Movin' Along.....

Okay..... so I have moved.....here. I do hope you come over and visit. And maybe even stay!

Bloomin' Martini Feet

A parcel arrived Friday, May 4th. Actually, I didn't get the parcel until Monday, May 7th, because the FedEx man left it, kindly enough, in the BBQ by our back door on the 4th (Nick's 14th birthday BTW)....but he forgot to let us know. When Ed went to light the barbi on Monday he found the package. Good thing it's gas and he had to open the lid first!

Inside the FedEx package was a whole whack of stuff. From Carrie. Just as an aside, it was perfect serendipity that my Bloomin' Feet buddy is the Martini Knitter - before I got sick and stopped drinking alcohol, my absolutely favourite drink in the whole wide world was a vodka martini with a splash of scotch and a twist of lemon (I am making myself drool...teehee). It had to be this vodka and I really love single malt whiskey but alas I digress......


All my goodies were wrapped in tissue which was great....just like Christmas. I admit I didn't wrap my BF pal Margene's in such a sweet way. The unwrapping was great though. The contents...amazing.

Carrie, you have been so generous and so thoughtful! I got all my favourites - Chai Tea, Dark Chocolate (Fairtrade - yea!) with Raspberries, Ginger Snaps - I can't tell you how much I love Ginger, some lovely Koigu yarn and raw,unfiltered honey from Colorado (yummmy!!!).


And my socks. Wow. Lorna's Laces (one of my absolute true loves) in the Georgetown colourway and knit with the Pembrokshire Pathways Pattern. Carrie wrote a lovely note to let me know that my socks have not only been in Boulder, CO but also Cincinnati, OH, Westford, MA, Rockford, IL, Beloit, WI and Orlando, FL! I think I am living variously through the socks Carrie!

A close up of the pattern. It looks great in the photo but even better in person. Carrie was worried about the fit but hey....

They fit perfectly! Thank you so much Carrie! This was Carrie's first swap and she definitely did a fantabulous job - so thoughtful and generous. And the socks are so excellent! I feel truly honoured and spoiled. Thanks also to Amanda for the sock swap. Amanda truly runs excellent swaps and they are definitely a pleasure to be part of.

An Important Request

If I was blogging more regularly I would have put this in a separate post but unfortunately I just haven't been able to post or get out there and comment - the good news is that even though my symptoms are continuing to be nasty, I am moving in the right direction. Sadly, I feel like it is moving at about 15 kms/hour when I would like to be going about 240 km/hour! Patience has never been my strong suit.

Anyway the request...... Dorothy is trying to raise money for Cancer Research through the Relay for Life which is happening for her in Sioux Lookout, Ontario on June 8th, 2007. Her goal is $2000.00 and I would love to see her reach it. Dorothy has been incredibly generous and thoughtful to me while I continue on my Warming Grace quest (which badly needs to be updated) and I would like to return the favour (after all the goal benefits us all....and sadly most of us have known or lost loved ones to cancer).

Borders are of no consequence for this brutal disease nor for the generosity I have seen in the knitting community, to myself, to the Warming Grace cause or for other causes which I and others have generously donated to (I have also donated to Wannietta for the Relay for Life which happens in Toronto on June 22, 2007).

I have donated money for Dorothy's relay and I am going to donate a couple of draw prizes but I am asking that you go over and donate money for the relay. $5.00, $10.00....whatever you can afford. The cause is so important and the support is always heartwarming. So, if you can, please go over and show Dorothy the spirit. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Bloomin' Feets and a Tiny Sock....

Remember the Wee Tiny Sock swap way back when? During the course of the swap, while knitting on my tiny sock, Rhonda and I discussed a book swap (I was reading the Friday Night Knitting Club which I really didn't enjoy that much - writing style issues not content - and Rhonda was reading Knitting, A Novel). I sent out my Wee Tiny Sock on the same day as the book and that was that.

Several days later I got the book in the mail. When I opened up the envelope I saw a little package and my immediate thought was "Crap! I didn't send Rhonda anything extra...." When I read the note and saw the sock I burst out into a laughter that brought Ed and Nick running (clearly when you live with someone chronically ill there is some level of constant monitoring that goes on and any sound I make brings someone to check me out).

Oh my god, you made my day woman! The best part was that the socks were made from Fleece Artist that I had sent to Rhonda in a Random Act of Kindness. Thank you so much Rhonda (I had emailed her immediately when I received the sock and book but hadn't posted yet)!

And I would like to give a huge shout out to Emily for such a fantastic and fun idea....thanks so much!

Now.....about the Bloomin' Feet Swap. Incredibly, they have been started (which with the events of the last month in my body is kind of a miracle but clearly I am able to focus more...woohoo!).

I wanted to do something different, original and unique. However, I need to make sure my Bloomin' Feet Pal likes them (I am quite happy keep them for me so be bluntly honest in your opinions) before I turn the heel, as my pal's feet are not the same size as mine.

My concept was to create a sock that is almost like a collage, interjecting two patterns in one sock with two complementary yarns.

I am using Farmhouse and Jasper (no link - they don't make this colourway anymore!) in STR lightweight. The Farmhouse pattern is done in Basketweave from Sensational Knitted Socks and the Jasper pattern is done in the Wave and Shield pattern from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitted Patterns. It may be hard to see the final concept as I have only been able to do one repeat of the Jasper to date. No question it is a funky idea and no question it may not be for everyone. The photo doesn't do it justice.

I am contemplating ripping it back to create only 1 and a half repeats of the Basketweave (there are currently two) although I have some plans after I have turned the heel to showcase the Jasper pattern.

Feel free to be honest. I don't want to send it to someone who really doesn't like it and I'd love your feedback anyway. I am quite pleased with it but can also appreciate the fact that we all don't have the same tastes or opinions.....so have at 'er!
Front view on the blocker - a little un-natural for the sock but gives you a better idea of the patterns. You may have to click on the photo for a better closeup.
Sideview of the sock on the blocker. More like it would be on your foot. **I have to add that the photos are NOT the best representations of the colours - the Farmhouse is more muted and the burgundy that is Jasper is actually in the Farmhouse. I can only blame it on the fancy schmancy digital camera Ed bought me for Christmas (to replace the cheap one I was using - took more accurate pictures though) which I haven't had energy to read up on (and I do have a degree in Photography - like you'd know!).


A Little Aside - I continue to apologize for my sporatic appearance wirh regards to posting and commenting; people have been so kind and understanding - thank you. Without going into huge detail (I am sure it is getting boring for you) I have been in the hospital 3 times in the last 3 weeks and I am in a period of 'adjustment' (for lack of a better term) with respect to my kidneys, bladder, my hormones and my CNS. My doctor, who has experience and distance, is pleased with my progress (it is that whole thing of my body needing to adjust to changes in the dysfunction while dealing with the trouble the lead continues to cause) but acknowledges that for me it is painful, discomforting and tiring. I have wavered a few times, had a couple of good cries (carefully though so I don't send my system totally out of whack) and I am trying to see the positives. So, thanks for continuing to be patient....I really appreciate it!

An Anniversary........

My sister Robin died ten years ago today. I am amazed on the one hand that so much time has gone by and on the other, it seems like it happened yesterday.

Robin was 39 years old when she died. She had had a 10 year reprieve from Melanoma, which had then been found in one lymph node (all the ones surrounding it had been removed which were fine so the doctors thought they had gotten it all) and then ultimately it settled in the Myelin sheath surrounding her brain. In there, the cancer cells replicated the good cells. One of the residents working on her case indelicately told her she had 3 months to live (his bed side manner and empathy were sorely lacking)....and indeed she died 3 months to the day.

That Robin died on April Fool's Day was not totally lost on me. Throughout the course of our lives together Robin was quite the prankster and always up for a great gag. When I went to the hospital (she had had a seizure early in the morning and never woke up - a nurse stayed with her and held her hand until she was gone) to say good-bye I kept thinking she would just open her eyes and say "Ha! April Fool's!," which of course didn't happen.

As a kid, Rob was a bundle of energy and rather mischevious. She was always getting into trouble for her high spirits. Being the first child, my parents had three billion slides and photos of her (the picture taking decreased dramatically and exponentially with each successive kid) and in every picture she would have this ear to ear 'photo' smile (the photo to the right is tame in comparison) which always cracked us up.

Robin was truly the pioneer in our little group of siblings. She had an adventurer's spirit and was so full of vitality and enthusiasm AND a lot of impulsivity (as kids I was told that I was 'just like Robin' except that I would think about things first - it drove me nuts as a kid because I hated being compared to her).

She was a social butterfly and always had tons of friends. When we were younger and lived in a brand new housing development, Robin developed the 'detective's club,' where we would spend all day on our bikes looking for 'clues.'

She was also the gang leader the day we decided to take our baby brother, Jamie, to Port Credit river for a 'swim." Our parents were away and the babysitter told us we had to get out of the house and take Jamie with us (he was about a year and a half old at the time) so she could knit! (I laugh at the irony of this now.....). So we took him to the river and used him as a human raft, floating him downstream, with teams to catch him and then take him back up the river. How he was not drown that day, and none of us got hurt, boggled my mind as an adult.

As adolescents we did not get along at all. She and her longtime boyfriend Gerry would time it to see how long it took me to cry. We had vicious, horrible fights (usually when my parents weren't there) and I relished it when she got into trouble from my dad, which was most of the time. We lived on the West Island in Montreal and Robin was a wild child.

Most nights she would go 'flickering.' This entailed her shimmying down the drainpipe at 1am in the morning, meeting up with her friends at the Lakeshore and rowing boats across the St. Lawrence river to this deserted island to party. One night my dad, dressed in his summer pajamas and riding my neon green banana bike, was stopped by the police when he was out searching for her.

When I gave the eulogy at her service I likened Rob's behaviour to Moses parting the Red Sea - she paved the way for us; all we had to do was admire the view (particularly when it came to the way she could get the vein in my dad's head to bulge when he was yelling at her - she was, perpetually grounded!). Looking back I know I was scared sh*tless by my sister's audacity and her joie de vivre.

As adults, we enjoyed a tremendous relationship. I don't remember the exact moment that it changed but I do believe that after her initial diagnosis with cancer (she was 29, I was 26) we became much closer. I realized that it was okay to be like her and that we had so much in common. We would talk on the phone every or every other day (she was in Winnipeg, Manitoba and I was in Toronto/Burlington/Oakville/Warkworth, Ontario) and we talked about everything; I felt such a sense of satisfaction that our relationship had really developed into this much deeper kind of friendship.

Robin was a phenomenal knitter, cross stitcher, quilter, weaver and she made most of her own clothes on the sewing machine. She was incredidly productive too - at Christmases and birthdays the things she would give weren't only beautifully crafted but the volume was incredible. She was the consummate multi-tasker. There was no technique daunting to her; if she wanted to do it, she would. I cannot adequately describe the things she made although she has left quite a legacy for us to cherish, and I absolutely admire her abilities.

I have Rob's floor loom which I still haven't set up (no space) although I know I will one day - I had taken several courses in Weaving when I was at SAIT in Calgary although Rob was the one to buy a loom after she had taken courses at the University of Manitoba several years later. I also inherited about 7 large boxes (the biggest moving size) of yarn which I donated to a local guild who sold it for me and gave the proceeds to a local women's shelter in Robin's memory.


Death is tragic. It is so hard for those left behind. I feel so much worse for my parents than for myself. I remember the devastation on my parents faces on the day she died (my father was in Montreal for a meeting and had to fly back) and that vulnerability changed for me how I would view them forever.

My mother has never really recovered from the loss of her first born. She gave up her knitting. There are so many times when I think that that is the hardest thing of all - parents should never lose their children, no matter their age.

When they found out that Rob was terminal my dad remarked on how lucky he had been to have a redhead, a brunette and a blonde (for those of you who need to know I am the blonde in the photo - I am so not blonde now).

I took comfort in knowing that my sister didn't suffer as much as she could have (with the various indignities that go with the deterioration of the brain) and that who I knew her to be left long before her body ever did.

I vividly remember the last thing Rob ever said to me (and I still laugh at her comment; she kind of said whatever came into her head) and the moments we shared. After she died, Ed and I planted two Maple trees in her honour on the farm - it was her favourite and it symbolized her to me, particularly when the leaves turn that gorgeous red in the fall.

I have so many memories of her, it is hard to encapsulate it all in one post. Rob was a Renaissance woman. She could sew, knit, thread a worm, fish, dress up or down, quaff a beer or sip champagne. She loved Canadian football with a fervour. Robin was as loyal a Canadian as you could ever meet. She was just loyal period.

I feel her beside me sometimes and what I still miss most about her is our conversations; the sound of her voice and her laughter. I don't focus on the loss; I really celebrate who she was, what she accomplished and how much she has left behind. I know that today there are hundreds of people remembering her too. I love you Robin bobbin, thanks for the ride!

Crewsin' along with a Wee Tiny Sock.....

I joined Emily's Wee Tiny Sock Swap, I couldn't help myself. I figured this was a deadline that even I could achieve. So I did. And I knit a Wee Tiny Sock! These little things are too cute...useless in any functional sense but way too cute.

So I decided I should test drive the wee tiny sock...on our wee tiny Italian Greyhound Khemet.

Needless to say she wasn't thrilled. I didn't put the sock completely on her foot (it was a wee too tiny for my wee tiny doggie) as I didn't want to hurt her. I am actually happy that it matches her spring coat. Okay clearly too much time on my hands....

I did wash it before sending it along to my pal, just in case you might be worried......

The yarn is Emily (isn't that funny?) from Posh Yarn. The colour is Sweetshop. This yarn is delicious; 80% Lambswool, 10% Angora and 10% Cashmere. I made a pair of socks with it that are divine (coming soon I promise....). These Wee Tiny Socks are toe up with a short row yarn over heel (it was tough...all two turns of it!).

I can honestly say this was a FUN swap! No pressure, minimal expectation (the sock and a note) and a quick knit. Thanks so much Emily!

While I have still been feeling pretty lousy (chelation is on hold for a bit; too much detoxing - apparently I am quite efficient and my body has to catch up) I have been able to knit more in the last month than I did for about 6 months last year! Woohoo!

The sacrifice has been a conscious choice to limit my time online, either posting or commenting - I have been able to read some and comment on a few but it really does require some cognitive staying power and well, I am trying to find the balance.
I have been knitting. Nothing too difficult. It feels so wonderful though. Soothing. Calming. Back in my place of oneness with the universe. Almost. Every. Day. A wonderful development.

My favourite heel. Short row yarn over heel. Love it. Quick and relatively painless. And a great fit. And, it looks great. There is a wonderful tutorial on the technique here from Melinda at Purlwise.

The finished socks. Vespers' Crew on 2.5mm needles. 2 socks on 2 circulars. No pattern, just the lovely stripiness that is Vespers (this link is the shop - and yes, it is always sold out). And I have just realized perfect for St. Patricks Day....wait that was yesterday wasn't it. Okay, so I am a bit behind....!
Have a wonderful day where ever you be! Here in Eastern Ontario, the sun is shining and the sky is blue and there is lovely snow blowing across the farm. Ah, the last few cold days of winter.....it is a beautiful thing indeed.

Two Lovely Things and Six Wierd Ones...

The mail was really good to me this week. I received squares for Warming Grace from Kelli Ann and from Rhonda. Thank you so very much!

When I opened the squares from Rhonda I found something else that made me feel so very very warm inside (and believe me I needed it - things have been pretty rough - I have no clue why I ever thought Chelation was going to be the easiest part of this thing...). Rhonda sent me one of her felted hearts!

Ed and Nick both came running (one of the cursed by products of living with someone who is chronically ill) because they thought something was wrong - I was just so excited....and oh so touched. Thank you soooo much Rhonda. You are so gracious and generous. Really.

I was seriously coveting those hearts. And I can honestly say having one in my hot little hands is so much better than looking at them through a computer screen. If you haven't seen them, you must go and check them out (there are a couple of posts with different ones) - Rhonda is a talented woman; really. The hearts are so lyrical and pastoral; they are really exquisite. I feel very blessed to be on the receiving end.....ah Rhonda, thanks again!

And, on the very same day Ed went to the post office to pick up a parcel. He didn't actually know it was for me; Nick saw who it was from and was keeping it close to his chest (the person in question has been a major sugar enabler of his....just sayin').

So surprise, surprise. A parcel from Amanda. For no reason. Crap. I was so overwhelmed (and okay I am so much better at giving than receiving).

The parcel had goodies for Nick (he was pretty pleased) and Ed (who is not swapping with Nick at all!) and two amazing things for me.

A container of Aromatherapy Bath Oils and a skein of yarn that Amanda spun. Herself. Just. For. Me. Like specifically with me in mind.

Crown Mountain Farms' "Do You Wanna Dance" colourway. It is fucking brilliant.

I can't wait to knit it up. I already have a pattern in mind. I was totally gobsmacked!

And touched. And speechless. What a wonderful thing to do Amanda. Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

Two so wonderful gifts on the same day. Unbelievable. My heart feels so full.

I must say that as a sick and woefully neglectful blogger these days I am so thankful for the opportunity that I, as a relatively isolated and 'stuck in my house' person, have had in meeting so many incredible people. Blogging has been such a gift to me - and certainly keeps me going during the bad times, as I think about being able to get back to it more actively when I am well.

And I will. Who knows when but I will.

Okay so I got tagged by Julie with the Six Wierd Things Meme. And, given that Julie got me into blogging (and because I don't want to be beaten by knitting needles) I am listing six wierd things about me.

Which I actually found quite hard - I don't think I am that wierd (and being sick curtails so many wierd behaviours I guess - I am so sheltered...ha!). I realize that there are several of you on the floor cramped up with laughter but seriously, I am not that wierd. Anyway, here goes:

Six Wierd Things about me


1. I can knit the magic loop from the toe up (figure 8 cast on) but not from the top down. I am not sure why and I have attempted it but I hate the little gap I continue to get so...toe up it will always be.

2. I cannot drink tap water. No way, no how. I hate the smell, particularly the chlorine (I am seriously smell sensitive....gasoline, cigarette smoke, the lotions, shampoo, conditioner, not to mention the colognes and/or perfumes people put on everyday). I don't drink pop or juice so if I can't get distilled or RO water I will go without...but that doesn't happen too much because I am always packin'.

3. I prefer pizza without the tomato sauce. I don't really like the tomato sauce; I love pizza with some garlic and herbs on the bottom, veggie toppings (mushrooms, onions and black olives or hot peppers, pineapple and onion - in case you are ever dropping by - hint hint blogless Carole) and cheese on top. It is really really good without the tomato sauce. LOVE. IT.

4. I can't stand - no pun intended - walking on crunchy snow. You know when it is really cold and the snow is hard. It is my nails on a chalkboard moment (which doesn't bother me at all BTW).

5. I don't really care for jewellry - I don't wear any. I have a wedding ring - don't wear it. Ed totally lucked out because I could care less if I ever had a diamond ring or any other kind of gem for that matter. Yarn - BRING IT ON! Jewellry - pass.

6. I seriously think this falls in the TMI catagory but I couldn't think of something else so....both my baby toes are deformed. One looks flat like it has been crushed and the other one looks like a little finger and is jammed into the one beside it. Oh, and sorry, there will be no photos (thank god!). Nick keeps telling me that when he is a Doctor he is going to break them and fix them for me, and if that doesn't work, cut them off. He is such a lovely child.

So there it is - my wierd list. I am so out of the loop these days I have no idea who has and hasn't done it but I am tagging the following knitters:



Amanda, Amanda Cathleen, J, Suzie, Rhonda and Jackie .

If you have already done it then just ignore me. If not, get crackin' will ya'?

Fabulous February

Hello, hello, hello.

It's been such a long time and an update is due. Way back in December, way before Christmas, I left a post about how crappy things were. I had a test dose of chelation prior to Christmas which went well (in that I tolerated it without too many side effects). The only bonus to all the bedrest I had was that for the first time in a few years I got Christmas cards sent out - a little late, but out none the less - woohoo!

So now it's February and where am I at? Well I had 3 half doses of Chelation and then I had one full dose and then I caught the plague (well actually the nasty cold/virus thing that appears to be everywhere right now) which I am almost over. The chelation is going....well it's going.

After a treatment I am okay and then really, really tired. My body and cells have to do some readjusting with the lead ripping off of them but some of the worse CNS symptoms are sort of abating...it's a day to day thing. No need to list all the various side effects and symptoms I experience; I am definitely focusing on working towards a state of wellness. Most importantly, I am heading in the right direction which is the best thing, I am happy to be 'eliminating,' and I am working hard at exercising patience as this whole process takes shape. I thank you for your ongoing support, thoughts and prayers; it means so much to me.

I am knitting. Hallelujuah! I even have knitting plans (subject of course to my daily ups and downs) or should I say goals. I do promise to post on my knitting.....soon. And I am going to slowly, very slowly get back into blogland....but I must really pace myself because I know my primary focus must be to get well.

I am also thinking about my stash. I am surrounded by my stash. I loooooove my stash - it represents my hope for my future of being well, my love of colour and texture and it just freaking feels great to have it all around. I also realize that in my stash (which while hugemongous, I will never apologize for, or feel bad about) I have three catagories of yarn.

1. Those yarns I absolutely adore and may never knit but just like to look at:

All of the above skeins are from Studioloo. These skeins are works of art and I really honestly just love to look at them (and fondle them a lot).


2. Yarns I love and can't wait to knit - this forms the majority of my stash. I never buy sock yarn with a purpose but I usually buy my other yarns with a particular project in mind.

Posh Sock Yarn - this is Cashmere (can't remember the colourway off the top of my head). Dee's yarns are gorgeous and the feel is divine.

Cashmere for a vest for Ed. The yarn is from Trendsetter and it is unbelievable (read that as f*cking f*cking soft).


Sock hop yarn from Crown Mountain Farms. To knit it is to love it. Teyani and Klaus got some serious yarn mojo.

Joy from Needful Yarns. I love the colourways and have a secret plan for these beauties. I have lots of great yarns in my stash and I seriously love most of it (you will have to wait until April 1 to see the rest!).

3. Yarns I have to honestly admit I will never knit and it is time to get rid of.

So I have decided to have a Fabulous February Giveaway. I am not selling these yarns, I am giving them away....with two conditions. I will give you any of the yarns listed at no cost other than the price of shipping (regular, expedited/air or express post) and the labour of knitting me a couple (or as many as you want) of kid colour friendly wool or cotton squares for Warming Grace. That's it. Otherwise free.

Please just email me (cindy@4spheres.ca) and let me know what you want, how you want it sent and your mailing address. Once I have sent it I will email you the cost of shipping and you can send me a paypal payment (very easy, believe me). If the yarn you want is gone, I will let you know.

I am hopeful I can find new, good homes for the following unloved, unused and neglected yarns (and two books - duplicates). The yarns can be seen here (I realize that to try and load the pictures here would require 4oo billion hours I don't have).

Edited - everything is gone. Thank you so much for to all those who have willing given a place to my yarn.

It was nice to post. I would say it's great to be back but I am not sure how back I am....I will try to go for a regular post though.

