Breast Cancer Fundraiser

For the second year I test knit a pattern for this breast cancer calendar. Mine is the third on the bottom row. I have already signed up to test for next year. The patterns are all new, designed especially for the calendar and never before published. Click on the image on the side bar to go directly to the site to order.
I have had friends and family members with breast cancer and have had a biopsy myself. Thankfully the biopsy came back negative but it made me all the more aware of the reality so many women and men face everyday. A little bit of yarn and a little time is the least of what I can do to help find a cure.

February? Are You Sure?

I really love this little car seat blanket. It has already found a home with my great nephew Wyatt. His middle name is Cooper. I like the sound of that, Wyatt Cooper. I predict great things for this little cowboy. He is my parents first great grandson and has two girl cousins. Seems like just a little while ago his daddy was a small boy.

These three vests were knit primarily at the hospital. My mom had a total knee replacement the end of October and I spent a lot of time with her. About a month later my dad broke his ankle and spent one night in the hospital. I spent the evening trying to convince him that yes he needed to spend the night in the hospital for a couple of reasons he wouldn't want me to mention here. He left by noon the next day right after my mom's physical therapy appointment.
Scattered around in there were a few emergency room visits for my father-in-law and those offer a lot of opportunity to knit, talk about knitting, teach a little knitting and in general pass time waiting for test results. Do you like the buttons I used on the vests? I know, I can't see the buttons either. I can't see them anywhere. I have, somewhere in my house, the cutest flower buttons in the perfect colors for these vests but they are hiding from me. So, I did a tiny little braid and tied the front of each vest closed and the girls slip them on over their heads. I actually kind of like the look but I really want to find those buttons.

My daughter purchased a new coat and of course needed some knitted accessories. We were in a wonderful little shop in Manhattan, Kansas called Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear. She picked out this lovely purple in Lamb's Pride Worsted as her school colors are purple and white. We bought several skeins thank goodness. I have really enjoyed this yarn. I have had difficulty getting the purple to photograph well but the colors in the neck warmer are close. It is a little darker and richer than in the photos. Anyway, I have completed a scarf, a neck warmer that I test knit from a pattern on Ravelry called Dear by Holly Peacock, Calorimetry and am test knitting a pattern for arm warmers. There are also supposed to be mittens in this yarn but I haven't gotten there yet.
I have knit a second Dear for a man and he is currently wearing it to determine where exactly he wants the button and if it is too long or not long enough. I adjusted Holly's pattern in length only and used completely different yarn than shown here and it is sooooooo yummy. Pictures to come when he returns it for any adjustments.


This was such a fun little cloth to knit. I have a Ravelry friend who lives on a lovely farm, has a beautiful country home and is just as helpful and giving as the day is long. She lost a son last year and when I saw this little scene on a cloth I knew it was ment for her.

Hopefully this launches me back into blogging mode. I had better get the camera outside and photograph some works in progress. There are always a few of those.

Breast Cancer Knitting Calendar 2009

I joined a group on Ravelry that designs and knits dishcloths. I'm not a designer, yet, but have aspirations. When I joined the moderator had just started breast cancer treatments and wanted to put together a calendar fund raiser. I was fortunate enough to get to test knit one of the designs. Mine is the little lace cloth in the bottom left corner. There are 12 new, never before published patterns that are perfect for gifts or for yourself. Click on the link in the side bar to order the calendar. It is a direct download that you print out yourself and can then have spiral bound at your local office supply store. If you have questions or would like more information email me. tschrock@swbell.net

My Weekend Adventures

8/2/08

I read brooklyntweed's blog so I already knew I liked these mittens. Stopped by the book store to see if Vogue had hit the newsstands yet. I didn't even see the title until after I have picked it up because of the cover. I love the cover. It has it all, color, texture, expression, balance. I rarely buy a magazine but I brought this one home in part because of the cover. Thankfully I like some of the projects and articles inside as well.






