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I finished Leo & Roxy s April from their Mystery Yarn Club!! The regularity of the patterning is addictive - I had to count almost every other row so that I didn’t get caught up and just keep knitting.  

My fix is not complete. I am going to wind up the three skeins that Craig & I bought at their birthday event and do a strip for the next Sweet Spot afghan. I’m going to do an “a, b, c, c, b, a” stripe sequence - this is going to be gorgeous!! 

Gonna wind them up now and try to resist casting on as I have to be at work early tomorrow. May the odds be ever in my favour - though I’m not sure what my favour in this instance truly would be!! 

Just. Can’t. Stop.

Look at this face!! You’d never guess that Chica has the most foul flatulence of a dog five times her size!!! I think that it may have been the raw bone she had earlier.  Lord have mercy - there’s no warning sounds as she slumbers beside me, just air so thick with noxious gas that my eyes start watering as I try not to gasp for air. 

Then there’s Petey. What sets Petey off?

People outside

Dogs outside

Voices/sounds from the front apt

Animal sounds on tv

Seeing an animal on tv that doesn’t make a sound

Me putting my knitting down 

Extending/retracting the recliner

End credits on a show (change in music/graphics?)

Crying (mostly babies)

The word “baby”

Me getting up 

This dog is the chillest and also the most high strung dog - he does my head in. But I love him and, more importantly, he loves me. 

I have made much progress on my Leo & Roxy Sweet Spot strip - I just can’t stop!! January has great colours - très English Garden, February is more subtle, but March is giving me life!! That dark blue line, the yellow streaks interrupting the seafoam, and the tiny hits of Barbie pink!! 

April is a study of violet, lavender, purple, and mauve!

The Frolic is only 10 sleeps away. I have got to get buttons for my Throwback cardigan and then sew them on! 

Sweet Spot The Frolic

Planned Argyle

I am finally blocking my Lolo Sweet Spot strip! Wow - this gives me so much joy!!




I did run short on the last colour section, so this strip will be the start of a new afghan, as I need the same number of rows in the strips to be able to join them without fudging. Not a problem as I have many more strips I’d like to do. 

I have started on my Leo & Roxy strip. January is quite colourful and sometimes too a step sideways on a colour, but the patterning still runs through it. February is more subtle and delicate. . 

I’m off to work, so I will have to wait until later to keep making this magic happen

Where did the Week Go?

In which our knitter went back to her secular job and a week went by in a blur. 

It’s a good thing that I really do enjoy my Dairy Queen job!! No matter how crazy it gets or what challenges each day presents, I still look forward to the next day. 

I have been knitting - my Lolo Sweet Spot strip is coming along; I’m almost done the 3^rd colour section. can’t wait to join up the last colour!! 

 I wound up the first three colours of the Leo & Roxy club so that I can swatch it up for the Sweet Spot.

The only thing more exciting than working up a Sweet Spot strip is finding the next one!! Craig & I will be driving down to the Little Red Mitten for Leo & Roxy’s Birthday bash. It’s a bit of a drive, but it’ll be a nice little adventure and loads of knitting time! I’m clearly a bit taken with the L& R yarn and can’t wait to see what new colours that they have in person. 

I played with SnapChat this morning - there are some fun people working behind the scenes there!! Not gonna lie, I think I’d make a great Bearded Lady ;) and def gonna think about new piercings!!  

Tomorrow will be domestic chores, puppy loving, and knitting bliss.

Rainbow Delight

Wow!! 

I finally rewarded myself with another packsage opening. This one is In The Deep Hue Sea  It's been several days of good knitting and I felt a treat was in order. 

I did not disappoint myself. A thoughtful sticker was a nice opening touch. 

500g of stunningly vibrant colours!!

I am a bit of a purist in my rainbows, so I'm not sure what to do with the pink, but I love all of the colours. Erica did two greens, blues, an indigo and a violet. I'm

stunned by the artistry of it and can't wait to get started on this Sweet Spot strip!!

She also included a couple of stitch markers which will never go wanting around me!! 

I received the new Hedgehog Fibres  kinny Singles Club package. I'm thinking that maybe I'll save them all up for an opening party. I'm surprised that I haven't come across any spoilers about the clubs in my social medias. 

So that's tonights excitement. I've finished Wentworth series 5, and I'm dying with curiosity to know what is coming in series 6!! 

I'm getting caught up on my reality series' now - FaceOff, Ink Master, Next Food Network Star ... just a few of my faves. 

It's back work tomorrow, so I'm going to knit for a few more hours yet. 

Hedgehog Fibres

Challenge

The power was out for a good part of Angus yesterday and Dairy Queen was closed. It made for an oddly disconnected feeling day. 

