Give a little, Get a little

In the giving department, here are the other squares I'm sending off to Annie for her memorial afghan. I just love trying out new stitch patterns, especially lace! So what better cause than a memorial afghan of love? Knit a few and try out some stitch patterns of your own, you know you wanna!!

In the getting department, LOOK what I got from my secret pal!!


She's from Vermont so she sent me an adorable little log cabin shaped tin of *REAL* Vermont Maple Syrup...YUM!! She sent another cute post card and some pretty, pretty Kroy sock yarn which just happens to be one of my favorite sock yarns!! (of course I need more sock yarn like I need to run naked thru downtown Ft. Lauderdale, hehe....now there's the scary visual of the day!)
And best of all, in the upper left of the pic is a hand made needle roll for my DPN's....she made it herself!! Isn't it lovely? And aren't I a lucky Secret Pal? Thank you so much SP, you are spoiling me and your sewing talent leaves me awestruck! I *love* everything!!

This is what I've been working on lately. Like so many others across blog land I've been bitten by the Kiri bug!!


I'm using Shine from Knitpicks and I just *love* it!! It's sooooo soft, easy to knit with and has great stitch definition! It's a sportweight cotton/modal blend and the modal gives the yarn a really pretty shimmer or shine I guess :)
It's the first yarn I've tried from Knitpick's new line and I'm very satisfied overall. It's a lovely yarn and you can't beat the price! I am enlarging the pattern a bit, I'm doing 16 repeats instead of the 12 suggested in the pattern and I plan to add pearl beads to the cast off edge. I'm anxious to finish cause the rows are sooooo long now and seem to take forever!! To be honest, Polly designed a great shawl (thanks Polly!!) but having knit both the shawls on which Kiri is based, Birch and Leaf Lace, I think I prefer casting on 300 stitches and decreasing (Birch) to casting on 3 stiches (Kiri and Leaf Lace) and having to increase to 300+ stitches! But I guess that's what makes the knitting world go round, variety!! I hope to post completed Kiri picks next week.


Now Pumpkin wants to know "what's for breakfast, Mom?" so we are out of here!

Have a great weekend full of smooth stitches and cool breezes!!!

It's a small, small world

Pumpkin and I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to this amazing community of bloggers who offered their support for my lil guy and for allowing me to vent my spleen a little....y'all ROCK!!

Now along those lines, one of my favorite knit bloggers, Kerstin of At My Knit's End and her family have just suffered an untimely and tragic loss. Kerstin's brother-in-law, John Glick, was killed along with 2 of his friends in a car wreck. John was married only last year and his widow, Becky, not only lost her husband but one of the other men killed was Becky's bandmate as well.

In a show of comfort and support, Annie of The Knitty Gritty has organized a fiberly memorial for John. She is calling for our wonderful community to rally round and knit a square or two to sew together a knitted memorial afghan that Becky can keep to surround herself in our good wishes and thoughts. If you'd like to participate hop on over to Annie's blog for the details. She will even send you yarn if you want to knit but have no appropriate materials!

Here's one of my 8 x 8 inch squares:

A couple of month's ago, I won a contest on Kerstin's blog and my prize was 3 skeins of Kureyon. When I heard about this tragic accident, I immediately envisioned this square. I wanted a heart to represent the love John's family had for him and the crysral beads are to represent a crystal tear for thier great loss. The heart in my square is made from a tiny remnant of the yarn Kerstin sent me as my prize. I didn't know at the time, why I wanted to save this tiny snip of yarn...I do now. It's a small, small knitting world, isn't it?

It's my blog, and I'll rant if I want to!

>>I'm very sorry to have to say this, but that is probably one of the ugliest cats I've ever seen. As a Maine Coon, Russian Blue, and Siamese man myself, I find the flat-faced breeds a little disconcerting. Anyway, happy birthday. <<

Today I found the above comment on my blog. This asshat *HAD* to say this. For what? The Good of Mankind? My well being? Pumpkin's? And this weenie had the audacity to do it *anonmyously*. What a he-man!!