Unfinished Business

I haven't posted in a while. I haven't been well. So, I wanted to give a run down of a bunch of unfinished business which will give me some badly needed peace of mind (hopefully!). 1. My ongoing health issues - it's been bad (in a whole different way I think than in the summer); my Central Nervous System is working overtime. Normally, when a healthy person intercepts stimulus (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) your body responds with the proper amount of serotonin or whatever other chemicals your brain and body needs and you never give it a second thought. The lead poisoning (which my doctor told me is the highest in anybody she has ever treated - woohoo!) blocks the neuro receptors and so the brain just keeps on sending the right stuff until there is no more left - then the adrenals and all the flight/fight responders go into overdrive and I experience a pile of crappy symptoms (racing heartbeat, anxiety like symptoms that aren't anxiety, nausea, headaches, diarrhea, bowel cramping, pain that makes me want to weep - and I know I am one tough woman - in my neck, my collarbone, my shoulders, my elbows, my wrists, my intercostals and my back, my pelvis and hips, my knees, my ankles and all the muscles in between, insomnia, swollen glands, blood sugar swings - usually too low and, the best two symptoms of all, the continual body vibrating and this humming that sounds like an airport in my head. It is tiring, it is exhausting, it is all consumming. My cognitive faculties are not so bad these days ; there is no question that they are connected to my level of fatigue but I am not having the brain fog from the summer - so my brain is whirring like a computer and my body is in stall. Sadly, I have finally succumbed to the one thing that I have fought for so long - bed rest. I am in bed right now most of the time and I know it is where I need to be but it is so freaking hard. However, I feel hope - so much hope. I have my first test chelation on Tuesday December 12(please send positive thoughts my way) and if all goes well I will start my first series of 12 chelations in the New Year (frequency dependent on how I respond and my creatinine levels - a sign that my kidneys are dealing with it well too). All my bloodwork is fantastic; my hemoglobin is normal (when I started at the clinic it was 6 - low end normal is 120 - it is only at 120 but at least it is there!), my cholesteral which has always been good is super low, my blood sugar is excellent and my creatinine levels are super. My blood pressure is wonderful and while my pulse is still too high sometimes it is strong and steady. My green eyes are becoming bluer and clearer as they clear out the toxins and the asthma I have had since I was a year and a half old is almost non - existant. So there are lots of postives. And I always count my blessings - no matter how bad it is for me it is always worse for someone else. I think about Bliss who hasn't been able to leave her bedroom for months (I wish I had the fucking money, I would renovate the woman's house myself), the homeless adults and children who are cold, hungry and dependent on the kindness of others (Lynne, I have one purple mitten knit and I am hoping to get it's partner finished to send to you this week), Grace, Kaitlyn and all the other children like her who have to deal with serious, life threatening illness when they should be playing. There is so much more tragedy and hardship than I have - so I count my blessings and I am very thankful for all that I have and what I can do. 2. My Birthday - came and went. It was pretty quiet although I must give a shout out and a huge thank you to my best bud Carole (the blogless one), Sheree, as well as Amanda, Jasmine and J (who continually cracks me up whenever we chat on the phone) for their birthday wishes - it definitely gave my heart a lift. My guys sang a great rendition of the birthday song and Ed bought this great Carrot Cake (my absolute, all time favourite cake in the world) from this great bakery in Peterborough. And I rested. 3. My Parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary - came and went. I am in amazment and respect of this achievement; more so because in spite of all their flaws and issues, my parents still love and like each other after having been together more than 50 years. I missed the dinner (bed rest) but I did make them this kick ass scrapbook about their marriage - which took more out of me than was good for me but they were seriously blown away. Woohoo! Congrats Mom and Dad! 4. Toasty Toes - Amanda has been so sweet. She is my recipient (I am not really busting any big secret since all the socks have been sent and received except mine to her - she being the only one without socks to keep her warm) and she has been so incredibly understanding and patient. The socks are almost done - one is finished and the other three quarters done. Easy pattern but not when you are me right now. I will be making it up to her let me tell you - and she is still letting me participate in Bloomin' Feet (I do promise they won't be late - I hate being late)! I do have some awesome goodies for her and I am hoping to send out her socks by the end of the week or next week (LOL, just in time for Christmas - I will just say it is the new Hallowe'en!). As an aside, I have to say that Amanda has really been a rock for me the last 6 months or so - I have met the most incredible people through blogging - I feel so bloody fortunate to know some women of the hightest quality with whom I have clicked and connected and who have been so supportive of me while I deal with my shit (Carole, Suzie, Cathy , Amanda C and so many more - please don't be pissed if your name isn't here, this post is beginning to catch up with me). Kindness is such an amazing thing and so often overlooked, under rated or just not given the due of its incredible power - thoughtful kindness, kindness with intention - so thank you for all the kindness you have and continue to share with me. 5. Warming Grace - I desperately need to update (I have photos, names, squares and, oh yeah, prizes to award from the end of June - sorry!) but I haven't had the energy. There are 6 blankets done - my goal is still twenty and while I will update as soon as I can when I am better I will be getting back on track with this project; it is so incredibly important to me. A little update for you about Grace - she is featured in the Calgary Sun today and the article is here. GO Gracie! Okay I think that is everything. If you read through this whole post you deserve a freaking medal - thanks for persevering. Sorry there are no photos, I did try to upload a couple and Blogger will not let me and I do not have the fortitude to fight with it. Amanda did offer to set me up on Typepad and I am seriously considering it (it just feels way too big for my brain these days). I have turned off the commments, not because I don't want to hear from you, it's just that when all these wonderful, thoughtful, caring and kinds words come in I get all emotional (and I need to stay as calm as possible) and then I really want to respond to each and every one of them because they are so meaningful for me but I know that I really need to focus my energies right now. Please do send me positive vibes on Tuesday, and if I am not able to get another post up before, I hope you have a lovely, healthy and safe holiday. I believe that miracles happen everyday but I am particularly heartened by everyone's generosity of spirit during this time of the year so it makes everything more ripe for great miracles. Okay, now I am going back to bed.

A request for help.....

Cathy would like our help. Her friend Jenn is going through what seems to be an unfathomable amount of tragedy. Last month her husband, 7 year old adopted son and 4 month old baby were killed in a car accident. How she is coping I do not know. She then found out she was pregnant; perhaps some solace in such a difficult time. This weekend, she lost that baby. All this would be horrible enough but this woman had already gone through the loss of her parents and brother in separate accidents and only last year dealt with cancer. All of this is just inconceivable to me. Cathy would like to make Jenn a blanket. It will not make the sorrow or grief go away but perhaps it could give her some small measure of comfort (and the ability to wrap all those positive energies and prayers around herself has to make some difference) in these terrible times. Knitters such as myself, Christine, Jamie, Samantha and Vicki know the healing energy and power these squares, turned into blankets, can have. She only needs some of us to make 1 square each (a total of 64 squares). I am confident that enough of us can spare a few hours and some healing energy to make this happen. Please go and volunteer. Thanks!

Happy Birthday to my man.....

On Saturday, November 10, 1962 Ed was born at 6 am to the sound of beating drums in the village of Seaton, Jamaica (in the Parish of St. Mary). He was delivered by his great-grandmother, Nora Kitson. Nora, a midwife, who lived to be 113 years old (1891 - 2004) ,smoked a corncob pipe until she was 76 and was the daughter of plantation slaves. Ed's maternal grandfather, James Francis, was a shaman, a farmer, a butcher and a great storyteller who passed on the oral tradition to Ed. Ed was given his first machete at the age of 6 by his grandfather. He was Ed's first hero and mentor. Ed learned to read from the Bible. Ed's first pet was a cow named Betty. He was raised in a tin roofed shanty with a dirt floor and no running water. Ed moved to Canada in 1973, where at the age of 11 he experienced his first junk food and his first of many exposures to racial prejudice. As a teenager, Ed was a member of the Scarborough Optimist's Club (he ran with Ben Johnson, Angela Issajenko and Mark McCoy). He also danced with the Harriet Tubman Group and performed at the O'Keefe Centre (now known as the Hummingbird Centre). He played football briefly in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger Cats (and he would be too embarassed for me to put up the links so I won't - for all his accomplishments he is a very humble person). His waist, as seen in that groovy 70's photo above, was an unbelievable 27"(he was 16 in the picture). I love the bell bottom pants (a little flashback there!) and the fact he has a full head of hair! Ed is a man of incredible integrity and honesty. He is kind and gentle and understands the concept of unconditional love and acceptance in a way I have experienced with few people. He accepts people as they are but he doesn't tolerate bad manners or bad behaviour in anyone. I am continuously impressed by his low level of anxiety and his ability to deal with difficult situations and people. He is a dedicated and caring father who loves his children with passion, compassion and clarity. Ed is boisterously proud of his children and isn't shy about displaying his love and pride publicly. He is playful and affectionate with Nick and Sheree and fiercely protective of them.

He is a great friend. He is a keen intellect and a passionate learner. He walks the walk and talks the talk. He will not promise you anything he cannot follow through on. He treats people with a sincere level of respect and graciousness.

As a partner and a husband Ed has taught me so much about courage, patience and love. He has been a rock for me during the last 12 years (and particularly the last 5 months) of my chronic illness ups and downs, and I truly feel at times that if it weren't for Ed I wouldn't be here. He has held me with optimism, humour and true caring.

He massages me when I am in pain (he has a healer's hands) and comforts me when I am crying and feeling that this thing will never end (more so of late). He makes sure I laugh at least once a day.

Ed does the laundry (and is quite finicky about his whites), cooks for me(he makes the lightest dumplings, the best jerk, a mean chicken soup that cures just about anything and some awesome stewed chicken, among his repetoire of various specialities, all passed down and without a recipe), cleans the bathrooms, weeds my vegetable garden and cares for the farm with a methodical thoroughness that puts me to shame. He irons. He lets my dog Gryphon (who celebrated her 12th birthday on Wednesday) sleep on the bed.

Ed knits. I love that I can have a discussion about a knitting project or problem with him and he gets it. Ed has this huge laugh, an awesome smile and a larger than life personality. He is this kind of old school, old fashioned guy with a heart of gold. He is a tremendous individual whom I have been very priviledged to be loved by and to know. Happy birthday my love!

A Cabled Sweater for my lovely hubby.....

I will not claim to have just finished this (of course those who were at the Gone Stitchin' Retreat would know anyway) but has taken me a while to get a picture of Ed wearing it. The Sweater: Patrick by Black Purl The Yarn: Donegal Tweed Homespun by Tahki Yarns, Colour 0897 I love this sweater. I love the cables. I love the colour. God, I love the man wearing this sweater (every time he puts it on, it makes me all tingly inside - who knew the power of handknits!!!). This sweater was an easy and lovely knit. I should qualify that easy because I modified the armhole shaping (the pattern calls for decreases into the cables which just wasn't working for me and I did try it three times). I love the cables; they are big and expansive definitely befitting the owner. These are the cables prior to blocking. I had a bit of a dilemma regarding the sizing. Ed is a 44" chest and the pattern ran 44" and 48". While I like a bit of room in his sweaters, the extra 4" in the next size was just too much for me. I did a swatch to see what the give would be and decided I would do the 44" as there was quite a bit of stretch in the yarn and the cables wouldn't get too flattened out (although I hemmed and hawed because I also love the tightness of those cables above but I knew it was gonna grow and then it would be way too big). It is a nicely slightly fitted sweater which is great (must be that part that gives me the tinglies...seriously, just writing this I wish Ed was here right now - think I might kiss him!) but different from other sweaters I have knit for Ed in terms of how more form fitting it is and at a length that is just below the middle of his butt (he generally likes them longer). It was a departure for us both as I am so happy with the result. I just had such a good time knitting it. He looks damn good in it too (I think I've kind of said that already, haven't I!!!)!

Socktoberbless

I have to admit that Socktober sucked for me. I still have yarns I want to post about and oh, a few bazillion socks to knit, but Socktober ended up being the month of my Central Nervous System (which seems to be making a prolonged appearance into November...). I was actually quite impressed with myself, whenever it was there way back in early October, that I could actually get three posts out and visit and comment on a few blogs. Of course that wasn't to last (the vibrating/oscillating of my cells and the CNS related sensitivities make even simple concentration almost impossible, as well as totally shutting me down). My frustration at my ongoing health concerns is for another day, but suffice it to say, that I am working at accepting where I am at, and trying to rest, without my A type personality screaming at me all the time (I think that is the harder part). In sock news, I am sadly behind on my Toasty Toes socks. I apologize most sincerely to my pal, and appreciate your understanding (it seems given the small size of this group, that like in the game Clue, my intended sock recipient will become clear in no time). Have no fear you will get them soon, my lovely and gracious (and totally adorable) pal!

They are progressing well. This photo is actually a little old. Both socks are at the heel turn. My goal is to do a yarn over short row heel because I fucking love it so much (seriously fucking love it) and while it is a serious time saver, the few brain cells I appear to have left need to be in the right place to do it (it is amazing what you take forgranted when you are well - I never had any idea how taxing simple things could be).

A detail shot. I admit that while I am using a vintage pattern, I have made a few (okay, maybe more than a few) modifications and I am very pleased with the outcome to date. It gives me an idea for some more variations which I am hoping to try very soon on another sock. I have to say that I LOVE knitting with the Lorna's Laces. They just have such a lovely 'springyness' and such a forgiving nature. Wonderful stuff.

Another yarn I am totally in love with is the Sock Hop Socks yarn from Crown Mountain Farms. And Teyani is seriously the sweetest of enablers!!! I have to say I love my little p*rn shot above. Gorgeous!!!!!

And I did finish my American Pie socks. Yeah!!! They are totally scrumptious; the colours are so vibrant, the tweeding effect is truly unique and the feel of the socks are cool yet very comforting. I knit these in a knit2, purl2 rib (I admit that I don't like the distraction of a lot of pattern on a variegating yarn) on a 2.5mm needle and I am proud to say that they are my first pair of two socks at the same time on two circs - woohoo!

I completely loved the technique although I was worried, because I was so relaxed while knitting them I wasn't sure I would ever get them done (given that they are exactly the same, I could put them done for like a year and not worry about any differences in anything between sock one and sock two - very good and at the same time very, very baaaaaaaaddd!!!).

I also want to show off my yarn over short row heel a la Priscilla Gibson-Roberts from her book Simply Socks. I loved the technique completely although to be honest I had trouble following her written instructions. I think at the best of times I am a very visual learner. So, after attempting to follow her directions 3 times and pulling it out (but not to be deterred), I used this fabulous tutorial from Purlwise. I think I did okay.

I still see minute holes but I think I am (k)nitpicking..LOL. I know I will use the technique again because it really is great and well each yarn is different and it will be great trying with a variety of sock yarns...I have some other techniques I want to try as well. Socks really are great aren't they????????

Pakka Pu Carola

I received a parcel on Wednesday (actually I got the notice on Monday but Ed couldn't get the Post Office until Wednesday to pick it up for me) and this is exactly how it arrived and was wrapped - I must admit I was pretty excited even though I didn't understand a word of the writing! I assumed correctly, that it was my Toasty Toes package - yeah!!!!! My TT pal is Carola, who hails all the way from Iceland! I must admit that I am bloody amazed that the various postal agencies who handled this creatively wrapped parcel did it so well there wasn't even a tear in the paper - gives me hope for the postal system. Carola really made my day. She included some really lovely, thoughtful and wonderful things in my package.

There is a knitting murder mystery Knit One, Kill Two, a supercool magnet of an icelandic sheep, a coin worth 10KR (of course Nick had his eye on this little baby - not!) and an absolutely wonderfully warm, friendly and informative letter from Carola (with a great post card of Reykjavik). She seriously kicks butt!

And yet, there is more! The candy part! Lots of very cool chocolate and licorice (Carola wanted to include more 'traditional' icelandic treats for me although I think I share her opinion that the 'combination' of licorce and chocolate are not for me - especially given that I am not a big licorice fan; Nick is particularly pleased about what that means for him 'cause he loves licorice).

I really appreciate the effort Carola went to in finding some organic chocolate and letting me know about the candy production in Reykjavik where she lives. Pakka pu (which means thank you in Icelandic - minus the accents not available on my keyboard) Carola! Of course the best part were the socks included in my package. Oh my god, I love love the socks. It gets cold up here in the great white North - fall is definitely taking on the crispness and chilliness of winter and these socks are just sooooooo comfy warm. I love the colours, the softness of the yarn and the pattern. These are absolutely the perfect toasty socks for me! I have them on as I write this and they feel totally awesome.

Here is the requisite foot picture - my toasty toes in some seriously toasty socks! They fit divinely and I cannot thank you enough Carola. You really made my day! Thank you so much Amanda for hosting the sock swap - I cannot wait for the next round of Bloomin' Feet in the Spring!

A Shawl for my Mom

The Specs: Pewter Lace Shawl from Interweave Knits Spring 2003 The Yarn: Naturally Kid et Soie (10 ply - Mohair/Silk/NZ Merino), Shade 306 The Story: After living together for 8 and 1/2 years, in late 2003 Ed (and my mother who gave the mother attitude) was finally able to convince me that we should get married (I love the man with my entire being but I tend to get sweaty palms around major commitment issues) and the wheels were set in motion. We originally planned to get married in October 2004 and I decided that I would knit a shawl for the Minister (female) who was going to marry us and started on it right then and there. In the later Spring of 2004 my niece Grace was diagnosed with leukemia and my best friend Julie, who had been in a short remission from Multiple Myeloma, had three surgeries on her brain and was informed that the cancer had spread to her spine (Julie died on December 28, 2004). We decided to call off the wedding in late August. We had the wedding license, good for 3 months, and on a cold day in November, two days before the license was to expire (and with some good natured ribbing from Ed that I had escaped the noose one more time) I called around and found a minister willing to marry us the next day (I shall always remember his slightly sarcastic tone - he didn't know the whole story - about "leaving it to the last minute aren't you?"). So the next day Ed and I basically eloped! With Nick of course. Nick was the ring bearer, the best man, maid of honour and photographer (his worst offense was not handing me back my bouquet because he liked it too much!). And despite the hyperventilating prior to the big moment I have been quite happy with my now legal status. Fast forward to this summer. I am earnestly trying to clear up all my unfinished objects (I promised Carole). So I saw the shawl, two thirds done and thought why not, I will give it to my mother (she had admired it when she saw me knitting it for the minister). So, picking it up and putting it back on the needles, I looked at the pattern and what was in front of me, and wondered what the f*$%# had I been knitting (or what pattern I thought I had been following); there was no similarity between the two (and this was the summer of my total physical breakdown so of course I wasn't necessarily trusting my eyes). I have no clue what the hell I was knitting. What else could I do? I ripped the sucker out and rewound 9 balls (Mohair is no walk in the park let me tell you). To make a long, long story that may be boring the crap out of you by now short, I knit it up in a week (the pattern was sooooooo easy and basic enough for my sorry summer brain) and then dealt with the trauma of casting on the edging. I had to do it twice (the first time 6 hours and a major headache later I decided I didn't like the bump on the back and pulled it out) but god it looks good. I can say that this is one of the most pleasurable finished knits I have made in a long while. I just love this so much. I think it turned out fabulously and, if I can ever arrange to see my mom she will be receiving it (and a nice little surprise it will be for her!).

My Tea Swap Pal ROCKS!!!!!

I received this in the mail today. It was a parcel from my tea swap pal Allison. The funny thing is that when I saw the box the return address was from Simply Socks Yarn Company and I was trying to remember if I had purchased something from them (not that this would be surprising for me - I could claim it is my cognitive fatigue but I think it has more to do with my shopping habits...LOL). The parcel was amazing. Lots of tea....lots and lots of tea and in varieties that I am going to enjoy; decaf darjeeling, decaf apricot, honeybush caramel, white tangerine, tropical green and earl grey lavender and a tea called sow mee white which totally intrigues me and I will be trying tomorrow. There was also a tea infuser, gourmet hot chocolate and a bar of Ghirardelli Expresso Escape (not sure if I will be able to indulge in this as the caffeine in the espresso beans might put me over the edge). Oh...and there were cookies; Walkers Shortbread - yummy! However, the best parts were the following: 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces (I looooooove Lorna's Laces) in Apricot, a colour which was dyed just for Allison's company (at the time of her mailing this no one else had it yet - I was the first!) and this ceramic mug. Talk about making a girl feel special! The ceramic mug. Allison's husband Joseph, created this ceramic mug for me and fired it in a wood kiln he made for the University for Saint Francis (he teaches there and is a ceramic artist). Oh my god - that is all I kept thinking; first when I opened the wrapping and saw the mug and then when I read Allison's lovely note. The thoughfulness and personal touch that was put into this package is really quite touching. The mug was made just for me. I am gobsmacked. I have already had tea in it twice; it is so perfect. NO ONE in my house will be touching this mug but me (Ed is quite taken with the mug - quite taken). Allison, the mere words of thank you seem totally inadequate. I am really touched. This was such a wonderful package and I feel quite blessed to have been the recipient. Thank you. P.S. I did put in a little order for some Lorna's Laces tonight...LOL.

Socks.....

In honour of Socktoberfest I decided to offer up this sockliloquy about my sock clubbin', a KAL or two and my current sock project(s). I'd like to call it "Sockclubbintoastytoesberfest". I will preface this by saying that I love socks. When I first learned to knit socks it was to master DPN's but of course I had little idea what I was really getting into. Socks are like the most divine type of swatch that knits up relatively quickly (and is actually functional) and oh how I have come to love the magic loop and 2 socks on 2 circulars (I must admit I held onto the DPN method for a few years). Sock Clubs Sock Clubs, like sock yarn, sock needles, sock apparel (markers, bags and the like) are oh so hard to resist. Different than a KAL (although certainly attached at times to the club), sock clubs arrive at your door usually every other month. I have found these clubs to be divine. 1. The Petals Collection - prior to joining the Petals Collection I had had the opportunity to experience Sundara's sock yarn; lovely, just lovely. When I got my first package the woman literally blew me away. The attention to detail, the yarn, the pattern and a lovely little flower sucker; I felt like it was Christmas and I felt that inner thrill of the sock knitter (or would that be the online sock shopper).

Sundara didn't disappoint with her second mailing. So, so beautiful. I almost don't want to open them up they are so awesome. If you know what I mean. She is a woman who knows how to make you feel very, very special. This is the quintessential sock club. 2. Posh Yarn Sock Club - Dee, the owner of Posh Yarn is the sweetest of enablers! Her yarns are sublime and so luxurious, how could I not join the Sock club, knowing that I would knit socks with cashmere/merino and just plain cashmere. Dee is wonderful, the yarns are gorgeous and well, I have also joined her Lace Club. You have to check out her sock yarns; I bought some pure cashmere sock yarn to make Nancy Bush's Bed Socks (Knitting Vintage Socks) for Ed and I - they are on the socks to make now list. Oh sweet, sweet luxury! 3. Socks that Rock Sock Club - this was a total fluke. Surfing one day I hit on the club (and mammoth KAL) and thought why not?

Who knew how popular this 'little' club would be (or that it would sell out like less than 24 hours after I decided to join). I love Blue Moon's Sock Yarn and their patterns have been, for the most part, excellent. Of course I wouldnt' be telling the truth if I didn't tell you that the mini skein is the part of the club I love the best!I have also recently joined the Sweet Sheep Sock Club. I am intrigued by this club and looking forward to seeing the 4 different sock yarns from 4 different fiber artists. This club (and adjoining KAL) starts in November and I will be sure to post all about it. I have also belonged to the Sock Club from Make 1 Yarn Studio. I admit I let it slip when I was sick over the summer and I do need to call and renew my 'membership.' Toasty Toes The lovely Amanda is hosting Toasty Toes, the sock sequel to Bloomin' Feet. Of course I had to sign up. The thought of making someone socks and sending the knitting energy their way while you are knitting those socks is really spectacular.

And, while making socks for someone other than a blood relative (the perfectionism quotient goes way, way up for me - and it's already pretty high) is relatively anxiety provoking, getting a pair of socks in the mail is kind of like being Samantha on Bewitched.

It's almost magical - and they're handknit too! Freakin' awesome! My Toasty Toes are coming from this pattern book; a lovely Canadian only pattern book from Beehive (I believe that this is the original company of what is now known as Patons - I have no difficulty being corrected on this information). I am not revealing the pattern yet.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Blackberry. I LOVE the colour (I hope my sendee loves the colour). I love the knitter I am knitting these for. I love the sock bag the yarn is sitting in (perhaps more than love, these sock bags are sooooo cool and I have to get me some more!).

Of course I seriously have to get my butt in gear; these beauties have to be ready to mail in about two weeks (so many other more conscientious knitters are already done...eeps!). However, I did manage to get my Sockapaloooza Socks done on time (okay, it was 6am of the morning of mailing...). They will get done - I promise you my secret sendee!

A Current Sock Knit I have knit socks on DPN's most of my sock knitting life (about 5years and a bit). I have done the magic loop as well but I must admit I really wanted to try the 2 socks on 2 circulars - to have a pair of socks done at the same time really appealed to me.

So I decided to give it a go. These are Crown Mountain Farms socks in "American Pie." The infamous Sock Hop Yarn! I love this yarn. It's the kind of yarn you just want to bury your face in (or fill a bathtub full of it and lay in it). The colour is totally yummy and I love the tweedy/striping effect. Hats off to Klaus and Teyani - you are geniuses. And fucking nice too! (I have been working on the swearing, it just kind of slipped out!). I have quite a bit of this yarn (and some rovings as well). It is just so fabulous - you have to try it if you haven't yet. I love you Teyani, I LOVE YOU!

About the 2 x2 socks on circs. I love it, and yet at the same time, it is wrecking my usual sock mojo. Because I am knitting them at the same time, I am knitting them oh so much slower than I usually knit socks. There is no pressure, no need to worry about deciphering my little notes as I knit one sock and bust a move to get the next one on - they are, exactly the same.

