Title

I don't know what to call today.

The crab apple tree in my yard is in full effect - I love it.


The fruit it bears is paltry and useless, but it blooms like a Boss!!

Amanda had her wisdom teeth out today. They've been giving her pain for some time now, but they have finally been extracted.
She was quite swollen and incoherent when I dropped her off with many liquid provisions (and prescribed drugs). We'll see how she does ... she's a tough little nut, I'm sure she'll be fine.

Magic 8-ball was quite adamant today that I work on neither my Châtelaine cross stitch or my Romi shawl.





So Secret Shawl again it was.

This afternoon was spent clearing, sweeping, washing, scrubbing and double waxing my kitchen floor. I'm waiting right now for it to dry so that I can eat. Though I considering walking to Crabby's for a burger because I'm ravenous!!

I've closed all the doors and windows and turned the volume up a bit to mask the fireworks going on. The puppies don't seem so much afraid as just worked up. Which works me up.

Hey - don't forget to click on over to the CCS and support my Relay for Life this year. If all of you have just $5, I'd be well over my goal!!


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It's That Time of Year!!

Relay for Life is just around the corner and I need to ask for your support.

This is the 10th year that the DKC has had a team and we are planning all sorts of fun yarn related activities for children of all ages! We will of course still be knitting and spinning the night away - creating yarn and scarves filled with love & hope for Survivors.

All donations help to support research and the services provided by the Cdn Cancer Society. I don't know what I would have done without the support of their driving program!!

Donate or join our team here. Thank you!!!

Frolicked

Helen and I arrived early to volunteer so it was a crazy early morning for me, leaving from Angus.
It was totally worth it!! I caught up with a lot of friends that I haven't seen in ever, helped raise money for the DKC Relay for Life team (totally excited to be on the team again/still and healthy enough to be able to participate), and did a wee bit of shopping.

The Woodlot. I bought a set of wood jewellery from them last year and was very impressed with the quality and customer service so it was a must-see again this year.

Salted Maple bracelet and earrings, cherry bracelet and a notebook.

From eweknit I bought a new project bag and a skein of a gorgeous green lace weight merino/silk yarn.

Raventwist was another new vendor from whom I bought a lovely brooch, stitch markers that will be turned into earrings and a cute little handmade Rune book necklace. The artist hand-bound the book and hand wrote the Runes and interpretations. I couldn't resist.

I also won some yarn from Sweet Georgia in the raffle!! I shared a skein of cashluxe with Helen and this is the other cashluxe fine skein and silk mist skein.

I kept going back to look at the Devin Wristlet in Pumpkin Spice at The Needle Emporium's booth. Yes, it came home with me. Along with the little Jemma Pouch, a gift from Helen.

And I remembered the Soak!!!

All in all a very good day.

Wins

The Spiders won again!!! Our time of 5:53:34 was sufficient and a half hour faster than the 2^nd place team. Here's a link to the official results.






The Relay for Life was awesome - the weather was perfect, not overly cold overnight, not the dewiest we've knit through and experiencing it as a Survivor for the first time was very special. Thank you to all of my supporters - you were all with me in spirit!!!





Amanda has graduated from Grade 8! It was a lovely evening, she was (as if there was any doubt, last minute beauty emergencies notwithstanding) beautiful and her teacher made a wonderful DVD montage of the year for all of the graduates. I am so proud of her and can't believe that my baby is going to be in high school in the fall.







I am almost done the Wollmeise cami for Elise. I love how the straps are rainbow striping!!

I'm going to be at The Needle Emporium on the 9sup>th of July so if you're in the area pop in & say "hey".

Simplicity

So I am back to knitting on socks - my thumb is sufficiently de-sensitized and mostly just numbish (still swollen & unsightly) to return to regularly scheduled knitting. I finished the first sock and am onto the second one. The 2nd sock always goes faster for me ...

While I couldn't knit on such fine needles (and when I say fine I mean 2.75mm tiny & Damn Fine Signatures!!) and even now to give my thumb a rest, I have been knitting on scarves. I really do love the simple beauty and ease of garter stitch and I love the way Iris Schreier's mitered scarf turns stripes on their sides! I'm going to be saving them up to donate to the DKC Relay for Life team. I've gotten some masculine colours ... can't wait to bang more out!!
Sometimes though, a miter can take a wrong turn. I can't believe that I finished the whole triangle before I realized what I had done!! LOL Back on track though with a healing laugh for good measure.

Twas the Night Before ...

... the Relay for Life. I missed last year and am totally stoked to be knitting with the ladies of the DKC/Toronto Spiders again this year. A couple of friends from the Mart of Wal will be joining me - while they don't knit they have not vehemently refused to learn so they are welcome. They can be our token walkers!!!
While we have traditionally knit & spun pink scarves & yarn, this year the team is representing the Rainbow of Hope so I have done my nails to get into the spirit of this new tradition.

P.S. If you are able to sponsor me, it's not too late & I'd really appreciate the support!!

Nicole & I are heading out early tomorrow to pick up some pants at the Eddie Bauer outlet in Vaughan then a surprise mission - I'll share tomorrow!!! Then it's packing up supplies, picking up Krista and then on to the Relay for 12 hours of fundraising & knitting fun!!!

