Now, Back To Knitting

What's on your needles? What have you finished lately?

Yarn Cravin', my local yarn shop (LYS), has a sock club. This month we decided to start a shawl KAL for something different, and we chose Multnomah (Ravelry link) to knit. I'm using Destination Yarn in the National Cherry Blossom Festival colorway to knit mine. Below is a photo of my progress just starting out.



Jeanne, the dyer, did a trunk show at YC not too long ago, but I was a fan of her yarn long before that! She also dyed yarn for our sock club. (Right now her Etsy shop is empty because she's taking care of a newborn, but she'll be back soon!)

Anyway, I chose this colorway because on June 9, Bill and I leave with 50+ seventh graders again for Washington, D.C.! I thought yarn that celebrates the cherry blossoms of our nation's capitol would be good bus knitting. However, I might be finished with Multnomah before then. So what's a girl to do?

Join another KAL, that's what!

Wendy, of Wendy Knits fame, has started the Summer Mystery Shawlette KAL. Clues are given in installments with knitting time in between each one. Join in with me? I'm going to use Dream In Color in the Beach Fog colorway. Photos as soon as I wind the yarn!

I just mailed this baby sweater off today to a knitting friend who will be delivering a baby girl this summer. It is knit from Dream In Color Classy - a worsted weight superwash. Pardon the unfinished sweater. I snapped this photo before tucking all the ends. All the knitting was done, though.



Another knitting friend is expecting in September, so I have some secret knitting going on for her, too.

Are you hearing about the end of the world coming? While I don't believe it, I can't help but wonder because my Cleveland Indians remain in first place!! GO TRIBE! Finally, this year, I am not embarrassed to be an Indians fan. :-)

THANK YOU'S AND WINNERS!

I have always said that knitters, well, fiber folks really, are the most generous, good-hearted people on the planet. My faith in the goodness of the fiber community remains unshaken, and I have to thank all of you who helped with the fundraising efforts for my sister Ursula's Race For The Cure.

Ursula walked yesterday, May 14, and sent this message last night, via email:

"Yay, Yay, Yay!!!!! Back home with blisters and swollen knees, but I'm in great spirits. The race was AMAZING and thanks to you and those crazy knitters, we raised $785.00! Pass it on, please, with great big thanks! Love, Usch"

Yes, she said $785!!! Some of that came from family and friends, but a HUGE chunk of it came from you, fiber friends, and I love you all for it.

Now, on to the prizes. Each name went into a bowl, and names were drawn in order for the prizes.

Here we go:

The Chewy Spaghetti goes to: SarahLou!!

The Claudia Handpaint goes to: Becca in Chicago! (I know how to reach you)

The Stitch Markers made by SarahLou go to: Michelle (sigh) in Virginia!

One Skein of Yarn of your choice from Yarn Cravin' goes to: Karen Wabeke!! (yay!)

And the Wollemeise goes to...(drumroll): Dale Ann, owner of Yarn Cravin'!!

Thanks again for your help and generosity. Any money donated to breast cancer research really does go to help ALL of us.

We Hate Cancer

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that my Dad is fighting Stage IV lung cancer that has metastasized to his bones. Read back a few years and you will find that one of my older sisters, Ursula, has also battled cancer - breast cancer - but I can happily report that so far she has remained cancer-free for 3.5 years since removal of that cancer and treatment.

On May 14, 2011, my sister is participating in Race For The Cure in Columbus, OH, to help raise funds for cancer research, but also to raise money for the ten county area in Central Ohio. The money raised stays in Central Ohio to fund mammograms and cancer treatment for people without insurance and those with financial hardships.

My guess is that you know someone who has had breast cancer, or your family has been affected by breast cancer in some way. One in EIGHT people will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Look around Starbucks. Look around the grocery checkout line. Look down the pew at church. Glance around your office at your co-workers, or around the table at Sunday dinner. Who is next?

You can help! I'm asking if you're reading that you consider making a small, tax-deductible donation. You can make it honor of someone winning their battle. Make it memory of someone who fought a valiant fight. Make it for your children, so they can grow up in a world without cancer. No amount of money is too insignificant. Go without that $4.95 venti latte for one day.

