Ravelry

I've spent a few minutes this morning over at Ravelry signing up for our Knitting Guild's Group, River City Knitters. Richmond adopted this slogan, River City, a few years back when they decided to use the famous James River to help revitalize the city. Like most inner-cities, Richmond had slid into decay and more crime than we like to admit. I am happy to know this is changing and lots of progress to re-organize and re-build the city is being made and is continuing to be worked on.

I was so anxious to be invited to join Ravelry during its beta period and I planned to get all my knitting and other needle works into one place. Here I am seven months later and still don't have anything accomplished. Lot of my projects, tools, yarns, etc. are documented, but scattered around in different files and different places. Now I need to take the time to organize everything and move it all over to Ravelry. I know it would be easier if everything is in one place. I have to find time soon to get this done; I do, I do.

Our new floors are almost in, probably today and perhaps one day next week and they should be finished. They look beautiful and they make the rooms look so much brighter. It will take me another week to put things back together once the floors are completed and while I'm working at it, lots of more things have to go. I've accumulated so much in my lifetime that things have become a nuisance rather than a pleasure to me. I've always loved beautiful things and enjoyed having them in our home and as part of our lives but it doesn't seem very important to us anymore. Perhaps it is age, perhaps its a different outlook on life after me going through Hodgkin's disease, or perhaps it just gets to be to much for one to take care of after a while. I'm not sure, but I keep boxing it up and giving it away.

Here's a photo of the young men laying our smaller bedroom floor. I've been bribing them with M & M's. I've saved them some Chile Verde that was smelling so good when they left today. I will use it as a bribe on Monday, "lunch on me if you get the second bedroom laid by lunch today". That shouldn't be too hard.

It isn't Spring yet........

The glorious days of warm weather and sunshine have gone and we are again having cloudy and colder days. According to the calendar, we only have 25 days left of winter, let's hope this is true. Even though we had a bit of sleet and ice on Friday, the crocuses are continuing to bloom and add a bright spot of color to the beds out front. DH was out this morning weeding in the iris beds. He has a case of the 'winter jitters', not helped by the fact that I've come down with a sore throat so I'm a bit grumpy today. I begin knitting a cute scarflet pattern last night called the Fidget http://www.onesheephill.com/fidget.html . I started it regardless of having other projects on the needles right now because I've been wanting to make one for myself, and because I needed something that doesn't require concentration for my Monday night knit group. Any one that participates in a weekly knitting group knows that the laughter and conversation are half the fun of knitting together. I've ripped back many-a-row after letting my mind wonder. Now I try to have something to knit on that doesn't require much concentration. The Fidget is knitted with a twisted moss stitch and bulky weight yarn. I had a couple of skeins of Twilleys of Stamford's freedom wool that I've been wanting to use so that's what I cast on with. After about three or four inches I realized it isn't going to work. The stitch doesn't show through with the color changes in this yarn and 'the stitch is the scarf'; otherwise its just another scarf. I will rip it out and find another use for this soft yarn and on my next trip to the yarn shop I'll find suitable yarn for knitting the Fidget. As it turns out, I won't be joining the knit group tonight anyway, I don't want to spread any germs.

A Gardening Knitter - Helleborus, Iris Reticulata

My blogging has really suffered this last couple of months while I've been busy with family matters but my sister has at last been able to make the move to Milwaukee to live with her daughter. I hope it will work out and be as wonderful as she wants it to; and that it will be a lifetime of enjoyment for her. While my knitting has been almost none existent the last several weeks that's okay. I was able to spend time with my sister and I loved every minute of it. I lined the pink Melly bag and gave it to her while I was there (she adores anything pink and I can always make another bag for my niece). I emptied the bag she was using and placed the contents in the new pink bag and she took it with her for her last Doctor's appointment in SC. As of this morning, the bag now resides in Milwaukee.I've done a bit of knitting on the Nashua Theatre sweater but am a long way behind. It is a pretty fast knit so I hope to finish it in time to be able and wear it a few times this season. The Nicky Epstein bag is setting in a project bag with a dozen bobbins hanging from it, waiting to be picked up once more. The Chris Bylsma, Crayon Box jacket is begging to be worked on and Lily Chin's Central Park jacket still has not found gage. Maybe I will ditch it and try to find something else to use that $100.00 worth of yarn for; what a shame and a waste.

