The Rest of the Story of Rosa's Blanket.

First let me apologize for the unpictured and uncredited squares. Sixty different people contributed: Theresa, Terri, Lynne, Margie, Jennifer, Beth, Cherie, Diane, Lauren, Rosa, Bev, Nola, and I. We used Lion Brand Fisherman's yarn. There are 25 twelve inch (30 cm.) blocks arranged in a five by five square. Theresa and I carefully whip-stitched all the seams. But that isn't the real story.

~

The real story is a tale told mostly in pictures.

This is the square that never was. It is not in the quilt. I don't think I've ever worked as hard on a piece of knitting as on that. That's why I'm making you look at it. It is what became of the little pyramid from several posts back. It stubbornly remains lettuce despite the concerted efforts of the best minds in modern medicine knitting. I think a frog ate it. I don't want to see it ever again. It'll suck me into trying to perfect it again. Let's leave that to cooler heads.

Knitter unknown. Sorry.Knitter unknown. Knitter unknown. I knitted this one to replace the square which shall not be named.

Center gets the square. This kooky kewl square was used as the very center of the blanket. Knitted by Lauren.

Knitter unknown. Memory like a sieve, anybody?

Assembly.

Teddy was into it.

The last two sections are combined.

The first peek at it as a single piece.

Both kitties wanted to pose with it, but neither wanted to be seen posing. Here is Musette,

and you all know Teddy.

Finito.

Ten Things I Didn't Know about Myself

Wait . . . Have I got that title right? Close enough.

1. I am a perfectionist.

2. I don't like to take off the shrink wrap that comes on new appliances and other items. One day down the road I will be able to take it off and have the washer or other object look great even though I didn't actually keep it nice.

3. I shared a bedroom with my grandma while I was in sixth through twelfth grade. It was there I learned how to sew and how to put on a bra.

4. Grandma taught me also that you should use clean rags for kotex and if you want to get rid of a tapeworm you begin by sitting on a bucket. I did for a time do the first, but have never had occasion to try the second.

5. My other grandma taught me how to iron. I don't iron my clothes anymore. I go to work with them wrinkled. It's a look. It's interesting that neither grandma taught me that ironing is the one thing that really makes your sewing look professional.

6. I gained 15 pounds every time I seriously tried to quit smoking, but failed. It didn't go away when I started again.

7. I don't smoke anymore now. I only managed to quit by doing it gradually. It took more than two years.

8. I love vests. I have several batches of stash yarn that I bought to make myself a vest.

9. I can't figure out how to knit a Clapotis. It strains my tiny, little pea-sized brain.

10. I like wearing plaid, especially shorts.

11. I don't wear sweaters much. They are too hot to wear except at home.

12. The last time I wrote 10 things about myself I could only think of seven, so now you have to suffer through 13.

13. I'm a joy to have around. Ask anybody.

I will now pass on the award that prompted the list to 10 other beautiful bloggers to perhaps tell us 10 things about themselves. No obligations.

Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy

Batty's Adventures in Spooky Knitting

Daniel Mount's Garden Journal

Great Towering Textiles

Random Meanderings

Knitting into Divinity
Knitter's Journey

MollieBee's Attic

AngelKnits

Purl This

Quickie Post on The Secret Project

Our Monday night knitters have a remarkable member. She's like our sister who's way smarter, much more talented, light years cuter, and waaay younger than everybody else. On top of all that, she's kind and generous. We all love her. Her name is Rosa. She just got married on Saturday and we got to dance at her wedding! We made her and her hubby an Aran type afghan as a surprise. There will be more about that in the next post. Here are several of the squares before seaming. Please forgive me and inform me of the makers of the ones I've forgotten or miscredited.

by Diane (?) by Terri (?)

by Jennifer

by Lynne

by Rosa herself (Aren't we sly?)

Rebus

From the Latin "by things" -A riddle where pictures and/or symbols represent words or syllables through sound or synonym.

KNITTING CAMP

4th Annual Alt Knitting Camp

July 12-14, 2010

Devil's Lake State Park

Baraboo, Wisconsin

Don't look at me

I didn't knit this; Laura did. It will be a Classic Lines Cardigan when it's done. The pattern is from KnitPicks, but I don't know about the yarns. Laura is my cousin. We used to take baths together, but we stopped when we both couldn't fit in the tub at the same time. Just kidding. We stopped after Y2K because of the hot water shortage. Still kidding. Laura flew to Milwaukee and stayed a week to take care of me after my ticker tinkering. She did a bang up good job. I didn't knit these; Rosa and Diane from Monday nights did. The wool is Lion Brand Fisherman's yarn.

I didn't knit this; Elizabeth Sable did, and in her awesomeness, she gave it to meeee! The yarn is Rowan Tapestry. It is not itchy. Does it look familiar? I didn't knit this either; Laura did. Now it is a wrap residing in California. All it needs is buttons(not sure where) . The yarn is a Zitron mohair yarn called Prisma. I made something out of the same yarn in the same colorway. I bought it on a trip to visit Laura. It was on sale--big surprise.

