In the end, all you can do is your best...

It's true in knitting, and it's true in life.  I was not given the opportunity to say a formal goodbye to my friend, Val.  Lis never let me know the arrangements.  I was not surprised by this.  In fact, I would have been more surprised if she had included me.  For as "close" a friendship as we had all those years ago, there was always a wall and a competitiveness.  A person could only get so close, could only have so many good things happen or be so happy before she would become uncomfortable and withdraw or lash out.  I hoped that time and especially the passing of a man who was like a brother to me back then...and much more to her, someone I brought into her life, would have resolved those issues.  Sadly, I guess not.  I have a lot of pictures and a lot of happy memories, and they are a great comfort.  And I am here if she needs me.  As I said, all any of us can do is our best.  I did...and I'm sure she did, too.

I've been doing a lot of knitting, but it's pretty random.  I started the Shalom Cardigan  from Megan McFarlane's blog, Involving the Senses.  This is such a cool cardi, and I've seen the finished product on several blogs and just drooled over it.  So...my turn!  I decided to knit in my most all-time ultimate favorite yarn, Universal Yarn Classic Shades in the Grapevine colorway.  Is this not the most gorgeous yarn you've ever seen???  I swear I want to knit wallpaper for my house out of this yarn.  I cannot get enough of it!

This cardigan is a real instant gratification project!  I started it on Tuesday

and by Wednesday afternoon, I was here

actually, I was a lot farther...I was about 30 rows from being finished.  That's when I tried it on...and didn't like it.  I don't like clothes that "hug".  I'm far beyond the age where it's attractive for this body to wear huggy clothes and, even when I was younger, I didn't want to highlight every curve or lack thereof.  Lovely cardigan...fit like a second skin.  So...I frogged it.  Then I went out on Ravelry and read a bazillion project pages with different notes for adjusting the size and fit.  I decided to tackle the project again, using Hummingmoonbeam's alterations.  I'm on row 21, and I think this will be a better fit.  I love this cardi and am determined to make it fit me well (skim, NOT hug!).

Monday was an exciting day - my lace yarn from My Name Is Yarn arrived from Greece!  Wooo-hoooo!!!!  This is the yarn I'm using to make Anne Hanson's Pine and Ivy Shawl.  I was specifically looking for something very "foresty" but more than just "green", and I thought the Moss 'N Berries colorway was perfect.  What do you think?

I started the shawl Tuesday, and immediately ran into a big scary thang - the pattern is 13 pages long!!!   Luckily, I'm participating in the KAL on Ravelry, and the fine folks there pointed out that this is because Anne does complete instructions for both charts and written instructions.  A-ha!  Yes, she does!  And these charts are quite wonderful!

The next big scary thang - casting on 503 stitches!  I hate to cast on.  You get me past about 20 stitches and I start twitching.  I also tend to cast on very tightly, no matter how hard I try not to.  So, I took a deeeeeep breath, grabbed some #7 needles...and I cast on 503 freakin' stitches.  I knit the three garter stitch rows for the setup...and then I collapsed in a heap.

No...I really didn't collapse in a heap.  I did a little happy dance, snapped Wilbur's harness on him, and we went for a victory walk.  While we were out, I did some collecting, and when we got home, I composed this little still life with yarn in honor of my Pine and Ivy Shawl.

Wilbur really wasn't impressed, as you can tell...

Sigh...why is Mom always dragging that flashing, beeping, clicking awful thing around with her all the time?

My newest challenge is to teach my friend, Cindy, how to make the Ten Stitch Blanket.  We had our first lesson last night, and it was a comedy of errors (mostly mine...).  She asked me at the offset, "Do you pitch or catch?"   Well...I catch...she pitches.  Different dialects of the same language.  It made teaching...difficult to say the least.  But we had some good laughs and will schedule another lesson soon.  In the meantime, I'm trying to learn to "pitch" for instructional purposes.  I am Victor Martinez...trying to become Cliff Lee.  God help me...

The fun never stops!