A Tidalwave of Change

BREAKING NEWS: "A Tidalwave washed over a pre-school graduation forcing all in its wake to go down a slippery slide wearing colorful Project Spectrum Bracelets" Also in todays news: "A nervous woman waits patiently for her pathology results to come in"

I thought that this would make a nice title but was way to long. At least I still have my sense of humor. LOL.
Here are some pictures of the bracelets I mentioned:

A Purple/Orange Bracelet for Aug/Sept Project Spectrum (a little early but what do you want!)


A Red and Metallic bracelet for June/July Project Spectrum. I gave this one to my Mom to go with all her red outfits.


Yesterday was my son's graduation from Pre-School and it was so cute! I am so glad that I was able to make it. I wasnt able to sit on the chairs properly but I made it and thats all that counts. It lasted 30 minutes and then the kids went back to eat lunch. Here are some pics of him receiving his diploma and then showing Daddy.



While I was in the hospital my DH did a little shopping. We had discussed buying this ONCE before but agreed that we would pass on it because we had the pool to take care of and it wasnt cheap. We had to replace the motor on the pool this year but since my Mom gave one to my DH for his birthday, he thought that meant it was OK to get this...SLIDE. After seeing the kids playing on it and having so much fun I dont regret his purchase. Actually, I cant wait until my leg heals so I can go down the slide. There is a weight limit of 200lbs so even DH makes the cut (barely!).




Kali waving from the top of the slide. This is the view from my deck.


Sticking to the theme of water and changes, here are my completed BlueMoon Fiber Arts April Sock. Its not the Grasshopper pattern that came with the kit but this one suits the colors much better (in my humble opinion). Its called TIDALWAVE from SWTC and its a patten thats made to go with their TOFUTSIES yarn. I dont think the wool/silk fiber is a good choice for the lacey pattern of the Grasshoppers because it doesnt have the elasticity to hold themselves up on your legs. It is a great pattern for 100% wool sock though or even a sock made from Cascade Fixation Yarn.




It was difficult to get good shots of my legs due to the surgery and my inability to get them in the proper position for a good picture. I also didnt block the socks which makes it harder to see the "Tidalwave" pattern. I loved this pattern so much that I want to make them again using my other BM yarns.

Currently I am waiting for the Dr to call me with the results of the biopsy. The surgery went well and he had to cut my sciatic nerve in 2 spots in order to remove the tumor. I went into surgery a little before 12pm and came out around 5pm. A long intricate surgery is what he described it as. I had my favorite anesthesiologist which made me feel more comfortable. He was actually the same anesthesiologist I had for my back surgery back on March 19th of 2003. The day after the surgery the surgeon came to see me. He was amazed at the fact that I was able to move my leg so well and have full sensation in both my leg and foot. He said that generally people who have had this procedure have difficulty walking or even just walking so soon after surgery. His amazement with my progress made me feel good but the pain is whats bothering me at the moment.

I forgot to add a FABULOUS website that sells the most beautiful handpainted yarn! If you love the Loopy Ewe (which I do) you'll love shopping at WoolGirl. I put the link in my sidebar. Go check her out. I purchased some yarn there the other day and it literally got here in the blink of an eye! Pictures of the yarn to come. (I cant give you too much at once, right? Then what would you look forward to? Hmm?)

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there (sorry this is sooo late!) I bought my DH some really nice (and colorful) polo shirts which he practically lives in. I bought my Dad a funny T-Shirt that says something about Grandparents being parents without rules. Its really cute. I told him that I will knit him something nice when the weather gets cooler. He loved the socks I made for his birthday so I think he requested a "thinner" knit on his next pair. I can do that. As soon as I finish knitting a milion other things! LOL

A Nice Post with some Crazy Hair

I thought I would start out with this cute picture of my kids. Arent they cute? I cant remember when I took this picture but it cant be more than a week old.


I have been into jewelry making lately and this is my latest creation. I went up to the local AC Moore craft store today and they were having a HUGE 30% off sale on ALL jewelry and jewelry components. You cant beat that! Of couse I bought some stuff.


Here is my son playing outside. I caught him by surprise taking this picture from the inside of the house.


I have been speaking a lot about the STARRY NIGHT SHAWL class I am taking and I havent shown a picture of it. Here is the infamously difficult and challenging shawl. Isnt it pretty? Of course it is, thats why I am taking the class!


