Updates

Well, I went to the Cardiologist and she couldn't find anything. That doesn't mean there is nothing there. It basically means that my heart was acting totally normal while I was hooked up to a monitor for 24 hours, having an ultrasound, and having blood work done. She told me to still take the beta blocker because that was what was probably keeping my heart normal. Come back in 4 months. Unless I have a heart attack. Just kidding.

I thought it quite ironic at the time though that while the nurse was asking me family medical history questions one of which was, "do you have any stress in your life right now?" my children chose that exact moment to start fist fighting in the examination room. Are you freaking kidding me?

Anyway, since I finished my mom's shawl, I pulled out something I started a while ago. It's from Victorian Lace Today and is actually a scarf pattern.

After I knit about 6 more repeats of the pattern, I will pick up all the stiches along the straight side and knit the middle and then repeat this border on the other side. You actually knit the border first. This is Filatura Di Crosa Baby Kid Exra. Mohair. Notice the Fuzzy. No mistakes. Too hard to unravel. Why do I always pick mohair? It's a really pale yellow and almost looks like the same color yellow of stuff that glows in the dark. (Yes we tried holding it up to light and no it doesn't glow when you turn the lights out)

Any way since I finished mom's Mother's Day gift, I decided to work on Christmas.

This is Kidsilk Night by Rowan. (Again with the damn mohair.) It's basically Kidsilk Haze with a little sparkly strand through it. I picked a very simple pattern to show off the sparkly (Loralie you can even do this) and again it's from Victorian Lace Today. (I'm bound and determined to knit everything in that book.) It's a gorgeous Obergine (Eggplant) color and will go very well with mom's coloring and will not be tempting for me to keep because it will totally wash me out. I 'm on like row 70-something and need around 230 rows. The pattern is easy and I have it memorized so I can take it with me and work on it as needed.

I did finish one of my pretty socks and have about 4 inches on the second one. I'm determined to finish them though because i want to start on some Jitterbug yarn I bought. Haven't bought any yarn in a while and I'm trying to knit from the stash to save money to go on vaca.

I'll let you know how that goes.

And I am.....

Your Power Element is Fire

Your power color: red Your energy: hot Your season: spring Like a fire, you are full of power and light. A born leader, you easily draw people toward you. You are full of courage and usually up for anything dangerous. You have a huge ego and love to be the center of attention.

What's Your Power Element?

Totally don't know if I agree with this one. (Okay, I'm really trying to be humble here but the part about people being drawn to me is true. It doesn't matter how mean I am to them, they flock. I think I could rule this world if I were truly motivated. And it's nice to be the center of attention all the time.)

Okay on a more serious note. I got to spend all last night in the emergency room again. (I swear we are all falling apart!) No, it wasn't Dwayne this time, it was me. I'll start from the beginning.

Sunday, I was doing my favorite thing, (cleaning the cat box) when my heart did this little fluttery thing and then sped up really fast for about 10 seconds. I kind of went "okay" and after the lightheadedness passed, I got a really nasty headache for a couple of hours. The kids start day camp next week so I figured I would go to my doc and have him maybe check out a few things. Now I know what your'e thinking is that I should have gotten my ass to the hospital lickety split but since I was positive it wasn't a heartattack or stroke, I didn't think it was iminent. Besides, my grandmother and sister have the same thing and it's no biggie.

Fast forward to Tuesday night, at work (I wait tables a P.F. Changs), talking to a table when it happens again only this time when the lightheadedness passes I have a sharp shooting pain in my chest about where my heart is. Still pretty sure it's not a heart attack but I let my manager know, "hey, my heart just did this weird thing and I might need to leave to go to the hospital." I actually finished up the tables I had (I walked with $115 and left 2 hours early than I was supposed to. Damned heart, I could have banked that night!!), went home and told Dwayne,"I might need to go to the hospital." He was kind of like, "Really, you can't wait till tomorrow?" To which my answer was, "How many times have I gone to the doctor or hospital in the 11 years we've been together aside from anything child birth related?" He said, "Let's go."

Get to the hospital and by the time I get to the back and hooked up to the EKG of course I'm fine, blood work fine, I'm healthy as a horse. Blood pressure 110/60, pulse 54!! And I'm about 50 pounds overweight so the doctor is astonished that I'm super healthy. They tell me to go home and follow up with my doctor the next day.

