Tangled Threads and Seaweed

Starting the Second Sock!

There aren't words to describe how I feel about this! I am so excited!

And it fits Joe pretty good! He didn't have it pulled up on his heel all the way in this picture. But he does love it!

This yarn just knits up so pretty. The kitchener - not so pretty, but it will do.

Here's the sole - 7 stitches per inch on size 3 needles. I've noticed my gauge is relaxing just a bit as I continue to knit - kind of like getting warmed up and flexible - at least I'm not having to pry the stitches off the needles now!  *grin*

Non-knitting related news: I had a sonogram of my neck last Wednesday, and then had an appointment with the surgeon later that afternoon. He said there was no sign of thyroid tissue on the sonogram, and I don't have to see him until April of next year! This means its likely that the residual tissue was killed by the radioactive iodine treatment last fall.  I'll see the oncologist on the 29th and will have bloodwork done to check my medication level. But I'm feeling pretty encouraged by the latest test.

Between the hospital and the doctor's office, I did a little yarn stash enhancing. I was able to find some more of the multi-colored yarn I'm using in my crocheted baby afghan. I also picked up another sock-knitting book - More Sensational Socks by Charlene Schurch. I used her first book to learn to knit socks. The patterns in the new book are a bit more detailed, and I'm looking forward to trying some of them....not that I'm quite ready for that yet!   

Addicted to the Ipod

I admit it - I'm addicted to this little toy:

Kevin gave this to me at Christmas. I surely didn't need a BIG one like Joe's.

Guess what! This little thing doesn't hold all my favorite tunes. Who'd have thought? So I'm lusting for a bigger Ipod. I love this thing.

What's on your playlist? My current faves are Collective Soul, Boys Like Girls, Lifehouse, Liz Phair, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, Melissa Etheridge, Colbie Caillat, Suzy Boggess, Eva Cassidy, and Indigo Girls.

What's not on my Ipod, but in my car? Jimmy Buffett, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Mellencamp, James Taylor, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, Allison Krauss, and Sheryl Crow.

I've Been Quilting

It seems like the only time I talk about quilting is after a sewing day with my girlfriends. Saturday was National Quilting Day, and we worked on a great group project. Several months ago we decided to make a Valentine's Day quilt, using red and pink fabrics. We picked the Spiderweb pattern from Eleanor Burns' series of books from the 1990's.

We love to do group projects where we either sew blocks for each other or swap fabrics - on this quilt we did both! We all cut tons of red and pink strips, and then one girl wanted some lavender in hers, then another wanted some lime green, so we cut those colors too. Then one girl wanted just pink and lime green... I chose pink and red but asked one girl to throw in a few green strips for a zinger. Before we met, we cut our background/foundations and sewed the first strip on each side. On our sewing day, we passed ours around and sewed our strips on each others' foundations.

   Isn't it fun to see how the foundations go together? You have to be careful of the long bias edge, but its a cool pattern. Here's my finished top, waiting for a border (which I've ordered from equilter.com)

Doesn't this make you smile? Everyone's turned out really cute. This will be a nice lap-sized throw. We didn't get these done for Valentine's day, but they will be ready for next year. One of the girls in our group works at the LQS, so we might let her hang these in the shop if she decides to offer this quilt as a class.    

Um, I have some leftover strips...!! Maybe a log cabin? Or two?

I've been quilting a long time, you know, more than 25 years. Here's one of the first bed sized quilts I ever made - a 9-Patch Snowball. Does anyone remember the Trudie Hughes quilt pattern books? This quilt is from one of her books.   

     Actually I think this one is from around 1989-1990. I made my 2 baby quilts in 1980 and took a break for a few years, until the kids were older. This one's pretty tattered - its on our bed a lot of the time - and I don't mind the dogs being on it. Obviously some fabrics were better than others, as the worn pieces are a couple particular fabrics that didn't wear so well. This quilt was machine-quilted in a leaf design pantograph.

How many of y'all were quilting when this fabric from VIP/Cranston was a quilting staple? I saw many quilts with this brown floral in them; it was also available in a blue/pink colorway. This fabric was so popular in the 80's and 90's - back when fabric companies printed their popular designs for several years' run.

This was a really popular pattern in the 90's too - it was easy to make using rotary cutting and strip sewing techniques, which were fairly new back in those days. I haven't seen many of these being made lately, except for baby quilts. The snowball blocks are a perfect place to use those cute kid print fabrics. Perhaps I'll give it another try sometime soon - I found a couple of really darling kid fabrics in my mom's stash the other day - when I was looking for pink and red fabrics for the Spiderweb quilt. Don't we all need to keep some baby quilts on hand for gifting?

What Happened to February?

