Dye and Knitting Update

Lost my hat! And I'm very disapointed. Now I have to find another hat to make. But I did love this one, and can't believe I dropped it somewhere!





Went to Vogue Knitting Live at the Hilton in NYC last week-end. Took two classes, Two-stranded knitting, and continental knitting and loved each one. Learned so much. Came home and knit a two-stranded hat, using continental knitting. I'm liking it, but, it doesn't compare to the cloche I lost!

Have been practicing some dyeing. And appreciate so much more how difficult it is to successfully dye yarn. I'm not unhappy with the  results, but I'm not really ecstatic! Not sure how I actually came up with the colors. The green and orange are much darker than I wanted!

My KnitPicks Wish List

Just in case my family needs Christmas ideas --

My KnitPicks Wish List

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfCart/viewWishlist.cfm?wishlistid=A57F37FC-C7D4-7EE3-FC42EF68D5FB5B52&media=WLBL

Wonderful Wallaby

I really love this pattern! This is a sweater that looks like a hooded sweatshirt with a pouch pocket in the front. The pattern is published by Cottage Creations, and comes in sizes from baby to BIG! And I mean BIG! Once you get past all the wordiness in the pattern, it's so much fun to work on. I had a few problems (what pattern doesn't have problems?). When you start the pouch, it instructs you to use a crochet hook to add stitches. I checked this out on Ravelry of course, and found several alternative options. I used the K1,YO option. Really didn't like it at all. The stitches wound up being very large -- could have been the yarn I'm using -- KnitPicks Comfy Worsted --75% cotton, 25% Acrylic. Not a lot of stretch or bounce back as you're using it and it slides. Next time, I think I'll use the Knit 1 in the Front, then the back. I've finished it and actually love it.

Made my first attempt at dyeing yarn this week.  Much harder than it looks! I was using Superwash, and was glad to be using is because you do handle the yarn a lot! Would be afraid to felt anything that wasn't Superwash.

I don't like the way it came out. I was trying to get a slightly variegated look to it, but it's not subtle enough for me.  I'm going to try to redye it and see what I wind up with!

Not much happening in my job search.  Do have a very small possibility of a temporary job that would last from June through December. Sent the resume, but am still waiting to hear. Not finding anything else out there.

Hosted the family for Easter. Ryan loved the Easter basket I got for him -- a CAR -- and so, of course, had to get him the Cars DVD! The Easter Egg Hunt was a big success. The day was beautiful and we spent the whole day outside.

April Updates

Did I mention I got laid off last year? Since I was laid off, I've had to pay for Cobra.  On paper, Cobra sounds like a great idea. In practice - it costs $1,000 per month for my husband and me. That figure really shocks me. When I  began working waaaay back in 1967, I didn't even  know one of the benefits we got was medical insurance -- fully paid for by the company. It just wasn't on my radar. I don't know if it was on any one's radar back then. And coming up with $1,000 per month when you don't have a job is very tough.

Unfortunately finding a job is very difficult. There's not much out there and I'm overqualified for most jobs that are being posted. During this job search period -- I also have to keep my white roots covered.  Since I'm being interviewed by 25 year old people, white roots just won't make a great impression.  This hair dying costs money I don't have.

However, the best thing about being unemployed is that I do get to spend time with my grandson, the light of my life.  Babies bring such happiness and joy to life.

A while ago I spoke of the sweater I was working on for my daughter -- I FINALLY finished it! I had made several mistakes that I was unable to fix, so I let it hibernate for a while. And I learned a so much by trying a lot of different types of projects. I actually learned enough to fix the sweater and finish it! I love the way it came out, and so does my daughter.


I sometimes look at pattern instructions and am very intimidated by what I see.  But, I really find that if I just go one line at a time, it really isn't all that complicated.  I've pretty much been able to figure out all the patterns I've seen.

I've also become fascinated by the Great American Afghan series. I've started three (3!!!!!) of them over the past few years and I know that's ridiculous. I never got past a couple of blocks. I'm trying to work on the Great American Kids Afghan for my grandson. It's fun, but my daughter hates the colors and says they're too bright. Guess I'll keep it at my house for when he comes to visit!

Current projects include -- The Wonderful Wallaby (which I'm making for the boy), a great sweater that looks like a hooded sweatshirt with a pouch pocket in the front, a beret for me, and a couple of the Great American Afghan squares. Hoping to finish the Wallaby before the end of Spring.

