Dragon Wings for Sue

Yesterday, I did decide to frog the Friendship Shawl and try another pattern.  I picked Dragon Wings, which is beautiful!  I got it on a PDF download on Ravelry, so I can't post a link here.  :(  Trust me... I would if I could.  You all need to see the beautiful dark red shawl that the pattern designer made.  Gor!Geous!

I cast on last night and so far, I am loving it.  I think Sue will too.  The yarn looks really nice with the pattern so far (although I am only about 14 rows in) and I'm thinking it will just be very, very pretty when its done.  I'm very glad that I changed patterns. 

Also, I am learning a new skill.  Reading a chart.  The pattern is charted and so I was a little intimidated at first.  Its going well, though, and frankly really easy to read!  I always thought charts looked super scary.  Luckily, its a chart/line pattern combo deal.  The pattern will say K1, M1, K1, work chart from marker to marker....  I can do that.  This is a really good first charted pattern for me.  I'm learning a lot!  :) 

Sandy picked up Abbie's Cardigan last night and I'm kind of sad that it left.  I may make another for my future daughter (if I have one).  I have enough yarn.  We'll see.  I'm getting a very pretty lavender yarn that I think would work too, so maybe I'll make it in that.  :)

To Frog or Not to Frog

I am about 7 inches in on Sue's shawl.  Here's the problem, though.  While I LOVE it... I'm thinking it won't be wide enough.  This particular shawl is a wrap type shaw and therefore, is basically nothing more than a large scarf.  Its about 22 inches wide and 65 inches long when complete.  Very large scarf. 

I just think Sue would rather have  triangular shawl like the one I made Peggy.  Soooo... today I am considering frogging it and choosing another pattern.  I will have to ponder this for a while and obssesively look at patterns some more. 

O.k. here's the pic:

So anyway... I'll let you know tomorrow what I decide to do.  Today is my doctor's appointment, so I may not get to worry about it until tonight after bedtime. 

I love it!

When a plan comes together!  Or some knitting!  LOL  Abbie's cardigan has buttons and has been through the wash.  And all seams stayed together and everything!  I'm so very impressed with myself its not even funny! 

Actually, I'm just proud of myself for finishing it and doing it well.  I hate to give gifts to people that I'm not proud of... especially when I made them.  Although, since every knitted thing that I'm not proud of got frogged and never became gifts, that has never happened... me giving a gift I'm not proud of, I mean... so ummmm... anyway... I digress.

I'll give Abbie's Cardigan to Sandy Tuesday night at Bible study.  Today I have to finish 1 side of the I-cord on Leslie's last bib and then its ready to mail.  After I finish that, I will cast on for Sue's Shawl. 

I've been through pattern after pattern on Ravelry looking for the perfect shawl for Sue and I think I found it.  The funny thing is... I queued it for Sue about 2 weeks ago, but now I've decided it is the best shawl for the yarn.  (I've thought that before, though, so we'll see after I cast on.)

I have more pregnant people to knit for.  I ran into Amy from my Bible study at the pharmacy Friday and she is due June 1.  So I'll be making her some bibs and washcloths.  I tell you what.  Those Down Cloverlaine bib/washcloth patterns are saving my life!  So many babies on this base, its insane.  There's no way I could get baby blankets done.  Plus, I don't know most of the people well enough that I would make a whole blanket.  I do, however, know them well enough (or Jerry does) that a gift is called for. 

So bibs and washcloths it is!  I think I'm going to order cones of cotton from Yarn & Thread by Lisa.  A cone of almost 700 yards of cotton is only $9.  If I get up to $150 worth of yarn, I get wholesale price.  I'm not ready for that, though.  If I decide to do the craft show, maybe. 

Oh ya... on the craft show... there's no way I can get enough knitted things done for a craft show in the small amount of time that I have.  However, Jerry is deploying this fall and then I'll have a whole year of trying to keep myself occupied through knitting.  So there you go.  I'll knit a bunch of them and put them away and then I'll have a couple of options... reserve a booth at the craft fair... or keep them on hand for all of the babies that will be conceived upon the Aviation Brigade coming home from Afghanistan.  Or the babies that were conceived during R&R leave.  LOL  There are always babies on an Army base.  Always a need for a gift!  :) 

I've decided that people I know well will get sweaters now.  I liked making the sweater.  It was fun!  Acquaintences will get bibs/washcloth sets.  If Kira, Heather, or another good friend decides to have another child... they get blankets.  I think there has to be levels of friendship in my knitting otherwise I will never get anything done.  Oh who knows... we'll see.  You know me... I may find a baby blanket pattern I'm dying to make.  LOL

My First Finished Sweater

Abbie's Cardigan is complete!

