Project Spectrum Review for Feb/March & looking ahead at April/May Projects

First of all I have to say that I made it into the LUCY NEATBY class!!! I am so excited about it that I cant even put it into words. I will have been taught by 2 of my knitting idols and I am amazed at that fact. I am becoming a better knitter every day and I never thought I would have caught on so fast.

I worked feverently on my BM sock today and now I am on the cabled part of the leg. The heel was so much fun to do with the short rows, wrapping and the garter stitch. It also fits perfectly and I changed my needles from a US #0 that I used for the toe, foot and heel and now I am using the Addi's #1 which is really a 2.5mm not your normal size 1 of 2.25mm. Everyone on the ROCKIN SOCKS BLOG said they switched to a 2 for the leg but I thought since the Addis run larger I would be OK. Lets hope when I am done it fits because not only is it cabled but ribbed and I know its going to be pulling in more than normal.

Now the title of the post is a review of Feb/Mar Project Spectrum Projects. I did quite a few.
~Mini Sweater that I made for the Finishing Class that was a beautiful BLUE
~Fair Isle hat that was WHITE and green
~Baby Booties that were made with Cashsoft in a BLUE green color
~My DD's slipper socks that were rainbow colors so they count
~My Plastic Surgeon's socks that are BLUE and GREY

I also did a few projects that would go toward April/May Project Spectrum Projects
~Baby Kimono in Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton Honeydew color
~BMFA Feb Sock Kit with the Monsoon colorway (all the colors of green and beyond)
~A baby Kimono I am working on right now with Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton for my DH's friend who had a baby. It has pale geen tones in it.
~A scarf I am working on now from the book One Skein Wonders with Misti Alpaca in a Pink and greyish colorway.

On a side note, my son was very good today and even apologized to the bus driver for throwing the rock yesterday. Whenever he acted up I would tell him that he would have to go to his room and I would take his toys away and he immediately stopped. Its a work in progress and no one said it would be easy. They actually said it would be hard and it is but hes my son and worth it. I also have some plans to spend time with my DD away from my son so she can feel good about herself too. I pray every day that my kids will be safe and healthy and I know God is listening because of all the help he gave me when I was sick. I just have to keep on praying.

One Day at A Time

One Day at a time, with all its failures and fears, with all its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears, with its portion of pain and its burden of care; One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

One Day at a time to be patient and strong; To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong: Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease; It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.

One Day at a time-but the day is so long, And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong, O Thou pitiful Christ, be Thou near all the way; Give courage and patience and strength for the day.

Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet; "Yea, I will be with thee; thy troubles to meet; I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve; I will not forsake thee; I will never leave."

Not yesterday's load we are called on to bear, Nor the morrow's uncertain and shadowy care; Why should we look forward or back with dismay? Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day.

One Day at a time, and the day is His day; He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay. His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone; As the day, so the strength that He giveth His own.

Annie Johnson Flint

WIP's and Me

I havent really had any interesting finished objects to post here lately but I have lots of WIP's (works in progress) for the non-fiber addicts out there! I received my Knitpicks Palette a few weeks ago and cant wait to use them. I think the majority will turn into mittens, socks, hats and scarves because of the guage and the needle they advise you to use (#1-#3). I can see some great Fair Isle in the future.


My cousins birthday was a couple of Sunday's ago and I crocheted this scarf for her from Lion Brand Microspun and Crystal Palace FX. I was so happy that I was able to find a use for the FX and that she liked it! It was so fast and easy to make and it satisfied my need to crochet.


This is my plastic surgeons socks in progress. I had a slight problem and had to frog back and fix it but all is well now. I am using Artyarns Supermerino and a baby cable rib pattern. So far they are coming out great and I hope he likes them. The colors of blue and grey represent PROJECT SPECTRUM for the months of Feb/March. I am not sure that I will be done with them by the end of this month but they still count!


The Blue Moon Feb Sock is coming out nicely also. I have to take breaks from it due to the fact that I am using 0's and its hard on my hand. They do look a bit like something I wont mention but I think you get the picture. I think the Yarn Harlot had posted a picture with the sock in an upright position but I will spare you that image! LOL.


This is my first go at Entrelac and I am loving it. I hear that you either love it or hate it, no in between. The book scarf style has a great pattern called the LADY ELEANOR STOLE thats all entrelac and I want to make it so badly! I need to keep practicing and then I can get started on it. I originally bought 8 skeins of Noro Silk Garden to make Clapotis from KNITTY but now I am thinking I will make the LADY E STOLE with it. Its still up in the air because I have a bunch of other yarns I can use like Patons SWS in a beautiful pink & green colorway. Yesterday I bought a couple of skeins of Karaoke by SWTC thats similar to both the SWS and Noro. If I mix them up they might look really nice also. This sample is Lambs Pride Worsted Wool and Tahki Yarns "Shannon". They look pretty good together. The only pain in the butt is when you have to change colors. Thats why using a variegated yarn that changes on its own is probably better.


Last but not least with the picture posting I have a progress pic of my hair growth.


I took that picture this morning before my son got off the bus and decided to throw a HUGE boulder at it. Luckily it didnt break a window or hurt anyone but it wiped the smile right off my face. His behavior hasnt been very good lately and I had a conference with his teacher yesterday. He goes to special ed and has been for 2 years. This is his second year and he has improved greatly with his speech. He now talks VERY well but his behavior and attention span is what needs work. She said that he is extremely smart and intelligent and even helps her run the class because he knows the whole routine. The problem is that he is bouncing off the walls when it comes time to do an activity or skill like sitting and writing. They use special strategies to help him along with this but its getting worse. He has to be further evaluated by their team to see if its a ADD or ADHD related problem. Then I have to bring him to the pediatrician to see what we can do to make him better and believe me medication would be the last option I would chose. His teacher also reminded me that he has no control over this and you cant punish him when he does these things. When he throws rocks at the bus you can certainly reprimand him though! Thats unacceptable behavior in this house and will not be tolerated. He is supposed to start Kindergarten in September and I am stressing over lots of things related to that. They might need an extra teachers aide in the classroom and if they do I think now only will it benefit my son but will also help the other kids in the class. Anyway, this is whats been driving me crazy and its also affecting my DD. I had her parent/teacher conference yesterday and the teacher told me that when they do writers workshop and talk about what they are doing in their lives my DD always talks about her brother and how he causes trouble and so on. Some of the stories are about her going to the park with him but its almost like she cant think of anything else and she does do other things with me and her father that she can talk about. We do crafts, read together, had a bowling party and go over other family members houses all the time. I think I need to have one day a week where her and I do something without the boys. Maybe go to a movie or shopping would be nice. She needs more attention and thats what we have to give her. I am anxiously awaiting for a phone call from my sons teacher.

Today I received a thank you card for the green baby kimono I made my friend. She wrote, "Thank you for the beautiful crocheted sweater you made." First of all it was very nice of her to send a thank you but its KNITTED not CROCHETED!!! Does that sound like some type of elitist knitting statement? I am always the one advocating for the crocheter with my knitting friends so why would I feel insulted that she thought it was crocheted? I probably need to crochet a little more!

The Nancy Bush class is quickly approaching and I am so excited about it. I have all my supplies and I am ready to learn.
Tomorrow is sign up for the Lucy Neatby COOL SOCK class in May. I REALLY hope I get into it because they are limited to a certain number of people.

I finally gave in and orderd the MORE SENSATIONAL SOCKS BOOK from AMAZON. I also picked up some books on making crochet bags and a book on knitting by Maggie Righetti (I think thats her name). They said that the entire order shipped yesterday so I should get it tomorrow. My Grandmother has had a few falls in the past few weeks so I decided NOT to make her slippers or slipper socks. I couldnt live with myself if anything happens to her while wearing my socks.

Is the whole World crazy? Or is it just me?

My surgery sites are healing well and I went to see the plastic surgeon on Tuesday. I have to go in 6-8 weeks for the tattooing of the areolas. Then he checks me a month after to see if they need to be done again due to fading. Its a good thing I have all this time because I am making him socks and havent finished them yet.