So, as an incentive, readers, I'm offering up some yarn. Make a donation, leave a comment here, then email me at ttownknitiot at gmail dot com with verification of donation, and I will do a drawing on May 15, 2011. The link to donate is here: Ursula Hunter Donation Page

What are the prizes? I will draw these in order.

Prize #1
Chewy Spaghetti Sport weight yarn, colorway Alluring.




Prize #2
Claudia Handpaint, two skeins, enough for a pair of socks, colorway Strawberry Latte.



Prize #3 (hold on to your underwear!!)
WOLLEMEISE!!! colorway verzaubert (lovely dark blues and greens)



EDITING TO ADD:

PRIZE #4
A set of pink stitch markers made by my dear friend Sarah Lou!

PRIZE #5

One skein of yarn from Yarn Cravin' yarn shop, winner's choice!

Remember, to be entered into the drawing, you have to make a donation, leave a comment here, and email me. Have fun, and good luck!

Organizing

A local furniture store is going out of business, so Bill and I decided that it was a good time to invest in a bigger bookcase for my knitting books and supplies. Once it was delivered, I spent an afternoon moving my books from the various places around the house (I'm still finding them!) and organizing them by topic. You know those free address labels that various charities send in the mail in hopes of receiving donations? I've found that those are great to stick inside your books for identification, especially if you are one who is willing to lend books to friends!

Anyway, here's how things are looking so far on that new bookcase. It didn't take long to fill it up!



The top shelf has some tall books and pattern binders. The basket has knitting magazines in it. That jar on the left is full of Claudia Handpaint sock yarn.

The glass terrarium jar, bought at the craft store for $9.00 is full of sock yarn leftovers. The pretty square Longaberger basket is my sewing basket, which my kids got me for Mother's Day years ago.

On the bottom shelf, more baskets. The first is full of knitting notions and spare project bags. The middle basket has spare spindles for my spinning wheels. Yes, I have more than one. It's an illness. The basket on the right is full of circular needles of all sizes, mostly Addi Turbos.

Since that photo was taken, I've added something new, and have a crummy cell phone photo to show you. What do you think of my new bookends?



Like I said, it's an illness.

Signs of Life

Today I took a look around the yard and found plenty of signs of life, despite the cold, rainy spring we've had so far. April was the second rainiest we've had on record here in T-Town, with about 6.5" of rain! I still have my furnace turned on, set at about 66*, and it kicks on at night most nights.

This tulip, all by itself, is out in my yard, not in the flowerbeds! Note the fact that we're into May and it still hasn't bloomed.



Hostas and Lilies of the Valley in my shady corner of the front yard



My lilac bush... not quite ready to bloom. It will smell heavenly when it does, though.



The crabapple tree in the front yard will bloom any second now. I can tell that it's Mother's Day, or nearly, when this tree blooms.



Bill loves these tulips planted in front of the house.



And don't forget the daffodils! I don't remember anymore what variety these are, but they are so ruffly and pretty.



So where have I been? Mostly busy with family. My Dad became very sick after the holidays, and was hospitalized in early March. After an infection that nearly killed him, a major, life-changing operation, 7 weeks in the hospital and rehab center, he is finally back home. He still has stage IV cancer, of course, but is more stable and has less pain. Bill has been a lifesaver for me through it all, helping with the kids and the dogs and keeping me sane (mostly!).

My beloved knitting friends knit me a blanket, to comfort me, and wrap me in a hug. Anytime I leave home to stay at Mom & Dad's it goes with me.



The pattern is Barn Raising from the book Knitalong by Larissa Golden Brown. Each of those squares is knit from sock yarn!

Of course, I am still knitting. Most recently, I whipped up some preemie hats for donating.



And I made a baby sweater for a knitting friend who is expecting this summer.



I learned something new on that sweater; applied i-cord! It was fun, and made for such a nice, finished edge. Another friend is expecting, so I'm deciding what else to knit, along with working on finishing UFO's.