Friday, May 30, 2008

Coping

I've been trying to find a way to occupy my time right now and I came across this meme on Blindpurl's blog.
  1. Where is your cell phone? ... purse
  2. Your significant other? ........ friend
  3. Your hair?.............................. dyed
  4. Your mother? ....................... heaven
  5. Your father? ......................... far
  6. Your favorite thing? ............ knitting
  7. Your dream last night? ....... nightmare
  8. Your favorite drink? ........... shake
  9. Your dream/goal? ............... vacation
  10. The room you're in? ........... office
  11. Your ex? ............................... ass
  12. Your fear? ............................ dying
  13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?... healthier
  14. Where were you last night? .. viewing
  15. What you're not? ................. stupid
  16. Muffins? ................................ corn
  17. One of your wish list items? house
  18. Where you grew up? ........... NYC
  19. The last thing you did? ....... shower
  20. What are you wearing? ...... clothes
  21. Your TV? .............................. new
  22. Your pets? ............................ none
  23. Your computer? ................... laptop
  24. Your life? ............................... better
  25. Your mood? .......................... depressed
  26. Missing someone? ................ mom
  27. Your car? ............................... Cavalier
  28. Something you're not wearing? ... smile
  29. Favorite store? ...................... LYS
  30. Your summer? ...................... hot
  31. Like (love) someone? ........... family
  32. Your favorite color? ..............purple
  33. Last time you laughed? ........yesterday
  34. last time you cried? .............. yesterday
  35. Who will re-post think? ....... anyone

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Prayers Needed

My friend's husband passed away yesterday. They knew he was in bad shape but it was a horrible shock. I won't go into all the details but he had surgery about 2 weeks ago and they expected him to come home in about 10 days. Instead he developed pneumonia and he's gone. His wife and family really need prayers for strength to help them get through this.

Tony, you will be missed.

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Monday, May 26, 2008

Catching Up

My last post was on Thursday. That was my birthday and I didn't mention it in the earlier post because I had planned on posting again later that day. I never got around to it.

Life has been hectic. On Friday I met Ramona for lunch. We went to this lovely thai place near where Ramona lives and the food was excellent. To my utter shock and surprise Ramona spoke to the people at the restaurant and they brought out this dish of ice cream that had a sparkler and birthday candle on it. Alas, no picture because the camera was in the car. I kept the candle but that is in the car right now as well so I can't take a picture of that either.

For my birthday Ramona gave me the Total Knitting Tote from Knit Picks in the French Blue colour. I was quite surprised when I opened the box. After I opened it I remembered she had told me but until then I had completely forgotten. It was a good thing. I was surprised and Ramona couldn't believe I had actually forgotten about it.

After lunch we headed to The Purple Purl and even more fun was had. As always, I didn't come home empty handed either. I picked up the Alpaca With A Twist Fino in Evergreen that was being held for me and a skein of Classic Elite Alpaca sock yarn in colour Fruit Basket. This stuff is so soft. I also bought the More Big Girl Knits a few weeks ago when I was there with Maggie and left it there in case Amy Singer came by so she could autograph it for me. Amy hadn't been to the Purl since I bought the book but not 5 minutes after I asked about it she walked in the door. So I now have my copy autographed and it is home safe and sound.

Since Miko asked me to knit the Forest Path Stole for the store I decided to bring that along with me and start it while I was there. The yarn is Classic Elite Silky Alpaca and it is sooooo soft to knit with. I am working on tier 2 now so I am off to the races with this. It will be the project I knit whenever I go to the Purl from now on until it is completed. Of course I will also work on it at home. Because I started the stole I haven't touched the doily. I know, bad bad Rochelle. I want to finish tier 2 (only 2 rectangles left) and then I will try and put the stole aside until the weekend. I am thinking I will do the doily during the week and the stole on weekends.

Glenna threw herself a party on Friday to celebrate defending her thesis and ending her life as a student. The part was at the Purl after closing. It was so much fun and I can't thank her enough for inviting me. Not only were we invited but there were presents for all who came. Glenna brought yarn and books for people to look and and choose to take home with them. This is what came home with me. A skein of Socks That Rock and the Austermann Step sock yarn.