I grilled some burgers for dinner and whipped up a Greek salad. I knit until it was dark, accompanied by a movie on the laptop, then music fueled with my back up batteries which I charged in the car as needed. Then it was early to bed and reading on the new kobo. I slept poorly, always checking to see if the power had come back on (ceiling fans), then getting woke up when it did by the shrill beeping of the CO₂ detector. I did get some quality reading time in, which was nice. 

There were all sorts of glitches at work today due to the sudden outage, but we persisted and largely triumphed. 

I swatched last night with lolodidit everyday sock, something blue.  Her dyeing technique is proving something of a challenge to me in sussing out the Sweet Spot, but I do love a challenge. And I am quite fond of saying that if I can find a Sweet Spot in Koigu, I can find it anywhere! I think I see a hint of a pattern, but I'm uncertain. 

 

I'm going to try my hand at the Lucille colourway tonight. 

Timehop had this picture today. 

 

Mixed memories, but it makes me smile, so a win. And any picture with Amanda is a good one ❤️☺️

Bernat Sweet Spot

This is my first foray outside of my traditional fingering weight and indie designer yarns for a Sweet

Spot afghan. 

It knits up faster, and it's acrylic, but I keep reminding myself that this is for function and ease of care. And I'm not disliking it, the colours are working up wonderfully! 

 Though I was surprised that given that this is a manufactured yarn, that I have two balls set aside because they are hitting the sweet

spot at a stitch count 4 sts greater than what I'm at now. I know. Damned odd, and well outside of my expectations given my not insignificant experience. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the colours break down. 

It's not an insurmountable problem though; I'll just do a strip at the higher stitch count. 

I discovered a fantastic and delicious alternative to traditional potato crisps at Costco. 

Whisps are made from Parmesan cheese. That's it, that's all.  They are salty and crunchy with no added sugars/carbs. Craig was especially impressed and we are going to buy a significant atock pile!! 

It was nice to have a day to just watch him play his games whilst I alternates between dozing and knitting. 

Tonight, it's the drive in. We're both clearly quite pleased at the prospect. It's been a while since I've been to a drive in!! 

 Independence Day and The Purge:Election Year. 

Great start to a long weekend!! 

Plus ça change

I'm still knitting. I kind of lost my knitting mojo there for a bit, and I've been trying to sort out why. I have come to some conclusions and hopefully the realizations will help me keep my voice. 

Today, I am playing with the Sweet Spot again! I am stepping out of my go to fingering weight and indie dyers and am using <a target="_blank" href="http://www.yarnspirations.com/yarn/super-value.html">Bernat Super Value</a>. <i>I know, but I'm going for dog-friendly. I haven't broken out in hives, and the colours are making up for the yarn composition. </i> 

I started with a strip just wide enough to hit the sweet spot. 

It didn't quite resonate with me, so I went double, and went up a needle size.  I am pleased.

I can't wait to get into the other colours. 

The temperature afghan is coming along nicely. The two yellow stripes represent those hot days at the end of May! 

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I am going with the daily lows for the colder months (Oct - March) and the daily highs for the warmer months (April - Sept). This provides the best use of the extreme temperature colours; otherwise it would be rather mid-range and less interesting. 

The puppies are wonderful, though Chica 

 is quite the handful - always wanting to have someone throw her ball (she's relentless about it) and is still quite guardy with her favorite things. I'm exploring a few options on training her out of it, but it's as bad as advice on parenting!! 

Petey is still my steadfast champion, making sure I'm never short on love and attention. 

My leg has healed well; I play ball and have no noticeable weakness. I usually wear the brace for ball, but not day-to-day. The ankle still swells to icky proportions, but apparently that's normal, so I try to not judge it. <i>between you & me, it's not my fave appendage and likely won't be the model foot for sock pics</i>

Blur

This week has been a blur of pain work and migraine.

The APSGO meeting was good and I'll be continuing with it. Anyone who has reached out to a support group knows that it is sometimes easier to talk to other with similar experiences than those whom we love and/or who love us.

I had my winter tires taken off (the back two were nearly slicks!) and replaced with all season Matrix tires. I've not been able to find out much online about them; anyone had experience with them?
Now I have a few months to find 2 winter P195/60R15 tires and 4 15" rims. Any leads would be appreciated.
While this was happening I put the waiting time to good use and finished Romi's Mysterious Shawl!!


I love it and it just needs a solid blocking.

Afterwards I spent some time at the courthouse as a moral supporter, and swatched A Hundred Ravens. Totally found the Sweet Spot!! I'd forgotten how much pleasure I get from deconstructing a yarn like this.


I hope that they'll be at the Knitters Fair again so I can get more yarn. Though I will order online if not.

I am so close to starting the next chart on my Châtelaine Mandala.


I find cross stitch so restful in a different way than knitting.

The puppies have been with me for a year - can you believe it??


They have grown so much and not the least amount in my heart.

Lee had given me a gift certificate for Amazon.uk for Valentines Day and after waiting for Broadchurch series 2 to be released, I put in an order. They're here!!