So today I went to my doc who totally reiterrated the whole healthy as a horse thing and basically told me that I need to go to a cardiologist and have the whole heart monitor thing and probably a stress test even though both times this happened I was literally doing not a whole lot.

He said what he thinks it is (and after talking with my grandmother today, this is exactly what she has and it's hereditary) is that my heart basically has a so-called extra wire that normally doesn't do anything. (You know like the weird light switch in your house that nobody knows what it does- we have three!!) Any way, every once in a while, it gets the equivalent of an electrical surge and my heart gets confused and skips a beat (the fluttering part). Because of that, my brain doesn't get enough oxygen and signals my heart to pump faster. It does and sort of goes haywire and pumps too fast. The blood is not going in the heart enough because it's pumping too fast and I'm now really not getting enough oxygen and my blood pressure drops which causes the light headedness. It can all be controlled with a beta blocker which I will probably have to take for the rest of my life. The pain I had he said was the muscles seizing up in my chest because I panicked (Well not necessarily me but my body). When you have a heart attack, it's not a sharp pain, more of a dull ache and a pressure like someone sitting on your chest, which thankfully I knew.

It's not that serious but sucks because it's more or less a birth defect thing and other than this I'm really healthy and I hate taking medicine. But on the other hand, I don't have to give up all the crap I do and eat b/c it's not really triggered by anything. My doc told me lots of people have this and never even know it. He told me it's probably happened before and I never noticed it or could have been asleep. He also said that it's possible it may not happen again for a year or two or even never! So that was my grand adventure for the day and I actually finished the one sock in the waiting room and started the front half of the shell sweater. So at least I was productive. Oh, and I went back to work today even though my manager didn't want me to come in, but my doc said I could resume all former activities. And I walked with $82 and went had a beer with one of my girlfriends. Hey, that's one of my activities and yes I did ask him if I could still drink and he said, "Yes, you have to." Smart guy, he understands.

He was also impressed with my sweater and my sock and made me show everyone in the office including patients.

New Pics! YEAH!!

I have some great new pics of everything, including yarn I've spun.


This was the sock yarn in the skein. It was soo pretty. This is how it looks knitted up in half a sock.





This is my mom's mother's day present. Since she doesn't read my blog, it's safe to post it here. It's the Pacific Northwest Shawl by FiberTrends. I knit it in Jaggerspun Zephyr in Bottle Green which incidently was the same exact yarn used in the picture. Totally accidental I assure you.



These are the yarns I've spun. The green is a single strand green, brown, and white merino/silk/alpca roving. It's not quite lace weight but about a fine sock yarn weight. The second is purple/royal/red/white merino/silk blended roving. It's going to be a super fine yarn. I'm thinking about a shawl or a wide scarf from my Victorian Lace book.






Well just a few things I've been working on. Still working on my shawl. I'm also working on a lace shell tank top in a moss green.

Back to work.

I'm a Spinner!!!

For about 2 months, I have been looking for a used spinning wheel with the idea of taking up spinning. Yeah, I know, like I really have time for yet another hobby. Any way after about a month of searching, I finally bought a used Ashford Traveler on ebay. It's a single treadle, Scotch tension wheel. It spins beautifully. The lady I purchased it from was nice enough to send me a huge bag full of camel roving to practice with. Yes, I said camel. I spun it, plied it and skeined it with the niddy noddy she sent me as well. Not really liking the texture of the yarn though. It feels like a really cheap acrylic yarn. Oh well. It's just to practice with anyway.

I am almost finished my mom's Mother's Day present. I know it's past already but her and my father are forever out of town so I should be finished it when they get home sometime. I finished my best friends socks. Mountain Colors in Steelhead in a diamond lace pattern. They came out pretty.

I did start another pair of socks but I'm not really working too much on them b/c I'm trying to finish mom's gift. They're Mama Lama in Orchid. They look sort of Easter-y. I'm just doing a basic sock pattern b/c after my friend's socks and my mom's present, I'm kind of sick of lace.

I'm wondering if I'll start having nightmares soon about YO's and K2tog.

Spread the Word!!

Okay Wannietta Prescod asked us knitty bloggers to pass this on. I wish I lived close so I could go because it sounds fantastic!!! If you live anywhere near here, check it out and let me know.

On Sunday, May 27, the Toronto Spiders will take up the International Wool
Challenge (Back to Back Competition) for the fourth consecutive year. This
competition, involving teams around the world, requires that a sheep be
shorn and the fleece spun, plied, and knitted into a sweater (according to a
standard pattern) in one day.