Tomorrow my boss comes back from vacation and things will be back to yucky normal. To be honest, work sucks at the best of times, I'm not looking forward to his return even more so right now because my head is just not there. My very best friend is going through the most horrible time. Her husband is gravely ill in the hospital and things don't look good at all. I won't go into details because I respect their privacy but prayers are always welcome. That's all any of us can do now.

The good thing about tomorrow is it's Snb night. I always look forward to that and tomorrow even more than usual.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

WWNIPD

June 14th is World Wide Knit In Public Day. By wonderful coincidence, it also happens to be the Yarn Harlot's birthday. She has come up with a plan for a big party to celebrate. You can see the details here. Lettuce Knit was insane with calls yesterday. It took me a little while of dial, busy, handup, *redial, busy, hangup, repeat from * before I finally managed to get through. I was lucky enough to be able to choose a morning or afternoon session and I chose the morning. I am #19 for the morning. I'm not sure what I will do afterwards but I am sure I will have the day fully planned by then.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Relief

Remember those kidney stones I had that I ended up not having at all? Turns out, the doctor believes, it was a urinary tract infection that might have gone into my kidney. I've been fighting this infection for the longest time. I've been on antibiotics for almost a year now. It started with Sulfatrim and then switched to Macrobid in November. I've been worried sick because the last time I went to see the oncologist the blood showed the creatinine was elevated. I thought that was strange because my family doctor did blood work about 3 weeks earlier and everything came back normal. I called the urologist last week and he sent me a requisition to have another set of tests done. I received the results today. The creatinine level was normal and for the first time there were no white cells in the urine. I feel like I am FINALLY getting there. I still have to take the antibiotics twice a day for another month and then go down to once a day for the rest of the summer. I have to go back to see the urologist in the fall. I am still a little confused about the high levels in April but the doctor believes it might have been a lab error.

On the knitting front, the last chart for the doily is going to take a while. I am only on rnd 11 and each rnd takes about 30 minutes or more. I am still hoping to get it done in a few weeks. I can't show any progress because at this point I don't want to play games and try and put the sts on a bunch of different needles so I can take pictures. A dropped stitch would be disaster. That means no more pictures until the doily is completed.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Yet Another Meme

I saw this on Pirk's blog and well, I just couldn't resist.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago I was a stay at home mom. Joseph was only 3 then.

2. What are 5 things on your "To Do" list? (Today or when ever?)

Knit Heere Be Dragone shawl
Knit Flight of Fantasy shawl
Go to NYC this summer
Finish the Krokus doily
Knit the Jaywalker Socks

3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy? (In no specific order)

Icecream
Cheesecake
Fruit Salad
Popcorn
Chocolate

4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.

Pay off all the bills
Buy a house
Give some to each of my children
Give some to cancer research
Quit my job

5. Name some places where you've lived.

Bronx, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Potsdam, NY
Toronto, ON

6. Name some bad habit you have.

I tend to be obsessive about things.
I have way too much yarn and fibre and still buy more.
I can be very stubborn.
When I lose my temper I tend to yell alot and curse too much.

7. Name some jobs you've had.

Clerk
Secretary
Office Assistant
Homemaker

8. Name those whom you are tagging.

I'm not going to tag anyone. Whoever wants to play along consider yourself tagged.

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Short Visit

It's a nasty rainy day out there today and Joseph is developing a cold. So much for going to see Iron Man today. If he's feeling better we might attempt it tomorrow. Since we didn't do what we had planned I decided to make a quick trip to The Purple Purl. I don't think I have ever gone there and stayed so short a time. I was only there a little over an hour. For me that is unheard of. I'll make up for it when I go back on Friday. I picked up the Malabrig Silk that I asked Miko to hold for me. I am going to do the Flower Basket shawl. I have some things I have to finish first but this is going to be a WIP sometime soon.

I am also going to start knitting the Forest Path Stole once again. This time using the Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace yarn you see here. It is going to be a store sample for The Purple Purl. I can't wait to get started. The yarn is so so soft.