All I need to do now is wash and dry it so that I can make sure my seams are secure.  Then I can fix any mistakes I may have made.  Then it will be ready for Sandy Tuesday night at Bible Study and Abbie can wear it for Easter!  :)

Picture of the Sweater

Here is a picture of the sweater with 1 side completely done and 1 side not quite done.  :) 

I thought I'd already taken a picture of it sewn together, but apparently I haven't.  I'll do it later after I get the buttons sewn on.

Just Add Buttons

I have Abbie's Cardigan all sewn together and I'm really happy with it!  Now all I have to do is sew buttons on and its ready to give to Sandy!  Yay!  A completed, wearable sweater!  Its a miracle!  LOL  I'll put pictures up in a bit.  Right now, I have to get the Boy and myself ready to get in the car to take Jerry to work. 

I have a dentist appointment.  Apparently, after a trip to Urgent Care last night (those people are starting to recognize me on the street), I have an infection in my jaw/teeth.  I am in a world of pain with this one, though.  I have ibuprofen and penicillin from the doctor last night, but the dentist needs to check my teeth.  I mean, I was just there about 3 weeks ago and had x-rays.  So ya...

O.k. Pictures after I come back from the dentist.  Oh and my NetFlix disc for the Wii is coming today!  Yay!  I can watch movies or a t.v. series whenever I want now!  Sweet!

Lots of Work for Nothing!

Did you all see the hard work I put into blocking Abbie's Cardigan yesterday?  The pictures in the post below show 85ish T-pins holding down the pieces that I painstakingly put in according to instructions I found online.  Apparently, though... it was unnecessary!

I did this at about Noon when Gabriel went down for his nap and I pinned out the pieces on our bed for several reasons.  A. We have very few surfaces in this house that pins will poke into that are flat enough and big enough.  B.  We have very few areas of this house that my little Master of Disaster can be locked out of. 

However, by 3 p.m., they weren't drying very fast.  Hmmm.... we have to sleep on this bed.  What to do?  First, ask for prayer.  I called Peggy.  She laughed at me (as she should), but said she'd pray.  She's awesome like that!

Next step... go to Ravelry forum and ask how to make pieces dry faster.  Their answer?  Use the dryer.  Acrylic yarn doesn't really need to be blocked.  What?!  The internet instructions say they do!  Hmmm... someone is messing with me now.  Nope...3 experienced knitters say that pinning down Acrylic yarn is pointless. 

So into the dryer the pieces went for 2 short bursts of drying time.  I was a little nervous because applying to much heat to acrylic yarn at first can be bad, too.  This is how the experienced knitters said to dry them.  They also basically said that that's all they do to prepare acrylic yarn pieces for sewing.  Wash & Dry!  Dude... 

My dryer doesn't dry very well if there isn't a large load in it, so some of the pieces were still damp and they are now all on the drying rack.  Not pinned.  During naptime today, I will start sewing them together.  I hope that goes smoothly!  I'm sure it will, though. 

Bib & Washcloth Progress: I finished the first bib and cast on the 2nd last night.  I'm done with the truck pattern on the 2nd and will start shaping the top and do the I-cord ties when I'm done with Abbie's Cardigan.  :) 

On a side note:  I have nothing to watch during naptime now.  Jerry wants to watch Lost with me, so we've been watching it in the evenings and my next movie hasn't come.  Usually I watch 2 episodes of Lost for 2 days and then send it back, watch whatever movie I got in the meantime and only have to endure 1 day of daytime t.v. during my knitting time.  Now, I have to endure several while I wait for a movie to come.  So I'm not sure what I'll do. 

At some point, we are supposed to get a disc to put in the Wii to be able to use our Netflix instantly on the t.v.  Then I can watch a lot of movies instantly and this won't be a problem.  For now, though... my hubby screwed up my knitting time entertainment plan.  Grrr... Oh well... he's wonderful and deserves to get to watch Lost, too. 

I guess random re-runs of Las Vegas and Cold Case it is for a while!

My Blocking Process

The Process of Blocking of Abbie's Cardigan

First, here is a picture of the buttons.  I thought a happy, stress-free picture should be at the beginning.  LOL

Here is a picture of the blocking "tools" needed.  I pinned trash bags to our bed to keep the bed from getting wet and also so that the pieces would dry faster.  In the picture are the T-pins and a water bottle full of distilled water. 

I kept the laptop with the blocking instructions and the pattern instructions nearby just in case!  LOL

This is the first piece all pinned out.  It is the back of the sweater.  I pinned it down and then measured so that the rest of the pieces could be pinned accordingly.  :) 

 Here are all of the pieces pinned out.  I tried to block the sun coming in from the window so the picture would be easier to see.  Not sure it worked well enough, though!

Here are the pieces wet!  Not sure if you can tell the difference from the pictures, though.  LOL 

And now I'm just waiting for it to dry! 