After two years at the Ontario Handspinning Seminar and a year at Toronto's
Riverdale Farm, this year the Toronto Spiders will be at the Pickering Museum in Greenwood, as part of their Opening Day. The team is made up of
Wannietta Prescod (the fastest knitter in North America in 2006), Barbara
Aikman, Julia Lee, Judy Pergau, Denise Powell, Karen Richens, and Lorraine
Smith of Spinners Quarterly. Our shearer is Bob Comfort, and Joan Kass and Judy Findlay will be
our timekeepers and educators. We look forward to having lots of interest
and support from passers-by. Like all Back to Back Challenges, we will be
raising money for cancer research.

We will be attempting to beat our Canadian record time of 6 hours, 51
minutes, and 15 seconds, so hope to finish some time between 4 and 5 p.m.
If you are in the neighbourhood, please do drop by and wave, say "Hey y'all", but don't
expect us to stop what we're doing to chat with you until the sweater is done!

Good luck ladies!!!

Whatever?

I couldn't think of a title so "whatever" seemed appropriate.

Dwayne is sick in bed with strep troat. Poor guy, he can't catch a break. I love him dearly but if he doesn't stop falling apart I may have to replace him with a newer model. Or maybe a richer model. Then I could just knit all day and hire someone to clean house, cook, wash clothes, take pics of everything I finish and write this blog for me.

Seriously, I kind of do that already escept no one cleans,cooks or washes too often. I mean it's only dirt. It's not like it won't be there tomorrow.

I bought some stuff to redo my bathroom. It's the smallest room in the house and therefor the cheapest to redecorate. So, I got a new shower curtain, rug, accessories, etc. Tomorrow I'm going to Home Depot to look at paint. I'm getting that spring itch where I pretty much want to tear down the whole house and then rebuilt it in a day which we all know is just not going to happen. So I'll just dress up the bathroom. Then maybe next week, the bedroom. I'm thinking Morrocon themed. Something romantic. Hmmm. Lots of jewel tones and embroidered silks.

Off to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

I'm Back!

Seriously, I try to be here but my world does not allow me time for my own and is forever demanding my presense. I have finished Edward's socks (Lorna's Lace-camoflauge). To celebrate, he proceeded to put them on, go jump on the trampoline then run around the yard and gravel driveway playing commando. With no shoes. Dwayne thought my tirade and threat of punishment for a month unreasonable. I hid the socks instead.

I'm working on a pair of lace socks for my besst friend's birthday but I'm not sure I actually like them. I think it's more that I do like them and just don't want to give them to her. We'll see.

Lili and I went to Baton Rouge this weekend to see Celtic Woman with my grandmother Saturday night. We had a blast. The concert was so good. I highly recommend going if you have the opportunity.

I'm Back

Holy cow! I think I've only been away for a week and a half and it's more like a month!

So much has been going on.

I haven't been knitting too much but a couple of weeks ago, Dwayne went into the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. (He's fine now. Nothing too serious.) Anyway, I found out you can get alot of knitting done in the hospital if you are not trying to catch up on sleep from being in the emergency room and surgery unit until 5 am.

I finished another little fichou/shawl with beads like the one I knitted for Lili.
I also finished Lili's socks.
I also finished my Debbie Bliss capelet before Dwayne went into the hospital.
I have about 12 inches of the border done on my lace shawl (you knit the border on one side first, then pick up all the side stitches and knit the panel and then the other border or side. Like 3 long narrow strips)
I have also been working my butt off. I worked 10 days with only one day off and one of those days I worked a double. 10 shifts in 10 days. I'm too old to do that. I'm still exhausted. That and the kids being off of school for spring break, Dwayne going into the hospital the Sunday before the kids went back to school after spring break, I need a break.

I haven't been to the yarn store in 5 weeks! My stash is being sorely depleted by my daughter who has now discovered that, "acrylic yarn sucks. Can I have this green alpaca/wool stuff?" (Incidently the yarn for my Aran sweater.) So now I have to take her to get her own "good" yarn. Great. Now I have to work for my yarn and her yarn.

Although now, I may be able to work this out so that I never have to do laundry or clean the bathroom until she moves out. Hmmm.

Socks, Socks, Socks!

Yeah!! I found my camera. I can finally post my sock picks!

These are the ones I just finished last week. Simple garter rib. I love them. I think I finally have the sizing down.




