My KAL went to the pond

Yes after working and posting about my KAL project - I finally actually looked at it and "HATED IT"! Although the alpaca was lovely - it wasn't the right fiber for this project - I needed something with more stitch definition and less "fuzz". So ripped I did - and now I'm back to the middle of Clue 4 and the shawl and I are much happier! The ancient alpaca will have to wait a little longer - maybe the fuzzy scarf that came as a bonus with the KAL! I'll take a picture tomorrow and you can see the differences!

Now that you can see the picture isn't it much better - this is Knit Picks Shadow in Sunset done on a size 4 needle! I have used up the first ball and about a yard of the second ball! And it's getting bigger! This is probably the last time I photograph it until finally blocking it!

Klabauter KAL

Well the last post said I was tired -maybe this one should be I promise not to be melodramatic! Although I think when I'm one I will almost always be the other...



Chemo Caps were delivered - the recipient loved them - and she felt much more comfortable while receiving visitors for the festive season. And then came my mood changer...



This is the "Christmas Mystery Shawl" from Moni. This is a free KAL that I found one afternoon while aimlessly surfing around Ravelry. I signed up for this one because it was free and I'd never joined a KAL and I figured if I hated it - no great loss!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/klabauter/ or
http://www.klabauterwolle.de/



I must say it's the best present I got for Hannuka! Something that actually challenges me (sorry but leaf and nupp and chemo hats have been...less than exciting!) without being toooo challenging (Lerwick in '09) so I have lots of time for carting the kid around and visiting with friends and family! Not to mention that most of the list is coming in German - I haven't used my German in 20 years! Slowly but surely I am using the translator (babelfish.yahoo.com) less and actually reading more. I shudder to think what it actually translates to after I write something! I learned a new word - Morgenmuffel - which I have no idea what it means - but it sure sounds like me! Unfortunately the translator has no idea what it really means beyond morningmuffel!



So it works like this - Christmas Eve (the 24th) there arrives in my mail a happy holidays and the first clue. The clues it turns out are in the form of a chart for a lace shawl and I'm using up some ancient Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in colorway Autumn. Then a clue arrived everyday for three days which is the top picture! Now the decision - I'm really getting into this thing - the clues are published at around 2:30 am Missouri time - do I stay up and get the clue so I can keep knitting or do I follow convention and go to bed and get the clue during normal knitting hours....but then again I've never really had "normal" knitting hours! At least there's a brief hiatus right now - no clue today!

I am tired...

I am tired of knitting chemo caps - I am tired of knitting prayer shawls - I am a miserable person to be tired when so many women fight with such dignity and grace. I am weak to shed tears while they fight on with smiles of determination. So once more the phone has rung - and today I set aside holiday knitting to start on another round of caps. Please consider making a chemo cap or two, send them out into the world where there is a dire need...

The Marilyn Project - because when you're sick and ask for a hat - you shouldn't have to

wear the one your hubby hastily digs out of the hunting closet at home. You deserve lace, you deserve cashmere, you deserve silk - and a tube ofoutrageously expensive lip gloss.

And I thank the Grumperina's and other designer's out there on Ravelry who are fueling my needles - right now I can't think - but I can still knit.

What you do is a true mitzvah.

Tretta

A couple of days ago I was looking thru the "HATS, HATS, HATS" group over on Ravelry and saw this wonderful hat knitted by "WildeThymeKnits" - it was a "Grumperina" design.

Now I've used her patterns for about a year when I've been doing Chemo Caps and Caps for Kids and they have been wonderful. And now I had an opportunity to actually send some coin her way! YaHoo!!! So sent in my $4 via Ravelry and there it was moments later! Got up this morning and did the normal chores (why is there never an end to laundry? or dishes? or cleaning?) and then plunked myself down and started stringing beads! How happy is my Six Sigma consultant - used up more vintage stash and left over beads from another project! That's got to count for at least 3 of the "S's"! But then I started knitting - being married to the "quality" guy means that if it's defective it will live in our house...no sooner do I finish my 1.25 inches of ribbing then...THERE's A BIG HONKING KNOT! Restring and start again and yes another knot! After that everything went smoothly! Here are the pic's! And one of these days I'll sit down and figure out how to do all those fancy linking things - but I'm just not that motivated!

