HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

KNIT ON!

Pre-Christmas Ill, Right on Time

I am sick. I am dog sick, not just 'sick as a dog' but dog sick. I have the flu according to my doctor, who has graciously called in some antibiotics for me and which my loving neighbor is going to get for me on the way to purchase groceries. However, I am not alone in the sick. Hubby has the sick as well, as does Sniffles, and even Haro (although Haro claims he is turning the corner on the ill and is thus proclaiming himself better).

Despite the ill, I have indeed knitted like the wind and finished up with a hat and one fingerless mitt I will now have to sew up and the second mitt is begun and is looking more like a swatch than anything else, but it IS a mitt, or soon will be. The scarf to match is just going to have to arrive at some point after Christmas, maybe by Old Christmas on January 6th; although, to be quite honest, it will probably be by Valentine's Day. One gift will not be given at all because it is no where near completed. *insert large, sad sigh here*

Knitting, even though I have been sick, has been a joy, a release for all of the illness that currently inhabits this ol' body. No matter how badly I am feeling, once a few rows are knitted on a project, the better I feel, at least emotionally.

One of the side effects of this flu is that I cannot hear. Both ears are stopped up and one is probably infected. This means there is quiet and stillness during the knitting that otherwise would not be there; the knitting would be accompanied by the noise on the TV or radio. Hubby is looking at this with a wry smile and he keeps trying to help me listen to my favorite shows by turning the TV up quite loud. I can hear it, sometimes, but, if I had my druthers, I would just knit, right now, in the stillness of my own head. However, I do miss hearing conversations and what is being said to me.

I hope your all holiday gifts are finished and ready for their recipients and, just in case I don't make it back before then: Have a wonderful Merry Christmas!

Progress Has Been Made

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need something to boost my spirits when I am stressed. So, I am sharing with you one of my favorite spirit-boosters - Shemar Moore. There are several things I could think of knitting for him!!!!

Still knitting like the wind, but not feeling quite so over-whelmed. That will probably happen next week. So far the hat I need to have done for my mother-in-law is growing and should be finished this week, if not tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to finish up my Christmas shopping if at all possible and the wrapping of presents can begin along with the much-needed knitting.

Knitting. Like the wind.

A Test

I am trying things out because I am filling up places to hold pictures quickly. I may have to just start downloading them to Box.net or to some other place. The only problem is that I am going to have to begin paying some place it seems, and I do not have my first paycheck yet!

Seasonal Countdown and Time Consciousness

Things have been strange for me here at the Lexington homestead. Ricyos's father passed away Friday morning after a brief battle with cancer. It was a big surprise for the family, and everyone else. Only four or five weeks ago Ricyos's dad had to have a quintuple heart bi-pass and some scarring was found on his lungs. The scarring turned out to be cancer that had spread from some place else into his lungs. (Only within the past week had the doctors discovered some cancer cells in his stomach where another doctor had diagnosed a “bleeding ulcer” years before.) Having lost my own Dad 4 years ago this past year, I knew what the family was beginning to go through, and, for the first time in a long time I was able to be there for someone else and not my own family. It did not cause me to 'feel good' as some people would say, but it did let me be grateful to help someone else through this tragedy. Personally I would not wish losing a family member, especially one of your parents, on my worst enemy if I had one!

As usual, when stressed any more, I turn to the yarn and needles. This time I discovered that the knitting has again taken a different perspective and changed its place – going ever upwards on the needed-for-life scale as I currently know it. Having the massive amounts of knitting to do wasn't a drag or drudge, but it was a necessary part of having my day and hours filled. Knitting helped the burdens to ease and the time to pass in peaceful rhythm, and, for the first time this Christmas season, there was time for me to actually sit and think about what I would like for Christmas in the swag department.

So, for those of you who have asked I send you to http://www.knitpicks.com and the pattern collections with the following list:

Knitting Classic Style, by Veronik Avery
2-At-A-Time Socks, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Knitted Socks, by Anna Tillman
More Big Girl Knits, by Jillian Moreno & Amy Singer
Knitting New Mittens and Gloves, by Robin Melanson

I also need some 42” cables for the Interchangeable circular needles. I also need U.S. 5 replacement tips.

Subversive Knitting ....... *GASP*

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Some History and a Link

As most know, I am a member of Ravelry as NotAfraid2Knit. Big surprise, right? Well, one of the groups I am a member of there is JWS Knit and Natter led by the indomitable jmcarlisle who posted some wonderful information about Aran stitches. I am posting it here with permission. I hope you find this as interesting as I do.

Basket stitch = the fisherman’s basket for abundant catches.

Irish moss = symbol of the gifts of the sea-carrageen moss, a delicious food harvested at low tide.

The Link = the eternal link with those who have left the islands.

Diamond = represents success, wealth, and treasure derived from land and sea.

Honeycomb = tribute to the bee and hard work; considered lucky for fisherman to see a swarm of bees.

The tree of life = symbolizes the hope of Aran islanders for strong sons and family unity.

Trellis = represents the pattern of the small stone walled fields of the west acting as protection against the wind.

Double zigzag = the marriage lines suggesting the ups and downs that make life worthwhile.

And here is a link to a creative knitting site you might find interesting:

http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/newsletters/creativeknitting/index.html

You can also click on the title to go to the site as well. Happy knitting today y'all.