Scout peacefully asleep with her soft blankie. Amazing how a few hours of knitting can bring calm and sweet dreams.
Today is my Mom's 91st birthday. Jo, Scout, Allison and I went to visit and took some flowers. I also took some birthday flowers from my sister and brother so the whole room was full of blooms. My Mom taught me to knit in 1976 when I was expecting my oldest son. I wanted to make baby booties for him. My grandmother had already taught me to crochet three years earlier but I wanted to knit a pair of booties from a pattern my Mom had. Well, let's just say it was a challenge but I did learn and have used that pattern for booties for not just my kids and grandkids but many friends and other relatives. In the busyness of life and kids I had set knitting aside until 2001 when my RA went fullblown out of control. I needed something to focus on other than constant pain. Out came the knitting. My sister recommended plain vanilla dishcloths and that got me knitting again. I even made Joseph an afghan in Army camo green. I was fortunate that my hands could stand the constant movement of knitting. In 1974 my Mom made the comment that I needed to know a craft because "if you are ever ill then you have something to focus on." Wow, weird, huh. So Happy Birthday Mom and thanks for teaching me how to knit those first booties and the patience it took too do it.
Today was Scout's first visit to our favorite LYS, The Shabby Sheep. As can be seen in the picture she settled in comfortably among the wonderful smell of wool, alpaca, and wooden knitting needles. She is also pictured is a new hat I made for her in a very pretty lilac. I think she enjoyed herself.
Just got back from a book reading by Kate Jacobs at Barnes and Noble. If you have not read her book "The Friday Night Knitting Club" be sure to pick it up. It is a great read. She read tonight from her new book "Comfort Food." She also has a new book out called "Knit Two". While "Knit Two" continues the story of her characters in "Knitting Club", "Comfort Food" introduces new characters in a different story line. Thanks to The Shabby Sheep, my LYS, for reminding us of the event. It was a lot of fun. There were many ladies chatting and knitting and Kate was a lot of fun to listen to and answered numerous questions. It was so much fun I forgot to get a picture of Kate reading or signing books.
The Patriotic Socks are coming along. I love the way the pattern is forming. I am thinking I will get one more section of the blue stars before finishing up the toe. I looked this yarn up and found out it actually was created for World Cup Soccer in 2006. Ok, I love this kind of trivia and I would love to find another skein and make socks for the grandkids for the 4th of July.
It has rained all morning long here today. I mean really rained with thunder, lightning and Wind with a capital W. My back is still bothering me but that means I am just sitting knitting. These are going to be the coolest socks when they are finished. They are the ones I was working on yesterday, the Fortissima Colori. They are so much cooler than the picture shows. I love them. I will probably spend the rest of the day knitting on them because I cannot wait to see how the stripes form. Gotta go knit.
Today I should be feeling good. I had my Remicade infusion yesterday and should be all chipper. My back is killing me. I don't know why. Well I do but not for the normal reason. The RA is always there just in various phases. The back though is a weird combination of several things but basically yesterday upon my complaint my doctor said it is the Osteoarthritis that is damaging my back and causing the constant pain. Yeah, I knew this, that it was there but I keep hoping that with time and rest it will, well, disappear. Ain't gonna happen. When I had my infusion I was in a chair that was not very comfortable and I think it put a strain on my back. Sitting for almost two hours attatched to an IV, well I should have checked and seen if someone moved out of one of the more comfortable chairs and changed my chair. I was reading, The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, and just was not realizing I was not as comfortable as usual. So now today I am resting. My doctor gave me some rules and ideas to help perhaps lessen the stress on the back but in truth nothing is going to really change, well, for the better. The only thing that can get better is my attitude about limitations that must be adhered to. I am grateful that I am so much better than in 2001 when I could not move or walk without excruciating pain and was forced to quit my job. I am grateful that I am healthy enough that I can play with the grandkids and knit and drive. I think the hardest battle sometimes is fought with our emotions and our expectations of and for ourselves. So here are some socks I am working on because thanks to the Yarn Harlot I love to knit socks and thanks to strong RA meds I can knit. Knitting gives me great pleasure. It is like a balm to soothe frazzled, raw emotions. A while back I decided I was not going to have more than one project going at a time. Well that lasted about one day. So with socks I can have several going in various stages of knit and move from one to the other. This also can help ward of the feared SSS, Second Sock Syndrome. If you have finished a sock and don't want to work on the matching second sock you can flow to another pair. By the time you finish that sock you can go back to the original sock. If you are tired of knitting on the leg and want something different you have the turning of the heel to work on different sock. So here are pictures of socks in progress at the moment. Berroco Sox #1425, Tofutises #921, and Fortissima Colori #1776. All are being knit in Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe. Now I don't know about anyone else but just talking about knitting has made me feel better. Think I will go knit on a sock for a while.
