Pumpkin Sunrise

  Hello! How are you? I'm thrilled to show you my sweater that I finally finally finished! I started this sweater around Christmas time and it's taken a long time for me to knit it up. Of course, size four needles is quite the undertaking for a sweater, but I also wasn't feeling well during all that time.  I cannot wait for the cold weather in late fall to wear this!  The only changes I made to the pattern were picking up the neck line and knitting a bit of ribbing. I just didn't like how the original pattern curled up. I think it was my loose knitting at the beginning of the cast on that contributed to the curling. I also lengthened the sleeves by an inch and the length of the body by an inch as well. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you doing? Look at my sweater !! I love it so much. I continue to work a little bit each day on that second sleeve making small progress but still it's progress. See that neckline? I am going to fix that, it drives me nuts and I know blocking will not make it lay straight. Medical Update: It's been quiet here on this space because I've been dealing with ongoing medical tests and referrals. I have been followed by a pulmonologist for my shortness of breath and have inhalers and they are helping with the lung issues. I did a CPET test at the end of March and the results indicated cardiac limitations. So after three weeks of waiting for doctors to call me and also to call each other to consult on the CPET test, I am finally scheduled for a cardiac MRI and a right heart cath at the beginning of May. I am okay with whatever they unearth. I want to be diagnosed and treated and then left alone, ha ha. This past year has been quite the challenge. I suspect a...

  Hello! How are you? I'm doing good.  My weekend was mainly uneventful overall. Can you believe next weekend is Easter already? Lent has flown by this year for me. I attended Saturday night Mass with my sister at a different church and I cannot pass by a beautiful Mary statue without photoing it. Of course I edited out all the cars in the background so the photo is kind of crazy but She is beautiful to behold. Since the weekend was uneventful, I worked on my knitting projects equally. Also I started walking outside once more. Only up and down my street a few times, staying close to home. I love being out in nature and hearing the birds sing. Some of my daffodils got zapped by that unexpected snowfall we had a while ago and some have miraculously survived and are showing off. April, which is just around the corner, is one of my favorite spring months. Not too hot but abundant in blossoms. How was your weekend? 

  Good morning!  I am happy to report I started the first sleeve of my yoke sweater a few days ago! I am so excited that I'm on the sleeves because they go so fast. That is assuming I am knitting every single day, ha ha ha. I think the fit will be perfect but I know I will do something of the curling neckline that I do not like at all. My gauge must have been loose when starting the sweater then it must of tightened up. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you doing today? I have been making steady progress with the body of my yoke sweater . I'm a few inches away from the ribbing. I work on this while watching TV. Overall I am very pleased with the sweater and the design but I do not like the neckline. Once it's finished and I put it on, I will do something about the neckline to make it lay flat, most likely picking up stitches and doing a twisted rib for a few rows.  What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you doing today? I've been pretty good overall. Our company left last Wednesday and I put my house back together again within two hours. That might be a record. We miss our daughter and her family, but I am also enjoying the silence and the NOT cooking for a crowd.  Since they left, I've returned to knitting and reading. I've made lots of progress on my yoke sweater  while watching TV in the evening or listening to podcasts. Never fear, I have been working on my other two projects as well while thinking about new projects. That's what knitters do. Since we had a tiny warm up, there was ONE bug in the house so now Holly is on the hunt for future possible bugs in the house. This is her surveilling the family room. Too cute!! On Saturday I walked outside which is a rarity. Because of my severe dry eyes and the scleral lenses, I cannot be outside if there is a wisp of wind. However, I braved up to 8 MPH winds and took my chances. I enjoyed being outs...

