All Good Things Must Come To An End, Right?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend....we tried hard not to be sad in remembering our missing family member, but BB crops up in a lot of people's conversations, and even today was no exception. At a small get-together of just 4 of us Roanoke knitting grrls at Panera Bread, for lunch, the BB's name was mentioned. She is sorely missed.

But we did have a good time today, knitting away, even if the restaurant was a might cool! A last minute change, I got a Cafe Mocha, frozen. I wished I'd stayed with the original HOT version...my toes might not have frozen to match my drink! *wink*

The last small gathering of knit buds was at Pam's house and at the time, I promised I'd show her that I, too, collected Shawnee King Corn items. I told her then, that I also collected "Tomato Ware" from Occupied Japan. So here are a couple of shots...
This one includes the veggie salt & pepper shakes I have collected as well...
Margene was showing off her collection of pins (from another time, we both now collect yarn, needles, and patterns, I think! lol!) and I mentioned that I should share some of mine...so here ya go! Just especially for you grrls...
Yes, I did knit this weekend - here are the two socks I managed to turn the heels on (that's the second Bubblegum sock, and the first Watercolor Sock)

And I'm now through 4 repeats of Anne's Star of Evening shawl...
(You can tell where I wet blocked the first repeat, right?)

Other than the festival, knitting with the grrls, laundry, a bit of cooking, and a couple of errands today, it was a good weekend.

And now - as someone said to me via email today ... tomorrow it's back to reality.
(sigh)
(((hugs)))

A Sunday Meme

**Don't forget the sale at Nana Sadie Rose**

Jocelyn posted this meme and offered it to those who were interested...so I haven't done one in awhile, I thought I'd play:

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was working for my local opera company and teaching accounting at night, piecing together an existence through 2 part-time jobs. I was 2 years out from my mom's death, living alone for the first time in my life. DD had moved on to her life. I had a cute apartment and I even ran the vacuum cleaner every weekend! And I had a huge patio garden full of vegetables - good sunlight!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
(1) Recover from the Sedalia Fiber Festival, (2) grocery shop, (3) do clothing laundry, (4) wash the tablecloths I use at these festival shows - 2 loads of laundry! (5) knit on Star of Evening!

3. Snacks I enjoy:
crackers & cheese, chocolate chip cookies, grape tomatoes, berries, Cheetos - oh yeah!

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Aside from buying a reasonable-sized home with space for growing veggies, the home I'd buy would allow me to have foster care space for rescued siamese. The next critical factor would be ensuring a sound retirement, buying a new fuel-efficient car, but being able to keep my Forester, too!, paying off debt...other than that, financing my grandsons' educations, and helping my city create a viable and successful mass transit system. Our bus service is pathetic, stopping at 8:30 at night (how do second-shift workers get home?) and currently if I wanted to ride to work? I'd have to leave more than an hour early to get the 5 miles to my office on time. There has to be a better way. So I'd help them redesign the system they have to include electric buses, and to include long (or even 24-hour service), more frequest runs so that travel time doesn't take quite so long.

5. Places I have lived:
Roanoke VA, McLean, VA, Manassas VA, Alexandria VA, Salem, VA.

6. Jobs I have had:
Cocktail waittress, college accounting teacher, corporate accountant, non-profit accountant, proofreader, newsletter editor, secretary, data entry operator, business owner.

I'm supposed to tag the next round of people, but, like Jocelyn, almost everyone I can think of has done it. Feel free to copy it if you want to, and let me know so I can come and see your answers.

Nana Sadie Rose is Having A SALE!

Because I have part-time, donated help on my website...(what can I say, I operate a small business that relies on the kindness of friends and family!) I've posted a sale on my Nana Sadie Rose blog! (I can update a blog, but the website seems to be beyond me, what can I say?) *wink*

These are one of a kind items. When they're gone, they're gone! But let me tell you, I had to do something! I make samples only to find that folks really love the idea of having me create something special just for them. So...my storage space is limited and some of these just have to go! YOU can benefit.

Stop by, make your choice, and then email me. I'll send you a PayPal invoice!

Sale ends June 1.

Sedalia!

Of course, those of you who remember last year remember what a TERRIBLE day we had - cold and rainy and windy! Just miserable....

Well, as bad as that was? Today was 180 degrees in the opposite direction - sunny, warm, not the least bit humid! Just a gorgeous day.