There's lots of new stuff at the Purl. The two that stand out are the Alpaca With A Twist yarn in various weights. I have my eyes on the Fino in Evergreen for the Heere Be Dragones Shawl.

I can't forget the alpaca sock yarn. Unfortunately, I can't remember the company but it's 60% alpaca, 20% merino and 20% nylon. Yum is a good word to describe it.

Now I have to finish the doily I am working on. Here is a not so good picture of the Krokus doily so far. I want to finish the second chart B by tomorrow night so I can pick up the stitches and get chart C started. I'm using DMC Cebelia 20 and 2.25mm needles.

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Email Meme

A friend of mine sent me this questionnaire in an email. You're supposed to send it off to your friends with your answers to the questions and they answer it and send it back to you. I don't like doing things like that because it's chain mail and clogs your inbox. However, I actually liked some of the questions so I decided to do it here. I took out the questions like who do you look forward reading their answers the most and who do you think won't bother to reply etc.

1. Were you named after anyone? My great great grandmother, I believe.

2. When was the last time you cried? I can’t remember off the top of my head.

3. Do you like your handwriting? No. My mother always tried to get me to have a neater handwriting. It never worked.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Don’t have one.

5. Do you have kids? Yes, 2 girls, 5 boys

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Yes.

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? No.

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Nope. Had them out when I was 30…not a great experience.

9. Would you bungee jump? Nope. I am afraid of heights.

10. What is your favorite cereal? Wheaties or Raisin Bran

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Sometimes but not very often.

12. Do you think you are strong? Yes, I’ve been through a lot in my life and I wouldn’t have come out the other side if I wasn’t strong.

13. What is your favorite ice cream? peanut butter chocolate

14. What is the first thing you notice about people? face

15. Red or pink? Pink

16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself? My weight

17. Who do you miss the most? My mom who passed away almost 26 years ago.

18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Blue jeans and black sneakers.

19. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken Salad on whole wheat bread.

20. What are you listening to right now? CHFI on the radio.

21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple. It’s my favourite colour.

22. Favorite smells? Cinnamon

23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My husband

24. Favorite sports to watch? F1 Racing

25. Hair color? It’s been so long since it was natural it’s probably all grey by now. Dyed it’s a light redish/brown.

26. Eye color? Hazel

27. Do you wear contacts? No

28. Favorite food? BBQ Chicken

29. Scary movies or happy endings? I hate scary movies. I never watch them so I would have to say happy endings.

30. Last movie you watched? Ella Enchanted

31. What color shirt are you wearing? Black t-shirt

32. Summer or winter? I prefer Spring and Fall, but if I had to choose between summer and winter - it would have to be winter. I don’t have AC and I find it easier to warm up in the winter than cool down in the summer.

33. Favorite dessert? Tiramisu

34. What book are you reading now? The Golden Compass

35. What is on your mouse pad? Clouds

36. What did you watch on TV last night? Smallville

37. Favorite sound? Birds chirping in the morning.

38. Rolling stones or Beatles? Beatles

39. What is the farthest you have been from home? Israel

40. Do you have a special talent? I can carry a tune and I love to knit (big surprise).

41. Where were you born? Bronx, NY

42. What time is it now? 5:05 PM

Favorite quote: Anything is possible, if only you believe.


On the knitting front, I'm working on the May Sockamania Club sock and the Krokus doily - no. 13 in the blue Japanese Knitted Lace book. The socks are bamboo yarn that I bought from Maggie in a gorgeous minty green colour and the doily is being knit in red DMC Cebelia #20.

Today I received my latest order from Knit Picks. The top skein is Gloss Lace in Mango. The middle skein is Gloss fingering weight in Cosmos. The bottom skein is Gloss fingering in Parsley. I'm trying to branch out from my usual purples and blues. I realize I bought one purple colour but two out of 3 isn't bad. The mango looks much more peachy then this picture shows.

