A Series of Thoughts: Maria's Birth Story Part 2

We left off here with me heading to the hospital to hopefully have this baby girl! 

On the way to the hospital my contractions kept coming regularly and with a vengeance. The trip to the hospital thankfully is a quick one but it felt like it took forever. Before I knew it though, we were pulling up and Fleas was letting me out. She had to drive over a bit to get the car valeted because it was pretty late and the Baby Place valet was closed. I went to check in and the security guy offered me a wheelchair several times but I didn't want one...I wanted to keep contracting and sitting was uncomfortable so I just stood there, swayed, and waited for her. As soon as we got up the elevator and onto the Baby Place floor, my sister grabbed the paperwork, which after being there 3 times before during this pregnancy and twice with my first, we were pros at filling out. She had to help me this time because I was having trouble focusing enough to write my information down...another clue that this was probably it!

We got checked in and taken back to triage.  The nurse had me change into the hospital gown, lie down, and get checked.  This part is hands down my least favorite part.  At this point I was 3.5 cms and super soft.  She said they wanted me to stay in bed being monitored for 15 mins, walk for 45, and then she would check me again and at that point call and ask doctor what she would like to do.  I asked who was on call for the practice I go to and when she said Dr. T, I was thrilled!  Not only is she my favorite docor in the practice but also the one who delivered Carmen! I thought the triage nurse's plan sounded fine but told her that after being in pain and contracting for the last 2 weeks, I want an epidural and I wanted as soon as I could get it!!  She got us both some water and off she went.

I stayed in bed on the monitors and continued to labor for15 mins.  I was really having to work through the contractions and was happy when the nurse came back in and told me I could walk around.  I was ready to get things progressing and I told my sister that I can't go home...I was in too much pain!  She agreed and we began to walk the halls.  As we walked, I was struggling more and more with each contraction.  I don't remember this whole area of the hospital last time as I didn't walk around like I did this time.  

We waddled by the nurses station for the labor and delivery rooms and I noticed there was a younger male nurse.  I didn't remember seeing any men on this side 2 years ago.  I even commented to my sister how I didn't recall any male nurses back here.  We continued walking and stopped in the room with drinks for a quick drink.  I knew as soon as I got my IV, they weren't going to let me drink anymore so I wanted to get some liquid in before I had to resort to only ice chips.  At this point, I was really in pain and thought I was ready to waddle back to the triage room.  

We got to the room and still had 10 mins before she was coming to check me.  I tried laboring sitting down and decided that I was NOT going to do that again.  I kept changing standing positions and my sister helped me focus on my breathing and held my hand during each contraction.  Not sure I could have made it through this part without her as she kept me focused.  During both pregnancies, I found when I was going through a tough contraction I had to close my eyes and breath or I would start getting a bit panicky.  It felt like an eternity passed before the nurse finally came in to check me again.  She checked and said that I was progressing but not by much.  She asked if I had a procedure done when I was younger that may have left scar tissue on my cervix and I said yes.  This was the exact thing that prevented progress with Carmen.  She said she could break up the scar tissue now but didn't recommend it because I was already in so much pain she worried that it would progress me too fast.  She said they would wait until after I got my epidural.  I agreed to that!  Before she left the room to talk to the doctor, I told her to please tell Dr. T that I can't go home and that I am asking for pain meds NOW!!  I told the nurse that Dr. T would know I was serious if she shared that with her.  

Before having Carmen, Dr. T and I discussed at length trying for a med free birth and after 14+ hrs of slow progress and lots of pain, I got the epidural and couldn't have been happier.  After that birth and throughout this pregnancy, I had talked about trying to go med free again but after the 2 weeks I had just gone through...I was at the state where I wanted drugs and I wanted them NOW! 

The nurse went off to call the doctor and ask her if I was to be admitted or not.  My sister helped me continue to labor.  Not 5 mins later, the young man I had seen at the nurses station knocks and comes in and through the door I hear the best words come from the triage nurse, "She said to admit you!!"  Relief came over me as I couldn't imagine that I wasn't in labor or that they could possibly send me home!  

The nice young man, who had a southern accent and manners, proceeded to set me up to put in my IV.  He asked if I minded and I said go ahead but please promise me that you'll get it in one try!  2 weeks prior to this, the nurse had blown a vein in my arm so bad that I still had a bruise to show him.  He said he would try his best and I wanted to kiss him when he did it quickly and in one try!  He started my IV and got some of my vitals as we waited for another nurse to come take me to labor and delivery.

When the nurse arrived she asked if I wanted a wheel chair to head to my room or walk. After experiencing what it felt like to contract sitting down I declined and said let's walk. She looked at me in shock and asked again and I said no wheel chair lets go!  As we started a contraction came on and I had to labor through it...the nurses at the station asked the one helping me why I wasn't in a wheel chair and she giggled and told them I said let's do it!  That made me laugh.  We walked/labored as fast as we could over to my l&d room and got me settled in.