And just an aside - when is a cookie so much more than a cookie? Carolyn's a Matter of Taste is on my "after-school" run. How wonderful to have a bad day and be able to shake off the cold where they not only have wonderful cookies and cakes (the smell is devine), but they appreciate my knitwear and have such winning smiles?! Our family highly recommends the peanutbutter cup cookies - yup they bake a whole regular size reese's right in the middle of a peanutbutter cookie!!!

ColourMart 100% Cashmere 2/28

I stood there looking at a sink that until about 20 minutes ago held the remains of the boy child's breakfast - hey at least he found the sink!!! And I've scoured and it's rainy in Missouri - I am in a foul mood anyways - I hold my cashmere shawl over a tub full of DAWN and hot hot water. This feels wrong - very wrong...

So I plunge it in - well there's nothing to do or think about any more - it's done - one way or another....So I rinse and plunge it in again....

Then I rinse and add a little Pantene anti frizz shampoo...

OH MY GOD - I think it actually worked - you be the judge...I just wish you could touch it!!!!

Dimensions before blocking...18 1/2 x 58

After blocking....23 x 66 and I expect to lose about an inch width wise when I pull the wires. I'll post more pictures when I've got it off the bed and onto a model. As promised the fibers bloomed perfectly and the hand while pinning was very cooperative, which is more than I can say for the men and dog in this house....And yes to the person on Ravelry - my back is KILLING me!

2/28 Spiders and Webs

I can never leave well enough alone - so I decided to substitute Spiders and Large Webs from page 146 of Heirloom Knitting. So if I did my math this should work out.

Length

4 repeats makes for 224 rows

adding an additional 26 rows to balance it with another set of webs so now there are 250 rows

it takes 256 rows to keep the diamonds on the edging flowing correctly soooo that should mean if I add 3 rows of plain garter stitch before the first set of webs and after the last set of webs all should be right with the world....

As far as width -

if I increase by two stitches in the begining and remember to decrease again after the last set of webs - this too should all work out.

Still liking the 2/28 - but I have an irrational fear of plunging it into hot water with Dawn.....also the the mom in law and the mom have requested that I NOT dye it - they like the color!

Oh yah - that's Ivy and her nasty (but according to her) very essential tennis ball. We have come to an understanding - row of lace - throw the ball - row of lace - throw the ball - must NEVER touch the cashmere!

ColourMart 2/28 100% cashmere

I thought long and hard before I placed my order, but the price was just toooo good not to give it a go. I mean where else am I going to lay hands on 2300 yards of pure cashmere for $36? So I went for the dark natural color, grabbed my ever favorite Sharon Miller "The Angela" pattern and I cast on. I chose the "The Angela" simply because it's pretty easy to memorize and I knew the pattern inside and out so there would be no guess work...

I decided not to pre-wash, mostly because I'd heard rumors that Habu was coming out with an oiled, coned, cashmere yarn - so if they were going to sell it oiled, why not try it with what I had at hand. Used size three needles, which I'm guessing might be a little large, but we'll see....and went to town.

Started knitting, no issues - except a tiny one, it smells a little dusty? I know this can't be, and the husband and the kid and the in-laws all say no it doesn't and I'm crazy - so I admit to being crazy! Maybe I'm having flash backs to my days in the cutting tool industry and machine oil is forever ingrained in my nose! Which would again make me crazy! Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

I've finished the first section and I'm having to resist the urge to just finish it off and wash and block it!

At the Guild

So how much fun was guild today! So many thanks to all the teachers who gave so much of themselves! Thanks too to all the kind people who fussed over my lace!

As to books here's some of the books I mentioned at guild...

Heirloom Knitting - this is written by Sharon Miller out of the UK. I use this book about everyday. It's pricey, but I think it's worth it. I think Brook and Susie over at the Kirkwood Knittery have one copy over at the shop, otherwise you'll have to order off the Heirloom Knitting website. I think I heard rumors too that Meg over at Schoolhouse Press has them in stock.

Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace book - just out. It has some really beautiful projects, and there's something for every skill level. My problem with the book came with the idea of having to sew on a border. Not one of my favorite things to do. I did have fun learning to bead with the free download from Knitting Daily (good only thru December), but I won't be doing the crocheted on bead thing for quite a while.

Seaman's Scarves and Shawls by Myrna Stahman - I've had this one for a couple of years and it definitly gets my vote as a wonderful book, that also doubles as a pattern library! Again there's something for all skill levels here.

Victorian Lace Knitting - by Jane Sowerby - love this book. Although the projects are lovely there is a wealth of information in the back of the book on construction and designing!

Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn Clark - I just picked up this little gem and I love it! But make sure when you're ready to start you have the needles in your hands. It makes everything so much easier!

Rose Red

I've been self-indulgent, all I've done is knit and not really written about anything. It's really more fun that way! Not to mention I'm a bore, that is until yesterday...I think it's time to get started on something way fun, funner than anything I've attempted to date! I believe that starting the first of the year I'm going to attempt Sharon Miller's Lerwick. YIKERS! But I also feel the need for a little cash/silk cobweb, but I need to stay in the silver family since dark colors are playing havoc on my eyes lately - I am not aging gracefully! Join me for the insanity?

Rose Red and Estonian Lace Scarf

This is my Rose Red- it is actually called Shadows and Light by Evelyn Clark in her "Knitted Triangles" book. I really love this book, I know some people have said that in trying to make it usable for a novice knitter they've actually made it harder. I disagree. I think that this little gem has something for everyone and every level. Personally I learned a lot about "transitional" patterning rows! And yes it took me about an hour to truely understand how it was supposed to work - but I have learned so much from this book!

The second one is "Estonian Lace Scarf" which is my Nancy Bush and is being offered as a free download until December on Knitting Daily website. I'm not real crazy about picking up all those stitches around the outside and then knitting out to the points. But on the other hand it sure does beat having to knit the border separately and then SEW it on! I tried beads instead of nupps - gotta say I'm a fan of the nupps! Beads just thru my timing off.

Also note to self - when doing the edging shown in this pattern, the swallowtail and almost all the knitted on edges in Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace, go down one needle size when binding off. I know that this is contrary to most modern lace knitter's instinct. But I've found that if I go down one needle size the "scallops" actually hold up better during continual wear. Has anyone else tried this

Curse of the Empty Needle

After finishing my Lily of the Valley Scarf from Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace I immediately ran down stairs to block it! I think it came out great. Now for the down side, I decided to block my Leda's Dream Shawl and I blogged the process. (Thanks for all the great feed back!) Which meant that my needles sat empty for almost 72 hours. Yup EMPTY. Way back when I was told that if you let your needles stay empty they will be cursed. And it's true. I have made 2 days of failed attempts. I tried four different patterns with multiple starts at each, all FAILED.

Then last night at 9 pm while watching election returns (as of this morning Missouri still wasn't finished counting) I started Lyra. And after only 20 minutes of collecting up supplies everything just clicked again. So note to self - no more empty needles! I'm not much on keeping multiple projects going, but that is changing...starting now! So I'm also going to go thru my Victorian Lace Knit Today book and cast on a scarf. Besides I don't think Lyra is the sort of thing I should carry around!

Off to class...to date I've only lost one student. Toni is the furthest and as of last week was appling her beechleaf border. Valerie was memorizing her beechleaf border and should start this week. Sharon is now starting to knit her faggoting round after finishing her garter stitch center, and Anne is almost half way done with her center in garter. Note to self, only teach small projects!

How I block...

Everyone always asks me..."How do you block"? I personally always think that each project deserves it's own unique method. But on the day I'm writing this down I'm working on blocking my Leda shawl so I guess this is as good a one to document as any.

First off one of my major weapons is...Pantene PRO V Rainy Day 4 Curly Hair Shampoo and Conditioner from the Walgreens. Yes there are many wool washes and shampoos around but the Pantene was in the bathroom one day and I used it, and the shawl came out so well I've been using it ever since...same bottle for over two years. NOTE - this only works on HAIR, not silk or bamboo or acrylic! So I fill the basin with warm water, I disolve about a 1/2 teaspoon in the sink then add the shawl. Swish it around for a bit and let it set for about 10 minutes. Then I empty the sink and run clear water over the shawl until it stops sudsing. Then give it a good rinse in tempid water. Then I fill the basin with warm water again and disolve about a teaspoon of the conditioner. Throw the shawl in and swish it around a bit. At this point things may feel a little...slimey! Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Empty the basin and rinse with clear running water for about 5 minutes. This process seems to tame the fibers that "poke" some people and make them itch. It acts the same way a good conditioner works on unruly hair. With it you have a great hair day, without it...you may want to knit a nice hat!

Now for weapon number 2 - my salad spinner. Personally I recommend a dedicated spinner for knitwear unless your family enjoys their spinach with hair. Throw the shawl in and give it a couple of good spins. This gets rid of most of the excess moisture and will cut down dramatically on the drying time.