Here are some completed hexagons close up and at a distance. I have finished 3 and am currently working on the 4th one. Instead of working it on the 10" DPN's I decided to try making it by way of the magic loop. So far so good but I havent finished it yet. I am using Karabella's Vintage Cotton.



This week they are having all kinds of fun things going on at my DD's school and today was CRAZY HAIR DAY. I am not sure if it was as crazy as some of the other kids hair but it was the craziest I could do.


This is my black and tan mini doxie, Ernie, who is also turning 11 in November. I recently had the two oldest dogs teeth cleaned because they are old and the vet said if I was going to do it then I should do it now. Ernie has a heart murmur that they expect to get worse and Frank my other dog pictured below with Ernie is 12 and has some of the symptoms of Cushings Disease. Its very expensive to work up the dog just to get the diagnosis and the meds are equally expensive so the vet says as long as he is happy we will leave him be. If his symptoms get worse then I will worry about doing other things. All I know is that I love my doxies and I dont know what I would do if something happened to them. Also I think this picture qualifies for Project Spectrums June/July colors since the dogs are Red and Black!

A 40th Birthday & Memorial Day 2007

In honor of Project Spectrum's colors for this month and last month here is a little something I made. The bracelet and earings are both made with Swarovski crystals and I am in love with it so much that I am almost tempted to keep it myself! My Mom has a friend that gave her some info on a women's guild in a nearby town that gets together to sell their home-made wears once a month and thought that I would be interested. I am totally interested but I would have to make at least 20-30 pieces in order to be able to sell them. I cant wait to find out more about this. If anyone is interested in purchasing this gorgeous green set I am selling it for $30.



Saturday was my husbands 40th birthday so we celebrated yesterday with a huge dinner and a buttercream banana sailboat themed cake. I wish we had the pool open because it was so hot it would have been great for the kids to get in there to cool off. As I type these words my husband is replacing the motor which was shot so we can get going and get swimming! We didnt open the pool last year due to my going through chemo and surgery. I dont want to prevent the kids from having fun this summer so hopefully we can have the pool open in a couple of weeks.

We went out the night before to see PIRATES and it did not disappoint. My husband and I thought it was the best of the all three movies. They even left it open for another movie (if they really want to do another one that is). We stopped at the bookstore (of course) and I bought Joan McGowan-Michael's book Knitting Lingerie Style, Bags-A Knitter's Dozen and some knitting magazines. The Lingerie book is absolutely gorgeous! There are so many things I want to make in it (and no, its not the thongs!). She really knows how to show off a woman's body with her designs.





One of the lilies my son and husband planted in our front yard. I regret not getting a picture sooner because all of them were in bloom and now only this one remains.


I am so excited to be going to see the Yarn Harlot on the 30th!! Ever since finding out I was going to this event I asked almost every knitting friend I knew and not one was able to make it. Its in the middle of the week and people just cant get off work to go but yesterday I got my non-knitting cousin (for the moment because I sent her home with needles, yarn and a "Teach Yourself Visually" Knitting Book!) to accompany me. You cant imagine how happy I am that she is coming with me. Now I have company, someone to talk to and SHOP with!! What more can I ask for. Now all I have to do is get her addicted to knitting. I showed her "Knitting Lingerie Style" and she loved the designs in it as did her husband! He was encouraging her to pick up those sticks!

Cool Socks! Warm Feet~The Lucy Neatby Experience

Well, I spoke about it before but I wanted to show you a picture of my new best friend:

He is a dream and does whatever I tell him to without complaint. All he asks is that I clean him up a bit after he's been around the dirtiest parts of my house. Not a bad trade off I think. Its the the Roomba Sage and you can read more about these awesome robots at www.irobot.com

This is a necklace that I made for Project Spectrum's April and May colors which are yellow, pink and green. This has two of those colors. I think I am going to give it to my grandmother for Mothers Day.


This is my daughter at her rainforest presentation. She had to tell everyone about the Harpy Eagle and then the audience had to guess what she was describing. Of course Mommy raised her hand to answer and all the other parents called me a cheater! What nerve! I really didnt know what animal she was doing because she wouldnt tell me. I really did guess. Who cares what the other parents think.


