Christmas knitting

I don't give knitted gifts as a rule. That's only partially true really, because a few years ago I knitted my sister a pair of socks for her birthday (she'd hinted that she wanted a pair of hand knit socks.) It's odd that I'd waited for so long to knit her a pair since I'd knitted a pair for my brother's wife when she turned 40 (my sister won't hit 40 for a couple more years, so she'd still be waiting). So, I knitted a pair for my sister for a gift and she requested socks for every gift after that. Really it's easy since we wear the same sized shoe.

But other than for my sister I don't knit gifts. I did knit my mother in law a shrug which was supposed to be her gift last Christmas, but I gave it to her over the summer because she'd been diagnosed with cancer. She died November 25. I'm glad I didn't wait. I did knit my dad a sweater about 25 years ago for Christmas. Bless his heart he wore it even tho the bind off on the neck was so tight he just about ripped his ears off trying to pull the thing over his head. I asked about the sweater after he died and my step mom said "I hope you don't mind, but we donated it, that neck band...." My feelings weren't hurt in the least.

This year I've broken my "I don't knit Christmas gifts" rule. My mom has said "I don't have time to knit, or do any hobbies, I just have so much going on in my life right now". My mother lives alone with a cat. Yes she's fixing up her yard, yes she's getting rid of the crap she's hoarded for all the years she's lived there (anyone need an old helmet hairdryer? In turquoise?). She visits me and makes these comments and tells me that I have so much more time because I have a husband (yes I do, and 4 children...okay 3 kids live at home, and a dog). So mom doesn't have time to knit (but she does have the equivelent of a yarn shop's worth of yarn in her house), but I digress. She's getting hand knit socks for Christmas (and some other fancies she doesn't need). And that's pretty much the extent of my Christmas knitting. Oh, I did knit a quick scarf from some yarn a neighbor gave me for the kids to put on the tree at their elementary school and I have started a sweater for girl child. But if I don't finish girl child's sweater it's not a big thing because it would be just as appropriate (probably more appropriate) in the spring. And I've started an Estonian Sampler scarf (for me) but that is only because I'm not wild about knitting with Tofutsie and needed a break. Oh, and a quickie cheap-o plain Christmas sock to shove an ornament into for an ornament exchange (but that hardly qualifies as knitting even!)

Perhaps sometime between Christmas and New Years I'll say what I say just about every year....maybe this year I'll knit everyone something.


yea right.

Busy busy and quiet

It's pretty quiet around here without our Stella. Jenny spent the better part of the day after Stella was put to sleep looking for her. All the old dog did was sleep, but still the house feels mighty empty without her around. And my knitting! I seem to have forgotten how to knit without my Stella. I've ripped the same sock out about half a dozen times trying to get it right. I had decided to knit my mother socks for Christmas, just to make myself crazy. The pink sweater, or at least the pink beginning of a sweater is for Girl child. I was in Joann's last week and found some "Red Heart Soft Yarn" and thought that it would be perfect for a sweater for girl child (that if she lost I wouldn't have a fit...tho I have to say that she's been the best of all of the kids for not losing jackets and the like).

Jenny Basset was very accommodating about allowing me to perch my knitting on her. She's quite the model.

I've not done much in the way of knitting lately. Just the little you see above. The school and kids have kept me quite busy. This past weekend there were karate seminars that the youngest son attended. His sensei's sensei was here from Alaska and it's always exciting to have Sensei Tanaka here and we plan to let little guy attend a few classes with Sensei Tanaka. And with the school we just have Thanksgiving stuff and a Senior luncheon. Busy busy.

Miss Stella July 23, 1993 - Nov 3, 2007

Goodbye sweet Stella. Thank you for a little over 14 years of love. You'll be missed.

An old dog

For the knitting part of this post I'll say that there is a pattern in "More Sensational Socks" (page 23, heel flap for a 70 stitch sock) that I can't for the life of me get to turn correctly. I honestly think that there's a mistake in the book, I've never had such a time turning a heel. I ripped the sock back and I just can't work up the mojo (so to speak) to cast on another sock at the moment.

I made the call this morning. Miss Stella will go and see the vet for the last time on Saturday morning. She would not come downstairs this morning and left a puddle on carpet at the top of the stairs. She wouldn't stand up and walk and I finally had Robert help me to carry her downstairs where I fed her (being a golden retriever I figured that she'd lose the ability to walk before she lost the will to eat, tho lately she's not been the best eater in the world either). We got her settled and she finally got up and staggered/fell into the den and in front of the chair she likes to lay in, so Robert helped her up into it. She stayed there for four hours, before climbing out. She has a hard time on our wood floors lately and today she's not been able to navigate them at all. Robert helped me get her out to the front yard where she'd walk a step and fall, I'd help her up and we'd repeat the process. At one point she decided she was going to play and in trying to run (hard when you can't even stand) she spun and fell. We let her rest for a bit then carried her back into the house. She just staggered from her bed by the front door (when we hauled her downstairs we put her bed at the bottom of the stairs, next to the living room rug) and is asleep at my feet under the desk. Her quality of life has deteriorated to pretty much nothing and I think that it's time. I can't bear to think of not having her around, but I can't bear to think that she'd have to give up what is left of her dignity if I were to keep her here. She's been the best dog a person could ask for for the past 14 years. Pets, they brighten up your life, but they also break your heart.