Blocking and being blamed

Today, armed with many online sets of instructions and videos, I will attempt to block Abbie's Cardigan.  I didn't get to go talk to Sandy's MIL last night at Bible Study because I played hooky.  (We'll get back to that.  Film at 11 and all.)  Since I am using acrylic yarn and therefore can just Spray Block, I think I can handle this. 

I did head out to Wal-Mart after Damian... I mean Gabriel went to bed early for screaming and general bad behavior.  I got the T-pins and a spray bottle.  I'm thinking I can do this on our bed at naptime.  A couple of trash bag and towels and I'll be good.  I think it will dry quickly enough that it won't upset the delicate balance of the husband's bedtime by much.  I'm not going to soak them completely like in Wet Blocking, so they should be dry by the time we go to bed at 11 p.m. or so.  Then tomorrow I can sew!  Yay!

Why I played hooky from Bible Study: (doesn't that sound like I'm writing a 3rd grade essay on what I did over the summer? Ha!)  Anywho... I had a headache all day.  Now, if it was just the headache alone, I would take some Tylenol and get over it.  However, because of the headache, the whole right side of my face hurt, too.  And I swear I could feel my mouth and eye start to slope again.  Maybe this is in my head, but you know... I just thought it was.  I could feel my cheek swelling a little bit and I was nervous.  So I hung out with Jerry until I needed to go to Wal-Mart.  And after seeing People of WalMart, I figured my face sloping a bit wasn't going to matter.

Why I am being blamed:  Apparently, this whole de-stashing project is inspiring friends at home!  My friend Rachel recently started a blog and decided yesterday to de-stash. You can read about it at Creatively Living - Living for My Creator.  She calls me inspiring.  I find that hilarious.  Usually, I am a bad influence! 

Part of what cracks me up about her de-stashing is that some of the yarn is from me!  I gave her a bunch of yarn when I moved up to Ft. Siberia!  LOL

So ya... the question is am I inspiring or infectious?  LOL 

To Sell Knitting or Not to Sell Knitting

Abbie's Cardigan pieces are done.  Now I just need to block them and sew them together.  (Duh, duh, duuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh....)  Finishing... something I've never done to a knit piece of clothing before.  Hmmm...

Sandy asked last night if Abbie's Cardigan would be done for Easter in 2 weeks.  Yikes!  A deadline!  And she wants people to see Abbie wear it?  Oh, the pressure.  I can do it, though.  I have 2 weeks to block and sew.  That really shouldn't be that big a deal.  Tonight I'll go get pins and a spray bottle. 

I wish I had a Blocking Board.  That's a special board that you pin your pieces to and its made of a wood that is moisture wicking called Homosote.  The instructions for such a board are Here.  Jerry said he'd help me make it eventually, but we'll see how this goes first.  Homosote is Holy! Expensive! Batman! from what I understand.  (The instructions give an alternative, so maybe we'll look into that.)

However, tonight I will pick Sandy's MIL's brain about the best way to block Abbie's Cardigan.  I have read several online articles on how to block, so I think I have the idea, but I'll ask someone with experience.  :)

In the meantime, I am working on Trucking Along for my cousin Leslie.  She is having a boy in May!  I have a red wash cloth done already and I'm almost done with the light blue one.  Then I'll start the bibs.  I bought enough yarn to make at least 4 bibs and 4 wash cloths.  2 each for Leslie and 2 each for Flores' baby.  Although, since I only used 1/2 a skein for the wash cloth, I'm thinking I'll get more of them done. 

I'm actually thinking of making enough baby stuff to sell at a craft fair in the fall.  We'll see.  I spent about $1.50 each skein and if I get 2 wash cloths a skein, that's $0.75 per wash cloth.  If I sell them for say $3... that some profit, right?  I'm thinking $5/bib?  I don't know.  If you are reading this, can you please comment and tell me what you think someone would pay for that?  Pretty please? 

The patterns for the bibs say I can sell as long as I give Elaine Fitzpatrick credit for the design.  Hmmmm... Considering I got almost 2 wash cloths done yesterday, I could probably get a fair amount of them done by fall.  And maybe some other baby things too.  If Abbie's Cardigan goes well, maybe some sweaters, too!

I do have a lot of other projects in mind, though.  We'll see.

1 Sleeve, 2 Sleeve and more Perfect Buttons

Sleeve 1 is done.  It was pretty easy.  So tonight, I'll cast on for Sleeve 2.  I found the Most Cutiful Buttons yesterday for the Cardigan!  I know, I know... I previously reported that I found the best buttons.  However, I think I said that they are white-white and the sweater is Aran white.  Aran white is kind of off-white, so I had to go back to the drawing board, so to speak, on the buttons. 