Pull it from the salad spinner and grab the 3rd weapon- the ugly plaid sheet! Yes a sheet, you'll save yourself tons of time if you throw a plaid sheet down, now you can pin to the lines instead of having to constantly stop and measure. Final secret weapon...the wires! These are readily available from lots of different places. I know that the Kirkwood Knittery has some, mine are ancient and I got them from Myrna Stahman. I usually start in the middle and work to the ends of the longest side. Since the Leda has straight sides I threaded the wire thru each of the slipped stitches being careful to slip them consistently! When stretched this stitch adds a really pretty border down the side of the shawl and distributes the tension evenly down the sides. I know that there are other methods...string, frames, pins, etc. I've used them and depending on the project they may be a right choice, but this is my preferred method for this type of shawl. Personally I like something more along the lines of the wave pattern at the bottom of the shawl...just slide thru the one big hole and then the next. Easier on the eyes and much faster....

Now the tricky part. I only say this because this is where the majority of ooop's can occur. Generally I pin out the part of the shawl the furtherest away from me. So following a line on the sheet start placing pins between the wire and the knitting (never ever ever stick a pin in the actual fiber itself! You want the stitches to be able to float up and down the wires.) Pin to a little less than stated finished size. YES you will be moving pins a lot! You then start stretching the side closest to you a little bit at a time. Really take your time, stretch too little and you loose pattern definition, stretch too much and you'll end up snapping one of the stitches floating on the wire. So stretch and pin, stretch and pin, until you get a fabric that you like. If there is a border in a border situation, look thru the holes in the fabric and locate a line to follow! I then pinned out the bottom and top with individual pins to shape. Starting size 47 inches x 18 inches. After blocking 72 inches by 22 inches!

So Leda''s Dream (from Pink Lemon Twist - $2 ravelry download) is knit in KnitPicks Shadow (about $9). The shampoo and conditioner (too inexpensive to matter) make it buttery soft with a beautiful drape. Knit time about a week, blocking time about two and one half hours. This was a fun pattern with NO ERRORS! I shortened the pattern because the owner is very petite.

It's Here

Oh my gosh - it's here - it's finally here! Nancy Bush Estonian Lace! You won't be hearing from me for a while I've got things to do!!!!! NUPPS HERE I COME!!!

12 in 12

I love this hat! It's based on the hat in Sunny's Mittens book. I cast on 80 stitches, did 3 ridges of garter stitch, knit plain for an inch and a half, added 3 more ridges of garter stitch. When the hat measured 5.5 inches I decreased at five equally spaced places and then finished off. That gave me the band to play with. It just looks soft and warm and snuggly. Hopefully it will appeal to the whoever gets it! This was 11 of 12. And finally 12 of 12 was another freebie Frivol off the net. Again I used stash yarn on both, but there is still so much stash yarn left I wonder if I'll ever knit through all the acrylic odds and ends. Which leads me into what I've learned from the 12 in 12 self challenge....

Let's see - it's easier to complete a task if there's a little competition involved. Even if it's self imposed! I need to thank rms for posting her FO's to match mine! She's amazing! I also learned that I've been knitting lace tooooo long. All the yarn I used felt huge and let's not talk about the needles!!! (I didn't even own a set of size 8 double points!) Also my wrists ache! I am a fiber snob, I'm thinking that I'll donate all my acrylic yarn to guild so I don't have to feel icky about not working on it's depletion! (The hubby says this is part of 6 Sigma and he's proud of me?)

So this all started with guilt from Toni, followed up by a missing order from ColourMart (guilt from the universe?), but it taught me a lot! Now according to rms, she had about 8 people asking for my "With Grace" over the weekend, I need to write that up pretty soon...I need to join Procrastinator's Anonymous...tomorrow!

Hats on the Home Stretch

Okay - I'm going to make it! This is the home stretch. This is a basic tam pattern and it can be found in the book "Knitted Tams". I know it's not technically a free pattern off the web, but it was in my stash, and I had some wonderful Alpaca/Silk blend scraps. And in the UFO basket there was a Seaman's Scarf to match, so here it is. It came out whisper light but still feels soft and warm. This should make Patti happy, even if I can't donate it at the Founder's Luncheon. Hopefully it will provide some comfort to someone.


This is another tam - it was a UFO and taking Patti's challenge to heart I dug it out and finished it off. And you know that felt kindda good, and hopefully when thrown out into the universe someone will think it's perfect too! This hat is by Lily Chin and is a quick knit and a great pattern to use up scraps!


