My Personal "World" Record

I finished my Clapotis yesterday. I cast this on August 6. ( yes, this year)

I can't believe it myself, I knit this thing in a little over 3 weeks. The only thing I have ever knit that fast was either for a class(with a deadline looming I can knit pretty fast) or a small project, like a hat.

I adore the colorway, pink and green, yeah!

I have been calling this my movie shawl. I can envision myself wrapped in this, sitting in an air conditioned movie theater. I need a date, Roger, (cough, cough)! I know we already bought Wild Hogs (inside joke) but I am pretty certain that you could enjoy another movie too.

You know the most bazaar thing about my knitting? I am hardly ever cold, I mean it. If everyone else in the room has icicles hanging from them I can break a sweat. ARGH, menopause! Well at least I can envision myself wrapped in my knitted goodness, I hope sweat doesn't felt wool.

My "Grand Dog" Knits

I have been teaching Lindsey to knit (again). Her grandmother taught her when she was younger but she liked crochet better. That's how I started too. My grandmother taught me to crochet and that's what I did for years. Lindsey has been exposed to my knitting and I may have pressured her a bit. She knit her first hat last week, a 2 hour hat in bulky weight yarn on size 15 needles. Now she is knitting a watch cap in worsted weight on size 8 needles. She will be really good at ribbing when this is finished.

This is Zedd, Lindsey's dog. He may very well be related to Maggie and Max, likes to knit with his "mommy".

The hat is looking good too!

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Yesterday, actually last night, I attended the Picnic with the Pops. The evenings program featured Beatle Mania.

I began the day running errands Here, There and Everywhere.
There were clothes on sale, waiting for me to purchase them. I had to get my perscriptions refilled, and pick up a fruit platter for our picnic.

I met my friends at 6pm and carpooled to the KY Horse Park for the Picnic.

(Front row:Marty, Karen, Back Row: Sharyn, Mary Lloyd, and Me)

We arrived at the Horse Park and took the Long and Winding Road to the event grounds.

(look for the road in the background)

I look forward to the World Horse Games here in Lexington, 2010. The Horse Park is a beautiful setting and the World should see it. We passed sprawling pastures and jumping venues,stables and museums. All well manicured and waiting to be used.

With a Little Help From My Friends, we made our way through the mass of cars and found a place to set up.

The sky had looked a bit menacing on our drive to the park. You know how those pop up storms can occur in the heat of August. We were afraid that we would have to beat a retreat but no, Here Comes the Sun.

It was HOT! but we survived. The sun set and the stars peaked out from the clouds.

There was Something special about setting under the stars and moon listening to the Beatles, enjoying the company of friends, and good food.

We danced and sang, or rather we did the Twist and Shout.

The most poignant moment of the night for me was when the Chimes were struck 49 times for the passangers of Flight 5191. I reflected on the loss of all, especially Cecile.

In the end we just had to Get Back, to the car, to our homes, to our everyday life.

I hope and pray the I can enjoy my friends, the outdoors, the music

When I'm 64.

She Ate My Glasses!

My FAVORITE glasses are history, thanks to Maggie. I take partial blame for their demise, I left them out unattended.

She was able to remove one lens and chew the ear pieces to bits. If x-rayed no doubt you would be able to see tiny crystals in her intestines.(yuck)
I am thinking she wants to be like me, yeah that's it. She likes to watch me knit, so she grabbed my glasses, and my knitting, ready to have a go at it. Lucky for me my husband saw them, the pugs, with my Clapotis and he saved it from paws and jaws.

On a brighter note I used my gift certificate that Jason and Lindesy gave me for my birthday. I saved it to purchase something very special. I have been coveting Prism Wild Stuff for some time but it is way to expensive for my budget, over $100.00 per skein. I was at the Stitch Niche yesterday and spotted this, much like wild stuff only less than 1/2 the price:

I paid more for this yarn than any previous purchase but it is a gift. I used my entire certificate ,exactly, and paid the tax out of pocket. I brought it home and spread out the hank:

I can hardly wait to cast on. I must find the perfect pattern for this and I spent a great deal of time searching Ravelry last night. I might knit it in a crossover scarf or a twisted scarf. I don't know, any suggestions?

Tonight I have been invited to attend Picnic With the Pops, at the KY Horse Park. I have never attended but have wanted to always. I will report on it tomorrow. We need rain desperately, just not tonight.

It's All About the Art

Yesterday I went to the Woodland Arts Fair. I try to attend every year. Most years the weather is so hot that it's almost intolerable, last year it rained. This year the weather was perfect.

I usually don't buy much but I do get inspiration. That usually means that I will spend more trying to "recreate" what I saw than if I had just bought the object. One year I saw a stained glass piece that was gorgeous, but very expensive.