These are okay. I made them first and although I like how the colors did that weird Shazam thing. They are a little too big and fall down all the time. Knitting the same socks on us 2 instead of us3 should solve a little of that problem.



I did knit the green ones on sz 2 neeldles. I'm curently knitting Lili a pair of Tofootsies in a lime/aqua/lavender colorway. They are coming out way cool and I'm using a slip stich rib to break up some of the color. It's just a 3x3 rib with the middle stiches slipped every other row. I only have a couple of rows done so I'm not sure how it looks yet.

I forgot to take a picture of my capelet I'm knitting out of Debbie Bliss cotton angora. It's coming out so pretty. I only have a few inches left but I love it. I'm hoping I can finish it in the next couple of days. Alhough with all the 75/80 degree weather we've been having, I'm not sure when I'll get to where it. When I'm finihed the capelet, I'm going to start the yellow lace mohair scarf. I did a swatch and blocked it. It came out so pretty I thought about just doing a big rectangle in garter stitch.

On a personal note, I didn't get to knit with my buddies at the yarn store yesterday. Lili had a field trip and since I'm one of two parents in the class who actually cares, I chaperoned. The principal had the nerve to tell me that I was good with kids and I should consider teaching. I told her there wasn't enough vodka or valum in the world for me to lock myself in a room for 7 hours with 20+ unruly children who weren't mine and I couldn't beat for acting like they had no sense. She kind of laughed nervously and walked away. Lili's teacher on the other hand guffawed and told me she totally understood.

I'm not sure if they'll let me chaperone another class trip. On the other hand, since I'm pretty sure CPS (child potective services) will be knocking on my door any minute, I have straightened up the house a bit in an effort to at least look like I'm providing my hooligans with a decent place to live. Hark, methinks I hear them now.

No Camera

I would love to post some pictures of what I have going on but how I've managed to lose 3 digital cameras is beyond me.

I finished Lili's wrap and it came out adorable.

I re-started my Fiber Trend lace shawl and started putting in lifelines so hopefully that will go a little more smoothly.

i also gauged another lace scarf from the Victorian Lace Today book. The name of the yarn eludes me at the moment but it's a pale yellow. 80% Mohair so it should be a joy to frog if I screw up. (For those of you who don't know, Mohair is nearly impossible to rip out if you have to. It pretty much felts from the warmth of your hand to itself as you're knitting it.)

I did finish my green and blue socks (finally! I've been working on those things for a month I swear. How come the second sock takes 3 times longer to finish?)

Anywho, I had to work tonight and I'm beat. I'll look for my camera and try to take some pics tomorrow. Bed. Good.

New Template

After much consideration, I decided to change the template of my blog. I couldn't take the pink anymore. Anyway this one is called "Snapshot Tequila" and reminds me of a margerita so maybe this will be better.

Went to the zoo and park with the kids today. Worked a bit on the wrap for Lili. It is coming out really cute. She likes it too which is a good thing since when I showed her the yarn Friday, she told me it was the "ugliest thing ever". I told her that you can never tell just by the hank what the yarn is going to look like when it's finally knitted up. I'm going to knit a bit more then I'll post some pics.

Bed time.

Mission Accomplished!

Well, I finally finished the Brea Bag!!



I really wanted to single crochet the edges together when I joined the panels to the gusset but I just didn't have enough yarn. Since I bought the last 2 skeins of that color last week, I think the chances of me finding that lot number was pretty slim. I also really wanted to get it done.

I did happen to find some calico solid that was the same exact color as the yarn.



It took me all of fifteen minutes to trace the pannels and gusset, cut it out, and run it up on the machine. I then used a similar color upolstry thread to sew it in. I absolutely love it and I think I may make another one in black or denim, not sure yet.

Still working on sock number 2 in a green and blue colorway by Schaffer (Anne). I to frog my lace shawl so I think I may start that again and maybe put in some lifelines this time just in case. I may have to put the FLAK on hold for a while since we've been having 80 degree weather everyday this week. I want some summer things.

I did by some funky multi-color yarns I'm thinking of turning into something wrap like for the beach with beads for Lili and I. We went to Hobby Lobby and bought some funky plastic beads to go with. I may start that instead although I think this yarn may have to be worked on sparingly as it looks headache producing.

BTW, saw Bridge to Teribithia today. Great movie but wouldn't recommend it for under 7 or so and definitely not for kids who get very emotional during sad stuff. Can't say more without giving it away but just use discretion. Lili cried for 30 minutes. I mean BooHoo sobbed. She takes after me what can I say.