My DH went to the dermatologist last week to have a suspicious area on his arm looked at that wasnt healing properly. They removed it and we got some bad news yesterday. He received part of the preliminary pathology report yesterday. Its squamous cell carcinoma. My DH has skin cancer and I am freaking out. He has to go back next week to have more removed to see if they can get clean margins and also to see if it has spread deeper. If they get clean margins then he's done. No more surgery and check ups every 3 months. If its deeper then he has to go through some nasty sh*t that I dont even want to think about right now. Please pray for him and send all the healing thoughts you can his way because I dont know what I would do without him, hes my best friend. Ok, I have to stop crying right now.

Lets see what other good news can I share? Oh, yes! Yesterday while checking my bank account statement I found a bunch of unauthaurized charges there! I called them immediately to report fraud and we got all the paperwork going today. So now we are without a debit card until the new ones arrive in the mail next week. What a pain in the a**. I had to take some cash out of the bank. Who the heck uses cash anymore when you have debit cards. They have made our lives so easy that we are spoiled having them. I am just happy that this issue will be solved within 10 days (I hope).

After I went to the bank to clear up this mess we headed to the DMV to register our car. We purchased the car when the lease ended to we had to go to the DMV to get all the paperwork re-done to state that it was a buy out and no longer a lease. Everything was going smoothly when the lady told me that they couldnt process my paperwork because I was delinquent in paying my property tax on MY OTHER CAR!!! First of all, I wasnt delinquent on anything and I paid it on 3/6. She got me so mad that I started to cry and she then told me not to raise my voice to her! I explained nicely that I did pay and that all they had to do was call the tax office in my town and they would tell them I did pay. She told me that I needed proof by showing them a receipt. I then reminded her by showing her the list of things they tell you to bring with you when registering a car and that was not one of them on the list. If it was I would have brought it! The arguement continued and then it came out of my mouth (and believe me I didnt want it to but I had no choice because the people that work there have no souls) that I was sick and unable to come back. I think what I said and the fact that the sheet didnt say I needed to bring the receipt made her say, "please sit down and I will call them to see if you are delinquent".
As I sat down I met a lovely couple from Germany who have been living in the Midwest for years and just moved here and were having problems also. We talked about how much we hated to come to the DMV and that NY, NJ and CT are the worse. He said that when he lived in Missouri that it was a pleasure to go to the DMV and they were in and out within 15 minutes. That would NEVER happen here so dream on I said! After I filled out another form that the lady told me I filled out wrong she told me to go back to the lady that was originally taking care of me. She handed me back all the paperwork except for my drivers license. I asked her if I could please have it back and she then said, "I havent seen it, I dont have it, you must have it". OK now there is actual flames and fire shooting out of my head and I am MAD beyond all belief. Good thing I had some Ativan with me because I took some of that to calm me down and prevent a mass casualty incident from occuring. It was then my turn with the lady and I asked her for my license and we went through the same crap about her not seeing it and so on. Finally they found it and quess where it was? On the dumb beotches desk!!!! Oh yeah, you havent seen it, you only LEFT IT ON YOUR DESK DUMB A**!!! Have I mentioned how much I hate the DMV? She then hands me new plates for the car which I did not want because I wanted to keep my old ones. The old ones match my DH's because the only difference between the two is one number and they come in a succession like 837 and 838. Now I got very emotional and started to cry to myself. The lady saw this (because I told her the reason I wanted to keep the plates and not get new ones) and said that she was sorry. She also said that the bank needed to mail me a special form to keep the plates. Thats a load of crap. I wanted to say, "you mean that you might have to do some work if I wanted to keep my plates and your to f-ing lazy to do that right?" I let it go because we wasted so much time there that my DD was getting out of school and we had to pick her up. I wrote her a check and while I was doing that she said, "you said you were sick, whats the matter with you?" She and her co-worker pissed me off so much because they treat people like crap in there that I didnt mind saying, "Cancer" Oh, I'm sorry she replied and then she has the nerve to say, "Everything will get better dont you worry." Shut the F up lady and give me my crap so I can get the flock out of here. Bite me too. So I had to tell you about this crazy DMV experience and I am sure many of you have had similar things happen. They are so antiquated in how they run that place its ridiculous.

In knitting news I am trying to make a tank top out of the Tilli Thomas silk I bought but havent found anything thats going to work. I think I am going to crochet something with it. Not sure about that. I also have the Dr's socks and the Blue Moon socks on the needles. My DH's co-worker is giving birth any day now and I think I am going to make another Mason Dixon Kimono. I am waiting to see if the baby is a boy or girl to make an appropriate color. Maybe I'll chose a color thats unisex and start now.

Here is a cute picture of the day since I dont have any knitting ones to post. The fist doggie is our short haired black and tan doxie who is the second oldest of the 3 and the second is our long haired youngin' who is only 5. Our other doxie, the old man, who is going to be 12 this year, didnt want to take any pictures. He was being shy! That kid with them is our son in a rare, happy moment. He's usually grumpy.

Did someone hear a frog?

I cant tell you how many projects I have frogged in the past few days. I wasnt happy with what I was making and frogged most of them. The good news is that I was not that far into any of them. The ARTYARNS Socks for my Dr and the Blue Moon February Sock are still in the works. My dogs unfinished sweater is lingering in the backround gathering some dust but its almost done. I stopped by my LYS, Knitting Central today on the hunt for a tank top pattern for my Tilli Thomas disco lights in Dusty Rose. My goal is to have it finished for a dinner party DH and I were invited to at the end of April. There is a great pattern book with 21 crochet patterns from Tahki Stacy Charles that I bought. Its the 2007 collection and I love every pattern in that book. Crocheting is much easier for me than knitting and I have made many things freeform so I feel very comfortable working with these patterns.

On Sunday we went to my cousins for her, her husbands and her sons birthday. In just 2 days I crocheted a scarf for her with some Lion Brand Microspun in lavender and Crystal FX in purple. The pattern was lacey made up of chains and single crochet. The ends of the scarf I tied into a trellis instead of having the tassels hang. I was very happy with how it came out and will post pictures in the near future of it (and a few other things). I am to lazy to upload any to the computer right now due to a horrible migraine.

My DH surprised me today with a little present. Its not my birthday or any special occasion and he hasnt done anything like this in a long time so I was very surprised when he handed me a book called KNIT Handmade Style by Janine Flew. I havent really heard of this book or the designers in it but its a very nice book with cute patterns.

My grandmothers birthday is in less than a month and I have not yet started on her gift. I am planning slippers/slipper socks for her but cant decide on a pattern and its driving me crazy. There are so many out there to chose from so someone help me make up my mind!!

I am also trying to teach myself Entrelac which is not supposed to be difficult but I am finding it so.

A Little Update

I never really posted about how I felt after my surgery so here I am saying I am feeling pretty good! I was sore from all the manipulation but overall OK. Thank you to everyone who commented and wanted to know how I was doing. I had an appointment with my breast surgeon Monday (not the plastic surgeon) for a follow up. She was VERY impressed with my reconstruction and asked if I would show her nurse (who also had breast cancer a few years ago). I didnt mind at all. So overall every Dr that I have seen is very impressed with the job my plastic surgeon did. Thats why I love him so much. He gave me something back that no one else could have. This is why people who have been through what I have such an emotional attachment to their Dr. Its very easy to understand.

