Sunday, January 31, 2010

Rogue, complete

Speaking of knitting, it was a relief to finish this one!

My sister asked for a Rogue sweater. Can do.
But, maybe, a cardigan instead of a pullover? Okay, can do.
Not too fond of the thick hems, though... Okay, there's help for that, too.
Now, about the color... It took five months (and swatches from several mail-order companies) before she made a decision.
I bought yarn, swatched, got approval, and (because *I* wasn't entirely happy with the feel of the fabric), knit the sleeves first for Sis's approval.

She liked 'em.

On I knit, through tidy (thin!) hems, cables, pockets, back and forth, until I got to the armpits... and then the entire thing went into a box so I could move across the country and back to the Pacific North West.

On occasion, my sister would delicately clear her throat and murmur something about how nice it would be to have a green sweater. "Haven't come across the box it's in." "It's July. Too hot to knit a wool sweater." "Erm, yeah." My excuses got weaker.

So, in October, I dragged it out, figured out where I was (rarely have I been so glad that I write notes to myself on patterns!), and carried on.

And now it's done. And my sister is, well, happy.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Good intentions, lousy execution...

(I suspect that I may have said that before...)

I'm hoping that, by posting something (ANYthing!), I'll get past the "there's too much to tell" bump I hit a couple of whiles ago.

Long story, short: Knitting has occurred. Job has been maintained. Holidays have been celebrated. And, five days after my last post, I had a complete hysterectomy for (and I quote) adenoendometrial carcinoma. So far, things are okay (aside from "granulated tissue" that made my oncologist frown - but the biopsy says "normal" and "healthy"), but I'm still a bit twitchy about the whole "cancer" thing.

Some dear friends have kept me sane: my sis (who spent a week holding my hand in person and continues to do so long-distance), Tracy (who listens when I need to grump and doesn't go weird on me), Tina, the Barn Gals, and the Sockateers (who expect me to just show up and be helpful - and that's a good thing when I'm overthinking too much), a sympathetic and supportive Chief and colleagues at Portland Fire & Rescue, and a bunch of folks who held me in their thoughts and prayed for me.

And now I'm going to hit "publish" so that I can get back to documenting knitting projects!