I can see!!!

**I originally wrote this post quite some time ago but never finished it, so here ya go**
Oh dear lord - I've had LASIK surgery since the last time I blogged. That's right I am currently typing this blog sans eye apparatus! And it was FREE! Let me start off by saying: Focal Point Vision is the BOMB!

For those of you who don't know me, don't know that I am not the bearer of false praise. I have a disease in which words do not come out of my mouth all edited and nice. I speak bluntly and honestly. I have a hard time hiding facial expressions when I have to say things edited and nice. I would be a bad poker player. So understand my praise of them is founded and not ONLY based on the fact that they just gave me LASIK for free.

With that some background: Focal Point Vision has ophthalmologists that are corneal specialists (this is the part of the eye effected when LASIK is performed people), so when another doctor screws up your cornea you are referred to Focal Point. They are top notch.
This means they are selective as well, if you are not a candidate for the procedure you think you are or are borderline they will discuss options tailored to you - if I had not been a good candidate, especially as a contest winner, they would not have performed LASIK on me. But luckily, I have 'wonderfully thick corneas' (per Dr. Maverick) so I was able to actually have the procedure.
I have the unique perspective to see Focal Point's operations as an outsider prior to the contest too so I am not totally biased.They performed my friend's much more serious/difficult procedure lens implants - when she did her research they were at the top for lens implant procedure. She LOVES the results. Do your own research and see what you find if you're in the market.

Focal Point Vision performs the following:
 LASIK, Laser PRK, INTACS, No Stitch Cataract Surgery - Crystalens, nanoFLEX, reSTOR, Toric, Corneal Implants, Glaucoma, Astigmatic Keratotomy (AK), and Anterior Eye Surgery.

This means they know an array of options and do not cookie-cutter you into a procedure not appropriate for you.

 

Alright, now lets move onto the good stuff:

 

The details.

 

If you're like me you understand the concept of LASIK but don't really know what it is or all the stuff surrounding LASIK. I received IntraLase method for creating the corneal flap and then the second step of LASIK was reshaping the cornea with an excimer laser.

 

Chew on the definition of 'excimer' for a bit - it's kinda Star Trek-y.

 

So, this process started by not wearing contacts for at least two weeks. We were in full blown allergy season and I couldn't wear my contacts all day starting about three weeks before the surgery day (over-achiever).

Then two days before the surgery we did a pre-op. They checked my prescription again, looked at my eyes to verify I hadn't been wearing contacts - just like a normal annual eye exam minus the air blow-y machine (thank god).

The day of: my appointment was scheduled super early (which was fine with me - get it knocked out). My dear sister agreed to wake up at the ass crack with me. She also made me breakfast because I was instructed to eat before I came since they provide drugs. It's kind of 'Captain Obvious' but you must have a driver since they are giving you medication and performing surgery on your peepers.
We arrived at the facility - Alamo Laser Center - which was super clean, had friendly staff, and were happy to see me even at that very early hour. I signed some paperwork, they handed me a valium and a cup of water, the staff checked my eyes again, Dr. Maverick came into an exam room to give me the run down of what was going to happen, and then we went into the operating room. From arrival to operating room was like 10-15 minutes. No phones from the time we walked into the facility - I even got my sister in trouble for taking a photo for me to share with Focal Point on my phone!

Now they go through all this multiple times before hand and you understand what they're saying, but you can't help but be shocked as it's all going on.
 

So in this operating room, there are two large machines - I come from a water lab background so they look like a really big GC - with a chair, like a dentist chair that reclines all the way, in the middle of the two machines. One of the machines does the cutting and the other does the fixing. You sit/lay down and your doctor is directly above your head. There were two assistants in the room (I believe). I was handed an 'operation friend' - who happened to be a teddy bear. Drops were put in my eyes as soon as I laid down and left to work while they finished setting up for a few minutes.

A suction cup was placed on my eye. Now this is a part I was kind of nervous about, I mean, who goes around attaching suction cups to their eyeballs, but it really was exactly how it sounds... they put a suction cup on your eyeball. There's a bit of pressure but it isn't as uncomfortable as you imagine. You get used to it.
Then you're immediately lined up with the 'cutting' machine (the IntraLase). You look into a light as the flap is cut. This is another portion of the procedure where the theory sounds really, really scary because in reality they are cutting your eye. But once again, it wasn't that bad. You hear the machine making noise but it doesn't register in your brain as being hurt.
I felt more on the first eye during the cutting stage than the second eye for whatever reason and the sensation wasn't so bad that I had to pull away - it was more of a burning sensation than any pain. At some point during the cutting, you lose what little 'vision' is there. Keep in mind this is happening in seconds. Once it's finished you're instructed to keep that eye closed, the suction cup is place on the other eye. Same song and dance.

You're looking at 2 -3 minutes at this point.

Next it's time to prep for the excimer laser - a lid speculum is used to keep your eye lids open and two little 'shields' are placed over your eyelashes. The 'shields' are kind of like band-aids because they are sticky on the backs and keep your eyelashes out of the way. They are placed over upper and lower. The flap that was just cut is pulled back with some tweezer like apparatus.
 

NOTE: I am slightly allergic to adhesives (as in I get red itchy bumps where band aids/athletic tape/medical tape are placed on my skin) so I had slight swelling the following day but it was almost completely un-swelled by my follow-up at 11am. I was the first person they had ever seen have that reaction so more than likely you are completely safe. I am simply a super weirdo. Also - I am sensitive/allergic to hypo allergenic makeups, sun screen, certain shampoos, and some laundry detergents - so seriously - believe me when I say I was unique here and that it was a very uncommon thing. BUT if you are allergic to band-aids and considering this procedure, speak up.
 

Then the excimer laser goes to work. This laser just made my eye tired - like after a long day of looking at a computer screen. The machine was tapping away while you once again focus on a light. This light sort of moves a bit and it's hard to know if you're supposed to follow it or maintain your focus where the light started out - your doctor coaches you through this part. I was assured during the pre-op that if I had an issue keeping my eyeball where it needed to be the machine was designed to cut off. I had a hard time following the first time - probably just because you don't really know what to expect and it is different than the first machine. Dr. Maverick talked me through it. After the first eye was complete he put the flap back down and there was a waiting time for the flap to 'lock in'. They remove the lid speculum and shields, put some drops in, and you close that eye. Repeat.
Once you've experienced the first eye, the second eye is easier because you understand what's about to happen. My anxiety was significantly lower on the second eye than the first. Plus I was able to ask Dr. Maverick about how I was doing between eyes. I am a firm believer in asking if you want to know - talk to your doctor.
The most amazing part was after the second eye was done, I stood up, was led into an exam room, opened my eyes in front of an eye chart, and I COULD SEE!!!!