And this is the Lace-Edged Hat. Wow this one's for free on Ravelry and I must say it was one of my favorites! It's a simple lace pattern on the bottom that frames a face, and then the rest is simple knit. I seems to fit a multitude of heads and it took only one ball of stashed yarn to knit. I can turn two a day provided there's a good marathon of Dr. Who! (So looking forward to the new season starting!) . I was thinking that I do a bunch of the lace edging starts at home, and that way I'd have just the plain stuff to work on when I'm out and about.

Now I just gotta say - how fun was Guild on Saturday? And can you believe that just when the call came in and we were short on Chemo Hats...Carol shows up with over 200! Another fine example as far as I'm concerned that throwing out a need into the Universe, the Universe delivers! (Especially when Carol's listening!) Let's not forget that we still have a lot more to go - and the Founder's Day Luncheon is looming ever closer - CAPS FOR KIDS!!!

Hats, More Hats and Chemo Caps

Okay this would be 5 of 12 and I'm making good progress! This pattern was so much fun to knit, but when I first started it I had reservations. That and I hadn't done cables in awhile, but it's done and I'd do another. Then while at lunch with knittie 5 I found out that she was totally out of chemo caps and had just been contacted by a local hospital that had requested more. So there's a lot of need out there folks, and to quote the master herself....KNIT ON!

And this would be my "In-Between" hat - another stash buster. Why oh Why can I only think of Olivia Newton John when I see this cap! Must not sing Xanadu - Must not sing Xanadu! This is 4 of 12, don't think I'd do this one again.

And 6 and 7 are the Beaufort revisited, because I can knit one in about 4 hours, because I have the yarn, because they are pretty, because they fit just about anyone who grabs one, and finally because of recent life lessons - I could never say no to someone who asks for Chemo Caps!

More Hats

This is the Beaufort Hat - I really liked the way this one turned out, and indeed it does remind me of the ocean, but not the way the designer intended. I took the yarn on vacation (it did seem to enjoy it) and didn't end up using it. But it did have a little sand in it! After much thought, and finding the invoice in the bag - this yarn came from Smiley's in New York, and is over 14 years old! I had purchased it while expecting Jake! So this is 2 of 12 and I'm casting on 3...

Now this is the Harvest Hat - I HATE this hat! I'm sure the pattern is perfectly lovely, but I had some mystery yarn in the stash and decided to use it, now I wish I'd just lost it! No rants, and I'm hoping someone will get some use out of it, but ick! So staying in the vein - this is a free pattern and a stash reduction, and it's done!

I've also got to say thanks to Jake - he printed off all the patterns for me from Ravelry, put them in plastic slip sleeves, hauled all the old stash out and we made hat kits I could just grab and run with them!

Halley's Comet

First up on the hat hit parade is "Halley's Comet" I started it after dinner on Sunday Nite and stayed up until 10:30 to finish it off while watching an old documentary on WalMart. I loved this pattern, I have so many doily patterns and this would be an excellent way to practice the Emily Ocher cast on and try out a bunch of centers without making the commitment to an entire doily or shawl. I changed the shaping a little so it's more of a bucket/cloche shape which seems to be very popular this year, and with that big old rose on top of the head of course I chose a yarn by the name of Primrose! If it went this quickly in DK weight, imagine how quickly it would go in a heavier yarn with bigger needles! So the hat is stowed in the finished pile, the free pattern is stored in a folder to bring to guild and this morning I'll start the Beaufort...

Hats for Guild

Well being new to Missouri and to the guild I didn't realize the huge responsiblities attached to the groups service program - HATS! Thanks Knittie5 for explaining it to me! Did you know that our group made a commitment to knit/crochet/fabricate 1500 hats for 2008? So here's my personal challenge to moi, hat a day for the next 12 days. And to kick it off, and since they're relatively small I started with a baker's dozen of little caps. Preemie, Newborn, 6 month and 12 month. That means by the end of the month for Trick or Treat I should have 2 dozen caps.

So I started this morning on Ravelry by picking my top 12 free patterns (you can check my queue on Ravlery). Not only that but Ravelry allows you to sort by yarn weight and needle size so I only picked things in worsted weight since that's all I have in acrylic! I'm ready, my printer is groaning, and the boyz are carrying up the acrylic footlocker from the basement. I put my needle bags next to the chair, I have a good light and a supply of coffee. I'll post pic's as I go!

