What happened?

Well, in short, my life fell apart over the last four years.

1) The baby was born premature just as JC is ending his active duty service in the Corps.  Little Carl had many issues and spent a month in the NICU.   (June 2009)
2) My mom was diagnoised with colon cancer. (December 2009)
3) My job moved to Tulsa.  And I didn't - see above (also December 2009)
4) Surgery, nursing home, home for hospice care (Dec 2009 to May 2010).  Once mom is too weak to help me lift her body, JC comes home to help, with the baby.  Which is good, Mom gets to 'hold' him.  My job lets me work from home as I transition my work to my replacement in Tulsa.
5) Mom passes away (May 31 2010)
6) I'm offered a job with a different division of my company (June 2010).  This job necessitates an hour plus commute each way.  I'm just happy to be working for the same company.
7) Trying to get mom's house on the market
8) JC's marriage falls apart.  His wife misbehaves in several ways.  She refuses to get counciling and asks him to leave.  He moves home (WITH the baby).  (Oct 2010)
9) He moves into mom's house, which is WAY too big for him and starts looking for work.  Finds a temp job.
10) JC's life gets back together.  He gets primary custody, his divorce is final, his temp job leads to a full time job, and he is introduced to his current girlfriend, Angie. (Early 2011)
11) There's a murder in the house right behind mine. (July 2011).  
12) JC and his girfriend end up expecting.  (July 2012).  They are living in mom's house, but want to move out into the rural school district (and I agree, this isn't the neighborhood or school district that it was when I grew up here, or even when Walt and I moved here - see above).

So my life is getting first JC's (mom and dad's) house and then mine ready for the market and sold.   I don't know when those things will happen.   Still playing with the bell choirs at the cathedral.  Working in KC - I have joined a carpool, though, so I only drive once or twice a week. 

I've thought about getting back into blogging here, but since this blog was mostly about knitting and needlework, I just document my knitting on Ravelry and I've not been stitching at all. 

And I really kind of miss having a diary of my life.   I'm not going to try to fill in the 'gaps' more than this, though.  

Sleevage

Since I got back from Tennessee last month, the sleeves for the Grey Office Cardi have been my car/travel project. I brought them inside to be measured, and they are done up to the armpits. Now I need to join them to the body of the sweater and start the raglan decreases.

I'm tempted to do the joining round, but it's late and if I get started on that round, I'll be up to midnight knitting. Not an issue if it was a Friday, but not so good on a work night.

UFORR - Haze's Earthdancer

Another round in our UFO round robin. And I managed to finish another project! This is "Earthdancer" from Butternut Road. Designed by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. There is a wonderful story about the inspiration for this design which made it even more special to stitch on.

If I ever make this one for myself, and I might, there is one thing that I will do differently. I will do the beading on her breastplate in actual loomed beadwork and attach it to the fabric. The beads are every so slightly oversized. Not a problem with scattered beads or the small motifs elsewhere in the design - even the shoulder roundels. But there in the center, they are crowded enough that the lines of beadwork are distorted and the beads don't want to lay flat. I did the best that I could by running stabilizing threads on the horizontals. And of course I thought about the solution when I was on the next to the last row of attaching them individually ::headdesk::

'Dancer'll be on her way back to Winnipeg tomorrow - sorry to see her go.....

FO - Baby Surprise Jacket

Pattern: Classic Baby Surprise Jacket

Designer: Elizabeth Zimmermann in The Opinionated Knitter

Yarn: Collinette "Jitterbug" in unknown colorway (nicknamed "Urban Camo")

Needles: US3 (gauge is 6 st/inch)

I'm very happy with the buttons I picked out...


Please excuse the hotel room photography.

back to the grey cardi

While I was on vacation, I did actually get the sleeves for the grey cardi cast on. (twice - it took me a while to figure out the whole two at a time thing).

I decided to do them two at a time since there were increases in pattern to consider. The alternative would have been extensive notes; that was not so practical as these were being worked on in and around visits to the new in-laws. (Humm, what ARE the parents of a married couple to each other???)

Knitted Origami

Elizabeth Zimmermann was, of course, a total knitting genius. Who but a genius could turn this knitted amoeba:


Into the world's cutest baby sweater by just folding it - thusly


Off to pack.......

button, button

The buttonholes in the Baby Surprise Jacket are simple yarn overs - she has you put buttonholes on both sides, then sew the buttons onto the 'appropriate' side. Very clever and if a younger sibling is a different gender, simple to switch them.

But I need to find some buttons for this thing before I head out. I'll be leaving from work tomorrow at about 3pm. See you next week!

Baby Surprise Jacket - Urban Camo

The yarn here is Collinette "jitterbug", but I've lost the label - so I have no idea what the name of the colorway is. I'm calling it Urban Camo, because it reminds me of those pink and blue "camouflage" bandannas and pants that were popular a few years back - plus the olive and black of REAL camo. I think it's just right for a little boy who will be born to two Marines.

JC totally surprised me with a "hey, mom, guess what - I'm married and we are going to have a baby" phone call over Christmas. I didn't dare say a word to a soul until he told my mom last weekend. Steph, love you like a sister, but I know you or the kids would have totally spilled the beans! (Steph is in my knitting group and her kids take music lessons from my mom.) But now that mom knows, I've told everybody - knitting group, in the church bulletin etc, etc.

My new Daughter in law's name is Michelle (called 'Chelle) and she's a Marine also stationed at Camp Lejeune. She just turned 20, so she's about 3 years younger than JC, and she's only on the second year of her first enlistment. I guess he was just ready to settle down and start a family.

I'm off to Tennessee to visit her parents (the kids are on leave and are there)- baby shower/family reunion will ensue - hence the hijacking of my knitting time.