Sewn Up

The first of four bbq pillows is complete and residing in its' place of honor. The fabric is a Waverly print. I inserted a 72-inch zipper to allow removal of the foam for washing. Now that the first one is done the rest should be smooth sailing.

Last year I got a little frustrated when I was working on two machine knit sweaters and gave up on them. I recently ordered some new patterns and yarn to try again. I programmed the pattern into the KH970 last night and will knit a test swatch tonight.

The only other project looming on the horizon is a 50th birthday gift for my next door neighbor's daughter. I've picked out the pattern and the yarn but have yet to get started. I'm making the Melon Pattern for a Shawl from Victorian Lace Today in Rowan Kidsilk Night instead of the Kidsilk Haze called for in the pattern. She lives in Alabama and doesn't know about this blog so I'm not worried about the surprise being spoiled.

I finally have time to answer Cici's Meme so hear it goes.

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."



1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was working 2 jobs and going to school to get my degree in computer technology.


2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Get of work early, get dishes from storage for homeless housing, finish sewing piping and first pillow, cast on tension swatch for machine knit sweater, finish first Embossed Leaves sock.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
I recently changed my diet to diabetes so I'm skippping this one.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Donate, share with my family, friends and church, do charity work, open a craft shop, take some cooking classes, sleep late, put all my nieces and nephews through school, build a house, take a trip around the world.

5) Places I have lived:
Bronx, NY, Fort Bragg, Alabama, Spartanburg, Irmo, SC, Spartanburg, SC for college, Columbia, SC.


6) Jobs I have had:
Ward clerk, lsm operator - USPS, fsm operator - USPS, mail clerk, spreadsheet specialist, computer programmer, software applications analyst

7) Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better:

Irish Eyes Kathy
Deedee
Theresa
Carolyn

Leaves

I am making good progress on the first Embossed Leaves socks. The 16-row repeat is easy to memorize and execute. Whether or not I can memorize is solely dependent on me being able to find the rhythm in the knitting and this one is excellent. I was going to give these to mom but decided to stay true to the original design and continue the pattern onto the foot. This means that these lovelies will grace my tootsies.


We went to the beach for Memorial Day weekend and got caught in black bike week. I forgot about this picture until I had to locate photos that were saved to the wrong folder. Check out the orange car. I'll gladly accept donations, both cash and yarn, from anyone who can't think of anything better to do with their money than this. You need a ladder to get into it!


I've almost completed the first bbq pillow and will need to make a trip back to the fabric store to finish this project. I was more or less guessing as far as the piping is concerned since I've never taken on a project like this and will need considerably more fabric. It's fun and I'm learning something new even though I've been sewing for decades.

Whoa Nelly or Playing Catch Up

Life is good. It's still been busy, but a good kind of busy. Week before last I had my favorite nephews every evening for Vacation Bible School. I picked Isaiah up from day care after work each afternoon and the first day I picked him up was surprised to see him sporting his new do. A partial faux hawk.


I finished and have worn the Spicy Fitted V-Neck Tee pictured in the previous post. I still have much more yarn leftover than I expected. I've been trying to work from stash with the hope of using all the yarn chosen for each sweater. So far I've struck out twice.


Yesterday I finally completed the Seed Stitch Rib Socks. The Happily Handpainted reminds of Cherry Tree Hill. From all appearances, texture and knitting it feels like the same base yarn. These socks took a while but once I committed to finishing them they rolled right off the needles.


Sunday I began cutting the fabric for the pillows for the barbecue. I'm making four pillows that will go on the open sections for seating. I started with cutting out the pillow sections and made some of the piping yesterday. This evening was busy so I only managed to get one of the zipper strips done. This is a project that will probably take the next couple of weeks to finish.


On Saturday I started my SOS 2008 socks. I'm doing the Embossed Leaves in Cherry Tree Hill from the stash. I've already turned the heel on the first sock. In addition to these I'm knitting Arial a White Lies Design for mom in Mondial Lucente. The yarn can be a little splitty but it knits up into a beautiful fabric.

I still have to do Cici's meme, but for now I'm playing catch up. It's late so ta-ta for now.

Tardis Anyone?

Whew! It's been a hectic two weeks. I've found myself wishing I had my own personal Tardis. Mom had an unexpected hospitalization on Wednesday and had to have a pacemaker implanted last Friday. The previous weekend we were at Myrtle Beach in the midst of the Black Biker weekend and last Thursday my oldest niece graduated from high school. Go Kayla!!!

Mom is home and doing great. She has so much energy and is back to her old self again. She still has some recuperating to do and is taking it easy. For now she can't drive or lift her arm above her head. I think the hardest part for her will be changing her diet.

I've been working on a pullover based on the Spicy Fitted V-Neck Tee from Fitted Knits in Noro Hinageshi SS.


This picture is from about a week ago and I've gotten considerably more done. The sleeves are finished and I'm almost done with the body. It appears that I will have considerably more yarn left than I thought so I'll probably undo the sleeves and lengthen them.

I've been tagged by Cici and will post my answers tomorrow. At the moment I'm trying to get things caught up at the house. It's amazing how many things don't get done when crisis occur.