Oh my gosh! What happened to February? I can't believe its already the 2nd week of March. Good grief.

I worked a lot of overtime in February, for one thing.  And we had some crappy winter  weather. I had a checkup with my surgeon on the 20th. And we went on vacation from the 22nd thru March 2nd.

We went to Belize for 9 days... it was awesome. (this was our 4th trip to Belize)  We stayed at a resort on Ambergris Caye called Exotic Caye Beach Resort. We had a blast! Besides several days of scuba diving, we also participated in Camp Belize, which is a concert event with Jerry Jeff Walker.  He played two concerts at Wet Willy's Bar, and then he showed up on Saturday night at Crazy Canuck's (the bar at our resort) to sit in and jam with Dennis Wolfe, a local musician on Ambergris Caye. The weather was fine, except the last two days which were cool and rainy. But it was still in the 70s and we were in Belize, so "bad weather" is a relative term!

We missed our connection from Houston to Belize due to weather in Amarillo that delayed our departure; this is us enjoying our upgrade to 1st Class on a flight later that day! I didn't wear makeup the whole week - gahhh. And look how thin my hair is! (a side effect from the thyroid stuff) But my scar is looking good.

     We spent a day at Caye Caulker, which is another little island off the coast of Belize. Its so laid back and casual, and so much fun to stroll along the beach, stopping for a cold Belikin beer every so often.

Native to Belize - Marie Sharp's habanero sauce and Belikin Beer.

Jerry Jeff Walker in concert.

At Exotic Caye resort - our condo unit is the bottom left. It was really nice - bedroom, bath, kitchen, living and dining area - and the porch had a table and chairs on it. The porch caught a great cooling breeze, and you can see we had lush tropical landscaping in front of our building. I had groceries, beer, and sodas delivered to the condo before we arrived, which was wonderful! Cold beer awaited us.

This is the beach in front of our condo, and the dive shop out on the dock. There were plenty of loungers and several hammocks - ultimate relaxation! We made 11 dives while we were on the island. The dive shop, Ocean Adventure Tours, was excellent. Most of the time Joe and I were the only divers on the boat, so we basically had a private guide.

Bondy, our divemaster, was a sweetie! He had a great sense of humor and was very friendly. He was also excellent to dive with, and I would go with him again in a heartbeat!

Here's Jerry Jeff Walker playing with Dennis Wolfe on Saturday night at Crazy Canuck's, the bar at our resort. He's a great performer, and so down-to-earth and likeable. He's been in the business for over 40 years - some of his famous songs are "Mr. Bojangles",  "LA Freeway", and "Sangria Wine". He's classified as "country" but his songs are ballads and story-telling. (like our other favorite performer - Jimmy Buffett, who we'll see in concert in Dallas next month)

So, I guess that's what happened to February! 

Not Much Going On

Just checking in - there's nothing new going on here - no quilting, no knitting - just work and sleep.

Joe gave me a spa package for Christmas/my birthday, and I used it on Saturday afternoon. It was heavenly - a "margarita" pedicure (she used fresh lime slices in the water and scrubbed my heels with lime halves); a facial; and a 1-hour whole body massage. Bliss!!!

I've had some small (dime to quarter sized) scaly red patches of skin come up on my lower legs and the back of my arms since this summer.  They don't itch, and don't respond to antifungal cream or to corticosteroid cream. (its not ringworm. that's what I suspected but it doesn't match the symptoms and doesn't respond to the medication) They eventually go away, and others come up. The massage therapist said they looked like psoriasis to her. Hell, why not.... 

Here's what my Alaska kids woke up to on Sunday:
  Bella is looking out the front window at the moose in the park across the street from their house!
Isn't that fun?!?
 

Sunday Update

Sunday - the 20th of January! That came fast.

I did return to work on Thursday the 10th. It wasn't too bad for the first couple of days - I didn't get worn out. Last week got pretty rough - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I worked 11-12 hours each day. That *sucked* (I hate using that word, but it fits) . I basically came in from work, ate supper, and hit the sack. Thursday the 17th I got off work on time, but I was hosting Bunko so I had to get the food and get everything set up, and didn't get home until after 9:00 pm. I went to bed pretty soon after getting home, as I was pretty tired. Friday was ok - I worked a little bit of overtime and I also had to get my sewing stuff packed up to go to quilt group on Saturday. Today (Sunday) I've done laundry and finally got a chance to check my e-mail and blogs. Time flies!