My husband is in Sturgis for the big motorcycle rally. The original plan was for wives to go along but I couldn't go because of work and other wives had other issues. We wanted to take a support vehicle so the guys wouldn't have to carry so much on the bikes, we could take turns riding with our guys and we could actually lock up things like cameras. My husband almost never travels without a camera. This week he will have been in at least four states other than Kansas with no camera.
So with a week to myself, other than work, the fair, and who knows what else crops up I hope to get a good amount of knitting done. That much knitting requires a few movies. I went to the section marked 2/$1 and picked up some that I wanted to see and some I had never heard of. I actually got home with one I didn't intend to get. It may turn out to be the best of the bunch.

Saturday morning I took four projects to the county fair. Two received red ribbons, one didn't receive a ribbon at all and I didn't expect it to. It was one of the scribble lace shawls and other than the yarn they are nothing special. My Everlasting Bagstopper, I don't remember if it got a ribbon or not. Our display space is adequate at best. To see the bag I had to get down on my knees to look at the bottom shelf. Next to my bag was a lovely garment of some sort but I couldn't see the tag to see whose it was or what it was. There were several other items in the same predicament. I believe when we meet at the fair for knit night this week we will be discussing the display situation.


On my way home I stopped at a couple of garage sales. I found this lamp. It works. I don't usually go for things like this but it kind of spoke to me. Once I find a shade that works with it will decide its fate. At this point I am thinking of sanding it down and spraying it with one of the paints that looks like stone. I might also do some sort of mosaic or decoupage treatment. Time will tell.















My other garage sale purchase was this box of beads. A nice little assortment to add to my collections.








My last stop was at the craft store in town. They have everything BUT yarn. We are trying to talk them into it because they have employees that know yarn. One of the employees raises sheep, spins, dyes, knits and weaves. We will keep trying.
Anyway, they have a pretty decent bead section. I picked up a few things to work on an idea for some stitch markers.








Here I added some beads from the garage sale box.











Now I have added in some of my own beads. I want to keep the grey/silver tones but add a sharp contrast and I think it will be red. I have lots of red beads.


A lamp project and a beading project. I only thought I was going to get a lot of knitting done.





I am test knitting a pattern for a breast cancer fundraising calendar. I don't have a yarn source close by so when I went to "the city" I picked up every pink yarn I could find that would work for a dishcloth.
I am using the mercerized cotton second from the right and it is working up beautifully. Pictures and info. on the calendar at a later date.





Love this car seat blanket pattern but do not like the yarn. I was on my way out the door and needed something quick. It is sooooo yucky but knitting anything on a long car ride is better than knitting nothing. It will make an OK gift for someone or for the grandgirls and their baby dolls. I will knit this pattern again in something much nicer.





















8/3/08
I love ripe fresh from the garden tomatoes. This one has been ripening on the counter for a couple of days and it was perfect on Sunday. I

Pizza or Turkey?

7/27/08

I made homemade pizza with all the fresh veggies from the garden. There is onion, green pepper, garlic and tomatoes. It was the best pizza I have made in quite sometime.

I love my baking stones. The handles on this make it much easier to get in and out of the oven. My old one had a rack to set it on but I was always forgetting the rack. It was passed on to my son so I could justify this one.

7/28/08

This turkey has several siblings that "hatched" last fall. I knit up three or four of these guys for gifts in a short amount of time. I chose this pattern to knit for the household items category at the fair because it was an easy but visually interesting knit. I knit the first 1/4 of this cloth several times and finally cut the yarn off and threw it away. It was beginning to resemble a well worn piece of string rather than yarn. Once I got past the half way point I didn't have any further problems thank goodness. There is one very obvious error but of course I didn't see it until I was blocking. I'm sure the judge will see it as well but I enter more for fun than for the ribbons. Too bad I didn't remind myself of that when I was having so much trouble knitting this thing. After the fair he goes into the mail to an Internet friend who has mentioned she would like to have a turkey.

In addition to this dishcloth I took a scribble lace shawl, my misknitted Everlasting Bagstopper shopping bag and a preemie hat. There were other projects I had planned to take but it is best if they are completed before entering them in the fair.

Today I cast on a pink dishcloth that I am test knitting for a breast cancer calendar fundraiser. More on the topic in the weeks to come. I have tested some patterns for quilt designers before but this is the first time testing for a knit designer. I hope I am up to her standards. She does beautiful work.

