Why I didn't post last week

Ok, first of all, my DH called in sick to work last Monday. So, that kind of crimped my style for being on the 'puter.... I mean, I love the guy and all that, but sometimes, I need a place to vent about some of the things that happen....

Well, I really must love the guy.

Around 5 that afternoon, I was on the phone to the ambulance people..... Seems he had some sort of thing happen - I thought at the time it was a stroke - he was unresponsive, his eyes rolled back in his head, that sort of thing. Well, we didn't get home from the hospital until 5 pm Tuesday.....

They ran all sorts of tests, and ruled out heart attack, blood pressure (either high or low) and no evidence of a stroke.....

So, they don't know what the problem was.

Anyway, he seems to be feeling much better now - wish I was, lol.... I am still concerned, but trying not to coddle him too much.

But, that set things back for a while - Wednesday he went back to work, and it was my laundry day (gee, with all the calls to 9-1-1 lately you'd think they know us personally!!) so that left Thursday, then it was the long weekend. So.... I'm a week behind in a lot of things.

Spent most of the weekend doing outside things - helping to clean up the yard, a little of the garage. He changed the oil in the vehicle.... I tried taking the stuff we bought for the kids over to their house, but they still ended up coming to ours anyway.... I did take pics, but haven't downloaded off the camera yet. I am sort of excited about one of those - a few years ago, I made an afghan for the second oldest - I think it was for her 2nd birthday - anyway, they had that one over Nikoal, so I got to get a good picture of it. Hadn't taken one before, between not having a decent type camera, and not thinking to do so....

Anyway, once I get that one downloaded, will post it.

So.... In the hospital, I got a bunch of rounds done on the kitty doily. And, I knitted a dishcloth, which I can't share a pic of just yet - it's for an exchange. So, I'll do that one later. :)

In the meantime:

These are the two dishcloths for NCB dishcloth group.... knitted bunny on the left (I know, hard to see) and crocheted on the right. It was called "rainbow stripes" and the sample with the pattern managed diagonal striping. But I like the way this one turned out. :) And I bet it would make a great afghan in this stitch, too.



Progress on the dishcloth Kals, and the kitty doily:
I am way farther on the kitty now... If I can, I will show a close-up of one of the kitties... I have the pic, but I am beginning to suspect there is a per-post limit on these things.... might be why I was having problems sharing pics in past posts....




OK - next up is....the finished five piece bath set, and the progress on the sixth sense sock. I think in this pic, I'm ready to start the heel. I've since turned the heel.... :) Oh, and my "inspectors" are shown, too.....

Mica on the left, Ashleigh on the right :)







Ok, now, if I can....

I have a bookcase. It is 6 feet tall, if I'm not mistaken.... Well, I have two, but one is dismantled at the moment until I clean the carpet.... So, over a week ago, I was in the process of emptying the shelves, so I could move them, and clean... I have since done that (well, that spot, at least - I have a lot more of the room to do). Ok, so - I've told people before, don't know if I've written about it, but Mica loves to be off the floor. And I've been convinced that ever since she was a kitten, she has been trying to figure out ways to walk on the ceiling. And she's been eyeing up our ceiling fan, too.... Now, these shelving unit(s) are dangerously close to said ceiling fan. I really don't like how she looks at the fan some days, but I've never been able to capture it on camera... Well, when I downloaded the craft pics, I discovered that DH *was* able to take a pic or two....

On the right, you can almost see the Ashford Traddy that I have been learning to spin with :) As soon as I get off my butt (and off this machine, lol) and finish the carpet, the sooner I'll be able to spend more time with the Traddy :)

So.... That's about it for now.... I'm going to go now and set up myself on another blog ring :) Spindlers. I will try to download some more pics, and add them before the week is over. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

progress, progress, frustration story....

Well, I'm making progress. Yesterday, I cleared off almost all of a book shelf, packed up the stuff in boxes.... I want to clean our carpet. And move a few things around.... I own two of these big bookcase things, and keep my cat stuff on them.... among other decorations. We had to move one of them to fit our "new" couch in - the couch that we paid a whole five dollars for at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.... The colour is perfect for our living room.... if you scroll down - the critters are sleeping on it... Anyway, that was bought last summer, and I've been suffering through the winter with half my kitty stuff in boxes, (ok, not half of the grand total, but a whole shelving unit full) and it is high time I cleared the other shelves so I could move them over to put the second shelf unit beside it.... And since I'm going to that much trouble, I might as well move it right out of the way, and clean the carpet before rearranging everything.

So....

Anyway, this morning, I finally got around to blocking the Mystery Shawl 2. I put pictures in my photo album site, but could share here, too....

The sponge stuff I block it on wants to go back into a roll, that's why it's all curvy. But the shawl will be nice and flat when it is done.... and huge!!! The sponge is four feet wide....so the shawl is about four feet top to bottom.... don't know the across measurement.....

