Warm Up Winchester

As I have mentioned before, I am becoming a bit more involved with some local charities. I think it's important to be involved in doing something for other people. I mean, doing things for those you love is certainly important, but doing your part to help out in the community at large, people you may or may not know, is different. I think it helps keep you connected to the larger group and helps pull you out of yourself. It makes you more aware of what's really going on around you.

I spend a little time most days on Ravelry. Today while on one of the local groups, I discovered Warm Up Winchester. They have a Yahoo group and the Ravelry group can be found here. I enjoy making hats and I'm wanting to learn mittens and gloves. It's nice to know that I can crank out as many as I want and there will be somewhere good for them to go. Well, I'm off to listen to Fibber McGee and Molly while I finish up the chemo cap and start on a gift for the babysitter and some projects for Warm Up Winchester.

One birthday gift done... on time!

Well, the camera is still out in the Great Unknown somewhere, so I'm digging through pictures to see if anything strikes me. I was hoping the camera would turn up by now, though.

I finished Edison's birthday gift. He asked me to make him a blue dinosaur with a long neck. After much digging I settled on the Bronty pattern I found on Ravelry. I showed him the pattern and he gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. I used slightly less than one skein of Plymouth Jelli Beenz in colorway 0133 (it's a deep royal blue plied with one strand of a rainbow variegated yarn.) The variegated strand looked really prominent when I was working, but it knits up as flecks of color, very nice.

I tweaked the pattern just a little, I changed the first decrease on the tail each time to look smoother and I moved the eyes a little further back on the head. The yarn I chose kind of hid the eyes, so at 3:30 in the morning, I was learning how to make a French Knot. If I had discovered this earlier, I could have had Mom teach me, but I didn't think she'd appreciate my waking her up in this case. Thank goodness for the internet. All in all, the pattern was very nice. It was easy to follow and the dino was simple to assemble, a little fiddly getting the legs on, but I think that was a user issue. I'm not a big fan of seaming and sewing up, but since I want to eventually make a sweater, I guess I'd better suck it up and deal with it. In the meantime, I have to figure out just how to wrap this little guy for my little guy...

Derailed

Well, I was right on track for a while there. I started Gran's second sock, but didn't get as much done on it as I would have liked. Winter weather paid us a visit, but at least it didn't settle in like it did for our friends Up North. Then over the weekend, the baby developed a beautiful ear infection which we found out today has turned into pneumonia and the three year-old (who was fine at the doctor's office) woke from his nap with an ear-ache. It's like that commercial, "Life comes at you fast..."

Oh well, I still have the chance to knit in the waiting room tomorrow and there's always the 8 hour trip back home. I'll have these knocked out in plenty of time. Besides, Gran always said, 'Loved ones are far more inportant than things any day. Keep your priorities straight." I bet she'd be OK with one and a half socks if need be.... as long as she gets to hold the baby.