Now clearly this man has an inordinately small penis and an even smaller intellect and his comment does not change my life in any way but I fear it is symptomatic of all that is bad on the internet....Why do some feel it is ok to drive by and snipe, saying things they would NEVER have the sack to say face to face?? Why is it ok to break internet appointments without a fair-thee-well, when if the same behavior was exhibited face to face, the offender would be unceremoniously kicked to the curb? Y do we toler8 puter speak? Has it become 2 hard 2 write the word your, and only ur is acceptable? Yikes!!

Many have told me, I write exactly as I sound so my "voice" comes across in posts, emails and IM's and by the same token, I never say or do or promise anything I wouldn't offer in a real time, face to face situation. I wonder how many can say the same or how many find courage in a monitor and keyboard?

And you Mr. Drive-By Snark and Run, I wonder just how disconcerting your visage is that you have to hide behind a machine?

Claudia, no chicken feathers here, just lots of repetition....give me patience :)

Back to knitting tomorrow but before I go, here's yet another adorable picture of the P-Man, cause I'm ornery that way, hehe.....

HELP ME PLEASE!!!

I'm putting out a cry for help!! As previously discussed, my present camera SUX so I'm in the market for a new one....I'm looking for something decent in the $150 - $200 price range (being a poor graduate student and all) and I'm drowning in a sea of too many possibilities! So if you're thrilled with YOUR camera PLEASE leave me your suggestion in my comments! You will have my undying gratitude :) TIA!!

So much catching up to do!!

I'm baaaaaack!! Well actually I never left but I haven't been posting much because I am using my faithful but less than state of the art laptop that up until today, was WAY too slow for any picture programs....can you say dial up and 128 megs of RAM?? Sloooooooooow.......but to be honest, this was a really great laptop in it's day so I decided to give it a facelift! I added some RAM and a little perseverance and voila! Pics galore to make up for lost time! and now I have a really good "spare" if my really expensive piece of shit wonderful Gateway decides to show it's self again!

So on to some KNITTING CONTENT WITH PICS!! First up I give you the long awaited Adrienne Vittadini Shaped Top! I started this on KIP day (June 11) and finished it on July 6th so just about one month. The pattern was a bit more "organic" than I would have liked....you were given ONE pattern repeat of the lace and fitting in the armhole decreases and simultaneous neck decreases while keeping the lace looking as it should was left up to me! So the *second* time I knit the lace, I got it :) Here she is (and I *LOVE* her!!)

Specs:
Adrienne Vittadini Spring 2005 Pattern Book

Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Ravish - just under 8 skeins

size #6 US Addi Natura Bamboo Circs ( I knit really loosely with cotton!)

Mods: aside from having to figure out the lace/decreases myself I added the picot bind off that was called for at the neck and the armholes to the hem and I like it A LOT!! The pattern called for a plain cast on which being stockinette, rolled unmercifully and I felt the Top was too dressy for a ribbing or a seed stitch hem. I think adding the picots to the hem really pulled it all together! To do this, I did a provisional cast on by crocheting *around* my needle to form temporary loops and knit into each loop. Once the peices were finished, I unzipped the provisional cast on, placed the live stitches on my needle and bound off using the matching picot bind off.

All in all, a fun knit and a (in my opinion) beautiful result! I'm very happy with the top and I hope the acrylic content of the ASC will keep it from stretching out so I can wear it for many *Summers of Lace* to come!

Now what else has Debi been up to in her blogging absence you ask? First up, I finished my socks for my Sockapal-2-za pal:

I hope she likes these sunny beaded socks and they make her smile all year long!

