Connections

OK, so KristaKrista visited the blog the other day, creator of the Cable Baby Blanket pattern I used for my (f)SIL's baby, Ellie. She was wondering if I'd ever finished it, and I don't think I ever did post FO photos, so here ya go:



The top pick, obviously, is the nearly finished object (minus sewing in ends and blocking. Even though I knit it in acrylic, it badly needed blocking to eliminate the curling of the edges. Since I knit the middle in plain stockinette (I guess this was the reason), the cabled edges really wanted to turn under. When I sent it to my SIL, I folded it so the cables were showing, hoping that they would stay put! She and her husband said they loved it, and used it immediately.

If my own sister ever decides she's gonna go ahead and bless her husband with a little one, I'll knit the REAL version, with the little cables in the middle, too. I won't even say I'll knit it for my own, because a) I never knit anything but a couple hats and a sweater/hat set for The Boy, and that set didn't see creation until his 1st birthday, and b)well, it's highly unlikely that I'll be having any more chi'ren. :P

It's the end of the 3rd quarter at school, so there is very little knitting going on, but I did cast on for my Sasha skirt, finally, and have a Monkey sock (knitty.com) in progress, but I'm thinking a sock that needs a lifeline is a bit above my attention span these days. Might rip what I've done so far and knit some plain ole K2P2 ribbed ones . . . !

And yes, I'm way too lazy to link Sahara or even Knitty right now - report card comments to create, and LOST is on, AND GOOD!!! They've got Boone and Shannon back for a flashback, and have recreated/superimposed the crash scene from season 1, show 1 with some of the new folks, who they've already KILLED OFF!! I. LOVE. THIS. DAMN. SHOW! SO GOOD!

:o)

Krista, didn't you write the pattern for the baby hat with the flower petals at the top, too? I've done that one a few times as well. You write good stuff, lady - keep it up!

NOT in love . . .

With my new sweater, the Greek Pullover. I do love the sweater, just not the finished object, on me!
I should have knit the next size smaller in everything but the arms, and I would have been fine, but with the size I knit, the neckline is just tooooooo wide, and it wound up off my shoulders all day long! Plus, it pooches under the arms, and I hate that. I wanted a more snug fit for this sweater, so I should have gone with my gut and knit the medium, but, since I know I'm a BIG GURL, I knit the large. Bummer. I'm thinking I could possibly solve this relatively easily by taking it apart (:sigh:) and reknitting just the back of the sweater in, like, maybe the size small since it's already wayyyy too big, and this might help not only keep the neckline in place, but also pull in the bagginess under the arms. Any thoughts from those of you out there who read? Lisabe???

Also, got a lovely card/note from my Secret Pal! Yay - I DO love me some snail mail! And thanks, pal, for the comments about my son and Grammy. I look forward to getting to know you and my own pal through this exchange!

As for Grammy, she is coming home this afternoon. She's doing really well with her PT in the hospital, but she is miserable there and really wants to come home, so we are bringing her home with the hopes that she eats better here than in the hospital. My thoughts on this: good luck, 'cause it ain't gonna happen. We shall see. There will be a team of sitters hired to stay with her during the day - everyone here works or has "other duties" (read - Farmer Mac is about to head back to the garden for the Spring/Summer crops!). Hopefully, she heals well and gets back to normal soon.

And, now back to knitting related news: here's some new stash:

Gorgeous, huh? Even the yarn sitting on the little boy is pretty lovely! :O)

The blue is some Koigu KPPPM that did not disappoint at all. I ordered it from online, and the colors in person are even more stunning! It will be knit up into a Clapotis for my son's teacher's Christmas gift next year. Since she will have put up with this little hellion for three years, she's definitely earned it! I think she'll love it.

The next yarn down is some Shaefer "Anne" for my Secret Pal - look away, pal, look away!

Then, we have three different colors of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn. First is one skein of Tuscany, two of Fire, and two of Vera. Those will all be knit into socks for various people, probably none of which will be me. Bummer, but fun in the process! :O)

Updates

So, I know posts have been scarce lately, but I've been super-busy, what with fitting in visiting Grammy in the hospital with my normal frantic life to begin with. I've barely had any knitting time at all. In fact, my Greek Pullover is currently being finished, but it's taking forever. I am a wimp when it comes to seaming - not that I can't do it, just that I want it to be gorgeous/don't want my ugly seams to mess up all that beautiful knitting! I would love to wear it to work tomorrow or Tuesday, but not quite sure that's in the plans. Like I said, it's been crazy around here.

Last week, in school, it just seemed like chaos. I think I did a better job of being planned out and prepared for my teaching day, but the kids were just crazy. I have had to pay a lot more attention to classroom management lately, to counteract the early Spring fever and overall chaos that two brand new students (in the middle/end of a quarter) seem to bring to a first grade class. Ugh. But! have no fear - I think they are just about back to "normal" now - whatever that is!!

Then, Courtney, my sweetie, filled me in that we would be going away to Baltimore for the weekend, so I wound up blissfully putting all things work behind me and doing some good, old fashioned relaxing this weekend. Imagine that!!!!