Knitting has been plugging along also. I frogged the TOFUTSIES sock that I was working on because I was not into it at all and my attention right now is on the Blue Moon Sock which is coming along well. The plastic surgeons socks are in progress right now and I decided on the baby cable rib pattern from SENSATIONAL KNITTED SOCKS. I chose ARTYARNS SUPERMERINO (can you tell its my favorite) and a size 2 needle to make it a very sturdy sock. My Dads sock was knitted in the same yarn and I used a size 5. Since this guy has a size 12 foot I couldnt really follow any pattern, it just wasnt working in my favor. I decided to make my own. I am contemplating putting a garter stitch border on the heel flap right now. I have time to decide. I also started a few other projects. My cousins birthday is on Sunday and we were invited to go. I need a gift FAST so I looked in my new favorite book, ONE SKEIN WONDERS, and am working on a lacey scarf with a ball of Stacy Charles Ritratto. I have 4 inches done already! Only another 56 to go!! LOL. Then I started a baby hat from the Blue Sky Cotton I had leftover from the Kimono. I plan on giving it to the Dr and his wife who had a baby in December. I originally gave them the pink Kimono that I forgot to post a picture of. This Dr is a resident that works with my DH and we are going to a party where he will be in attendance at the end of April. If time allows I will make matching booties. By the way, an awesome substitute for Rowan's Cotton Glace is Paton's Grace. Its less than 1/2 the price and its well worth it! Most of the booties in the book I have call for the Cotton Glace. There are a few other projects I have to finish and my Grandmothers birthday is in April so I have to make her something. I thought about felted slippers or slipper type socks because she is always cold and they are a quick knit. Some eyelash yarn around the cuffs would be cute too! If time allows I HAVE to cast on for this cute cotton bolero that I saw in one knitting magazine (I cant remember which one it was). Its called the Ying Yang Bolero.

My LYS also announced that Lucy Neatby will be teaching 2 classes in May!!! One of them is on Intarsia and the other is Cool Socks. Guess which one I want to take? Registration is at the end of the month and its on a first come, first serve basis starting at a certain time by phone only. It was the same when I registered for the Nancy Bush class and I was one of the 1st people to call. I hope I can get into Ms Neatby's class also. It would be fantastic to say that I was a student of both these knitting gurus!

Blogoversary & FO's

I missed my Blogoversary! It was 1 year ago on March 8th (day I had surgery so there was a good reason I missed it) that I started this blog. In the beginning it was called CURLYBRUNETTES STORY OF SURVIVAL but after a few months I decided to change the title of the blog and make it somewhat more happy. I wanted to blog about my favorite hobby, knitting and crocheting, so I changed it to what else but: KNIT HAPPENS! It also had no pictures when I 1st started out but now I try to post a picture with each post. When I read blogs I like to look at pictures so thats why I post them. I do like to read but I also am very visual so thats another reason why I use pictures in my posts. So while we are on the subject of pictures I have some FO's to post.

The 1st one is my Dad's birthday socks that I made from Artyarns Supermerino. Out of the 2 hanks I bought at 104 yards each I had about 1/2 of a hank left over and he is a size 9.5 shoe size. I used the THUJA pattern from Knitty and used a size 5 needle.


Here is the Honeydew Kimono that I made for my friend who had a baby in January. I used about 225 yards of Blue Sky Cotton with a size 7 needle. I am going to make a matching hat to go with it and mail it to her by the end of the week. I dont want the baby to get so big that it doesnt fit!


This is my DH's Fair Isle hat that I finally finished last night from my own pattern and design:

Pretty good for my 1st Fair Isle! I am surprised it fits his big head!

SInce I have been making stitch markers I have also been making some jewelry. Here is a bracelet with matching earings made from Swarovski crystals.

Its very hard to take a good picture with my craptastic camera. What do you expect for a camera that I bought in 1998! Yes 1998. We bought it when my DH and I got married right before our honeymoon.
I am loving making all these pretty things! All I need now is for someone to buy them! I havent been able to go to other yarn shops to see if they would be interested in selling them. One shop took my number so I hope they call me. I've thought about selling at craft fairs and holiday boutiques also. My DD's school has one every year in November. If anyone is interested in purchasing this bracelet and earings the price is $30 and I am still selling stitch markers for $10 a set (5 in a set).

In a few weeks I will be setting up my AVON WALK webpage so people can donate toward my walk in October. I am going to have special surprises for people when they donate certain amounts of money to my walk. I wont say anything right now because I dont want to ruin the surprise.

Its HERE!!!!

Yes, the minute after I posted I heard a bang at my door and my dogs went wild. I knew it was my sock kit, I just knew it! Right on time too! Since my surgery is tomorrow I have lots of knitting to get done afterwards! I am totally determined to make this sock the way the pattern suggests and I am very excited about it. I have NEVER done a toe up or short row heels so there are two things that I am going to have to learn. They suggest a gauge of 8sts/1" so I looked at a sock I made with mediumweight STR and a size 1 Addi Turbo (which is really a 1.5 because its 2.5mm, not 2.25mm) and it measured at a gauge of 7sts/1". I think I am going to be using 0's. We will see how it turns out. Here is a picture of my kit:

The colorway is called Monsoon and my ballband says, "dont let the grass grow underneath your feet"
I already rolled it up and its ready to go. I want to start right now but I am working on finishing my Dad's socks because his birthday is tomorrow. I plan on starting it tonight when the kids go to bed and there is some peace and quiet around here.

I forgot to mention that when I was in the 2 yarn shops yesterday the owners of both complimented me on my CALORIMETRY. The one that I made with Artyarns Supermerino. They kept asking me where I got the pattern and I told them about KNITTY. I found it quite funny that only Cynthia knew about KNITTY. The other shop owner who is a young girl who you would think would be up on that stuff, knew nothing about it. She had me write it down for her so she could investigate. I cant wait to see a bunch of ladies in Greenwich wearing their CALORIMETRIES! I was also excited to get someone else addicted to knitty. Its my absolute favorite knitting place on the web especially the coffeeshop where you can meet other knitters and share ideas. I have to mention that I bought a hank of Artyarns Supermerino (104 yds) for 95 cents less in 'upscale' Greenwich than in Westport where I usually buy my yarn. Weird right? Iris, who owns Artyarns, just put out some gorgeous new colors and I bought a pink and off white colorway. I want to make another CALORIMETRY or the DREAMSWATCH from the Garter Belt. I also have seen it on others blogs and I really like the way it looks as a headwrap. It can be used as a belt or scarf also. The only thing is that they call for 150 yards and a size 5 needle and I only have 104 yards. If you use the 150 yards it comes out 49" so I think with what I have, even though it will be shorter, it will still be able to wrap around my head. My head is not that big! LOL

Last Surgery, Zimmermania & Where are my Rockin' Socks?

One year has passed since I had my 1st surgery related to my breast cancer (March 2nd) and tomorrow is supposedly the last. Nipple reconstruction is 10am tomorrow and I am a bit nervous about it. I have heard horror stories of how the skin graphs didnt take or infection occured causing implant rejection! Holy crap I dont even want to think about it. I am praying that all goes well and that this is the last time I have ANY surgery. My gastrointerologist wants me to have a colonoscopy but I told him that I need an break from anesthesia so it will have to wait a few months. He said it was OK.

I got another hair cut (trim) yesterday! Not much was taken off but she shaped it so I can wear it curly without looking like I stuck my finger in a light socket! I also was introduced to some new hair products that made my hair less poofy and defined my curls more. I think it was TIGI Curls Rock Spray and Styling Lotion. Right now they are working great but the way my hair works the longer it gets the less products like that work for it. Grow hair, grow! I want to wear it in a ponytail again!

On the way back from the plastic surgeons office yesterday I stopped in one of the LYS around the hospital to see if they had any more Great Adirondack Gemini (50% wool, 50% silk) in a beatiful colorway they call Moonstone (I think, its not in front of me) for the Starry Night Shawl class I am going to take in June. Somehow I thought that 550 yards would suffice but alas, I was wrong. When I stopped into Knitting Central, where I am taking the class, Cynthia said that Jane Elliot (the teacher and genius knitter extrodinaire) said the shawl would take at least 1050 yards!! WOW, I didnt think it would take that much! I dont have a DK weight yarn that would be suitable for the shawl in my stash so I have to go looking. I thought that Great Adirondack would be a wonderful yarn because of the silk in it making it drape beautifully but its $42 for 275 yards and I would need 2 more hanks of it. The total cost would be $168 and thats to much for me to spend. To bad we cant use a lace weight yarn because I have a ton of Misti Alpaca Lace in my stash. Oh well, I have until June to find one.

