A Good Listen

Years ago, on a lake in Northern Michigan, while napping from too much sun and water, I heard an angel singing. This was the voice. If you love a good sweet ballad- check out Eva. She died young and every track she ever laid down is being published because it is delicious. That was a magical summer at the cottage with Deb and the families. This was the magical soundtrack...those memories are with me always and they are a gift.
Happy Birthday Deb.

Knitting Love Letters

When I was in Michigan this summer I spent the night with my friend Kay. I gave her a crash course in knitting. Then I referred her to the local knit shop for ongoing support.

She is one of the girls you know for many years but only get to see on the rare occasion. We are separated by 2000 miles. Kay tried Facebook and hated it. She does not love to email. The phone is not the communication of choice. For Kay, it is the letter. Pen to paper, in an envelope, stamped and posted.

I was the proud recipient of this letter where she told me about her knitting escapades since that first awkward attempt. Now, she is sketching designs and sending me patterns. Quite nicely, as you can see. I just could not be happier to know that she has fallen for the fellowship of the needles. Welcome my sister. One more bond we share...

Back in the Book Groove

Here is a stack of the books I have read in the past six weeks. I am trying to get my reading mojo back so I can get back to school and study. The last six months I was not able to read at all. I could not concentrate. The words and the lines on the page moved up and down. It was a result of learning the truth about my marriage. Funny how time really does heal. The words have calmed down and gotten back into place, one page at a time. Just as I have, one day at a time...

My Funny Valentine Neck Wrap

The skein of yarn was too short for a scarf. I made a simple lace pattern and used up some buttons. One stacked on top of the other and none matching. It is soft and simple and a good use of short bits of yarn.

The Blue Kitty Throw or Siamese Seed Stitch Throw

This is where my cat likes to spend her day. She matches my bedroom.


On my giant size 19 needles, with 3 strands of yarn held together, I k1,p1,k1 across and then the next row p1, k1, p1 to the end. That is seed the seed stitch. Knit the purls and purl the knits.






Soon it will reach across the end of the bed and be a nice throw for Cotton to sleep on in the sunshine. I would finish it if she would let me knit at night.




She spends all day in bed and all evening on my lap- if I let her- mostly I do...

BABY BOY GIFT

I knit a hat with a ball of yarn handed out at TNNA as a sample. It is a soft cotton with a touch of nylon for wash-ability. The colorway was a perfect match with the little T-shirt that I found at Nordstrom's. I made the pattern up as I went, adding removable ear-flaps that tie under baby's chin. You can roll up the brim when the baby is small and roll the brim down for a beanie as the baby matures. I love the waves of color created.

Cast on 72 sts to a 16" circular needles, size 9. Knit in the round for 5 inches. Begin decrease- knit 16, K2tog for one round; K15, K2tog for next round; K14, K2tog for next round and continue until the crown of the cap is shaped. When 8 sts remain, K2tog across and then thread yarn onto a needle and draw through the 4 sts and close the top of the hat.

Using 2 double point needles, I picked up 14 sts on each side of the hat. Place the flaps remembering that the forehead is bigger than the nape of the neck. I eyeball it.Knit 14 sts in stockinette for 4 rows. Next row: Knit 1, k2tog, k 8, k2tog, k1. Purl one row. Decrease again the same as the last row until 6 sts remain. K 2 tog- now 3 sts remain. Make an i-cord that is 10 inches long with the 3 sts. Final row- k2tog, k1. cut yarn and thread through 2 remaining stitches. You are done!

Valentines Flowers #1

My favorite color of Roses.

No Knitting Kitty!

This is Cotton and it turns out that she wants to eat my knitting!
Curses! Cotton, wool, silk-even blends!

Man Down (again) Graphic photo warning

Is this getting old for you too? I must say that the time we spend together going to and fro to doctors, CT scans, x-ray consults, surgery consults, preoperative exams culminating in surgery, has drawn us closer. I am thinking we should just sit and talk once a week and quit meeting this way. That is the inside of Evan's elbow and the cursor is between pieces of floating broken bones.

On February 7th, Evan hit a wall in the bowl of the Carmel Valley Skate Park. He broke his elbow again. Yes, the same as the motorcycle crash last July. The break has a name- the terrible triad. That is 2 bones plus one torn ligament. The radial head and the ulna and the collateral ligament. Two screws and many sutures later, my baby boy is now a veteran of the operating room. UCSD Hospital and Dr. Abrams put him back together with kindness and skill on Friday the 18th.

The night of the accident Evan could not reach his parents until late at night. I was at home reading a good book and my phone was off. Guilty Mom syndrome was thick in the air. I wanted to thank Dr. Eric Lovell, our friend and the head of the ER at Scripps for taking care of my boy and being his family in the ER. He referred us to the same ortho doc that helped set his last elbow break. After the CT scan- he sent us to the experts at UCSD.

Recovering at home has been exhausting. He has a catheter in his chest to deliver a nerve block medication from the shoulder down every 15 minutes. The tube is 10 cm into a vein in his chest and the pump is taped down and sits in a fanny pack strapped to his waist.It freaks him out! Still, he needs Percocet every couple of hours. He is tired and crabby. Momma the nurse is tired. The first night I slept(?) with the cell phone in my pillowcase and ran to deliver meds and reposition him every 2 hours. He is able to take his own pill now, if I leave one with the bottle of water open.

I have aged these past two years. Motherhood- not for the wimpy. He has no plans to give up skateboards or motorcycles. Just in case you thought about asking...

Summit American Yak Wrap by Kristin Omdahl - FREE Knitting Pattern - Planet Purl

Summit American Yak Wrap by Kristin Omdahl - FREE Knitting Pattern - Planet Purl