And I had an inside booth (per my request!):

We had a long wall to set up against...along a walkway just inside the door from the back of the building. A good space, and we stretched out...

DD came along and brought her lovely bejeweled stitch markers.

We're debating, I think she's going to start a blog to sell these online, so I'll be linking to her. She does very nice designs (why, yes, I did buy some for my collection, why do you ask? lolol!) and I know they'll be something you'd enjoy using.

(And I'm not just saying that because she's related! Promise!)

I only bought one thing (it's all I had time to purchase!)...

Cherry Blossom colorway in Superwash wool/bamboo from Rock Creek Yarn...It's very pastel, very pretty...and let me tell you, I had seen it on Ravelry, and hunted them down first thing this morning so it didn't get away!
lolol

Now. No knitting. No sewing. I'm heading to bed! Whew!

Sedalia!

Hope to see you there - tomorrow!

You Guys ROCK!!!

Best possible outcome!!! Procedure went smoothly, friend "A" is okay!
THANKYOU!
(((((hugs)))))

A Special Request...

I ask things of my readers once in awhile (oh, and no, The Meezer didn't come close in the voting last week - tho' not because her adoring fans didn't try their best - there was another kitty who's votes were staggeringly high!!)...

Tonight is one of those time when I am hoping you'll forgive me for this extra special request.

I have a good friend, I'll call "A" who tomorrow is facing a medical procedure that is scary, and, as most are, somewhat dangerous. If you're the praying sort, would you say a prayer for "A?" If you're not, would you hold her in your thoughts gently?

I feel very strongly that all will be well. But sometimes what we want "well" to be, isn't really what "well" turns out to be.

I'm hoping and praying for an outcome of success in the procedure, and ability to continue her life as she knows it now, as comfortably as possible.

You know I work with people with disabilities. I could ask you this almost every day because of the work I do, but I don't.

I'm asking now because I'm concerned, and because I know the power of prayer.

"A" needs that power for tomorrow morning. And my knit bloggers are the selfless needle clickers to give it!
TIA
(((hugs)))

Experiments in Lace, Part 1

Here it is...blocked and unpinned:
And here's what I found...I was remiss in measuring the swatch pre-pinning to block. :(

So...Pinned the width of the swatch is 14.25 inches and the height to the point is 7 inches. This is through the first repeat of 24 rows of the body chart. I had 14 stitches over 4 inches (knit on size 3 Addi Lace needles).

Now. When I unpinned, here is what I had: 13.75 inches wide and 6.5 inches high. Hmm...Unpinned there was a "bounce-back factor" that was 1/2 an inch in each direction. I've seen that happen with natural merino, tho' I have to admit I didn't measure the difference. But 1/2 an inch doesn't seem unusual in my mind...what do you think?

I'm really pleased with the results of this little test. I adore the pattern - isn't Anne's pattern just gorgeous? (ok...nothing she does is anything less than gorgeous, I know!).

And I love The Meezer colorway. I think I'm going to continue on with this as is.

And, last night and today, I knit a second swatch of lace done in Socks That Rock. I used the Traveling Vines pattern from Dogs Steal Yarn. She's moved her blog and the pattern isn't there any longer...but I did find the lace pattern in the first Barbara Walker Treasury - just add 3 garter stitches on each side to keep the scarf from curling, and edge top and bottom with 5 garter rows. I hope she puts her pattern back up soon! It's a lovely one...

I did two repeats of the pattern (and shortened the garter border top and bottom to 3 rows. It's blocking now. I've measured it, too - 22 stitches over 4 inches on size 5 Knitpicks Harmony needles...

I'll show that to you later in the week and see what I think of the "bounce-back" on that one!

This is interesting...I can't wait to see what Judy finds in her results!
(((hugs)))

Detour on the Road to Another Shawl!

I was merrily knitting along last night when I came to the end of the first repeat of the body of Star of Evening. And I read the instructions for how many times to knit the 24 rows of pattern depending on the size shawl I wanted to make. Well. I thought, Hmm...how many yards of this Meezer yarn do I have, anyway?

And pulled out the un-caked skein to look at the tag. There was no problem with the yardage. But. I read the label a bit more carefully for the "first" time (I say that because I've had this yarn at least 2 years...I'm sure I looked at it before, or should have looked at it before, right? sigh).

It read: "SUPERWASH Merino."

My heart skipped a beat (this isn't a good thing, mind you, it scares me - I've survived a heart attack).

