A Little and A Lot

I got around to taking a couple pictures today. I should have been taking more pictures lately. Maybe a few to capture those special moments, like Jem's 9th birthday. (Which was last Friday.) Or when Pepper fell asleep next to Scout in her crib. Or maybe when Shawn was sprawled out across the bed when I got up for a drink of water at 4 in the morning. (He adamantly denies that he does not cross the halfway line when we are sleeping in the middle of the night. What a liar!)

But in all honesty, the camera has been the last thing I've been thinking about grabbing and using. Instead I've been trekking away at some of my FO's. The ones that I just have to get done. Or the socks that I owe my Hogwarts Pal in about 2 1/2 weeks. Or the package I had to send my Secret Pal because I couldn't make it to the Post Office in time. Or how about paying the bills and credit card accounts because I've been lagging when it comes to signing the checks. Yes, my friends, I am in deep! (But don't worry, I paid the rent and the bills. I am working on those socks. I sent my package out after waiting in line for 30 minutes yesterday. I'm finally back on top of things!)

I've even been reading. So much in fact that last night, while reading, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, I stayed up til 2 a.m. just to finish the last 100 pages. I was half way there and then decided that I needed to finish it and find out what happens. It was worth staying up for. Next on the list, besides the few Yoga books I wanted to check out, (I want to be a little prepared before I take the class), is a 932 page autobiography on King Henry the 8th. (I blame such an undertaking on "The Tudors", on Showtime, and Philippa Gregory and her books on him and the Boleyn family.

But onto the knitting.

I finished the Rowan Flood Sweater a couple weeks ago. Here's the, (crappy), picture of me, (wearing it in 109 degree weather):

Last night I finished the Rusted Root Sweater by Zephyr Style. And then something bad happened. A hole. In the back. Near the top. I think Pepper has been messing with my knitting. She certainly likes yarn. And my Namaste bag. Little devil!

And a close up of the leaves lace panel.

Rusted Root by Zephyr Style

Needles: US 6's for the body, (circulars); 3's and 4's for the ribbing

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in Gray

Mods: Instead of using 4's for the ribbing on the bottom, I did 3's for a little bit of a tighter rib. The ribbing on the neck and sleeves were done with 4's.

I'd definitely knit this again. In fact I was looking at some Cotton Ease at Michael's today and I'm thinking that the Navy Blue would look quite nice.

Now onto bigger and better things...I've decided to start the Wicked Sweater. In the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK that I had ordered for the tank in the Spring IK. (Since my gauge was off, I decided that this would be perfect for Wicked.) Can't wait to start!

I'm still working on the Charlotte's Web, but I've given up hope that I will finish it by the time my neighbors leave. So I'll be sending this baby off. I'm also working on the sleeves for the Debbie Bliss Diamonds Sweater for Scout. I'm 12 rows short of finishing the first one. I'm a knitting machine!

Mission Accomplished

Two weeks ago I decided to try and finish the Rowan Flood Sweater. After all, the back was finished and it been wasting away in the closet. So I finished the front in two or three days. I trekked along and did a sleeve. Two days later I did another sleeve, (in one day). I was driven by knitting madness. That night I stayed up til 1 a.m. and did the seams.

Too bad I ran out of yarn to do the cowl neck. *sigh* I had decided to do the XL size, rather than the large. And since there is one skein difference, when I ordered the yarn on eBay originally, I was one skein short. So, lucky for me, the woman I ordered from still has this in stock, (the Rowan Plaid is a discontinued yarn now). The best part? It's only costing $6.50 and no shipping charges! That's a deal. Check out her eBay Shop. She has really great deals on Debbie Bliss and Rowan.

While I put the sweater on hold I decided to work on my Charlotte's Web with the last skein of Koigu that I bought over the weekend. I really wasn't sure it would work because the Koigu wasn't a multi colored like the previous two I had. (The problem was that the shop carried a lot of different colors, but no blue multi's.)

And voila!

It's finished. And quite lovely if I do say so myself. I showed my neighbors upstairs and her 9 year old daughter loved it. (She's a crocheter, but I told her I would teach her how to knit before they move.) I'm thinking I might make her one for Christmas, maybe in some pinks. She'd definitely get some use out of it.

I liked the project. Especially seeing how the colors all flowed. The yarn overs, as I expected, were a pain in the butt. Overall not too many problems though.

Charlotte's Web by Koigu

Yarn: Koigu KPPM and KPM, 3 skeins in various blues/greens

Needles: US 6 circulars, 29"

My other good news?

My Secret Pal sent me a very, very nice gift. I got it this afternoon, yay me! She knows the way to my heart I tell you! 5 skeins of yellow, (the most perfect shade I might add), Debbie Bliss cotton DK yarn, chocolate, (ALL mine), and a bottle of Warm Vanilla Sugar hand soap from Bath and Body Works.

She also sent Scout two adorable outfits for the summer! Isn't she the greatest? I have to say that I really had fun this round!

And to top off the deliciousness of this post:

Our new addition to the family.

I drove with Shawn to work this morning to pick up our new kitten and here she is. She's a bit timid, but very playful. She has already gotten into the yarn, (I'm working on Scout's diamond sweater), and likes to bat at my knitting needles. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with Dalton though. Normally we don't have problems with him warming up to kittens, (I've foster mommy'd kittens before), but he was hissing at her today. Jealousy doesn't suit him. I hope he gets over it soon.