SQUEE!! Tomorrow I'll be purchasing an inexpensive DVD player in the hopes it will play or have a hack to play 15 discs.

The Loft for Lee's Longfellow. Mmmmm - can't wait to start!!

Yesterday I tried pushing and working through a migraine. Not such a great strategy.
I had felt more human after I got home, took the Rx and had some sleep, but it was still not quite fine this morning and I was feeling quite off. Dizzyish and just wrong. And I laid off the T3's while I was taking the Zomig, so it's not that. I'm feeling better now, but my uterus is kicking off hard again, but at least that's a more manageable pain. Lol.

Ok. Early night, make sure I'm fit for duties tomorrow.


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Fast and Busy

ETA pics

 So Linda won the Fastest Knitter Face-Off by 3 sts. I'm still fast but not the fastest on the day. Next year we shall go needle to needle again!!
Amanda & Lincoln, Helen, Jean-Francois & Jordan and so many others cheered me on and we all had fun with the knitting and cheering on the Marlies to a win.

I have finished my Pink Camo socks!!

It's been entirely too long since I finished a pair of socks; I have so many thinning pairs!!


I am making excellent progress on Beth's Seanair. The first sleeve is approaching the cuff.
I am quite certain that I have not erred on the cables this time!!

For a change from 50 Shades of Grey, I picked up my Family Pendragon Sweet Spot strip. I am loving the colours.
I think that I will never get tired of this stitch and deconstructing a dyers colour way!!

I will return to Elise's skirt anon - the linen beckons me even now. The autumnal colour way against the dark grey ... who could fight that?

Kyle plans to go East this week with his girlfriend to work with her father. Amanda makes me proud with her efforts at school.

My health is good; tests confirm this. I do the mundane things required of us all but I maintain a focus on joy, love and the well-being of my spirit and that keeps me in good stead.

Judith put me on to Toastabags!! Miraculous Teflon-type bags that toast the bread and melt the inside of the sandwich!! It's awesome!!! I didn't get them for at home but they'll come on right handy at work.

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August 14, 2012

I know, unimaginative title but there it is. 

I was back to work yesterday & today - my foot is none the worse for the wear, uber-achy but nothing utterly unbearable. My back needs to get used to me standing again all day ... oy vey!!! 

Beth's sweater is awaiting sleeve measurements so that I can do some maths. Rockefeller is awaiting the Malabrigo Velvet Grapes which Julie has set aside for me!!

I have gotten well into my Family Pendragon Sweet Spot strip. I love it!! 

I have also cast on a new Pink Camo sock - lovin' it too!!

 

For a woman who is supposed to be resting I have been very busy. And if I could just shake off my perfectly harmless but time-consuming love of Bejeweled & Solitaire Blitz I would be even more productive!!

My Dad had quadruple heart bypass surgery done last Wednesday. He had been feeling shortness of breath and tightness in his chest for about a week when doing different activities but it went away when he stopped. He finally went to the hospital and they jumped right on that with diagnostics & drugs and the surgery. He is doing well by all accounts, and in good spirits considering the considerable change in his diet, quitting smoking and having his activities severely curtailed.

I had my foot surgery on Thursday. It also went well but it hurt like a mofo!! I spent Friday in a drugged haze.

Daphne concentrating

my niece Jasmyn

Saturday my sister came to get me so that we could visit Dad and take him some more books. He can't do much more than read and I came by my love of reading honestly.  It was a gorgeous day and we did a few errands (I picked up a few more books) on the way there & back. While I just limp around at home, I have crutches that I used for the day. That was a lot more work than I thought - my arms and shoulders obviously need more work and it was more ab intensive than I would have thought. I love my dad and I wouldn't have not gone but my body waved the white flag.

I am feeling loads better today!! It is a necessary luxury that I am able to sleep and not sleep as my body dictates. Sometimes that is an hour or 4 hours or 10 hours. I am just rolling with it. The pain has significantly subsided; it's more of a throbbing ache, I still need to keep it elevated more than not.

I finished Elise's sweater! well actually a week or so ago ... And you know the drill, super Top Secret.






I banged out the Mountain Colors scarf - doing the fringe took awhile. I'm not very good at fringes.

 And I have dragged out some yarns and a couple of Sweet Spot strips that I had made - I want to do some more, I just need to decide on the next strips yarn designer.






I finished my Starbucks socks and have started a new pair of Purple Regia socks. The sock on the left reflects my mood during the few days that I was knitting it - the tension is all over the place. It's not noticeable in the fabric itself but the patterning is a whole lot less forgiving and shows even slight and subtle changes in tension. Not a bad thing, just a thing.

Yes, I have a fun photo editing program and I really love it!! 

The Olympics are coming up and all Ravelympics/Ravelry Games drama aside I am looking forward to them! Along with Netflix and an excellent movie collection my knitting and resting are well accompanied.