Tag Archives: gifts

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Week Fifteen – Calm and Still Here

Well, after all of last week’s good news I was really hoping that I would not get hit by a truck or struck by lightening this week to even things out.  We did have a strong storm blow through but, thankfully, no real damage to speak of.  This week has been calm and quiet.  Spring has sprung and everything is growing and blooming.  I am waiting for the release of the pattern for round 4 of Sock Madness and there was some concern on the group about releasing the pattern and competing over the Easter holidays.  So, the moderators are releasing an optional round pattern that does not count for the competition.  After Easter they will release the pattern for round 4 and things will heat up again.

In the meantime, while waiting, I have started on my baby sock adventure.  This is the first trial sock:

I wanted to get a feel for how many cast on stitches it would take and what size the finished sock would be.  This pattern is Garter Stripes Baby Socks and is very simple to do.  The only thing I would change in the pattern is the heel, which was somewhat of a pain, and the toe, which I changed already.  I think the pattern is really cute.  After doing this one I have a much better idea of the specs and will probably be making up some of my own designs for Baby Fillmer in the future.

Quote of the week: Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.  Benjamin Franklin ~ Poor Richard

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Week Thirteen – Hurry Up and Wait

This week was one filled with knitting and a much anticipated doctor’s visit. Since I finished my socks for Round 2 of Sock Madness, I have been waiting for the teams to fill up so we can get the next pattern for Round 3.

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In the meantime, I finished the sock tiger for the baby and started back to work on my Louhi jacket. I am almost finished with the second sleeve and it will be a complete coat one day. I figure that if I work on it between other projects, it will finish itself eventually.

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The doctor’s visit happened on April Fool’s Day. We got up at 3:30 am to drive to Birmingham for a 7:00 am appointment at UAB for a liver biopsy. The first thing they do when you are going to have a procedure like this is blood work to check platelet count, etc. Mine was low. This is normal for me. However, they would not do the procedure until it was raised. So, I got to sit in a hospital bed and receive 2 bags of platelets and at 2:30 pm they finally did the biopsy. It was bizarre and not something I would recommend for fun. I had to be awake for the procedure. They gave me sedation and a local (lidocaine) anesthetic then they went to work. While they were using an ultrasound device to locate the lesion, they would tell me to breathe and hold my breath. Then 3 or more times, they went in with a very long needle and took samples of my liver tissue where the lesions were. The doctor had a very hard time getting to the spot she needed to access and ended up going through my two lower ribs to access the spot.

After the procedure, the doctors wanted me to stay for observation for 5 more hours. They were watching for signs of internal bleeding. There was none and Scott and I managed to escape the grasp of the hospital staff about an hour earlier than specified by the doctors. Thank goodness for awesome, intelligent hospital staff that can think outside the box. We made it home by about 10:00 pm and Ebby, Scott, and I collapsed into bed.

I am still recovering from the lack of sleep. As a general rule, I am not the most friendly person when I am sleep deprived. Anyway, now we wait. The results should be back next week. However, this place does not work all that fast, so there is no telling when we will hear something.

Quote of the week: The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. ~Cicero (106-43 BC)

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Abby’s Socks

There is no feeling in the world like making a gift for someone and seeing a look of total happiness when they open it and really appreciate it. This is especially true when the look is on a child’s face. Today Abigail Marchio turned 6. Her brother Gabriel gave me some fuzzy yarn for my birthday about a month ago and I used it to decorate the top of the socks that I made for Abigail. Here is the result and her reaction. The pictures don’t need words.

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40 is pretty cool!

Sunday was Mother’s day and it was also my 40th birthday. We celebrated it all with food, cake, and presents at the Marchio’s house. All in all, 40 is pretty cool. Scott gave me saddlebags for my new bike, the kids all gave me presents that they had chosen themselves and my sister in law picked up a really cool cake for me too. Although, she told me that we are now going by decades now instead of years therefore I only had a number 4 on my cake this year. HAHA


Me, opening the presents from the kids.


See my new saddlebags.


Me and Abby


Cool cake!

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Gabriel’s Scarf is Complete

I finished the scarf that my nephew Gabriel asked me to make for him. I realized after I started it that I was going to need two skiens of yarn so I gave him the option of continuing in the same color or having a two toned scarf. He chose two colors. This scarf is patterned after the seaman’s scarfs and is a one of a kind.

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Christmas in January

Sarah’s shawl is complete. It was finished a little late, but still appreciated I think. This shawl is from the book Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle and is called the Stora Dimun shawl. It is a Faroese shawl and the first of this type that I have knit. I used “Essential” yarn from Knit Picks. The first picture isn’t that great, but the one of Sarah modeling the shawl is super. Have a look…

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CO 449

Cast on 449 stitches and knit 8 rows.

That is where I am at on the shawl I am making for my sister in law (Sarah)for Christmas. Can you say BORING???? Oh well, this is the first shawl I have done from the long edge to the point. So I figure it will go faster and be more interesting as it goes along. The shawl is the “Stora Dimun Shawl” from the book Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. I am using 40″, size 6 needles and Essential yarn from Knit-Picks in the “Dusk” colorway.

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Another Completed WIP

I finally finished a necklace for my father that he asked me to make in December of last year. He gave me a cross that was very special to him and that he had for a long time. During a visit with my mom in Feburary she gave me a rosary that was in pieces that used to belong to him. It is amazing how things work together for the glory of God. I put his old rosary beads together with the cross he gave me and here is the result.

I hope he likes the result.