Next, I knit these Leaf Socks for a friend. She's a lover of the color sage so I used "Artic Moss" Naturespun Sport for the body and some Mountain Colors "Sagebrush" for the trim, heels and toes. I think she will *love* these socks!
The pattern is from the German Sock Knit-a-Long Yahoo Group.
I also used the Sagebrush Mountain Colors (one of my favorite yarns, btw!!) to make some socks for the charity Children in Common (CIC). I think these are just so cute and it warms my heart to know they will be keeping the feet of some sweet child warm when that child might have little else. I really *love* being able to use my beloved knitting in a charitable way....go ahead, make a few, the **FREE** pattern is right over there -------------->on my sidebar! You know you wanna!

Now I leave you with...what else? Cute Pumpkin pics!! When he lays near me on the couch he usually curls up so tight his flat, little face is mashed into the cushions, something like this:
And one second later, here he was:
Doesn't he look like he turned himself inside out? hehe....And don't you *need* to scratch that tummy?

Next week, two new WIP's and hopefully a new toy*

Happy knitting everyone!!

*please forgive the horrible quality of these pics, my camera :::cough, Gateway, cough:::is not very good at the close-ups and it was my first digital camera ie: I didn't know any better!) My birthday is in September so I think there's an early birthday prezzie in my immediate future! Stay tuned.....

addendum 7/16 4 pm: I took my camera outside after the rain stopped and re-shot all the pics....the quality is slightly better but still not very good so, if you visited earlier, your eyes are not playing tricks AND I'm still looking for a new camera :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY P-MAN!!

Today is Pumpkin's FIRST birthday!! Please send chicken :)

I couldn't ask for a sweeter, happier man in my life and my darling boy has made a very difficult time a little bit more bearable!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUMPKIN!!

For those who are about to ROCK.....

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Gone Fishing!!

I wish!!!

I've been having major computer issues of late so it's time I sent my really expensive piece of shit *great* computer in for a serious overhaul! And since I'm on school break until the second week in July, no computer access! I will have my ancient but beloved old laptop but I probably won't be posting until my really expensive piece of shit *great* computer returns!

So hopefully lots of knitting and some blog visiting for now....I'll be back as soon as I can! Try to miss me a little? .....hehehe...

Happy Summer and Happy Knitting!

PS - The spectacular pic of the sailfish above was taken off Key West, my favorite place on Earth (so far!) and about 3 hours south of me. I didn't catch it but I could.....maybe.....someday....you up for it, La?

Lotsa prezzies, lotsa pics, a thank you and some knitting!

It's been a busy week, finals and final papers coming due. Little posting so lots to catch up on!

First of all a great big thank you to Knitty Kim for being such a great Meet-Up organizer and making sure World Wide KIP Day was a rousing success for us Broward County knitters! Well done Kim!!

Now if that wasn't exciting enough, I got a gift from my Secret Pal this week!

First I got these really cool knitting post cards. Aren't they adorable?

Next I got these way cool *personalized* stitch markers!

Isn't my SP the BEST?? She also sent me a lovely sympathy card for losing Mickie 2 weeks ago (and Jaxon in February!) that really touched my heart! Thank you SP!!

Since class/study time is prime knitting time for me, I've been really productive. I finished the back of the AV Shaped Top (my KIP Day Project) but as it is just a rolling blob of stockinette, I didn't think it was pic/blog worthy yet.

I did finish Rob's Twined Rib Socks (free pattern on sidebar) and I thought they were very blog worthy so here they are.

And.....since I am participating in Alison's
I started some socks for my sock pal....
I thought these sunny socks would make my sock pal smile!

But wait, there's more!!!
I recently became acquainted with a fellow blogger Liz. I helped Liz with some HTML for her blog and she so generously sent me these:
More beautiful stitch markers!! And a wee mousie for Pumpkin! Getting to know Liz has been reward enough but all these wonderful stitch markers sure made me smile! Thanks {{{{LIZ}}}}

And last but certainly not least, I leave you with this cool pic of the P-Man....he was on my back porch when he spotted a pigeon! Doesn't he look fierce!! heheh....
Have a great weekend and keep knitting!!!