And yes, China Clouds is progressing - pics tomorrow?

Bad Mischief, Good Relay

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I give you the following 2,000 words.

The full-coverage extended warranty that I bought for Etienne is certainly paying off!
I have had to conserve battery power since the above teeth marks have probably most certainly severed the wires within rendering the 'power' part of the power cord useless. A new cord is on it's way and will arrive tomorrow!
I don't know why Mischief has suddenly decided that Etienne's power cord would make a nice chew toy. Hopefully my stern scolding & spraying water at her when she even looks at the cord will be a sufficient deterrent.

We rocked the Relay for Life - look at all of those scarves!! We have started off the 2007 donation year with 35 scarves & 1 hat! AND the DKC Knits for a Cure team was the 2nd highest fund raising team at our location (out of 60 teams) - thanks to your help!!

I will put up pics of actual knitting progress tomorrow. Only 3 more days of school & school bus driving!!!

Relay for Life

I am on Joan Kass's Downtown Knit Collective team again for the Relay for Life on June 22nd at the Forest Hill Memorial Park. I'm going to knit the night away and would like your support. I can't run a relay alone - please don't drop the baton.

Follow the link, click on "Pledge someone" to pledge myself (Wannietta Prescod) for Team Downtown Knit Collective in Central Toronto. Every dollar helps.

Thanks for your support!!


Edited to clarify the team name & location.
Edited again to add a date & map.

Still here ...

I've been trying to stay off of the computer so that I don't get sidetracked. I am very easily sidetracked. Amanda started this and I just couldn't stop myself from working on it. The table isn't big enough to lay out a 1000-piece puzzle, so I actually did most of it by running my fingers through the pieces in the box, picking out the piece that I needed and laying it in. I know, not very efficient but I have a very visual mind and it was amazing how quickly it came together. 3 days (I let Amanda help - I didn't want to take all the fun!). Then it was done, all 999 pieces. Yup. 1 missing. I'm going to email Springbok (I LOVE their puzzles!!) and hopefully they'll be able to send the missing piece.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, not getting sidetracked. I have much work to do so I am going to have to really stick to my knitting! I'll really try to get some pictures of my WIP up next week.

The Relay for Life is tomorrow night - so if you've been waiting until the last minute to make a pledge, then it's the last minute!! - then right back up home Saturday morning to watch Amanda and her gymnastics class doing their end-of-session finale. Trust me, it will be head & shoulders above that school talent show. I'm not worried!! Then maybe a nap.

OH!!! I got my June STR Rockin' Sock Club kit. I love it - totally my kind of colours. I won't be able to start on it right away, work knitting comes first & I'm still working on my February ones, but my longing for it will not wan. It will grow and deepen until we finally come together in an uncontrollable desire to make a sock. The anticipation that builds up will make our first stitch climactic!!

Touching Base

I'm still here. My back is feeling much better - thank you for your well wishes! I have been knitting - a lot, honest!! I've been distracted from blogging with some work issues, helping Amanda find back of her closet, the bottom of her drawers and the floor of her room. This has literally taken days of work after school because I refuse to do it all for her.
It's not entirely her fault - she's genetically predisposed to hoarding. Stash by any other name is a mess!! That and the ADHD in her makes cleaning up properly in between activities a hit and miss affair - missing more often than not!
Ah well, by tomorrow things should be fairly tidied - she choose to give a lot of her unplayed with toys to Goodwill and Kerwyn is going to put together a bookshelf for her books, activity books & DVD's tomorrow.

Amanda is going to be the official photograper and DJ for the Toronto Spiders at our B2B Challenge on Sunday.
Apparently there is going to be a 2nd team!!! I know - isn't it exciting?!? A Head-to-Head Back-to-Back. This is definitely a must-see event. Have you blogged it yet? I'm having a contest to help spread the word so that we get a lot of support. Check it out - the contest and the competition!

I've also started a blog for the DKC Knits for a Cure. It will keep everyone apprised of the scarves that we're knitting - all through the year, not just at the Relay for Life -, the sponsors who are making it possible and some of the ladies who are receiving the scarves.

I promise a proper post with pictures of knitting and everything tomorrow. I will do it. I will make the time while I'm waiting for the pork to smoke. C'ya then!!

2 steps forward

Taking a step back on the Monsoon sock was totally worth it! So far it's fitting like a glove.
I worked on Vivacious last night and at gymnastics this afternoon. I am halfway up the widest portion; only 6 more repeats to go.
This is what Mischief does - she jumps up and insinuates herself between me & my knitting. If it's something that I can work on with her beside me, I scooch her over to the right and settle her in between my leg and the arm of the chair. Otherwise it's back on the floor for her.

Not that there isn't a plethora of adventures for her around the house. Here's a new one - climbing up a chair underneath the slip cover to sleep!! Little psycho!

So that's it - nothing really new, but forward progress nonetheless. I'll have to make some progress to blog about tomorrow since I won't have TAR to blog about!
Good news though - Hell's Kitchen is back on June 4th and Big Brother is back with #8 on July 5th!

And while I'm still happy to take your pledges for Relay for Life, if you're looking for someone else to pledge go see Dorothy.