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| Old sock darner passed down in our family. |
I SPENT MOST OF JUNE WITH THE FLU
May was tough for our family. Mother's Day, our oldest son was hospitalized, and he spent a week in the ICU and a few more days in a regular room before finally coming home. He's fine now but at the time it was devastating for all of us.
My husband and I must have felt the need to lighten up our days after that, because we booked a spur-of-the-moment, last-minute, cruise to the Bahamas. Off we went, the last weekend in May.
That's How I Managed to Get Sick
According to my doctor, who knows these things, I got a bad strain of the flu from someone on the ship. It took the form of attacking my lungs, and my left lung was so constricted that I was only using my right to breathe. Yeah, I was sick.
It was the horrible drugs I had to take that made it all so much worse. When I finally got through two rounds of antibiotics and two rounds of steroid taper, I felt SO. MUCH. BETTER. But during the course of the flu and its treatment, I couldn't even knit, I was so miserable.
I Did Some Knitting On The Ship
The shawl you see above, Leftie by Martina Behm, was my take-along knitting for the cruise. I had a whole morning to myself while everyone got off the boat and went to Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian's private island), including my husband, who went jet-skiing.
Below you can see the progress I made before I got sick.
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| Christmas shawl |
ALL BETTER NOW AND LOOKING AHEAD
I'm trying to make up for lost knitting time now! The shawl, which I'm knitting for me to wear this Christmas, requires my attention, so I can't power-knit on it during TV or social stuff. The colored points are made up of 14 steps that I just can't seem to memorize, so I have to concentrate and refer to the instructions.
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| As of 6.27.19 |
Above, you can see my progress as of yesterday. Isn't it cute? The pink and ivory yarns both have lurex or something like that in them, so there's a festive bit of sparkle. This is one of those patterns that looks awesome no matter what colors are used.
More Works In Progress
I'm still working on the amazing, cloud-soft Stashbuster Shawl by Heather Haynes:
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| Not actually using the darner, I just like the look of it :) |
I'm actually quite a bit further along than pictured above, but it's scrunched up so much because I'm too lazy to change to a longer cord.
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| See? You really can't tell how much bigger this is now. |
I used up the two balls of yarn I had, but I wanted the shawl to have more depth, so I ordered one more ball. That's it in the bowl above. After that ball is used up I'm done. The garment is delicate and feather-light, and will be more of a shoulder wrap than a proper, cozy, shawl, so it'll be perfect all year I think, for chilly restaurants and breezy evenings.
FINISHED OBJECT
I started and finished another pair of those wonderful slippers, Jo's Perfect Slipper Socks by Cozy Up Knits. This pair was made for my daughter-in-law, Crystal. Unfortunately they're too big. I wear a size 8 shoe, sometimes 8.5 because I have wide feet, and Crystal is about the same. When I tried them on myself, there was too much fabric at the back of the heel.
So these are going in the sock pile until I can find someone with a size 9 - 10 foot to give them to!
EAU GALLIE FIBER PIRATES SUMMER KAL
Our local knitting group is sponsoring a summer knit-a-long to help us keep in touch with our Snowbird friends, who have flown north to beat the heat.
Anyone can participate! All you have to do is join in the chatter and picture-posting in our Facebook group page. GO TO FACEBOOK (OPENS IN A NEW WINDOW)
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| Here's what I'll be knitting |
I'm eager to cast on this tank top, above. I have high hopes that this one will fit, even though I have a very bad track record with knitting sweaters and tops.
The yarn is Daisy by Knit One Crochet Too. It's linen, silk and hemp. I found the FREE pattern on the Yarnspirations site. It's the Sunny Days Tank (OPENS IN A NEW WINDOW) by Patons. The pattern calls for Patons Grace yarn, which is a sport weight 100% cotton. I hope my yarn works okay.
I really, REALLY want this to fit me because I could use a white tank top in my wardrobe.
PATTERN MAKING
Do y'all remember those preppy tennis socks from the 70's? I don't remember the particular "it" brand but I do remember searching all the boutiques for just the right ones. Anyway, I wanted to recreate a cute little shortie sock for tennis or golf (or sneakers in general, for people like me who live in them year round).
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| My little tennis sock |
The pair I knit as a prototype, above, isn't done in the colorways I want - I grabbed what I had on hand -- so as I write up the pattern I will knit using a properly preppy color scheme. One main color solid with a contrast stripe and matching pompom at the cuff. What do you think?
THAT'S IT FOR TODAY!
But First, A Pic From The Cruise
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| Pre-flu |
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And there you have it! Thanks for stopping by. TTFN!
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Thanks for your comment! It'll be posted as soon as I see that you're not selling something. ;)