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

Malabrigo

I forgot to mention in my earlier post, yesterday I went with Maggie to The Purple Purl. I am pretty proud of myself because I only bought one thing. I bought the More Big Girl Knits book.

It wasn't very easy with this new Malabrigo silk calling to me. I had no idea what I would make with it so I didn't get any. Maggie said it's about time I knit something for myself. You know what? Maggie is so right. I have to figure out what I want to knit with this stuff and then buy enough of it. I am thinking maybe a scarf or something. I don't usually knit sweaters for myself anymore. I am usually too warm to wear them, even in the dead of winter. So I thought maybe the Basket Lace shawl. By making it in DK weight it will be bigger and since I am a big girl it should be much better for me. Now to figure out how much I would need.

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Happy Mother's Day

As readers of my blog might remember from last year, Mother's Day is not the easiest day for me. I lost my mom too long ago. I miss her more than words can say and I really seriously dislike this day and can't wait for it to be over. Mom I love you and I miss you.

On the knitting front, I've almost finished the second of the Noro socks. This is the first one all done. As I mentioned before, I hope that these socks are going to soften up after a few washings. Right now it isn't soft at all. The socks are a little stiff but that's probably because I usually use 2mm needles for my sock knitting and I probably should have used a 2.25mm or 2.5mm with this yarn because of the thick/thin parts that are in the yarn. I do love the colours but I will wait until they come out with the Noro Silk in a sock weight yarn before I use this yarn again.

Then I had some decisions to make. The next lace project I wanted to do is this oval doily. The one on top is the Japanese version and the one below is the Spanish version. According to Nurhanne this pattern is called Krokus. I have wanted to do this doily for some time. QueerJoe, on Ravelry, started it and posted some pictures. That was enough of a push to get me to really start this project. The problem was, which version to do. I've finally decided that I will do the Spanish version for one reason and one reason only. I have problems with my hands at times. Many years ago I broke a bone in my left hand and when I try to graft it is seriously aggravated. If I do the Japanese version I would have to graft the two A charts together. my hands can't handle that. Grafting toes causes incredible pain. Chart A would be 72 sts worth of grafting. I don't think I want to tackle that. I'm only on round 21 now so I will post progress pictures after I make more progress.

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Thursday, May 08, 2008

Alpaca

Remember that suffed alpaca I mentioned that I didn't get at the Knitter's Frolic? I couldn't resist. I emailed Helga at Green Acres Alpacas and ordered one. It arrived yesterday and when I brought it home Joseph confiscated it. Paul and Joseph couldn't believe how soft it is and they both fell in love with it. I think I might have to get another one because I don't think Joseph will let me have this one. Now to think of a name. Joseph said Llama and I said no it's not a Llama and he said I know but that's the point. I'm not exactly loving it but we'll see.

I posted pics of the blanket while it was blocking but here it is off the bed without the sheet showing through. Now I have to package it up and get it ready for delivery. I love the way it turned out.

I'm working on the second sock from the Noro sock yarn I bought. I have to admit I am not loving this yarn. It is not soft and I don't really care for how uneven the yarn is. I do like that I can spit splice and I love the colours. They are so vibrant. I am told the socks will soften up as they are washed. I hope so. I do look forward to the Noro with silk that is supposed to be coming out in sock yarn.

After this I think I am going to tackle a Japanese pattern from Knitted Lace Book 1.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Now I Know My ABC'S

Joseph decided to sleep at his grandparents tonight. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use the empty bed to block the Alphabet blanket. I finished the knitting this afternoon and I am pleased with the final result. Here are the stats:

Alphabet Blanket from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss.

Cast on: April 4, 2008
Cast off: May 3, 2008

Yarn used: elann.com Sock-It-To-Me in cream.

Needles: Knitpicks Options 3mm.
The pattern called for using smaller needles for the border. I didn't have them with me when I was done with the last row of the blanket so I just continued knitting with the needles I had. I used about 5.5 balls of the yarn.

I would definitely knit this blanket again. I thought it was going to take much longer than it actually did. There was an entire week in there that I didn't even touch the blanket. Actually knitting time was probably about 3 weeks.

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