In my anal retentive sock knittingness I need my socks to be as similar as possible - and I always find slight differences in the singularly knit socks, no matter how closely I knit them together. I love the 2 socks method but it will make me a much slower sock knitter. Oh well. I still love sock knitting, LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Gone Stitchin'...okay actually I did....a long time ago...

Every September (well at least the last seven for me) there is this knitting retreat known as Gone Stitchin'. It rocks. There are great teachers, a wonderful location (once you get used to the trains) and just a wee bit of hijinks that go on...and on. The retreat is held at Bayview Wildwood Resort just North of Orillia and is put on by Julie, Karen and Bev. They do a fantastic job and the weekend is intense, fun and exhausting.

This year the teachers included Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns, Bev Galaskas of Fiber Trends and Maureen Mason-Jamieson of Kinver Beach Knit Designs. I have had classes during past retreats with both Bev and Maureen who teach fabulous techniques and ideas. I have never had a class with Barry, and although I did sign up for his classes I still haven't had a class with him. I wasn't sure I could go this year because I have really not been well but I so had to be there so the compromise was to be there although I did not attend classes (with some medical intervention I did go to the retailers fashion show and the student fashion show...oh and the market table.. baby did I go to the market table).

This is one of the finished objects I showed at the student fashion show. I am particularly proud of this because during my summer of illness when mental concentration was a concept that did not exist, I worked on a bunch of my UFO's; knitting and sewing. I cannot claim the sewing victory however...my best bud Carole, on one of her many trips to the farm this summer, took pity on my messed up state and sewed the stripes for me. She did such a fantastic job. Thanks Carole! Now Carole finishing this sweater set me up for some ribbing because I have a bit of a reputation at the retreat for not sewing up my own sweaters (Nancy Wiseman, yes the Nancy Wiseman, sewed up a sweater for me and Margaret Della Rosa sewed up a couple) - can I help it if I am good at getting recruits to do what I totally hate?

Anyway, the sweater is Oliver and it is knit with freedom DK cotton by Twilleys of Stamford. The stuff was a dream to knit with. I normally hate to knit with cotton; I find it hard on my hands and lacking alot of give. This cotton is addictive; soft and supple.

My model isn't too bad either! Ed went with me and we arrived at the resort on the Monday with Carole - the extra three days are fantastic. We knit without interruption (i.e., no making of beds, housework, meal prep, meal clean up) and I can honestly say that we got lots done - well Carole and I did; Ed went golfing, had a couple of massages, a manicure and pedicure. He totally deserved the vacation; he has and continues to do such a fantastic job of taking care of me (in addition to all of his other responsibilities). Ed has a great time at the retreat; he loves being surrounded by all that estrogen - he modelled several sweaters and one jacket (scroll down 5 photos - this is the real Ed!).

I can honestly say the best part of the weekend (aside from the knitting classes and the market table - the market table ROCKED this year; I spent the money to prove it) are the knitters. This is my seventh year and it is fabulous to see people I really only get to see at the weekend.

I met Carole at this weekend. Dawn aka Heather aka Sybil roomed with Carole; Dawn is pretty hilarious and has this thing for PINK. Maureen and Dalia (Fred and Ethel to those of us at the retreat), Joan and Joan, Manon, Loretta, Monica, Gloria, Connie, Patrick, Lynn, Alexis and so many others (if I didn't mention you specifically I apologize...I see faces and I forget names and I think I just blew the last brain cell I have on that list). We laugh and laugh and laugh. It is such a great time. Next year they are having Barry Klein again and Sally Melville. It is gonna be good.

I do have more FO's which I hope to post soon (sorry that it is so long between my posts; I am really trying to get back in the swing of things - just lots of fatigue and other lovely symptoms) and I may have to display my haul from the market table - NOW that was fun!

MARCO............POLO

My best recollection of Marco Polo (although given my cognitive fogginess at times these days those recollections can be spotty at best) involve my adolescence, a swimming pool and some serious blood sport (I don't think what we played could be called tag as much as it could be called water polo derby). Those days are loooooong gone but I did a Marco Polo on Monday (I promise to try and be a bit quicker on these things....where's Ed, the mad poster when you need him...LOL). I got my Yarn Aboard Spinning in the mail last week and it was here when Ed and I got back from Gone Stitchin' on Sunday (I WILL post about that this week). My MARCO....... POLO came from Stephanie, hailing from Georgia. And, there was no water, no pushing or shoving or death grips involved! Stephanie did me proud! Zebra needles, needle case, a lovely candle (and cool box) from Namaste, a very cool magnet of two wooden sticks and a ball of wool (how appropriate for me although I forgot to take a picture because I put it up as soon as I got it!) and two books; Knitticisms and A Dyer's Garden . Pretty awesome! Oh yeah....I got some rovings too! (Just joking of course; that is the point of the box right?)

Two lovely bundles of rovings. The top is Ashland Bay Dyed Ingeo in Bordeaux (if I was well I would have been prepared to do the push and drown move in the pool for this baby) - the colour is gorgeous, and the bottom is Ashland Bay Multicolour Merino Top in Rose Quartz - also very very nice. Thank you so much Stephanie! I love my loot. Love it! Thanks to Amanda for running such a great swap! You rock chick!

The game was never this fun......well okay, maybe sometimes!

Rip Van Winkle is awake....sort of

Hello. It's me. Yes me. Not that blogger loving husband of mine (he's sitting beside me, reading a book and laughing). I am not totally well and I am going to have to be very careful but I just needed to connect. This has been the crappiest summer I have had in a long time (suffice it to say I won't bore you totally with the details but there was a neuro chemical withdrawal from Advil - oh yes Advil and an allergic reaction to an antibiotic and then my normal bad reaction to the heat and humidity and alot of pain and fogginess and fatigue but I know that compared to some I have it good so there will be no whining). Okay the only thing I may whine about is how my summer affected my knitting. Knitting has been my salvation and the thing that reminds me that I can be somewhat productive. Very little knitting happened this summer - too tired, couldn't concentrate and the pain in my hands sucked. I did finish my Trek Along Socks (couldn't let Margene and Norma down!). I cannot remember the pattern or the colour but I will post them. I am really loving them (my feet always seem to be cold these days..) and they are snuggly - I like my socks snug. After a loving lecture from my bestest buddy Carole I did manage to sew up a few of my finished but unsewn objects (5 pairs of socks, a vest, a hat and a scarf) so I suppose this time wasn't a total wash but it is freaking hard to be sick when you are an anal product oriented type A with so few avenues for accomplishments these days. I have to thank Carole, Ed and Amanda for keeping me laughing - I have so needed it. I also managed a conversation with Teyani and Rhonda - you guys rock! I also have to thank everyone for their well wishes and cards; Ed managed that carefully because of course I would start to cry and over stimulation is part of the problem (my doctor says right now that my body cannot filter out anything so my Central Nervous System is overly sensitive to noise, light, too much going on, certain foods, etc...I am a good time let me tell you!). I know I have missed so much and I can feel the fog coming on so let me say that I have lots to tell you (another time or a few) and that I will post (although not as frequently as I desire) and I will try my best to read your blogs and comment (to the best of my current abilities not the level of my desire - god do I desire!). I also promise not to join any knitalongs (I do plan to knit a red scarf for Norma, some squares for Samantha and perhaps one other good cause) but I will be much more cognizant of my limitations (enforced by my lovely husband whom I love so so dearly and who not only writes on my blog but has been reading my bloglines and keeping me abreast of things LOL - I will have to teach him about lurking!). I have updated the Warming Grace Blog. I have continued to get squares and requests to join. There are like 249 knitters (it has been so long that I feel totally Rip Van Winkleish in the admin. department) and they cover four continents. Amazing. I may focus more of my energy over there for a while instead of here because it is such an important project and I am still focused on my goal of twenty blankets for kids. So off to bed I go and I have to say it feels fucking good writing this post! I have missed you all so much.

Yo Ho Ho....and a box of Yarn!!!

Cin received this in the mail yesterday (Cin was actually getting better and then she came down with a sinus infection and she had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic the doctor put her on and she spent Thursday in the hospital and has mostly been in bed since then); she seemed incredibly excited (obviously because she knew what it was..LOL). She was particularly happy with the return address on the box - she knew immediately it was Dani (who apparently sent her an "awesome" box during the Knitting Vacation Swap - sorry I have no clue what that URL is). So this box was part of the Yarn Aboard hosted by Amanda. When she opened the box (okay actually I opened the box and then had to get the inner box out of the US Priority Box) we saw Lewis and Clark on the outside.

On the inside there was lots of "great" stuff - 4 skeins of Plymouth Alpaca (Cindy was very pleased; she loves Alpaca and has a pair of socks already planned for them), 1 skein of Plymouth Italian Collection Sockotta, a recipe for Ginger Cookies (which I promised to make for her), a pattern from Fiber Trends (Walking Away Socks), candies (Dip Dab and Millions which Nick is eyeballing), Sweet Spice Rub and a container of Pink Grapefruit Green Tea Bags from the Republic of Tea (part of Sip for the Cure). Quite a haul. I am impressed with you swapping knitters; you really know how to take care of each other.

Cindy said Dani had also knit squares for Warming Grace and fronted Nick some seriously good chocolate so clearly Dani is a very generous soul. For my part I say thanks very much Dani (Cin was quite touched by the package) and excellent swap Amanda - you rock woman!!!! I packed the stuff Cin had for her swap person (okay there was alot and I have to say even with my jamming and taping techniques I didn't get it all in - the important stuff is in there though!) and I took it to the post office today so that it will get to the next person quickly (as per the wife's orders). Lewis and Clark seemed to have gained a little weight on their trip to the Great White North...

P.S. I have to say this post was kind of fun....I do want Cin to get better but I could get used to the guest posting!!!

A Quick Update from Ed

On Cindy's behalf, I would really like to thank all of you for your wonderful comments, your ongoing support, the cards and even gifts that have been sent Cindy's way - I can see why her blogging has become so special to her. If I haven't gotten back to you, I apologize, and I think Cindy will try to get back to you when she is better. She is on the mend. Her progress is slower than she would like but she is starting to perk up a bit and her mind is starting to be a bit clearer. The cognitive fatigue is the hardest part of this for Cindy and stimulation i.e., phone conversations, the computer, too much noise, etc., tires her out quickly and she doesn't get replenished very quickly (or to what you or I take forgranted as normal functioning). Her pain is somewhat more manageable and this is also a good sign. It has been quite hot and humid here in Ontario which is not good for her but she is working hard to remain positive. However, I do see some positive signs of improvement and I think she will realistically be back by next week (she told me to put a week on the last update which I didn't think was possible but I wanted to honour her request anyway). She misses you all. Again, I thank you for all your ongoing support, friendship and encouragement!

A Message from Ed

My girl is not well. Cin has been having a rough couple of weeks with her Fibro, CFS and some treatment related issues which are causing a lot of pain, nausea, cognitive fatigue and exhaustion. She has kept lamenting about not posting, not getting to other's blogs, not returning emails and she needs to rest so I have decided some hubby action is in order. She is on bed rest, possibly for the next week or so (unfortunately for Cin her doctor concurs so it is two against one!). Nick and I are taking care of her (we'll do our best men's best!). She has her knitting which is she is working on here and there. She is stubborn, determined, frustrated and she hates to disappoint others. I need to help her alleviate her stress (and anxiety) so I just want everyone to know she will be back soon. I know she misses her blogger pals. She just needs to focus on getting over this little hump and get some seriously restorative rest. Thanks for your understanding. Ed

Trekking Along

As part of the Trek Along I am supposed to post photos of my progress while out hiking. As part of my current life I am not doing much Trekking except with the yarn. But this morning, in a rare moment of chutzpah (and because I told Leah I would get my sock posted - we are working on the same colour) I took my sock for a little walk. This lane is part of our farm. It leads to a bridge which passes over a creek and to a large meadow we have on the other side of the creek. Here is my sock hanging out. This is my first sock on two circulars (which I love - next pair; two socks on two circs!) with the yarn hanging out in one of the lovely sock bags by Jen. Her sock bags are divine (that's another post). The colour is #110 and the pattern is the Slipped Stitch Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I love the pattern (not too overwhelming for the variegated yarn) and I love the book. Love the book; everyone should own this modest on the cover book. It rocks. What I am not so enamoured with is the yarn. I will finish knitting this pair of socks. Please don't throw sock yarn at me but I have to say that the Trekking is rough, not too stretchy and generally, to me, not all that it is hyped up to be. It feels coarse and doesn't have that wonderful springy feel to it that I have come to love (and expect) in a good yarn. Perhaps it is because I have had the opportunity to use other more lovely yarns for socks (i.e. Lorna's Laces, Crown Mountain, Vespers, Fleece Artist, STR, Mountain Colours, Cherry Hill, RYC Cashsoft) that Trekking, Opal and Regia just aren't doing it for me anymore. The others (LL, CM, V, FA, STR,, MC, CH, RYC) are not really that much more ($5.00-$10.00 per pair) and I have to say that the small difference in money is really worth it for the huge difference in feel and quality. My Trekking was $20.00 Cdn for a skein (459 yards) and the Vespers, for example, $24.00 Cdn for a skein (440 yards). A $4.00 difference if you are looking at the cost alone. The absolutely distinct difference in the knitting pleasure while knitting is immeasurable.

There's a storm a coming.....

It has been HOT and HUMID here. So hot and humid it's as if you can hear the moisture in the air. I am so not a humidity kind of person. It is hard to go outside; I think I seriously have an allergy to the heat - so no photos, no nothing. The only benefit is that I am almost caught up on my blogging and I have even been getting some knitting done (need to take photos of that).

We heard there were storms coming but I didn't see storm clouds until this afternoon. About the same time I saw strawberries in our garden.

The raised bed kitchen garden that sits neglected and overgrown with weeds because I am sick and Ed is way too busy to get into the garden.

Didn't start any seeds this year; have not felt well enough to do it.

The strawberries were planted last year (we have garlic too - Carole came up last fall to put it in for me because I couldn't) and there are tons of them. I saw them and I saw those clouds and I didn't want to lose too many to the rain I knew was coming.

This is what I picked in 10 minutes (just the ones hanging out in the open) and there are still plenty more. I left the ones that were under leaves, and the ones that have been munched on by the chipmunks I saw scurry out as I approached the strawberry bed.

But look at these beauties; nice fresh organic strawberries which will be eaten as is - unadulterated popping into the mouth without the disguise of any other flavour. Just big fat juicy strawberries - yummy! Nature is good.

Happy Father's Day to my Ed!

We don't usually celebrate traditional holidays (I think I have bored you all with the "we are appreciative everyday and aren't on the retailers calendar clock" diatribe before) but I do want to send a shout out to my wonderful husband on Father's Day because he is simply a terrific dad. When I was growing up I think society measured a father's worth by his ability to provide food, shelter and clothing (more or less). I was relatively afraid of my dad as a kid because he was a pretty stern guy. My dad provided me with the basics and beyond but he was a serious disciplinarian, the house ran around his needs/wants and I generally felt lazy around him. He always had lists, things to do - we sort of relaxed when he relaxed. As an adult I know this was generational and also the manner in which he was raised. I think I wished that my dad was softer and that he would 'play' with us more and worry about our school grades less. I also wished he had told me he loved me more. I knew my dad loved me but I didn't hear it; I had to understand he loved me by what he did, not by what was said (or not). At the same time my dad taught me a fantastic work ethic, a wonderful knowledge of right versus wrong and about being honest. My dad has more integrity than anyone I know. I love my Dad dearly. Fathers today are judged by different standards. Society as a rule is tough on Dads. They have to be tough yet tender, pragmatic yet emotional, decisive yet understanding. Non-custodial dads are told to love their kids in spite of barriers most normal humans wouldn't be able to endure(and I am not saying that there aren't bad dads out there - there are just as many bad moms out there too.) Ed is a fantastic dad. Despite the odds he has remained emotionally connected. He has allowed himself to be judged, humiliated and humbled by the system, his ex-wife and a few other people who felt they had the right to do so. Ed is loving and affectionate; he tells both his kids, often, that he loves them and he means it! He is tough; clear about behaviour and boundaries and, if he needs to, he rules with an iron fist (without physical or corporal punishment - we have strong feelings about that). Ed laughs with his kids, plays with them and is one of the most honest people I know. He is also very human with his kids and is always willing to apologize if he has made a mistake. He is patient, trustworthy and hardworking for his kids. He is actively involved in Nick's life; his academic, athletic and artistic pursuits. He works hard to make sure that Nick is able to attend summer camps (driving, etc) and he picks up where I cannot. Ed and Nick have a wonderful father-son relationship (they are golfing in a tournament today) and Ed and Sheree have a wonderful father-daughter relationship. Both Nick and Sheree love their Dad dearly as they should - he has earned it! Happy Father's Day Ed!

Memememe........

Only because I have seen it everywhere and have left my one word (which is quite a challenge when you think of it)..... Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me — it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you. I can think of so many one word words for me...tee hee!

One Skein Out, One Skein In

I joined the One Skein Swap. On June 1st I sent out this (my secret pal loves blacks, greys and whites): And this week I received this from my secret swapper: I totally enjoyed opening the parcel and I particularly love the aboriginal card (a hint??). My skein is 100% aran silk (yummmmmy) from Pure Knits. I love, love, LOVE the colourway; it looks like a tropical sea (it is called "Surf") and it feels so calming, as well as being really soft and delightful.

My secret pal suggested a small evening bag with seaglass beads which sounds lovely although I am thinking I might make a scarf with seaglass beads instead (sadly I wouldn't get much use for the evening bag out here in the country and I would love to feel this next to my skin).

Thank you so much secret pal; you definitely scored with this one! I can't wait until next month.

Before and After

I have never been a big felter. I clearly haven't discovered the joys other felters experience and so, when I had a couple of swaps coming up, I decided I would felt gifts. As part of the Knitting Vacation Swap we were to include a knitted project. I had recently purchased the Mason-Dixon Knitting Book and one of the projects I liked in the book were the Felted Boxes. These are the finished knitting but not yet felted boxes. They are not to gauge (which I couldn't achieve but wasn't too stressed about anyway) but they were a totally quick knit. This is the midway point. Knit in Brown Sheep I knew they would felt rather quickly which, in a small amount of water and a with a few of Nick's new tennis balls, they did. I had to think about the best way to dry them so they would be as square as possible. I actually put them on several layers of towels and used some square/rectangular plastic containers I had and left them for a day or two. They are thick and after a couple of days were only somewhat wet - this was also in the middle of our lovely heat and humidity wave - but I had to get them out soon and they needed to dry. With the help of some A/C they did eventually dry out. Next step was some shaving. I admit the look on Ed's face when I asked him to buy me a package of disposable razors so I could shave my felting was worth it - although not as much as Nick thinking I had bought the razors for him to shave with(as if)! So, these are the finished boxes. I think they turned out rather well. They do fit inside one another which is kind of cool. I hope my Vacation Swap Pal enjoys these. She did say that red is one of her favourite colours - I do think I delivered on that score. Sorry - I could not post the finished photo so I will display in a separate post. (See below). The other swap, the Knitters Tea Swap, kind of begged for a tea cozy even though we did not have to knit anything and most of the tea cozies I have seen I haven't really liked. In Vogue Knitting Felting there is a felted tea cozy so I decided to give it a try. This is the tea cozy knit but not felted. It is knit with Noro Kureyon in Colour 146. Knitted it is huge. Noro takes forever to felt. So against all recommendations for personal safety reasons I used at least three kettles of boiling water to help jack up the hot factor. I must admit that, given my predisposition for clumsiness and general spastic behaviour, my ability to get the kettle to the washer three times without spilling was impressive. The tennis balls really helped as well (they are for road hockey so I wasn't feeling as if I would be taking some edge off the performance of the balls by washing them for an hour or so). The biggest problem I faced was the continuing ginormous size of the sucker. While it was shrinking around, it was not shrinking enough in length, no matter what I did. So, once it was dry, I cut it to the right length. I think next time what I would do is guestimate the length and do a rolled up bottom in order to compensate for this problem. Thanks to the suggestions of Ann and Jean-Anne I ended up doing a blanket stitch around the bottom and both the handle and spout edges just to give a more finished edge. Next was the decorating (okay I had already started when I did the blanket stitching). I was not putting the ribbons on the tea cozy that were called for in the pattern. At the same time I really didn't factor how many buttons I would be sewing on - close to 50. Still, I think it turned out okay and I hope my tea swap pal likes it.

Finished Felted Boxes

Boxes Finished Originally uploaded by cynicked.

These are my finished felted boxes.

Pretend they are just part of the post above!

Summer Knitting

Yesterday was the perfect summer day for me - breezy, not humid, not too hot and not too cool. The temperature went down at night which was perfect for sleeping (if I had - insomnia). If summer was like this I would love it! Alas..... if only (and I must admit that the word h-u-m-i-d-i-t-y is like a four letter word to me). And yet, I do have knitting projects for the summer! I have three KAL's (to date) and I have a lot of work to do.

As part of the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange I am making something for my pal for August.

I chose to make the Short-Row Hat from Interweave Knits Winter 2005.

It is in the colours my pal prefers and is made from one skein and I love the pattern so it fits the bill perfectly! The yarn is Faith from Ami-Ami and c'est tres bien.

Of course I had to get some yarn for myself! I got three more skeins in different colours to make hats for me, Ed and Nick.

Nick's is at the bottom (red is his favourite colour), mine is in the middle and Ed's is at the top. I am hoping it is a relatively quick knit; I do love short rows so it should be fun.

I won't necessarily get ours done by summer's end but that's okay.

Next up is Trek Along with Me run by the incomparable Margene and Norma.

Ambitiously I pulled out the two skeins of Trekking XXL I had in my stash and I am hoping to get them both knit up. On the left is colour number 110 which I am planning to knit up in a Slipped-Stitch Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I love this freaking book!

I haven't figured out what pattern to use with number 77 on the right but I am sure I will come up with something!

Lastly, I am taking part of Amazing Lace being run by the fun and mischievious Theresa and Rachel. They have a number of challenges planned and I sure hope I am able to post for one of them (kind of missed the boat on Challenge #1).

I am knitting the Feather & Fan Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. This feels like quite an ambitious knit for me and I must admit to a little nervousness. I am going to be confident though and I am ready to knit through to the end by the deadline.

My yarn is Jamieson's Shetland Ultra Lace purchased from the lovely Ann at She Ewe Knits. Ann gives good, bloody good, service. The colour is Clematis.

I think I will be busy (because of course this isn't all I have going on!) and who knows what else the summer holds! Vive la summer knitting!

Props to a Swap Pal who deserves it!!!

I got my Knitting Vacation Swap package in the mail yesterday. Woohoo! Dani was my swap pal and she did such a great job! I didn't make it easy for her; I have come to realize that these swaps are hard for me - I have no problem and in fact, love giving; I am not so good at asking or making a list of what I would like from others. So with no information or help on my part (even though she did try) Dani made herself so proud. The package was huge: 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in Shepherd Sport - Jeans Colour (I do so love Lorna's and I will enjoy making socks in this colourway), a sock pattern from Lisa Knits, this wonderful felted bag (which my buddy Carole would kill me to get) which I may use as a small project bag - so trendy, a candle holder with three cups and of course candles to set inside the cups, a heart shaped bar of soap from the Body Shop, this cool little thing called an eggling which has a blooming flower inside (mine has Lobelia which I happen to looooooove), a knitting novel and best of all a package of Susan Bates double pointed metal needles in 4 sizes! Like 20 metal dpn's! I took such a great picture you can't see half the contents - way to go Cynthia! Holy crikey girl - you rock! I am overly exponentially excited about the needles - thank you! The whole package is over the top. I am over the top! Thank you so much Dani.

Hot Dang I got me some Country Socks!

They are finished...finally. I think I started these before the milenneum (okay, maybe not but it was a while ago). I desparately want to do a pair of socks at the same time on two circulars but the deal I have with myself is to finish up what is on my needles right now (in sock world that is!). That would be the Country Socks and the Crazy Ass Socks (a.k.a. Oriel Socks). So I focused myself and got the Country Socks done. I even sewed in the ends (one of my other resolutions - doubters, I will make you believe!). I would have put them on my feet but holy it is so hot and humid I cannot make myself do it. I am so pleased with myself! Now onto to the Crazy Ass socks.....

Mail Call!