So the cute white-white buttons will have to wait for another project.  Maybe this sweater in another color down the road?  At least I know I have the buttons!  Ha!  Sandy's next daughter?  (LOL, Sandy, I couldn't resist!)  The buttons I bought are clear with a pearly quality to them.  They kind of have some color in them when the light shines, but look clear.  And they are flower shaped.  So!  Cute!  And Perfect!

In my own little Melissa way... I commandeered a lady that looked like my Mom in JoAnn's and bugged her for  good 5 minutes while she helped me find buttons.  I had 4 picked out and I just wasn't sure.  The 4 I had were plain clear buttons, lady bug buttons, dark pink buttons that were the same pattern as the white-white buttons and some soft green flower buttons. 

We almost immediately ruled out all but the clear based on my theory that I wanted Sandy to be able to put the sweater over any shirt and not have to match to red, pink or green buttons.  (Although, I might have to go buy those Lady Bug buttons for another project. They were just too cute for words!)  However, we decided they were too plain.  So this lady went on a hunt of the button racks for me.  She was awesome!  She also suggested that I get the sweater pieces out of their ziplock bag home and actually put the buttons through the hole and see what they look like.  She is a genius and I now wish I had her name and phone number.  Kidding... maybe...  We know I can be a little stalker-ish if you have knowledge that I need.

She found the perfect little clear-ish, flower buttons!  And we put them through the hole and they were just... well... perfect!  I can't wait for this sweater to be finished so I can take pictures!  I'm so excited!

Sleeves are started!

Last night while watching Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married?" I finished the left front panel of Abbie's Cardigan and started sleeve #1.  Yay!  The sleeves are fairly straight forward.  You just make 2 of the same, so I really shouldn't be able to screw that up, right?  We'll see... Kidding...  ;)

BTW, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married" is a really good movie.  Its about 4 couples who were all friends in college that periodically get together for a couples retreat.  1 of the wives (Janet Jackson - who does a FABULOUS job in her roll and possible changed my opinion of the Jackson family, or at least her part of it) is a psychologist who teaches at a university and wrote a book about their group.  She explains the dynamic in each marriage and the issues as she's talking to a class at the beginning of the movie.  Each has their own problems. 

Basically, the weekend explodes.  Each marriage is in jeopardy (including the psychologist's, but not for very long) and they have to fix it.  The thing I love about Tyler Perry is that he makes the point that NOTHING can happen until you are right with the Lord.  And he did it beautifully in this movie. 

The thing I like about the Tyler Perry movies is that they are messy.  There are no perfect Christians.  There isn't even always a Pastor or a church.  There are friends reminding each other to follow Christ.  And in my mind... for entertainment, at least... its a start.  Because life is messy.  There are never perfect Christians in any situation.  And Christian friends who try to remind each other to follow Christ when life gets rough is what we are all supposed to be to each other.

Best quote from the movie btw... and I'm not going to get it perfect b/c I only watched it once... is from 1 wife to the girl who has been sleeping with her husband. 

I wondered what I would say when I saw you.  I wondered if I would cry or if I would stomp you to the ground and whoop that ass.  All I can say, though, is that I pray for you.  I let go of my anger a long time ago and the Lord dealt with me.  So I pray for you.  But don't tempt me tonight.  I might not be able to keep praying, so don't sit near the wine bottles.

You'll have to see the movie to find out what the wine bottles are about.  Its worth it.  LOL

No knitting due to illness

Wednesday morning I got the flu.  And by morning, I mean like 1 a.m.  Yuck!  By 8:30ish, my husband was wheeling me into the ER because I couldn't stand up anymore.  :(  I got fluids and such and was sent home to sleep.  Good times... good times...  NOT! 

Therefore, Wednesday there was no knitting because I was sleeping.  Yep... all day.  Yesterday, I tried to knit, but was so zapped of strength that I got about 3 rows done and that was it.  3 rows of about 44 stitches.  That's not much.  I took a nap.  I just couldn't concentrate.  :(

I'll try today, but we'll see.  Apparently this medication has the neat drowsiness side effect.  Yay!  I said I wasn't going to take it today, but I did already.  I'm nervous about eating without it.  It prevents nausea, so ya. 

Well, that's about all for now.  More knitting tomorrow hopefully.

The Husband gets it! I apparently do not!

Yesterday, my husband said 2 different things to me that made me think he gets my obsession.  Now, he knew about it and loved me anyway, but yesterday he proved that he gets it. 

Example A:  I was going to take the Boy to get his hair cut yesterday morning.  However, I started feeling shaky and my eye was getting twitchy, so I decided that I should not drive until it went away.  I asked the husband to drive us to the haircut.  (This haircut has waited way too long so putting it off was not an option.)  He said "I was hoping to clean some while you guys were gone."  Sweet!  He still drove and in the car I apologized for not being better at cleaning the house.  That's kinda my JOB now.  I would have fired me long ago, but he's a saint.

He said... wait for it...  "Its o.k., honey, you were trying to get something done quickly for your friend's baby.  That was important." 

