How do YOU spell Bad??

In our house, it's spelled Ethel....or Ethel Mae. This is what the room looked like when she was finished gathering her toys and everyone else's socks....and the huge pile of ice cubes that I extracted from the ice maker so that it would extrude ice for us. Why did I think that putting them in her bowl was a good idea???

But Ethel *did* help out today....as shown by her very patiently (!) helping to model the finished chemo caps for Sharron........Look how lovely Ethel looks in purple......




..and in red....



...and with her seeming limitless patience...red-eye shots....mid-blink shots...and
uninvited white spots in front of her eyes, she eventually gave me this..and nothing more......wouldn't even turn her head....



But even Ethel Mae can't hold a grudge for very long. Within moments, she gave me one of these....And I know that if there is ever a position open again for a sweet young knitwear model, she'll volunteer readily with a wag and a sloppy kiss.

Wishes for Sharron

..today was devoted to knitting a chemo cap for Sharron, who is a very warm and inspiring woman with whom I am privileged to work. I knit and frogged a version last weekend in the merino superwash...I didn't like the gauge, nor the feel. I found this week a different recommendation for Rowan Calmer, 75% cotton, 25% acrylic microfiber; and the feel of this cap is just very nice. Red, of course, is for courage...purple, for peace. Please send Sharron your warmest, healing thoughts. This would have been her first week of her chemo treatments. She survived ovarian cancer a number of years ago; and now is having to battle cancer again. As cruel as life can be, her daughter, I understand, is also currently battling breast cancer. My thoughts are with both of them. Tomorrow, I will tackle the purple cap, then back to the FLAK piece to complete the front. Please keep Sharron and her daughter in your thoughts and prayers.......

Non-progress on the Christmas poncho

So, here's where I've gone with the Christmas Poncho. I was feeling a bit guilty about it until the Valentine's Day dance, when the charming Miss M. came downstairs in an old, mis-fitting t-shirt and a nice denim skirt. I asked 'why not wear that nice cabled sweater I made you?'.....and not only could she not FIND it, but when she finally pulled it out of some pile, she , in a hurry to get out of the house with her girlfriend, had put it on INSIDE OUT and hadn't even noticed that all those lovely cables weren't even showing.

...so there went any guilt at not having spent the time to make sure that she gets her poncho right away.

I've been flakking and re-flakking....and notice the excess yarn swimming around today's picture!!! I just can't get the idea of frogging down to correct a braid 4 rows back. I made an error on previous swatches, and am flummoxed by the idea that when I make a mistake with a cable or braid, I match the mistake in the repeat of the same pattern in the same row. It must look right to me at the time at each cable......mysterious stuff.

But I'm almost done with the back.....I was closer to being almost done with the back last night before the frogging...but that's ok.

I've also been working...after some frogging as well.....on the Nordic piece for my niece....the niece piece...which is quickly approaching the start of the patterning at the top of the 'tube'. I've not given much thought to the impending steeking and inlayed panel processes....I think I'll just think about it when I get there, lest I scare myself out of doing it at all.

And I started and frogged a chemo cap last weekend. Red, for courage, and Lana Grosso merino 2000, which *is* very soft. I'm not convinced, however, that it's soft *enough*. I hate using synthetics; although synthetics have been recommended for their softness. I HAVE Sadie downstairs,....with plenty of wool, which I might want to dye and spin up. I then have to wonder whether it would be too hot.....unless, of course, it starts to act like winter again.

We *loved* the snow that this past weekend brought; but yesterday was acting like spring again. It's just a bit unsettling....makes me dread what this summer might bring.....in the event that it's hot as blazes. If it turns out to be mild, then that would be ok. But hot weather puts me in one foul mood.....NOT a pretty sight.

Anyway...that's it for today. It was my goal to get this posted and figure out the joining of the FLAK ring. I copy and pasted the ring button, then thought I had taken it out, since I wasn't seeing it.....now I see that it's back again. Either there is a button faery helping out with this mission, or I have no clue........whoops...now it's gone again. ...yep...she's clueless.

So now, we have to wonder, WHAT'S UP with those crazy Lake Erie girls????? Hmmmm....I think Kate's probably busy hemming-no-KNITTING her lovely wedding gown...while Sal must be up to her ears in.....hmmmmm maybe chicken*^&t. That's ok. I know they're going to surprise us with some news any old day now......

Hey Mom, have you finished my poncho yet??

.....ummmmm.......

Guess what? Am I the only one who has not finished her Christmas presents yet? For 2005? I am a terrible mother. I rushed to finish my daughter's sweater (for Christmas), then my father's birthday vest (for BD 12/30), then conveniently left Maersy's poncho waiting.....on the bobbins.....not even on the needles!! I did start to knit a bit of the piece, but since the yarn is doubled, it was used up quickly. She chose one of the ponchos that was presented in the Interweave magazine a few months ago.

I should be better about documenting my sources, but it's just such a task to unearth that particular document from the stack of documents known as my side table. Every day, I look at one more book or pattern book and quickly (and ever so carefully), add it strategically to the teetering pile of books that lives next to me when I knit. Once a week, (or two, or three), I reorganize the pile, put some away, and neaten up the rest. It never fails, though, that it's another teetering mess within three days.

It's a sign of use, I figure.

So here's Maersy's poncho. Still on the bobbins. ..and in the roving bag. It's one of the the precursor projects to the big honkin' dye pot that I got for Christmas. Although not quite as evident in this project, but particularly in the Spinnery sweater, I have not been able to dye my entire batch of roving in the same pot. Since this project is more variegated in nature, it doesn't bother me as much. But with her sweater, I was not happy with the variation in color across my skeins. Of course, it doesn't help that the skeins were not consistent in type of wool, as well. Chalk it up to the learning curve.

Again, I digress. I need to put aside the Nordic sweater, the FLAK re-swatch, the baby sweater swatches, the socks....did I miss anything else?.....and get back to spinning for her Christmas present.

But it IS 9....and I'm really quite tired.....so I think I'll just pull out the easy stuff and just knit without thinking on that for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow morning, Maer...I promise!!