The mail has been so good to me lately. I mean there are a ton of Warming Grace envelopes pouring in everyday which is so warming and touching for me. Each square is like this perfect little present and my heart does a little flip and a dance and feels so warm inside. Incredibly (okay given my penchant for online shopping it is not incredible...) there have been a few parcels in there for me too. It's funny because I just assume everything addressed to me must be a Warming Grace square (my Sockapaloooza Sock for instance) so the excitement factor is more like surprise. So I have gotten a few things in the mail. I have been pretty tardy about posting them (I seem to be like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland) but I do so want to put them out there. First off, I won something. I am part of the Knitting Vacation Swap and they had a draw...and I won! I couldn't believe it! I had to kiss my moose caller (long story; Ed and I bought one once while in NB driving in the back woods and we like had to have it and the question was about one of the wierdest things you have ever bought while on a vacation and there it is although it hasn't worked at the farm; Ed has tried and even the cows won't come) and dust it off! I got some lovely Cashmere blend wool and this groovy marker. It is that marker, up there, at the top. It is glorious. Thank you so much to Jennifer, supreme hostess of the swap. Oh and Jennifer, my package will be in the mail next week; I am just waiting for something to dry. I got some sock yarn in the mail. Oh yes, sock yarn. After getting her donation for the 1st Warming Grace Draw and loving the sock yarn so much, I ordered some sock yarn from Celia. I am so excited; this stuff is awesome. Celia you are the bomb baby!!! The colours from left to right are: Berry Ice Cream, Chrysenthemum, Lime Lemonade and Owl. They are really lovely in terms of the colour and the sock weight. Nice job by Celia. And her service is excellent. Gotta check her out! I also got some goodies that I had ordered from Katie. Oh my god - they are more beautiful in person than they were on her blog. I saw and went over to her etsy even before I read the rest of her blog because I loved the bag so much. And okay, in my zeal to open the circular needle case (see below) I admit I did not re-tie the bow as nicely as Katie. I will have to take some lessons so I can get it right. They are so well hand crafted and just so perfect. You must go to her etsy. I will have to buy from her again. Thank you Katie! You so freaking rock! Then there was the surprise parcel. Well, not totally a surprise, because I knew she wouldn't let it go unresponded to when I sent her a package recently (which was like awesome because it was so unexpected and isn't that the best) and then when I read her post with the parcel to Canada part last week - well, I admit I felt it was possible. I have to say that I am by nature a very playful, loving and mischievious personality, and if I was truly loaded, I would definitely be one of those people who would strive to live to in a more philanthropic manner (because I believe money is just money). In emailing with Amanda over the past few months, and particularly when I was going to see Annie Modesitt, I decided to send her a few goodies - because that is my nature. And that is not to say that there won't be more of these packages; to whom I will not say. I am just so thankful about my life and I feel priviledged to have what I have and to have the love I have and all that jazz (must stop or I will get too mushy)...so I just like to do stuff. Just because I want to and not because I ever expect anything in return. So Amanda sent me a parcel. Nick and Ed were totally excited. She had put goodies in there for them - sugar for Nick (can you tell he is not happy with it??); the kid loves sugar and he loves anything, and I so mean anything, American. He loves the concept of bigger bags of candies and everything else. And yes, he has seen Supersize Me but then he always gets the goods from others; Ed and I figure that we are the ones who should take responsibility for his primary eating habits and keep an eye on how much he gets spoiled but he was totally beside himself. Ate his Sourz while watching the hockey game the last two nights (still has lots left!). Amanda sent some spicy spice for Ed (called "Slap Yer Mama" which is enticing enough but Ed is beside himself because he loves some good heat in his food). As long he isn't compelled to start slappin my mama.....Amanda also sent Ed a whole package of whole pralines (she had sent some pralines with her Grace squares and Ed was being finicky about their being broken although to my mind they probably taste the same...LOL. She also sent some Zatarain's although Carole made me promise we won't eat it until she comes to the farm in June. Maybe we will have a good 'ole fish feast with rice and salad. Mmmmmm.......I don't know if we can wait Carole! I would say she sent the best to me. 8 ounces of Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale Pencil Roving in Tourmelaine for me to spin with!!!! My first spinning roving gift. I haven't even gotten the wheel yet! It is on order. What a woman. I am so touched by her thoughtfulness. You are something special Amanda. Thank you my dear sweet friend, you are so wonderful.

A very belated Happy Birthday to our funny, sunny 13 year old!

This is extremely late. Hard to believe Nick turned 13 two weeks ago already. I had intended to get this up much earlier but time just has a way of getting away from me. I want to give Nick his props because he is my hero. I met Nick when he was 22 months old. It was love at first site for both of us. Ed had Nick every other weekend and for time in the summer and during holidays so we made the most of our time. Nick was this little bundle of bustling energy with these huge brown eyes. He was sweet and cuddly and loved to be hugged and cuddled. I remember Nick always saying "pickee up, pickee up" and indeed he would spend most of his time on my hip. This cuddly little bug and I had loads of fun playing, shopping and having "book festivals" (me reading and Nick listening - his favourite books were Katy and the Snowstorm, Blueberries for Sal and any Dr. Seuss book). Nick's favourite movies when he was three were "Beauty and the Beast," "All Dogs go to Heaven" and "Farmtastics" (the ultimate movie about John Deere - it actually got stuck in the VCR it was played so many times and we had to have it surgically removed). He cried during The Hunchback of Notre Dame (this kid has a deep soul). We always had so much fun and I always had a difficult time believing that his biological mom never cuddled or played with him. He was this absolute cutie patootie. When Nick was 5 and 1/2 he was abducted by his biological mom(parental abduction is becoming so much more common). The judge ruled it "surreptious removal (which of course meant his mom wouldn't get charged)," but Nick experienced it as a kidnapping. It was a terrifying experience for Nick. The next 3 years involved us having lawyers in two different provinces and fighting for custody of Nick. We wouldn't have fought so hard for custody if Nick was happy and safe but his biological mother was abusive and cruel and with the help of husband #3 psychologically terrorized him and physically abused him. The sunny boy we had known became so changed and sad and hopeless. Several times he tried to hurt himself and was overheard on more than one occasion by teachers saying he wished he could die. It was, needless to say such a dark time for us. I had become sick, my sister had died and we never knew if Nick was going to survive another day. Prior to becoming sick I worked as a psychotherapist primarily with traumatized kids so I had some inkling to the damage Nick was experiencing. Nick is such a survivor though. He had this fantastic fantasy life and we had 45 minute phone calls every other night that he worked so hard to make the most of. It is so hard to comfort a child who is in pain, fear and despair. Nick finally came to live with us when he was 8 (it took 3 years in this crappy system that has no compassion or understanding of the lives of children) and slowly but steadily he has flourished. He learned to skate at 8 (his mom would not let him skate or take part in other activities) and he showed serious pluck. Last year he won an award for the best attitude in the United Counties Hockey League and this year he made the rep team and won an award for Most Improved Player. After not being able to read or write well (survival tends to take up a lot of time and energy) Nick has become an avid reader, far beyond his Grade level and his writing is creative and imaginative. He slept in our bedroom for the first year and a half after he came to live with us (fears of being taken again) but slowly his fears are becoming less and the laughter and joy are taking it's place. He has such strength, courage and determination. Nick has a will to live that impresses me. Nick plays the piano, the guitar, sings and took part in a community drama show last fall. He has a great sense of humour and wit and he loves to cook. We have worked to love our little boy believing that love heals so much. We have nutured his soul and his imagination; he is my renaissance boy. He has learned how to cross stitch and knit (although trucks, tractors and cars remain his first passion). And he loves hand knits! We are grateful for the opportunity to take care of Nick and appreciate every day he is with us. Nick had a great birthday! He got some great gifts (his favorite was the remote control Air Hog from Ed and I, the sweet set of golf clubs from my mom and dad, and the Detroit Red Wings - his favourite team - jersey he got from Carole). We went to his favourite Thai restaurant and then he went for a four day sleep-over at Sheree's. When he knew I would be blogging about his birthday he said it would be great if I could advertise for a toy drive for him (did I mention how cheeky this kid is??); he has been watching all these parcels and things arriving for Gracie. While I reminded him that this is so not the point, I did tell him I would work on a travel itinerary for him ( he already wants to go to Christy's) - so no gifts for Nick but if you would be willing to have him come and stay with you let him know (and where you live) and he can get excited about how popular he is and all the travels he can enjoy in the future. He is quite an adventurer and he will eat anything (and I am so serious about this - when we went to Newfoundland a couple of years ago he loved dining on cod cheeks and tongues and was truly disappointed that he wasn't able to indulge in Seal Flipper Pie. Yuk! He eats every kind of vegetable; he is not that keen on Swiss Chard tough. We love our spuba and we wish him a super duper 13th year!

I went spinning one day (a while ago it seems....)

So the infamous Carole and I went spinning a couple of Saturdays ago at Gemini Fibres. Unassuming little building on a road in the middle of nowhere - fibre palace inside. Oh my God! I was practically hyperventilating when we stepped in the doors. Book collection like I have never seen (and while I haven't travelled all over the world I have been in a few yarn and book stores and for those of you who know me I do know how to shop!) - I really wanted them to delay the class so I could just have a quick peruse, just a little one. And I was smart this time; I left the credit card at home and they don't use interact so I had to use cash. Thank God!! So the books are fantasmagoric (I made a list I tell you) and then there is the fibre and the equipment in the store. Oh my God! Crap it was good. So there was actually a class (although I admit I had trouble focusing because it would be like a chocaholic in the best chocolate factory) on drop spindles. I was a little anxious because I am just not that coordinated, and this involves some brain functioning. Thought I might be a little fucked because I went into the class tired, not feeling well and with my CFS flaring. And there were a lot of technical terms and some cranial stuff that needed to be discussed. I could feel myself checking out; I was so tired. We did some spinning in the morning. Eventually I sort of got it. Took an early lunch break(so I could buy rovings, books and a spindle - see all around you) and then I had to drive to the nearest town, find the one bank machine which, thankfully was working and then hustle back! Carole rode shotgun. She knows I am obsessed but I probably scared her. Bought my stuff and then we had the afternoon. We wound our spinning around our hand (okay I clearly don't remember all the technical terms, those of you who know may laugh out loud) and then twisted the spun fibre. After that we made two ply yarn. I am so freaking impressed with the fact that a bunch of wool can be made into something so amazing. Okay now I am not suggesting mine is impressive by any, any stretch of the imagination; my first skein is pretty sad although our instructor Wendy Whelan was kind and said it was the most even but it is pretty sad. And it appears that I suffer from not enough twist in the original spinning and too much twist in the second. But I have to say I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE IT!!! I bought a Tom Forrester Spindle (I can honestly say that before I walked in there I had no clue who he was but I do now!). Better yet I have ordered a Canadian Lendrum double treadle spinning wheel (thank you Amanda for all your fantastic advice) which should be arriving anytime between September and November (like that is how busy this guy is - apparently making most of them for customers in the States! LOL). I am so very very excited! As you can see I made some bloody great purchases and I am excited about this new stage of my knitting. Here is my very first skein of spindle handspun. Woo hoo! It is pretty bad but I can only get better.....

An Overcast Sunday

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! It is a lovely grey day here; perfect for blogging and knitting. Ed made me a lovely breakfast of some traditional Jamaican dumplings (we don't indulge too often; they are fried - and no photo - I ate all mine!) with Quince jam, turkey bacon and pomegranate juice. It was great! I got a gift for Mother's day too! This lovely handcrafted fluted pie server made out of Wild Cherry wood and this beautiful pie pan made by Monica at Frantic Farms. I so love their works; our wedding bowl was also made by Monica. Her husband Paulus does fantastic glass work. This was a real treat because I really don't expect anything on Mother's day. We don't really celebrate any of the traditional holidays - our motto is to appreciate each other everyday not just on some day that some retailer thought up 100 years ago. I will probably not be using the pie pan for pies; I think I might use it for some knitting notions. It is too pretty to put in the cupboard. I am busy knitting blue squares for Justin. Whatever anyone can do is appreciated. As the Warming Grace project takes hold and I figure out how it can best be utilized it will be exciting. My most immediate focus is this blanket for Justin which will end up being the first blanket - he desparately needs it! I am also going to spend some time today casting on a pair of socks. I have used DPN's for ages and know how to use the Magic Loop. I got this book, Crazy Toes and Heels Socks by the Queen and now I am going to teach myself how to knit 2 socks on 2 circs at the same time! This book is amazing and holy packed with information; made my head spin. It is fantastic! You must get one. I see so many of you doing this and I have to try it for myself. Kind of exciting and I cannot wait for one more method of liberation! I have the perfect bag for this project too. Jen's bags are wonderful. Go check her etsy site out. I will be buying a few more, I cannot help myself. I hope you all have a really good day today. Celebrate all your relationships; maternal and otherwise - hug someone you love and be so glad for that lovin'! Hug your yarn! Hug your pets! Hug a tree, a flower and anything else that suits your fancy - celebrate life!

Grace has a new home!

Grace has a new home! The project is getting so big I created a new blog just for Grace and her squares. You can check her out here. And there is already a new post! Let me know what you think!

I got my Sockapaloooza Socks!!!!

I got my socks today! Don't they freaking rock! And I didn't even know they had come! I had several packages in the mail, and assuming they were Warming Grace squares I left them until this afternoon. When I opened the package I only saw the material and I thought; "Wow, these are some seriously cool squares." I pulled out the postcard (see I am so much more interested in the notes you keep sending me with the squares!) and I am reading it and then it dawned on me: My Sockapaloooza Socks! Delivered under the radar! I pulled them out right away. Oh my God! They are so beautiful! My lousy photos make it look as if one is lighter than the other but that is the blinding sunlight and not the wool. My pal is Tara who hails from Ottawa. My pal has been knitting away less than 2 and a half hours from me and I never even knew it! I am sure Tara has been having a few laughs about that! Tara, these socks are so wonderful. The pattern is the infamous Pomatomus sock! I have been planning to knit these babies. And the sock yarn is Fleece Artist 100% Washable Merino Wool. Too funny. I was going to knit my sock pal's socks in this yarn (different colourway) and changed to Lorna's Laces! So I put them on right away and they haven't come off since. I love them! Thank you so much Tara - you are amazing (and so so so close!). I love my socks, woohoo, I love my socks, oh yeah, I love my socks, I'm never taking them off, oh yeah!

Warming Grace Update

It has been a busy, busy week. Lots of mail; lots and lots of mail. Lots of goodies, more draw prizes added to the mix. Monday's mail to the right. Tuesday's mail to the left. Wednesday's mail to the right. Thursday's mail to the left. Friday's mail to the right. That is a whole lotta squares (and other stuff!)! I continue to be blown away by your productivity and generosity. And knitters continue to email me and ask to added to the list - we are at 163 knitters! Words fail me. I must thank the following knitters whose squares I received this week: Aija, Ari, Becky, Beth K, Bethe, Dani, Deb, DeDe, Denise, Elisabeth, Elizabeth, Emy, Erin, Faith, Jackie, Jamie, Jane, Jenn, Karen B, Karen K, Kathy, Kelly, Kit F, Lin, Lisa H, Lisa, Lucia, Lucia, Michele, Michelle, Norma, Pacalaga, Sarah B, Sarah, Suzanna, Suzie and Tam! Whew! If I have made a mistake or not correctly connected you with your blog, please let me know. I have not emailed all of you yet and I do apologize - I have gotten a bit behind! I cannot thank everyone enough. The letters you have sent, the stories you have told and the inspiration you give me is wonderful. I am touched by the number of knitters who have knit for their children, for relatives and friends who are sick with or have been lost to cancer. I appreciate all the offers to help with the sewing (I will keep you posted on this issue...LOL). I do have to tell you a little story. In opening Monday's mail I found two packages of M&M's in Lucia's parcel. Ed and I were driving to Foxboro, Ontario at the time to pick up some organic chicken feed and I said to him that while I felt a little guilty I didn't actually think the M&M's were going to make it to Calgary (I do love M&M's; particularly the peanut version). Then I opened the note and found out they were for me! Yahoo! Okay they were supposed to be for sustenance during the sewing but sadly they didn't make it back to Warkworth - Ed and I eagerly gobbled them, guilt free, on the way back! My huge faux pas? I emailed the wrong Lucia to thank her for the M&M's and she emailed me back to say it wasn't her! (Note to self: next time I run some hugemungous project make sure to have everyone include their email and blog with their mailings!). Thank you Lucia!! Bethe sent this really cute little bear and two lip glosses for Grace. It is a very cuddly little guy. Thank you Bethe!

These lovely stickers (and I had to show you the cute little bunny sticking out of the square) come from Elizabeth. The square is absolutely adorable! Grace will love the stickers! Thank you so much Elizabeth! DeDe sent this lovely book along with her squares. It is such a beautiful and inspiring book. This book will be an inspiration for Grace and her family. Thank you DeDe! Emy sent these goodies all the way from Singapore! Nick was eyeballing these in a large way and I had to remind him that they were for Grace and Simone. Thank you so much Emy for the exotic treats!

This beautiful angel was made for Grace by Norma's daughter Abigail. It is so incredibly beautiful and I was so touched that Abigail made this just for Grace. Thank you so much Abigail - thank you! Jane sent these lovely bears along with her square - they are so cute! She also sent this really cool postcard for Grace that was made from an old postcard. Thank you Jane! Check out this bunny! This incredibly beautiful and sweet looking bunny was handcrafted by Lois, Michelle's mom. When I unwrapped the bunny I couldn't believe it - I am so touched by the work and care that Lois put into this stunning little creature. Grace will love it. Thank you so much Lois! Aija sent this beautiful skein of Brooks Farm Four Play Wool/Silk. I was not expecting this and so it was quite a pleasant surprise. It is lovely let me tell you. The colours are so lovely and rich; reluctantly (LOL) I will be sending this beauty along to some awesome square knitter. Thank you so much Aija for your incredible generosity! Kelly sent this lovely hand dyed, handspun yarn for one of the draws. It is such a lovely colourway and oh so soft. Someone is going to love this stuff! Thank you Kelly!

I also got 2 CD's from Faith that were made by her sister. I need to take photos of them (sorry Faith). They are children's CD's and I think that Grace and the other kids will love them! Thank you so much Faith! I have a couple of skeins of Fleece Artist Cashmere for the draw. It is 100% handpainted Cashmere and oh my, it is so incredibly soft!

I also have some other last minute yummy stuff for the draw; sadly Blogger is giving me some trouble with it but fear not I will get it on here somehow, someway..but not today!

I also received these incredibly wonderful handcrafted needles from Dorothy. Dorothy has made 6mm circulars in 29 and 60 inch lengths, and 9mm circs in 16, 20 and 24 inch lengths. They are really beautiful and the join between the needle and the circular cord is quite smooth. This is the first time that Dorothy has made her needles for knitters other than family (she has sold some locally) although I have to say I think she has done a spectacular job. I am dying to test these out but I don't want to take the markers off - we will have to get feedback from those who get the needles. Dorothy is willing to make the needles for others if they are interested. You can email her at duchofb@yahoo.com.

More needles from Dorothy. These are a set of 5 dpn's, 3.25 mm, 8 inches long. I don't know what the wood is but they are incredible. There are also 3 cable needles, 3.25mm (each 3 inches long). Thank you Dorothy for your incredible generosity! I also want to mention an important website given to me by Dorothee. Dorothee is a bone marrow donor and she wants everyone to know that this valuable service is very much needed and of little sacrifice of others to register and become donors. Please check out this website.

Adjectives fail me as I continue to receive squares and goodies and notes and cards. You are all wonderful. I have done the draw with Ed's help. I will post the winners tomorrow. I would like to email them all and the hour is getting so late (it's after 3am - there are times that working with Blogger is like using a dull knife on a piece of wood; agonizingly slow - and my email doesn't seem to be functioning much faster). Thanks for your ongoing patience!

Further Update:

So the draw has been done. I did have some last minute yarn entries (a bunch of Fleece Artist, Regia and Annabelle Fox - I have photos but Blogger is not being cooperative) which I added to the list of previous prizes. I entered everyone's name into the Lantern Moon basket and had Ed draw names (he enjoyed it very much!). I so seriously wish I have a prize for everyone and while I am excited for those who won I am just so touched with the enthusiasm and effort everyone put forth - thank you all! (And there is going to be another draw - more about that later!).

So the draw winners are:

The $100.00 gift certificates for Make 1 Yarns go to Samantha, Rhonda, Michelle, Erin, Aija and Jackie!

The STR and Pralines from Amanda go to J!

The Handmaiden Sea Silk goes to Lise!

The 2 skeins of Koigu go to Kit!

The skein of hand dyed from Celia goes to Kelly!

The Gracemarkers from Rabbitch and 2 skeins of Regia sock yarn go to Danielle!

The Necklace from Joy goes to Ari!

The skein of hand dyed, handspun from Kelly goes to Kathy!

The skein of Brooks Farm from Aija goes to Bethe!

A set of the circular needles from Dorothy and a skein of Fleece Artist Cashmere Scarf go to Tam!

Another set of the circular needles from Dorothy and a skein of Fleece Artist Cashmere Scarf go to Amy!

2 skeins of Regia sock yarn and a skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn go to Deb!

A skein of Fleece Artist Favourite Soft Mittens goes to Jenn!

8 skeins of Annabelle Fox Double Knitting Yarn go to Ann!

2 skeins of Regia sock yarn and a skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn go to DeDe!

Thank you to the generosity of our knitters. I hope those who won draw prizes enjoy their gifts. Most importantly, congratulations to you all! I will be posting about the details of the next draw (and some of the prizes I have already received tomorrow!).

A quick post and update

Hey all you lovely Grace knitters et al. It is late Thursday night (early Friday morning) and we are just back from Toronto; had a visit with my doctor and an IV and we took Nick out for dinner. I had planned to post about the mail from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday today but did not get time before we had to go and we are so late coming home I just can't muster up the energy to get it done tonight (and believe me when I tell you there has been alot of mail!). More parcels are waiting for me at the Post Office (which is closed right now) and I am sure that more will arrive with tomorrow's mail. I am off to my parents tomorrow morning for my drop spindle spinning class on Saturday and I will not be back until Sunday. Ed has promised to pick up all the parcels for me tomorrow afternoon when he gets back from work - he has been so great with everything! I am so sorry for the delay in posting all the great news I have to date (as well as whatever is awaiting me from today and tomorrow). There is also the draw for all the squares I have received. I am hoping that you will all be patient with me. I also had plans to do a post for Nick today (yesterday) as it was his 13th birthday ( a big milestone). I promise to get a post up on Sunday with everything. I will make sure I have emailed everyone whose squares I have received today and tomorrow, get the draws done (I wish I had something for everyone because you all ROCK!) and get everything else done that needs to be done. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sockapaloooza Socks.....DONE!

Despite of a couple of setbacks these babies are ready for the mail! On time!! Elfine's Socks Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Gentle Lime Addi Turbos 2.5mm Magic Loop I hope my sockapaloooza pal likes them.