I said "So as long as I'm knitting projects that will be gifts for friends, you'll clean the house?"  Dude... be careful how you answer that, because I have a knitted gifts list a mile long.  He just smiled.  I better not abuse that. 

Example B:  With part of my tax check money (we each got $100 to blow as we saw fit before being responsible with the rest), I ordered a new knitting book off of Amazon.  Its Berroco Comfort's newest Afghan book.  I am SUPER EXCITED about it!  There was 1 specific pattern that I wanted to try and I have Berroco Comfort waiting that my Grandma bought me for Christmas a couple years ago.  I have 10 skeins in a nice green that is supposed to be for a throw blanket for me.

Yes... I am actually planning to knit something for myself for a change.  Shocker!  I get my book and guess what... the much coveted Textured Knots pattern requires 17 skeins.  I only have 10.  The husband says "can't you just buy 7 more?"  (I love that he totally was going to let me buy more yarn.)

Then he says "Oh, wait... I know.  It wouldn't be the same dye lot."  HE GETS IT!! 

And now for the part where I do not get it... I messed up the left front of Abbie's Cardigan.  This is why I was confused about the button holes.  Looking at the side that I had already completed, the button hole placement didn't make sense to me. 

If you look closely... the seed stitch edging up the right side is where I started the armhole.  Ummmm... that's wrong.  I should have put the armhole on the other side.  The seed stitch edging is where the buttons go.  So this piece will be tossed and started over.  I am finishing the Right Front side right now.  Then I will reknit the Left Front.  

Once I figured out that I had done it wrong the first time, the buttonholes and finishing of the Right side made much more sense and I have 2 buttonholes completed!  :) 

Time to go make the husband a lunch for today!  See... I do some domestic duties when I'm not knitting!!  Or blogging about knitting.  Or looking up new patterns/yarn/techniques.  LOL 

Back to Abbie

Baby Madeline's bibs and wash cloths are done, packaged and ready to mail today.  Now I just have to shower and go do that.  LOL  Hubby is home today, so I can run errands with, at the very least, the boys staying in the car.  That will be nice.  ;) 

Today during naptime and after bedtime, I will work Abbie's cardigan to the point where I can ask Sandy's MIL about the button holes.  She will be at Tuesday night Bible study and that's where I can talk to her.  If I get to that point and have time, I will put that side on hold and move to the sleeves.  Sleeves are easy to knit.  However, the goal for today/tomorrow is to get ready for instructions! 

Pictures as promised...

Here are pictures of 1 of the bibs and 1 of the wash cloths for Sarah. 

And here are pieces of Abbie's Cardigan. 

And that is where I am right now.  I cast on the last wash cloth for Sarah right before Gabriel woke up from his nap.  I should get it done tonight after bedtime.  Then I will hopefully get it in the mail to her tomorrow.  I haven't heard if Baby Cricket made it into the world safely yet or not.  I'm sure he/she did and I'll hear soon.  :) 

Rubber Ducky... You're the One!

I took a break from Abbie's Cardigan to get some wash cloths and bibs knit for a friend who was induced yesterday.  Please don't ask me why I didn't think ahead on this one.  I guess I just didn't realize Sarah was actually going to give birth?  No, seriously.  Not sure where my brain went.  I haven't taken pics yet, but I will because they are cute! 

However, in the meantime... Quacking Up! is the pattern I am using.  Someone on my new favorite website Ravelry suggested it when I asked a forum question about knitting for a Florida baby.  AND the people could look at my stash and tell me what patterns would go with the yarn I already have!  Woo hoo!  Its practically an obsessive knitter's support group!  Yay!  I'm using my Bernat Cottontots in Sunshine and Wonder White.  I think they are turning out well.  AND I re-learned to make I-cord!  So there's a something new for the year. 

I've already gotten the yellow bib and cloth done.  I'm almost done with the white bib.  Pictures tonight I promise.  I'll also take pics of Abbie's Cardigan. 

BTW, there's a possibility that I put Abbie's Cardigan down to get the courage to admit that I'm confused about the button hole instructions and need to find someone to help me.  Maybe I can make it to a PWOC knitting group soon and get help.  Or maybe Sandy's mother-in-law?  I know she knits, too.  I'll find a way!  I swear!

O.k. now to go move the boys along for church.  Later!

Peggy Update

I spoke with Peggy last night!  She's doing really well!  The surgery was Monday and so far, things are looking good. She sounded really good last night and was even out walking a bit yesterday. 

They did find 2 lymph nodes that they took for testing.  If they are positive, then she may have to have more chemo.  We're all praying that she doesn't have to go through that again. 