The "Pretty Little Thing" is finished. I was not going to post a picture of the hat until I gave it to Scout. Today we went to Wal-Mart to make Easter pictures and I knew that Allison would see it so I went ahead and showed it to her. So much for a surprise. This was a very cute and easy hat to make. The yarn was Bernat Baby Jacquards color #06412, Berries & Cream. The picture really does not do the yarn justice. I loved the way the pattern in the yarn came out as I knitted along. It is knit from top to bottom using size 4mm (US6) needles. I started with circular needles but did not want to have trouble with stretching so I switched to straights. The only problem with this was when it was finished I had to seam it closed. I made it in the smallest size which was six months and considering Scout is only five weeks I think it is going to be a little big. The reason I made it this size was I wanted to see how it turned out before I started altering the sizing. I will take a picture of Scout wearing it just to show the size and then I will probably have to make a smaller size. Then again when Jo sees it she may think she needs one too.
I realize that on a normal day there would not be three, make that four postings in one day. That tells you of my organizational level today. I was going through some of the pictures on my cell phone, you have to clear them off once in a while or you can't add more, and I realized that I forgot I took this picture of Scout in her Easter dress yesterday. Yeah, it is the YoYo in me that wants to show more pictures of my grandkids. Thank you for your indulgence.
Yes, cheesecake for breakfast. This is Allison's Lemon Cheesecake that is absolutely the best and is my favorite cheesecake in the whole world. She made it yesterday and with all the food we had she sent some home with me. I told her I would have it for breakfast today and I did. That first luscious bite sends an explosion of flavor that is unbelievable. The texture is so creamy. I think the key is that it is homemade from scratch. It was fantastic.
Gardens always need to be protected from birds and rabbits. Here a group of scare-flamingos protect and guard growing potatoes, onions, radishes and other growing vegetables.
The On-Line Supersocke 100 Socks in "Afrika" (#996) are finished. These were set aside in all the baby knitting. I really like them and love the self-striping. I have aready cast on two more pair of socks one in Tofutsies and one in Berroco Sox. It is good to have two going at one time. If you need to knit without having to worry about decreasing and picking up stitches then you just make sure one is at a different spot than the other. The "Afrika" socks were made with Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe. I love it because it is so easy yet if you count the stitches, well let's just say socks are aways a commitment.
I guess I could say that Scout shopped till she dropped but actually she slept most of the trip. Today was the last minute shopping for Easter lunch. The hat she has on is one I made for her before she was born. I used Bernat Softee Baby in #31415, Candy Baby. I used size 6 needles and cast on 72 stitches. It is just the basic roll brim hat but is a nice fit. Love those chubby cheeks.
This pretty little thing is coming along. I love the way the pattern is coming out. What is this pretty little thing and when will it be done?
Aunt Jane Ellen gave Jo a new blankie while she was here. With Scout getting so much attention it is important to make sure the older daughter/grand-daughter/niece knows she is mega-loved too. Aunt JE gave Jo this little green blankie that is simple garter stitch but the coolest thing about the blankie is the fact that it glows in the dark. Yes, it GLOWS in the dark. It is made from Bernat's Glow in the Dark Yarn, color, green glow. It is a mintish green with a white ply that combines with the green. All you do is make sure that the yarn/blankie is under a good light for a while and low and behold when you turn the light off, or go into a closet if you can't wait till dark, it GLOWS. I used some of this yarn in white for the face on a pumpkin hat I made for Jo at Halloween but this is the first time I have seen the true coolness of the yarn. I have a few skeins that JE gave me at Christmas time just sitting on the shelf. The other night I woke up for some reason and as I turned over I looked at the bookshelf. What is that? Then I realized it was the skeins of yarn glowing in the middle of the night. Who needs a night light? If you come across this yarn, which we might not again until October, and you have kids, know kids or are still a kid yourself, grab up some of this yarn. Hmm, I think I need a glow in the dark hat.
Jo does not like Coke. She is a real apple juice kid. A few days after her mom and sister came home she and I ran to Subway to get some sandwiches. Allison likes Icee's and thinks they are far superior to Slurpee's. The Quick Track next to the Subway has Icee's. I thought it would be a nice treat to pick up a couple of drinks to take home and surprise Allison. When we went in Jo said she wanted and Icee too. I reminded her that she does not like coke or even very cold drinks. She likes her apple juice warmed up. She insisted she would like the Icee. By the look of the cup you cannot tell that this was the small size. I thought she might as well try it and then she would not ask the next time. Well, lo and behold she took one drink and said, "I like it." I could not believe it. When we got to the house she excitedly told her Mother that she now likes Icee's. I took this picture to mark the first time she ever had an Icee. Sometimes you are reminded that the simple things are the most fun.
Here is Scout and Allison. Scout seems very excited about lunch at El Fenix. I believe she is pointing out to our waiter that we needed a refill of salsa.