Warming Grace Update

Wow. What a week! There are now 155 knitters participating in the Warming Grace Project. I cannot thank everyone enough. I have been touched by your generosity of spirit and enthusiasm, and by your stories. Most people have been touched by cancer and everyone has a story to tell with respect to personal struggles and the pain of life. Thank goodness for our ability to survive and thrive! I am sure you all remember my post with the first arrival of squares. Lots and lots of squares from Birdsong, Carole, Celia, Christina, Francesca, J, Janice, Jessa Lu, Jessica, Joanne, Katie, Kathie, Monika, Rhonda and Samantha. I must admit I have not started photographing the squares so they are staying in their envelopes so no one's gets mixed up. There were a few gems in the first lot of packages that I would like to share (not necessarily all the gems and I apologize if anyone is upset that their gem is not on this post - there are so many!). Joanne's 4 year old son Zackery painted a beautiful flower for Grace. It is so cute I had to take a picture to show you. Grace will love it! Thank you very much Zackery! Kathie was incredibly generous! A box was delivered with a book, a pink elephant, a cute little bear and a pink pony; oh yes, there was also a pink square! Thank you so much Kathie! This week a lot of envelopes came; on Thursday and Friday! Dave, our mailman, must wonder what the heck is going on. Thursday's arrivals! More of Thursday's arrivals. And Friday's mail brought this! I must thank Ann, Anny, Amanda, Amy, Ariane, Batman, Celia, Danielle, Diane, Jean Anne, Julia, Kelli Ann, Kit, Lorie, Margene, Marnie, Megan, Rebecca, Rhonda, Sylvia and Wendy for all the squares - there are tons! They are beautiful, diverse in style, yarn and pattern and oh so pink! All the squares I have received so far are so wonderful and these blankets are going to be absolutely fabulous looking! The box at the bottom contained 24 skeins of pink and purple yarn from Wendy! Wow. I am not quite sure how I will use all the yarn; I am thinking that some will be used for edgings and I will use a bunch for making squares. Thank you Wendy! So very much! In addition to her squares, the yarn to the right was sent by Celia (who did this even as she was planning and getting ready for her wedding!) as part of the draw. This yarn, hand spun and hand dyed by Celia herself is gorgeous! Soft and yummy. It is going to make some lucky person a lovely, lovely pair of socks. We will all have to see! Celia has her own etsy site. Go check it out. Hopefully she has some yarn left; I loved the skein so much I went and ordered 4 for myself in different colours. But then again we all know my reputation! Seriously though the stuff is amazing. Thank you Celia! Along with her squares Jean Anne sent this little cutie. Jean Anne sent 5 squares, one for each person in her family that she has lost to cancer. My sympathies Jean. Cancer sucks. Thank you Jean Anne! The pink pig is from Dawn, who has not sent her squares yet but I know I will be getting them soon; Dawn is a pink lover extraordinaire! Good to see you at the Frolic Dawn! Thank you Dawn! I also received an email this week from Kerstin who has finished a blanket that she is sending for me to send along. You have to go and check it out here. Thank you Kerstin! Finally, Nick bought the bunny for his little cousin because he thought it was squeezy. I think he was hoping I would buy one for him but I will just let him be the surrogate hugger until the bunny has to fly out West. Thanks spuba! Thank you so much for all the squares. I anticipate loads more this week. And we will do the draw on Friday. I apologize in advance but I won't be able to post until Sunday due to my going to my first ever Spindle spinning class on Saturday. If I am able to do a very quick post on Friday before I leave I promise to do so! And, once I get those socks out of the way I will start photographing squares (I got Ed to go out and buy extra colour cartridges so I can print off the squares for the scrapbook) and I will endeavour to post as many as I can in the next couple of weeks. Psssssttt....... about those socks. I have number one done (the cuff is sitting on needles) and I will begin number two today - it's looking very very hopeful! I will post photos tomorrow!

More Knitting Conundrums.......

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their best wishes on me getting better - it worked! I have turned a corner on the coldus/virus horriblus and I feel a lightening of the fogginess in my brain - I am a happy happy woman! Onwards and upwards, knitting conundrums and all. As you recall, #1 (My Stash) was dealt with on Tuesday. I am feeling the pride, unabashedly! Conundrum #2 Unfinished Objects I have unfinished objects - they stare at me in my 'knitting room,' and from the sidebar of this blog. I have contemplated removing them from the sidebar (as though somehow that would help me to remove them from my psyche). I have unfinished objects so close to being finished it is stupid! I also have unsewn finished objects which I have shown in the hopes that it would motivate me to sew them up - hasn't happened yet (but I think I am getting close!). I do have various UFO's (see sidebar - LOL) but here are a just a few (no one has that much time!): Four Seasons Cardigan from Morehouse. Thought it would be a breeze; solid knitting, top down and yet when I got to the sleeves couldn't get my tension the same again so I stopped. That string hanging out at the bottom looks like an umbical cord (which makes sense because this mommy still hasn't birthed this baby!). How long would it actually take to put in the sleeves - hours? A day? And there is like almost no sewing! Sundby from Noro. Possibly a worse indiscretion. It only took me about three days to knit the body (neck included for no extra pickups!) and all it awaits are the sleeves. Bulky yarn, knits up quick, how long would it really take? A couple of days, minimal sewing and BAM! finished. Yet it sits and sits and I look and I look and it remains not finished. This is the Pewter Lace Shawl from Interweave Knits (Spring 2003). I had originally started this a couple of years ago to give to the Minister who was going to marry Ed and myself (we lived together for about 9 years before I agreed to the hand sweating ceremony). We eloped instead (after 10 years of living together; I never have been one to live conventionally). So the shawl is not finished - I think it is about halfway done and oh my God I know I should have just finished and maybe left the border (it's Lace - I have to go back and restart the Lace - aaagghhhh!). It is so beautiful and I so want to finish it but..... And here is Heartland from Jo Sharp. Look the sleeves are done on this one! This requires the finishing of the front and back from the armhole to the neck, about maybe 4 inches or so. Again minimal finishing (3 needle bind off at the shoulders, pick up and knit the neck, sew in the sleeves). This conundrum is big. Clearly not much to do and yet I have not finished them (the list is relatively long and yet for the most part, most of these items are more than 50% finished). I have four theories. Do you remember when you were in school and you had a deadline for a paper or an essay and for whatever reason you missed the due date, and then once that happened, did you find your momentum going right down the toilet? This is one possibility but that would only apply to the wedding shawl. Another possibility - A.D.K.D. (Attention Deficeit Knitting Disorder) which is more akin to something that seems more exciting comes along and voila! easy to put down the current project. Maybe. Third possibility - fear. Can't get the tension right on that all in one cardi that seemed so easy and maybe it's not so if I avoid it, won't have to deal with it and feel really really stupid. Fourth possibility - my illness and the dumbing down fatigue that makes simple patterns, at times, absolutely impossible for my suddenly pea sized brain. That is definitely applicable to the Heartland sweater. But I hate using my illness as an excuse. I keep telling myself I should just take a month (or three), finish, sew, sew some more and mostly apply myself and all of this will be taken care of. That, or post my dirty laundry/knitting and shame myself into it. Conundrum #3 Stornoway I bought the real stuff. Real gansey wool all the way from England from the special sheep to knit a true Fishermen's Sweater (Alice Starmore). I even knit and blocked a swatch! With true excitement I started out on this beauty (for my sweet Ed). Of course I had to rip it out the first time because I had used the wrong size needle (forgot to switch after the rib!) I must now admit I hate knitting it. I would rather poke myself in the eye with a needle (not a Lantern moon but something less valuable). I hate the feeling of the gansey, I hate the fact that it is not soft, has little give and I knit and knit and knit with little progress. Perhaps in the future I will like the gansey. Perhaps I will have to visit Alice's website and buy what they suggest (although I have no guarantee that it will be softer). At any rate, and because I do not want yet another UFO, by the time you read this I will have ripped (I will not use the PC term frog because I really want to rip) this puppy out. In it's place (and this is where having a jugemongous stash certainly helps) I have started Anjuli by Jo Sharp. I am loving it! Garter stitch, so it doesn't matter how foggy my brain is, with colour changes. The wool is full and springy and feels so wonderful in my hands. The pattern, tres tres simple. I was not sure about the colours at first but they are growing on me. I will not think about the sewing (although I think sewing 5" squares will give me a better affinity for it!). Conundrum #4 My Sockapaloooza Socks See that yarn and that pattern? These are supposed to be my Sockapaloooza socks. Unstarted as of Tuesday. Due to be mailed on May 2nd (next Tuesday). Way back when, oh before the Olympics, I was thinking lots of time, tons of time. I'll start them after the Olympics. No problem. Didn't count on being tired after that little event. Didn't count on starting the Grace Project and being derailed by my ongoing program at the clinic and feeling overwhelmed. Didn't count on being sick for a month. Lesson here: start earlier. Don't count on life flowing smoothly. I did finally cast on on Tuesday afternoon. It is the magic loop method, toe up. Damn, the yarn is fine and the needle is small. This will be a miracle akin to turning water into wine. I was feeling hopeful on Tuesday, figured if I got into the leg by Thursday I could put these puppies to bed easily in time to be mailed by Tuesday. I am now starting to sweat. It is Thursday and I am not at the heel yet. I am still believing that I can do this. I plan to knit like a fiend (don't have to go to Toronto again until next Thursday so my calendar is clear) and get these done. I have a HUGE Warming Grace post to do but I will plan to do that on Saturday so I can try to get sock one done and have sock two underway. I will solve this conundrum anyway. At least this one!

Knitting Conundrums

First I must say thank you so much for all the well wishes; it feels good knowing there is so much positive energy out there - I need it! Today is my list of knitting conundrums. You know the problem (well not always) with being chronically fatigued is that your brain and thought processes still continue (and at times I have too much time to think..as evidenced by my last post!) and I have had some things on my mind. Here they are in no particular order: 1. My Stash When I flashed my stash on April 1st, I couldn't believe the number of hits I got! My stash was a superstar and certainly garnered some attention. The process was interesting for me. Flashing made me giddy and it made me realize how much I really love my stash(it's kind of like showing your underwear!)..not because I have so much of it or even because it is so well organized (okay maybe partly) rather, because it represents so much for me. I feel no shame in my stash; I don't have it in hiding (and I used to have it in less visible bins which drove me nuts because I couldn't see what I had) and I am surrounded by it everyday. My husband Ed sees it everyday and he has never complained or criticized my stash and even if he did I wouldn't care - I love my stash! My stash represents hope; hope of the day I get better and can knit what I have. My stash represents my style, my colour palette, my love of yarns I love to put my hands and face on. I know that while I may not be as fast as Wannietta - who is? - I can be very focused at times and get things done - I remember back to knitting 2 sweaters in less than a month so I know I can do it (okay sewing them up took another 3 months but hey what can I say?). I don't see my stash as SABLE and even if it is so what? As a society we are so focused on what is wrong, where our faults lie, why we all aren't perfectly thin, beautiful and rich that we carry this everywhere in our lives. My stash has been accumulated with care (with the exception of two purchases it all has a project) and I accept the fact that I will always be able to experience fibre with my eyes and hands so much faster than I can knit it up. There is something so primordial about fibre; perhaps because it engages so many of our senses and perhaps because of the basic comfort it gives us. I think that it is interesting that the stash most knitters have consists mostly of yarn we plan to knit up for others and less for ourselves. Knitters are quite a unique bunch; we have a joie de vivre about our fibre, we jump enthusiastically into projects which involve more altruistic purposes (i.e., Warming Grace now has 150 participants!) and yet we have more angst, guilt, shame, justifications and discussions about our stashes than anything else. Why? We should never feel bad about our stashes - I don't think (perhaps I am wrong) there is a knitter out there feverishly buying yarn, suffering cold sweats and jitters if they don't, not feeding the kids or paying the bills because they have to have it. When I joined SYAC I hadn't flashed and I hadn't thought about the addict part - I am not an addict. My bad. The connotation is too negative for me. I really enjoy my yarn purchases and my sock yarn purchases and I don't feel that I am buying in some out of control frenzy that is affecting the quality of my life. Sock yarn is wonderful - there is a reason it is so popular; you can buy a skein or 6 and get so much in return. Currently I have enough sock yarn for over 60 socks. Woo! Some of you may say way too much! I say that if I was well enough and decided to knit a pair a week (totally realistic even with other knitting) it would take me a little over a year to knit it all up. The beauty of yarn is that there is no expiry date, I won't get fat over it, it never talks back and it won't eat me out of house and home. Anny reminded me of Ghandi's quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world." I have it on my computer desk and see it there everyday and I think about the multitude of implications this has in every area of my life. In the small world of my knitting what I want to see is more joy, more revelry, more pride and less shame in my stash. I will knit it as I am able, I will add to when I want and I will enjoy every minute of it! With this in mind I am enthusiastically a part of Stash Pride! Vive la revolution! Postscript: Sorry for the lack of photos and I will post the rest of my conundrums tomorrow! I am going to roll in my stash! Woohoo!

An Apology and a bunch of other stuff.....

It is already Sunday again and I haven't posted for a week. I so want to apologize for being such a neglectful blogger girl; not writing on my blog and but so much more importantly for not visiting very many other blogs for what seems like a few weeks. I am so sorry. Between being sick, my CFS flaring and the accompanying paralyzing fatigue, trying to stay on top of the Warming Grace project and simple day to day tasks I have been able to do little else. I feel so disconnected and disjointed. I miss my old routine (which I was barely on top of anyway!). I try to whine little. I try not to complain too much about this freaking illness that eeks away at the quality of my life. I am feeling a little whiny right now (actually I would like to curl up in the fetal position and wail). Getting my head cold was probably the camel breaking straw (and after all these years I still don't always catch the signs) - I am still sick (I have earaches in both ears - painful really - since Wednesday night; still mucousy, blah, blah, blah) and I cannot begin to explain the kind of fatigue I experience - it is this life sucking, brain fogged, dragging my ass through each moment horrible crap. I am so sorry. I am going to endeavour to get out there and visit all you lovely bloggers. All I want to do is sleep (but that isn't happening well either - it all comes crashing down at the same time) and get rid of my joint aches. At the same time I feel so disillusioned with all that is happening in our world. As I look out my window and see nothing but green grass, trees and nature I feel despair for the natives protesting as they continue to receive no compensation from our government for all we have taken from them (I am a 9th generation Canadian but, still an immigrant) and feel that protesting is their only option left; 4 more Canadian soldiers dead (not including the thousands of American soldiers killed as well as the other Canadian soldiers killed and civilians) because as a society in general we can't figure out how to get along and greed and power rule the world; all those sick and suffering; the levels of poverty which will only get worse with global warming, the rise in gas prices and our ongoing inability to truly care about each other's suffering and to engender proactive ways to resolve them. How are we going to change the world for better for our children? And what kind of children are we raising? I am in a mood. Again I am so sorry. The knitting community warms me. And my friends. And my family. And my 'ole dog Gryphon. I am very fortunate. Today is my best friend, Carole's, birthday. Happy Birthday Carole! Carole is amazing; she is kind, patient, generous, compassionate and loyal. We laugh a lot together. She is there for me and is so incredibly tolerant of all my illness related failings. Carole rocks. She is always up for an adventure and she has enthusiastically allowed me to lead her astray. My friendship with Carole is a gift. We had planned to meet on Friday and stay the night at the Crowne Plaza before going to the DKC's Knitters Frolic yesterday. They had an incredible rate ($130.00 for both of us for the one night!) and I knew I wouldn't be able to drive down from the farm on Saturday. I had to really push myself to get there on Friday (I am so tired) but you know it was really worth it and I kept thinking about my buddy Carole! We had a nice dinner in our room (Ed and Nick were there to help celebrate) and then this lemon pie thingy for dessert. We gave Carole some really groovy gifts; a Jordana Paige messenger bag, 2 skeins of Artyarns, 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces and 2 skeins of Fleece Artist (and if I was more with it I would have taken pictures!). Thanks to Amy from Make 1 Yarns and Village Yarns for the goodies! The Frolic was good. I ended up not staying for the whole day; I really wasn't feeling well so I bailed halfway through the day which was a good decision (I didn't get to my last class but Carole got the handout and took notes, lots of notes). I have to say this was the first time I have missed a class; I usually go regardless of how I am feeling. The weather was so crappy (rainy, foggy and generally miserable) and the drive was long. I took a Celtic Cables class with Fiona Ellis - she is amazing; and a Chart Reading class with Joan Kass - she rocks too! I saw so many awesome people there that was definitely worth it. The Market was bigger than last year and there was lots of stuff to see. I am sorry I was not able to truly appreciate it all. Village Yarns was there and I got to see Karen, Julia, Patrick and Wanda; Ann and Carol (FinishTouch1@aol.com) were there with their amazing blocking kits and Carol's cool buttons; Needle Emporium had groovy stuff for sale and I saw not only Julie, but also her sister Beth and Bev Nimon (I have a photo but I know they will kill me if I post it so I won't!). It was great to see Bev and she was wearing this amazing sweaters (details I cannot remember) ; but then Bev always looks amazing. I did pick up 2 skeins of Mountain Colors sock yarn I had ordered a while ago from Julie. It is so nice. Ellen from Needles and Pins was there and Gloria, who also teaches at Village, was helping her out. There is no question that how I felt had an impact on my minimal amount of shopping. I bought some Soak. If you can get your hands on this stuff; do! It smells lovely and wool washed with it does not have that wet wool smell after. It comes in 3 fragrances; Flora, Aquae and Citrus. You have to try it. I also got a skein of 100% Alpaca from Hidden Touch (hiddentouch@magma.ca) to make a scarf for Ed. It is so soft; it is lovely. I am truly sorry I wasn't able to peruse more. There was a lot of great wool there and I wish I could have bought some. I can tell I was not well; I came home with next to nothing! I have to say though that I was so glad to get home yesterday and just curl up. I always hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Warming Grace Update When I got home look what was waiting for me (see below)! Okay it wasn't waiting outside but I am starting to get squares, lots of squares. There are 146 knitters registered and I admit I am getting excited about how great these blankies are going to look! I want to give a HUGE shout out of thanks to J, Kathie, Janice, Francesca, Carole, Celia, Birdsong, Joanne, Jessa Lu, Jessica, Samantha, Katie, Christina, Monika and Rhonda for your squares! They are beautiful and so soft! All the extra goodies are amazing. I promise to take pictures and get posting but I so wanted to make sure you know how much this is appreciated! You are so wonderful.

Warming Grace

Happy Easter y'all! Okay I am so not Southern but I think I would like to have the drawl and the kick ass attitude Southern women seem to have! Warming Grace is hot! hot! hot! There are 135 knitters registered as of this morning! 135! From four different continents! I am gobsmacked! Knitters are amazing amazing people. I am going to review information on today's post so that those looking will know where to find it all (I have had a few requests for this so here it be).

• As of today, and because I have received so many requests wanting to make them and because I cannot deny the little boys their turn any longer, I will take any colour square. 5" squares, any pattern, in 100% soft cotton or wool. If you have already committed to making pink squares please do and hey if you want to make more please do so! NO square will be turned away.
• The Warming Grace Project will be open ended; that is as long as I keep receiving squares I will make blankets for the little tykes at Alberta's Childrens Hospital Oncology Wing.
• Please email me at cynicked@sympatico.ca if you would like to sign up. Make sure that you have an email address that I can get back to you at. I am so excited about people signing up but it is so frustrating when I can't find you! And I want to find you!
• Any squares I receive by or on May 4 are eligible for the draw. You will be entered the same number of times as squares I receive. The draw has been a totally unexpected but beautiful gesture on the part of a number of people to be able to reward you for your willingness to participate. I know that the reward is just doing the squares (and for me that is such an amazing thing) but hey, the items are wonderful and the list has grown! As of today we have:

1. 5 $100.00 gift certificates to Make 1 Yarns courtesy of Jamie and Adrienne, Grace's Dad and Mom;
2. 1 $100.00 gift certificate to Make 1 Yarns courtesy of Make 1 Yarns;
3. 1 skein of STR medium weight yarn in Lagoon and Pralines courtesy of Amanda;
4. 1 skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk courtesy of me;
5. 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM courtesy of me;
6. 1 skein of hand dyed, hand spun yarn courtesy of Celia;
7. 1 set of "Gracemarkers" (stitchmarkers) courtesy of Janice;
8. 1 handmade necklace courtesy of Joy
9. 1 skein of hand dyed, hand spun yarn courtesy of Kelly; and
10. 2 x 6mm (29" & 60") and 1 x 9mm (16") handmade wooden circular needles courtesy of Dorothy.

WHEW!!!!! Unbelievable!

I am speechless. The number of participants, the draws, the sewing I am going to have to do! Actually I am also getting volunteers for sewing help - yea! I am going to do Grace's blanket all by myself (as a good Auntie should!) but I will definitely be getting some help with all the other blankies until things settle down to a nice steady pace (there is a part of me hoping that that never happens until the Oncology Wing is empty...)!

The Mailman has cometh!

Note: I apologize for the brevity of this post; I have a wicked head cold and between the sneezing, the runny nose and the watering eyes I am feeling more like a cyclops and less like a proficient blogger (I keep seeing the word blooger; you know blogger and booger combined - oh yes, this is why I need to go to bed!). Warming Grace Update Sign ups continue: We now have 111 participants! Yes 111! You knitters out there are blowing me away! I am so excited! We are going to provide comfort to a few little kiddies. I was speaking to my brother the other night and he was telling me that the hospital Grace attends, Alberta's Childrens Hospital, has been on Code Burgundy for the past month. When I asked him what that meant he said that all the beds were full and children diagnosed with cancer were being turned away. Turned away! You find out that your child is ill, ill with cancer, and you are then told that you will not receive treatment at this hospital which specializes in Pediatric Oncology. I was, and remain, stunned. I have always believed that children, being the adults of the future, have basic rights but obviously the right to immediate crisis care is not one of them. There is a new hospital which is supposed to open up later in 2006 with 20 more beds but what are these parents to do in the meantime? Selfishly, I am praying that Grace does not have a relapse that would require hospitalization anytime in the near future - they wouldn't have room for her! I have begun receiving squares (and other goodies!). J has sent three with a mystery envelope for Grace and is making more! Kathie from N Attleboro, MA sent 1 square (and her blank postcard - THANK YOU!) and a book and 3 stuffed pink animals (an elephant, a pony and a cute little Easter Bunny) for Grace! Kathie, you shouldn't have. Dawn, who has not sent in her squares yet also gave me a pink pig for Grace. Thank you so much guys!!! I can honestly say that I don't know quite what to say (and not just because of my head cold!). Please don't feel that you need to send anything other than the squares and postcards. I am so happy and grateful to receive the squares and postcards. More knitters are coming forward with more items for the draw: Joy has offered to make a necklace in the receiver's choice of colour and style (I don't yet have a link to her site). Rabbitch is sending me some handmade stitch markers to draw. Thank you Rabbitch and Joy!!! And, in more good news: Irene from Paris, France has written a blurb about the Warming Grace project on Blogging Baby. Please go check it out! Thanks so much Irene! Thank you seems so inadequate however I don't know of another phrase that could adequately express my appreciation and gratitude at everyone's outright generousity, kindness and enthusiasm in this project...to me this is the epitome of what is right about knitters and the best parts of our society ( if only we ran the world!). Yarn Aboard! I got a parcel in the mail today - for me! The sender; Christy from Florida! This is the same Black and Decker Drill Box that has been all over the world it seems and is doing a fantastic job as a purveyor of fine yarns for Yarn Aboard. Inside the box: 8 skeins of sock yarn! This stash proud woman is so happy to give these beauties a home! There are 4 skeins of Fortissima (solid red and black/red striped), 1 skein of Cascade Fixation and 3 skeins of Koigu (I love the rich tones)! There was also a sticker from the Ron Jon Surf Shop - Nick has his eye on this baby! Thank you so much Christy! Thanks to Amanda for such a great concept! If you have never been to her blog go visit; it is one classy, awesome blog! A quick story: on the way back from picking up the parcel Nick was enquiring about the concept of Yarn Aboard. When I explained to him that the box had travelled all over the States and Europe his response was; "Let me smell the box mom - I want to smell Florida, I want to smell what Germany smells like!" I could only smile. Kids. So, I hope I haven't forgotten anything...I must go rest my mucous clogged head.

Warming Grace Update

91 registered knitters (not to mention associated relatives, S 'n B's, work colleagues, knitting groups) making squares and still more people signing up!! Wait; now it is 93!!! Woohoo! I am tickled "pink!" I have some news to share: 1.Gracie's friend Simone also has leukemia and she was diagnosed 2 weeks after Grace so they are more or less at the same stage in their treatment. 2. My brother, Jamie, and his wife, Adrienne, are bowled over at the response to this little project (are we, as a knitting community, surprised by our kick butt generosity? NO!!). As a result, and as a small token of their appreciation, they are donating $500.00 in gift certificates (5 times $100.00) from Make 1 Yarn Studio, a brand new very cool yarn shop (owned in part by the famous indi girl herself Amy Swenson) located in Calgary, Alberta where my Jamie, Adrienne, Thomas, Grace and Annabella live. Thank you Jamie and Adrienne! When I talked to Amy about what we were doing she threw in another $100.00 gift certificate! Now I know that everyone has volunteered because they want to help but isn't great that there are a few rewards to sweeten the deal! Thank you Amy! 3. Amanda has purchased a skein of medium weight STR in Lagoon and she is throwing in some real Lousiana Pralines as well! Thank you Amanda!! 4. For my part I have purchased 1 skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk and 2 skeins of Koigu. I wish I could give everyone who is being so generous something in return, but we will have 9, no, 10 draws for contributors! 5. Updated!! Celia has graciously offered to donate a skein of her hand dyed and hand spun wool for another draw - all the way from Australia. She has a store in Esty - go check it out!! More information when I have it! Thank you Celia!! The way it will work is I will enter your name as many times as squares that I receive and then we will draw ( I promise not to put my own name in at all but I sure would love to!). All the knitters whose squares I receive by May 04, 2006 will be entered into the draw. I will still continue to take squares as long as you knit them so keep on knitting and sending them! Don't forget to send postcards with your squares. If you haven't heard from me, it may be because I don't know how to get in touch with you (Knittymama) or I have tried to email you and it hasn't gone through (Monika). Please email me at cynicked@sympatico.ca with your email address so I can give you my mailing address. Thanks so much. I am so excited about the response and the joy we are creating. Thanks is actually so inadequate but I have no other words to properly express how I am feeling - I have been touched by your grace.

