Way out in the Middle of Nowhere

Yes, that is what I look like to day. Not bad for a woman who had her gall bladder surgically removed yesterday eh? The saga of the gallstones is at an end. Yesterday I went to the hospital and Dr. Surgeon took them out. Actually I requested them too. Dr. Surgeon was giggling, but did plop them into a jar for me! We've decided to call them Fred and George. Yep, my stones are the Weasley twins. Today, I feel like the loser in a boxing match. I am very grateful and lucky to have a hubby who is taking excellent care of me. The laptop is perched on my reclining lap while I sip my first latte in two days. AHHH Latte. Ok, really this was to say yeah I'm ok and to show off the Ptarmigan. I felt a need for a get well knitting gift, so I bought the ptarmigan pattern by Jared flood. I like his designs; they are classic and not overly frilly. So I knitted this cowl in a few days from some recycled cashmere. I frogged a 50's style sweater for the yarn and it is so soft. I extende...

I don't remember where I found this picture online the first time, but it is a cute pic! Lots of the usual stuff going on around here: Knitting, sewing and harvesting. Hope all is well with you!

That's your hint of what will become Zoe. Forgive the graininess of the pictures; my cell does not like low light. I'm still knitting and charting. It's part of a new frenzy of creativity that I'm having. I've been creating new knitting patterns. The other patterns in the works are nook-kindle-ebook reader covers. About a month ago, I got myself a nook. I've loaded about 30 books onto it, some trashy romances, some Stephen King, some Diana Gabaldon. This is the wi-fi version. The browser is a bit fiddly, but I can spot-check my email quickly and get back to reading. The last book I read was "The Colorado Kid" By Stephen King. We've been watching the TV Series "Haven" on Sy Fy and I wanted to know how close it was to the book. It's not really close to the book, but I don't really mind. The book is such a short story, that it does lend itself to being like an introduction to the town of Haven. Update on the Gall Bladder: The su...

Image courtesy of Genesis Ultrasound. For the last 2 years or so, I've been battling a cranky gall bladder. In the dead of the night, I would wake with a gnawing pain right in the middle of my chest. It would gain in strength for a few hours and then subside, usually with a gurgling sound coming from my right side under the ribcage. I did some research and realized that it was my gall bladder and most likely these instances were when I passed a gall stone. Last Thursday, I had another episode that was different than the others. It was earlier in the evening and it would just not go away. I asked my hubby to take me to the emergency room. There, they took some blood, set up an appointment for an ultrasound the next morning, and gave me pain medication. There's really not much else they CAN do for a gall stone. I get my results on Monday, and I do hope that the gall bladder is empty or is filled with only a few more stones. If that's the case, I hope to persuade the doc...

OK, so it might not be the real fall, but it sure is much cooler outside. I am convinced that my 40+ years of living in Wisconsin have made me more attuned to warm than cold. I hate being too hot. There's only so much clothing I can take off before offending the public. I can always put more on though. The knitting is going well. I snagged a few coveted yarns at stitches: A skein of Kauni and a cone of Habu textiles silk/stainless steel. Stainless steel you ask? yes. It's a very thin yarn and I am knitting it on size 2 needles. I'll have to post pictures when I am finished with it. I had to knit another firefly to work out details in the chart. Tigger is modeling the firefly, knitted in one skein of Crazy Zauberball I got in a trade. I've ironed out the details, I'm polishing up the charts and I should be releasing the pattern to the knitting public next week. I do hope it goes well...

I couldn't write about it, until after I gave it away.... About a month ago, I started knitting a shawl based on what I thought was a lace pattern from a magazine. It's a common thing for me; see a pattern, picture the lace chart, then start knitting. This time, I was wrong...so horribly wrong. But it turned out cool! I present the mistake that I call Firefly. The yarn is a 50/50 mix of wool and silk in a great crimson color. I beaded the end with black beads. It turned out a lot better than I thought. Currently, there are three test-knitters testing the pattern for me, then I'm going to offer it for sale. It will be my first effort at writing my own pattern, which means...I'll be a bona fide designer!

Camp Washcloth While unpacking at the campsite during our last vacation, I realized that we had forgotten a washcloth for doing the dishes! So, while my husband was fishing off the back of the canoe, I knitted a washcloth in the front. Materials: Size 3 needles – I actually used two dpn's as they were the only ones I had with me. Yarn: Sample of Color Changing cotton by Wolle's Yarn Creations Gauge: Um, not really an issue with this pattern. A larger needle/yarn would only yield a larger washcloth or a more dense washcloth. CO 2 sts Pattern Row: K1, yo, k to end Repeat pattern row until there are 33 stitches on the needle. Now: Knit stockinette stitch for 6 rows knit Garter stitch for 6 rows Repeat 3 times, ending with stockinette rows To decrease: On Right Side: ssk, knit to end On Wrong Side: K2 tog, knit to end Repeat these two rows until two stitches remain, then bo 2 sts and weave in ends.