The most amazing thing ever. My vision was instantly better.  



Craftiness returns!

Today Mary is twelve weeks old today!

We've started trying to get back into some of our old activities since Mary's settled into more of a routine. There are a couple of projects I really wanted to get done for Mary's nursery - one being a homemade pouf and the other is a hanger for the baby monitor to get it off the crib mattress.

Better Homes & Gardens had a DIY Pouf project that was all over Pinterest that I figured I would try. You can find instructions here.
It came out rather well, I think. Not an item you'd want to use during a pillow fight since it has a few pairs of Jamie's old jeans, lots of t-shirts, stuffing, scrap fabric, a full size lamp, the kitchen sink, and whatever else I could find to shove in there. They are not kidding when it says you'll need LOTS of stuffing.
It weighs a ton.

I had quite a bit of fabric left over and I've been wanting to make something to hang the monitor on to keep it off the crib mattress and get the cord out of baby reach. I had an idea in my head of how I wanted it to hang and just wasn't sure how it was going to work out. And you know how ideas in your head work out in practice....sometimes they don't always match.
So I went for it.


 I added a little flower stitch to give it something fun. Not that you can see it when the monitor is hanging on it, but I know it's there!

This is one example where what was in my head matched what happened in outside of my head. It hangs perfectly! I think it might be a new baby shower gift! I'm going to add another little 'pocket' to run the power cord through before plugging it into the monitor - this way once the baby gets older there isn't a chance for little fingers to grab the cord and pull on it.

Next I'm working on a car seat cover to keep Mary protected from the sun and wind. I pulled the pattern off Pinterest as well (found here). The 'instructions' are more like guidelines which I like because it leaves room for creativity.

 

I'm hoping to get back to knitting pretty soon!

 

Here's a photo from today to mark the twelfth week since Mary arrived!

 

 

A Stork Story

I originally started this post as a full disclosure of what happened the night Mary was born - play-by-play. It doesn't really seem like the way to go about telling the story though. At least not in this form....all out in the open. Telling the story of how Mary arrived touches very closely to the death of my mother (who she happens to be named after) and having those experiences looking back at me from the black and white text on a computer screen is slightly too exposed at the moment. I'll have to work up to that post. I'll keep working on it and hopefully be able to click 'Publish' once I get it all straightened out.

For now, I'll give a shortened version without so much of the first-hand narrative.

I went into labor naturally - starting around 12:30 am, building up to regular consistent contractions about four minutes apart around 2:30am, went to the hospital around 10:30am, decided at about noon that I was going to need an epidural, didn't get the epidural until about 2pm, didn't start pushing until about 8pm, we took a 20 minute break around 10pm or so, and three sets of pushes later Mary was born. It was a very LONG labor. Typically these 'breaks' don't work this way (with the baby arriving afterward), but given the fact I hadn't eaten since the evening before and was going on about four hours of sleep it worked for us. The issue was the hospital staff and my doctor were planning for a C-section, not a delivery ten minutes after our little break. So, once Mary was finally crowning, the doctor was about 10 minutes away and the nurses instructed me to stop pushing in order to wait for her arrival. The issue was that Mary's heartrate began to drop drastically during those very long mintues. There was some discussion over delivering or not that ended with my doctor arriving at the nick of time and immediately delivering. Mary was born with meconium present, the cord wrapped around her neck, and she was not breathing.
She was 'bagged' (I'm no doctor so you're going to have to just follow along) and within minutes was breathing. By the time they moved her to the nursery she was fighting the tubes so they removed them and she was breathing pressurized room air within minutes of being born. Shortly after, she was stablized and everything appeared fine. Jamie ran to grab me food. My doctor came into my room to tell me there might be an issue with Mary - it appeared she was having a seizure and she would need to be air lifted to San Antonio. I got to make the phone call to Jamie to inform him to come back to the hospital as soon as he could.
The neonatal specialist came in to explain the details of her condition. Jamie got back just in time for this update. The short version of what was explained to us was her posturing and movements could be a seizure - the equipment to verify this was not available at the hospital we were at - if she was having a seizure it could be a sign of something more seriously wrong (brain damage). The procedure for minimizing organ damage called 'cooling' must be performed within six hours after birth for the best results. Mary's test results for pH and other indicators were borderline to indicate potential damage. The neonatal specialist decided it would be best to transfer her to San Antonio in order to perform the cooling procedure and where an EEG could be performed. Mary was brought into my room for about five minutes by the airflight crew before being flown to San Antonio - this was the first time I was able to see her. Typically you're able to spend a bit more time, but the weather was deteriorating and they had a very small window to get her back to San Antonio. An ambulance came to transfer me to San Antonio - we arrived around 4 am.
The NICU was still getting Mary hooked up and performing tests and asked that I wait to come to see her. Jamie had driven home given the fact that he had also been up for over 24 hours and could not be driven (by helicopter or otherwise) to San Antonio - it was safer for him to get some sleep and head up to SA in the morning. My sister, Heather, who had been at the New Braunfels hospital with me until midnight or one in the morning drove up to SA to meet me there and stay with me. We met up with her, checked into my room, and we slept for a couple of hours.
The order of things gets fuzzy from here (probably due to the lack of sleep), but I went home Sunday night and the next seven days were spent driving back and forth to downtown San Antonio (a 45 minute drive one way). It was very hard but we kept receiving positive news from each test. Her EEGs all came back normal, her clavical that was broken was healing very quickly, she was gaining weight back, she was responsive. We could see her improvements each day.

I cannot express the relief we felt when we finally got to bring her home. I sat in the back seat of the truck with her and couldn't help but cry from the overwhelming happiness I was feeling just by being able to bring her home. We were a family.

Now, we're adjusting to the craziness that having a little person brings into a household. We are extremely lucky however in that she is sleeping 8-10 hours a night already and eats like a horse.

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Nesting my ass

Nesting....

This word offends me. It offends me so much that I almost feel it's wrong to be offended by it.

What exactly does this mean??

According to dictionary.com it has nothing to do with being pregnant:
verb (used with object)

8. to settle or place (something) in or as if in a nest: to nest dishes in straw. 

9. to fit or place one within another: to nest boxes for more compact storage.