I love you Annie Modesitt!!

Oh what a week! What a weekend! I developed this raging headcold on Wednesday (which I have to say totally pissed me off - Ed and Nick have been sick over the winter and I never got a thing - two days before my knitting workshops..boom..mucous clogging brain freeze complete with the nose plug, hoarse voice and no hearing). Did it make a difference to my going to see Annie - NO FREAKIN' WAY!! (I must apologize to those who had to sit near my infectedness - I generally tend to be one of those people who respects the rules of the diseased and does not wish to pass along colds to anyone else but knitting has this effect on me....). So Friday night was Four Ways of Changing Colour at Lettuce Knits. As always Megan was delightful. Meeting Annie was an experience I doubt I will ever forget. The class was fabulous! Annie is hilarious: she is witty, quirky and probably knows the facts and tunes to every TV show ever on the air; she is unpretentious, gifted, intelligent and believes in the strengths of being an intuitive knitter. This bodes well for any student in her class. She also has this thing for her Scunci Steam Blocker. I didn't take a photo of it but she may be working as a undercover salesperson for the steamer - she can give an entire demo of the many benefits of the steam blocker (including cleaning the oven, windows and giving yourself a facial) in less than 5 minutes but I have to say I was totally impressed at the way it blocked out the yarn swatches in about 3 seconds! Amazing. The class was great and we learned so much. We worked on Stranded Knitting and floats, both untwisted and twisted. We worked on intarsia. We did some plaid work. Annie has a lot of very useful tips and tricks to making aspects of colour joins tighter, less stressful and more enjoyable. Her method of describing work (we had a little time at the end and she demonstrated cables without a cable needle and picking up stitches) colourful to say the least (picking up stitches had something to do with the cossacks going straight through the crotch of grandma...you had to be there but it was so hilarious! Did I mention that prior to the workshop when my good buddy Carole and I were walking over to Big Fat Burrito (amazing place) I slipped on the curb and did the total flat out face plant on the sidewalk? Couldn't believe it - managed to save my face (the physical one that is; my othere face felt totally humiliated) but I am feeling the effects today - sore joints, a couple of scrapes on my knee and some swelling; don't fall when you have Fibromyalgia. On Saturday it was off to see Annie for two classes at Village Yarns. Village has really changed the look of the store and it was rockin'! To the left we have Margaret and Patrick. Margaret is an institution at Village. She is an amazing person (and has helped me finish many a project mostly because she can't bear to see me struggle...LOL). I have been so guilty of milking Margaret's willingness to help out because I hate finishing so much! Not that this is a well kept secret or anything! Patrick was instrumental in stylizing the look of the workshop and of our lunch. Nice going Patrick. Patrick is quite the joker although I have to say that Annie threw a few zingers his way throughout the day. I failed to mention when I Flashed my Stash way back on April 1st, that I should give Village Yarns credit for helping me to build at least 70% of that stash - thanks guys! Carole and I were taking the Cocoon Twisted Float Shrug (yes the one on the cover of Vogue Knitting Fall 2005) in the morning and the Regal Silk Ribbed Corset in the afternoon. The Cocoon Twisted Float Shrug turned out to be such a surprise for me - I love it! The sample Annie had for the class was made with Artyarns which I have to say I liked so much more than the one in the magazine. It may have been the colours or even the cuffs or perhaps even just seeing it up close and personal. The best thing about this shrug - it is worked in one piece so there is no sewing! We made two swatches. The first swatch was to work the twisted float (the colour workings on both sides make it a reversible shrug/jacket). You can see on the piece below that the reverse side of the piece ends up looking somewhat like a herringbone pattern which is the outside of the shrug. We also worked what would be the sleeve pick up using an interesting method of creating the opening for the sleeve and then taking up the stitches to knit. Our second swatch was to mirror the start of the shrug, put it into the round while working both the increases and the twisted floats to give us an idea of what we would be doing and achieving. The possibilities of colourways and yarn weights are endless; Annie spoke of her love of designing so that the knitting is intuitive and this pattern can be easily (EASILY) adapted to any size of body or any kind of yarn. Could anything be better than that? We had a fantastic lunch courtesy of Village. Fresh, healthy, delicious and with some decadent delights for dessert. Excellent job Village people (I mean Karen, Patrick and Julia)! The afternoon class was also a surprise. I love you Annie; you design for all knitters. The Corset was beautiful (also in Artyarns) and again incredibly designed to be knit in one piece starting with the top and working your way up to the bottom! The swatch we worked involved making the ruffled lace edge which doesn't curl because it is a garter stitch. I loved the pattern which involves a VDD (read Vertical Double Decrease although VVD sounds more like some Venereal Disease to be honest); it ends up creating the scalloped edge in this simple and beautiful way. We worked a bit of the body ribbing, practiced the sleeve cast off and then ended up some crochet (mine only looks so fantastic and decorative because Annie worked on it). Annie is this amazingly fast combination knitter and a wicked crocheter. I have to say I always love taking classes when you watch the teacher whipping through a technique with the greatest of ease, making it look so easy and of course often when you try these things later in the safety of your own home (away from the blush and confidence of the classroom experience) it just doesn't seem to go quite as well. I plan to make both the Corset and the Shrug. I feel as though I can't help myself. I want to start on the Shrug NOW! (I have a kit in Fleece Artist Kid Silk for the Shrug) I must admit that I am hating Stornoway right now. I really want to make some things right now that knit up quickly and with some lovely warm wools that comfort you while you are knitting; all the things that Stornoway is not doing for me. I am trying to be more disciplined about finishing what I have started but I fear I am about to fall off that cart - and hard!! I was so happy to get home last night. Dorothy was right - there is no place like home! Warming Grace Update We have 75 confirmed knitters and growing! I am absolutely thrilled with the response. If I am sewing together 10 blankets I don't care! There are lots of other little girls at the hospital Gracie goes to who are also dealing with cancer so they will go to a good cause. Knitters rock! You are all truly amazing and thank you is so absolutely inadequate.

Warming Grace Update

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your enthusiastic response - I must say I have been teary at times. I spoke with my brother yesterday who was, quite frankly, blown away (okay, he is not a knitter and he even laughed at my Olympic Knitting medal so he clearly doesn't understand the knitting community!). I asked him about another possible recipient for a blanket because clearly - and thankfully - I will have more than enough squares for two warming blankets. It turns out that Grace's best friend is Simone, who also has cancer (they met at the hospital) so two groovy pink girlie girl warming blankets will be done! I am hoping to get a picture of Grace and Simone so I can post them on the blog. In more good news, Amanda, has generously offered to donate a prize to one of the knitters making squares. I realize that volunteering to make a square(s) has nothing to do with getting a prize but I am not going to say no to such wonderful generosity! Thank you very much Amanda! I am also going to donate a gift (brand new and not from my ginormous stash - woowee, it means I can buy and not be accumulating!). I will do the draw after all the squares are received (deadline April 30). In more news, Wendy, is donating her entire stash of Pink and Purple Leila (there is quite a bit) so, with the help of some local (Toronto) help I will make yet another blanket for some little girl out there. You knitters are so amazing! Of course, anyone who wants to join please do! Details are in the post below - no square will be turned away!

Warming Grace

First I have to say thank you! The knitting community is amazing. So many people have volunteered to knit squares for Grace and continue to do so! I have had several questions so I thought I would put them all in one place. 1. 5" squares in soft wool or cotton in ANY pattern is perfect. I am thinking if I get the squares by the end of the month I will then put it together (is there some irony in the fact that this "I hate to sew" knitter is taking on this project? LOL ! I can do this for Grace) I know we have seen this photo but it is my favourite! 2. When signing up make sure I have your email so that I can send you my snail mail address. If you have signed up and you haven't heard from me, email me at cynicked@sympatico.ca so that I can get you my address. 3. Amanda kindly made a button (on my sidebar) - please feel free to take it! Thanks Amanda; it is really beautiful! 4. When sending your square please send a blank postcard from where you hail. I want to photograph each square and paste the photo on the back with the knitter. This will be a great way for Grace and her parents to understand where all the squares are coming from (and I am going to make a little scrapbook type binder to hold them all!). 5. Please put a note in for Grace if you want. While she may not comprehend it all right now; she will in the future and I am sure that her parents will keep the notes in her memory box. 6. About Grace - she loves Barbie, flowers, jewellry, painting her nails and chicken fingers. She is all about anything girlie girl, teddy bears and cuddly things. She has a very sweet laugh and a soft little voice. She is absolutely in love with Nick. 7. I know that there will be more than enough squares for one blanket. So I will keep putting together what I get (with what I make - even Nick is volunteering to make a square or two); I know that there are other little girls in need - whether at the Children's Cancer Center where Grace is or somewhere else (if you know of someone email me!). I will be in touch with my brother and his wife to find out if there is a another little girl they know of. My plan is to make the blanket bright and colourful in all shades of girly pink and maybe even some purples. I hope to knit some flowers and applique where appropriate. I am researching my edging. Carole O Clowe, one my knitting buddies, summed it up best when she emailed me: "We are all Embracing Grace - we are all joining together to embrace her with warmth, love and strength." As knitters we know better than anyone else the power of what we create. Regardless of who we knit for I think we knit miracles. I am glad that Grace is on our list right now! Thank you.

An Ode to Robin, A Happy Birthday, A lot of Thanks and A Suggestion

It's a brand new week and I have a few things to say...... 1. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the visits and lovely comments about my stash and my organization. I actually think I am so proud of my organization more so than my stash acquisition (pride there would be being well enough to get it all knit - soon!). I soooo love my yarns; they have all been picked with love (okay a few with lust and an "oh my god," I have to have that) and although incredibly tiring for me, organizing them has been a joy too. I love to look at my yarns; it helps me to focus on a healthier day in the future when the sticks will be flying! I very much appreciate the opportunity to have such a wonderful collection of wool and the garments I want to make will look fantastic! Better still, I got to see so many new websites and have listed a few more people on the side (Jenn my sidebar just got that much longer!) and have met some really cool new people. In the wee short time I have been blogging I have felt so blessed and priviledged to connect with so many creative people; the isolation that comes with chronic illness is so lessened by simply turning on my computer. So to all of you who visited and all who visit me THANK YOU! 2. April 1st is also the anniversary of my older sister Robin's death. Rob died in 1997 at the age of 39. On some level the end stage of her cancer came mercifully quick. She originally discovered a cancerous mole at the age of 29 which was removed. Story over (long recovery but cancer free). Nine years later she discovered a lump in her groin that was removed (it was cancerous but the twenty other around it, also removed, were normal). In January of 1996 I remember Robin telling me that it was going to go into her brain next. Fast forward to the day after my parent's wedding anniversary, two days after my birthday and months and months of distancing behaviour, few phone calls (we used to talk long distance sometimes 2 or 3 times a day). I was upset because Rob wasn't Rob anymore, I couldn't get in touch with her, I hardly talked to her, I didn't even hear from her on my birthday. As I was getting ready to call her, I received a call from my Dad saying that she had collapsed and been rushed to the hospital. They thought that she had had an aneurysm. We found out a week later that the cancer had returned and seeded itself into the myelin shield in her brain. Incurable. They gave Rob some short term chemo and radiation but the prognosis sucked. She was on major pharmaceuticals due to the seizures, etc. My sister as I knew her to be was already gone. I remember when first seeing her when she moved from Winnipeg to my parents house in Ontario (basically to die) my first response was to tell her she looked like Beetlejuice (which she did). My sister Robin, who was intelligent, caring, compassionate, and had an incredible sense of humour had already disappeared (effect on the brain). Robin was a gifted knitter, cross-stitcher, needlepointer, weaver, seamstress (she sewed most of her own clothing), cook and fisherwoman. She could do it all at the same time. She was pretty amazing. Did I say she had a fucking great sense of humour? Rob went into the hospital on March 31, 1997 with the flu and at 7am on April 1, 1997 had a seizure that she never came out of. I figured it was so Rob to die on April Fool's Day. I miss her selfishly. There are days she is with me all day long; other days where I feel like she is sitting beside me. I miss talking to her, I miss her voice. I miss her calling me at odd times in the day asking for a tuna marinade or how to solve a certain problem. I am very much at peace with her death; she was fortunate not to have suffered more than she did. I just miss her person. And I am sorry for how much my parents have suffered with her death. Rob would have loved Flash Your Stash - she had serious stash. I inherited her stash (wool, cones of fibre and fabric) and a loom. I haven't set up the loom yet - no room but I ended up donating her entire stash (at least 13 green garbage bags full) to a local weaver's group who bought and sold what they could, donated the money to a local charity and sent the rest of the wool to a group who knits for charity. I know Rob would approve. 3. It was Sheree's birthday yesterday. She turned 24 years old. I was not feeling well and Ed did speak to Sheree but we did nothing to celebrate her birthday. A part of Chronic Illness that sucks (and is hard for those not on the receiving end to always understand). Happy Birthday Sheree! Hopefully we will get to celebrate soon! 4. I had some lovely responses to Grace's birthday and making squares for Comforting Jef got me to thinking about my Gracie. I would like to make her a blanket for her trips to the hospital for treatments and even when she has her chemo at home. I am thinking of pink squares, any range of pink. 5" squares so quick to make. If I get enough I will make a second blanket and donate it to another young girl fighting cancer. Grace loves pink(any shade, variegated), she loves flowers and is totally girlie girl. I am hoping I can a couple of knitters to pitch in; the positive energy and force of the knitting community is powerful. If you are interested please drop a comment with your email so I can get in touch. And, could someone make a couple of buttons? I don't know how to make them myself but if someone else could I would really appreciate it. Please email to me at cynicked@sympatico.ca and I will post them. The only title I have thought of is Warming Grace. If someone else has another idea please let me know. My projected delivery date of squares would be April 30. Thank you for your help! Postscript: duh - never thought about this until J volunteered - already! - to do a couple of squares and asked about acrylic - I called Grace's mom and since starting chemo she has developed a sensitivity to polyester, acrylic and even some plastics and is only allowed cottons, soft wools or any other natural fibers - always helps to ask!

I'm Flashin' My Stash!! Woohoo!!!

This is the Wall 'o Wool. All 2 large, 3 tall and 27 medium bins of it! I love my stash. I have some stinkin good yarn in there. Most is designated to specific projects. There are a couple of bins without a project in mind (top shelf, right corner) but I am in no rush. The plastic bins are both practical (we have mice) and the A-type need to be organized personality trait (besides I love to see my yarn and I don't care who sees it in my house).

This is the side counter semi wall 'o wool. Not as impressive as the big wall but no less loved. The big bin on the top left hand side has all my sock yarn in it. All 118 skeins (enough to make 60 odd pairs of socks). There is some seriously good wool in those bins. Another semi huge area of wool. The bins at the bottom are actually double what you see; six in front and six in back, plus one on the side at the back (behind the two styrofoam heads suffocating in the lantern moon bags). Two bins on top. In the plastic bags are wool from She Ewe Knits (Jamieson's wool) for two different sweaters and Ozeyarn (Jo Sharp) for a sweater and coat. I have detailed this wool is another post so I didn't drag them out for photos. In fact I didn't pull all the wool out for the yarn porn shots. Just some of my favourites...... Noro Iro - lots and lots. Also have Iro in black, golds and grey. Bin on the top is Dalegarn Heilo - due for a Fairisle for Nick in African Colours. I did start it and then ripped it out because my tension wasn't quite right. Will knit it again soon before he gets too big for the sweater.

Bin on the bottom is Debbie Bliss Merino DK - this is for the Prairie Jacket (for my mom). Love the colours, love the feel of the yarn. Bin on the top - Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK and a bit of Jo Sharp Aran Tweed for the borders and flowers for my Flower Power Patchwork Blanket.

Bin on the bottom - two skeins of Alchemy Silk for a scarf, six skeins of Royal Alpaca for a scarf, hat and mitts for Ed and 3 skeins of wool for Felted Moo Slippers by Lucy Neatby.

Bin on the left - Mission Falls Cotton for the Bloomfield Vest. Underneath is more Mission Falls.

Bin on the right - Mission Falls 1824 Wool.

Bin on the left - Noro Silk Blossom for the Entrelac Shawl. I love this colour! Bin on the right - tons and tons of Noro Kureyon in about 4 different colourways. Plan to use for mitts, hats and whatever I can get myself into trouble with! Bin on the left - 2 skeins of Prism Stuff in Sagebrush. Planning to use to make two scarves from. A bunch of Phildar Florin for a sweater for Ed.

Bin on the right - 12 skeins of Ecoknit Organic Cotton (Falling Leaves Shawl), 10 skeins of Jaegar Silk in a gorgeous gold colour (Savoy), and wool for the Doublemossa from Schoolhouse Press. There are a couple of rogue skeins for a chemo cap. Bin on the left Jaegar Matchmaker Merino gathered cunningly from England and the United States for the Short Rows Pullover from Loop d Loop (after the yarn was discontinued - what a coup!).

Bin on the right Jo Sharp 8 Ply DK Wool for a couple of kids sweaters from her Heartland book. Bin on the left wool for Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid 2 and Naturally Tussock 14 Ply Chunky for a felted Entrelac Knapsack.

Bin on the right there is Garnstudio Bromull Lin and Rowan Calmer (kind of hiding in there) both for sweaters from Sally Melville's Knit book. There is Mission Falls 1824 Cotton for a baby sweater and hat.

In this bin we have Handmaiden Sea Silk, Aran Silky Merino from Sundara (the colour is Stormy and it is marvelous), as well as a bunch of Lana Grotto Ontario in a dark green. You can't see them but there are some skeins of Art Yarns Merino in there as well. This is the sock stash. Sorry it is not more artistically presented; I was tired and my original idea wasn't possible today. It is one whopping big mess of yarn (and I apologize to the yarn for not giving it it's due - such a reckless use of fucking good yarn - the nerve!).

In there we have (in no particular order) Regia wide stripe, Regia Self Striping, Regia Solid, Opal, Fleece Artist, Lorna's Laces, Jawoll, Baby Ull, Koigu, Debbie Bliss, RYC Cashsoft, Sundara Sock Yarn, Trekking XXL, Socks that Rock,........ Above is the bin where it is usually stored (much more neatly mind you). Below are more pictures of the stash all in a tangled mess. So I didn't post all of my stash in individual photos but you get the idea. Have a great weekend!

Oh What a Crappy Week I've Had....

There are times when chronic illness sucks. This week was one of them. It is always an up and down battle and the whole detoxing/cleansing process I am going through can be rough. What makes this week difficult is that there are times when a crisis happens and I cannot knit. The crisis can sometimes sneak up unwittingly and then there are times when I think if I ride it through it will go away...it usually doesn't. So from last Thursday I had this incessant buzzing and noise in my head, couldn't sleep, had nausea and these bouts of sweating, dizziness and racing heartbeat. I just tried to ignore it because I am not really a whiner. My period (I am so not PC) arrived Sunday night with a bang and I figured of course, hit me while I am down. However by Wednesday, these spells were increasing and becoming more severe. By Wednesday night it was pretty bad. I could hardly think, the dizziness was severe and the shakes and sweating were really, really bad. I was thinking hypoglycemia and I knew I needed to go to the hospital given the implications. So off I went; thank god for OHIP (I feel for people in the states - I am sure I would be one of those without health care - in Canada we are lucky to have a system that allows everyone access to health care). At the hospital they always look at me with bewilderment and I try to keep my issues to a minimum. Of course I could have one of those speed passes I have been there so many times. Was in and out relatively quickly - hypoglycemia and possibly an oncoming virus. My doctor (who is a freaking genius by the way) said that my hypoglycemia is a result of a reaction of my adrenals to the output of my period which caused an oxygen deficiency because of my abnormally small red blood cells and anemia. She referred to it as dysglycemia and put me on a new protocol ( such as having to eat protein every two hours the week before my period and having to carry apple juice and a protein bar everywhere I go in case the hypoglycemia presents itself). I have been very tired since and it is always a little hard to rebound from these moments. It just really pisses me off because I cannot concentrate enough to knit. Knitting calms me, helps me to feel productive and normal. When I am like this it all feels too overwhelming. Don't blogsurf, read my emails or generally function well because of the cognitive fatigue (which is almost like not sleeping for a week until you feel like your brain is eating itself). The battle is between me and my will. I want to function like I am well and I always struggle for this. My doctor always marvels at my will and determination but these little episodes always affect my confidence a little; they create that little bit of fear that it won't be okay and this may be the best it ever gets. So tomorrow I will post my stash and start a simple sock. I think I can handle a plain sock. My crazy ass sock will have to wait for my brain to catch up (no brownie points again this month - oh the plans of mice and men!).

Oh, and because I always love pictures here are a couple from last summer. One is some veggies from our organic garden and the other of one of my hanging planters. I started the Johnny Jump Ups (flowers to the left) and the Nasturtiums (flowers to the right) from seed. Something to look forward to.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS!!!!

Today is Thomas's 7th Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS! Thomas is the older brother of Grace and Annabella (my brother, Jamie, and his wife, Adrienne, have themselves a good looking crop of kiddies!). Thomas is a very good big brother. He is a very funny guy and full of beans. Thomas's favourite colour is orange and he LOVES Spiderman. He also loves cars, trucks and anything with wheels. Thomas takes Karate which he likes very much. Thomas is in Grade One and he loves to read. He is also very good at math. Thomas loves to swim. Thomas has a great sense of humour and is very loving to both his sisters. He has been terrific throughout Grace's illness and kudos to him!

Thomas and Grace posing in their Jester Caps (handknit by Auntie Cindy - shameless props to me!).

Thomas and Annabella. All such cutie kiddies. Auntie Cindy, Uncle Ed and Nick want to wish Thomas a very big and very Happy Birthday. We understand there is a big party happening at their house tomorrow to celebrate both Grace's and Thomas's birthdqys. Have a great time guys! Enjoy the clown!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!

Today is my niece Grace's 5th birthday (Actually I am a day late; her birthday was yesterday, March 28 but I was sick and had to go to the hospital - sorry Grace - a little problem with Hypoglycemia). Grace is a very special girl. When she was just 3 years old Grace was diagnosed with Leukemia. It was a pretty difficult time for my brother Jamie and his wife Adrienne. Grace has dealt with all the doctors, needles, stays in the hospital and ongoing chemo with true gusto. She is in remission although her chemo program and course of treatment is 3 years long with constant monitoring of her health and lots of visits to the hospital. It is a lot for any person to handle let alone a little kiddo. Grace has been fortunate to have great care and medical attention. Prior to the chemo Gracie had big bouncy curls although her hair is growing in nicely again. She is very cute on the phone when we talk to her and Nick has a real soft spot for her.

This is Grace with her sister Annabella. My brother and his wife found out they were having Annabella the same day that Grace was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with Leukemia.

Grace is a real girlie girl. Her favourite colour is pink and she loves Barbie (she also loves cows and her cousin Nick). Grace loves ballet and swimming.

Gracie, your Auntie Cindy, Uncle Ed and Nick want to wish you a super big birthday!!!!! We want you to know that we love you lots and are always sending positive thoughts and energy your way! Keep on fighting!

My Crazy Ass Sock

Note to reader: this post contains the word ass. If you do not like the use of the word ass please do not read this post as there is a lot of ass in this post. Thank you for your understanding.

This is my crazy assed sock. This is a crazy ass sock. Check out the length of this sucker. I am knitting up the leg and I keep looking at the foot thinking; "crazy, man, the foot is just crazy." It looks like some Ronald MacDonald sock - it is sooooooooooooooo long. I have never knit a foot as long as this foot.

I am thinking of applying for the circus.

Even better only 48 stitches around. Crazy ass.

Most of the socks I have knit range anywhere between 64 - 68 stitches; fit beautifully, really comfortable.

This crazy assed sock is 48 stitches. See how it stands up on it's on. This sock is an entity all onto itself. I bet I could get it to do tricks. See the casual way it can hang off the post and look so cool.