Flower Dishcloth

6/9/08

As my Mystic Light lies about basking in solitude I have only managed mindless knitting. Just before I lost the light tonight I managed to get a shot of the dishcloth I am knitting. There is a flower in the middle but it is difficult to make out in the variegated yarn. I love the colors in this yarn.

I finished another Scribble Lace shawl this weekend too but I didn't like how it looked in the late evening light.

Of course the cats were trying to help. I'm surprised that the rubbing on my legs didn't jar the camera.

Oh yes. Insurance picked up part of the tab on the air conditioner and also paid to fix the wash machine. So far no more lightening damage but my daughter's cell phone died the day the wash machine was repaired. The wash machine had died the day the air conditioner was repaired. PLEASE let this be the end.

Signs of Spring and Knitting

4/21/08

Another dishcloth. The ballband pattern finally makes sense. I had knit one before and I think I fought the pattern the entire time. I just couldn't "see" the rhythm of it. Maybe that is because it was a ball game knitting project and I could never really concentrate on what I was doing. This one went quickly and was quite fun. I love the texture and colors of this one. I hope its recipient is enjoying it.

 

4/26/08

This little guy came to visit for a couple of days. I'm not sure how long he was sitting on the rail before we noticed him but for the two plus days we watched he didn't appear to ever move. He didn't seem bothered by me or the camera either.

5/4/08

My favorite place to knit outdoors. Depending on the time of day I am in shade or sun. The picture is facing east so it is a beautiful spot in the mornings and shady and calm in the evenings. The knitting is my Mystic Light. Yes I am still on clue #1. It is knitting up beautifully but I can't do it when there are distractions around. I have tried and it was not pretty. I do not like frogging or tinking if I can avoid it. So, I only knit when the world will leave me alone long enough to get a pattern row done. There have been so many other KAL's I would like to sign up for but that is silly with how slow this one is going.

 

 

5/5/08

These are my knitting/gardening companions. Two were not present for this photo session but were not very far away. They never are. If I'm outside they are close at hand to help with anything I might need. There is actually four generations in this photo. Mama is checking out the bird feeder that was blown down during the storm the night before. Notice all the leaves blown up against the house? The trees took a beating. On with the lineage account. Next is Baby Mama who is the black one posing in the foreground. Third generation is Baby dressed in white and standing. Last but not least is Lady. The long hair shunning the camera. Don't you like my original names? When Mama and her two babies were dumped on us we didn't expect them to live long because we have coyotes, fox, etc. and cats just don't usually survive. Mama survived and one of the original babies stops in occasionally. Three generations later I finally started naming them because they obviously were going to live with me awhile. Before that Mama, Baby Mama and Baby seemed just fine.

This should be a photo op weekend. I have a baby shower for the daughter of one of my best friends to attend. She is my sons age. Is it possible someone my son's age can be having a baby. Oh ya, they are adults. When did that happen?

My daughter will be home for part of the weekend and of course it will be Mother's Day tomorrow. We plan to all get together for a meal, probably out since my sister and I don't really like to cook either and then if the weather is good off to a lovely garden to see the iris blooming. My camera batteries are charged and waiting. Hummmmm, doesn't sound like much knitting.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Another Gift

3/2/08

This was a gift from the author of the Hot Cocoa Swap I participated in. She sent me a little gift just for participating. It has been gift central around here lately. Thank you Grace and it looks lovely on my end table sporting my tea cup and misc. knitting items.

You can find this and other lovely things Grace knits here.

I am sooooo excited!

Why?

1) A package containing yarn arrived today.

2) It was knit night and our group grew by two more people.

3) I finished another dishcloth. No big deal. I make at least one a month but it is really cute.

4) While watching an episode of "24" I finished my first pair of mittens AND learned to do Kitchener stitch. If I say so myself it looks pretty damn good, on one of the mittens. The first one looks like one my granddaughters tried to help me with the finishing. I attempted to fix it but that kind of made things worse. Oh well, they are mittens, they will be warm and they are finished.

I can't wait for tomorrow after work so I can take pictures of all the excitement.