According to articles about pregnancy nesting is: "Reorganizing the closets, alphabetizing the spice rack, and thwarting dust-bunny breeding efforts under the bed? Welcome to a pre-labor ritual that helps get your home ready for the baby, and helps you pass the time."

Here's my problem: that definition above is me....all the time. I always alaphabetize spice racks and cds and dvds and worry about dust bunnies under the bed. And lets not even get me started on closets....closets are my favorite rooms in a house and they deserve LOTS of attention.

So why, just because I'm pregnant do these household chores become a label?

I read another article (that I cannot find right now) that said nesting "was preparing a place for your baby to sleep". Who doesn't prepare a place for their baby to sleep? Better yet, who wouldn't? If I wasn't thinking about providing a place for the little thing to sleep, wouldn't I be unfit? So, how is a logical thought process for preparing for something as life changing as adding another human being into your household labelled as 'nesting'??

Have you ever watched a bird build a nest? I have. They carry it out with devotion and it happens rather quickly.

Perhaps I'm offended by this term because I am constantly trying to improve our house in everyway - organization, cleanliness, asthetically - and think it is completely outrageous that all that hard work to improve our household should not be watered down to one measly word: 'nesting'.

I'm not nesting. I'm preparing for a child. When you buy a dog, do you make sure it has a water bowl, food bowl, a place to sleep, and somewhere to be safe (like a kennel)? Yes, so why isn't that called nesting?

More irritating to me is when people apply the 'nesting' term to my knitting. No, I am not knitting because I am 'nesting'. I'm knitting because I like to knit gosh darn it. I've been knitting for almost three years and let me tell you, I have NOT been nesting for that long!

Anyway, I think this is why I haven't knitted the poor new little girl anything yet.

I hope she knows I love her anyway.

I still have a month.

Non-Knitting Things

This weekend was filled with non-knitting things.

I won my facebook contest for free LASIK surgery from Focal Point Vision Correction! I'm in disbelief that it's true, but I went Friday for the consultation and it's true. It's going to happen next year. If you're thinking about LASIK and you're in the San Antonio area, you should definitely go check them out. I'm not just saying that because I won either - a very dear friend of mine, Kat, had her lens implants done through them (much more serious than plain old LASIK). The professionalism and friendliness of the staff at the office and at the surgery center was the best I'd ever experienced (I was her driver). After she had her surgery, I looked up the doctors online because it struck me as odd that they were MDs. Difference between an optometrist and ophthalmologist - OD and MD. Look it up - very interesting stuff. Anyway - Focal Point Vision Correction - top notch ophthalmologist and staff. I'll keep you posted on all the goings on when we get down to the surgery time. It'll be good stuff - promise!

I am working on Christmas knitting but haven't finished anything yet, so gimme time on the knitting stuff. I'll get back to it!

We nailed up baseboards in the master bedroom, cut the cove trim, and painted it as well. We still need two pieces of corner trim. Then we'll have to cut, paint, and hang those plus fill the nail holes, caulk the seams, and finish up with a quick touch-up paint job. The main bedroom part of the room will have the trim completed!

Before we move in there we'll just need to replace outlet plugs and light switches and put on face plates! That is rather exciting!

Of course the bathroom will still be mostly unfinished, but we are sort of coming into a time crunch here. You see, we are pregnant. Six months, one week, to be exact. So this master bedroom push is in an effort to be out of our room so the baby can live there. Plus, what good is a master bedroom if the 'parental units' don't live in it?! Some things are supposed to be a certain way. Being a parental unit and occupying the master bedroom of a house is how it's supposed to be.

Whew! Now that that's out in the open - let's discuss this parental unit thing. I was never someone who envisioned myself being a 'parental unit' - meaning I wasn't one of those girls who wanted to grow up and start a family. I wanted to grow up and get a job. Strange - I know - I was a weird kid. I never really remember processing 'having kids' as part of the growing up scenario in my head. Here's the deal though, it's extremely strange to find yourself meeting the expectations of 'growing up'. It creeps up on you and you wake up one day thinking 'Holy crap, I just became a grown up.'
And you just sort of chew on it for a bit.
Because it didn't happen overnight... you don't just become a grown up. You grew up.
I still feel the same inside as I did as a little girl dreaming of what I'd become one day. Deal is - today is one day. And today, I'm on my way to becoming a mom. Weirds me out that I haven't reached my job goal but I'm going to be a part of a parental unit which is definitely a 'grown up' status marker.

#1 question from random people about being pregnant - 'how is it?' Well, it's happening... And I don't mean that to be a snot. But.... it's just happening. I don't really have anything to do with it. There's a living growth inside of me that going to become a human being - it's weird.
I'm not a fan of being limited by what I can do - and not in the 'I'm pregnant and can't clean' - I mean I can't clean every room in the house non-stop top-to-bottom from Friday night to Sunday evening (while cooking, baking, bathing the dogs, and doing some yard work that involves a chainsaw) and not pay for it somehow the next day. I can't go run three miles (as someone who doesn't workout regularly at ALL) and not hurt myself or feel like I'm going to pass out.
I never really thought of myself as 'extreme' but the biggest answer to 'how is it?' would be it's showing me I operate on extremes. I want to finish what I start without stopping and being pregnant has limited the ability to finish things without stopping. I'm not sure I'm explaining this properly, but hopefully you get the gist.

So, you may think - wow this chick is not digging this being pregnant thing - well, I'm not. I'm also not excited about how the pregnancy thing ends - childbirth. The logistics get me all hung up.
But I am digging the fact that there is about to be a small person in the world that is going to be a mix of the person I love the most in this world and myself. I am digging the potential of this little person to become whatever they wish and hoping they become a good person. I am digging that my husband is going to be a really great dad and that I'll be able to watch firsthand.

I know I've said this before - every life event is bitter sweet for me. I always get excited and the reality that my mom and dad are not here to share in it knocks me back down. This life event has been EXTREMELY hard on the knocking back down side. Questions about family medical history, complications your mom had during her pregnancy, people asking if your parents are excited, not having anyone to ask some questions about being pregnant who has the same gene pool as you - it's been heavy on the knocking down side.
Don't get me wrong - our extended family is excited and happy for us. My 'adopted' family have been AMAZING! Tears come to my eyes just thinking about the kindness, helpfulness, and happiness that has poured out of this family toward us. I cannot thank them enough.
But I still miss my mom. :P

Christmas is fast approaching!