My labor and delivery nurse came in and introduced herself.  She was my favorite person all night!  She started asking a bunch of questions and got me into bed and back on the monitors.  One monitor for the contractions and one for the baby's heartbeat.  I tried to answer everything as quickly as possible and was just trying to get her finished and get her to get me meds!  She said she was going to go put in my order for my epidural and I quickly asked "Can I please have something now while we wait for anesthesiologist?"  She said she would check to see what orders the doctor put in and she would be back. 

By this point, my sister had already called Special K and put into motion the plan.  My niece Surfer girl had headed over to our house and my husband was on his way.  I was looking forward to having him with us.  He showed up just in time for the nurse to come in and start me on the meds through my IV. She had warned me it would make me loopy and within mins I felt high but it helped.  Special K took out his phone and recorded me all loopy!  We all were chatting and laughing and excited that baby was coming!!  I was happy to know my epidural was on it's way!  Check out this smile while I was in labor.  Can't remember if this was pre or post epidural but I know there was meds in me. :)

Please come back soon for the final part of this birth story, when Miss Maria finally joins us.

Ten things I'm loving: hubby, cuddles, knitting, weather and more!

This week has been exhausting...both emotionally and physically.  I can't really go into a lot of what's going on but if you could just send prayers or good thoughts in the direction of my family and Special K's family that would be great!  CGR, Special K, the pups, Baby Rush #2 and I are healthy and doing generally well...just family stuff that we care about.  I am pregnant and I feel this pregnancy is kicking my butt but I'll update you on that when I do my pregnancy post.  Because it's been a tough week, I found inspiration from a fellow blogger, who also had a tough week.  She posted this today and I thought it would be great for this week and the month of Nov!  So instead of the weekly this moment posts this month, I'll be posting 10 things I'm loving that week. 

Ten things I'm loving:

1. My husband and all he does for me, CGR, the pups, and more.

2. Last night(and tonight)'s cuddle/tickle/playtime in bed with CGR and her daddy!  Watching her be so silly with him and the way they look at each other and smile or giggle fills my heart!

3. Clean dogs!  Nothing like freshly bathed pups.

4. My Calligraphy Cardigan...warms me at work and looking at it always makes me smile knowing I spun, dyed, and knit it.

5. The cooler fall weather.

6. Morning walks with my sister Fleas and our pups.  Love this time even though it's at 6 am.

7. Family...both by blood and by marriage.  Nothing like the love of family.

8. Hearing my baby's heartbeat today and knowing all is going smoothly.  Also getting to talk to my favorite OB and getting reassured that everything is normal.  Please start praying now she's on call when we go into labor!

9. Knitting

10. Carmen because her smile and spirit just brings joy to me and those around her.

Happy Friday!

What are 10 things you are loving this week?  If you post on your blog, please share a link!

Catching up: High Tea, swimming, and the stomach flu.

Hi, everyone!  Sorry for more radio silence but between trying to avoid talking about the one thing I want to and getting a stomach bug Monday morning...I've been sort of struggling to stay afloat.  I have wanted to share some fun things about our weekend though.  So this is going to be a weekend update on Wed.  Yes, I know a little later than I had hoped.

This weekend was full of awesome!  Saturday afternoon, my niece Flower girl organized a girls high tea at my sister Fleas' house.  Other than having to wake up grumpy from her nap, which made her very grumpy, the tea was awesome!

The guests included my sisters, nieces, and two other little girls and their mommas.  One of them was my long time friend K and her daughter T, who I've talked about on this blog before here,  (It's also T's birthday today! Happy Birthday T!) and the other was a mommy and me friend, who was the first person I sat next to at my local Tuesday morning mommy and me group.  CGR was 2 weeks old and she was impressed I had made it out of the house!  My niece Flower girl takes care of her daughter a couple times a week.  The little girls all sat so cute at their little table and all drank lemonade out of some cute tea cups that K had brought. (The bow from the pictures is from Krapfl Girl, who is currently on vacation but check her out after Aug 1st when she gets back.  She's got some GREAT bows!)  Carmen also had her first Oreo, which is vegan, and she loved it!  Personally, I think she had too many but I'm sure if you asked her she would have signed more! :)

Sunday, we had an impromptu park time then spent the morning with CGR's daddy before he headed to go play golf with his dad and CGR went down for a nap.  After nap, we went shopping and stopped by K's house for a quick swim and then played with lots of toys!  CGR is a huge fan of little people so when she saw K's daughter's little people stash, she was in heaven! CGR also liked petting and giving kisses to K's dogs and kitties.  I am allergic to cats so I stay away but thankfully CGR is not.

The weekend ended with dinner with the hubby and then some quality time before he was fast asleep by 8:30.  I ended up staying up way too late and then waking up at 5:30 am with the stomach flu.  UGH!  Monday was pretty much spent sleeping the day away, trying to eat, a shower, and then slept all night as well.  This is my 2nd stomach flu this year and let me tell you...NOT a fan of it.  My niece Flower girl ended up sick the same day and then the following day my brother-in-law got sick.  Thankfully CGR and no one else has come down with it and praying it stays that way.

Lot's more going on, including lots of hexipuffs knit!  I'll talk more about those in a post soon!  And hopefully I'll be able to share some news after this weekend!  We are almost through with the details and once papers are signed, then I'll let you all in on what's going on.  If you can just send good thoughts and prayers our way that it all goes smoothly that would be great!