I finished setting a quilt top on Saturday at my quilt group's sewing day. Its a pattern called "Sand Castles" by Teri Christopherson, published in her book called "Mad About Plaid" from Black Mountain Quilts.   
   Its done in Kaffe Fassett fabrics - one of my favorites. This top is about 51" x 62" without borders.
This is the fabric I plan to use for the border. Its in a couple of the blocks of the quilt also. Any thoughts on the border? My group was divided - some like it and some don't - and I think it depends on whether you like Kaffe Fassett fabric to begin with. If for some reason I don't use the green gazania fabric, the quilt might not even get a border - I like it without a border almost as much.  The quilt will be quilted in a dense pantograph with light yellow thread, and will likely end up on the sofa. (that seems to be where a lot of my quilts get used!)

We went to see "Charlie Wilson's War" (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts) this afternoon. It was a good movie - there was a lot of the f-word (in case anyone objects) but it was really interesting. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know much about the US-Afghanistan relations during the 1980s, so it was somewhat educational as well!

Speaking of Tom Hanks, we saw "The Terminal" on TV last night. I know it was released several years ago, but I'd never seen it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its the one where he's visiting from a foreign country, which has fallen into a civil war as he arrives in the US and he cannot leave the airport because his country is no longer recognized by the US. He spends several months living in the terminal until the war in his country ends and he gets his visa back from the authorities.

OK - what else is going on? I'm having a hard time getting to Curves - they changed their hours and I can't get there before work anymore. They open at 7:00 and I have to be at work by 7:30 am so I can't get a 30-minute workout. When I work late, I can't get there by 6:30 in the evening either, and I only have a 30-minute lunch hour. Grrr. Its frustrating. I hate to quit going, but I think its unfortunate that their hours and mine don't jive better.

I've updated my book list (in my sidebar). I've been reading a lot lately - since I've been feeling better and can focus again - and I read really fast. Joe reads alot too - about as much as I do - and once we've both read a book, we pass it on to someone else that might enjoy it. He likes non-fiction more than I do, but we have similar tastes. So far, we agree that "Marley and Me" is the best book we've read this year. Its a wonderful story of a couple and their wayward labrador retriever. This book was published a couple years ago.

That's about it for now. I'm looking forward to a pleasant week - and I'm wishing you the same!   

Another Day

I'm still working on the quilt. Dorothy asked what I was planning to do with it, once its finished. I seriously haven't thought that far ahead!  :)  I'm pretty sure the kids don't want it - the colors are wrong - Tara isn't into "bright" colors. Its a large throw size; it won't fit a bed so it will probably end up on a couch.

Here's the finished scarf - about 60" of mottled blue yumminess. The ribbing is scrunchy and soft and I'm glad to be through with it. I'm thinking of sending it to Alaska if one of the kids will wear it.

I went to Amarillo the other day to do some shopping and errands (pick up wedding photos, buy Bunko prizes, knitting stuff etc. but that's a different story). I've needed to make some fabric postcards with the theme "Where I Live", and I've been stumped about how to do it. I could do an easy cheat and use some Texas print, but that isn't interesting. I'm toying with the idea of a prairie and windmill - here's a couple shots of the landscape between Borger and Amarillo.
These pictures show the cuts in the land which are part of the "breaks" of the Canadian River. There are rolling hills and little creekbeds that look like small canyons. About 5 miles south of this area, the ground flattens out and you can see for miles across the plains. 
I don't know if I'll use these to make my postcards - I had considered printing a picture on fabric, or perhaps trying to do this in applique. Anyway I thought you might be interested in seeing where I live. (yes, its rather dreary this time of year!)

Tomorrow (Thursday the 10th) I'm going back to work. I'm a little nervous about it - mostly afraid of being really tired when I get home in the evening. Joe thinks I've got more energy than I've had in a long time. I've gotten a bunch of stuff done around the house this past week, and could use another couple of weeks like this to get this house really straightened out!

Holiday Wrap-Up

Well, I suppose its over for another year, right? We put the kids on a plane yesterday, headed for Anchorage. They enjoyed being home in Texas, didn't get to see everyone they wanted to, but had fun with everyone they visited. It was interesting (and frustrating, at times) to see how they divided their time with various family members as we all celebrated the holidays... but its all part of being married and learning to merge the families. When it all shakes out, you just enjoy and appreciate the times you get to spend together...

The kids flight from Dallas to Chicago was delayed on departure, then delayed again on arrival by gate congestion, so they missed their flight to Anchorage.  They expected to have problems since they only had a 40 minute layover to change planes, so they spent the night in Chicago and flew out to Seattle and then Anchorage today. When I last spoke to Kevin this afternoon, they were on the way to pick up their dog at the boarder's house. He said they had some fresh snow in Anchorage and it was cold. (we had cold weather and snow here in Texas while they were home!)