She and Jeff both loved the prayer shawl.  They said that it is very warm and she was using it to cover up a lot.  I'm glad.  I wanted her to have something comforting.  They kept going on about it.  I don't handle that kind of praise well, so I had to change the subject.  LOL 

Knitting is what I love to do, so making that shawl for Peggy was an absolute no brainer for me.  It didn't even occur to my husband to tell me NOT to buy yarn and knit for Peggy.  He knows that its my way of showing love and affection for people.  And Peggy is someone that I very much love.  She has practically raised me... whether she wanted to or not!  LOL  She's my "big sister".  I would absolutely not be who I am now if it weren't for Peggy and Jeff and I think that their influence was for the better. 

Peggy gets knitted things anytime!  ;)  If she does have to do chemo... hats are in order!  :)

Even I didn't think it was that bad!

38 different yarns and counting....

I have now pulled all of the yarn that I can find out of the closets and I have 38 different yarns... and I'm not done logging.  Wow... yes, I wasted a lot of time yesterday.  Although, if you consider that I've been saying that I need to pull things out and re-organize that particular closet since we moved in a year and a half ago, not really.  The closet in the back is a nightmare.  It has needed attention for quite some time and I was supposed to organize it during deployment.  Oops... 

I'm happy to report that I've found things that we didn't know we had.  Shoes, for example.  Yes, a small rubbermaid tote underneath a bunch of other rubbermaid totes was full of my husband's slippers and sandals.  I thought it had yarn in it.  I was wrong.  So... there you go.  This is now productive since he had been saying he needed to buy some kind of sandals for the summer. Now he has 2 pair to choose from!  LOL 

I also discovered a couple things about my yarn buying habits.  Bernat... you need to put me on your stockholder list.  I buy your yarn a LOT.  1 skein for a small project here and there and... walla!  I have a entire rubbermaid tote of Bernat yarns.  Neat!  I love Bernat, though, so this is not a problem with me.  I will do something with it.  I know I will.  Satin is my particular favorite for babies.  So!  Soft!!

Another discovery... if anyone sees me at Michael's and I am standing in front of the Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton yarn... pull me away!  Especially if I have a white/tan varigated skein.  Dude.  Really?  I find them stashed here and there and everywhere!  (Not in the box of shoes, though.  It wasn't that bad.)  So who needs dishcloths?  Anyone?  LOL 

Looking at the price tags on skeins of yarn has been fun too.  You can definitely tell which yarns were purchase pre-baby/marriage/military/single-income.  LOL  I seriously wouldn't dream of paying $11.00/skein for a yarn that only has 250 yards in it!  However, I have 2 skeins of Super-10 Butterfly Mercerized Cotton yarn that I never used, no less!  Ha, ha!  O.k. that's enough to make a small baby sweater, but still.  That's a $22.00 sweater!  I better LOVE that baby.  I mean, I don't pay more than $5 or $10 for any 1 piece of Gabriel's clothes if I can get away with it and he is MY child. 

I'm not mad at myself for my old yarn buying habits.  It was fun.  I had the money (sort of) and I loved to explore new yarn stores.  If I found something cool on sale... and I have a feeling that the Butterfly was on sale and therefore, not actually $22... I bought it.  Maybe I'll have another boy and finally make that little sweater?  I should have made it for Gabriel, but guess what... all of the yarn went into storage for the move pretty quick.  I didn't get to pull out as much as I'd liked to.  We just didn't have room in our little bedroom at my parents' house.  LOL 

Well, I'm going to go finish up getting the PWOC stuff together for my exit.  I just sent the President a big email that said where I am... which is not far with Sir Pukes-A-Lot hijacking my schedule lately.  Speaking of him... its 6:30... I better go see if he's puked.  That would be right on schedule if he did.  I'm seriously praying that we're over the worst of this, though.  I feel so sorry for him.  He's not a happy camper and I don't blame him.  I think we're due for a playdate at the McD's playland with Aiden when he's ready.  He needs it badly.  So does Mommy!

Oh and yes... I admitted to the President that I totally wasted time on a personal project yesterday.  But... I needed to do something that I love for a few.  Its been a stressful couple of weeks and I wanted to play with my yarn!  So I was selfish.  I'm sure that we'll all live, though.  ;)

I found a new obsession!!

Last night, I was reading an exciting post from Sandy on Facebook where she has added knitting to her list of ways to waste time favorite things to do!  I love having friends that knit!  Sandy... sometime we need a road trip to a real knitting store.  Not Michael's.  Not a craft store.  I must integrate you to the wonders of a yarn store.  LOL 

Someday...  *sigh*... I will get to go to real yarn stores again.  :) 

Anyway... in the thread many, many of her friends are apparently avid knitters!  No wonder we brought her over to the dark side!  They were giving her websites to waste time on find new patterns and learn techniques.  One of the sites I had never heard of before.  Ravelry is an excellent website!  I logged on to check it out and all I had to see were the words "organizational tools" and I was HOOKED! 

