Passing On

Life has been really busy and at times sad. My mom's good friend passed after a short illness. She was diagnosed with metastic gallblander cancer less than two weeks after my birthday party on the 18th of September and passed on the 24th of October. Mrs Edmonds was like a second mother to me and had let me know that she felt the same about me on my birthday. Our hearts have been heavy but we are so glad that she didn't surface for a long time. We were all blessed to have known and loved such a sweet and gentle soul.

Last week I got the pneumonia vaccine and after having a really bad reaction learned that at some point in time I actually had pneumonia instead of some generic respiratory infection. I felt like I had the flu and my arm is still sore around the injection site. I'm sure it is going to take several more days for the huge lump to go away. Benadryl and Motrin has helped to ease a lot of the swelling and irritation. The doctor said that reactions like this do occur but rarely and that I should never get the shot again. I was like yeah! You think so!

I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of some of my winning knits. This is the Heavenly Blue Cardigan which I knitted for myself but looks better on my mom so it is now hers. It won first place in the Women's Sweater category and the Sweepstakes in knitting at the South Carolina 2010 State Fair.




Specs:

Pattern: Heavenly Blue Cardigan from Beyond Wool by Candace Eisner Strick
Yarn: St-Denis Nordique in Fjord
Needles: US 4 & 5
Started: August 20, 2010 Finished: October 5, 2010

Mods: One of the mods I made was in the number of buttons. The specs for this size required 4 buttons every third slot. This would have resulted in a sweater that gapped badly so I used one in each slot. I also made the cables mirror on the back. This was only done only on the front. I also made sure that the sleeves mirrored on each side.

This was almost the sweater that wasn't meant to be. First were the e-mails between me and Webs trying to find a color with enough yarn of the same dyelot to send. Then I got all the pieces made only to find that my fronts were 1 1/2 shorter than the back. I re-knitted both of them and I'm glad I perserved. I believe this sweater is my best work ever on a knitted garment.

Up next is the Tuscan Leaves Hat which won a first place in the Hat category.




Specs:

Pattern: Tuscan Leaves Hat by Nina Machlin Dayton
Yarn: Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted Gold Spice
Needles: US 6 & 7
Started: September 26, 2010 Finished: September 27, 2010

I'm steadily expanding my knowledge of beading and jewelry making. This past weekend I made magnetic hematite bracelets using beading wire for me and mom.



I'm not sure where this will lead but I do have plans to make some matching sets for us. It is so much fun learning something new. I hope my knitting doesn't suffer because of it.

***edited 11/2/2010 to correct modifications.