In Baltimore, we: had dinner Friday night at Pisces, a gorgeous and fabulous restaurant at the Hyatt Regency there in Baltimore. The Hyatt was also where we stayed. I got a big kick out of the glass elevator, when we could actually get it to take us to our floor!!! Apparently, being a part of the "Regency Club" has it's advantages, but you have to be smarter than the elevator key to get there!!!! Then, we had planned to go to the Aquarium Saturday afternoon, but wound up, uh, sleeping in. ;> We managed to wander the mall for a bit, eat dinnner at the Cheesecake Factory, then make our way to the Lyric for a wonderful show - Tamia and Mint Condition, singing their a$$es off! My girl Tamia - what a wonderful voice, and she shook and wiggled her little pregnant self around that stage like I never could! I was truly impressed. She has an awesome voice. I only wish she had done more of her awesome ballads and less of the "covers" she did of other artists' songs. Either way, she is awesome! Think I need to visit iTunes and do some downloading!

Mint Condition was pretty good too - I hadn't paid much attention to them before - I think Courtney was more aware of them than I was, but they did give a good show.

Overall, we had a great weekend. I only wish it had lasted longer. Weekends seem to fly by. We are currenlty "working" on that situation, but taking things real slow and thinking things through before jumping in with all 9six) feet. :O) Good idea.

Really NOT Slacking

Nope, I'm doing anything but! Things around here have been really crazy, and I've come to the conclusion that I need a day-runner so that I can actually fit "brush your teeth" in there somewhere during the week. That's actually NOT a funny joke, since right now I'm tasting metal from my sliver cap that is covering a root-canaled tooth I recently had fixed. Just part of my life as a freeway as of late.

It all began two Fridays ago. I was on my way home from work to pack my bags and head to my sweetie's house for the weekend. On the way (10 minute drive), I turned on my phone, saw that I had a message from my mother, and listened to my voicemail to discover that my Grammyhad had a fall. (That's her in the center, with my mother and auntie flanking her.) They were taking her, by ambulance, to the hospital. Not sure which hospital, but they'd call when they were sure. OK, fine, I can deal with this. I'm gonna be a big girl, I'll deal with it.

Well, then, just as I pull into the driveway, I realize that my dad must have pulled in the driveway in a hurry, cause he's nose in, not out, like he usually does (for a quick getaway????). Anyway, as I'm contemplating this, dear old dad calls my cell phone, asking where I am. I tell him I just pulled up, and he says not to worry, not to come to the hospital, they are still waiting for her to go to X-ray to get the final results, but she probably broke her hip.

OK, I'm still gonna be a big girl, I can handle this. No problem.

BUT! Nowhere in either of these phone calls did anyone prepare me for what I would find when I walked in the house.

BLOOD, lots of it, all over the foot of the stairs.

Nope, I'm just a baby, worried about my Grammy from. That. Moment. On.

I called Courtney (sweetie) and told him it might be a while before I got there, and why. He, of course, says take your time, do what you need to do, etc, etc.

I then proceed to clean up my sweet, sweet Grammy's blood off the steps. I last about two seconds before I start bawling uncontrollably.

My Grammy is the ROCK of this family. She holds us all together. She gives us all purpose for being here, she makes us feel like we should be better people in this world because she is such an incredible lady. She is kind, gentle, loving, wise, and stubborn as hell (she has earned the right). She's 98, and when she says something, you'd BEST listen, just cause. I mean, heck, she's 98! Before two Fridays ago, she at three meals and two snacks a day, read voraciously (books on tape 'cause she's legally bling), went for an afternoon stroll most days, and kept us all in line. She devours CNN and all things political, and calls the President "that young man." (I'd like to call him a few other choice words, but she'd fuss at me for it.)

Since last Friday, however, she has been struggling to get back to herself. She did okay with the break itself, but the surgery was hard on her. She's never had a broken bone before, or surgery - besides those two C-section babies, and took NO medication other than eye drops for glaucoma before this whole thing. Because of that, it took her about 5 days to fully wake up from the surgery. I was not happy with that at all. Apparently, Oxycontin, a pain medication that apparently helps lots of people, is also famous for giving older people a hard time. I mean, she didn't know what day it was, she didn't remember that she broke her hip, she didn't even recognize me a couple times when I showed up to see her. Very upsetting.

And then, just when she was getting back to herself, I caught a cold, so haven't been in to see her until today. Today they moved her to the extended nursing portion of the hospital. There she will be able to get physical therapy each day, and it's a much brighter, happier place than the main part of the hospital. But, today, when I showed up to see her, she was asleep. So, I sat on the couches in the lobby knitting a swatch for my Sasha skirt that I want to start (and I'm hoping the SKC will knit along with me).

I will try my luck again tomorrow, and Thursday The Boy will get to see her. He has been asking and asking for her, doesn't understand why she can't come home, and is very upset that the total number of people in this house has dropped to only 4 (plus one cat). He is personally in heaven when the place is packed to the gills!

So, forgive my absence (as if you've been looking and looking for me), and I hope to get back to "normal" soon. For now, I'll be trying to squeeze visiting hours into my already packed schedule, and will resolve to be OK with the fact that I will never loose those last 10 pounds (while thanking my lucky stars that I found someone who appreciates my curves!!)