Yeah Pics!!!

Okay I'm going to try to post some pics of the purse I just finished pinning. It's the Berroco Brea Bag that was in the Berroco ad that ran in the winter Interweave Knitting book on page 7 or 8 or something. Except I did it in Cascade 220. It came out great and I can't wait to get it sewed up so I can finally use it.

Ingenious Implements

I recently discovered the most wonderful thing. Highlighting Tape. Made in typical highlighter colors, this tape is coated with the same adhesive as post-its so you can peel it off and stick it back on. Ingenious, I say. Why didn't I ever think of this. You rip off a piece, stick it on whatever pattern line your on and when your done with that row, rip it off and move it to the next row. I got a roll of pink, but it comes in most common highlighter neon colors.

The only problem I had was when I used it on a pattern I had charted myself on red lined graph paper that I had used red pen on. Little difficult to see.

It did work great in my sock book that has like 20 different sizes and instructions for one sock. I just used my scissors to cut smaller pieces to highlight the numbers I needed. And if later i want to make a different size of the same pattern, I just simply pick up all the highlights and move them over to the next set of numbers. Ingenious, I'm telling you.

Why the hell didn't I have the idea first?

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of.And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

My Nasty Drug (I Mean Knitting) Habit

Today was my favorite knitting store's 3rd annual birthday sale. (Happy birthday Twisted Yarns!) Now every Friday if I'm not working I hang out at this store with a group of fantastic ladies. Well like I said, this store was having a huge sale. My husband asked me where I was going today and I replied, "To the crack, I mean, yarn store."

You see, I lways feel guilty buying yarn because I have a bit already. (Although from what I hear from other women, I have absolutely nothing and they all encourage me to buy lots more before I start harboring feelings of guilt about my virtually non-existant stash.) So I always feel I have to justify what I buy by having plans for whatever yarn I adopt. Then it was pointed out to me by one of those wonderful ladies at the yarn store that my little yarn habit wasn't nearly so bad as many other habits that people acquire.

Drugs are a good example. I usually on a normal, not-much-on sale week, may spend $30-$40 on yarn or accessories. That breaks down to what, $4-$7 a day? Think about the tons of people out there who have drug habits that are in the $100's a day!! Seriously, $5 a day to keep me happy in yarn?

Another example: There is a certain book I want (Victorian Lace Today). This book is referred to in my group as "knitting porn". Okay, my husband has porn. I can live with that. So why do I feel guilty about spending $20 on a knitting book that chronicles the history of lace knitting and takes patterns that are hundreds of years old and adapts them so that we may enjoy them today?

So add another $20 onto the total above for "knitting porn" and we've brought the total up to $7-$10 a day to keep me happy. And seriously, that's what it's really all about. What many non-knitters don't understand is that when I'm knitting, it's the only time in my life that you can sit accross from me while I have a long, very pointy stick in my hand without running the risk of me stabbing you in the eye with it because you are annoying the hell out of me. It keeps me from committing acts of violence against certain family members when they keep asking me the same question over and over again even though my reply of "I don't know!" never changes.

This is why knitting is so addictive. This is why I love it and why I feel guilty as hell that I "need" it to be able to function like a normal human being every day. Maybe you will see me on that show Intervention one day with my family crying and saying all I do is knit and nothing else. I'll be all disheveled from not having bathed for a week, knitting in my hand, eyes all glassy and dialated from lack of sleep. I'll have an entralac sweater in my shaky hand as I furrow my brows deep in thought trying to remember a long ago lost pattern that I refuse to buy again because I know it's somewhere. My clothes will be all dingy because you know I have no time for laundry or anything else. I'll be skinny because I don't want to take out time to eat or I forget all together. (I almost made it through that one with a straight face!! Ha Ha!!)

Yeah, that's me: drug (I mean knitting) addict extrordinare. I guess it could be worse.

ooh ooh!

i think I just figured out how to post pics. time to find my camera.

I hate days...

...when I don't get to knit. It seems like such a waste to me to have to do other things like wash clothes, wash dishes, grocery shop, cook, work. I mean c'mon. I just finished a great mid calf length sock in schaeffer Anne (pink, purple, and gray) and i cast on the second one and didn't even get to work on it today. Stupid work. Stupid family that can't fend for itself. I think I have PMS. I need m&m's.