Superwash? Really? Surely I knew when I ordered over 1000 yards of this yarn that I was planning to make a lace shawl (of some pattern or another) with it! How could I have missed that this was superwash?

Some of you may be wondering why I worried? Well. Superwash merino, I thought, can't be blocked. LACE, to truly look delicate and light and airy, is BLOCKED.

Emails passed back and forth between me and several folks: Opal who knits some of the most amazing shawls I've ever seen; Jocelyn who test-knits for Anne; Jane (tho' I know that Jane mostly knits acrylics, she holds my hand when I panic); Roxie who hand-dyed The Meezer colorway, and assures me that superwash can be blocked; Ruinwen, knitting teacher extraordinaire, and Reiki master; Judy who shares my compulsion for multiple projects of both lace and socks.

By afternoon, I'd made a decision: I would damp block the Star of Evening to this point. But...I had early on succumbed to order laceweight merino from Kim in the Seascapes colorway (perfect for a Star of Evening, I think!), and the wondrous Meezer colorway will become another sock-weight Clapotis which looks extra fabulous UN-blocked! (Kate even begged me - via Ravelry group - NOT to block my previous one, and I haven't!)

BUT...Judy and I were curious - just what would happen if you block superwash sock yarn? So, across the continent from each other, with different patterns, and superwash yarns, we're conducting an experiment and taking notes - You, dear readers, will be the beneficiaries of our combined experiences!

My first sample is The Meezer yarn - fingering weight superwash merino from Zen Yarn Garden, knit on size 3 Addi Lace needles...
please excuse the waterspots on my ironing board - it's "damp blocked" on the needles (as I didn't want to cast off and create a swatch (which Judy has said she will do!).

I'll fill you in on my success (or not!) tomorrow when it's dry.

Shawl Infidelity...OR...Two Many WIPs?

I know...Google is going to go nuts with that title, right?
:)
Today - Saturday - after a crazy week (one evening I actually had 5 things to do, including a Red Hats dinner and Knit Night!). Well, today my sis-in-law and I had a yard sale...I know, just shoot me, right? Well, it might as well have rained for all the people we had stop by (and it was just totally a gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky, no humidity, a bit breezier than it should have been and clothing racks went skating across the driveway, but hey, I will NOT complain!). I have no idea - Maybe it was because it was the first good Saturday we've had in weeks, and tomorrow is supposed to be rainy. Anyway, not a good yard sale. But I knit on the second Bubblegum Bedsock!

Then I dropped by my LYS - Knitter's Knook...drooled over some lucious Kidlin...yes, THAT's going to be following me home sometime soon - when I decide on a lace pattern (I promise, Becky, I just gotta find the right lace, and then decide between the cranberry and the purple!).

But I got home, unloaded the car, did some routine clean-up around the apartment that had been put off since mid-week in my frenzy to do everything between Thursday and today. And then headed off to dinner with Lynette! (Just too tired to cook and we hadn't done dinner in weeks)

Finally, home. And I pulled out...well...
Remember my Tebaldi DFS? I had to tink a week ago (is it humanly possible for me to knit lace with doing so? I don't think so...), and had set it aside. So now I got another good four rows under my belt and I'm feeling better about it - starting the 4th repeat of 11...

And then it hit me.

Star of Evening! I knew when I saw this pattern that the Meezer Yarn would work up beautifully in it - as it just wasn't right for the VLT Trinity Shawl I'd started out with...

So. I couldn't stand it. I was completely seduced. (Anne's patterns do that.) DFS went back in it's bag, and out came the Meezer yarn. And away I went...Thru the point rows, the setup rows, and here all the way thru the first row of the body (so I could show you the two bound-off sides that form the edging...):

ISN'T it perfect? I am so happy with the yarn in this pattern (ok...it's not a lot of lace to show yet, but I really think it's going to be perfect!)...

And then...
I noticed someone else's interest!
But, I'm not sure it's the shawl...
Nope...it appears that The Meezer has excellent taste in needles!
Addi Lace needles to be exact!

Oh!! Fun!! These taste good, Mommie!

I promise, I rescued them...immediately after this shot.

No Addis were harmed during the creation of this post...

And now, I guess I've admitted my worst, and possibly fatal, flaw...I'm a promiscuous lace addict. *wink*
(((hugs)))

Miracles

I told you last week about my friend, Rae, whose house was destroyed by fire. I told you her kitty, Floozie was lost in that fire.

Tonight? Floozie appeared at a neighbor's door.

