Second-Guessing

The first time through a new knitting procedure is always a challenge.  The latest one for me is turning a corner with a knitted on border on a lace shawl.   (Now, THAT was a mouthful, huh!)

Lots of reading, counting, thinking and finally -- the method that works for me.

Suspend everything I think I know about knitting and just follow the directions.  

Works every time.  The only time I've really had big problems with a pattern or a technique is when I tried to second guess the process.

Two pics to show the result.

Just by chance this pic shows the color truest to real life.

Here's to Suspending What We Think We Know.

Cat in the Hat

Love the kits available for kid quilts.  Found this one at Nancy's Notions. 

• Clearly written instructions.
• Coordinated colorful fabrics, each with a Dr. Seuss motif.
• Full color picture of what it's supposed to look like.
• Reasonable price.

Some folks don't 'approve' of kits -- and maybe it's true that creativity is less likely to be unleashed when all the pieces (color, fabric, layout, etc.) are handed to you.

I enjoy kits, especially when mental energy is low, as it is now for me.  There's little time or enthusiasm for designing my own, finding the fabrics, working thru the layout challenges, dealing with disappointments along the way.

So I love kits when I just wanna make something that has a very high probability of a)making it to the finish line and b)looking great when it's complete.

Preprinted panel with great Dr. Seuss drawings.
Great fabrics for the borders.

Border fabrics -- next step for me.

To kit or not to kit.  May not be life's uprooting question but I am sure glad the option is available to me when I need it.

Happy crafting.

#17

The last 4-5 months have been marked by a series of "events' in my husband's health -- heart not working correctly, blood pressure too too high, several falls, a week of nose bleeds (you don't wanna know), accommodating to limitations, hospitals, ER trips, etc.

Knitting not so much.

The #17?  In any day, we each encounter event after event.  Some are part of the every day nature of life -- adding laundry detergent to the list so you can do the next load.  Others have more impact -- a trip to the ER at 4:30 am.  Most days we manage the chaos with a minimum of anxiety -- the first 16 items in the daily encounter are a 'piece of cake' so to speak.  It's #17 that can throw us into a tailspin.

Pick your own number and maybe that number changes daily.  Believe me I don't keep a list but I do know -- and so does poor dear husband -- when #17 arrives.  Friday it was the reminder beep from a smoke alarm that the battery needed changing.  #17 -- the smoke alarm is at the apex of a cathedral ceiling and I have no ladder and sure as hell do not wanna listen to that annoying beep all day.

Firefolks to the rescue.  We're lucky to have a program that funds their visit and work to check all smoke alarm batteries.  No more beeping.  Safety assured.

Moving on to the next set of life encounters . . .

Here's the pix of what I've managed to work on, knitting-wise.

  A crocheted Hair Scrunchy.  Love Stitches.

 A couple of hats because I had the yarn, had identified the recipient, I could maybe concentrate enough to finish.  White one  Battleboro Hat from New England Knits, using Bernat Winter White worsted acrylic.  Green one is from Weekend Hats, using Bernat Waverly.

Green lace shawl from Victorian Lace Today.
Center 26,880 stitches are complete.
One side of knitted on border ready to turn the corner.
The celery green is really prettier than the pic shows.

Second time thru the Feldge Shawl by Megan Goodacre
of Tricksy Knitter.  This one is for moi.

Husband and I are looking for the "new normal" -- that series of daily events that are reasonably predictable, even if in total they re-define our life dramatically.  Next is an EP (electrophysiology procedure) to discover more about the heart activity.

I hope to have finished several of the above items before I choose what to put into my knitting bag for a long, long day at the Cardiac Cath Lab.