Where Have I Been?

Wow! Haven't posted in forever. And 2010 was a BIG year. 

My daughter had a baby boy in April - the new love of my life. I know he's my grandchild and guess I'm biased, but he's certainly the most adorable baby I've seen in a long time!

I was laid off from my job at the end of September, and have been on unemployment since then.  It's a very difficult time to be out of work in the financial services industry, especially if you're older and well paid.   They can certainly hire someone much younger than me, for a lot less money.

On the positive side, it's a great time to practice my knitting!  I finished up so much in the past year - scarves, hats, baby sweaters and hats.  The baby things were really a huge hit.  I made both an apple and a pumpkin hat that my daughter loves.  I also made the "Sir Charles" cable hat from Knit Picks. That came out so great.  I find I really have enjoyed making hats because they're small, and I can learn an awful lot from making something complicated, yet small, so I don't get all that frustrated if I do mess it up!

Shortly after the baby was born we had to our our beautiful dog put to sleep. We loved him so much. He truly was the perfect dog. We'll miss him forever. No more dogs for me. Although I loved him dearly, not having a dog means more freedom and less cleaning. And unless I could be guaranteed a dog as wonderful as Quincy, I don't want one!

This and that -- and Exciting News --

My last post, I was heading out to a Jewelry Party -- of course, I gave in to temptation and bought something -- necklace and earrings. I do think I mentioned I was a jewelry junkie.

What started out to be a calm, quiet week turned chaotic when our dog, Quincy, started showing some strange symptoms. He had some trouble standing up and getting down the back stairs of our deck -- then he started staggering around the back yard. That passed, but returned a couple of days later, with the symptoms being much worse, including falling down. When I got home from work on Wednesday, I realized he had to go to the vet. I really thought he'd had a stroke and, given his age, that we'd have to put him to sleep. I really lost it when my son carried Quincy to the car.

The vet said he has old dog vestibular disease, which causes vertigo. Could be caused by an ear infection, so he's on antibiotics and bonine for the dizziness. It cleared up in a little over a week, so she's sure it's not any kind of brain lesion. Thank goodness -- none of us are ready to lose him.

I had to go to the doctor -- was diagnosed with carpal tunnel. Ridiculous. I've been wearing wrist splint at night all week and it's pretty annoying. It makes knitting kind of difficult. I started seeing a physical therapist which really seems to have helped pretty quickly. He does say I shouldn't be knitting. But I told him that's not going to happen. So, we'll do the therapy and all the excercises and hope for the best.

Yesterday I went with my daughter and her husband to the ultrasound for their first baby! She's about 5 months pregnant. What a wonderful experience. They asked the technician to write down the sex of the baby and insert it into an envelope -- which they'll open on Christmas morning. What a great Christmas gift to each other. Now I can't wait for Christmas!

I was working on a sweater for my daughter -- and had to unknit a bit, which I completed. Then I began again -- and made the same darn mistake all over again! I had to put it down. So I made a scarf for my husband, and started one for my son, which I'm half way through. Once that's done, I'll go back to the sweater with fresh eyes -- and hope I won't make the same silly mistake all over again!

Blogging?

Well, I've never done this before, but if you're not learning new things you might as well just give up. I'm not quite old enough for social security and I work full time. I have 2 grown children, a girl and a boy, and my daughter is expecting her first child in April.

I started knitting about a year and a half ago, but it took me a while to really get going. The past few months, I've finished up a couple of projects that sat around for nearly a year and I'm very happy with the way they've come out. Right now, I'm working on a sweater for my daughter. I don't plan on making anything for the baby until we know the sex (December), and then I'll make something for next fall.

I commute about two and a half hours each day to and from work. I've pretty much given up cooking during the week, but do try to cook on the week-end. I try to knit a little each evening for relaxation. I had a day alone last Sunday, and spent most of the afternoon knitting my daughter's sweater. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, I realized I had made a mistake about 6 rows up and spent 3 nights this week unknitting. In the past year, I've come to realize that if I'm going to knit, I'll probably have to unknit. I've come to grips with it.

So I have a jewelry party to go to this afternoon and I'm looking forward to it, because I am a jewelry junkie.