Howdy!

The Christmas stockings were delivered to a very happy customer! They came out a little different than her original stocking, but they are similar enough she seemed happy with them!

I'm in complete disbelief that is it December already. I think mostly because it was 85 degrees F here in Texas...makes it hard to get into the Christmas mood/listen to Christmas music/even think about putting up a Christmas tree when it's practically summer outside still.
Good thing I am realistic enough to recognize that regardless of the heat, December is here and that means Christmas is right around the corner!

I've been working on Christmas project for that very reason. I've almost got four items completed.
This Holiday Lights Tam and scarf (the title has something to do with rain drops) both from different Interweave Knits magazines.

I'm trying to work on my lace knitting skills. The scarf was the main attempt and came out rather well. The tam was chosen because I've never worked with beaded knitting plus I've never knitted a hat. I really enjoyed the beaded knitting and the pattern was fairly simple.

 

In my typical style - I had to look up 'tam'. Apparently, tam is short for tam o'shanter and is a nickname for the traditional Scottish bonnet worn my men. This tam is obvious a very femine styled hat. How interesting is that word!

This beret and mitts are both from Crochet Today! magazines. The beret is in the 2010 holiday gifts issue - which seems to be a really good issue because I've used several patterns out of it for holiday gifts!

 



 The mitts are my first time doing crochet cables. A very intriguing concept and easy enough to work.The fact that these mitt work up quickly helps. I was super surprised how fast they worked up!

My goal for this weekend was originally to get the baseboard trim hung in the master bedroom, but Jamie worked this weekend so we didn't get around to it. So, I changed my goals and decided the goal would be to reupholster my mother's rocking chair.
I forgot to take a 'before' picture until after I had already removed the cushion, but you get the idea.

Before:

After:

 A close up of the fabric.

 Heather went with me to try to find fabric. This fabric was the original stuff we both liked, but I didn't buy it that day because we thought it wouldn't be big enough (didn't bring the cushion dementions with me). I ended up coming home with a reddish/orangish retro styled fabric that is super fun. Even though I like the first fabric we picked out - I couldn't stop thinking about this fabric. So I went back to the store and picked it up. I really do like it. The lightness of it really makes the darkness of the chair pop. It's really gorgeous! This was our first go at upholstering somthing. There are mistakes, but it came out okay. I'm sure this fabric won't last the 30 years the original fabric lasted, but I'm okay with that.

In non-crafty news, we took our annual trip out to Mitre in November. We had lots of fun hiking and hanging out at Artwalk. We didn't purchase any artwork this year, but I always enjoy looking at all the shops!
Erica and Loren joined us this year as well. I was so happy they had a good time and seemed to appreciate the less populated area of Alpine and the great outdoor opportunities camp provides.

Well, that's all for now. I'll keep you all posted on my crafty Christmas projects as they are completed!

Happy knitting!
-Em

Gettin' shit done!!

It is October and these puppies are completed!!! I doubted myself in July. I couldn't imagine ever getting them finished. But I stuck it out and completed they are!  I cannot even tell you all how excited I am these are finished! They came out pretty cute too!

I was so excited they were done. I did this:

IN THREE DAYS!
These are the Christmas socks that I sort of gave my sister - she only got one at Christmas, remember? Yep, finished those up too!

I think I've got my knitting bug back! I'm so freaking excited!

The only problem now is that I've run out of incomplete projects to finish so I need to start a new project.... So digging through patterns it is!

While I was downloading these pictures I found this (that I had forgotten I'd done this summer):

It's a door. A nice door. Our house currently has plain Jane doors and our goal is to eventually upgrade them to this style to add a little character. I hung this one on the master bedroom closet. First solo door hang (my dad walked me through the last one I hung). It went rather well. I did it on a Sataurday while the other half was working....he was impressed when he got home.

Ok, it's totally past my bedtime, but I wanted to share my excitement with the world.

Good night and happy knitting!

-E

Christmas....a little early!

Happy Tuesday!

This is me....blogging.

It's been super busy lately. There are multiple projects keeping me busy at work (big and small). Some are going to take months and some are less time consuming. We've been fighting Brisco getting old on us - he got an eye infection and now, a month later, he has a hot spot on his face that was/is festering - and shuffling him to the vet around work schedules.

 

We've been working on the master bedroom again. The floor is laid.





The sink area is primed and has thin plywood laid in preparation of the pressed tin ceiling tiles that are going on the ceiling. Copper is checking up on me!

That's what's been keeping us busy most weekends!

 

Plus all that, I've been working on the project I was hired to do for a very nice lady. Her mother had made her and her sister Christmas stockings from a Bernat pattern. She wants her children to have the same Christmas stockings! I love carrying on traditions! I was able to find a reproduced pattern on Ravelry that was published with Bernat's permission.

I was trying to not publish pictures of the work until I was finished, but it's taking me so long that I'm afraid it's going to appear that I've given up knitting completely!

This pattern has been a challenge in perfecting intarsia and adding the fact that a lot of the white doesn't allow you to carry a darker color yarn behind it. It's extremely important to work the pattern correctly or it doesn't come out looking very good. I got all the way to the candy cane in the middle on the first stocking and had to rip the entire thing out! I've since reknitted it and it looks way better. Check it out:

 



The second one is getting really really close to being complete.

 

The final product is slightly longer than the original stocking knitted for the mother of these children, but I checked and rechecked the pattern and I couldn't find anywhere that I added rows to the pattern. So hopefully, it's going to be okay.

 

Other than that, I took Kat to have a lense implanted behind her iris because she doesn't meet the qualificaitons for Lasik. The eye center she used is having a contest for free Lasik and I've entered! If you're reading this, please visit Focal Point Vision's facebook page and like the photo I posted here. I have never won anything in my life and this would be the best thing ever! I tried to get Lasik a couple of years back - qualified but couldn't swing the procedure financially. With the house project and everything else it's going to be a while before I'm able to justify Lasik. I would appreciate any likes from anyone and would also be in complete disbelief if I actually qualified and then were chosen! So help me out please!!

 

I also just finished another 'Painting with a Twist' class. Those are so fantastic! I love them. I'm not quite as crazy about the painting this time around, but it's still super fun! I can't wait for the next time!

 

Bedtime is sneaking up on me so that's all I have for tonight!

Happy knitting!!

 

-E

Back in the saddle again...

