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.

Family Ties

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Having a house filled with the sound of laughter is a wonderful thing, especially the laughther of children. We missed Charles and his family and Billy and the Georgia clan. Billy's children from Aiken; Bryant, Brenna and Jessica, and their mother, Cindy, came up.bRebecca and Isaiah came over. Byron my youngest brother and Isaiah's dad, was here from Greenville. They played games, enjoyed good food and played more games.

Brenna, my niece, is modeling her Retro Redux Shrug. I finished it about two weeks ago. I made it a little longer than the pattern called for in the largest size and it fits her perfectly. She's grown a bit since I last saw her during the New Year holiday and is now taller than me!



Specs:

Pattern: Retro Redux Shrug from LaceStyle
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool
Needles: 8, 9, 10, 10.5 Bamboo circular
Size: Large
Started: February 28, 2008 Finished: March 6, 2008

Modifications: I added a few extra rows in the body length. It fits her perfectly, much better than the original would have.

These photos are of the Carnival Cardigan that I made for mom using EZ's percentage system. She's been wearing it for over a year. I recently bought the clasps and sewed them on.



Specs:

Pattern: Carnival Cardigan made using EZ's Percentage System
Yarn: Noro Silver Thaw, Noro Cash Iroha
Needles: 8 Clover Bamboo circulars
Size: Large
Started: January 23, 2007 Finished: February 26, 2007

Mom loves this sweater and has gotten a lot of wear out of it this winter. I love to knit for her because she truly enjoys whatever I make her. I'm currently working on a sleeveless sweater for her using Hempathy in the cool blue colorway.

The falling pollen is turning everything green and the flowers are blooming. All I can think about are the sweaters I want to knit for the spring and summer. I'm still focused on finishing the current wips but I've gotten to the point where I can start another. Spring fever is in the house!

Mmmmm Alpaca

The lys has all of its' Plymouth Indiecita Alpaca Sport and Worsted weights discounted to $2.00/skein. Of course I couldn't resist.

Joke of the day: Someone told Maureen, the owner of the Hook 'N' Needle, that I buy the discounted yarn to sale on eBay. It's good idea though. I'll file it away for future reference. This has to be someone who's never seen my crafting room.

Some people really need to get a life!