Dude!  I can put in my whole stash and keep track of how much is there.  It lets me mark projects that I'd like to use said yarn for and even search patterns that fit my amount of stashed yarn!  Its an Obsessive Compulsive Wonderland! 

So while I plan to knit tonight... today I am in full-on OCD organization mode and inputting yarn into Ravelry.  Plus, Gabriel is throwing up again, so I don't want to get Abbie's Cardigan out until I know his pyrotechnics are in bed for the night.  :( 

Boy update: The Pediatrician thinks that his stomach just isn't ready for real food.  A few more days of bland food and as long as he isn't dehydrated or acting differently or throwng up more... we're still on a wait it out pattern.  :(  He and I are both frustrated, but Daddy will be home in a little bit, so at least there will be a change scenery.  The poor kid saw the KFC ads on the counter and started begging to eat.  I feel horrible, but he just can't have real food for a little while longer.  At least we aren't running fevers or anything horrible. 

So... back to organizing!  It was all I could do to tear myself away to write this!  Ha!

Peggy's Prayer Shawl

Peggy is at the hospital now being prepped for surgery.  So I thought that I would post the pictures of her prayer shawl.  Then I will head back to praying... well, as soon as the Boy stops the blood curdling screaming for no apparent reason.  You just can't concentrate with that noise. 

It was hard to get a really good picture of it.  Its just really big!  Plus, I had to take this quickly before my Mom took it with her to head home to Peggy.  Peggy sent a text and seemed to really like it. 

The tan section has knots in it, which would fulfill my "try something new" for the year.  However, just because I had previous avoided knots in patterns because I am chicken... doesn't mean I couldn't have done it ages ago.  Therefore, knots don't qualify.  Actually putting together Abbie's Cardigan will qualify, I believe. 

I finished the back piece of Abbie's Cardigan last night and am working on the left front.  Knitting the pieces is never a problem and goes quickly.  I'll just have to get with someone who can show me how to finish it.  I'm sure I could do it on my own.  I'm just a chicken and like visual instruction in some areas.  LOL

Anywho... I'll be knitting tonight after the Boy goes to bed depending on how much Beth Moore I get caught up on.  I am 2 weeks behind.  So if Gabriel doesn't throw up again and I don't mess up my meds again... we'll go.  lol  I better get cracking, though.  :)  I will definitely get my 30 minutes of knitting in no matter how much homework I have to play catch up on.  Beth fills my head and I will need the break!  lol 

If I only had a brain...

Or at least if only I could read.  LOL  I am currently frogging 8 rows of Abbie's cardigan.  However, I didn't actually make a mistake.  I just went to far.  I read the directions wrong and worked the lace pattern for 1.5 more inches than I was supposed to.  Oops.  Since this has to actually match the other pieces, I better pull it back.  Kinda helps if its going to fit.

I found really cute buttons for it, too!  I'm very excited for the buttons.  They are a clear/white with a white flower pattern inside each one.  Very cute! 

So today's knitting will be pulling back the 8 rows and starting the body pattern.  I'm hoping to get this done during naptime after I take a shower.  I'm feeling a bit disoriented, so we'll see how much I get done.  Now I know why the doctor said "do NOT miss a dose of the Prednisone."  Today I feel the medication surge, etc., all over again.  Yay.  Nauseau.  :(  At least I have a disc of Lost to watch! 

More finishing and more starting and more crazy

Jerry's hat is finished.  Its still not perfectly lined up, but the look I got from him said "its fine, can I wear it now?"  LOL  I told him I might try again to see why I couldn't get it to line up.  We'll see.  I have a TON of that yarn, so I can certainly make 1 more hat.  (Then he has one when he loses this one, but you didn't hear me say that.)

I also cast on and got a little bit of Abbie Girl's cardigan started.  I hope she likes it!  Well, she's 6 months.  I hope Sandy likes it!  :)  Its white.  I decided to make it 18 months so that I have time for her to grow into it and that way when I misjudge the gauge, at least its too big and not too small for her already.  Although, Sandy will be pregnant again soon, I'm sure, and the next baby girl could just wear it!  Ha! 

I love Sandy and her all of her kids.  The current count is 5.  Part of the reason I love Sandy's family so much is that they are not "perfect".  Her kids are not all dressed alike like stair steps when they walk into the church.  If her oldest decides to dress herself and its not what Sandy would wear, Sandy says "Hey... its your style kid.  You decide."  Sandy calls herself a crunchy-momma.  I love it! I hope I can be that laid back with my kids, but still teach them good values and attitudes the way she does.  To me... Sandy has it figured out.  She's made the list of strongest Christians I know.