Top O The Mornin' To Ya

 2/26/08

Yes, another dishcloth. A green shamrock for the recipient to wash away the winter blues and bring in spring and a little Irish spirit.

This was another fun one to knit. I especially liked the background. A bit of a cable look but no actual cable.

I'm really quite disgusted with the weather. Saturday was a warm, 70+ but very windy. For the first time in months I didn't wear a coat and the car felt warm when I get into it. Sunday was again windy but things were starting to dry out. My Man even took a short ride on the Harley. By late afternoon it was a dark and stormy day that ended in a cold, driving rain. What happened to spring?

This and That

  2/06/08

Are you tired of snow pictures yet? This was a beautiful snow. We have had a couple more snows since but none this pretty. This is my front porch and I like how the snow deepens as you move away from the porch. This would have been a perfect day to stay home and knit but since I have that pesky thing called a job/career I had to leave this lovely scene and drive to work.

 

2/18/08

I enjoy knitting dishcloths. I'm not sure why. I have a difficult time using the ones I make or the ones I exchange for as dishcloths but I just like knitting them. I like to try out new stitches, ideas and colors and sometimes I just want something that will knit up quickly to break up the monotony of another project. This particular dishcloth was sent to me by my exchange partner this month and it is a lovely log cabin pattern. This first photo is my Ravelry Project 365 photo but the others are just eye candy. Enjoy.

Stay tuned for; What Was Inside Those Packages Anyway and I Have Been Gifted With More Yarn.

A story but no fiction

This is the Reader's Digest version of the last week give or take a few days. My brain is still under the influence of cold medicine but I am coming out of the fog.
Have you ever known beyond a shadow of a doubt, deep in your gut, that everything is OK, there is nothing wrong but no one will believe you? Every thing sensible knows you are doing the right thing but it is pointless and throwing away good money that could pay other bills or even better, buy yarn?
My gut knows that lump in my breast is not cancer, my brain knows that lump is not cancer and that is good enough for me. Of course we all know that until something medically tells me that lump is not cancer we must push on for that answer. Two rounds of mammograms read by no less than some cancer detecting piece of software, one radiologist, one medical doctor and one surgeon and I am headed for surgery. No big deal. A nice nap, 20 minutes, a larger than I thought incision and the feeling that my left breast has been run over by a rather large herd of horses and I still won't know until Tuesday that it IS NOT CANCER.
I have never had surgery before and have never been "put under". I apparently "go under" very easily as one Valium made me sooooo relaxed and the half syringe of sleepy stuff left me totally out. I was so looking forward to counting backward from 100 as they put the mask over my face like they do on TV. The last I remember is the back of the rather handsome anesthesiologist leaving the holding area before I ever even went to the surgical suite. I do feel cheated in that respect.
I did get one question answered though. How would I look as a D cup? It really is hard to tell when the dressing is quite lumpy and the other side is considerably less than a D but I think I will pass. Especially since I am pretty sure it would take a much larger herd of horses to equal the pain of increasing to a D.
Then there is the head cold. It actually started the night before surgery but I wasn't sure if I was reacting to chemical smells from work or if I was actually getting sick. I was getting sick and it is a doosy of a head cold. I hear my own heart beating in my ears at times and when I cough I don't know what will hurt the worst, my breast, my throat or my head. Thank goodness they are all sharing the experience so none feels left out. In reality I think if it weren't for the cold I would really be enjoying this time off from work. I can't go back until after my appointment on Tuesday but I really have not enjoyed much of anything so far. I have gotten some knitting done, watched a fair amount of TV often through closed eyes and slept rather fitfully at night. I don't plan to take anymore pain meds at night. I should be writing science fiction from the dreams I have been having.
Is there an upside to all of this? Well, you find out who your friends are. Food has been delivered, numerous phone calls inquiring about my recovery were made and more prayers than I will ever know about have been said. I have talked to my children, parents and sister every day. My children who have little money sent me a beautiful little bouquet of flowers. My sister brought a goodie bag with magazines, chocolate and flavored teas. She knows me well. We curled up on my bed and chatted for a while. I'm afraid I may have fallen asleep but then she didn't mind. Then there is My Man. What a jewel. He has cooked, helped me change dressings, reassured me and nearly had to be kicked out of the house to go hang with his buddies today to play poker and watch the Super Bowl.
The pictures below are the only two taken in the last week. The first is from Knit Night and the second is of the third heart dishcloth I have made. I love variegated yarn in the ball but not much when there is a design in the knitting. Believe me, there are five hearts in that dishcloth.
I hope to return to my regularly scheduled life by tomorrow but I have been up a little too long now. The couch and the Super Bowl commercials are calling my name. I wonder who is playing?