I got my very own horse when I was nine. She was a white faced, blue eyed, pinto horse. She was only 14.5 hands high, but I didn't let anyone tell me she was a pony. She loved to run and loved her for running.
We often got scolded for running on the far side of the house - 'so my parent's wouldn't know'. Come to find out, a galloping horse makes quite the ruckus that can be heard through the walls of a house if you happen to be feet from said wall - my parents were not fooled by our stealth.
I was allowed to walk Sarah around the house. But Sarah and I loved running so once we got past all the windows on the side of the house that contained the 'family rooms' (kitchen, living room, etc.) we would step it up a bit and always slow back down once we got around to the other side. One day, Sarah decided to make a break for it and took off at a dead run past the house. She came unnatrually close to a short tree that used to be in the center of the loop at the end of the driveway and in my head I looked like a trick rider hanging off the side of my saddle at a dead run. I made it past the tree without being swiped off and was rejoicing in my head at my trick rider skills when she stopped dead in her tracks and threw me over her neck.
She stood there next to me smelling me as if bewildered by the fact that I was face planted on the ground and not giggling with glee from her back.
It took me a second to get my breath back. By that time, my dad had collected the horse and my mom was helping me off the ground. "Well, back up you go," my mom said. It was the last thing I wanted to do. My whole body hurt from having the air shoved out of it from the instant stopping power of the ground.
I got back on and we WALKED around the house.
This was not the first time I fell off a horse and not the last. Sarah had a knack for attempting to ditch me on the surrounding natural growth - she dropped a friend and I off on a tree and clotheslined me on a grapevine just to name a few. What I learned from this first experience was that I had to get back in the saddle.

That's how it is today with this blog. I've been dreading coming back to my online world. I had a HUGE issue in high school and college with writer's block. As a result, I've convinced myself that I loathe writing. In all honesty, I don't loathe writing. I loathed the process that higher education wanted me to use in writing. Anyway, that's another can of worms.
So, today I was thinking about horses (as I often do during the coarse of my day, sitting behind a computer screen at a desk in an all white room thinking of the beautiful things I've seen and done from a saddle) and it came to me that I needed to get 'back in the saddle again'.

Here I am, entering back into the online world. I have been working on a project I was hired to do - christmas stockings! I have completed the knitting part of the first one. I'm working all the ends in and doing some finishing. It should take me WAY less time to get through the second one. Confession: I had gotten very close to being done and ripped the whole thing out two weeks ago because I hated the way it looked. It was messy.

My life was messy for a while during my adjustment period to a new job and crazy stuff that was going on this spring. It totally showed up in my knitting. I have settled a bit more into the swing of the new job and life is slowly returning to normal.

And so should this blog.

I'm back people.

Focus

I'm having a hard time staying focused. There is a LOT to do before this weekend. Things have been so busy lately. We've had bachelor party, bridal shower followed up by 'girls night/bachelorette party', we went to Houston in a day for a First Birthday party, and now it's nose-to-the-grindstone-week-before-the-big-event!
I'm working on a slideshow at the moment for the rehearsal dinner of Erica and Loren over the years. I freaking LOVE old photos. It has been great getting to thumb through our best friends' old childhood photos and put them in 'order'.
In my spare time, I've managed to get some craftiness done.
For the bridal shower, I went with crochet because of the limited time frame. I made some earrings...that I didn't take a photo of before giving them. Sorry folks. But they were these:

From crochettoday.com

Mine didn't look as nice as these, but I had to adapt the pattern for smaller hoops. I want to keep messing with the pattern to see if I can get a set to look as nice. They still came out pretty darn cute though!

I also am still working on this sarong:

From crochettoday.com

I'm using yellow because it matches the bathing suits Erica has better than turquoise. I'm hoping to finish that up this week too.

I have also resorted to carrying the socks with me everywhere in the hopes I'll have a spare moment to work on them. Don't mind the Marry Poppins bag - my husband HATES this bag. It's pretty neverending and is hard to find things in. But I have insider knowledge that I may be getting a smaller nicer purse for my birthday. ;)

I have worked a few rows here and a few rows there, but it still doesn't look like I've made progress. I am determined to finish these socks. And I'm currently looking for a scarf pattern for the rest of this same yarn in the stash. They are not destined to become another set of socks.

Additionally, I've cast on some Christmas stockings (yes Christmas in April - I'm working in advance) on my new circular needles! I've been hired to whip two up for a woman from Floresville. I'm really looking forward to the pattern - its vintage and cute. Plus it's going to use the intarsia skills I taught myself when making the nerd coasters. I'll be posting progress on these as I go - after the whirlwind of this weekend is past.

I also managed to try my hand at embroidery - Erica pinned a picture of a wedding date embroidered on the bottom layers of a wedding dress in blue. It was fun and came out pretty good! Something I'd never done.

I've also managed to get some burning done this past weekend and social time spaced throughout the last couple of weeks.

Alrighty, lots to do, not a lot of time to do it in. So, happy knitting!

-E

Yarny Products!!!

Hello, Hello, Hello!!!
I am still alive, well, and knitting/being crafty. It has been a month since my last post!
Things got a little crazy for awhile. The weekend after my last post was Jamie's birthday and his brother's future baby's baby shower. The following weekend we had a party to celebrate getting married.We had an excellant turn out and it was so good to see everyone! One of Jamie's best friend and Jamie barbequed the brisket and sausage and we had help from lots of family and friends on all the sides. My aunt flew down and it was great to hang out with her. Lots of my extended family was able to make it and it has been years since all of them have been at the same place at the same time. I didn't take any pictures at the party. :( But others did and I will get them.
Jamie's grandfather passed away that same weekend and the funeral was the Monday after the party. I took my aunt to the airport after the service - she was super good and went with us to the funeral. Wedding party and funeral all in one trip! She's a trooper!
That week Jamie became a brand new uncle (and I'm an aunt again!)! She was a bit early so we spent most of the weekend helping Jamie's brother finish up an outside pen for his dogs.
I crocheted her a beany. I'm thinking it's going to be a bit big for now, but good thing she's growing not shrinking!

The rest of that weekend we put the first coat of color on the boys' (Jamie and his brother) crib that his neice is going to use.

I have since added another coat on the solid panel ends and railings, but the railings need more. It was a very light blue, so I want to make sure it gets good coverage.

Last weekend, Jamie won a raffle at work for tickets to Bugs Bunny at the San Antonio Symphony at the Majestic Theater downtown San Antonio! It was lots of fun to get all dressed up and go to the theater! He had never been to the Majestic and I freaking LOVE that theater. It's gorgeous. We decided that if we ever won the lotto, we're buying a suite.
 