Stash Enhacement and a Reminder!!

OOOO how pretty!!

The yarn on the left is 400 yards of Seduction in the Sarong colorway. This was a gift from someone special ( hi Toni! ) and is a fingering weight hand dyed 50% Merino/50% Tencel blend. My camera doesn't capture the luster of this beautiful yarn nor the decadent softness!! It is so delicious!! This would make the ultimate pair of socks but I'm thinking maybe a beaded shawlette too. Ah, such tough decisions :) This yarn is dyed by the same talented artist who produces Socks That Rock yarn and if you haven't checked that out you can find it at The Fold It's a great *sproingy* sock yarn in amazing colorways...go on, you know you wanna :)

I saw the yarn on the right, Kelly, in a catalog and fell in love! The Kelly is a cable constructed cotton/acrylic worsted weight yarn in a beautiful light to dark coral and lime colorway. Now I may have the stash that ate Florida but don't buy yarn "just to have it". All my yarn is earmarked for specific projects* I couldn't justify the purchase until I met this:

mmmmmmmm, sweater ::::best Homer Simpson drool:::: Isn't she lovely? Her name's Dibs-On-Ribs and she's from the "Subscriber Only" area of the Interweave Knits on-line site. She's constructed with all sorts of interesting short rows. Itchy Kureyon, feh! Soft, brilliant Kelly, goooooood!! Won't she make a lovely summer sweater?

Now don't forget, tomorrow is so get out there and KIP all you amazing knitters!! And bring an extra set of needles and some scrap yarn to teach someone to KIP for next year!

*altho all my stash has a purpose, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time...it's a knitter's perogative, n'est ce pas? :)

Between the raindrops...

Finished shawl pics!!Here she is being blocked on my bed.

I had to be a bit creative :)

Here she is outside reclining on the railing on my front catwalk.

And a close up, Mr.DeMille!

Specs:

Myrna Stahman's Catharina Shawl from Knitter's Best of Shawls and Scarves in Blue Heron Mercerized fingering weight cotton in the colorway Opal on #6 US (4mm) addi natura bamboo circular needles.

I really loved this project!! I **HEART** this Blue Heron Cotton and I plan to use it for many more shawls in the future! It's very shimmery and soft and knits like a dream...very easy on the hands for 100% cotton!

This was my first Faroese shawl and I love the shoulder shaping that really makes the shawl stay put! The pattern was impeccably written and really fun to do! I made the back panel 29 inches, as suggested for a "large" however the *wings* were a bit long, they were down past my hands! I guess *fluffy* and short don't go so well together, hehehe... So after I broke my back *dressing* her to perfection as specified (see above!) I.....decided to.....toss her in the washer and dryer!! I was scared (right, Ada?) but I figured I couldn't wear her as she was and worst case, I would gift her to someone else. BUT....SHE IS NOW PERFECT!! ::: another Debi Happy Dance ::: I really enjoyed this process (hi Margene!) and the product is now perfect too.....ALL HAIL THE Summer Of Lace!!(Thanks Wendy!)

Pumpkin just takes it all in stride, see?

Now please come back tomorrow for some stash enhancment and a reminder!!

Extraordinary Kindnesses

The knitting community is so amazing! I want to say a heartfelt thank you for the outpouring of kindness and support for this very difficult time.

Losing BOTH my beloved boys in the space of less than 3 months has caused my heart to shatter. The things that keep me sane are the generosity of my knitting friends and my sweet Pumpkin. I thank god for both!

As a way of saying thanks, I've posted two free sock patterns on my side bar. The first is Rob's Twined Rib Sock.

This is written for sportweight yarn (I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Camouflage and Cedar) and a men's size 10.5. It's a nice stretchy rib with manly appeal! It would look equally nice in bright colors for a woman's sock.

Next is the Toddler's Twined Rib Sock. My sweet friend Ada adapted my pattern for her almost 2 year old son, Joey.
Aren't they adorable? Also written for sportweight so they fly off the needles!!

