People Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

“It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again.”

Vince Lombardi

Meet my best friend. She, unlike me, is just a petite thang. The snow that seems to go on forever can't even be seen over the top of her head. That still puts that snow bank well over 12' tall and it goes on for at least 75-80 feet. There are little rooms cut out of it I am soooooo ready for Spring.
February socks are done and headed for a cute little girl in northern Montana. And according to my son who was home on leave this month, "yes, Mom...you do have more snow on the ground than we do." Exactly what I was aspiring to. >sigh< This is my current tween (the in between socks project). These are adorable and so soft, being a wool and alpaca mix. The pattern is on Ravelry.
No big surprise, I have MS. I was diagnosed late last year. I have been dealing with a relapse for the last couple of weeks. I lived through my first bout of IV infusions of Solu-Medrol, I made out much better than most, but I am still waiting to feel better. Any tips would be appreciated. The wool you see on the table, for the Wool Crazy Sew Along (you will find a link on my sidebar), is a part of my physical therapy. I used to make beautiful cotton quilts with fine stitching before MS. My therapist thinks this project is a great idea, it should help the cramping in my hands. I told her the stitching would be larger and more rustic and I am pretty excited about it. She wants me to keep knitting. I am also winding all my yarn by hand, but I always have. I love knitting, but I really miss quilting.

Another Snowy Saturday

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

~Author Unknown

My son came home this week. His Grandmother passed away and he was a pallbearer. I know it was a very sad reason for him to be here, but I treasured every minute of our time together. This was a difficult time for both my children.

This beautiful yarn was from that Magic Yarn Ball that came last weekend, thank you Rhea. I could not wait to start knitting with it to see what would unwind. There were beautiful treasures inside, more on that later. The buttons just got sewed on today. They were part of my Grandmother's buttons and appear to be walnut. The pattern was Be Squared Neck Warmer on Ravelry.
I started a pair of socks for my Granddaughter in Montana. This is a Regia yarn, Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Flusi Das Socken Monster, very fun to knit up. I wish I could be there to give them to her in person later this month.

Magic Yarn Ball Received

If it's not fun, you're not doing it right.
Bob Basso

I got my magic yarn ball in the mail! Didn't she do a wonderful thing, here...I want to do this again! Stop over at her blog and take a peek, she is a wonderful photographer. This ball of wonder will become a Be Squared Neck Warmer. There was a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk in the box, but since I am not sharing that with anyone (mine, all mine) I will not tempt you with a picture. It is absolutely my favorite, barring none. The true moral in all this is never desecrate chocolate with nuts and never, ever share! Sharing yarn is good, but Cadbury is not a team event!

Magic Yarn Balls

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
Dr. Seuss

I joined an online swap started by T Does Wool. I am usually tempted, but seldom join. Magic Yarn Balls. If you are interesed in taking a peek, we have a Flickr site. My swap partner has already received her package so I can show you now what it looked like when she took it out of the box. The premise of the ball is that you take a skein of yarn, alpaca in this case, and wind it into a ball, winding little trinkets and bobbles into it as you go, starting with something somewhat round in the center. That way, when your swap partner is knitting from the ball, little things begin to appear. Sounds like great fun, doesn't it? I had a blast putting this together, I hope she likes it as much as I did. Even my friend, Penny, got involved and found me a tiny pair of wooden knitting needles to wind in.

"So Long, January" Sunday

"A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies."

- Robert Paul

Last weekend was spent with a good book, great tea and new yarn. I am loving the way the Bamboo feels. It does split a little more than Superwash Merino does, but with a little care taken, it is well worth it.
And they came out so cool!!
This beautiful yarn is, I believe, destined right now for the Evenstar mystery shawl on Ravelry. I have signed up, but I haven't finished my sweater yet and I may put the pattern with the yarn for another time. I still wind all my yarn by hand, I am a very tactile person that way.

Icy Wednesday

Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.
Albert Einstein

One of the many joys of living in the heart of the Midwest, is dealing with the crappy weather. Can I use that word on Blogger? Believe me, it is much better than the word that came to mind this morning when I got up and could hear the ice tinking off the windows. There is no let up in sight. There are accidents everywhere and semi trailers in the ditch off the Interstate and some of us still need to try and brave it to go to work....

I found a necklace thrifting that had the most interesting elements....they all came apart to make row markers for knitting. Do I really need so many row markers, you may ask? Well, of course not, but now I have some to share with friends! I love that part of it.
I have been dyeing yarn again and it is wonderful to see it come together. This yarn was dyed very quickly in lime Kool-Aid, heat set and allowed to dry before three different sessions in tea. The color is as close as i am going to be able to get to the color in my head. It is destined, one day (probably not anytime soon) to be Anne Hanson's Honeybee Stole.

And this lovely table mat was made for me by Cathy of Cath's Pennies Designs. If you have not been to her blog, she has begun selling her patterns of some of the most whimsical designs. I just love her Love Ewes pattern, a sheep candle mat that has buttons to accent the little feet. This is one talented lady. I am expecting her newest pattern, Scarecrow Jack in the Pumpkin Patch, in the mail almost any day. She does tutorials on her blog to show you how to put her patterns together.

Holiday Mondays are Wonderful!

“Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”
― Michael Leboeuf

My very smart Daughter-In-Law and Son contacted my favorite yarn dyer, Qutecowgirl, for my Christmas presents. These yarns were dyed with me in mind. The yarn in the foreground was hand-dyed, the dark you see throughout the skein was the word "Health" spelled out during the dyeing process. The yarn in the background was her daughters first yarn. She knows how much I love her daughters yarns. My Son and his Wife sure put a lot of thought into this. Thank you so much, Perry and Kim!
The new sock project bag has been going everywhere with me. It was included in the gift. There is a small pocket inside, just the right size for a little something else. Something like, oh...I don't know, the gorgeous stitch markers that also came along with the gift. All I can say is WOW. I was thrilled to open this package Christmas morning.
Have you ever knitted with bamboo? Well, until this month, I never had. My Dad gets my next pairs of completed socks and I wanted him to have something soft. These feel like chenille.
It is no secret I love hand-thrown pottery. I thought I would show a couple of pieces I collected over the summer and have put to good use. I can never walk by a pair of knitting needles at a yard sale or a thrift store. You never know when you or a friend will need just the right set. And they look like little bouquets!

I have more to show you, I got some beautiful soy yarn from a dear friend....stay tuned.