I had already made plans to go to a Painting with a Twist event with some friends. We had lots of fun painting while sipping wine. I think we're going to have to do another round soon. I'll confess I have contemplated picking up painting as another crafty hobby! What do you think?!

This is the 'Whimsy Tree'. It's way easier than it looks. Promise. They have lots of different paintings to choose from and a bunch of them are super cool!!

Oh the socks....I'm still working on the socks. I am going to finish them. One day.

Just a little further to go!


Other things that have happened:
We ordered more flooring for the master bedroom project thanks to our family and friends:

I must finish the crib project since there is a baby that is cribless at the moment and then I will think about laying flooring. It will happily sit there until then.

A certain someone (knowing my true passion) gave us a gift certificate to Knitpicks.com! I used it to invest in some much needed knitting supplies...I might have also used this certificate to leverage a little extra splurge on some other items...thank goodness my new husband already knows my weakness for yarny goodness!

There are lots of those blocking mats behind all this stuff - I'm looking forward to actually blocking like I'm supposed to now that I have the tools to do so! The yarn is a cotton linen blend...I'm thinking cardigan/sweater. The small double pointed needles are wooden...I will be taking them on my next plane ride. The small pouch in the front is holding metal tapestry needles and have already paid for themselves when I used them to finally sew in all the ends of the sweater project. It has been washed finally and nothing came apart. I'll have to take a picture of the ends all sewn in since it is officially finished.

I will do my best to blog more regularly now that things are settled...well, maybe after mid-April (after Erica & Loren's wedding) when things really do settle. But anyway I will make an honest go at it!

Have a great weekend everyone!
-E



Busy Life

I feel like a horrible blogger.
At the moment, I am a horrible blogger.
I have no pictures to share - not that I haven't done picture worthy things - at the moment.
I have not completely fallen off the deep end and given up knitting/crochet. I promise.
___________________________________________________________________________
I have just found a picture to share!! This blog is becoming better already!

This is the Birthday Socks, given to my dear friend Erica. She only received one sock originally. I have since finished sock number two and given it to her. She no longer has cold feet! I love this yarn (It's Kroy FX Sock yarn)

This is one of the Christmas socks, for my sister Heather. She only received one sock at Christmas, yes, December 25th 2011. Her feet are less cold because she owns my first ever socks, but she doesn't have fun, pretty socks to keep her feet warm. I am farther along than this - I have completed the leg and the flap of the gusset/flap heel. I have not started the foot, which is going to take me forever to complete. But I will.I promise.

I am a better blogger!

I also have some other news:

I do wear dresses...sometimes...when the occasion calls for it.

Like when you get married! Which is what Jamie and I just finished doing in the photo above!

We agreed a long time ago we wanted to marry each other.  Recently, we've been feeling.... paused. Everything was hinging on how we wanted it to be. We had created in our minds how things were going to be. To the point where it felt like we were just..on pause..waiting for the time when we could make things in real life match what was in our minds.
I know, it's a silly way to live. I was feeling like I was going to wake up one day and have missed life all because we couldn't do things like our mental snapshot.We started talking about missing life and he felt the same way. We decided this is what we needed to do. To just do it. It's not perfect and it's not really how we wanted it to be, but the end result is the same. We agreed we were tired of waiting for the end result.
So there ya have it. The big news.

And no. It's not any different than the other six years we've been together. Nothing has changed. We got all our knock-down-drag-out fighting done the first couple of years we were together - you could ask our friends - I'm sure they have some good stories that even I don't remember. We survived, worked through it, have learned a lot about each other, and more about ourselves. Our daily lives are exactly as they have been only now, our last names match.

I've been doing some redecorating in the house while getting ready for a gathering and once things calm down a bit I'll share some of that. Wish me luck in trying to get Heather's socks done by the end of February.
Happy knitting!
E

To Lace or Not to Lace

I have an urge to create something lacy.

You see, I received these absolutely beautiful needles for Christmas (from my fantastic significant other) that just beg for lace to be on them.

This picture doesn't really do them justice, but I am an awful blogger as evident by my lack of blogging. I'll be sure and take photo of them in person and post it, cause seriously, they're beautiful.


I have a ball of yarn that is for lace making and, if you'll remember, I attempted to cast on a scarf to no avail. Does all lace look funny until blocked? Should I just go for it?

I must get through the 'sock from hell' of infinate stockinette stitch made of the tiniest yarn ever which will never become another pair of socks in my household. One of the pairs of 'one sock gifts' from Christmas. This set of socks will be one of a kind - seriously. The remaining balls in my stash are destined to become some other object of non stockinette stitch nature. I had every intention of getting it done before the end of January, but I am not so sure about that goal seeing as I'm not even past the heel of the thing yet.