Pumpkin loves these socks and couldn't resist trying to steal the show. You can glimpse his little white foot sneaking into to the frame on the Camo socks. Since he's such a cutie, I decided to allow him to be my spokesmodel....
I finished my shawl (lots of stress/insomnia/grief knitting!) but no pics until the daily rain, rain, rain let's up!! Hopefully one day this week! I've got some lovely stash enhancement pics too :)

Just one more BIG thank you to everyone for being so supportive and showing me what RAOK really means!!

Good-bye my Miclette....

Mickie 1993-2005

Good-bye, sweet boy. Run and purr with your brother Jaxon now. I'll miss you both forever.....

The Prettiest Skies

No knitting pics today because I'm *this* close to finishing my shawl so hopefully that will be the knitting content of my next post. One thing that's making it go a bit quicker is I taught myself to purl backwards!! The border of the shawl is garter stitch lace so every row is knit but to avoid having to flip this huge shawl for every other row, I figured if one can knit backwards (I never tried this but I have read about it) why not purl backwards? So I followed the path that the purl stitch makes and success!!! Now with the RS facing me I knit the lace row right to left and the purl back row, left to right!! And I'm able to keep in pattern with the garter lace with no more flipping!! Perhaps this isn't earth shattering but it's got me totally chuffed! :::Debi Does Happy Dance:::

We had the weirdest weather today. About 4 pm the sky got very dark and I could hear really loud thunder. Then I heard these strange bang,bang,bang noises...both Pumpkin and I rushed to the front door to see what was happening...quarter sized hail stones!! with torrential rain. In about 5 minutes it was over and the sun was shining and this is what I saw from my front balcony...

Florida doesn't have the most attractive foliage or lush green terrain but we do have weather that keeps you guessing! And we do have some truly beautiful skies! Actually this rainbow is nothing...sometimes we get enormous double rainbows that stretch like a giant semi-circle in the sky that you can see from end to end. I hope I have my camera the next time I see one of those but I think this one is pretty and all the more surprising for the hail shower 5 minutes before!

Now if you want to see some beautiful knitting and some cute socks, go visit my bud Ada

Have a happy Monday and a Memorial Day full of hot dogs, apple pie and your "Knitting Water" of choice!

New WIP and a questionnaire

I still can't decide what color to choose for my Shaped Top that I plan to knit on World Wide KIP day but I did start a new WIP.

This is a sock of my own design...well actually I picked out a pleasing stitch from one of Barbara Walker's Stitch Treasuries and plugged it into to my standard sock formula.

I wanted something *manly* as I find it rather hard to find patterns that meet manly approval yet have some interest. I think these fit the bill, especially in these robust colors (can't you just feel the testosterone? hehe)

This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Camouflage for the body and Cedar for the contrasting ribbing, heels and toes. I absolutely LOVE this yarn! It's so soft and so easy to knit! These will be a gift for a special friend and I'm sure he'll love them too!

And now for the questionnaire portion of our broadcast. Secret Pal 5 is about to begin and it is suggested that the participants answer some question so their secret pal can get to know them a little better, so here goes....

1- Are you are yarn snob? Most definitely!! Yes, acrylic has it's place (like for kids) I hate working with 100% cotton but a cotton/microfiber/acrylic blend rocks my world. I prefer natural fibers. No Red Heart or Lion Brand for me, thanks!

2- Do you spin? Crochet? I don't spin and have no interest in learning. I can crochet but only do to accessorize my knitting...no exclusive crochet projects.

3- Do you have any allergies (smoke, pets, fibers, perfumes, ect.) Smoke makes me ill and some perfumes too. I don't know that I'm officially allergic to alpaca but I feel uncomfortable around it and my hands itch and feel all prickly.

4- How long have you been knitting? I learned about 30 years ago when I was 8 and knit thru college but stopped for 15 years. I came back to the fold just about 3 years ago and have pretty much knit every day since!