I had wonderful notes from almost every member of my Monday and my Tuesday night knitting groups while I was away with my sister. What remarkable and caring people they all are. I am so fortunate to have such fantastic friends and I dearly love each of them. I've also had notes from some of my inter-net swap partners and they too are appreciated. I've found some of my best friends to be knitters and gardeners; both wonderful worlds to be a part of.

The Helleborus have begun blooming out in the wooded area at the rear of our property. I was so pleased when DH called to tell me they were in bloom. I had checked them a few days before I left for SC and was disappointed that they were not yet in bloom. Generally, they began blooming in January and sometimes as early as December at our previous home. This is a clump of a white hybrid and in the middle of the clump is the beautiful pink. It will be interesting to see how this clump developes next season. Another pretty bloom, although with a deep turned down blossom, is this deep rose. And still another is one of the darker helleborus which is a deeper pink with a tint of purple in the blossom. For some reason I seem to have loss the foetidus (green stinking) helleborus this year, normally the easiest of all helleborus to grow and so far I've not found the 'niger' (almost black in color) ones.

In a front bed, there are snowdrops and crocus blooming and on the south side, the Iberis or Candytuft, is already started to bloom and out by the mailbox is a gorgeous clump of Purple Gem, Iris reticulata. Since this is February, I feel a bit uncomfortable with nature sprouting so early, we're still over a month away from spring, a long time where plants are concerned.

DH and neighbor have been working in the wooded areas at the back of our properties, bush hogging and cleaning up the brush; maybe I will get the garden I've wanted after all. Neighbor has decided it would be nice to have a place to sit and relax with a glass of wine in the afternoons and this, of course, appeals to DH. While I was away, a vegetable garden was build for me to grow vegetables this year. It is a large and nice, deep raised bed that we will add trellis to for beans and other running vegetables. Since our clay soil is so heavy and poor this will be a way to grow decent vegetables. I am looking forward to having a productive vegetable garden this year.

I'm Going To Knitters Connection

Oh joy - I have registered for Knitters Connection 2008 to be held in Columbus, Ohio in June. It will be a birthday gift, June 7th. Nice timing isn't it? Originally I was planning to go to Stitches East in November but decided I could go to Knitters Connection in June for the entire four days and then take the day bus trip with my guild in November to Stitches East. That will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, about a three hour drive for us Richmonder's. I'm looking forward to both.

I have finished the back of the sweater from Nashua's Theatre series pattern that I started on Saturday and have cast on for the front. Sweater class will be this Sunday and I'd like to have one side finished in case I have questions about the lapel. I love the feel of the thick and thin Cocoon yarn and the way it knits up. I think I will enjoy wearing this sweater since it will be boxy and hopefully not to warm for me. I 'v always been a hot natured person so of course that means I want clothing that are cooler than most people.

The Melly bag has been completed except for the lining for a couple of weeks now. It turned out beautiful, don't you think? Now I have to buckle down and get it lined and a snap on it. The Wooten bag is also completed except for the lining and ready to ship to another sister. I've almost completed the round of bags for my seven sisters. The fabric below the bag is what I will use to line it with. I decide to change the I-cord handles from the two colors knitted together to just one color. I think they look nice on the bag and I love having that outside pocket.

Yesterday I had the port, from where I was given chemo-therpy, removed from my chest. It was somewhat a nasty procedure because the tube going into the vein of my neck had become lodged in the vein. The little port itself was also stuck and had to be pried, pulled and snipped away. There was a small tear which bled unmercifully because of me taking a blood thinner, although it has been more than a week since I last took it. The port had been in place for over eighteen months so I'm delighted to have it out and am anxiously awaiting the wound to heal and to no longer need to grab and cover it for protection when Dariana or Maestro decides to give me hugs and kisses.

We've having a wonderful rain today that is pitter-pattering outside my window. I think I will go have a restful nap so I can stay awake tonight to work on my sweater.