I will keep you posted.
-E

I survived...barely

Hi! I have been on holiday hiatus trying to be productive outside the blog-o-sphere. It's been a whirlwind of shopping, birthday parties, Christmas celebrations, New Years celebrations, and all around good fun.
It is really hard to post on a knitting blog when you're trying to ensure everyone has knitted goodness under the tree. So, I did not blog. Sorry, I'll be better next year, I promise.
I tried really hard to get my holiday shopping done early this year by early I mean not Christmas Eve and I did okay, except for one holiday gift that I just couldn't remember to pick up. I typically do most of the Christmas shopping by most I mean I do not have to shop for myself thank goodness because Jamie doesn't like people a whole lot and Christmas shopping is guarenteed large crowds - this year even though Jamie wanted to go with me, he worked lots of overtime up to Christmas and could not come along until Christmas Eve. I did however get to do a bunch of my holiday shopping with Erica and that was great fun since we do not spend time together as much as we used to.
It was during these shopping trips I realized there was no way in hell I was going to get my holiday socks completely knitted in time for Christmas. The weekends were booked and I was already running ragged trying to get sock knitting done in the evenings. I called my sister who I knew wouldn't mind and told her she would only have one sock under the Christmas tree. And my niece, Sam, also had only one sock under the Christmas tree. She did not receive the warning and thought I had totally lost my mind by leaving one sock out of the carefully wrapped package she opened Christmas morning. :)
We had a First Birthday party with Baby Luke - who received all kinds of fun toys. We wore birthday hats and had great fun watching the new experiences Luke had during a first birthday party. Good times.
I was given a batch of Amish Friendship Bread and just in time for New Years had a loaf to enjoy while we were out of town.
In all this craziness, we finally broke down and bought me a newer car. After lots and lots of looking like over a year, I had decided it was time to let my 2001 Ford Ranger (which has 235,000 miles on it, has never had any major parts replaced, and continues to run like a trooper) have a little rest. I have been driving this vehicle for ten years now and felt like I was cheating on the poor thing when I pulled into the driveway with my newer car! It has been the best vehicle one could ask for - never leaving me stranded except for the times I tried to drive 300 miles on a quarter tank of gas, but really that's my fault not the Ranger's but Jamie, being a mechanic, kept telling me I was pushing my luck, that when it decided to finally die it would be without warning and I would be stranded. Which anyone with a high mileage vehicle understands it's always sort of like gambling when your trusty transportation will become not-so-trusty. The Ranger will do some work at the house and occasionally transport me to work. It's been a damn good truck.
Christmas went off with out a hitch - the nerd coasters were well received. I was told I should write the pattern down and post it on ravelry. I'm throwing around the idea. The helmet liner was well received also. As were the single socks with the second promised at a later date. We had lots of laughter and fun.
We were invited/decided to spend New Years at Lake Brownwood with Kat, Heather, and Noah. We packed up the dogs and headed that way. I must admit, I knew we would be following my sister. Heather, who has been to Kat's family cabin multiple times, and did not bother to mapquest the directions to see just how far this place was. This is not a good idea if your other half likes to know just how far, how long, and what direction your final destination is. It also isn't very helpful if you have invited some other friends to join you and they need to know how far, how long, and what direction your final destination is. But everything worked out well, we played board games, ate good food, laughed - lots, and shot off some fireworks. It was relaxing and restful. Good times were had by all. Kat also received her socks since she told me I could hand deliver them and loved them! And she is a woman after my heart - she gave me yarn in return!
I went ahead and took yesterday off work because I figured I'd need some time to get things in order at home since we'd been doing all this running around before and during the holidays. And it's a good thing I did because all I did was sleep. Not very productive, but it was needed.
I also learned there is a new baby for the new year! Expecting mom #1 (or #2 from the blogs of baby blankets) is now a proud mommy with a little girl. I plan on visiting baby and mom after work today. Very excited for their family!

Well, that is everything in a nut shell. I will be posting finished socks as I work through them - so you guys can see what I was working on.
Happy New Year to you all!

'Coasting' along

I only have 18 days left to get all my Christmas knitting done! AHHHH! I did my best to stay up late last night and get the nerd coaster project finished. I got the last one started and almost halfway complete before my eyes and brain retaliated and forced me to bed.

Here's what we have so far:

The rebel ones have been blocked and even though they are all very different sizes - I am telling myself that it is okay and I can make a new batch of four after Christmas if required. They blocked out close to the same so they'll just have to do - this pattern was not my favorite.

The empire symbol looked very very intimidating, but has been way fun to knit. Probably because I'm using the same yarn for both colors and am not having the same issues with sizing because of that fact. Plus, it's interesting and that makes it fun.

Pretty close to finished!

I forgot to take a photo of the finished socks, but they are complete. I just need to package them up and send them west!

It's finally getting cold here so I've been feeling an urgency about knitting - I know why people who have long winters enjoy knitting so much now!

I'll keep ya'll posted on all the holiday projects!

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Today is a special day, not just because of Pearl Harbor although in my heart it secretly pleases me that the rest of the country mourns with me - that sounds way more horrible than I mean it - I promise but because fifteen years ago today was the most tragic day of my life. The day my mother was hit by a car and killed while out walking. Losing someone close to you is always hard, but it is so much harder when it is sudden and without warning. I also lost my father in 2006, but he was sick and I knew he was dying, so I do not say one with worse without knowing. She was a wonderful, caring, outgoing person and a fabulous mom. She cooked, baked, sewed, quilted, crocheted, knit, hung wallpaper, painted, stenciled, laid tile, hung trim, worked hard - gardened, could handle a chainsaw, pull brush, change a tire, drive standard, make ceramics, and was never afraid to try something new.
My childhood was innocent and sheltered as it should be. I remember with fondness all the fun things we did as a family and the wonderful opportunities my parents went out of their way to provide us. She was the driving force behind those opportunities and I cannot express how much I cherish the short amount of time I had with her. She taught me so many things, but the biggest lesson she instilled - before I was even a teenager - was that I could do anything - It might be hard, but hard work pays off.
I remember being told to look up words in the dictionary that my sister, father, and mother used if I didn't know what they meant. And we did look them up, together. She taught us knowing where to find an answer was more important than knowing the answer. A very important life skill that has brought me where I am today.
Everyday I carry her memory, but today, I share that carried memory, just for a moment, with you.

Best socks I've ever made

I started another pair of socks. They are by far coming out better than any other sock I've made to date.

So, what makes it so special?

Okay okay okay - I was trying to take the photo above and circle all the cool parts that are better than all my other socks, but I am retarded and cannot do that, so decriptive words are going to have to do. Sorry folks.

Well, there are a few things - 1) the interestion of the heel flap and foot part is knit better which means there isn't a little hole there like the other socks I've knit. 2) the increases and decreases at the arch, toe, and heel shaping are much better done which also mean less hole-i-ness. 3) I have forced myself to pay attention to my tension for the foot rounds and have virtually eliminated the jog that is normally in the center where my 1st and 3rd needle are in the middle of that large section of stockinette stitch. 4) I found matching sections of yarn for both socks so they have the same color order.

Look at me... all improving... and stuff.

I'm liking the results. This particular pair of socks is going to my dear friend Kat in Midland when they are complete. I am working through the foot section at the moment - I took this photo earlier this week and have been a very very bad blogger because I have only just got around to posting now. I know you all will forgive me...surely...if not, it doesn't matter because it is what it is. :)

With that being said. I must finish some socks. And start another pair - after all I bought an entire bag of sock yarn! WOot!

This is the worst photo I've possibly ever taken...

This is the worst photo I've possibly ever taken and let other people see - don't judge me for it - it's all I have to show you the progress. I'm dedicating myself to better picture taking. Promise.

Yep, horrible picture but it's of the finished sweater/vesty thing. It is supposed to be my size but it looks like I pushed down some smaller person and stole thier vest - which is why I don't really care that it's a bad picture cause it hides just how small the thing is. So, I'm thinking it's going to one of my friends who is slightly smaller than me.

