I Am Not An MSer

I am a lot of ers. I am a daughter and a mother. I am a sister and a grandmother. I am a lover and a worker. I am a knitter and I am still a driver. I have a progressive form of MS, but I did not invite it in and it is not welcome here. We are not friends. Ers are meant to be good and great things. MS cannot and will not ever fit into that catagory. MS has stolen some ers from me. I can say I was a fine handquilter and I was a driver of a clutch...always. Until MS. Please don't give it a term of endearment and call me an MSer. I am not.

Hot!

To say it is hot would be the largest of understatements. On the news this morning, they were reporting that in places Interstate 90 is buckling under the heat. I have actually witnessed this in person as I was driving north a few years ago. Asphalt sprays up into the air when it explodes and can do some major damage to vehicles. Pretty scary.

"Whether the weather be fine,
Whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not."
Unkown I bought a little raindrop pot from AntB over at Etsy. Check her out, she has more and they are all different. What a way to fire a young person's imagination!! If it ever rains again, we will catch the rain in this minute pot for either fairies or hermit crabs...I need to make a few fairy gardens in pots on the back deck. Bruce - I need a larger deck!
People have been making me things. Glorious things. The little yarn flower was made for me by my Granddaughter. She is 6 years old and I treasure it. She had a select few she made them for, my Mother, my best friend - Grandma Penny, and me! My daughter got one too, but instead of being a pin, hers was a plant stake.

I have a wonderful friend, Bev, over in Scotland. She made these great earrings for me. My birthstone is Peridot, Bruce's is Amethyst. Aren't they wonderful!! I had to take a pair off just to get pictures. I have pretty much worn one pair or the other since they came in the mail. Today was a good excuse to trade them out again.
Look what I found a few months ago at my most favorite thrift store? Not only do they have the occasional cabinet (scroll down), they also have the occasional piece of handthrown pottery to fill with trimmed rosemary set out to dry. How could I pass up this cute ewe to stand guard over my wool?
Farmer's Markets turn up neat things, too. Penny and I went a few weeks ago and I found a wonderful artist with a rock painted to look exactly like my cat, Schuster. The rock found it's way into my box of mint plants, one bronze fennel plant and a rose scented geranium. What a haul!
What have I been working on? I seldom ever have more than one project on the needles at a time. Now is the exception. My daughter wanted rainbow bright socks. I should mention she just turned 29 last week. She chose the yarn and is very happy with the results so far. Look...the heels and toes are scraps!! Ahhh...my Monet period. They didn't turn out in the sharp contrast like the picture in my mind's eye (isn't that always the way?), but I am very happy with them. Qutecowgirl has touched my knitting life in ways you could only imagine. She was the first to convince me to try alpaca and I am grateful. I love it. I am thinking about starting a column on the sidebar listing all the natural fibers I have knit with. Yak will be on there now. Do I seem proud? You betcha! Finally, cherry tomatoes. We have been waiting....and waiting....and waiting.... One of two egg baskets bought for $1 apiece at a garage sale. They both now house my extensive leftover sock yarn balls. I really need to do something with all this wonderful yarn besides look at it.

Friday Moments

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt

I came around the corner and my favorite thrift store and bumped into this yesterday. Wow...! I called my best friend over to talk me out of it. She did such a great job that it took me 5 minutes longer to pay the $19.99 for it. You gotta love friends. She knew I would regret it forever. I will let you know it is Heavy. She thinks it may be mahogany. I love the blue though and don't think I can bring myself to strip it. What do you think? Imagine loads of sock yarn behind the glass.....

