called Knitpicks customer service to discuss the concern, and I have to say they were absolutely fantastic, and sending replacement yarn immediately at no expense to me. A different colorway mind you, as I preferred not to receive the same dye lot. What a delight to speak with the staff there – they even went out to the warehouse to select another colorway for me, describing the lovely colors of the new Peacock Multi colorway that I ultimately selected! I won’t be having any concerns with placing future orders I can tell you, especially with customer service like that!

And in anticipation of Spring renewal, a spring clean housekeeping issue if you will (pun intended!). This evening the G-man and I are re-doing our wills, which are badly out-dated, pre-dating even our purchase of our current house some 5 years ago! I have been badgering him for ages now, even to the extent of threatening this last vacation south to not go if the appointment wasn’t at least made! And even then I threatened to make the appointment myself with another lawyer, as he “kept forgetting” to call the lawyer he wanted to use. What is with these guys – I hear more lamenting from wives about the struggle they have with their significant others about getting a will in place, and I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced it first hand. It seems they, the G-man and the like, think that if they make a will, then they are tempting certain fate (I hear this a common theme amongst policemen, firemen, enforcement types, etc.). To them it’s like a Murphy’s Law kind of thing. If you do you die! It’s crazy talk! Certain terrible fate awaits those who are left behind if there is no will in place Boys, so get off your kesters and git‘er done! Your wife will love you for it!

Knit on….

I’m still here…….

2008-04-01T16:08:00.000-04:00

I’m just hiding.

Because I am knitting socks again.

Not knitting my Citrine socks.

Not knitting any of my other WIP’s either.

Just knitting my Knitpicks Essentials Sock Yarn socks.

Because I want to.

Because they are for me.

Because no one will tell me not to.

Because I’m the boss of my knitting.

So there.

I’m still hiding.

Knit on……..

Powering down….

2008-03-31T16:03:00.000-04:00

Did you do your bit for Planet Earth on Saturday evening?

Yup – I had signed on, for Earth Hour that is! I was willing to give up a little light on Saturday evening for the betterment of Planet Earth.

Still, you know what they say about best laid plans and all. The G-man and I were dining at the at friends home around that time, and although she was definitely up for the cause, and we tried to dine by candlelight (how romantic!), cooking by candlelight on the BBQ and ensuring that e-coli was not part of the menu proved to be a greater challenge than we anticipated!

We thought we’d check out the night sky, but 8pm was not really late enough to get the pitch black we needed to see the stars very well. When the big power outage happened a few summers ago across the South-Eastern US and Canada, each evening we would step outside to watch the stars appear. Interestingly, this was when I met many of my neighbors whom had not ventured out on the street before, usually just zipping in and out of the garages with their cars, rarely stopping to say hello. And the night view back then was fantastic to say the least – it was something you would usually not be able to see inside the City limits.

As well, I had not considered that by not being home we would not be able to execute the powering down of all the lights set on timers in our home, which is the way we conserve power on a daily basis. Most of our major power guzzlers, with the exception of the refrigerator, are on some sort of timer, which shuts them down completely (no standby power) for 8 or more hours each day. The first year we did this we saw a 25% reduction in our hydro bill for the year! To achieve Earth Hour we needed to be home to manually override the timers, and so we failed the challenge.

The boys tried humor me and play along during dinner but they were not as boy scout as I know the G-man can be. He is actually a great boy scout, with lots of hand crank operated radios, flashlights and other fun toys, which have come in very handy now and again, as we are often without power here in the west end of Ottawa.

I heard the results this morning – only about a 4-5% reduction in power in the participating cities – I thought it would be more but considering our own lack of involvement, I’m not really surprised. Actually I’m a bit disappointed in myself, as I could have planned better and made a bigger personal impact.

Here’s an un-related thought for the day: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not using it in a fruit salad"

Knit on…..

Just checking in…

2008-03-26T19:33:00.002-04:00

Our weekend in the Quebec Eastern Townships was lovely – even the weather was very nice, lots of sun, and little signs of spring everywhere we went. We saw white geese, black turkey’s, and lots and lots of deer kicking up their heels in the corn fields. The streams were running under the snow, and the maple trees were tapped for sap, and sugar shacks were in full production. I love maple syrup and Quebec does produce some of the best in the country!