Progress on the Pi - it is OFF THE NEEDLES!!!! Wuhooo..... Needs to be blocked, if it will fit on the sponge after the MS3 is done.... Here it is, being modeled by Mis Mica:

Funny how cats know just which colours set them off.... Mica loves lounging on anything red, while Lady Ashleigh prefers blue.... Ashleigh being the little grey one....

Ok, now for the frustration - or should I do the dishcloths? Well, the frustration is more important - I can always post the dishcloths later.... I mean, I've taken the pic, so I can knit on them "safely"....

Frustration, you ask? Well..... Back in February, I was browsing at what is for many reasons my favourite LYS (local yarn shop) - Ram Wools. Ok, I was more than browsing - but I was browsing through the sock yarns, trying to decide..... I saw this neat coloured sock yarn, pricier than I am accostomed to....But, it *was* a pretty colour, and it *was* a bigger ball, that I could make a whole pair of socks from.... I ended up buying two of them - two different colours. The current April-May sock for the Six Sox Knitalong group suggested a nice "spring" colour sock yarn - I thought, Oh, Perfect, I know just the stuff.....

I dug the end out of the middle of the ball.... or should I say, I tried to dig the end out of the middle..... Ok, so I ended up with a chunk of "yarn barf". Ok, nothing new, no big deal, tease apart the lump to get the end.... I teased, I tugged, I rewound, I unwound, I untied.... I fought with this yarn for FOUR hours. FOUR. Yes, F O U R. From 8 pm Sunday - thinking, oh, good, the time change etc, I could get in the ribbing before bed.... Until MIDNIGHT. FOUR HOURS. I didn't get any ribbing done. I didn't get any casting on. I didn't do anything except get angrier and more frustrated with this yarn. I had to keep teasing and tugging and untieing - and at one point, I thought I'd heard a "snap" - but didn't find the break. Until the next morning, when I saw a small wad of "yarn barf" on the couch where I'd been sitting - I undid that bit and tied it on.... At this point, I wasn't giving up any of it.... Anyway - I fired off an email to the manufacturer on Monday, telling them what I thought of this garbage. I can't return it - between the condition of it, and the time factor, and who would bother to save the reciept anyway???? I won't throw it in the garbage, because I just can NOT affod to do that. But I will NEVER buy this company's products again, and I will tell anyone who asks my opinion of "_______" exactly what I think of it - don't waste your money.

In this picture, I've captured one of those lint ball thingies- don't know if they have an "official" name or not, but this yarn is so full of those - and they are the trouble makers when it comes to tangles and knots.... I'm sure that many of you who've knitted or crocheted or done anything with yarn have experienced them at some point in your life - I have, but never to this extent (at least one every few yards.... They can be slid off the end (you should have seen the pile on Sunday night after FOUR hours of detangling) or carefully cut out, which this one will be....

But, I will confess, it still is a pretty colour. And the pattern - well, if you haven't already been tempted to join the 6 sox group before, this pattern should do it!!! Very pretty, looks complex but is easy to memorize - I did this much in a very short sitting last night! I'll be taking it to my knit group meeting tonight to work on. That is how easy it is - one you can do while chatting.... (Hint: there is a button on the right hand side for the sock group!)

Ok, I'm going to try adding the picture of the dishcloths - the mid March knit along dishcloth, and the April knit along dishcloth, both on the same stitch holder :) March is up to day 7 (my knitting, that is) and the April is day one.... Yesterday, after clue four, people were saying it looked like it was going to be a watering can... Why am I suddenly nervous about going further? LOL.....

Oh, btw.... the colour for the april one is called "Ivory" - a lovely cream colour - I love it....and I see that I've only got day 6 of the blue mid march one....

FOUR HOURS!!!!!!

April.... UFO goal....

I've been setting monthly goals to complete UFO's, with the help of the group, UFO 12 for 12. That is such a great idea - commit to getting 12 UFO's done in 12 months....

This month, though, I'm going for two ;) Pictures were posted in an earlier progress post - shouldn't be too far down, and since I haven't touched them (other than to move them around on the table to get at something under them, or pick them up when the cat or cats knock them down, lol) since taking their portraits....

Anyway, the first is called "Between Meals Centerpiece". I purposely broke the link.... it was messing up my blog!!! http://www.anniesattic.com/stitches/crochet/
patterns/pdfs/Between_Meal_Centerpiece.pdf



It was the doily of the month for February. I'm finished round 9 of 60. I hope to complete this one by the end of April.

Second, the http://www.freepatterns.com/fp_pdfs/2005/
Crochet/afc_augfreepattern.pdf Kitty doily - (again, purposely broke the link)
I'm ready to start round 12 of 28. This was the March doily of the month. I won't even go into the member choices.... or the April doily.... I might try to get going on those, but I really want to clean up the UFO's too.... :)

I should be able to get caught up - after all, the Pi is off the needles.... :) Still need to be blocked, but it *is* off the needles.....