Socks and Herbs

“Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

Most of my gardening...no, not true....all of my gardening anymore is done in pots. It is a great thing to see the plants doing so well this year with all the cool weather and rain that is flooding people in this state out. I have been picking the top whorl of leaves off this mint to dry for tea and to add this winter to brownies. Socks for Dad, made from Qutecowgirl's yarn. The toes and heels were dyed by me, first with lime Kool-Aid then in three baths of strong black tea.Socks for me!! Again from Qutecowgirl's yarn. You can't really tell from the photos, but the peachy colored yarn has minute purple places in it. My favorite socks so far, but I say that about every pair.I have found new sock yarn suppliers recently on Etsy. NeuroticKnitterz. And in finding them, I found an interesting site and group on Ravelry. Phat Fibers. I am still new to this group, but I have found if you purchase from one of their contributors, your name can go into a hat for the drawing of a neat box of stuff, go check it out. I am in twice because of this yarn purchase. The colors are outside of my normal range, but the yarn is fantastic. I have already wound one of them into a ball and can't wait to start something with it. I am open to suggestions from any of you currently working on something wonderful. These skeins contain 460 yards.My dear friend Penny gave me this small strawberry pot. My thyme is certainly happy in there this summer. I love it!!Yarn my parents gave me for Christmas. I know it will become a sweater but currently I am trying to decide which one. I have lost a little bit of weight, too, so am trying to decide on a size. I wind the balls by hand, good physical therapy!And my last picture today is of one of the two wire egg baskets I found at a garage sale. I have been stuffing them with all the ends and pieces and leftovers of all my sock knitting. I am currently looking for a good scrap yarn sock to use some of these up.

God Bless,
Lynn

What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.
Dave Barry

Okay, so my immaturity is showing. Penny and I found this funny little pot at a thrift store. Her husband, being the trooper he is and having never been an ex-husband, drilled a hole in the bottom of it for me. How cool is he?
Cuttings from my topiary at work made up this little aspiring topiary. It went to live in another office last week. I didn't tell the recipient, a man, that the white pole was a lonely knitting needle found at another thrift store.

If you have not yet read this book, I highly recommend it!! It is an incredible tale of a three year old little boy who has been to Heaven and has stories to tell that are hugely believable. If you need a little hope in your life, this is the book to help provide it. It is making the tour of my friends and loved ones and will definitely be on my outgoing present list this Christmas.

Avilia! I love the little pine tree at the bottom. It is an easy pattern to memorize and a great travel project.

Harry Potter socks finished a little while ago for my daughter. Bruce wasn't interested in the manly pink in the socks. >smile<

God bless and better weather.

It's Raining

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.”

Irish Blessing

Here's looking at you through a new computer and monitor, raising my mug of tea. I didn't realise my old computer was ten years young until I took it apart trying to mend a problem. It had been a gift from my Father and had belonged to my Uncle Larry, it got me through for quite a while. I figured since our House and Senate finally did their job, did the right thing, and got together on the budget to keep the government running, I might as well splurge on a new one, a celebration of sorts. So, I am back online.The new mug on my desk, brought back from...well, you know. I have never been there, but am told often I NEED to go. How great are friends who remember you when they are out having so much fun. Thanks, Pete and Kim!

I have new yarn from Scotland, too. I need to take pictures of the beautiful yarns that came recently while I didn't have picture capability. Thanks, Bev!! She added some really pretty earrings that she made herself. They will be in my next post.

I am going through another flare, so I have been doing a little knitting and a little reading. My Mom & Dad sent me a care package of books. Iris Johansen is a current favorite.

This is reclaimed yarn. It came a while ago, but my camera and old computer didn't like to speak to each other. This lovely sport weight yarn started life as an unwanted sweater. Erica, the woman who rescued it, dyed the sweater first and then unraveled 226 yards of kettle dyed rainbow continuum. What a great idea. Check out PirateCatYarns over at Etsy. Notice the cute tiny skein of alpaca she included.

I still love my hand dyed sock yarns from Qutecowgirl best. The socks above are from a skein she named Manly. The toes and heals were some of the yarn I dyed using Kool-aid and tea.

I told you I have been doing a little knitting. These are for me. I refused to wear them until I could get the pictures off the camera and onto the blog. When I am out of her yarn, it will be a sad day.

Take care and God bless.

Bye February

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
Eleanor Roosevelt

I got a package in the mail. All the way from the UK. I love packages. It always feels like Christmas. It isn't as though I wasn't expecting it, but boy is it fun to rip off the paper to find the lovelies underneath. Time to go leave feedback....
She winds into center pull cakes if you ask her.