Zimmermania, yes I have it. I cant believe it took me this long to buy an Elizabeth Zimmerman book. I bought her Knitters Almanac and Knitting Workshop. I cant wait to dive in and make some of her stuff especially the Baby Surprise Jacket. There are so many projects in these books its amazing. What makes it even more amazing as that you can make the pattern your own and EZ tells you exactly how to do it.

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday and I am almost done with his socks. I want to be able to send them home with my Mom tomorrow night. If I am not done then he will get them on Saturday or Sunday. I also mailed those booties to my cousin yesterday so I hope she likes them.

My Rockin' Socks are not here yet!!! Everyone else has received their socks (well, not everyone but almost) from BMFA except me, boo hoo I am so upset because I want to cast on for these before I go to the hospital tomorrow! I keep checking their blog and all I see are tons of people on the east coast who have received their package! UGH!! Maybe today will be the day? I hope. The anticipation was killing me so much that I looked on others blogs and ruined the surprise. Its all good though because I still will be surprised when I get it. Its a toe-up pattern and I have never done one of those before. I hope that there are detailed instructions included otherwise I am going to make it cuff-down instead. The other day I was attempting to start the toe and it wasnt working well at all so I had to step away from the DPN's and yarn and call it a day. I am going to give it my all and thats all I can do IF and WHEN I get the package that is! LOL.

On the family front my Mom and Dad said that they are going to be speaking to my sister and a big decision is being made by them. I really hope they stick to their guns and dont back down when this 'conversation' occurs because my sister has mastered the art of manipulation with her passive-aggressive narcsisstic personality. This whole situation is weighing heavily on my heart and I cant tell you how much I have cried over it all. I just dont want to continue to write about it if there is nothing happening to solve the issue. However, I will write if there is anything new to write about.

Bootees and First Fair Isle

I made another pair of bootees for my cousins baby girl. I used Rowan Cotton Glace in the color Pier and the little bit of lace that is in this pattern has addicted me already to lace knitting. Its called Lace & Diamond Bootees (this is how the author spells booties). I am going to drop these in the mail to her on Monday before the babys feet get to big. They are made for 6-9 month olds and she is 7 months so they should fit:


This is my attempt at Fair Isling with my own design that I adapted from a mitten pattern to a hat. I think that its going pretty well. We will see when I have to start the decreases! LOL


Here is a cute picture of our resident squirrel that has learned to expect peanut butter sandwiches every day from us. If we dont give him what he wants he comes right up to the glass doors on our back porch to taunt my 3 doxies. Its very funny to watch but I think I am creating a monster, a squirrel monster that is!


I am still anxiously awaiting my BMFA sock kit for February but alas there was no delivery for me today. It should come tomorrow and I cant wait!! I'll be sure to post pictures of the kit when I get it.

My next surgery for the nipple reconstruction is scheduled for March 8th and I am so happy that they finally fit me in the OR schedule. It was crazy there for a while that there were so many surgeries being scheduled. Thats because so many hospitals have been closing in the area (around the hospital I use) and they are picking up the slack.

My 1st Cancerversary-Feb 23, 2007

I have survived one year since I was diagnosed with BC. They told me that if I did nothing about the lumps I had found in my left breast that it would have spread to my bones in less than 10 months. Hell, within one month it was in my lymph nodes. Crazy, aggressive, node positive, triple negative, stage 2b, grade 3 SOB. Nice rhyme going there, LOL. Feb 23, 2006 was the scariest day of my entire life and I will never forget it. The Dr called me on the phone to tell me the results of the biopsy that was done on the 21st. My DH had taken the kids out for a ride somewhere and I was alone and thang the heavens for that. I am glad they didnt see me fall apart. It took me 3 hours to compose myself for a phone call to my Mom. When DH came home he didnt even have ask me what was going on he could tell just by looking at me. I never thought that I would get through all the treatments, chemo, surgery, tests and all the other stuff that goes along with having cancer. I was frightened of the chemo more than anything and rightly so. My DH being an oncology nurse had told me many horror stories over the years related to chemotherapy and what it did to people. At this point I was regretting remembering them and he was regretting the fact that he told me. I made the mistake of looking up to much info online and it got me into trouble. I made a promise not to do that anymore if it started to upset me. Instead, I would ask my Dr and that would be good enough. Sometimes its not good having the extra knowlege because it can make you think to much and not focus on what the right thing to do is even if the side effects are not pretty. The most important promise I made was not to treat my DH as my personal nurse but as my DH. He was my DH 1st and a nurse 2nd. I didnt direct any complex medical questions to him because he felt that he couldnt answer them truthfully. No one really remembered this day except for my DH. My Mom wasnt sure if it was a celebrated day or not but I informed her that I thought it was because I am alive. Many cancer survivors celebrate their day of diagnosis and many treat it like any other day. To me its not any other day and it will never be, thats just the way it is.

My DD's biirthday party at the bowling alley was yesterday. All in all it went very well and there were 19 kids there! I couldnt bellieve a major brawl didnt break out! Today we are headed over my cousins house for my great Aunts birthday. I finished the scarf and I also made some baby booties for my cousins baby. The scarf was taken in natural light because the flash was distorting the color changes. I used 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon with one hank of New England Highland Wool in Periwinkle which was 200 yrds. The total yardage was 400yds and the scarf is 52" long by 7" (I think) wide. I have a tiny ball left of each yarn so maybe I am a little short of the 400 but you get the picture. I thought it would be longer but oh well, she'll like it anyway. The booties are RY Cashsoft DK just like the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and the ties were some Plymouth baby yarn scraps:


A friend whom I havent heard from in a year (last time I called her was to tell her I has BC) called me on my cancerversary. I thought she called to see how I was and how I was feeling but she called to tell me she had a baby, her 3rd. I didnt even know she was pregnant. I should have asked her, "Would you have called me if you didnt have another baby?" but I am not that type of person so I let it slide but it still hurts. She didnt really talk about me just her, its always been about her and all the material possessions she has. I told her that I am going to make her baby something and send it to her. I hope she likes it. Its the thought that counts, right?

A Long Story

Its been a long time since I ranted and raved about my sister. Things were relatively staying on the topic of knitting around here but this blog entry will be one of great emotional upset and disappointment.

Yesterday I went over my parents for dinner. DH was working and it was just me and the kids. I thought my Dad was home but when I arrived I found out that it was just my Grandmother and Mom there. I asked where my Dad was because I really had no idea where he could be. He had called a few days ago looking for a my DH's work # to give my cousin and didnt mention anything to me. My Mom then told me that he had taken my sister to Las Vegas!! Yup, you heard that right. He took MY SISTER to Vegas!! WHAT?!! Now, I'll try not to go crazy and keep things in order of WHY I am so hurt by this. My loyal readers who know the history of whats been happening could probably figure out on their own why I feel the way I do. I immediately asked with great anger in my voice, WHY did he take HER to Vegas? My Mom said that he took her because last year her and my sister were supposed to go to Disney World but the trip was cancelled due to my needing my Moms help going through all my surgeries and Chemotherapy. My sister could have certainly gone on the trip without my Mom and taken her boyfriend instead. I never understood why she never went on that trip.