I never did finish my baby argyle socks but instead I made one into a sweater for a Steiff bear that I have had since I was a little girl. To much bad energy was going into this sock and I didnt want a baby having any of that bad energy. I am going to do them over but not now. I have another pattern thats similar except that the bottom of the foot is made in the round which eliminates the seam at the bottom. Sally did a wonderful job teaching the class, the problem was with me and the pattern not clicking in my head. Toward the end it did click but as I said there was to much toxic sock energy and it just wasnt meant to be.


This is the beginning of a Cabled Tank top in Knit Simple Magazine. I am using Berocco Love it and I am loving this yarn. Its a cotton, acrylic, poly blend. It has a wonderful give to it so it will fit nicely when worn (I hope! LOL).


The beginnings of my Blue Moon April sock. Its toe up with lace and the pattern is very difficult to do with the Addi circulars because its not sharp enough so I had to switch to my Knit Picks metal DPN's. These are VERY sharp and I am not having any issues now.


Today was the Lucy Neatby Cool Sock class and I cant tell you how much I learned! This is a "sock tree" where all her socks were displayed so I took a few pictures of them. They are gorgeous.


Here's Lucy teaching:


Hot Tamale Toes which is a pattern I bought and I absolutely love. Arent they cute? Look at those hot tamales!


Lucy and I:


Celestial Merino Sock Yarn which is Lucy's own brand specifically made for her. They are all handyed and the skeins are simply beautiful as you can see from these pictures.




I also have to mention that I purchased Lucy's DVD's which I watched last night. (Socks 1 & 2 and Knitting Essentials 1 & 2) Today I purchased Finesse Your Knitting 1. I cant say how wonderful these DVD's are because they are simply the best ones I have ever owned or seen ever and I am not just saying that. She demonstrates so many techniques that I never even knew existed. I have wanted to own these since I read about them in the Yarn Harlot's Blog months ago. I know its hard to see whats in a DVD to know if you want to buy it or not so go to www.lucyneatby.com where you can see the listing of whats on each DVD and see if you might like to own your own copy. You can also ask your local library to get them in so you can preview them for free before you decide to buy them.

On a totally different subject, I am watching the Discovery Channels show thats on now called LIVING WITH CANCER and its very good. The people that they are talking to have hit the nail on the head with how it feels to live every day in fear with it in the back of your mind that your cancer can return without warning. I have had such a hard time describing this to people and they just cant understand how I feel and I think that everyone should watch this show. There is going to be an encore performance on tomorrow night (Monday) at 8pm. Please watch it.

The Tide is High in CT

The tide is high in CT because of all the nasty rain we have had since last night with floods everywhere but also because I received my April Sock Kit from BMFA yesterday! It is appropriately named WALKING ON THE WILD TIDE. Here it is:

The colors are absolutely gorgeous and even more gorgeous after they were rolled on my ball winder. I am going to try and start them today if I feel better. I am much better than yesterday but still have a raging headache and fever.

This is the bag that I made my grandmother (crocheted) with Lion Brand Suede and some other Bernat sparkly novelty as trim.

This is the bracelet I made her also. In the spirit of Project Spectrum's April/May colors this qualifies.


The famous sock cake which was delicious!

How cute was that!!

I finished my BMFA Feb Socks which were Inside Out Socks in the Monsoon colorway on Tuesday. Just in the nick of time before receiving the April shippment yesterday. Its really hard to take a picture of your own feet! LOL


Here is my Chocolate Turtle (who is really a Giant Galapagos Tortoise that I bought at the Peabody Museum Gift shop) who is displaying what I have finished on my baby argyles which I am having issues with and will leave until I am well enough to deal with them.


Remember the yellow lace sock that I posted a pic of a while back? I consistantly tried it on as I progressed with it and it fit perfectly. Then when I finished with it the dang sock would not go over my heel! I realized that not only would it not go around my heel because it was to tight but it seemed to be tight all over. How can that be? Anyway I had my DD try it on and it fits her pretty well except for an inch or two in the toe area. I think in a year or so it will fit her foot perfectly and even if she wants to wear it as a slipper sock to bed she can do so next winter. I am in no rush to finish this sock right now so I just wanted to let my loyal readers know that I didnt forget about the lovely yellow lace sock.