Rae & Floozie are spending some special time together tonight.

And I'm saying some very, very special prayers to Bast (Bastet) & Sekhmet.

Important Milestone...

I've been busy...and I wanted to share a couple of things...below? This is an extra special set - a friend asked me to make a Posy from vintage kitchen curtains she'd found...I don't normally like to work in such fabrics, as you can't guarantee the results the way you can with quilting cottons. But I agreed, especially when I saw this fabric!

Not sure, but I think this was known as "hopsacking" and it's not in the least substantial being a loose evenweave material. Still...with a bit of stabilizing, I think it turned out really well...so well that I emailed and asked if she'd like an Oressa to match her Posy, and she said yes! So the set is complete!

Then, after last week's aqua Yin Yang Kitties Glady case that I showed you, I created this Posy in the same print, but in the red colorway! Isn't it great? I'm getting ready for Sedalia, can you tell?

Now...on a serious note? Today is a milestone for me: eight years ago today, I had a heart attack. And I survived. I didn't know the signs, which are different from men's symptoms. Do you? The WomenHeart site is one of my favorites and is an organization near and dear to my heart *wink* so you might want to surf around there and learn a thing or two that's new?

I'm healthier today than I was eight years ago, though of course, I could always improve...Still, I'm really happy to be here, a heart attack survivor.

And in honor of the day, these arrived in the mail - I did not plan it that way!

BMFA Pink Granite STR.

And I've coveted the Hot Flash colorway for about 2 years now...and never had seen it EXCEPT on blogs. But - suddenly there it was. And that seemed like an omen. So...I couldn't buy just one - instead I bought the two of them!! (Blame it on late night web browsing, okay?)

But they both make me happy which is exactly how I feel today!
(((hugs)))

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm hoping all the mother's in knitblogland have had a lovely day! I received exactly what I asked for about mid-day (right before the heavens opened up and dropped about 2 inches of rain into my lovely potted veggies) - marigolds! I add them to my tomatoes to help with natural pest repellent! Unfortunately, they're NOT in the pots right now...I have to wait for everything to dry out a bit, and that isn't going to be a bit before Tuesday at the earliest. LOTS of rain today - storms and more on the way tonight and tomorrow, too.

But we need it. Yes. We do.

Anyway, I promised you a photo of the newest sock - this is more Roxie yarn - that's right, more Zen Yarn Garden, I just love this yarn! This is the softest 100% Superwash Merino I've seen. The colors are the most delicate, almost pastel watercolor, so that's going to be the name of the socks! And I'll do my favorite Feather & Fan pattern on the cuff a la Wendy...

I've been sewing today mostly, spent a little time on Rae's squares, and also on the Tebaldi Diamond Fantasy Shawl - you know, if I weren't so A.D.D. when it comes to knitting I might finish more things more quickly! lol!

Mom...it would be nice if you'd walk away from the computer long enough to feed me - it's dinner time!
...The Meezer

Saturday - An Early Mom's Day for Me!

Over on Nana Sadie's Place you can see what I did for myself for Mom's Day - this is tradition...I always consider this event my gift to myself...

And I wanted to show you the Trekking 176 socks - Rae loves them, I think, if only because they're the only pair of handknit socks she currently ownes.
She had them on today when I stopped by to gather the two skeins of yarn I'd taken over on Thursday...
Why?
Well, because it suddenly dawned on me last night that Rae doesn't have a swift and ball winder anymore. And I'd taken the skeins to her uncaked. (Not the brightest thing I've ever done, but then, I admit to being a touch harried the past few days - nothing like what Rae's been through, but still...). So they're back with me to be wound!

The Roanoke Valley Spinners and Knitters group are making squares to create a blanket for Rae (she knows about this, because she CAN read the forums on Ravelry with her phone). We're doing 6-inch squares knitted of sock yarns on size 1 or 2 needles, in the manner of MDK's beautiful blanket for Oliver. I've had a time getting going on these larger ones, the 4-inch squares that Kay had us knit before go much more quickly!

Still this is going to be gorgeous. I think Rae will be delighted with it!

I have to admit that I bought a few patterns from Anne today...I might have bought This, and perhaps This, and even possibly THIS! Not starting all of them yet, tho. I think the first might work nicely in The Meezer yarn that is awaiting a new pattern...since the last one (VLT Trinity Stitch Triangle) failed so miserably...

OH. And come back tomorrow - I've started another sock!