I asked my Mom over and over WHY, WHY, WHY would my Dad do this? Both my parents couldnt even talk to my sister about how she treated me but he could take her on a vaction? She certainly doesnt deserve to be taken anywhere after the hurtful things she did to me, the emotional anquish she caused me and is still causing me, and my Mom knew this. My Mom also stated a few weeks ago that she tried to talk to my sister about the situation and my sister went off ranting, raving and screaming at how my Mom CHOSE me over her and a whole bunch of nonsense in my opinion. Remember, its now February and my Mom never confronted my sister over the situation that occured on Christmas and how she treated not only me like a peice of crap but her both Godchildren who tried all night to play with her. My Mom then said that she was finished trying to talk to my sister so I thought that included doing anything for her. If my son or daughter treated the other sibling in the manner that my sister treated me, there is NO WAY in hell they would deserve anything, let alone a vaction! My Mother went on to say that, "“Your Father is taking your family on a vacation, what are you complaining about?" Well, I do think that my family and I deserve a vacation for all we have been through. I did have cancer, I did have countless surgeries and medical problems over the past 8 years. Most of my childrens lives I have been ill. There were times I couldnt lift my son or do anything with him or my daughter due to my surgeries and most recently my cancer treatments. I have lots of mothers guilt over that.

My sister, who has had NOTHING of the sort happen to her, no medical issues or surgeries. My sister has alienated herself from the family, no one did it for her. She has then proceeded to treat everyone like shit and this has been going on for a long time, its nothing new. I guess that deserves a vacation. Go ahead everyone, when a relative gets really sick at a young age with a rare aggressive form of Breast Cancer that only 50% of women go on to live 10 years past their initial date of diagnosis, go ahead and treat them like crap. Ignore them and their children, when they need you the most (and dont forget you are their God Mother) and be a narcissistic bitch who never lends a hand to help even when your sick relative calls you crying uncontrollably (thats how badly they need your help) and say no EVERY TIME they ask (beg) for help. Guess what will happen then? You'll be rewarded with a wonderful vacation to somewhere, anywhere, pick a place, its your choice! Your ass is being kissed my friend so be that selfish bitch you are and go ahead and take advantage of the parents that YOU claim to HATE and blame your miserable life where you never wanted for anything and got whatever you wanted.

I paved the road for my sister and her bad behavior so if anyone should complain its me. NEVER once did I EVER complain. I already went over all the things that I have done for her and with my sister growing up. I WAS a good sister and I refuse to believe otherwise no matter what she says to my Mom. I dont care that my Dad is going to take us on vacation, its not the same thing. The difference is that not only does my family deserve it but we have earned it and need it.

When I was single working a full time job as a nurse, I was not living at home raking in the money from my job. I was paying bills and rent with my fiance (now DH). No one offered to take me to Vegas or anywhere when I graduated nursing school or anytime in my 20's. I am certainly sure that if my sister was the one with cancer that my Dad would not be taking ME somewhere but my sister! Duh, whats so hard to understand. We take the good for nothing, nasty, self-centered, materialistic, selfish, never did a thing to help hers sister on a vacation??? It makes absolutely NO SENSE to me.

I am not COMPLAINING, I am stating facts here. My parents have done a lot for me and I am very grateful. I dont ask them to do things, they do them out of the goodness of their heart and I cant thank them enough.
The point is that my sisters behavior is REWARDED all the time. She has never been held accountable for any of them and thats why she remains in a state of constant immaturity and there she will stay. The therapist we see has offered to see me and my Mom so she can talk to the both of us and maybe help my Mom deal with my sister but my Mom makes excuses every time I offer a time to see the therapist. The therapist even said that she would stay late to see us but my Mom says she is too tired from work. I guess, yet again, its not important or worth it for her. If my sister saw a therapist you bet your ass that she would go with her if she was asked. Double standards and hypocrisy.

Back to what the therapist said. She said that instead of rewarding my sister they have to make her own her behavior by making her accountable for it. By taking her on a vacation, what do you think that tells her? An idiot can figure that out. If my sister hates being around the family and my parents why would she go on a vacation with my Dad? She cant stand him and argues with him almost constantly.

I cant believe whats happening and I am so hurt and upset I cant even write it down. Ive been crying since the ride home last night. My DH doesnt know what to say to me to make it better. He's angry because he sees all the hurt that this situation has caused from the beginning. He also cant believe my Dad did this. They should have given her an ultimatum instead of a vacation. They should have said to her, "Your sister had an aggressive form of breast cancer. She has been through hell the past 8 years with other medical ailments and has basically had no help with the kids up until this summer when she was getting chemo. There is a possibility that her cancer can return so why dont you apologize to her and treat her like a human being because if the roles were reversed, she would be there for you. Even with her 2 kids and the problems she has, she would have been there for you. Re-establish a relationship before its too late. If you dont then I think you need to grow up and get your own apartment. Its obvious that you are using us as a 'hotel' just to store your belongings, shower, shit and sleep. You spend no time with anyone in this house or family and you are never home, so why are you staying? (FREE ROOM & BOARD) You took time to take your boyfriends father to his chemo treatments every Wednesday but never helped your own sister, your blood."

My parents think that if they say this to her that they will make it worse. In my opinion it cant get any worse so what will they be losing? They dont have a relationship with her to begin with so what the heck are they afraid of? Its all a joke.

I, as a mother would not tolerate my children treating the other in a manner as despicable as this especially if they had limited time on this earth. If you all saw how I and my children were treated on Christmas Day then you would certainly agree. My parents let her get away with murder. I told my Mom that she was going to get away with murder and not be accountable for what she did on Christmas and she did. My Mom swore that she wouldnt but guess who’s in Vegas? Not me.

I have never been hurt in this way before in my life by anyone especially a family member. I cant explain how I feel but its a sickening sensation that wont go away. I dont want to talk to either one of my parents right now, I am to upset. Thats how hurt I am. I have a burning, stabbing pain in the middle of my chest radiating out to all parts of my body. I have no one else, no one who understands. I am still crying from last night, I cried in my dreams and I am dehyrated from crying so much.

I asked my Mom why she doesnt just call sometimes and say, "I know your DH is working a lot and you are with the kids working hard. Do you want me to come up and watch the kids one night while you go out?" Just call and offer because its a nice thing to do. She got mad at me for saying this and I have no idea why. Is it that hard to ask me that? She says, "Call me and let me know when you want to go out." My DH does do this and my Mom says, "Its not a good time, I have something going on, I already have plans, I'm busy" OR "Call me closer to the day you want to go out otherwise I wont remember" Then when he calls her about the day she has made plans already and cant. DH has to make plans like that in advance with his job, its not easy. I dont have anyone else to watch my kids or anyone that understands my son besides my Mom. We dont have the money for a babysitter. Then she says, "I thought you were broke, how can you go out?" You dont have to spend money to spend time with someone. A trip to the bookstore is free and a movie is cheap when you only go once in 4 months! My DH puts a few dollars away every week so he can take me somewhere. We need to spend time together, its extremely important for our relationship right now because we literally have no time for one another. Then she says that she never goes out. Give me a break. She goes out more than any other grandparent of any of my friends whom are always with their grandchildren. Before I had kids all my parents spoke about was becoming grandparents and how they would do this and do that with them. I know my Mom works but so do many other grandparents. My cousin and my friends moms always help them with their kids and they didnt even have cancer! People that had full course, dose-dense chemotherapy, like me usually take years to return to the way they were. Their metablolism, sleep cycles, memory, stamina and other important functions of daily life are screwed up. Most dont work full time at their jobs because they are unable to have the strength to go 8-12 hours at a job. Some never return to the way they were. My Mom keeps talking about the AVON WALK that we are doing in October and that by then I will be “thin and in shape”. Its 39 miles! I am a positive person who believes I can do anything but please give me a break!

Everyone forgets so fast. They are all there praying for me every 5 minutes when I was going through chemo and then when I was finished they head for the hills thinking that I will be back to my old self tomorrow. I STILL NEED HELP! Its very hard for me to deal with the kids all day. My Mom keeps saying, “I dont know what you want from me?” I didnt realize that I was such a burden to everyone, helping and caring for me when I was going through the worse thing I have ever been through in my life. She never had a major illness either and gets mad when I mention this. She also doesnt realize that I lost a lot of friends going through my treatment. There are 3 that havent spoken to me since I was diagnosed a year ago. The only 2 friends I have are the ones that I have known the longest and they have families of their own. I dont expect anyone to drop their own stuff to help me.