Spring Break

My kids have had off this past week for Spring Break. We didnt go away even though we certainly need a vacation but took them to some interesting places instead. First we went to the Peabody Museum in New Haven which is also known as the Museum of Natural History. My DD was anxious to see the dinosaur bones moreso then my son. The whole place is being redone so its very dark and dusty in various places but overall the kids enjoyed themselves.


Tuesday night I had my Baby Argyle Sock Class.

This is not my sock but the wonderful knitter, Donna, sitting next to me. She is a very fast knitter and really good. I was struggling for some reason getting holes in between where the colors changed. I seem to have a problem with intarsia which is strange because I didnt have issues when I did the Fair Isle Hat. Its perplexing but I am going to continue to complete the homework before the next class on Tues. Sally, the teacher, offered to help me but we were unable to meet up so I e-mailed her and told her that I am going to pull some tricks out of my knitting bag and get it done.

The following day we met my Dad and his friend at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium and had a great time. My favorite was the Sea Turtles.

Arent they cute? These guys are HUGE and its amazing to see them up close. They had a bunch of IMAX movies running but the only one we were able to see was the OCEAN WONDERS. Let me tell you, I have seen many IMAX movies and not one of them was bad. EVEREST was my all time favorite but this one was soooooo utterly boring I almost fell asleep. We all rode the Spongebob ride that they advertise on TV when they do ads for the aquarium. Thats one of those rides that stand still and the chair you are sitting in moves as you look at the screen in front of you. They have all these warnings for pregnant women and people who have back problems or heart issues and get motion sickness which made me very nervous. I decided to rise above my fear (sounds silly right?), pop an anti-anxiety pill under my tongue (haha!) and go on the ride with everyone else on line under the age of 7!! After all the hype it wasnt bad at all. I used to be able to ride all kinds of rides when I was in college but after my back surgery in 2003 I get very nervous when there are a ton of warnings posted outside a ride. My 4 year old son loved it the most. If a 4 year old can do it what the heck was I afraid of? LOL.

Yesterday I FINALLY mailed my DH's co-worker the baby kimono that I finished a few weeks ago. See, I do finish projects! It has some green in it because its BLUE SKY COTTON ORGANIC COTTON. That happens to be one of the colors for Project Spectrum for the months of Apr/May!


Last night we went to a dinner party that a Dr friend of my DH's has every year. The couple that I had made the pink Kimono for in December sat at the same table with us and couldnt stop thanking me for the beautiful hand knitted kimono I made. They even called it a kimono when they thanked me. It was so kind of them and it made me feel so good about making things for other people. Its one of the main reasons why I like to knit so much. The Yarn Harlot describes it perfectly in her new book that I finally got my hands on yesterday at Borders. It was the only copy on the shelf and I think I did a jig when I found it! LOL. I wanted to be able to read it before I go see her in May.


Tomorrow is my 36th birthday and my DH decided to give me my gift early. I was so surprised when I opened it up and found a new lens for my camera and a camera case! Not only is is a camera case but a small backpack case that holds the camera and all the paraphernalia that you use with it. There is room for the lenses, wires, batteries, instruction booklets and everything else you can think of. The lens he bought is a macro lens that you can zoom in big time with. I cant remember the exact type it is but I think its 75-300mm. I got some awesome pictures with it today.

This purple flower belongs to my neighbor who is an excellent gardener. I am so happy that spring has actually arrived so I took a few pictures that symbolized Spring to me.



These are Tibetan Prayer flags that are in my neighbors backyard. They are so pretty even though I dont know what they say!


This little Quaker Parrot was playing hide and seek with me. I took so many of him and his friend but this one was the cutest of them all.


Here is my Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock in the most gorgeous colors I have ever seen. Not pictured is the Tube Sock Kit which is cotton yarn in 3 different colors. I'll make a regular sock out of it because I am not a tube sock fan. Its a great sock for summer knitting. Right after I placed my order on April 8th they came out with a bunch of new colors. I was so tempted to call them and ask them to add some to my order but the sock club shippment is going out between the 23rd-25th so thats going to be enough for me for a while.


This is a picture of my DD. I took her by surprise and she didnt realize I was taking a picture of her. She was in the middle of eating lunch which explains the food in her mouth.