knittingirl

Sad Day

I write this today with a heavy heart.

Yesterday, on Christmas Day, while others are celebrating the coming of the Lord and togetherness of family, my family lost someone near and dear to us.  My grandmother, the matriarch of my mother's family and the last parental link I had to my mother, passed away.  I can not even begin to describe the grief that consumes me, as it feels as though my mother has died all over again, and a part of me has died with her.  I struggle to see the screen as I type this, my eyes clouded over by my tears, and I try hard to fight the lump that builds in my throat.

Today I want to crawl under the covers, forget the world outside, and cry.  I want to weep for all the memories I have and mourn for those I will never have the chance to make.  But I can't.  I have to be strong for the little girl that lays sleeping in the room next to me, who will wake and have no idea how broken her mother is.  I shed my tears while she lay in peaceful slumber so I may wipe my eyes and be joyful when she awakens, a bright ray of light in my dark, dark world.

Why?, I ask.  Why now?  Why ever?  There comes a point in a person's life when you realize that no one can escape the grips of death, and you learn to expect it as people age, but it still is just as raw and painful and unexpected as any loss.  You can never prepare for it, nor can you be unaffected by it.

The time has come to dry my eyes.  The day is new for my little girl, and there will be no sadness for her.  I will be strong and let her smile fill the empty hole that is now my heart.

Rest in peace, Grandma, and say hi to mom for me.  Love you to the moon and back.

Yarn giftage

Just a quick post to show you the scarf/koozie set for a girlfriend at work.  She loved 'em!

Inspiration for the scarf came from the Curly Whirly site - get over there and make one for you too!

Letters to My Daughter: Volume 10

Kalyn,

Another month has wound down, and you are ten months old.  Before my very eyes, you are becoming a beautiful, spirited, vivacious little girl.  Where is the newborn baby I held in my arms not so long ago, your first day in this crazy world?

Where do I even start?  This past month has been very busy for you.  You are getting closer to walking every day as you cruise around the house, holding on to furniture and laundry baskets and whatever else will support your weight as you take those awkward steps to try and move around.  You're getting brave lately, letting go every now and then to stand for a few brief seconds before gravity gets the best of you.  You're already hard to keep up with, so I can't imagine what it will be like when you're really moving!  You're still crawling, but much faster now and much more coordinated.  You do this thing when you're crawling really fast towards something that's so cute - you grunt and growl with every movement until you make it there, giggling with glee.  Oh, I could eat you up you're so adorable!

You've also reached another milestone... your first tooth!  It was a hard road to get there, though.  Man, you were a pill.  You wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, had to be held at all times, wanted to chew everything, including daddy's nose - it was such a relief to see that little white bump and know the madness would soon be over!  You're already working on a second one right next to it, so you'll have two little chompers ready to tear up those little fruit puffs you love so much.  We're still working on a picture of your teeth, seeing as your mouth is off limits to mommy and daddy now.  Come on bug, say cheese just once, okay?!

To top off the month, you had your first meeting with Santa Claus.  Of course, this is Texas, so it wasn't just any Santa, it was Cowboy Kringle!  Watching you with him was so much fun.  You really have a thing for facial hair, so Santa was your man if there ever was one!  Within seconds of sitting on his lap, you were reaching to grab that big white beard!  I can't wait until tomorrow morning, your first Christmas morning, to see you tear in to those packages and eat your fill of boxes and wrapping paper.  You're too young to yet know the true meaning of Christmas, but your daddy and I will teach you soon enough...

We are ever so grateful this Christmas for you, bug.  You have brought a joy to our lives we never knew was possible, and a love so true and innocent it could melt the heart of the biggest Scrooge.  Love you to the moon and back, a thousand times...

Mama

So Busy...

Updates and LTMD coming soon! 

Things have been crazy-busy around here....

*I'm alh stubbed ubh*

Ugh - I feel yucky.  I am sucking it up and going to the dr tomorrow, so hopefully I'll feel back to my  normal self soon.  It's so hard concentrating on knitting when my eyes ache and my face hurts, so there's not much progress to report.  I'm working on the scarf for my friend at work, and my cashmere is all wound into a center-pull ball, just waiting to be made into something luscious for my ISE pal.  My plan after that scarf was to make a "me" project, but I forgot about another friend who's expecting in March, so I need to make a baby gift.  I'm thinking of making these:

Too cute, right?  I may have to make some in pink for my girl, too!

And have you seen the new knitty??  Well, get over there right now and check it out!  It's loaded with tons of fab patterns that are beckoning me... I'm so loving this purse--

And in my next knitting life, I want to be Jenna.  How cute is she?

Okay, time to nurse myself back to health so I can pick up those sticks again!

Floozy News...

I've made another koozie.  Check her out:

She's holding one of my favorites, a yummy Shiner Bock that I devoured soon after taking this pic!  Plans for koozie-making have changed, as my friends at work decided to draw names so we wouldn't have to do gifts for everyone.  My plan now is to make a coordinating scarf for the koozie to give to my person.

Coming soon to needles near you... a scarf for my ISE pal.  I can't wait to cast on!

Errata...

FYI, the FK pattern has been corrected after a typo.

Pattern should read:  K evenfor 2.75 inches instead of 2.5 inches.

Sorry about the error - happy knitting!

The proof's in the knitting

  So here are my random scarves..

There's an eyelash scarf, a green drop loop scarf, plum garter stitch scarf, and a spiral neck tie...  oh my!

Now I can get to work completing Floozy Koozies for my friends for Christmas.  BTW, the pattern is finally posted in the sidebar, so enjoy, and send me your finished pics!  I'd love a koozie gallery!

Next in line is my ISE scarf, which I'm making with this lovely yarn:

There are several shades of blue in the hand painted cashmere, and I think it will be beautiful in the openwork pattern I've decided upon.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Okay, as if I didn't have enough going on... I've joined a knitalong too!  I'm now officially part of the Angelina-along.  I've loved this pattern for a very long time, and I finally want to make something for me again!  Now I have no plans of starting her anytime soon, but I've committed myself, so I will do this, one of these days.

Oh, so beautiful and vintage.  The pattern is from White Lies Designs - go check it out!

Alright, just one more pic.  My sweet bug loves Christmas too!