I know that its a horrible thought but I have been so upset and hurt that sometimes I think it would have been better for everyone if I died. I dont plan on killing myself, I love my children more than anything but I have this feeling of hopelessness that no one understands. If I were gone there would be no arguing or discord with my sister, no one would have the stress I cause with this fucking disease and what its done to me. My kids wouldnt have to deal with their crazy emotional Mom. I dont know what my purpose is anymore. I dont want to die, believe me, after all I went through I deserve more. I deserve a sister who loves me for who I am and not who she wants me to be or wanted me to be in the past. I want parents that offer their help with the kids so my DH and I can have a night out once a month without me asking them all the time. It seems no one is grateful I am alive. They have abandoned me in the emotional department. They are there in the financial department but I need more than that. I need so much more.

"I dont think that would be a good idea"

There is a LYS a few towns over that is going out of business. Already having been there once and not really seeing any savings I was reluctant to go back but curious as to how low their prices would go. They sent e-mails daily saying that they were lowering the prices further so I had to check it out, plus I had nothing better to do today but take a little ride. I only had a couple of bucks to spend because we are totally broke. I made a list of only the yarn I needed for projects that I had planned out. When I arrived at the store the 1st thing I noticed was that it was almost empty! I couldnt believe it because like I said the prices were not as low as they should have been. The wall that had all the 100% wool like Lambs Pride and Cascade 220 was EMPTY. Well there goes the 1st idea I had but not to fear I have plenty of that stuff at home. I then checked out the cottons and low and behold they had 1 hank of Patagonia cotton in the variegated pink/turquoise colorway! I have 4 hanks at home and this would make 5, more than enough for a caplet or shrug maybe even a clapotis wrap! I also have some Araucania Natural Cotton (1 hank) in a dark pink that matches the Patagonia perfectly and would border the caplet nicely. It was only $6 which is half price! whohoo!!! The second project that I was looking for a compatible yarn for was the Mason-Dixon lace curtain that I want to make for my bathroom. They suggest using Euroflax which one, I cant stand the feel of it and two it was very expensive even with the discount. Instead I bought some On Line Egyptian Cotton in a beautiful lavender color that matches my bath perfectly! That was only $7!! Then I found one lone ball of Cascade Yarns Bollicine Victor in white which is PERFECT to make the Fair Isle hat I have planned for DH. I already have 2 balls of the same yarn in hunter green and thats why I was looking for a white or light color to go with it. Total yardage is 342 yds and its bulky so I just might be able to get away with mittens and a hat if I am lucky. I should then use the largest needle I can get away with to make the yarn go far. I found an Ann Norling mitten pattern for $1 and its actually 4 patterns in one and for all different gauges too. You just fill in the blanks with your yarn gauge and start knitting! The last thing I picked up for 50 cents was a Susan Bates Crochet hook in size P for my daughter. She knits when she feels like it and I dont force her at all otherwise it will backfire on me. Yesterday I was making some washrags for my kitchen and I was crocheting them. Immediately she started yelling, " I want to crochet, teach me, teach me Mommy!" I broke out some leftover multicolor yarn (JIFFY THICK & QUICK by Lion Brand) from the socks I made her. All in all it was a good day. I already have the yarn to make my DH his fair isle mittens. I am planning on using Berrocco Alpaca for his mittens.

So finally I can explain the title of this post. I was looking around in the LYS and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. They have a bathroom there because its a huge place and also because they teach classes there and HAVE to have one. I was halfway in the bathroom when one of the ladies that works there came into the back area so I asked her, "Can I PLEASE use your restroom I am about to bust! (All with a smile on my face and a little chuckle thrown in. She replied, "I dont think that would be a good idea". You have got to be kidding me, right? You are closing this store in less than a week or two and I cant use the bathroom? It doesnt make sense to me at all and at this point I wanted to tell her where she could go and also say that people with empty bladders will spend more money. No wonder why they couldnt maintain that business. All this is not a surprise to me because when I first went in that store over the summer as a newbie knitter I asked a question about how much yardage is needed for a sweater in a particular yarn I was going to purchase. The same woman answered my question but had an attitude and it wasnt nice. My favorite yarn stores are where I live anyway. One is Knotty Girl ( www.knottygirlknits.com ) and my all time favorite is of course Knitting Central ( www.knittingcentral.com ) . They treat everyone with respect and I LOVE going in there and never fear to ask a question when I need help. They are always as sweet as anyone can be to me and all their other customers. Cynthia's store is much smaller than the one that was going out of business and she does (just assuming from all the customers I see there and the classes she runs with famous teachers like Nancy Bush, Nicky Epstein and others). The most important thing is they have bathrooms that their valued customers can use!

I visited Knottygirl to see the owner about selling my stitch markers but she was out today. I plan to go next Tuesday and I am praying she buys some to sell in her store. If she doesnt there are a couple of other stores but they are not close to me. They were very crowded when I was there and I voted for the scarf I liked best in this contest they are having. The staff designed scarves and they are not labeled so the customer wont know who did which one and play favorites. I voted for a green one with colorful knitted flowers all over it because it was very Springy looking, also because it looked like it took the most time to do. I've done scarves like this for my Mom and one of my doctors and it took me some time because of the crocheted flowers on them.

Time for a Trim

Last night my hair was getting on my nerves. Its growing out very curly/shaggy, whatever you want to call it, it's messy. Last time I went for a haircut was in December before Christmas so its been 2 months and I wanted to wait at least 2 months before I went. I am trying to let it get to all one length and the bottom grows so fast that it looks like I have a mullet, not that a mullet is bad if its your thing. Its just not mine. I decided to cut my own hair. I cut my husbands, sons, daughters and when I had waistlength hair I used to trim my own. Plus I am the one that gave myself the haircuts before it all fell out so I had faith. I also dont have $45 for a cut right now. I didnt take a before picture but here is an after:

Overall its a good cut and I am proud of it for the time being. Its growing fast and I am hoping that it will be in a bob style before summer.
This was at my birfeeder in the middle of the nor'Easter:

We get the coolest birds here, I love it. Thats a woodpecker (not sure of the type).
These are also some of my handiwork that I did over the past few days (I apologize for the picture because its very hard to get a close up and stay in focus) There is a BLUE theme going on here in honor of PROJECT SPECTRUM:

If anyone is interested in purchasing these just let me know. The last ones I posted about sold for $10 so they're in that range of $8-10 and the plain ones (airplane and hearts) are $5. I am going to swing by the other yarn store in my area to see if they are interested in selling them.
Oh, another more important thing I wanted to mention was that I GOT IN to the NANCY BUSH Vintage Sock Class!!!! I am so excited over it and I am nervous now to be in the company of such an awesome sock knitter. I hope I measure up!

Valentines Day Anniversary

A few posts back I mentioned that there were a lot of important dates during this month that marked an anniversary for me of sorts since my diagnosis with breast cancer. The first date was Feb 2nd, the day I found my lump and Feb 14th was the day that I went to have my ultrasound and mammogram. I made the appointment on that day because I thought if they did find anything I would never forget that it happened on Valentine's Day. I went in and had an ultrasound of both breasts and the tech that did it had this look on her face that I will never forget. She then called in the Dr to re-do the breast to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. After that they told me they found a tumor and that they had to do a mammo right away. I went into the next room and had my 1st mammogram. They had to do several shots MULTIPLE times because they were not getting the pictures they liked and my boobs were feeling crushed. Afterwards the radiologist told me that from reading the results of both tests that she wanted me to set up an appointment with the breast surgeon and a biopsy for the following week at the hospital. At this point I was nervous but not overly nervous. I made the appointments and hoped for the best. Thats how I remember Valentines Day and how I will always remember it.

Last night I finished one baby bootie that I am making for my cousins baby. I am using a lone ball of RY Cashsoft and its a blue turquoise color. That means it counts for Project Spectrum for Feb/March!! I am working on the second bootie and a hat made with one of those small looms. I had another lone hank of Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky Handdyes in the same color so I thought why not make a matching hat? I hope its not so small for her baby because he is going to be 7 months old and I am not sure how big his head is. If it doesnt fit I'll donate it to the hospital or somewhere its needed.

