I Am Still Alive....Frazzled, But Alive

Wow, I didn't realize it had been THAT long since I posted! Things have been a bit crazy and stressful here lately. Thursday night, my Mom had to go the emergency room....she has COPD and is on oxygen but normally she does really well. She has been fighting a cold (we all have) and after a week of not getting better, she suddenly got worse. My sister took her to the ER and she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. She's doing much better today and may even get to come home tomorrow. Thankfully, she has a wonderful doctor who knows what's best for her...despite everything she says. lol

Yesterday was a day of storms and tornadoes. This is what it looked like during the day. It should not be this dark in the daytime. It got a little scary there for a while. We had two that got way too close for comfort. These aren't even the worst of the clouds....I just wasn't going out there in the worst parts taking pictures. :P

I did manage to get some knitting done. I am so glad that yucky "what the heck am I gonna knit" feeling is gone. YAY!!! I really didn't like that at all. This is the Cascade Fixation yarn that Cat sent me...she is my enabler. Okay, I do it to her, too...fair is fair I guess. lol It took me a while to get the hang of it. With the elastic and my tight knitting....we had to do some compromising with each other. My Cascade and I are now really good friends. I LOVE THIS YARN!!! I have to have more!!! Where do I get this stuff!? I am also totally and completely in love with this sock pattern. For a newbie sock knitter to be able to knit something so pretty that looks complicated is just absolutely awesome!!! I cannot wait to finish them and wear them and tell everybody I see (even if they could not care less) I MADE THESE!!! I highly recommend the Broadripple Socks . Until something better comes along...if that's even possible.....these are my favorites. I should probably wait until I actually put them on to say that but how can they not be awesome? For any other newbie sock knitters....try this pattern....it's so easy you won't believe you're knitting such beautiful socks. Believe me...I am all about the quick and easy. lol

Sorry I took so long to post again. Life gets crazy...you all have been there. And if anyone doesn't already know....the new spring issue of Knitty is out! Check it out!

Hugs!

Thanks, Cat!

I got my issue of Simply Knitting today! I live in a town that has no Barnes & Noble bookstore...how crazy is that? This means I can't get my hands on this awesome magazine. Lucky for me...Cat (who told me about this magazine in the first place) worked out a little system for me to be able to get it. This issue has a gorgeous free shawl pattern (Hearts & Flowers) and an easy little sock pattern that I'm itching to try. I also love the Sweet Cupid by Alan Dart. He has some awesome toy patterns and this is the first one of his designs that I've gotten my hands on. The cupid is so cute.

It also had a free set of stitch markers (5 total). She got me the pink ones...YAY!!! They had them in blue but I really wanted the pink. You can't beat free. Besides the awesome patterns and tips...this magazine is notorious for freebies....see why I want it so bad? Not sure when I'll get around to trying any of these patterns though because.....

She also sent me this. Two balls of Cascade Fixation and a sock pattern to go with it. I don't know the name of this colorway but it's so pretty. I cannot wait to try these socks. They look complicated but the designer promises them to be "deceptively simple". I sure hope he's right.
The pattern is Broadripple Socks designed by Rob Matyska.

Here's a close-up for ya. I've heard about this yarn but had never seen any....got to say that I think I'm gonna love it. It's not the tiny little thin sock yarn that terrifies me so much. Size 3 needles...I can handle that. The colors are perfect for Spring. I'm thinking these will be OTN pretty soon.

Thanks again, Cat! Your contest goodies rock! I so appreciate you doing my magazine shopping for me. :P