She has a wonderful pattern for a felted bedpan....AWESOME!

I am going to start a Nurses who Knit group at my university. We will do premi stuff, scarves etc for battered women's shelters etc etc. I have had a TON of interest in this. I will start them off with the basics...you know me, Ms. Garter Stitch herself! :-) But I would love it if some of my knitting buddies would help out OR come to the NWK groups! I have slated it for beginners and seasoned knitters alike and will open it up for anyone who is interested. Let me know what you think! Always up for some good ideas. Also if you have a group in need, let me know and I will put it in the list of possibilities.

I am not really M.I.A.

I had a weekend with my family to celebrate a birthday and then school started on Monday. I will see y'all at KNITCH on Thurs but not Friday...boo hoo for me...and then on Sunday if I survive the Saturday CPR class!

Knit Art

I found this cool vase on sale at IKEA-$3- and put the left over yarn from projects in the vase. That way the good memeories from each project can bring it's magic to the room. So all the memories and happy faces of people for whom I have knitted things are with me. Then I put all the freaking wooden needles I could find in the vase. Cause you know once you have gone Addi there's no turning back...mwah ha ha ha!! And tah-dah the KNITTING ART FROM OUTER SPACE!

A lot has happened in 2 years

On Aug 15 2005 I found out that I had cancer. I celebrate my survivor day on Nov 23rd which was the last day of treatment. It was found on my very 1st mammogram. I had no family history and am considered a young survivor. Please urge all the women in your life who are 35 and older to go and get 'em squished! I am alive because we found it early. My surgeon told me if I had waited until I was 45ish this would have probably killed me.

I have been thinking of all that has gone on since then. I was newly married when I found out, not knitting a thing, and living in the burbs. Now I am single again, knitting up a storm and have found a great bunch of folks that really mean a bunch to me. My new adventure of nursing school starts on Monday and after 6 years of sharing an office with the same person, I have a new space and a new office mate. And I have a new living arrangement and lots of pets!
Those are some really big life changes. But I feel good, I am pretty healthy and knitting is such a good meditation for me. I can carry it around, enjoy coffee shops and K2TOG is really true for me.

Enjoy your life today!

My next project is the garter bar cardigan. It is a Cindy Taylor pattern and I am using the Araucania Nature Wool in lime. I am using 2 strands and the gauge works out great! I will be on the hunt for a funky big green button for the front. I got this yarn for a steal at www.littleknits.com. Thanks to Claudia again for helping me get this together!

Sweater Wizard YIKES

I tried my first go at the sweater wizard. While others I have asked love it I did not fair so well. I have rechecked my input and I did do a swatch and I was right on gauge. Well the first go 'round, I got about half way up the body and tried it on. It looked like a hot air balloon cozy! So rip, rip, rip. Down two needle sizes. The the next time.....hello mobius! So then I gave up on in the round and made it in 2 pieces. Finally done, I blocked, washed, dried and shock...too big still. Fit in the bust no where else. So thanks to Doug (LUMI), the master,he did a big tapered mattress on the seams and took it up about 10, believe it, rows and it looks MUCH better. I did an i-cord for the flowers. Yes, the infamous gyno i-cord, and got the hex beads from Michael's for the middles. The flowers and leaves are from a Nicki Epstein book. Of course I have one on the back...thanks Melissa!

I used Cotton Ease for all the parts on the vest. Feels GREAT after the wash and dry, but the yarn was a mess to work with. Lots of twisting and yarn barf everywhere, even after putting in on the swift. But it feels so good now I would probable try again.

How I lost my first tape measure

Well, I don't know about you but I am a better person because I knit. I knit because of the great folks I have grown to love along the way. I can't imagine a better bunch of crazies like the ones I was lucky enough to join here in Atlanta. We are all better froggers since our Friday nights, that's for sure. Most of the time we laugh and laugh, a great mental cleanser! For the first blog, I want to share how I lost my tape measure...Claudia, this one's for you!I was at the gyno's office, I of course had a knitting project with me because I knew I would have to wait and I am not the most patient person in the world. Finally after about a 45 minute wait, I was taken back to the western room...you know the one with the stirrups! So I did as I was told, undressed from the waist down and put the lovely paper sheet around me. Well, this wasn't my first rodeo I knew it would be a while, so I continued knitting the i-cords for the decorations on my summer tank (which by the way is driving me crazy, but more on that later). Finally the doc comes in and I finish my little row (you know it is only 3 stitches), put the yarn, needles etc in the little bag and toss it in the chair. I reposition myself for the exam and hear a weird clank as something falls on the floor. Hmmmm, was that an instrument? So after I am done and dressing, I notice a small round blue and green tape measure on the sink. Naturally, I debated on stealing, I mean taking, it. But then I wondered, hmmmm....what IS the doc measuring with this? Also, I noticed a small white tape measure too. Big deal I have a little white one...or so I thought. I just left them in the room, I couldn't get past what MIGHT have been measured with that thing. When I get home, I get my i-cord out again and need to measure it. Can't find MY tape measure. Well KARMA! I had not moved it off my lap when I scooched down and it hit the floor in the doc's office. Mine was the white one on the sink. HA! I wonder what the doc thought of that thing falling to the floor!