  Good morning! How are you today? I am doing pretty good and that is exciting after the last two weeks of health challenges. My daughter and her family are leaving today after an unexpected extension of their visit here due to the blizzard in Boston. I am sure they are happy to go home. I have a ton of cleaning to do and putting the house back to the way it was. I haven't knit the past couple of days because of the company and all the cooking I've been doing. Each day my son and his family came over with all of us for dinner. By the time I sit down after they leaave, I'm a zombie and my brain is toast.  Never fear, I took a photo of my current knitting projects. Bottom left is my belle sweater , top middle is my musselburgh hat and bottom right is a delightful cowl that I'm itching to finish so I can wear it before winter passes away. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? Thank you so much for the health well wishes, they finally worked! I ended up calling the ENT on call Wednesday night because of the pain and happened to get my own ENT, what luck. She phoned in a high dose of prednisone (again) and double booked me an office visit on Thursday instead of Friday. Once I saw here she ordered antibiotics (again) and on Saturday night during my family party dinner I hosted at my house, I ate pain free after nearly 10 days of painful eating. It was glorious!!(I would not wish this on an enemy) I have another follow up with her on Wednesday morning, she is so very kind. Our daughter, son in law and youngest grandson are visiting over the weekend and unfortunately their flight was cancelled today to go back to Boston because of the blizzard warning. They are here until Wednesday. We have been soaking up a ton of family time together and the cousins are all seeing each other. I have done minimal knitting between not feeling wel...

  Good morning! How are you doing?  Phew! It's been a crazy rough few days. I had my sialendoscopy procedure done on Thursday at the city hospital and I guess it was successful in that they did it. In time I will see if it improves my dry mouth symptoms from Sjogren's disease. Saturday was the worst day, eating was very painful. However, yesterday was improved and I'm hoping it stays that way! I have a recheck with the ENT at the end of the week. Thank you all for the well wishes, I appreciate them.  Above is my belle sweater  and I'm swimming in the stockinette stitches! I love it. I can read a book while knitting which of course is double the fun. The days are getting longer, the birds are singing and the snow is melting away. Spring is around the corner!! How was your week?

  Now that I am feeling much better, my knitting time has been increased. Most importantly, my mistakes have decreased. I discovered the worse I feel the more mistakes I make, but I don't know I'm making those mistakes until I feel better. The Belle Sweater  is a joy to knit. I finished the color work a few days ago. Now I'm knitting an inch or so before the sleeves are set aside. I'm excited. There is nothing like stockinette stitch knitting! I can watch tv or read my kindle. Both are entertaining. How are you? What have you been working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? My health is improving (no fever, less pain) but I still have symptoms of the sinus infection and am doubtful I'll be cured, sigh. This is week four of the never-ending illness, wish me luck! I honestly didn't start knitting until Sunday or Monday night, and when I did knit I didn't knit for long. However, I am less than five rows to finishing the colorwork of the yoke. After that it is stockinette stitching which to me is wonderful! I can zip along knitting, watch TV or read my kindle.  In my mind, I'd like to start another project but my energy levels are too low. I just think about it instead. I have in mind a cowl with the yarn my sister gave me for my birthday in November. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning to you! How are you doing? I hope you are staying healthy! I have been thoroughly enjoying my sweater knitting , since all I do is sit around and recover from my illness. I am thankful I am well enough to knit. I am so close to finishing the color work of the yoke and then the knitting will really go fast. Endless stockinette knitting is perfect for TV knitting or reading my kindle. I am already thinking of how I might change the neckline design. I might pick up and knit a tiny bit of ribbing to neaten it up. But it's early days, I can decide later. I am feeling better and as you can guess it's not fast enough for me which is another sign I am feeling better. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! Merry Christmas and soon to be Happy New Year! How have you been? I have been thoroughly enjoying the in between days and having absolutely nowhere to go unless I choose to go somewhere. I'm also enjoying my adult learning classes break. It's nice to be relaxed. My daughter in law and son gifted me the gilmore girls mug, I love it. I watch it when I want a comforting show and I can knit while it's on.  I've been feverishly knitting my sister's mitts and I started a sweater for me. Of course yesterday, I un-knit as much as I knitted. I don't know what is up with that. I did get frustrated though and set everything aside. I'm hoping today is a better knitting day. Today the temperatures are dropping quickly and the wind is howling outside. The weather has been crazy. I switched back to exercising inside two weeks ago because even though I can tolerate cold weather, my eyes and mouth get dried out and cause me problems (thanks autoimmune disease!). I h...