We don't have a name yet, so if you have any suggestions by all means, leave a comment! I thought "Snoopy", but I think it's too much of a boy name. We'll see.

So that's been my week. Oh, and I went to UCLA to see someone about my TMJ. They really didn't tell me anything different, but they want me to go back for a CAT scan, X Rays and they want to do a dental impression for a splint. In the meantime, they just said to continue taking the Ibuprofen and muscle relaxers. My jaw is feeling a bit better, though it's still sore. I've been trying to stretch my muscles in my mouth and it seems to help even though it still hurst. It doesn't hurt as much. I guess that's a start.

A Big Pile of Stuff

I realize that my posting has been quite infrequent. But so has my knitting, I'm sorry to say. I don't have too much to update on, on a daily basis. I am in awe of those knitters who constantly have a flow of FO's, like Tienne. She makes me want to be a better knitter. (When I get the time, *smile*.)

But there has been some big piles of stuff that I've been working on, (or giving away). For starters, I haven't started another pair of socks, (yet). I decided to finish the Rowan Plaid Sweater, (dubbed "The Flood"). I had about an inch going on the front side, (the back was complete), and decided to pull it out of the deep depths of my closet. That was last Wednesday. It's Sunday and I finished the front the other day. I forgot how wonderful big needles, (US 10 1/2's), and how big yarn, (Rowan Big Wool), make a project go somewhat quicker. I am now a few inches into the first sleeve. (The best part? I have enough yarn. After getting the back done, it didn't look like I had enough.)

So it's just a big pile of grey/white stitches. For now. I'm hoping to complete it by next week. That all depends on the rate of knitting I get done with this damn thing:

I'm still trekking away with the Charlotte's Web. For some very odd reason, (and I attribute it to the fact that I'm reading "Amityville Horror" and the fact that I told Shawn it would be kinda neat to live in a haunted house), I've been having major issues with row 103. I easily ripped back a few rows at least 4 times!!! Yarnovers are not easy to pick up! Sometimes I'd get 2 stitches too many and other times I'd be one stitch short. Finally I ripped back about 5 rows and I'm now on track. Nonetheless, I'm thinking there is a ghost that's messing with my lace!

I did a little, (late), Spring cleaning and gave some more yarn to my neighbors 9 year old daughter. She's already crocheted a blue baby blanket out of some acrylic that I gave her. Plus she made a scarf with some yellow cotton. And I saw the way she was eyeing the pink cotton. I also gave her some fabric and stuffing. I feel cleansed. And I know she'll use it and appreciate it. I get the warm fuzzies.

One of the reasons I haven't been knitting is that my TMJ came back full force. Tuesday morning my jaw locked after trying to eat cereal. That was around 8 a.m. 3 a.m. the next morning it finally unlocked, but it was still very sore. Thursday morning I saw the dentist, who really didn't tell me anything new except that I didn't have any cavities. (By the way, I don't think I told any of you about this, but when my TMJ first started with the jaw locking I went to Western Dental. They took 2 1/2 hours to get to me after my appointment time and told me that I had three cavities. I didn't believe them, so I left. Looks like I'll making a complaint with the BBB for them trying to dupe my insurance company.) Anywhoo, a few hours later the pain was worse, (my face has been swollen, my eyes, ears and throat hurt, and obviously I can't eat much of anything, not to mention that I've been feverish). I went to Urgent Care and was given a prescription for Ibuprofen, (for the inflammation), and some muscle relaxers to help with the actual tensing. The muscle relaxers have kicked my butt! So I have been sleeping a lot, (when I can), and not trying to stress with my knitting, (i.e.: Charlotte's Web).

I did end up getting a referral to an oral surgeon at UCLA, so I'll be making an appointment Tuesday and hoping that they can do something, (anything), to make the pain go away. My jaw isn't locked, but the muscles are sore. I can't open my mouth all the way, (which sucks because Shawn bought some yummy doughnuts which I had to squish to get in my mouth), and when I chew I have to chew evenly on both sides so my right side doesn't hurt. What a life!

Jem started his ADD meds and is still forgetful as ever, but has calmed down considerably. I met with the staff about his IEP and they feel that he doesn't have a learning disability or need special ed. They say he's a little behind in the third grade, but as long as he does Summer School, he should catch up and be ready for 4th grade. He's excited. Also, because his birthday is at the end of June. We've discussed "field trips" and decided to see "Ratatouille" at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. We are also going to a beach day, bowling day and a zoo day. Hopefully that will keep him busy, along with swimming.

Scout is doing good. She's found her voice and using it! She really doesn't like being alone and will scream a good scream if we are in the kitchen too long. I don't think she's going to be the, "good, quiet baby", at the yarn shop anymore. I can't believe she's already five months old. She's eating even better. She still loves her nanas, but she's also been scarfing down the pears. She's still not too keen on the green stuff, but hopefully that will change. She's not quite sitting up on her own yet, but she is rolling over. And she loves to lay on her side. When we do tummy time she tries really hard to crawl. I'm happy we aren't there yet. (We aren't quite babyproofed.)

Look at those bright eyes!