I got a chance to go to Sutton, PQ and did get to go back to Boutique Le Cotillon (sadly, no website) and returned home victorious with 4 balls of sock yarn. After all, what’s a trip without a few souvenirs? Three balls of sock yarn from the gorgeous Holiday Collection from OnLine in my favourite colors of orange and chartreuse and also blue jean friendly colorway, and one ball of Regia in a muted burnt orange, brown and soft purple. They were all duly fondled and ogled over at TAFK last night, and various members made pitches as to why they should be the recipients of the completed socks!! Can’t say as I blame them – the colors are simply luscious – they look like candy wouldn’t you agree:

And I’m finihsing up the toes of the On Line socks – no way could I have finished them over the weekend as planned – travel knitting time was completely wasted in the car due to the enormous (way bigger than usual!) potholes that the Quebec roads are famous for! My kidneys near gave up the ghost for all the bumping and bucking the car did! I could barely stop my chattering teeth let alone manipulate 2mm needles into fingering weight yarn. So sad, 8 hours of prime knitting time wasted! Anyway, DD2 is thrilled with the almost finished OnLine socks colorway 82, and they bring spring to mind every time I look at them

So there you have it. Now I’m back on track with the divine Citrine socks. No distractions please!

Knit on….

Recipe for Kate.. (thanks Susan!)

2008-03-23T14:47:00.001-04:00

The Recipe For Kate

3 parts Daring

2 parts Magnetism

1 part Laughter

Splash of Seductiveness

Finish off with a little umbrella and straw

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

All over the place………

2008-03-19T19:09:00.003-04:00

My plans to work on one item at a time to finish some WIP’s are failing badly, but I am so ok with that!! DD2 and I were so enamoured with the ball of ONLine Supersocke colorway 82 (sadly discontinued according to the ONLine website) that I picked up at Knit Knackers 2 weekends ago, that I have cast on for a travelling sock, my usual plain Jane ribbed and slip stitch heel flap version, and I’m cruising along at top speed, because it is hard to put it down the colorway is so pretty. I’m in love with the uniform striping and hope I can match it on the second sock. You better believe DD2 has staked her claim to this pair:

Little progress on the Citrine socks. See previous paragraph by way of explanation! But I wore these babies finished last week to work – very cushy inside my work boots, so the double stranded heel is a nice pay off for the slower knitting and weird coloring:

I’m off to the Eastern Townships of Quebec this weekend, to visit my Aunt. The Townships are so nice to visit and I’m looking forward to some great food, and the long but very pretty drive (if the weather co-operates) – good for knitting either way! With some quick work, the ONLine socks might be done by the time I get home. And I have brought the Citrine socks to work on too.

And I am hoping to get to Sutton, PQ to visit Boutique Le Cotillon the store where I originally bought my Sockenwolle Kits to learn to knit socks. At the time I was very intimidated by socks (still am a little) and so I did not into venture into the stores downstairs area where I was told resides oodles of luscious wool. I think I’ll go down the stairs this time if I get the chance!!. It is hard though, as I will have both my elderly Aunt and the G- man in tow – not a particularly good scenario for yarn shopping since you know how long that can take!

Wish you all a lovely long Easter Weekend!

Knit on!…

Moving Along….

2008-03-13T17:40:00.002-04:00

Last week at our TAFK (Tuesdays Are For Knitting) evening get-together, I pulled Susan aside from the chatter to give me her expert opinion of my giant short row heel, and after some discussion she has convinced me that a) it was done correctly, thank the gods, and b) the heel will not have the same bulky look when the Citrine Sock is knitted up in the pretty golden Hailuoto wool from Sanna. So I am moving forward with these little socklets as I am enjoying the cabling, and getting better with each row at following the pattern chart.

My downward spiral into the deep dark stash diet abyss continues. I have ordered from KnitPicks a needle case for my cable needles and some extra inserts, and magnet chart board (to assist with the issues I have with keeping my place on the chart rows) and, managed to restrain myself slightly and only allowed 2 skeins of lovely Essential Sock Yarn in Meadow Multi to get into (ok – actually stay in) my shopping basket. It should be arriving any day now!!