This past weekend we loaded up the dogs and headed west. By west, I mean Alpine/Ft Davis area, to Camp Mitre Peak. CMP is a girl scout camp that is the best thing since sliced bread. And you know how much I love bread! It is between Alpine and Ft Davis and it looks like this:

See? More beautiful than sliced bread!
This was Jamie's first time west of SA and he loved it - mostly that there were less people crowding up the place and the openness. This was the second year we met there for climbing and the annual Artwalk. One of Jamie's best friends lives in the area and joins us, so it's extra special because we get to hang out with him.
We are looking for some acerage in the area. Too bad there aren't very many jobs cause I think we established on our drive back that we'd both pick up and move out there in a heartbeat. It's lovely.
We also purchased a small piece of artwork and found some fantastic pottery mugs. There was good food and good company. It just wasn't long enough.
I took knitting with me and every intention to get some knitting done, but with three large dogs making the trip with us I didn't knit a single stitch. They loved exploring and hanging out with everyone. Here's Copper, cause Jamie couldn't get the other two to look at him long enough to get a good picture.

I did get to play with my camera a bit off 'Auto' mode. That was lots of fun. I am making an effort to learn how to use all the functions of my Canon Powershot. 'All' is a little audacious.

I owe Kat a pair of socks and I plan on having them done ASAP. They are what I took with me this past weekend and didn't work on at all.
I'll let you know how they progress.

Beginnings

Holy cow batman, it's been almost a month since I last blogged!


Lots of stuff has been going on and I'll do my best to cover all of it.


I made an unexpected trip to Michigan at the end of October. It was not for a happy reason, but it was a fantastic trip. While I was packing, I really wanted to bring multiple projects with me. Airplane time is great knitting time! I was not checking a bag. Jamie asked with knowing behind his eyes what I was taking to keep me occupied on the plane. I eargerly produced a sock project and the lacy scarf, excited as could be.
"Emily," he says "don't you have any less scary looking needles? Perhaps something not metal?"
I deflated slightly - I was seriously looking forward to knitting on the plane, but I only have one set of non-metal needles. I haven't been doing this very long and have never had to worry about stupid airport policies before. I produced the one set of wooden needles I own.
"Those are even scarier! Do you have any that are less sharp?" he asks.
No, I don't and I don't think that should stop me from taking the needles with me. I researched this - they told me I could take an envelope just in case they won't let me through so I can mail my needles back to myself. And it starts sinking in that the precious small amount of space I have would be taken up by yarn that I couldn't even do anything with serving as a reminder that some stupid non-knitting TSA person took my needles from me because they 'looked scary' and they couldn't understand why someone would knit in the first place. I played it safe and left the knitting and yarn at home. It sucked. I was gone for five days - even spent time in a car and knitting would've been really nice to have with me.

I will be getting plastic/wood needles for Christmas. Mark my words.

So after I returned home, I had lots of baby stuff to make because I had two baby showers the following weekend. I had to do a mad dash of two (yes, not one, but two) baby blankets for the showers. And in my mind I was making booties and hats to go with.
I started a crochet blanket after not being able to properly start a knitted pattern I picked out. Also, after looking at the yarn I'd picked I wouldn't have enough to complete it.
Wednesday I realized the shower I was crocheting for was on Sunday and I needed something for Sataurday (which is a day closer!), so I dropped the crochet and started knitting this simple garter stitch blanket. I used  (believe it or not) the Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn called for in the project, but used pink and brown. I forgot to take a photo before I gave it to the mommy-to-be. I also whipped up a little beanie for the tyke, but forgot to take a photo of that too (bad blogger). Both were well received.

I wore the sweater to the Sataurday baby shower. I got lots of compliments and amazed looks that I actually made what I was wearing. I was very good and did not point out the errors that I did not fix. There was another crocheter there, who also gave a blanket (like the crochet blanket I picked out for the other baby shower - good thing I didn't do that blanket for both babies!) so I didn't feel like such a freak. Then I was asked something I haven't been asked before - "How long did it take you to learn to do that?". My initial thought was 'huh?'. I'm still learning to do this.
Fortunately, I had the gumption to form 'huh' into "What do you mean?". It was clarified: how long did it take you to learn to knit/how did you learn to knit?
I just picked up a book and did it.
Appearently, that is rather odd for someone to do - thank god my sister was there to translate and saved me by formulating an appropriate sounding response for me. I really have no idea what she said, but it sounded better than what was coming out of my mouth, which was awkward as usual.
This got me thinking - how did I learn to do this?


I was crocheting, and it was good. I found some knitting stuff of my mom's so I went out and bought this knitting book - from Walmart and everything. I made a simple knit scarf out of a single ball of yarn. Baby shower #2 mommy-to-be, loved the scarf and bought from me cause she wouldn't let me give it to her (cause she's crazy!). Then, I wanted a challenge! So I made this:

It's a stitch 'sampler' type of project that was supposed to turn itself into a pillow, but never did.  It was easier than I thought. And I've been knitting since.
But I'm just following instructions. I don't feel like I'm doing anything spectacular. Even the stitches that look really complicated were not that bad. So, I figured I'd just learn as I went and started projects I thought were interesting. 
And then I knit a sweater. 

Does that sound any better than 'huh'? 

At least now I have compiled an answer for the next time I'm asked.

And here's the crochet blanket:

For baby shower # 2 that I didn't actually make it to cause I felt like crappo and didn't really want to puke on anybody. No one needs that as a family memory - yeah, I'm the girl that puked on you at your baby shower...ugh, no. I'll take it by her work and present it without puking on her.

Friday, when I went to buy actual gifts from Babys'r'us*, I was in the area of a Hobby Lobby - it's like Christmas ya'll, there is only Walmart in my local town for yarny items and the selection sucks, think Planet Acrylic - so I made my sister go with me to see what was on sale. Lo and behold I bought a little bit of sock yarn:

Okay, so I might have bought a LOT of sock yarn. But it was a really good deal! Seriously. Like $34 worth of good deal. 

After I finished the crochet blanket last night, I started sewing together the black sweater/vest thingy I talked about here and it's coming right along. I should have a completed photo next post.

I promise it won't be so long between the next post. 

Happy knitting!


*The Babys'R'Us I went to was a horrible, awful place that was unorganized and had dirty bathrooms. The gift registry did not correctly point non-baby people (like me) to the location for unknown alien objects placed throughout their stores in no logical order which blend into Toys'R'Us without notice even though they have different entrances. I will not be going there again.