  Good morning! How are you? I finished the last holiday sweater for the grandkids! This pullover is for the oldest grandson who is three years old. His favorite color is yellow and I hope he loves this sweater. I enjoyed knitting it immensely. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! How are you?  I'm doing fine. I'm wishing for fall like weather while the summer like weather lingers around here. I finished this little sweater over a week ago but it took over a week to air dry! I loved how this sweater turned out but I didn't enjoy knitting it much because the gauge was tighter than usual. I knew that when I started but still kept knitting because I'm stubborn. This sweater is for our two year old granddaughter for Christmas.

  Good morning! How are you? I know I say this every single time, but boy oh boy am I busy! We pick up the kids at least twice a week from daycare and my adult classes started last week. I'm living my best life! Except I am having quite the arthritis flare (it's always something with my body!). On Saturday I cleaned two of my fountain pens and one was very stubborn, that wrangling hurt my hands all the more and I'm still suffering from it. We continue to go to soccer practice for out grandson on Saturday mornings, always fun and there are a few trees to sit under to keep out of the full sun. Where did fall go? I want it back! Yesterday evening we went to see the Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise. Golly! It was so good and so much fun. If it's in your town, I highly recommend going to it. I continue to keep up with my once a week nature journaling. I usually use colored pencils since they are easy to use while sitting on the loveseat. Also I finished the body of my ...

  Good morning! How are you? How are your projects coming along? I finished the purple sweater for my granddaughter but it is taking forever to dry. This in-between weather is not ideal for air drying wool blend garments. So I decided to show you my grandson's sweater . His favorite color is yellow so I am hoping it is still his favorite color by the time Christmas comes around. I am loving this project so much. Top down construction is the only way to make a sweater anymore.  What are you working on this week?

  Good afternoon! How are you? Finally it is fall like weather and my maple tree has decided to join in the celebrations. Crisp cool air in the mornings and evenings, what could be better? I had to wear a jacket on Saturday morning to watch my grandson play soccer. I loved it. On Thursday I went with my aunt and cousin to drive around the neighborhood we grew up in Pittsburgh. I cannot believe how everything looks so small. The houses, my old school, the streets, the length of the streets. It was so much fun.  On Friday afternoon, I went to a picnic at my school and a friend saved me a seat. Our table was the first to get in line for the food. That was awesome as well! I was thankful it was inside instead of outside like last year. I nearly wilted from the sun and heat. I finished knitting the granddaughter's holiday sweater and I need to sew buttons and do a beauty soak routine. I used maybe 4-8 yards of that extra skein. I see lots of hats being made with the rest.

  Good morning! How are you?  I've been solely knitting my granddaughter's holiday sweater and I decided two nights ago that I do not have enough yarn (yikes). I am pretty sure that the local LYS doesn't have any more this color so I found a skein online and it will arrive some time later this week. I'm hoping I have enough for the second sleeve and will only use the additional skein on the button bands. However, if I do not have enough yarn I will rip out the garter stitch bands and use the alternate skein for that. I am assuming the dye lot will be off. The yarn is discontinued and was made aware of that fact by the LYS owner. I bought enough yardage that the pattern calls for!  So what are you working on this week? 

  Good morning! How are you? After a wonderful cold snap, it's now getting warm again but thankfully not overly warm and the nights are still cool. AND it's September, finally!  Over the weekend, we celebrated our granddaughter's second birthday with family and friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone and of course watching her delight as she opened up her gifts, two years old is a wonderful age! I'm sure she will be in the terrible twos soon, but for right now she is happy and compliant and full of energy and discovery. We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary on Friday! We went out to lunch at a new to us Chinese restaurant. They had a HUGE sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of the eating area. I loved it! The food was fantastic as well. I saw my arthritis doctor and there's a chance I will be adding a medicine to manage symptoms. I guess I'll know in a week or so after some testing results. I'm not happy about it more medicines but I am happy if it se...