Wait a minute! See that sock below. Look at how much is hanging off the edge. There is something so not normal about this crazy assed sock. It looks like a regular sock and a half. Okay I know I know. The stiffness will probably come out after a washing and then, sob, the crazy assed sock will be more a limp but more wearable and soft freak. I am just awed by the length. I mean the length of the foot will probably be longer than the length of the leg.

CRAZY ASS SOCK! Now I just have regular 'ole feet. Size 8 - 8 1/2, depending on what shoe I am wearing. Not too narrow, not too wide (okay I admit when my fibromyalgia is flaring up, my ankles puff up and look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy - today is a semi okay kind of day; slightly puffy). Currently very pale (well and perhaps a little blue; it is still a little bloody cold outside today) and in serious need of a pedicure (it has been about 6 months - aaagggghhhh!!!).

And aside from the fact that I think that most feet are somewhat bizarre, mine more so - note the wierd little toe/digit, and perhaps on the ugly side, my feet are really nothing special. But those 48 stitches. Seemed a little too few.

So first I cast on 72 stitches. In the Oriel pattern the first two choices are 48 or 72 stitches. Knit about 4 inches on the foot and realized that 72 stitches was going to be way too big. So I ripped (oh yes I love using that so non politically correct term RIP) it out and recast on with 48 stitches.

I figured I would just give it to my momma (she has lovely dainty little tootsies about size 7 1/2 or so) and that would be that. I was trying to gauge the length as I knit along the crazy assed sock and I figured it was long enough. Having never done a sock from the toe up I now realize there are different considerations.

As I finished the heel flap and gusset I began to realize that this sock was looooong. Really, really long. I move up the gusset decrease and heel-back and the whole thing is starting to bother me. I mean the foot is just plain crazy assed. 48 stitches wide and like 48 feet long! I keep checking out the stretch in this puppy with my hand and it is crazy. I can stick my fist in no problem; stretches just fine.

So I think what the heck; I will try it on. You know what? The crazy assed sock fits. Like a glove. Like it was made for me.

In fact, there is even a little room around the ankle. Go figure.

This is one crazy assed sock!

The detail looks good, the lace shows off really nicely and it fits so good. I can't even believe it. The Ronald MacDonald sock with 48 stitches fits my foot! I don't know if my mom is going to see this sock (it may be a little long for her). I seriously want to get this crazy assed sock finished and block it. I just keep shaking my head! The shawl is done. Another miracle. Soaked it for 15 minutes in Eucalan and rinsed lightly. Wow did it grow. It was just a little lump and then suddenly it was about 10 feet long! I rolled it in a towel and laid it across our bed (we have a king size and it went down the sides). I was very impressed with how much it grew. Now when I was casting on and casting off the instructions stated to do so very very loosely. I did think at the time I was doing it loosely but I realized as I laid it out that one could do this incredibly loosely. There are a couple of areas where the shawl/scarf is a little tighter. It dried very quickly and the shawl/scarf is so soft. And there is so much of it. Now it is a simple knit, knit, knit pattern but it does show off the varigation quite nicely. I am giving this shawl to my mom when she gets back from Florida (she and my dad have been gone for about 2 months). I am giving her the Olympic Shrug and perhaps the Crazy Assed Socks. I also have to finish sewing up and finishing her Four Panel Jacket. I missed my mom. I am so glad she is going to be back soon. I do think she will like the shawl though; it looks good and feels very nice too. Sure doesn't look like that 'ole lump anymore!

Mail Call!

I waited with anticipation, especially when I saw others receive theirs. Then, I got mine in the mail Tuesday (I would have posted before this but I have been down with a horrible cold or virus or something and feeling like crap..yuck!): My sock club kit and my first skein of Socks That Rock from Blue Moon Fibre Arts. OH MY GOD! These guys are amazing. So like the kit includes a binder with a cool cover, notes, tips and hints, a pattern for the skein included in the kit; a button and bumper sticker, a large skein of sock yarn and a mini skein in RainforestJasper which is the same colour as the large skein. I cannot tell you how special I felt (and how freaking glad I was to sign up so quickly - who knew they would have to close off membership because there were so many knitters to sign up?). The care and individuality of the kit and their concept of the sock club is really unique and very much appreciated. I do want to dive in and knit the sock now but I really have to get a start on my Sockapalooza sock (I may have to divide my attention). I am just so impressed with the effort (and fun) they have put into this sock club - very cool. So I was seeking out and counting all the skeins of sock yarn in my stash for the Sock Yarn Addicts Club and I came across some unfinished objects I forgot that I had started and just put away. The stash exercise was good for a number of reasons; reorganized my yarn, figured out I have enough sock yarn to knit a new pair each week for over a year (hint as to the number but I promise I will publish the actual number when I flash the stash on April 1!), got excited about all the cool yarn I have and the projects I want to get at and found the following: Okay, granted it looks like a big lump. It is Melody's Shawl from Morehouse Farms and I think I started it about a year ago. I had completed about 80% of it and then put it away; it became mind numblingly boring - knit, knit, knit, knit and the quad skein of lace just never seemed to get smaller. Oh, yes, in that mind numbing round I did get to knit into the back twice which ends up being the border for both ends of the shawl (it is knit in the round). So I am looking at this thinking I can get this sucker finished. So with a little (a lot) of time yesterday and today, knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting I am finally ready to cast off! Yeah! Something I will have cast off, cut and blocked by the end of the weekend. I am so hoping the miracle of lace happens for me like I have seen for others. Granted this will be very plain but it is just ugly right now. Stay tuned!

Just stuff to show...

I finished my squares for Comforting Jef. Christine put out the call in February for blue squares to make a blanket for her brother Jef who is dealing with a tumor in his brain. Given that my sister Robin, and my best friend Julie, both died from cancer I couldn't resist the offer to provide a small effort of comfort in the way only knitting can. She was also planning on making a second blanket for Mike, Vicki's brother, who was in a devastating car accident about three weeks ago. For all my aches and pains, bizarre symptoms and daily ups and downs in terms of my own health issues I am continually thankful for my life and never want to take things forgranted. Everything being relative I am very lucky. Knitting the squares was kind of fun. I had to experiment with different patterns to get the right measurements and I perused my copy of Vogue's Stitchionary to find something fun to do. I ended up with two patterns that would work within the 8 x 8 inch requirements. The light blue square is gulls and garter and the dark blue is alternating diagonals. I love the way they look. I ended up making two of the dark blue in the diagonals because I could not get the light blue to work out to 8 x 8 within the pattern. I used Cascade 220, which I have never used before. It isn't bad to work with, haven't figured out what it might compare with in terms of other yarns I have used before.

I put them in the mail today, via Express Post so they should get to Christine before the Friday deadline. It is kind of neat to know that something I knit will be part of a larger project that will give warmth and comfort to someone in need. On a separate note (given my finishing issues!) I do not envy Christine having to sew those suckers together! Behold the joy! I finished My So Called Scarf and sewed in the ends! I have one red project finished for Project Spectrum. I am still hoping to make more progress on Stornoway (or as Steph told me at the Stitch 'n Bitch at Lettuce Knits last week Storeaway!) and as you will see below I have started my red socks. I love the scarf; have to make a couple more. Nick has claimed it for his own - his favourite colour is red. He wanted to model the scarf (this is the safest photo!) for you.... The pattern on the scarf is just so nice. It looks so good and I really love the final result! Finally, I have started my Oriel socks from Sensational Knitted Socks. These socks are huge for me for a couple of reasons. This is my first toe up sock - I LOVE IT!! It is funny how sometimes I won't attempt something because I am thinking there is no way I can do it and then when I try it, it is not so hard. I think my cognitive process is so F---ED sometimes and I get caught up in the terminology. I do have to start these new things in the morning because nighttime for difficult stuff is a huge no no for me. The toe up was so simple and I am excited at the possibilities this holds; particularly for those lovely varigated socks where I am left guessing at how much yarn I will need for the foot and always end up with a little ball of yarn (there is one funky pair of socks in that leftover stuff let me tell you!) The other cool thing I have done with this sock is switch to medal dpn's. Again, I always use wood for socks, mostly Addi's for sweaters (I love LOVE love Addi Turbos) and I decided to use the medal dpn's because the stickiness I usually love when knitting socks on wood just wasn't working here. The medal dpn's have been fantastic. I think I am going use the medals more often. The picture may not show the pattern at it's best, but it is looking pretty good. Probably would have helped if I wasn't curling my foot back but it was so freaking cold today - beautiful sunny day; it looked so warm!

Nick offered to model for me but his feet are totally wide and I am hoping to give these to my mom, whose feet are smaller than mine so he was so not an option. I have to get going on these because I want to get them done by early next week (maybe even this weekend). My competing passion these days is the thought of sowing some seeds, planning more changes to our garden and land and generally dreaming of greener things. Have to get going on putting some veggie and flower seeds going so again, ha ha, I will have to manage my time. Woo hoo! Maybe they could start a 36 hour day and a 10 day week - there might be hope for me then!

I've been shopping...AGAIN!!!

Life is a bowl full of bloody good looking yarn. I have some new yarn and I can't wait to show it off! Went to Lettuce Knits on Wednesday and of course needed some retail therapy (I don't think the therapy is working because I keep buying the yarn - tee hee; this is one instance where failure is okay in my books). I had a good time...bought more sock yarn. It was hard to choose, really hard.

I have some lovely Lorna's Laces ( I love you Lorna!!!!!); 2 skeins each in two separate colourways. I bought 3 skeins of Trekking XXL (I was very excited to buy my first Trekking - it is amazing!) and 2 skeins of Koigu - choosing what Koigu to buy was really hard there were so many colours. Seriously. Megan has an amazing collection of yarns in great colours.

So that was Wednesday. On Thursday I got three parcels in the mail. I was so excited about finally receiving my Sundara Yarns I had to control myself opening up the packages. OH MY GOD! The yarns are gorgeous; the colourways absolutely scrumptious. Sundara has done herself proud.

These are the sock yarns. From left to right; Black Lagoon, Cirque, #026 and #037. My picture doesn't really do the colours justice; the blue is far more subtle and the green on the right is not so bright. The colours are really rich and it is neat that she dyes in small batches so each batch will be just that bit different from the one before it.

I also got some other yarn from Sundara. After ordering the Sock Yarn I had to go back to her sight and of course there was a pile of other yarn I really wanted - had to hold back but did end up with 6 other skeins. On the left is Mossy, a Worsted Merino. It is really lovely. Muted greens. Not sure what I am going to make with these.

On the right is Stormy, an Aran Silky Merino. I love it sooooo much! The colours are fantastic and the texture is oh so nice!

The photo does not do it justice; it is much more muted. I have no clue what I am going to do with it; I have about 600 yards of it and whatever is going to be knit with it will have to be super special.

After drooling and moaning over these beauties I did manage to open my other parcel. From Amazon I got two books, stitch 'N bitch Nation, Fiona Ellis' inspired cable knits and YIPPEE!! YIPPEE! the first season of Grey's Anatomy. I love Grey's Anatomy, absolutely love it! It is a little embarassing because I have to make sure there are no distractions so I can watch the show in total peace (which of course never freaking happens!) - but now I have all the episodes of the first year and I can watch them as many times as I want, over and over again. Yea!!!! (I know it's possible that I may need to get more of a life!)

Knit, Knit, Knit...I am jonesin with my wool. Booyah!

My So Called Scarf

A project in the spectrum colour of the month! I am working on My So Called Scarf and I am loving the pattern! It is truly amazing when you think of the infinite number of patterns that come basically from two different stitches. I think this is one of the primary reasons why knitting rocks. There is no end to what can be done from a knit and a purl. The scarf is an easy knit of a two row repeat with such terrific results. There are slight colour variegations and wool thickness variations that lend themselves so well to the final result. The wool is Manos del Uruguay which I purchased at Lettuce Knit. Megan, the owner, is so nice and her store while one of the smallest I have ever seen, has the nicest collection of yarns going. When I was there picking up the Manos for the scarf I also picked up some Blue Sky Alpaca and Handmaiden. The Blue Sky Alpaca is gorgeous. Soft and supple. It is from the Royal 100% Limited Edition Collection. Expensive and I went crazy and got six skeins to knit a hat, scarf and mitts for Ed who so totally deserves such a luxury. The Handmaiden is very cool; it's called Sea Silk and is 70% silk and 30% seacell. That's right; seaweed - it even smells like seaweed, and, according to Megan, those that be at Handmaiden say that while wearing it your body absorbs the minerals associated with seaweed. Incredible! See, knitting is good for you. I plan to make a scarf with the blue toned skein and a tie for Ed with the other. Lettuce Knits is such a bright friendly place and Megan is laid back and welcoming. Carole and I went to a Stitch 'n Bitch at her store last night and it was really fun. There were quite a few very entertaining women there, including the Yarn Harlot who was hilarious. We also got a sneak peak at her new book which was very cool. I did buy some other wool there. Sock Yarn. Before April 1 and the start of The Sock Yarn Addicts Club The premise of the Addicts Club is to purchase no yarn for 90 days. Given the past 90 days this should be pretty entertaining. I have to count up my sock yarn stash prior to the first. I am working on it (or maybe I am working on building it up first!). I certainly have enough to knit with!

Finished.....almost

I have a secret; sort of(there are a few people who know this). I hate to finish. I love to knit but the finishing part is my big BIG downfall. I decided that I would share the evidence (maybe outing myself will push me onto finishing all that fills the basket of shame).

The basket of shame contains the items that are knitted and basically awaiting the sewing in of ends and blocking. This is not my smallish pile of UFO's; no no no - these are finished (mostly.....). The UFO's remain unfinished. The basket is out because I finished up the Four Panel Jacket for my mom this weekend - okay well I finished knitting the sweater. I had done the back, two of the sides and one sleeve and I decided (even though in Project Spectrum world it is pink/red month) that because my mom is back from Florida on April 2 I should just get it done. In two days I got the other two side panels and the other sleeve done. Yahoo! I should be happy - NOT! Now I have to sew it together and knit the outside edge (actually the knitting won't be so bad it's the sewing that I hate). I know I just need to suck it up and get it done so it will be ready by the time my mom gets back. It did make me think about all the other stuff in the basket of shame which should be finished up. This will qualify as article number one. So here is the list of items to be sewn up and blocked:

Article Number Two: The Oliver Sweater from Freedom (Twilleys of Stamford). I loved knitting this - the cotton is so soft. I finished knitting it up last August (and it has sat in the basket waiting to be sewn up). I even know how to sew up the stripes but have I finished it up yet? NOooooooooooo.

Article Number Three: Rigoletto Scarf

The scarf just needs to be blocked (the ends are already sewn in - not cut off but sewn in). Articles Four and Five: Headwrap and Scarf:

These both need a couple of ends sewn in and to be blocked. That's all. Have I done it? Nooo. The incredible thing about the Olympics may have been that I actually sewed in the ends of my shrug and my handwarmers before the closing ceremonies, not that I knit them. Article Number Six: Vest

I knit this little number in about 3 days last September. Knitting it up was a breeze. Ed could have used it over the winter. Probably about 1 hour of sewing in ends... and yet where is it?

In the basket of shame..... Article Number Seven: Flower Power Patchwork Blanket I put the heat on last summer to finish the panels. In fact I really worked my butt off to get the eight panels done in a matter of weeks. What is left?

I have to sew in the ends, sew together the panels, knit the edging and sew on about 64 knitted flowers. I still can't believe I haven't done it? I don't even know why I haven't finished it - BECAUSE I HATE FINISHING! Okay I know I am whining and I know I need to get this bloody thing done because when it is I will be so in love with it and it will look freaking amazing.

Articles Eight, Nine, Ten and Eleven: Four Pairs of Socks!

So how lame is this?? Four pairs of socks that only require a bit of sewing in. I finish them and throw them in a Ziploc bag in the basket and then just move onto the next one.

This is really bad I know and as I write this I think I should just not post and get finishing. I think that there is probably some value in public shame. I sincerely want to change my ways - I love knitting and I have always seen finishing as this tedious thing that I don't want to have to take care of. The socks are so ridiculous; such minor finishing and I haven't even attended to it.

If there was a hall of shame (for non-finishers) I could certainly have a spot on the wall!

Of Mice and Rain...

It's been raining all day...all day all over all the snow we used to have. Actually it's still here; now with a lot of water and some ice over it. Ed is on a mouse killing rampage (must be the antibiotics). 5 in 3 days; he was quite ecstactic when he got a "twofer" (in the same trap - who knew it was possible). You know there are so many things about country life I love. See here:

Okay; it's winter but so snowy and white! And see here:

This is the creek that runs through our property; ambling and lazy

and it looks good anytime of the year. And see here:

The creek and our meadow. Sort of our sideyard if you like.

So the country is beautiful but there are so many things I still haven't gotten used to. Mice, cluster flies, ladybugs and mosquitoes (year round no less). There are earwigs, slugs, worms and bizarro bugs that come from all over the place. I hate vermin, bugs and critters. There is so much of it out here. Ed calls me Zha Zha (from Green Acres) and he laughs at my (still after 10 years) "city" squeamishness. And the dust - thought moving from the city to the country meant less dust - WRONG!!! There is so much dust. Given my particular health conditions I have like no energy to clean (sadly there are no cleaning fairies in the world) and it is basically impossible to find a cleaning lady (even for every other week) - we had one that only cleaned what was at her eye level! So Ed kills the mice and he is always so eager to share (I looked the other night at one and then had mousemares all night long). Of course Nick is so willing to accomodate him. Our cat is so old she has no interest in killing mice (she used to be a really good mouser). Thankfully once the weather is warmer they will find their way outside but only to be replaced by 400 billion bugs. I have to look at those pictures more often. They remind me why I love living in the country. Knitting pictures tomorrow (or Saturday).

A Quickie.....

A little post; was at the hospital all day with Ed. He has Bronchitis (and/or a viral infection) and has some antibiotics. He is never sick (I always am) and so he is really under. I dropped him off because I had to go get bloodwork (other things not to be named!) done - they took about 20 vials!! We were at the hospital until about 4pm; what a way to spend the day. Got to love our health care system at work. The best thing was sitting in the waiting room with all these people; hacking and coughing away (NOT putting their hands over their mouths...). Nick and I ended up moving to another area while we waited for Ed (the day surgery department was empty, brand new and not a cougher in the lot!). The best thing about the hospital was that I brought my second Country Sock and got it cast on and almost all the ribbing border done. I had finished the first sock on the weekend (I am trying to remember what the heck I did this weekend..have no clue!). I love the yarn, it is such a nice knit. RYC Cashsoft (4 Ply) is soooooo soft; feels great and has alot of elasticity. Note the very nice Fiber Trends Sock Blockers - got those last month from Elann.com. I also have enough RYC to make another pair of socks in black with a pale blue accent - will enjoy it very much but I have so many other socks to knit that it will likely have to wait a bit. I am still trying to figure out how to best manage my time. It is funny because when I was at Carole's just before Chinese New Year's we were looking at our horoscopes for the coming year (I am a metal Rat). Mine said my biggest challenge was going to be how to manage my time. NO shit! I have so many projects, wannabe projects, knitalongs, etc. etc. I am constantly trying to figure out how to plan my time. Given that this month is Red/Pink for Project Spectrum my goals are to finish Stornoway (a little ambitious perhaps and I don't have the pressure of the Olympics to push me towards the end), to knit a pair of red socks, to bead a red goddess and perhaps to knit a scarf(I am itching to knit My So Called Scarf). I also volunteered to knit a couple of blue squares (more about that tomorrow). Here is my progress to date on Stornoway. I had taken out because I realized that the needles I was knitting on were not 3mm (in fact 2.5 mm's from a package labelled 3mm - gee I wonder what the lesson is there?). I am now on the correct needles; did check a couple of times to make sure. The pattern is lovely and the wool is true gansey. To the right see the Regia red. I have my knitting notions to the right of that which just happens to be pinks and reds. I never consciously realized how much pink and red I have around the joint! I am going to try and get up to the armpit gussets by the weekend (may be a tad ambitious - I have to knit 418 stitches per round on the sweater on my enseey teensy 3mm needles). The red sock yarn is for Oriel from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. If you love to knit socks and want a pattern book this one is fabulous. I didn't buy it for the longest time (I think I thought that the cover was too boring and I hadn't had the opportunity to look inside but I got a gift card for Chapters at Christmas and went for it) but I am sooooo glad I have it now. There are tons of patterns inside! Oriel is under Twelve Stitch Patterns. I will try to post a photo of the finished sock from the book as soon as I can. I am looking forward to this sock; they are toe-up and lace so it should be an interesting knit. I am off to the big TO tomorrow; have an IV and an appointment with another specialist, Dr. Jain (urologist - small incident with a kidney stone on Christmas eve) and I am hoping to stop by Lettuce Knit on the way home (okay a little sidetracked excursion but I am praying that I have enough energy to do it!). I will let you know how it goes! Guess this wasn't such a little post. Oh and Pink One, I will post a photo of the Flower Power Patchwork Blanket (not mine because it's not done) this week......SEE YA!

Seven Things on a Saturday Night

Anny tagged me for my first meme and after spending some time thinking about it I am ready to post my Seven Things. Seven Things to do before I die:

1. knit up my stash while becoming a Master Knitter.
2. Figure out my purpose in life.
3. After a fantastic night's sleep; wake up feeling energized and pain free (this only has to happen once).
4. Learn to love ladybugs.
5. Understand and practice patience - especially with myself.
6. Take ballroom dancing lessons with Ed.
7. Lose my fear of dying.

Seven Things I cannot do:

1. Pass up good freaking yarn or most things yarn/knitting related.
2. Go a day without hugging/cuddling/touching Ed or Nick.
3. Lie.
4. Remember things the way I used to.
5. Not worry or anguish about all the suffering in the world.
6. Be more objective and dispassionate about life.
7. Go to bed with the dishes undone and the kitchen messy.

Seven Things that attract me to my mate:

1. Ed's unconditional and non-judgemental nature and his tremendous ability and capacity for love.
2. His deep spirituality - Ed learned to read from the Bible and he wears his spirituality like a second skin.
3. Ed does the laundry, he irons, he cleans the toilet...and he is an excellent cook!
4. How protective, caring and patient he is.
5. His sense of humour and his big, hearty laugh. We have a deal that we will make each other laugh every day(it is not a challenge we find too difficult).
6. Ed's intellect, his intelligence and his social conscience.
7. His level of affection and passion.

Seven Books I love:

1. Gone To Soldiers by Marge Piercy (also Braided Lives and Summer People and a few others; she is a phenomenal writer.)
2. The Alphabet Series by Sue Grafton
3. The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton (actually anything by Thomas Merton. This book is his first and reading it is inspirational.)
4. The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck (I read this when I was in a period of tremendous flux in my late twenties and it was life changing. His concepts of love and courage are phenomenal.)
5. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith
6. "...And Ladies of the Club"by Helen Hoover Santmyer (her first book published I believe when she was in her eighties it is a multigenerational saga about the lives of women brought together through a book club. Amazing read.)
7. Deafeningby Frances Itani (a beautiful love story set in Belleville, Ontario, Canada during the first World War.)

Seven Things I say:

1. "F---!!! "
2. "I love you... spuba, guumba, sweet pea, darlin, pookster etc.... "
3. "I'm sorry "
4. "Computah says NO!" (a la Little Britain, one of the best comedies out there!)
5. "Crap or Crappola"
6. "Criminy Jickets!"
7. "Right On!"