5- Do you have an Amazon or any other online wish list? I have an Amazon Wish List and both Judy at theknitter.com or Mary at The Knitting Zone know me well enough to tell you what I like :)

6- What is your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, ect.) I love the smell of limes and lemons! Fresh, clean scents like linen or cotton, juniper or sweet pea.

7- Do you have a sweet tooth? Now you don't think I became a *fluffy* knitter on Slim Fast, did ya?

8- What other crafts or do-it-yourself things do you enjoy? I used to do counted cross stitch and needlepoint but now I devote my time to knitting.

9- What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3's? Pretty eclectic musical tastes here. I like hip hop and dance and 80's. Right now listening to the Clash, Dido and the Cranberries...I said eclectic, didn't I?

10- What is your favorite color? Or do you have a favorite color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? My favorite color is green to look at but I cannot wear it!! Fav to wear is pink, red, cool blues and grays and I find myself strangely drawn to orange these days. My official season is Spring but I prefer the more vibrant palette of Winter. I HATE brown, beige, tan ect. at least on me!!

11- What is your living situation? Any pets? I live with my two cats, Mickie and Pumpkin - altho Mickie is quite ill and is probably headed for the big kitty litter box in the sky soon :(

12- What is your life's dream? To visit Australia and Holland.

13- What is your favorite yarn to knit with? Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool and Naturespun Sport for wool, Calmer and All Seasons Cotton for cellulose fibers.

14- What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? anything coarse and scratchy. I know this is blasphemy but I'm not a big Kureyon fan, I like my wool without "things" in it and I don't care for alpaca. Pure cotton at any gauge larger than fingering hurts my wrists if I knit for any length of time.

15- What is/are your current knitting obsessions? Lace Lace and more Lace!!

16- What is/are your favorite items to knit? Socks, Shawls whatever attracts me really. Don't care for fairisle (too hot for Florida) or intarsia (too fussy).

17- What are you knitting right now? The socks pictured above and a beautiful Faroese shawl in fingering weight cotton.

18- What do you think about ponchos? ICK!! Altho I knit one for my Mom cause she asked me to.

19- Do you prefer circular or straight? Circs all the way!! DPN's for socks tho...I don't like socks on circs or magic loop.

20- Bamboo, plastic, metal? I'm a total needle freak and have a LOT of needles but what I use depends on the project. I will usually swatch with more than one type (crystal palace/addi natura bamboo, Denise plastic and addi turbo metal) and choose the one that feels right and gives me the best gauge/fabric.

21- Are you a sock knitter? IN A BIG WAY!!! I always have a sock on the needles, it's my staple grad school knitting :)

22- How did you learn to knit? My mom taught me.

23- How old is your oldest UFO? I don't have any....

24- What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal? I used to love Ren and Stimpy. I love the Velveteen Rabbit and have one on my dresser.

25- What is your favorite holiday? Easter, Halloween and Christmas/Chanukah/Kwaanza

26- Is there anything you collect? Crystals...the rock kind, not the Waterford kind but I am very open to starting that....hehe...I have some cat figurines and frog figurines....oh and YARN!!!

27- What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Cast-On, Interweave Knits and Knitter's....and I'm a Rowanette.

28 - Any books out there that you are dying to get your hands on? The DaVinci Code...yes I am the only one who hasn't read it yet! As knitting books go, I'd love the Sally Mellville books.

So enough about me!! Have a great weekend and great holiday for those that celebrate!

Hopefully a finished shawl and lots of Pumpkin next week!!

Kitchener Stitch Made Easy!!

Well, I got your attention, didn't I? heheh...

Here's my helper for today's post...

See? He's feeling so much better he's helping mom at the computer!

So today's post is about how I make kitchener stitch, if not *easy*, at least easier!

Now what on earth is this? A wooden light bulb? A marital aid? nah...