Today was an official snow day for all the kids in our town due to the Nor'Easter thats bearing down on New England right now. Its not snowing but sleeting and freezing rain and the wind is whipping in at 30mph. They are predicting 50mph winds later and I am hoping we dont lose power. I made sure to do all the laundry last night. H&R Block called and cancelled the appointment to do my taxes today because the accountant couldnt make it in. I rescheduled for next Wednesday. I need to get those done ASAP! I am sure all of you out there know what I am talking about.
Here is a GREY & WHITE picture that qualifies for Project Spectrum and a BLUE one of some kid that lives with me (LOL). Please excuse the grainy camera phone:


Right now I am waiting for 12 noon to roll on in because my LYS is having my sock idol, Nancy Bush, come to teach 2 classes in the Spring. They are not taking reservations until 12 noon and only by phone! I am praying I get a spot in one of the two classes. One is on Vintage Sock Knitting and the second is Esotonian Sock Knitting. I would LOVE to take the second class because it involves multicolor stranded knitting but I think I would be better with the 1st one. I hope I get it.

I am working another dog sweater for my other doxie. Its going to be made with a bright red Caron Simply Soft cheap acrylic due to the fact that the Artyarns one I made the old man had a million pulls in it already and its just not worth spending $20-30 on yarn. I love the way the Caron is knitting up, very nice and not feeling like an acrylic at all. Plus its totally washable and dryable.

My Virtual Model

This is My Virtual Model that I created on the website by the same name. I was inspired by another blogger and I think that it will help me put my weight in perspective and help me to lose some weight.


Hopefully I can figure out how to change her as I lose the weight! LOL

Famous or Infamous?

Well, I never thought I would achieve fame but somehow I have, at least a little. I cant lie and say that I am not excited to be on Get Stitchy! because I am! Its exciting that my blog is worthy of such an honor (said with a British accent). Its a wonderful thing not only for me but for others who not only are in the fiber arts but are Breast Cancer Survivors. Enough about my 15 minutes of fame onto my FO's.

Project Spectrum-BLUE Project:

Here is Snoopy wearing my mini-blue sweater that I made in the finishing class I was talking about a couple of posts ago. Its made to fit a doll like American Girl but my DD doesnt have one of those. We have every stuffed animal in the world mind you so they will have to do! Its made out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky with size 10.5 needles. I could have gone up to an 11 but I was already 1/2 done with it before I realized this. Its cute and the buttons are my favorite part of the project (little blue duckies).

Another multi-colored VERY quick project that I did in 2 nights were these slipper socks that I made my DD:

These are also made with Lion Brand Jiffy Thick & Quick, Rocky Mountains is the color. I used the magic loop method with my size 15 Denise Needles and the 40" cable attachment that can be purchased seperately. The toes are done in white with some leftover Lion Brand Thick & Quick so I guess it can be part of Project Spectrum because of the white (and blue somewhere in the midst of the rainbow of colors!) for the months of Feb/Mar.

In other knitting "knews" I am almost done with one of my Dad's Birthday socks and still working on my Aunts scarf which I hope I can finish by the 25th (we are celebrating it that day instead of the 22nd which is her real birthday so I get a few days repreive). You also might think that I have forgotten the Paton's Street Smart Cable Hoodie but its being worked on, slowly, very slowly and I can definitelty say that it wont be finished anytime soon. There are so many WIP that its hard to work on just that sweater all the time.

I am sick, still, and worse than the other day. Now I am on antibiotics that I started yesterday and steroids because I was having pain and trouble breathing last night and called my Dr. He wants me to go for a chest x-ray on Monday to see whats going on. He called in a Med Pack (steroids) to the pharmacy so I started them all at once before bed. Not only do I have chest/lung pain but stomach pain. My loyal readers know that steroids and me dont mix very well. They killed me when I was going through chemo and had to get large loading doses before, during and after a treatment. My DH, who is also on his second round of steroids and antibiotics stayed home from work today so I could rest. The pulmonologist at his job made him have another chest x-ray and it showed that he still had an infiltrate (pnuemonia) in one of his lower lungs. Hell, I dont know how he was working that way but we are in debt right now so he has no choice. I am grateful that he's here today.

Teachers and My Test Results

Today I had my 6 month post-chemo check up with my Oncologist. He was very serious when he brought me into his office and that made me nervous. He first reviewed my blood test results which were normal. Then he went over the CAT Scan which was for the most part OK except for the multiple cysts I have on my liver. I have no idea what they mean and he told me that its nothing to worry about and that he would be monitoring me very closely for changes. He then said that he wants me to have a PET Scan in 3 months. He also said that I would have to have these tests every 3 months for 2 years and then every 4-6 months depending on how I am doing. Afterwards he brought me into the exam room and examined me. He listened to this horrendous cough I have and said that he didnt like the way my right lower lung sounded. He gave me a script for Zithromax and told me to start it in a day or two if there was no improvement in the cough or if the phlem changes colors (YUM!) or fever develops. Other than that everything went well.

After the Oncologist appt I walked across the street to my OT appointment and she said that my arm/hand looked good and that I didnt have to come in every week, just when it gets worse.

On the way home I stopped at Knitting Central to return the broken Lantern Moon DPN's that broke the other day. At my finishing class last night Cynthia told me to bring the DPN's right back and she would give me new ones. Instead of getting the same length needles (the broken ones were 7") I exchanged them for 5" ones. They're called Sox Stix and are specifically for making socks. They come in this cute plaid organza bag that's great for storage and protection from the elements. While I was there Cynthia was asking me about how the class went last night. I told her that it went well and that I learned a lot. She told me that the teacher had called to tell her that someone was upset and I am assuming that she was referring to me. This is the reason I am saying that: Many times that I was speaking out loud but not loudly, I was told to be quiet and that others are working and that if I wanted to talk that I should go up front to sit. Then I asked a question (just like everyone else was doing especially one clueless woman sitting next to me and I am not trying to be mean but she kept asking the same thing over and over and even stitched the marker into the knitting accidentally because she didnt know how to knit around it or slip it to the right needle!!) and the teacher said, "Its in your directions, read your directions". How come she didnt say that to the clueless woman next to me? Especially since all you had to do was was READ the directions. I said, "I am sorry that I asked the question, everyone else is asking them and you answered them". I dont think she liked me very much. She had no reason to continually single me out and tell me to be quiet when EVERYONE else was having conversation. I wasnt speaking when she was either, I am not rude like that. The clueless woman was asking me a million questions and I was helping her. Then the other lady sitting on the other side of me was talking very quietly to me and the teacher singled ME out again. One of the ladies was a BC survivor and was talking to me during the 1st class and the teacher told us (me) that we were a ROWDY bunch. I dont think that I am anything like that and I was very insulted that she continually referred to us this way. Can you tell that I dont like this teacher? LOL Anyway, I love taking classes and I understand that different teachers have different teaching styles but I learned and hungered for more knowledge when I was in Sally's classes (I took Magic Loop and the Dog Sweater class with her) than in this class. Sally is a wonderful teacher always praising the students and making me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to. This teacher kept mentioning classes that were coming up and how difficult and challenging they were making it sound to difficult and I even heard some ladies groan in disappointment thinking that it would be to hard for them. Now back to the subject- It came to a point in the class where I was afraid to ask her any questions for fear that she would embarrass me by telling me to read the directions or shut me up by telling me to "settle down". Now I am not mentioning her name because that wouldnt be fair and I am all about fairness and it doesnt make me not want to take a class again but most likely not with her. Another thing that bothered me was the teacher kept saying that VOGUE KNITTING has an awesome book that many knitters refer to as the "bible" of knitting with lots of references and answers to questions. I actually have a book very much like the VOGUE book and use it amoung many others I have on my shelf all the time when I am knitting. Sometimes though I need to be shown how to do something and I go to www.knittinghelp.com for videos on stitches and stuff. This is the site that taught me how to knit and look how far I have come since I started in July of 2006. When I mentioned this at the class last night the teacher immediatley jumped down my throat and said, "Oh that site is not accurate and their abbreviations are not universal, yadda, yadda, yadda..." OK, let me just say that I couldnt believe she was doing this to me and at this point I want to leave. I wanted to leave anyway so I could get home and see ER so I started packing up my stuff. PLUS, I was FINISHED with my sweater anyway and I think the teacher took it as I was mad and leaving over that. Cynthia said that maybe she didnt know what to say since I was mentioning a website and it coulld be in a way betraying her business because instead of telling them to buy the book I was praising this site. OK thats bologna because the internet is free and all the videos on it are free and I am not getting a commission from anything I am saying, I just want to help people with their knitting. I didnt even realize that I left 10 minutes before class ended! The clock in my car said 9:23 pm and its set 3 minutes fast thats why she said someone left upset last night!! I just realized this! Maybe this teacher should take her own advice because during the 1st class we were all talking about the closing of another yarn shop 2 towns over and we were sad about it. Then we were talking about the other shops around the area (KC is my favorite and I am not just saying that its true) and talking about how we liked them or disliked them. Then I had told a story about a shop I went to where I was not treated nicely by the owner mind you and the teacher agreed with me saying that it wasnt right to talk about other businesses. Now we are not supposed to talk about anyone but yet it was OK for her to do it. Hypocrisy! I think I went on enough about this dont you. I dont want Cynthia to think I am mad or holding a grudge but I am upset the way I was treated and probably wont take a class that this teacher again. After all I have been through I am not afraid to speak my mind and especially if I am treated in a bad way. Shame on you teacher!