Seven Movies I've Loved:

1. Bridget Jones (1 & 2) (Funny and Colin Firth is such a hunk!)
2. Legally Blonde (1 & 2) (I love a good chick flickand a few laughs at the same time.)
3. Schlinder's List (hard to believe what human beings can and continue to do to one another - makes me want to cry) see also Hotel Rwanda
4. Boys Don't Cry (ditto)
5. Before Sunrise, Before Sunset (talk about an amazing love story and some serious on screen chemistry - oh so good)
6. Elf (Will Ferrell is irreverently funny and silly in this movie)
7. Save the Last Dance (feel good chick flick, hard issues about interracial relationships within the context of tragedy and adolescent angst - could watch it again and again)

Seven People to Tag

1. Julie from A Really Good Yarn
2. Samantha from Me,Myself and Milotis78
3. Amanda from clothesknit
4. Abigail from 1870 pearl
5. Lolly from Lollyknitting
6. Rebecca from Larocque and Roll
7. J from canKNITian

Seeing Red or Being in the Pink

It's brand new month - whoo hoo! Spring is around the corner which means I will be planting seeds, seeds, seeds! Seeds for veggies, herbs and flowers! Today is also the start of Project Spectrum, the brainchild of Lolly. March is the month of red and pink. The pink would make certain people I know very very happy (you know who you are). Project Spectrum is about celebrating colour and acknowledging it's intrinsic importance in our lives. Our language is rife with colour; seeing red, being in the pink. Red is the colour of passion, of love, of anger - it is associated with intensity and a lack of money (or debt! when you are in the red). Tastes of red include burgundys, merlots and a great bottle of Shiraz, cinnamon hearts, strawberries, beets and raw meat - what a range! Red is a colour that takes no prisoners, it hits you like a punch, it is vibrant and the colour primarily associated with Christmas. Red happens to be Nick's favourite colour and for those of you who know Nick, this colour suits him to a tee! In my mind's eye I can visualize the colour red in every season; a crisp red MacIntosh on a cool fall day, the red leaves of a burning bush, the vibrant red of cranberries and mistletoe berries in the winter, red tulips in Spring and the vibrant reds of poppies, peonies and tomatoes in my summer garden. Pink is the colour of happy, lighthearted and gay - pink is not a colour one would ever associate with anything other than positive and hopeful. The tastes of pink include lemonade, sweet grapefruit, bubble gum, cotton candy and okay Pepto Bismal (but it is supposed to be a healing experience!). Pink is a colour I associate with Carnivals, Girly Girls and the Candy Store. Pink looks great on men. Pink is joyful and hugable. My goals for Project Spectrum are going to be primarily knitting. I am going to seed with colours in mind (this month the red and pink that will be in my garden this summer). I will cook with a mind to colour and I might even do some beading. As I was taking pictures for my blog I noticed the presence of red....

I got two bags from Make One Yarn Studio yesterday. They rock! The Knitter's Purse (hey, in RED) and the Messenger Bag from Jordana Paige. They are both beautiful and functional. The bonus was free shipping and no GST. You rock Amy! Make One has so many wonderful yarns and products - their classes make me wish I was living in Calgary! This is one funky and hip place to be.

I must admit that it is hard to have so many stores that I love to shop at; they all have so much great stuff - I fear I will have to spread the spending around - tee hee!

My knitting goals this month are to finish my Stornoway. Even though it doesn't seem like it in this picture the colour of the yarn is Claret (definitely a red although not picked with Project Spectrum in mind). I will republish this photo again in a much better light! I am also going to knit a pair of red socks (pattern to be determined) and bead myself a red/pink goddess. On the not red/pink side, I have some objects to finish (I am thinking the Entrelac Bag and my felted tea cozy). I have my Country Socks to complete, the Norweigans to start and my Sockapalooza sock to begin. I would like to finish my mom's Four Panel Jacket which is certainly not red. But the red/pink will be there and each day I will find a way to honour and create some mindfulness around the colours of this month. I am loving March already!

Hey! I finished something else during the Olympics!

Everyone is so sick around here (physically, for those of you who know me, not mentally)! Nick has some wicked chest cold, virus thingy and Ed, my wonderful, sweet, hard working husband, has had this chest thing for about three weeks with no relief in sight. It is a strange world when I am the healthiest person in the house! Of course all things being relative you know. Hey I finished something else during the Olympics! I participated in the Hurry Hard Handwarmalong with J and Rebecca and on Saturday night they were done! Yahoo! It was fun and thankfully not very stressful at all - biggest problem I had was sewing in all the freaking ends - oh yes fun striping the colours until the ends, those multiple ends had to be put in - crap, double crap. I did it while watching movies on TVO (no commercial breaks and the best old movies).

Anyway, all that knitting in such a short time was hard but incredibly inspiring. My brain is still feeling the blur and I know that at times I felt like I had ADKD (Attention Deficit Knitting Disorder) because I so seriously wanted to knit on more than one thing and continued to be restless with my Shrug and Wristwarmers even though the progress was obvious. Discipline - there is a concept.

It was great to have the Olympics as an excuse to put everything else on hold; sadly, that can't continue but God it felt good while it lasted. All I want to do right now is knit, knit, knit. I feel as though I have been infected with some disease. I need needles in my hands all the time; for example waiting for things to download on my dinosaur computer, knitting; waiting for the kettle to boil, knitting; going to bed at night with my knitting - it is amazing.

Tragedies continue to occur in the knitting world. Country Sock - I did have to rip back the sock to the cuff; mistake in the first decrease. I have since reknit past the heel (will post a photo tomorrow). Stornoway - after having knit, oh, about 7 inches up the body (in the round 356, yes that is 356 stitches) I realize that the 3mm's I thought I was knitting with were actually 2.5mm. FUCK! Where I was when they started knitting I have no clue - must have been my stupid non-knitting twin. The rib band was done with 2.75mm which makes me looking even more clueless. The package said 3mm but alas the needles were 2.5mm. Okay and like I know I needed to rip it all out but I am thinking perhaps ignorance is bliss sometimes because in the moment the mistake is "discovered," the torture begins. I did have Ed help me rip that sucker out (the yarn is on a cone so the swiffer won't of course work - of course). So I recast (and actually went down a size because that bugger was actually pretty big on my sexy man!) and I am about 1 1/2" back up the rib - god I wish I was faster, swifter, bolder. I am now working to get to my knitting. I have a bunch of emails to do. I got so many lovely comments on my shrug both here and on the Team Canada and I do want to respond to everyone; my energy is so up and down but I promise to get to it in the morning. I did some Blog Housekeeping today - see the Gold Medal (woohoo!!) but everything takes like 42 billion hours !!!! Between posting and maintaining my blog, my groups (which I am not really managing), my Knitalongs, reading the blogs I like and trying to keep up with all of it there is just not enough time in the day! I totally admire everyone else who seems to do this so well. I have a pile of unopened messages in my Yahoo Groups. My Chinese Horoscope said this year was about managing my time - ha ha ha (I am a Rat). So far, not so good. Tried to register with a couple of Web rings; messed up huge (perhaps another time). Oh and while I am on my major gripe fest - I HATE LADYBUGS! We have them in our house (an old, old farmhouse) year round and they drive me nuts. Okay I am going to stop. I promise I will have some good photos tomorrow. Oh, and Carole, I promise to email you that stuff I said I would email you last week - sorry!

Yippee!!! Both the Shrug and I are done....

The Olympic Shrug is complete! Thank god! It has been pretty rough since Monday; think I have a sinus and bladder infection but inbetween massive doses of medication and numerous trips to the bathroom I have held up the torch and tried to knit what I could (my plans were so much more grandiose but you know how that goes...). Sewed in the ends this morning. Nick offered to model only on the condition that his face not be shown ("geez mom, you know I don't mind modelling for you but this is for a woman you know"). Of course after the photo was taken could I get the Shrug off? I think my mom will be quite pleased with this. I am very pleased with it. I do have to thank Stephanie for such a great idea and for all the other knitters, Canadian and Worldwide that have added such an excitement and energy about this little project. And I must definitely thank my trainer and mentor Joan Kass for being there throughout the project. I did it Joan! Thanks so much. More later but now I must go and rest my face (and hit the ladies room!).

It was the best of times and the worst of times....

The best of times - Friday was horrible outside; cold, snowy, very icy and so so so windy (thought that the windows might blow in or something the wind was so strong) but inside it was rockin' awesome. Ed and I hung out all day; watching the Olympics and goofing around - I also knit on my new socks; the Country Socks (a sock from the Folk Sock Knitalong). I know I should have been working on my shrug but I just needed a break and I was finding my concentration skills a little lacking. The DYC Cashsoft I am using for the Country Sock is so freaking soft and amazing. I just want to rub it all over my face. OH MY GOD!!! Soft, so so soft. The sock is beautiful and is knitting up so well; there is a really nice pattern in between the ribbing. Photo on that next time. The best of the best times though was spending the day with Ed; laughing and joking around. He is seriously my best friend and I can be around him 24/7 and not get tired of him. Nick is always telling us how "wierd" we are (you know he is just being a tweenie with the laughing we do and jokes he doesn't understand); we love it!!!! It was such a gift being able to have so much time with Ed; hasn't happened a lot lately because he has been so busy. The worst of times - my Shrug. I was freaking out on Saturday because I couldn't seem to make it look right when I took the provisional cast on off and did the first eight rows. Okay, it is possible that my level of fatigue and the fact that my CFS and Fibromyalgia are rearing their ugly heads (poor or no sleep; pain and swelling) didn't make my cognitive skills their best. So I ripped it back to the original cast on and put it away (oh yes and emailed my trainer Joan 3 times in about 30 minutes!). Because I couldn't knit on the shrug and needed time away to problem solve this LITTLE issue, I figured I would knit on the Country Sock. So then I see a mistake on the sock, oh, about 6" back and I was like "CRAP!" I know I go through this little process/dilemma when I see a booboo (it of course depends how far back it is) . Am I going to fix this? Will anyone really see it? Could I live with it being like this? Why did I have to see it????? And of course the answers to the above are f--- yes I have to fix it, it doesn't matter if anyone sees it, I know it's there, no of course I can't truly live with it and to the last question - aaaaggggghhhh!!!! Take a few deep breaths and accept my fate. When I start taking something back, particularly if there is a lot to take out, my initial reaction is to rip the whole damn thing out and just start over - there is almost a manic quality to it for me; after my initial reaction it is so liberating! That picture of the sock is now just a cuff. Process knitters probably value the lesson in tearing out. Being a product knitter I think about how much time I just lost in having to rip something out. Alright so now I can't knit on the brown Shrug and I have ripped back the sock to the cuff. So what's a girl to do. I decide (partly because I am now freaking out that I have made a mistake on the first Shrug and now I will never get it knit in time and lose out on the Gold Medal - hello??? - I know there are so many life lessons in here but that will have to be another post - I am just venting right now!!!) to start the other Shrug I had intended to do (just not now) and possibly see the errors of my ways. And, I hadn't heard back from Joan and just couldn't move my anxiety along. Oh yes, so on Sunday morning I get an email from Joan that she sprained her ankle and is relatively incapacitated. Even though I am feeling so freaking needy I have to silence the more selfish thoughts I have and be truly compassionate about her injury (the fact that I was still thinking about myself is for another post...you get the drift). So I email Joan back trying not to sound too concerned about my Shrug (ha!) and thinking about how I was going to deal with this further development. This was becoming a worst weekend of Olympic proportions. Fast forward - it is now Sunday night and where am I at? Knitting on the blue shrug (1 full repeat of the lace which took me like forever to get down - my brain is in some cotton ball somewhere), sock still at the cuff and the brown Shrug? I wasn't going to touch it but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Checked for errors on the net and of course there were none (dammit - that meant it was me!) so I had to think about for a while - I tried a couple of creative things and it still didn't feel like it was lining up for me (I had never done mirror knitting with the use of a provisional cast on and knitting in a manner which means your tension has to basically be the same, the same, after a period of time and so that it looks like the whole thing was knit at the same time). So bearing in mind the pattern, the effects of the Yarn Overs and the lace etc. I decided what the heck I might as well try - and guess what? IT WORKED!!! I have knit a few rows and I am thinking that I just needed to be more aware of what I was attaching - I still see very teeny tiny jogs (okay Ed couldn't see them) but when I block, I will make sure that it looks invisible. So I am going to knit like a fool this week and see if I can get both of the Shrugs finished. Could be an interesting week!!!!! P.S. I did email Joan of my encouraging results so she could focus on getting well! I will have to deal with the less savory aspects of my knitting personality at another time - I have to get that Gold Medal!!! GET WELL SOON JOAN! I LOVE YOU!!

The day the lights went out in Warkworth....

Today was fun! I have half of my Olympic Shrug done (makes it sound like the shrug has done steroids and a serious training program or something) and am ready to do the other half. I have totally loved doing this project; the wool is so soft and springy. I knit one of my Hurry Hard Handwarmers today so I am completely halfway through my two projects. I am loving my handwarmer; used some leftover yarn and away I went. It was a nice knit - quick and very low stress. We had snow, wind and now we are having freezing rain. This afternoon the power went out (right in the middle of the freaking hockey game!). It does happen occasionally (I think the power went out more often when I was living in Montreal as a teenager) although when it happens in the winter I worry about the pipes freezing. Running water (or lack thereof) affects every aspect of the farm life; including the water closet (we are on a septic tank). The light was good so I did knit for a while and then Ed and I played cribbage for a while (he won two games, I won one) and while I was seriously Jonesin' for a cup of hot tea Ed gets this great idea to take our electric kettle and plug it into the car with this adapter he had bought. As he was going out the power came back on! While happy with our adventurous nature I was glad to just put on the stove. Nick missed all the fun - he was at a friend's house (supposedly to watch the game; his friend had a snow day). Nick is having a great time; his assignment for the two weeks that the Olympics are on, is the Olympics (aside from his piano, guitar and voice lessons and practising). How awesome is this homeschool? He is keeping an Olympic journal, although I haven't seen my name in there! He has been a great cheerleader for our knitting Olympics!

My ongoing frustration is of course my blogging and how much of a geek (and not in the computer way) I am. Tried to put on the Olympic Timer - failed. Tried to put on the Indigirl's pattern trackers - failed. Tried to change the margins on my sidebar and main page - failed. I have bought a couple of books but oh my god I am so out of my depth. I think I have Javascript but don't really know. May have to take a course or something. Have to get my current and future projects up on my sidebar - among other things. Oh well, at least I can still knit.

New Sock Yarn!!!!

Got some yarn in the mail today! I belong to the Folk Sock Knitalong and the current project is the Norweigan Sock. I got Dalegarn's Baby ULL in Black, Green and Pink for the sock (should be bright!). I also got some DYC Cashsoft for two pairs of Country Socks (the project for December/January). I do also plan to knit the Latvian Socks (another past project from the group) when I get a moment....! Gotta give props to Julie at The Needle Emporium for getting me the yarn so quickly. Julie rocks!!!

The Olympics: Day 4

It's actually Day 5 (really early in the am but I can't sleep and so here I am....). The shrug continues. I am at the end of sleeve one (the decreases were really cool and I am really happy with how it is progressing) and should be able to start on the other half tomorrow. I have to say that working with a merino yarn as opposed to a laceweight yarn has probably saved my sanity - it has felt really luxurious and soft and a nice way to learn to knit lace. This experience has gotten me excited to knit the Falling Leaves Shawl (I have both the pattern and the organic cotton). The photo does no justice to how attractive the lace pattern is. Hopefully once I do the other side and block it, it will photograph so much better. I have also started a new pair of socks; Embossed Leaves Socks from Interweave Knits Winter 2005. I have just started the cast on which I had to practice a bit (1 x 1 rib) - I have never done this one before; it is really nice (I am an aficienado of the long tail cast on but this cast on gives you both the knit and purl look - I practiced the purl wrapping while I was waiting to see my Doctor yesterday). I only have three rows of the cuff on but I love the colour of the socks - Lorna's Laces in Gentle Lime. This is the first time I have knit with this yarn and I am so loving it already; good stretch and oh so soft. Sorry for the blurry photo. Promise the next one will be better! I got some yarn in the mail yesterday. See the Koigu?? I love Koigu and part of this lovely little pile is for my Yarn Aboard partner (top secret identity) who has stated that she would love some Koigu. I have to say I really love both colourways (there is a third little demi skein in another very nice colourway) so it will be a little hard to decide which one to part with (ahhhggg!!). Such selfish thoughts. It is a good cause though and I am looking forward to sending my lovely Koigu along to another good mother.

Let the Games Begin...

Day 2 at the Olympics; a couple of medals and some good showings by the Canadians - awesome. Around here; knitting on my shrug and contemplating some of the blogs and posts I have been reading. When I chose my project I really thought about what would constitute a challenge for me; I decided on my shrug because I have wanted to knit it for a while but knew I would keep putting it off because it wasn't like a must knit; more like a want to knit. I felt that the lace component would be a challenge and the decreases within the lace challenging but that it would be a relaxed knit and that was my challenge; to find balance and work in a manner that was more respectful of my fibro, CFS and lead poisoning. I have learned that stressing myself can and usually causes a regression and makes me ill. I never felt the need to justify what I was knitting compared to what others were posting, although I did feel some moments of panic after reading other's choices by thinking that perhaps I wasn't picking a project that would challenge my skills enough as a knitter. Which got me to thinking about how we judge ourselves and compare ourselves to others (in the world of knitting - how fast, how complicated, how much and with what materials) and how crazy this whole world of knitting can be sometimes and how sometimes knitting is not fun but more a pressure of deadlines and output (I know I am more of a product knitter than a process knitter) and how easy it is to succumb to the temptations of being caught up in the whirlwind and forgetting why I started knitting in the first place - not to please and impress others but to please and enjoy myself. I am a competent knitter and I know that I could have picked something more ambitious and worthy of my abilities but I am really proud that for once (because that has not applied to the multitude of knitalongs I have signed up for) I have decided to challenge my needs for self caring, self preservation, self respect and balance (and respect for my illness which governs me everyday and often tests my need to overdo). I am an Olympic athlete (pre-steroid and pre the pressure to perform for cash!)! The shrug is progressing well. I am getting close to the point of decreasing and setting up for the sleeve which is both exciting and a little nerve wracking (something new). I am really enjoying this knit which is eye opening for me - I am so glad that I picked the right project for me.

Olympic Cast On and the rightful owner claims his Jaywalkers!

I am excited; the Olympics have started and I have my provisional cast on, cast on!

In the background is the TV with some model (I cannot remember her name) carrying the Italizn Flag in the Opening Ceremonies. NOTE the knitting just starting.

The knitting Olympics is such a fantastic idea and a tremendous way to inspire and enhance everyone's sense of country pride (in my case CANADA!!!). I just want to thank the Yarn Harlot for such an amazing concept.

I also want to give a shout out to J and and Rebecca for their idea of doing some handwarmers during the Olympics as well. I have some yarn and a pattern and will do the handwarmers after I finish my shrug. More updates on both of these later!

The Jaywalkers have been returned to their rightful owner, who after perusing my blog this morning was aghast to see his socks on his father!

I will NOT repeat what he said (no swearing but certainly indignant!). He did take my knitting Olympics Jersey and can be seen modelling my jersey and his socks (he did not pull them up as requested; as soon as he put them on this morning he shoved them down to the slouch position - okay, he pulled them up slightly for the picture and then pushed them back down - which makes me wonder why I didn't just knit ankle socks!).

He is totally excited about my knitting for the Olympics and pledges to knit during the next Olympics (he wants a jersey).

Last but not least, I got my yarn today for the Sockapaloooza so I can make socks for my sock pal (who for obvious security reasons I cannot name). It is beautiful (and particulary so snuggled up to the Olympic Jersey) yarn from Fleece Artist (Colour 977). I bought the yarn from Grand River Yarns; excellent and prompt service. I will not be starting my socks until after the Olympics - too much going on right now.

Twas the night before the Olympics and all through the house....

It's late and my lovely honey got home a little while ago, so I made him model the Jaywalkers! (I feel like it is an episode of Monster House and I am hammering DONE on the legs of the project!). We won't tell Nick that Daddy had his socks on first because he is sleeping and they are his socks but I wanted to post them tonight so that I can get ready for the Olympics tomorrow! The socks were interesting; the colour striping did not knit up evenly, not that you can immediately tell, they are so bright (okay I say garrish, Nick says bright). So being a little vexed that the colours weren't working out evenly I contemplated ripping them out so that I could fix the striping. Nick, in the wisdom of all twelve year olds says to me, "but Mom why would you want them even; they look so much cooler if they are different." Go figure.

A Swatch, an Olympic Dream and a Trainer!!!

Finally something to be a little excited about. My swatch is done for the Olympics! Yesterday I was kind of freaking out because I could not get the pattern to work and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I am knitting the Viennese Shrug (Interweave Knits, Summer 2005) in the colour Smokey Pearl. The Shrug is knit in 2 strand Morehouse Merino. I finally got my yarn on Friday which was a relief, it was getting close. I am a Lace Virgin (I had taken a class with Joan Kass at the DKC Knitter's Frolic last spring but have yet to make a project) so this Shrug was supposed to be both exciting and enough of a challenge to make the qualifications for the Knitting Olympics. Of course, not being able to get the pattern right was causing me to have fits because I didn't know what I was going to substitute if I couldn't knit the Shrug, wanting it to be a challenge and also something I felt I had a reasonable chance of finishing in 16 days. More importantly, I loved the Shrug, not just because it is beautiful and different but also because there is minimal finishing (working from a provisional cast on at the back and ending at the sleeve cuff). Those who know me know how much I love finishing! Enter Joan Kass - super amazing teacher. After several emails back and forth (very generous with her time as well, particularly given how busy she is knitting for the likes of Dorothy Siemens and Fiona Ellis) and a test drive of the pattern, Joan rewrote the pattern for me and I was able to see where I was making my mistakes. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time she took and her unparalleled generosity. Better still, Joan has offered to be my Olympic Trainer through the knitting of the shrug (I do believe that I can persuade Ed to provide back and neck massages and maybe even a rubdown or two - the ultimate Olympic experience)! Unbelievably kind. The knitting community is absolutely wonderful. So I knit up my swatch (not in the final colour but simply to make sure my gauge is on) and I feel accomplished. It looks wonderful (the photo does not do the pattern justice) and I am so proud of myself! My week has been mostly resting and knitting a little of this, a little of that with not much progress on any one thing. I can't wait for days of boundless knitting energy and determined knitting focus. For now it will have to be the Olympics - ha ha!

Knitting in the Fetal Position......

So I did go to the Knitting Workshop this past weekend in Toronto and I am really glad I did despite my various ailments. I stayed at my best friend Carole's house. Carole, as always, was a superfantastic host. She rocks. Not only did I have a fabulously appointed room to sleep in, Carole made me lunch, she made me breakfast, she ordered in Chinese, she took care of my every need. Carole is the reason people love their friends. Kind, compassionate, caring and an amazing listener...and she didn't mind putting on my socks for me! A true friend. Carole and I first met at the Gone Stitchin' Retreat five years ago. It was just one of those relationships that took off at once. Carole is a bit quirky (see photo with my uncompleted, unfelted clog on her head!), a bit different, but then so am I. She is a good head and totally totally loyal. She is also a fantastic knitter. On Saturday we had different classes. I went to Colour Placement and Focus on Embroidery with Fiona Ellis. Fiona is not only a fabulous teacher, she is also a hoot. Very patient, very positive and always had nice things to say, even when I knew some of my embroidery was really, really ugly (the reason you won't see that photo on my blog). On the other hand, Fiona totally LOVED ( yes, loved) the colourway I worked up in the Fairisle class (said it several times and again at the end of the day!). I think I might just have to make up a hat, mitts and scarf with the pattern and colours (Fiona wanted me to make her a sweater in the same colourway). They were very good classes. On Sunday Carole and I took the same classes which was a lot of fun. In the morning we took Two Faced Knitting with Diane Martin. Seemed easier than double knitting which I am not totally in love with anyway. Diane was a hoot and the class was great. The project to be completed is a headband and Carole and I have pledged that we will finish it. Our afternoon class was Conquering Cables with Joan Kass(see photo with Carole and Susan, who was brave enough to sit with us; we love Susan - she is also an amazing (and fast) knitter. Joan rocks. She is an excellent teacher and I totally enjoyed the class even though I have had a fair amount of cable experience; I learned a few more things and some nifty techniques. that is something that I really like about Joan; she is such an organized and innovative knitter, and always has some really cool tips and techniques for knitting. We made a nice little swatch of cables (see photo). Of course coming home from Toronto I started feeling really ill. Pushing myself is always a tricky thing (never realized how stressful socializing is for my body - aside from travelling, classes, etc). By Monday, every part of me was in pain and puffy, particularly my left knee and my right flank. I had an appointment at my Doctor's (Dr. Maria Schleifer of the H.O.P.E. Clinic in Toronto) and she put me on a totally different supplement and diet protocol. Everything is to focus on stabilizing my auto-immune system which is totally out of whack. The diet is fun - instead of what I can't eat I will focus on what I can eat (much shorter list) - chicken, fish, brown rice, fruits and veggies (as much organic as possible of course to eliminate chemicals, etc. being in my blood stream). By the time we got home last night I felt so crappy and needed help to get up the stairs to bed. I am still in the fetal position (my knee is three times it's normal size and I am so sore all over) but wanted to post (Ed is not looking at me with a happy face let me tell you). Oh yes, and I did want to post the progress on my second Jaywalker; walking a little bit slower than the first but supportive of my current state. It is always good when the knitting understands and supports you!

I love the mailman!!!