Thank you, more aftermath and a promise kept

First and foremost I and the P-Man want to thank everyone for their ongoing support and kindness during the acute phase of this horrible situation. Without all the wonderful comments and generosity I'm sure I would not have been able to cope! I am truly grateful for the kindnesses of "strangers".

And now the aftermath begins.....I have yet to hear from FEMA or my condo association's insurance carrier....real surprise, right? There was so much damage sustained in the south Florida area that there is a THREE MONTH waiting period for repair appointments at places like Home Depot or Lowe's. Late last week I began calling repair services in the phone book and left over 30 messages! I follow up every other day... and so far I've gotten only ONE call back! And he can only work on my front door, not the sliding glass door and he's not sure "when or if he can fit it into his already very booked calendar" altho I suspect for the right price an opening would magically appear! I have a rudimentary door rigged in the front just so I'm not living "al fresco" but I am unable to lock it and there has been lots of looting and theft in the county and I'd really like to hang on to the few possessions I still have left! Soooo, I can't really leave my condo for any length of time.....No one in the area has television because all the cables were badly damaged and stores remain very low on supplies.Debris is still everywhere and combined with non-functional traffic lights, driving is more than treacherous The litany goes on and on.....

I mention all this not for pity or sympathy but because I feel it is a story I MUST tell....so many people have said "now you can get back to normal". Well, normal will elude South Florida for a very long time! And it kills me that there is barely a mention in the news across the country!! When did Brittany Spears latest brand of diaper become more important than "WE THE PEOPLE......?"

Ok rant over.... for now :)

On to knitting content!!!

I got tagged for this meme that's been floating around Knitbloglandia by my good bud and knitting *goddess* Agnes (hurry over and see her amazing Old Tile -- intarsia in cotton, WOWIE, WOW, WOW!!) and I promised I would do it as soon as I was on power vs. battery juice so here goes......

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?

In the animal fiber department it’s a close tie between Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport and Mountain Colors Weavers Wool. Both nice and soft and such beautiful colors!! In vegetable fiber, I really love Blue Heron Mercerized Laceweight Cotton, Rowan Calmer and Rowan All Seasons Cotton. All wonderful to knit with and no hand/wrist pain! Lastly, I don’t love knitting with it but the finished product is amazing…….Euroflax Linen.

Your favorite needles?

I’m a total needle ho so I have TONS of needles! In fact I have an entire piece of furniture to hold them all and it’s completely full :) All circs, except for my really extensive DPN collection. The needle I use depends on the project and if it’s a new yarn I will swatch with all my types of needles. I have Addi turbos (wool, some cotton blends), Addi naturas (great for what the turbos can’t play with), Crystal Palace bamboo circs, Denise Interchangeables and Aeros/Inox Grays (my choice for laceknitting and linen). I prefer DPNs for sock knitting and there I have Brittany’s, Pony Pearls, Addi Metal, Addi Bamboo, Plymouth Bamboo, Aero Teflon, Bryspuns, and Crystal Palace Bamboo which I love, love, love and use more often than all the others. Listen, I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, rarely drink so I might have a lil needle addiction, ok? Don’t judge.

The worst thing you've ever knit?

No pics cause the evidence is long gone! When I was about 12 I was a new knitter who knew nothing about gauge. My first ever sweater was navy blue worsted weight wool with rainbow stripes across the bust supposedly for me. The sweater came out beautiful….for an ELEPHANT! I mean, I was a fluffy kid but not this fluffy!! I remember thinking “it will probably fit better once I sew it together”…….um, no! And the really weird thing is as huge as the sweater was, the neck opening was so tight it wouldn’t fit a Cabbage Patch doll! It’s I wonder I wasn’t put off knitting for good! Thankfully things have improved enormously since that fiasco!

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)

Hands down, my Shaped Triangle shawl! Lots of interest and pattern changes so no boredom! A really fun knit that I will do again!

Most valuable knitting technique?

“Spit” splicing and the Russian Join. Love the smooth, finished look these two techniques give my knitting and not having ends to weave rocks my knitting world!
Also, discovering the German Twisted Cast-On, which I use almost exclusively cause it’s attractive and nice and stretchy.

Best knit book or magazine?

I have many but the one I turn to most often is The Big Book of Knitting by Katarina Buss – great pics and easy to follow instruction. Second place goes to Vogue Knitting. I think Interweave Knits is the most appealing magazine for me and I love that they almost always include a great sock pattern.

Your favorite knit-a-long?

I haven’t joined many KAL’s but I loved the Ample Knitter’s Cabled Tee KAL. I made a lovely tee in lilac Calmer that fits me *perfectly*. I also have been in both of Alison’s Sockapaloozas and had lots of fun knitting for other sock knitters and got my own beautiful hand knit socks (my first!) in the bargain. Being part of Wendy’s Seasons of Lace has been great too.

Your favorite knitblogs?

As many have said, there are too many great blogs to single out just a few favorites. I’ll just say that I’ve learned a lot, shared a lot and made some wonderful friends! I’m so glad to be part of this community!

Your favorite knitwear designer?

I love Kathy Zimmerman’s intricate cables, and Evelyn Clark’s patterns are exceptionally well written and user friendly. Kim Hargreaves for her classic styling but I wish she would remember us fluffy knitters, too! 2XL is NOT 40” !!

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!)

I wear all of my shawls a lot as they are the perfect covering for Florida in my opinion. Lately, I’ve been wearing this all the time! Why, it's my Shaped Triangle shawl again.....and one of my favorite P-Man pics!

Who to tag?

With all that’s been on my brain of late, it’s hard to remember who has or hasn’t been tagged already.Jen and La, if they haven’t, Kris, Beth, Liz and Ada.

Last but not least some FO's and WIP's.....

Here are the *Hurricane Socks* whose heel I turned in my closet during the Hurricane. Not really sure how I feel about these, even tho I think they are beautiful, they do illicit some not so great feelings. I figure if they aren't meant to be, the heel or toe will blow out within a week, hehe....they are Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Potluck Blue/Green colorway. This was my first time with CTH and altho it's very soft and lovely, it's already pilling like crazy and I haven't even worn em once! See? maybe they know they were knit under extreme duress! I would donate these socks to charity so someone else could love them but altho the socks look deceptively "average" in the picture, I have REALLY wide, fluffy feet and legs and being made to fit fluffy me I don't think they would fit anyone else! Alas they are short and VERY wide, just like me :) We'll see how they fare....

This is the sock I'm currently working on. It's just a 4x2 rib in Mountain Colors Weavers Wool in the Wilderness colorway. These socks are a thank you gift for my kind and generator endowed neighbor!


This was my first time using the Tubular Cast-On for socks and I love it!! I've used it for flat knitting but never in the round. So stretchy and neat, see?


All my knitting reference books said this was not a good cast on for 2x2 rib, it was only for 1x1. In her book "Cool Socks, Warm Feet" Lucy Neatby says it works for 2x2 so I figured, why not give it a try? Well I think it looks great, no twisting or wonkiness and not *too* hard to do! I will use it again without a doubt and if there is an interest, I can even do a tutorial :)

Now I leave you with a picture of the **best** change that Wilma brought into my life....even tho things were/are kinda terrible here at FKD, I got to meet two very special men......

"Spiderman" is Dante - 5 and "Buzz Lightyear" is Darren - 3. These are the children of the generator endowed neighbors and made me smile more than I thought possible. They are also crazy about my Pumpkin. I'm crushing big time :)

Time to go play Cootie with the guys! See ya!!