On another, less charitable note - seems rms and I keep playing tag! She posts a finished object, and within days I post one. Not that I'm a competitive person - it's just a coincidence -really!! So rms - GET READY!!

The 22nd Pair of Mittens

There was a discussion the other day about knitting - not the process but what happens to the finished product. The question...is it better that the piece you've spent hours working on (literally hours), days selecting just the right yarn, agony over the perfect pattern, heartache and frustration during creation, is this thing supposed to be used, or is it supposed to sit pristine in a drawer for "special" occasions and as a heirloom.

Don't get me wrong both scenarios mean the piece is loved and cherished. I guess the question is personal to the knitter. So the situation went like this...layed out in front of you are 22 pairs of mittens at a guild meeting, you're supposed to choose the best pair and award a prize. They are all lovely, they are all made with care and attention. 21 pairs are brand spanking new, never been out of the cabin except on the way to guild. The 22nd pair - well they are beautiful, they were knit for a 6 year old girl, you can still see her chubby little fingers because she wore them so much they felted to the shape of her hand, the lace at the cuff has been caught a couple of times on the swings, these mittens - these mittens screamed LOVE! Love by the owner, love by the knitter - I swear to god - love by the sheep. They made my heart ache. So do you award the prize to the technically perfect and stunning multicolor latvian mittens, or do you pick the 22nd pair?

Gift Giving and Leda's Dream?

Okay - it's that time of year again. Gift Giving! There's teacher's gifts, and friends gifts, and family gifts, and gifts to strangers (aka service knitting).

So...Jake has a favorite over in the classics department (yes I know most 13 year old's would not list Greek and Latin as their first picks, but we are talking about Jake). Dr. X is wonderful and she demonstrates to all the meaning of a "Small World". We moved recently to St. Louis from lovely La Crosse, Wisconsin. We show up at our very first parents meeting at school, and boom - I'm told someone named Dr. X is looking for us. Goodness, Jake can't be in trouble school hasn't even started yet! Seems Dr. X knew all about La Crosse Wisconsin. She knew where our house was, she knew Jake's Cello teacher...she grew up down the street!!! Jake's first day at school they commiserated about the closing of their favorite doughnut shop (Mr. D's). and Jake had found a little piece of home hiding in St. Louis.

So now that you know about Dr. X...I'm doing my gift knitting thing, Dr. X is a knitter, I'm thinking how perfect, I'll do the Leda's Dream in Bomber Blue! Greek story - Classics department, School Colors! YEAH ME!!! How pretty - swan wings, flowers, water perfect.. So I Google Leda and Swan. I get a picture, little weird - naked lady with a swan draped over her. So I thinks I should read more... So there's a poem, this is sounding a bit disturbing. So off to Wikipedia, YIKERS! Is it really appropriate to give someone a scarf based on a story about a swan raping a beautiful woman who gives birth to two sets of twins IN EGGS? Please weigh in on this subject!!! In need of etiquette counseling here people!!!

I'm an enabler...

Okay I never think that knitting lace is any big thing, I think anyone can knit lace. So I decided to prove my point and accepted a teaching gig at the Kirkwood Knittery. After finding out my favorite learners pattern wasn't published any more, and not getting a returned phone call from the publishers I went and designed my own. I'm calling it "With Grace", Fall version.

Grace was my Gran and died this year. Hey don't get depressed, she was amazing! Still sitting at the beach, kicking my butt at Scrabble, and drinking Beam and Diet Pepsi's...and Knitting! She loved being out doors in the fall, watching nature change and the kids play, so I used her colors and shoved as many leaves into it as I could. And since Grace passed from cancer all proceeds are going to the Cancer Society who were so good to her! These are the pictures....

So now I've got a class, and I must say they are troopers. Right out of the box they learned Emily Ocher's center cast on, and they are off and running. Ann who is a real trooper had never used double points so we did a quick change up and she's knitting her center as a traditionalist in garter stitch with yarn overs at the beginning of each row, she and Brooke will go back after completing the center and pick up the little yarn overs all the way around and then start back with the rest of the class for the next color change and border completion. Tony and Valerie took to it with a little difficulty but persevered thru the process and are flying now. Sooooo looks like there will be several more ladies doing "Just One More Round".

How much housework have I discouraged, how many hungry spouses and children are going to be eating PB&J tonite because of me, how many dogs have their legs crossed needing a potty break...I'm a bad, bad girl - and I like it that way!