My favorite part is that she doesn't CARE what people THINK!  I wish I could do that.  I wish I could walk into a place wearing whatever I what and dare people to say something.  Not that Sandy at all looks weird or anything.  But when I first met her, she wore headscarfs to cover her hair during her husband's deployment.  I didn't know why.  I wondered what denomination she was from.  (She had too short of hair to be Pentacostal, but had the skirts and the headscarf and all?  I was confused for a bit.)  Now, it wasn't a burqua like Muslim women wear.  Just a simple scarf.  Sometimes with pretty sparkles in it, but simple, that covered her hair.  I learned later what it was about, but that's her story. 

I just would like to have her confidence.  I wish I had the confidence that says "The Lord loves me whether you do or not, so don't bother telling me I'm weird."  LOL  Sandy is an awesome friend, too.  I don't get to spend nearly the time with her that I would like due to kids, schedules, car situations and the fact that she doesn't live on Post.  However, we have a great time when we do.  We are so much alike.  Its a lot like how I felt when I became friends with Kira.  Someday, I feel Sandy & I will have the history that Kira & I do.  Then I will have 2 awesome friends that accept all of my craziness!  Yay!!  1 will know Army craziness (Sandy) and 1 will know home craziness (Kira), because those are 2 VERY different worlds. 

I want to make this cardigan for Sandy's little girl because friends get knitted things for babies.  And I very much dropped the ball on Sandy.  While Sandy might not understand the extent of my need to knit for those I care for, I know she will appreciate it.  She told me it was o.k. that Abbie's first sweater didn't work out and I had to ditch it and find something new.  She said its o.k. that Abbie got moved down the list of knitting.  (Which in no way says how much I care for someone.  Kira and Jerry both just got their hats in the last 2 months!  Peggy will get her first knitted thing from me next week!  These are people that are as important to me as my parents!  In fact the farther down you are on the list, might show how much I love you?  LOL)

Anywho... Sandy is cool and awesome and I want her to know how much I appreciate her as a friend.  Especially since she helped me so much yesterday to realize my boundaries and say "its o.k. if you have to quit PWOC."  Which, I did.  Not completely.  Not to the point that I'm doing nothing.  Just taking a step back and saying "I can't do everything right now."  It completely helped to have someone else say "You're not whining or lazy.  You can't do it all and its o.k."

BTW, on the same note... while I have been complaining about my symptoms of Bell's Palsy and side effects of medication to anyone who will listen... I forgot to praise the Lord for something.  I CAN STILL KNIT!  Hear that, guys?  Even GOD doesn't take my knitting needles out of my hands.  He knows my need to cope through tiny loops of soft yarn that I can count and control and fix if I need to.  LOL  The Lord knows and loves my craziness.

Shawl... Check! Hat for Jerry... Almost check!

I finished Peggy's shawl on Sunday.  It didn't take me long to weave the ends in and everything.  I even had time to reorganize the closet and repack yarn into ziplock bags.  I try to keep my yarn in ziplock bags because I think it keeps it nicer longer. 

Anywho... I found some yarn down there that I forgot about!  I had bought Dale of Norway Baby Ull a long time ago!  I bought it in pretty pinks/cream/green colors to make something for a little girl.  So now the decision comes... do I keep it for when I possibly have a little girl?  Or do I make it for someone that I like that is having a girl.  Since Baby Ull is definitely a Kira or Peggy level friendship yarn and they don't plan on more children right now... (and I don't think I have enough to make something big enough for Morgan)... I'm going to have to keep it for if I ever have a girl.  So these particular skeins may not get knitted this year.  I know, I know... that won't accomplish my goal.  However, there are some yarns that cannot be wasted on just any project and this is one of them.  Baby Ull is too hard to find and too expensive in the states when you do find it.  (Hello?  Its the only yarn they sell at DISNEY WORLD, people!)

So after rearranging the closet, I made Jerry get down his bin of yarn.  When we were dating and I still had disposable income, I had bought this nice New Zealand wool yarn for $19/skein and joined a block of the month blanket club.  I figured by the end of the blanket, we would either know that we were right for each other, or I'd give it to my Dad.  Well, we ended up married, but the teacher dropped the class about 4 blocks in!  So I have this strip of a blanket that I have no idea what to do with it and a whole bin of yarn.  Some of it not even wound! 

Jerry's been asking for a hat and scarf.  And I totally have the wool for it!  :)  I might even attempt a pair of mittens this year for him to go with it.  I started the hat Sunday night and actually finished it yesterday.  Then I decided that I didn't like my sewing job in finishing it up and frogged that part back.  So today I have to sew it again.  That will take all of 10 minutes.  I haven't decided if I'm going to go ahead and start a scarf for him now or wait.  I know he really wants the hat, but I might wait a bit on the scarf.  We'll just have to see. 

That's where we are now.  Peggy's surgery is Monday.  Katie had Owen yesterday morning.  Finished projects should start leaving the closet soon.  :)  Room for more yarn!!  Kidding... ;)