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I can hardly wait!!!

Prayer Shawl

I'm knitting a prayer shawl. The Butterfly Argyles have been put aside for the time being, and I won't be entering anything in the state fair this year. After much consideration, and waffling, I decided that the Argyles, while perfectly wonderful, are not perfectly wonderful enough to enter. So, that decision made, I need to get this prayer shawl done.
I have a friend. I've known him for years, we met in Sunday School (adult Sunday School, we haven't known each other that long! LOL) He's a very nice man, good father, I assume good husband. It's always been very clear that he loves his wife. They moved to the other side of the country (literally) several years ago, and we've kept in touch via email. We have similar senses of humor, we kind of look at the world the same (or close enough). We've had the same "crises of faith" and asked the same questions of each other. Deep discussions, lots of laughs. He's just a good friend.
Last week, he sent me an email titled "A short read" with a link to a blog. The blogger talks about the battle for his wife. The absolute struggle to keep cancer from taking her from him. I read about half the entries, and the tone was so familiar. There is no profile, no identifying anything. I replied to his email and asked, simply, Who wrote this, you? and waited for the reply.
Words cannot begin to describe how I hurt for this family. I'm stunned, disbelieving, nearly speechless at the horrific thing that has befallen these people. I feel helpless because there's almost 3000 miles between us - I'm not sure what I'd do if I was closer. Help with the kids, surely. Hold his hand? Listen to him weep, scream, yell? Of course. But I'm here, and they're there. So I do what I nearly always do, I knit.
The prayer shawl as a concept is not new, nor original. I'm knitting feverishly because, really, I don't know how long I (or she) have. I want something of comfort to send their way, mostly because I can't be there in person to offer whatever small comfort is in my power to offer. I feel useless, and stupid, and helpless - I'm sure in small measure to what they're feeling.
So, I knit. I'll send the shawl as soon as it's done, and, God willing, she'll be able to wrap up in it this fall, when it starts getting cold. And she'll remember what a horrible summer she had, and she'll be happy that the cool weather is here, and that she has years ahead to look forward to. That's what I pray as I knit.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Royal Highness Debbie the Charming of Ofsted in the Bucket Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Or, it could be this one:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Empress Debra the Intractable of Buzzing St Helens Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Sockapalooza goodness!!

Just LOOK at what I got in the mail yesterday!

My Sockapalooza 4 socks, hand-knit just for me by the AMAZING AMY!!! They are soft, and wonderful, and I didn't knit them! Here's a (kind of) better pic:

They fit amazingly, and they're soft, and they're Tofutsies (I've been looking at that yarn, but couldn't decide - now I know!) I know, I know, lots and lots of exclamations, but that's how I feel - getting socks in the mail is amazing and wonderful and so cool! Did I mention they're soft? Oh, yeah!

The Argyles have gone to my head

I've done colorwork before - not sure if I mentioned it or not. I have this really old jacked that has kind of a Navajo blanket design on the back. It was a kit I bought from Mary Maxim (I think) at least 15 years ago, maybe more. I knit the thing in 3 days - but it was bulky yarn on 10 1/2 or 11 needles and I was motivated. My first experience was one of those horse-head sweaters. The blocking got out of control, and it went from a man's X-large to a women's small in about 10 seconds flat. I was crushed.
Anyway - these Butterfly Argyles have been so quick to knit (at least it seems like it), and I've got this Strikke-Along coming up soon, and I think I've lost my mind.
But first, an update! Here's what the first sock looks like now:

What you can't see in this picture is I did the heel flap, turned the heel, did the gussets, joined everything up, and am almost to the toes. Maybe 1 or 2 more days and this bad boy will be done, waiting on his sister. The funny thing about these socks is since I decided to do an 80-stitch sock (cause I'm lazy and the math was easy) they're freaking HUGE!! But, then again, so are my feet. I tried it on this morning, and the fit is almost perfect.

OK, on to Julie's Strikke-along. I found this web site with really GREAT Norwegian (and others) patterns. And they're FREE!!! Garnstudio sells yarn, and does the patterns to go with what they sell (I guess). Anyway, I grabbed several that I really liked, and had decided that I'd do a pair of socks - these, actually:


But, then today, I was haunting this site yet again (waiting for them to post some AMAZING sock and leg warmer patterns, cause I'm nothing if not obsessive!) and I saw this:


I'm pretty sure it's the Argyles fault - I've lost my mind!

Quick Post!!

I wanted to post the pics of the Butterfly Argyles!
First pic (this is how they look as I knit them):















Next, this is how they'll look on:
















And last, the back, or "wrong" side:

More on the knitting

I forgot one project in yesterday's update!! One of the women I work with turned up pregnant - I know, go figure, early-to-mid twenties, married, who knew?? Anyway, we had a baby shower for her yesterday, and in the middle of the sockapalooza thing I decided I'd make her something. I went through my stash and found an old Wally World bag that had not only some really nice cotton yarn in it, but a pattern for the yarn as well! All I needed to add was needles. It was one of those patterns that you can tear off the pad in the yarn section at Wally World, free, if you buy the yarn. So, anyway, here's the pattern. As I was blocking it, I realized how cute it really was, although not so practical - 5 buttons up the back, and the crotch is sewn shut. But, I made it for 6-mo, so hopefully she'll be a pro at dressing her boy by then. I had yarn left over, so I knitted 2 little hats, one kind of small, and the other a bit larger. So, hopefully she'll be able to use the hats for a while.
I was knitting on the Argyles last night, and realized how easy they were, and that the pattern was really working out well. I'll try to get a pic tonight, so I can show how the reality works vs the chart. I'm really, really happy with the way it's turning out so far. We'll see when we get to the actual 'sock' part (heels, gussetts, etc.) if I still like it as much.
OK, off to read more of the Argyle sock tutorial - I'm very curious where I'm going next.
Laters!