Back in the Saddle Again

Things have calmed down. The blood sugar levels are back within normal ranges and I can see extremely well. So well that I don't need glasses except for reading. The optometrist has assured me that this is not a permanent condition and that my regular impaired vision will return in about another 1-2 months. My left eye at this time requires no vision correction and is doing all the work since the vision has returned to its' normal near-sightedness in my right eye. I also have no vision correction for reading in my right eye but require reading glasses to assist the left eye. He says that the good thing is that I'll be able to use my eyes as a barometer for blood sugar control in addition to the daily testing.

I attended the Middleton Place Sheep and Wool Days two weekends ago and had a nice outing. Mom and knitting buds Calvin and Millie made up the posse.


I saw sheep including a precious baby that was only two weeks old. The mom was being sheared and was a little upset that she was taken away from her baby. Two boisterous alpacas and inquisitive mohair goats. There were several demos going on including spinning, pottery, blacksmithing and dyeing.


I didn't have much time to actually tour the gardens and would like to make another trip just for that purpose.

We left the gardens headed for Knit! in downtown Charleston. I walked in and who did I see but Vera of Vera's Crafty Blog. She was very nice and took time out from knitting to chat. I'm looking forward to seeing her again when she makes it up this way.

I didn't make many purchases this time only a new knitting bag, 3 skeins of Koigu for socks, another pom pom maker and the book "A Garden Stroll". The book was only $5.00 and is one of the better purchases I've made in a while.


I also managed to finish the pieces for the Viola shell I'm making for mom. I've put the shoulders together twice but I'm not pleased with the way they look and will more than likely graft them together. I started a pair of socks in the blue Happily Hand-Painted yarn from North Woods Farm Fiber and Yarn that I purchased at the Greenville Knit-In. I'm loving the dye job and won't have to worry about any pooling and flashing. The pattern is Seed-Stitch Ribbing from MSKS.

Normally I post pictures of the flowers currently in bloom in our yard. I've been focused on other things but this weekend I couldn't miss the rose pictured. It is about 8 inches across and is the biggest rose I've ever seen.


There were several other large roses on this bush. It isn't in the best of shape but it produces some spectacular flowers each year. We are still in the process of planting and re-doing beds in the back yard. This is my favorite time of the year. The time of rebirth and renewal.

Working My Way Back

Two weeks ago I woke up and got ready for work. Things looked a little hazy but I thought it was no big deal. My vision continued to worsen to the point where I had to stop driving. I went to the eye doctor and received the shock of my life. My eyes are healthy but I needed to be checked immediately for diabetes. He gave me some temporary contacts which have allowed me to drive once again.

Last Monday my fears were confirmed and I do have diabetes. This explains the thirst and the trips to bathroom every 15 to 30 minutes and the fatigue that I had attributed to the fibromyalgia. My doctor prescribed a pill for the diabetes and I've already made some dietary changes. As a rule I eat a diet healthy in fruits and vegetables so it hasn't been exceptionally difficult. My blood sugar has dropped from the upper 300's and low 400's to the 160's. I still have a lot of work to do but some of the fog has lifted.

My knitting has been pretty much relegated to the sidelines as I sometimes have difficulty finding the correct line of vision between the contacts and the reading glasses. Each day my vision improves some and the optometrist says that I may gain all of my original visual acuity back and return to my original eyeglass prescription.

I plan to pick up the knitting this week with the hope that I can get the front of Viola finished. This weekend I'm going to the Sheep and Wool Days at Middleton Place Plantation in Charleston. I'm not sure if this is the first one they've had but this is the first time I've had any knowledge of it. We'll spend the day touring the various activities as well as the gardens. There may be a little side shopping trip thrown in the mix, but for now we are going to go with the flow.

Zoe

Today I made a special delivery. Due to health issues I've spent an inordinant amount of time at the CVS nearest to my house. Over the past several years most of the pharmacy staff has gotten to know me by name. Elaine, the pharmacy tech, recently had her first grandson. She joked about what was I going to knit for him, but little did she know that I already had something in mind. Today I made a special delivery for her.



Specs:

Pattern: Zoe from A Treasury of Rowan Knits
Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Denim
Needles: 3 and 6 US Colonial Rosewood
Size: 2-3
Started: March 2, 2008 Finished: March 26, 2008

Mods: The sweater is designed as a tunic for girls. I shortened it to sweater length and omitted the side flaps. I also omitted the two front pockets. I was looking for blue buttons and the only suitable ones we found were the doggie buttons. They add that little extra that was needed.

Once the pollen stops falling I'm planning to make this one of my outdoor knitting spots. It's the bbq pit we had built this winter. Mom has already purchased the fabric and foam for the pillows that will surround it. I'll be doing the sewing and assembly. The grills for the pit are on order. We do a lot of cooking out so I'm sure that we'll be spending a lot of time out here grilling and chilling.



Theresa asked about the floor a few photos back. Yes that is the floor in the new section. It's red oak like the floors in the original house. We can do rugs but no carpet. I have severe dust mite allergies and don't have either in my bed or craft room.