Our holiday was good. We were able to get together with some of Joe's siblings and have a meal and a good visit. We spent Christmas day with my sister and her husband, cooking steaks and playing games. Everyone got gifts that they wanted. The kids loved their scarves and gift cards. Joe got music CDs and gift cards, I got clothes and a Ipod Shuffle (the itty bitty one). Joe also gave me a half-day of spa treatments at a local place - an hour of massage, a pedicure, and a facial... whee!!! So I'll be scheduling that for sometime next week! Isn't he a sweetheart? 

I frogged the blue seed-stitch knitting... sorry there isn't a picture at the moment but I'll make that up to you later... I swatched two or three other things with that yarn and ripped those out too. I am now knitting a Mistake Rib scarf from that yarn - cast on 25 stitches, and K1, P1 every row - each row will start and end with a knit stitch. Its working up fast and looks good. My friend Robin sent me a pattern for the Directional Scarf, which I think I'll work up in some pretty variegated Noro wool yarn.  (thanks Robin!) This blue scarf will probably be mailed to Alaska to the kids.  Kevin said he thinks he'll have to share his black scarf with Tara - so if I send her a thicker ribbed scarf maybe he can keep the one I made for him.

My 48th birthday was Friday the 28th. It was a day like all the others - which isn't bad - we went out for coffee in the morning, ate supper out with the kids, I think I had a nap, I got several cards in the mail and a new pair of pjs. On my birthday its just natural to reminisce about my childhood birthdays, and of course I missed my mom. My sister called to tell me she had found a little notebook with my mom's things, in which she had written what we received for our birthdays and Christmases each year. So when my sister called, she asked if I remembered what I got for my birthday 40 years ago (when I turned 8 years old) ... of course I had no idea, but that was the year I got a white willow basket for my bicycle. Sweet, huh. I do remember my 9th birthday - I got to have a party. All my friends gave me money - $1 apiece. I told everyone I wanted money because I wanted to buy a parakeet, and my dad had promised to buy the cage if I got enough birthday money to buy the bird. I still remember how excited I was when we went to Woolworth's and got the bird and the cage. We all loved the parakeet. I named him Pretty Boy and we taught him to talk, and we let him out of the cage during the day. He loved to sit on the curtain rod in the kitchen window while my mom was cooking and doing dishes. He would also sit on the faucet and try to drink water out of the tap. He was a good little buddy - he lived about 10 years. That really has to be my best birthday memory!

If I don't post tomorrow... I wish you all a Happy and safe New Year!   

Blog-A-Versary

And I missed it!

As I was doing some blog housekeeping today, I realized my 3-year anniversary on TypePad was yesterday. Its hard to believe how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same in 3 years time.

I went back through all my posts and added "categories". It was interesting to see what I was writing about six months, a year, two years ago...  each year in November or December I'm knitting scarves and blathering about learning to knit socks. *smile* Nope, I still haven't finished a sock. Yep, I'm still knitting scarves. I'm obsessed with reporting the weather in my neck of the woods. When a new year begins, I start flogging myself about unfinished quilting projects and weight loss.

Three years ago, when I began writing this blog, I was at home recuperating from a knee surgery and two carpal tunnel surgeries, anticipating returning to work after the first of the year. Here I sit, three years later, recuperating from cancer surgery and treatment, anticipating returning to work after the first of the year... the word that comes to mind is ironic. 

After finishing the scarves for Tara and Joe, I've started one for Kevin. Its the same ribbed pattern (Sinful) that I used for Joe's scarf, but in a lighter weight black yarn.
Its knit on size 10 needles, cast-on 27 stitches. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft acrylic. It makes a nice design, no?

And to prove that I'm still a dork (!) I will share this funny story. Back in the summer I was active on a gardening website, and posted lots of pictures. A few days ago I noticed that some of my blog buttons weren't showing up properly, so I went to Flickr to see if I could fix the problem. While on Flickr I was really perplexed because my gardening pictures from the summer weren't there! What happened to them??? It really bothered me. I couldn't figure out if Flickr deleted them, or what. While I was working with some knitting pictures on Flickr today, it suddenly occurred to me... my gardening pictures are on Photobucket... not Flickr.

Duh!

Addendum

One of the things that has bothered me about this growth in my neck, is that I didn't have a clue how long its been there.  I was looking at some pictures last night, and found that I've had this for probably close to a year.  There are some pictures from Kevin's college graduation last December where the lump is obvious to my newly educated eye.  (I'd not ever noticed it before)  In pictures from my dad's funeral in March of 2005, my neck is thin. So at least I know that it must have developed sometime in 2006 - and maybe wasn't large enough for my doctor to have detected it at my annual exam in August of last year. 

There's a phrase in a song on Jimmy Buffett's newest album (CD? do they say "album" anymore?) that I'm adopting as "my" mantra... it goes:  breathe in, breathe out, move on...