1/28/08




















2/3/08

A day in the city

I am no city girl and I don't particularly like to shop. I do love to eat at different restaurants and since we were shopping for furniture I could endure that. There was not a yarn shop within a reasonable distance and our legs hurt and we still wanted to stop by a book store. There should be more yarn shops so I had to settle for one of the big chains to satisfy my yarn fix.

The furniture pictures will come later as the furniture hasn't been delivered yet.

1/20/08

Cotton yarn for dishcloths or other items requiring cotton. Have to keep the stash up you know.

The brown in the back is needed to finish a grandson's afghan. The color isn't exactly the same of course but I am double stranding with black so hopefully it won't be too obvious. There were skeins in the bin that were almost purple. A lesson learned. Always buy way too much yarn. The stash is always hungry.

1/21/08

I like cottontots for baby hats, kimonos, etc. I don't like using acrylic yarns for baby things. What cotton yarns do you prefer for baby items?

1/22/08

Lion Brand Wool-Ease for a pair of mittens for my daughter. They must be washable because she doesn't need anything that requires special care. Freshmen in college who work and carry an A average (had to brag a little) don't need anymore to think about. I have not knit mittens before and plan to use this pattern. I can't seem to photograph reds well. The yarn is actually has more brown in it but this is pretty too.

Another Exchange

1/19/08

Yes another exchange. A dishcloth one. Didn't I say I don't do many exchanges. Well, I do two, make that three. Two on a monthly basis and the third is a one time thing, maybe.

Monthly I do the theme exchange and a dishcloth exchange. The one time only maybe one is a Hot Cocoa exchange. More about it later.

This is a pattern I cruised the Internet for.  It is Valentine Dishcloth by Rachel vanSchie. I love the pattern Rachel.

It is knit in Sugar 'n Cream in Hot Pink. There is a second one almost exactly like it except for the last 15 or so stitches when binding off. I ran out of yarn!! So I finished in something not even close and will use it myself. I haven't made myself a new dishcloth in ages. A third in a variegated yarn is in the works for my partner in the Hot Cocoa exchange so no pictures until after she receives her package.

Gary the third

It appears that Gary #3 is just over half done. Poor guy is going to loose a bit of his height in a few minutes though. I must have missed a YO two rows back because I should have 37 and I only have 36. I might not matter at this point but I don't want him to have a lumpy breast or broken tail feathers.
This is the yarn called Camel and I really like how it is working up. Gary appears happy with the color as well.
I have found that the seat of this chair in our bedroom is really great for photographing small items when I have no natural light.
Check back for more "Adventures With Gary".

Fall things

Meet Gary the Gobbler. He is a delightfully quick knit dishcloth and I have completed two so far. One is in the mail to Ysabeau for a Fall theme exchange. The second one will go in the mail shortly for a dishcloth exchange. I plan to knit more before Thanksgiving to give as hostess gifts and just for fun. My mom loves the knitted dishcloths so she will get one when we go home for Thanksgiving. Both of the kids are out on their own now and really seem to like getting things for their apartments. I am trying to use from my stash and these are the color options that I have left. Not exactly turkey colors but they are after all going to be dishcloths. You can search for Gary the Gobbler to get the free pattern.



Becky sent me this lovely cloth as part of the Fall theme exchange. I need to iron it and get it back on the side table in the living room.

These beautiful fabrics came as a thank you gift from a cyber friend. They are pieces of fabric, beads and charms and best of all two leaves and machine stitched "tree bark" that she created. I have them on my work table and I simply love looking at them. They haven't told me yet what they want to be but they will.