On a brighter note, I think I figured out how to get out of the rut I'm in as it pertains to my novel (romance, total smut). I'll probably work on that tomorrow. Now I need sleep.

Is it just me?

Wow! I haven't written this in a while. Not that it matters. No one reads this anyway. I think I figured out today that not everone is as enthusiastic about yarn and knitting as I am. Usually when I say something about knitting or they see me knitting and ask what I'm doing, I take this as my cue to engage in a witty reparte about knitting. Then I notice their eyes glazing over as I tell them of the advantages of wool, mohair, and alpaca over nylon and acrylic. At least I have the forsight to know when to stop talking.

The thing that gets me though is the fact that these are the same people who never hesitate to ask me to knit them something. Do they not realize that I'm knitting like 10 different things right now, none of which are mine. I started telling them "no, I won't knit it for you but I'll teach you how to knit a garter stitch scarf on sz 17 needles". Oh no, knitting is not good enough for them, they don't have time. But, they have time to sit on their asses and watch TV for 6 hours a night. Amazing!

Which brings me to my projects. I'm still working on the FLAK sweater with the shoulders, 8 inches on the back and I just picked up the front stitches on the front. I also started a Fiber Trends lace shawl in a bottle green color of Fiddlesticks Knitting JaggerSpun. I have 36 rows done out of 178. It's for the summer so no hurry yet. I just finished today a pair of slippers that will get ruined no doubt tomorrow when I throw them in the washer tomorrow to felt. I'm also working on a teddy bear for my son that I think I'll finish tomorrow.

I also took a sock class and made a pair this past weekend. They are a great multicolor blue cotton although they came out a big large (and yes I check my gauge). I'm kmitting another pair in a fingering wool on a smaller needle so hopefully they'll fit better.

I bought cute yarn at Hobby Lobby that was half off. It's a wool with some kind of tiny metallic tape running through it. Don't know what it's going to be yet but I'll see.

I wish I knew how to post pics but alas, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Friday (woohoo!) is 'I get to go to the yarn store and sit n knit' day. Yeah!! People who don't go into a coma when I get excited about sock yarn. For all the others, you get your knitting in acrylic and nylon.

Done At Last!!

Okay, I'm finally finished a few things.

I finished both pairs of mittens that I did for the kids. I used Lamb's Pride from the Brown Sheep company (worsted weight) with sz 6 needles for the ribbing and switching to sz 8's for the rest. they came out pretty good. I used a pattern that I got off of About.com. they have some great patterns.

Then I made my mom's Christmas present. More on that after Christmas just in case she reads this.

Then I finished my ballerina jacket. I just have to block the pieces and sew them together. Just in time for Disney. I wanted to make me a shrug with some leftover yarn from another project but I'm not sure if it's going to make it intime for Disney. I heard we can bring knitting needles on a plane again so maybe I can start it and then finish it on the plane. If I make it with an acrylic, I won't have to block it.

Of course I started on a sock. I've started this sock about 4 times. It's not my fault though. The first time, I got the yarn twisted because I had never knitted with dp's and had no idea what I was doing.

The second time, I didn't have the right size dp's and figured I could just wing it and see how it came out. You know a practice sock.

The third time,I actually bought a sock book,("Knit Socks", Betsy Lee McCarthy) and started over again with the wrong sz dp's.

This time, I went out and bought the right size dp's (I bought 4 sizes, just in case) and started over. Right size needles and the right gauge, not twisted and looking well thanks to the practice of knitting with dp's from the mittens.

Any way now that I have all that out the way, my only other knitting obligation, (i.e. what I really HAVE to finish) is a scarf for my chef. After I finish that, only then will I allow my self to pick out my yarn for the Aran sweater I want to start.

I'm a little nervous because I've never followed a chart although I've done cables and twists plenty in other things. I'm using Janet Szabo's pattern on Big Sky Knitting Designs web site. It's a Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong (FLAK-). It started January 1st of this year but I just found it a few weeks ago.

I've always loved Aran sweaters and the pattern is super easy to follow. I always try to picture the pattern in my head as I read it and this one seemed easy to imagine. You sew the whole thing up as you do it and it's knit from the top down. I can't remember the name of the yarn I'm looking at in the yarn store by my house but I think it was a wool/alpaca blend worsted weight and super soft. I was going to do a natural color to be traditional, but maybe a dark jewel tone would be pretty.

I'll keep you posted.