This is the artist that inspired me to take a stained glass class. I spent a good amount of money on the class and the supplies to create my own pieces. That lesson learned, this year I bought these:

To go with my Clapotis. I love fused glass but I will not play with fire. I can't afford another craft. I bought them here:

If, and I am just saying if, I were to try to recreate anything from this years show it would be this:

I won't even try. That is my husband's forte, woodworking. I do like this, though I like having all my fingers attached to my hand even better.

Your Healthcare Providers!

Friends and co-workers of Becky, my "old friend" for whom I knit the Fetching warmers, gathered at the local Pub for a send off last night.

This is Becky opening her gift.

It's always fun to gather round, unwind and laugh. We work in a stressful environment, relaxing together every once in a while is a much needed activity. Only those of us who are brave enough to tackle our daily obstacles truly understand.

Much food, beverage and laughter was had by all!

Half of our four table group.

The other half.

A Record!

I finished two projects this week, one day apart, that has to be some sort of record. It is for me!!!!! I actually finished the Odessa hat on Wednesday night but I have been busy and just got around to photographing it today.

Our 27th wedding aniversery was yesterday. We went out to dinner and celebrated. It was hot and stormy last night. We recalled that it was hot on the day of our wedding too. We were married outdoors and during the ceremony Roger looked at me and said, "you have a bead of sweat about to drop off your hair". How romantic was that? I'll bet none of you have a more romantic wedding rememberance.

August 16, 1980

Oh Oh Something New for an Old Friend

I have started and completed a project in very little time. That's unusual for me, I usually start a project, then start another project, and another. I've told you about this cast on addiction that I have.

I am loosing a much loved co-worker next week. She is leaving for "greener pastures" and I will miss her very much. She and I have opposite temperature likes. She freezes and I cook. It is not at all unusual for her to be blanketed or otherwise seeking warmth. We work in surgery and she is an anesthesia provider, (CRNA). I think that she will be able to wear these, she will have to use the "rubber" gloves while she is inducing and reversing the patients but during the case while she is monitering and charting she can use these to keep warm.

I know that this yarn coordinated perfectly with the Clapotis and I think I will have enough left over to knit a pair of Mrs. Beetons for my own use. I bought this yarn 2 years ago and knit a pair of mittens. One thumb was way short and I did not see myself ever wearing them so I RIP,ed them and have kept the yarn stashed until now.

The pattern is Fetching from Knitty.com, click here to get the pattern: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html

To see the Mrs. Beetons click here:http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTmrsbeeton.html

She's special enough for it.

She will be missed DAILY.

Continuing With My Habit

I admitted it, I love to cast on. Those in the know say that admitting you have a problem is the first step in recovery. I don't really want to recover from this habit. I have been wanting to cast on Clapotis http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html for some time. I know that it is the must knit item and that everyone is knitting it, however I want one too. A search on Ravelry lead me to knit it in Patons SWS Natural Pink. I admit that I have an affinity for pink/green colorways and this yarn is perfect for this project
I cast on August 6 and currently have finished about 1/3 of the project.

The Odessa hat is on hold, I ran out of yarn and had to purchase more. I started the Clapotis and the rest as they say is history.

It will get finished, I promise, I think all of the works in progress are about to band together and revolt. I have to start paying attention to them.

Complete Surprise

The Baby Surprise Jacket is complete. I actually finished knitting the body over a week ago but I delayed seaming the sleeves and finishing until this afternoon. I added an applied i-cord around the neck and sewed on the buttons. All I need now is a baby to wear it. It will be a complete surprise when I find out who will wear it.

Bad Habits

We all have bad habits to deal with, don't we? I am sure I have many, some of which I may not even be aware of. The one I am speaking of is the overwhelming desire to cast on. I have way too many projects on the needles already but I just had to go to the yarn store and purchase more yarn and could not resist the urge to cast on immediately.

I had admired the Odessa pattern that I found on Ravelry. It appears that I am not alone in this admiration, there are nearly 200 people who have posted this project on the site. I purchased some Debbie Bliss Rialto in dark blue and pearl beads for the project.

My first cast on went as planned, then I took the project in the car on Saturday. Roger asked me to ride along, he needed to go to Danville and I thought it would be a good opportunity to knit. I made a mistake somewhere, couldn't even see the pattern developing as it was supposed to. I RIPped it (rest in peace).

The pattern calls for 1 inch ribbing on size 4 needles, switching to size 6 for the remainder. I thought I would try size 6 for the ribbing and size 8 for the body of the hat. I cast on again. All went well and was looking good. I took the project with me to Woodsongs Old Time Radio Show on Monday night. I knit in a dimly lit theater and made another mistake. I could have corrected it and knit on but I decided that I should have used the smaller needles so I RIPped it again.

The last cast on went well again and I took the project to work with me. I do like to knit if I am in a long case. I knit during a case that I had to turn the lights down. Again I made a mistake but I only had to frog it for a couple of rows. It is going great and I love how it is progressing.

Good thing I love to cast on. Three time on one project!!!

PS: for anyone who wants to knit this pattern here is a link;
http://www.magknits.com/feb06/patterns/odessa.htm