Blahging

The thing about not feeling like blogging is not feeling like blogging about not blogging. I want everybody to know that I am doing just fine. I am going back to work on May 17. My level of feeling crummy is about up to the level I was at before I had surgery except that I am much more tired when I pour myself into bed at night.

I have been exercising (walking) on my own quite a bit, with the exception of a bad day here and there. I had my first cardiac rehabilitation class today. It's really just exercise with a heart monitor on and nurses who check your blood pressure. I rode a stationary bike and I also "rode" a hand bike and I walked the treadmill, all at very easy settings. We did a few arm things with light weights. This was the only non-cardio thing. It all took less than an hour. I think I could go harder, but I'm trying not to second-guess the nurses.

I am just fine. Please don't worry. Thank you for checking in. I love you, man!

Kathy Kathy Kathy again

I'm OK! Wheee!

Still in the hospital, but if the levels of this that and the other are good, I will go home tomorrow. I am being well taken-care of and feel greatly loved. Thank you so much.

Ticker Trouble

I've got a hole in my heart, literally, not figuratively. It's a congenital defect, that I've always known about, but I didn't realize that it affected me much at all except for the inability to do very strenuous exercise. As it got worse over the years, I thought that I couldn't mow the grass all in one day or run for the bus because I let myself get more than a little out of shape. Not so, it turns out. I don't feel any different than I did 3 or 4 months ago, but it is nice to not feel like I've squandered my good health because I'm tired a lot or lazy because I dread things like going on vacation because of all the walking.

I'm going to go get it fixed next week. The doctors call it a "repair." It turns out that sucker is huge. It goes from 3.2 to 3.5 centimeters! I don't quite get how it is that I'm alive at all when you consider that the diameter of an average garden hose, at 5/8 inches, is about half the size of my hole. I'm having heart surgery on Wednesday, the 31st of March. Here's a link that explains what I've got: Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) It's supposed to take about 6 months for my heart to shrink down to normal size and finish remodeling itself. I'm supposed to have all the energy in the world. I'm cynical about that, but we'll see. I'll do my best to use the situation as a catapault into a much more active life style. I will try to knit stranded knitting holding a yarn ball in each hand. I'll burn twice the calories!

I'll be in the hospital a few days and then off work for around 4 weeks. It's pretty amazing what doctors can do through just a couple of small incisions. I won't have to heal any bones, like say, my sternum. That's why the recovery is so short. Of course, I'll have to see to believe it, but with an efficient heart I should be able to heal more quickly than before, right?

Things are battened down pretty well on this end. I just laid in 5 boxes of kitty litter. I'm trying to get the house fit for company. I've made extra keys. My uncle will come to take me home from the hospital and stay a couple of days. He has promised soup. I've requested no noodles. Then my cousin in crime is taking a whole week off work and is coming out from California to

spend it with me. There will be knitting. We are both looking forward to it.

If you have any advice about any of this, lay it on me.

What has become of them.

The whitish crepe-like affair illustrated below is what became of the little pyramid from an earlier post. After much and much and then some more rippage, followed by multiple froggings, I have what I would like to think is a square for an afghan. It's very overworked and overwrought and, I am admitting, somewhat circular. It's journey to completion is not over. The next step will be wet blocking. Then we'll see.

This next project has grown on me. I started it quite a while ago. It's somewheres in the blog archives. I set it aside (euphemistically speaking) because I thought it was uggggggggg-ly! I unearthed it and dusted it off a few weeks ago. I added about 4 more inches all the way around. The last rounds I bought more yarn for, just to get closing colors. I'm happy with the size and the ending. I have plenty more Peaches N Sugar N Cream in the stash, but trying to get colors next to each other that are pleasing takes a toll on us sensitive types. It is perfectly baby blanket sized and has the right feeling of weightiness. I have 2 possible candidates for giftees, but a whole lot of ends still to weave. They are on the other side. Here is my main project right now. I want to finish by March 29th, hence the near monogamy. Guess what it is. Nope, not a set of willy warmers nor banana keepers. They are in fact socks. When people see me knitting and ask what I am knitting/crocheting, I enjoy telling them that it's the other sock, which it is. The pattern is Spring Forward from Knitty. I've been wanting to make this pattern since I saw a pair knit up in person by the great mystery, the most reluctant blogger of all, Seiding. This pair is really a pair, not 2 different designs in the same yarn. That decision is because these socks are not for me. They are for my best work friend, for whom I have never knit. The yarn came first, then the pattern. I chose this yarn because I think it will go with her eyes. It is KnitPicks Imagination, which has 5o% merino wool, 25% alpaca, 25% nylon. It's nice and soft and just a leetle fuzzy. I'm hoping it wears well. The color is Looking Glass, but doesn't match the picture on the site very well. I don't think it will go as well with my friend's eyes, but it's still rilly, rilly pretty. I'm not mad. I have more and would like to make a scarf and hat and maybe fingerless gloves.

Sale on Apples

or Clean up in aisle 3.

One day at the food co-op

Slight Miscalculation

How long and how far would you knit before accepting that it really isn't going to flatten out, even with blocking?