Finally, the Dog Sweater

I finished this Cabled Dog Sweater last week and my dog Frank (the old man) is here modeling it for me:

You can see the cable a little better in this picture (notice my orange kitty's tail on the left side of the picture):

This is the sweater being modeled by my DD's stuffed animal so you can see the detail in the front especially the cute button that matches the crocheted edging:

The sweater was intended to be given to my black and tan doxie, Ernie but when I tried it on him it was very short. It was even a bit short on Frank but fits him much better than Ernie so I decided to give it to him instead. Now I owe my 2 other dogs sweaters. At least now I know that they need to be much longer than I had made due to the bunching up by the neck and shoulder area. Its so cute seeing Frank wear it all day and not want to take it off at night. Too cute!

I frogged the TOFUTSIES on the size 1 DPN's because I noticed ladders forming and it wasnt looking good. If I am not happy with something then I have to stop doing it, its just the way I am. I started over with Addi Turbo 40" size 0 and its looking a lot better. They suggest size 2's but there is no way that this yarn would work with 2's (for me that is). Its really weird because I am a tight knitter and I have no idea why its looking so loose even with 1's. Thats the reason I am using 0's. I should be done by Christmas, LOL!! They are so tiny and I cant work that fast because my left hand (the one with the lypmhedema) gets numb and hurts.

The BMFA Sock Club is going to be starting soon. They said we should get our 1st delivery mid-Feb and I cant wait!! I highly doubt that I will be done with this TOFUTSIES sock by then!

The Blue and the Grey

My DH and both kids are all on antibiotics and have been for the past week. It seems they have the cough/cold that wont relent. My DH had a chest x-ray yesterday at work and it was all clear for pnuemonia but they found that he had 2 cracked ribs from coughing up a lung the past week. The Dr finally gave him cough meds with codeine in it and he has improved greatly. I woke up this morning coughing up a lung and some nasty crap with it. Well, I avoided the plague for a month and now it seems I am sick. DH called my Mom to come up tomorrow and help with the kids because he cant call out from work again. Thank God she is coming to help me because my DD has an early dismissal and CCD tomorrow. I really dont want to be driving all over town.

February 1st marked the beginning of Project Spectrum and I already had my plans laid out. In my finishing class I am almost done with the mini-sweater that is a beautiful periwinkle blue. Then I came across the yarn that I am planning to make my Plastic Surgeons socks out of. Its Artyarns Supermerino and its a variegated baby blue and grey, perfect for project spectrum! I am going to use Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in baby blue for the cuff (maybe), heels and toes because this guy has a HUGE foot, size 12. I am almost done with one of my Dad's birthday socks and I started a TOFUTSIES sock this morning. I started them out on size 1 Addi's but they do not have a sharp enough point and the yarn was splitting so I pulled out the Knit Picks metal size 1 DPN's. They were to heavy and they are 2.50mm and I needed something smaller so I then pulled out my Lantern Moon Ebony size 1 DPN's. I proceed to knit them off the Knit Picks, gently mind you, and I broke one!! OK, now this is the 1st time I am using these and they were not cheap so I am VERY pissed. I e-mailed the company and I hope they do the right thing, which I am sure they will do because they have awesome products. NOW I am using the always reliable Crystal Palace DPN's. I do have pics to post but I dont feel well so you'll have to excuse me. I'll post them soon.

The First Anniversary of February

The month of February is one of many anniversaries for me. The first one was today Feb 2. Exactly one year ago today on 2/2/06 I found the lump in my breast, my cancer. I didnt know at the time it was cancer just a lump of sorts so I wasnt yet freaking out. Today, without realizing what the significance of the day was, I went for my 6 month post-chemo CAT scan and blood tests. I was a bit nervous today and the person who did my scan was a sweetheart. Every time the contrast dye was going into my IV the piece would pop out and I was soaked with IV contrast dye, which I can say now is rather sticky. This happened 3 times and she was apologizing profusely (which it wasnt her fault but the silly cathether that was kinked inside my vein) and I told her, no worries. I kept thinking of the yarn sale that I was headed to afterwards and that made me feel better. That IV contrast solution makes certain parts of your body VERY HOT. It feels like your body is on fire especially your groin area, chest and throat but it doesnt last long, only 3 minutes or so. I wont get the results until I see my oncologist next week. The only thing that I am worried about is the flank pain that I have been having for 3 weeks and yesterday I had pain behind my right breast (implant). I think that its just muscular so I am not overly worried.

After the tests I headed to the yarn liquidation sale and picked up a few things, not much. It wasnt that good of a sale in my opinion. It should have been at least 50-60% off but it wasnt. For example Cascade 220 is usually $7-8 and it was $4.85. It should have been $3.50 or less. Then they had cashmere usually $29 and it was only marked down a couple of dollars! I asked why they were going out of business and the owner told me that the over head was way to high and they couldnt cover it. Business was down 55% and they were actually losing money. Its sad that we wont have another choice around here but I still love Knitting Central the best because Cynthia (the owner) takes care of her customers. I approached her last night about selling my stitch markers and she said that she already has a contract with the woman who makes them for her. I want to have an affordable option for people who rather not spend $35 on 5 stitch markers. Mine would be $10-15 for 5 depending upon what materials I am using in them. I am going to visit some other yarn shops but if thats not successful then I am going to open an www.etsy.com store and sell them there. I just received some supplies from www.firemountaingems.com and I cant wait to make some more. I am going to give some to the ladies in my class to spread the word and maybe generate some business that way.

Last night I had my first of two Finishing Classes for beginners and it was great. We are making a mini-sweater and its coming out fabulous. We learned 3 needle bind off and the mattress stitch and picking up stitches. I knew a few of those already but its always good to be shown the proper way to do something or a different technique that makes something easier to do.

I ditched the fingerless mitts that I was making my aunt and made a little purse instead with the pink ribbon on the side. I have to take a picture soon. I am making her a scarf instead since she never takes off the one I made her for Christmas. I am making it in the Baby Genius pattern thats in MASON DIXON KNITTING and using New England Highland Wool thats made in New Hampshire (gorgeous periwinkle color) and Noro Kureyon alternating every 2 rows. Its looking great as are my Dad's Artyarns socks. I havent worked on my Street Smart Hoodie much due to all the deadlines for birthdays looming but plan to in the near future.