It's a DARNING EGG!!
I do the kitchener stitch in the usual manner but I never worry about the tension of my stitches while I'm making them. That's where the darning egg comes in.


I slip my freshly off the needles, kitchenered toe over my darning egg...loosely tensioned stitches and all.


Now, the stitches are taught against the darning egg and oh so much easier to see!! I tighten them up stitch by stitch, using the end of my sewing needle.


Et Voila!!
It may not be the cure for cancer but it certainly makes it much easier for me to do the dreaded kitchener stitch!!
And here are the finished socks.


Now Pumpkin says.....

Whew, I'm exhausted!!
Have a wonderful week full of knitting!!

KIP Day Project....decision, decisions!

Since my last post showing off the Adreinne Vittadini Shaped Top I plan to be knitting on World Wide KIP day a few friends have asked what color All Seasons Cotton I plan to use. I have these two colors in my stash:

On the left is "Valor" a deep mauve-y, plum shade and on the right is "Ravish" a light periwinkle-bluish-lavender. Both are lovely and would do the Shaped Top justice. So fellow knit friends, which would you choose?

My two current WIPs, the Regia socks and the Cotton Faerose Shawl, are very close to completion so I figured I would wait to post them when they are completely done. Since tonight is Knitting Meet-Up night, I should be closer to that goal, at least on the socks! Our group is expanding our monthly meetings to include a second meeting one Saturday per month and our first Saturday Meet-Up will be....yes, it's true....JUNE 11, World Wide KIP Day!!! Thanks Kim, for being such a good organizer and for making sure Broward Knitters represent on KIP Day!!!

On the Pumpkin front, we are still a *cone zone* but his eye looks really good so I've been taking the cone off when I am here to watch him and make sure he doesn't re-injure his eye. See?

Pumpkin and I wish everyone a great weekend with lots and lots of perfect stitches!!

WORLD KIP DAY!!!!

I just found out about this from my dear friend Ada and I'm so excited!!

I hope this is a rousing success around the world!

Imagine knitter's across the globe sharing a craft that knows no color, no race, no wars, no gender, no boundaries!! Let's ALL KIP on June 11!!

Now what I hope to be KIP'ing is this:

I just fell in love with this sweater! I bought the Adrienne Vittadini Spring 2005 pattern booklet on line because I saw another shell that I found intriguing but when the booket arrived I rethought my first *crush*. The original shell I was intrigued by was heavily textured with a twist (knotted) front and I am not sure how this would look on a *fluffy* girl like me. Enter the Shaped Top ! Now this is me :) And I have just the periwinkle (Ravish) All Season's Cotton in the stash to do it with!! YAY! summer knits....anyone care to join me?

One thing I really like about AV designs is that she always includes *real* sizes in all her patterns! Most of her designs go from XS or Petite to XL/1X/2X and go up to a 48" - 52" bust which is great news for a fluffy knitter like me! And the few designs that don't are relatively easy to upsize. Unlike Vogue and Rowan who consider an XL a 40" bust!!!!! ON WHAT PLANET???? Hello, the *average* woman is a size 14!! Yeah, yeah a sore spot for me....but I'll save that rant for another post :)

Pumpkin update: unfortunately we are still with cone :( He was doing great before the Vet visit and the Vet confirmed the ulcer is healed!! YAY! But when we got home, he started rubbing his eye like crazy!! I think the stuff the Vet uses to illuminate the ulcer irritates him and frankly, I don't think the Vet washed it out throughly enough! So to avoid re-living the last SEVEN weeks all over again, I put his cone back on, gave him some eye drops to soothe him and wash out his eye a bit and will continue with the antibiotic ointment twice a day until Saturday. I will also keep his cone on for another week without meds just to be safe and sure that everything is all healed! Needless to say, I will be finding another Vet!! I just wish Pumpkin didn't have to suffer all this, he just so sweet and loving, even through this!! See....

Poor lil guy!! Maybe some *chicken* will help!

Happy knitting!!