And speaking of my poor stash dieting, I recently read an article about having pride in your stash, and about not apologizing or lamenting about the size of the stash, as I, and many others in blogdom, often do. The article talks about seeing a stash for what it is, a collection of memories of places we’ve been and people have met, the potential to try something new and step out of our comfort zone, and a major source of inspiration for our next project. Now that is something I definitely do. I love to dig through my stash bins and find what I’ve forgotten, and think of the reasons that caused me to purchase the yarn in the first place. Often I have seen or dreamed something that I would like to make, and being impatient, I need to head straight for my stash to see what I have to make it come to fruition as soon as possible. Both my fabric and yarn stash are a valuable part of my creative spirit, and I need to learn not to be so hard on myself for having and enjoying them so very much. Naturally this type of thinking does nothing to impede the growth process of my stash, and I feel I will always have to “diet” now and again, just like I have to frequently remind myself that cookies to not HAVE to come in pairs! However, I will also remember that a little self-restraint can be a good thing, and that using up yarn makes way for new acquisitions.

In the spirit of continuing to catch up with myself, I have finished these:

An exercise in reinforcing the heel flaps where I have a tendency to wear sock thins, so I added a second strand of one of the colors from the striping that I had leftover in a solid – I should have picked a darker stripe to match to the reinforcing yarn too – it is a very obvious bright heel, and looks a bit strange, but since they are for me, I can live with them.

Knit on…………

Practicing….

2008-03-11T17:38:00.000-04:00

Tonight is TAFK, and it promises to be a rocking evening as there will be 7+ knitters squeezed in my family room, all vying for elbowroom, needles clacking away.

In the interest of being able to work with only one eye on my sock, I thought I better practice a short row heel. Yes, I made just a heel. Looks terribly strange all out on it’s own without it’s gusset, leg or toe, but there it was - one giant heel!

DD2 got a kick out of it, claimed I was a bit strange, but after trying to do it with my lovely Citrine Sock three times, I decided a practice heel was the way to go.

I hate it. Aside from the fact it look funny as just a heel on it’s own is ought to do, I don’t like the way the sssp decrease looks on the right side, and I don’t like the ridge on the inside of the sock the k2tog decrease on the opposite side produces either.

I’m going to try a heel from my Crazy Toes and Heels book by Queen Kahuna. I have some more reading to do, but I think hers are more closed and if the pictures are to be believed, the decreases lie quite flat along the heel. As well she has some crazy technique involving orthodontic rubber bands, which promises to end the massive counting that I keep screwing up!

That is all. My heel and I are going to take a walk.

Knit on….

A wee bit of snow!

2008-03-10T17:45:00.012-04:00

So we had a little snowstorm this past weekend (about 51cm or 20 inches, about 1.5cm shy of some record set in 1947), and this was the view from my upstairs family room window on Sunday afternoon after it was all over:

I didn’t mind. Really. We were ready, having done the groceries and any other necessary errands a few days before, and so it was very lovely to just sit beside this and soak up the radiant heat:

And while my aching bones basked in the delightful warmth, I knit on this (Sanna, do you recognize the wool? Yes, it is the Citrine Sock being knitted in the gorgeous golden Hailuoto wool! Lovely to work with, just lovely!):

This very old little man also enjoyed the heat and snoozed nearby to keep me company:

I had lots of this to keep me from falling asleep by the fire:

I had a few of these to share with the neighbors who managed to brave the swirling winds and hike through the snow to visit:

And those who came to my kitchen were treated to these heavenly smelling daffodils (from the G-man just because!), the promise of spring for winter weary souls:

And the G-man was in his element ‘wrastlin’ his ancient snow blower throughout the neighbourhood, dispensing the joy of cleared driveways to weary shovel-ers everywhere:

Yesterday I finally ventured outside from my perch beside the fire to survey the sights and soak up some of the afternoon sun that had appeared. There were some really big snow banks blocking the view of the other houses:

And the back loop of our street is impassable since the big snowplough got stuck at an ice drift that has formed, and I think we have lost part of the cedar hedge from the weight of the snow. I heard on the news this evening someone's house had the roof split in half because of the weight of the snow!

Now I know what you are thinking, and yes, we have confirmed that we are covered by flood insurance, since you know that it’s going to melt sometime and Lord help us when it does! We’re going to need an Ark!

And now a few little Public Service Announcements:

1) Did you change your fire alarm batteries when you changed your clocks forward (for those of us on Daylight Savings time)? And don’t tell me you were late for work this morning because you forgot to change your clocks too!

2) With the incredible volume of snow around your houses, please don’t forget to clear off your natural gas meter, pressure regulator and appliance vents to ensure they are clear of snow and ice. Snow and ice should be gently cleared from natural gas equipment and vents with a broom to prevent blockages of deadly exhaust from your home.

That is all. Please attend to the above-mentioned chores and return to your knitting as quickly as possible.

Knit on….