My next socks. I will probably be casting on Wednesday. I am going to spend the day with a friend. My best friend. This is more of Qutecowgirl's sock yarn. She entitled this one "Health" after I was diagnosed with MS. How wonderful is she?

And the back to the vest is finished and I am slowly making progress on the right front. There are all sorts of colors in this yarn, little pips of gold, pink, teal, and blue. We had more snow over the weekend, so I got a little more indoor time to knit. I do not like this time of year, except for the knitting time.

What's new with you?

A Monday Moment

If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.

Katharine Hepburn

Bruce. This wonderful man sent me a rose. A perfect rose. One beautiful rose preserved and dipped in gold. He wanted me to have something that would not end up in the garbage after one week. He is one of the most romatic people I know. I am very lucky.
My pictures are a little fuzzy, but you can make out the bound off edge of the pink, alpaca, Brandywine. This is the most interesting bind off I have ever done and I love the rolled edge effect. If you have not tried this pattern, I would recommend it. I have now made three and would still like to make one for myself. I am thinking beads next time.

A Gray Sunday Morning Coming Down

Friendship with ones self is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It is a gray day in South Dakota. We woke to ice all over the north and west side of the house bringing new meaning to light perception only. We had thunder overnight which also does not bode well in February. Today is a good day to...knit. Dexter says hi. He is the beginning of my gray post.
I finished my pink Brandwine and have moved on to a vest I have been wanting to knit since I saw it on The Woolen Rabbit.
Then these two yarns arrived at about the same time and inspiration struck. A Dexter vest...only for me. How odd to try and match yourself to a cat. Now is when I should be thinking about buttons. Do they cause anyone else angst?

Valentine's Eve

Sometimes someone says something really
small, and it just fits right into this empty
place in your heart....

My So-Called Life

I have never had an orchid rebloom before. This one loves this window, the view is one I see everyday from my desk at work. The orchid makes the snow this time of year easier to cope with. That and the bunny that lives in the snow under the bush. Pictures of rabbit dropping may follow one day soon....
This luscious yarn is another from CastOffCastOnUK over on Etsy. These balls are the way she wound them for me. Aren't they just the cutest things? The labels are great, she even adds the care instructions from the label of the garment.
The little pink bubble depression glass bowl is a recent acquisition, it is just like one my Grandmother had. I got that one when she passed away, but promptly broke it on the way home. I have given one to my Daughter-in-Law since then, but this one is all mine. My Grandmother used to make salads in hers for lunch...sometimes with papaya.
My latest socks. The pretty yarn was dyed by Qutecowgirl, the tan looking yarn I dyed myself. I started with lime KoolAid and then gave it three baths in strong tea. I am pretty happy with the results.
Another Brandywine on the needles. This one is made from reclaimed alpaca, it is so soft you would not believe it. There were three skeins, almost 900 yds. Just enough for a larger version. I am betting it will be lovely blocked. I am very happy with it, so far.

A thrift find today. I am planning on stuffing it with Good Earth Decaf Green Tea bags. How's that for a little irony?

Thanks for stopping in and feel free to say Hi!
Lynn

The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.

- Benjamin Franklin

I have new and wonderful things to show you. I have met a new yarn rescuer from the UK that has the most beautiful reclaimed yarn at her Etsy shop. Her name is CastOffCastOnUK. If you have been thinking of doing something a little more Earth friendly and green, it might be a good thing to pop in and take a look. She has some lovely rose and emerald yarns posted, as well as some yarns she has reduced the price on to sell as complete sets.
My Mother's friend past away last year. She crocheted wonderful afghans for the people she loved. I asked my Mother to pick a couple out that she had not finished. I finished on for her and one for her friend's daughter. I have discovered that with is disease, crochet is no longer easy for me, but I am thrilled to have them done and received on the other end.

The Stupidly Easy triangle Shawl by Glenna C. on Ravelry. I found this fantastic suede yarn at a thrift store in town. Probably enough to make a sweater. I needed something easy to work on while waiting for appointments. This was just the thing. No patterns to memorize. My friend thinks it is the best thing I have made in a while, so it goes to her.

There were 6 skeins of this, already rolled into center pull balls, for only $5. Not a bad deal.