Happy Wednesday aka Catch up day!

How was your weekend? How's your week going? 

This Moment - midnight showing of Breaking Dawn!

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

Knitting, knitting, and doggies!!

There has been lots of knitting!  For a couple weeks, I stopped knitting because my brain was fried!  I was working on the Moonfleet Shawl and i messed up.  After the mess up...my brain just couldn't fix it...there it lies waiting for the day I feel like tackling the mistake.   In the meantime, I've been knitting simple ribbed or stockinette items.  I started with the Warm Ribbed Winter Hat by Lucy H. Lee.  I grabbed yarn from my stash and knit a hat and a half with some burgundy Malabrigo.  Then my sister bought yarn so I could make her one.  Here's a picture of hers.  It's made in Cascade 220 Superwash.

Tammy's warm hat.

I then realized that hey, babies are being born soon and have been born and I have not knit for them!!  So, I grabbed some other yarn from my stash and started making newborn hats using Easy Peasy Newborn Sock Hat by Keri McKiernan.  So far I've finished two and have another cast on.  The first one I finished for my cousin who had her baby last week.  It's going to be in the mail tomorrow!  Here is my sister's dog Roxy modeling it for us and yes, it has been washed before I send it.

Roxy, my sister's dog in newborn hat

Next, I knit a hat for my friend who is having her baby soon.  This was made in some fun yarn I had leftover in my stash.  I think this one is pretty cute too! I couldn't get my sister's other dog to model for me so I used Abby. :)

Abigail Grace in a newborn hat.

This weekend we increased our dog count to four...just for a week. :)  Two of my sisters and their families and my other niece are on a road trip and we are taking care of Lucky, my sister's schnauzer and Roxy, her Scottie.  They are both really cute and have little attitudes at times.   They had so much fun on Saturday, or it was just too hot on Sunday but this was them laying around the house while I was watching a movie and knitting.

Lucky and Roxy lounging.

And of course since they must be by me lately.

Abby and Jackjack taking up my couch space.

Well, there is a recap of my knitting and some cute doggie pictures!!  I'll be back with more!!  Happy Knitting!!!

A COLD Dogs on Thursday!!

So...we'll start today's post with a little bit of Abbs. I got home from work yesterday and was a bit shocked to see that half of Abby's mussel was swollen. It looked like a bug bite so I quickly gave her Benadryl and let them out back. She seems to act normal and run around and want to play. It still worried me so I decided to stay home and watch her. I was supposed to go to Knit night for the first time in a while but I felt watching her was a little more important. After about 30 minutes her face started looking normal. She's fine today. Speaking of our knit group, we are thinking of moving it to Thursday night because it's just been hard on a lot of people to show up on wed. And Abbs and I start our Obedience class next wed. I'm super excited!!

Ok...well..on to today! Today we woke up and it was cold!! As we went on our walk, we passed a lot of frost and poor people trying to warm up their car to get the ice off the windsheild. Us Floridians are not used to ice on our cars. :) I took these pics to show you. Not sure you can tell it's frosty. :)


So, when we got back from our walk, I let the pups out to romp in the yard and they were having too much fun chasing each other! It was cute. Oh, and ignore the neighbors yard.

When I wanted them to settle down, we practice some sit stays so mom could take a picture. :) They are do darn cute!!
Well, off to work I go! Hope you have a great day!

And just so you know. I'm obessed with reading the Twilight series at the moment and I'm head to the movie with my niece Surfer Girl and her mom Fleas tonight! I'll let you know how it goes!

Gnat

Dogs on Thursday catch up!!! Pictures!!

Hi everyone!!! Check me out!! Posting on Thursday! I totally missed last weeks post because we ended up having 3..yes, 3 Thanksgiving dinners!! So, this is going to be a somewhat long post. I'm sorry now. So....let's start with Thanksgiving. I woke up early...at 5:45am to meet my sisters Fleas, sister CZbrats, my nephew Skater Boy and niece Surfer girl to go up to the Turkey Trot. We had fun walking the 5K Fun Run and chatting it up. After that, I went and took a nap while Special K made Cherry Pies...I won't tell you what happen to them...but he did a great job until the end. I had made the Pumpkin Cheesecakes early.

Our first thanksgiving was at my sister Fleas' at 1pm with my family. We had a good time and it was nice to be with my family. Then we headed over to Sk's step-family for our second round at 3pm. We enjoyed the food and then when we were leaving to head back to my family..I called and they said we are just off to take the dogs for a walk and we'll be back. By the time I got there they had realized that my cousin, who was out of town's dog had gotten out of their backyard and ran off. So...some of us jumped in cars and some on bikes and roamed the neighborhood. We didn't find Diego that night which was crazy but we found him the next day in someone's backyard. The lady had found him soon after he had gotten out and his tag with the number had fallen off so she couldn't call. He seemed well...even though she said he got into some syrup from their breakfast. :)

Well...that Thanksgiving night, while SK was driving around for an hour or more, he found a house he really liked that was for rent in my sister's neighborhood. This is a man who has not wanted to live so close to my sisters, so I was interested in looking at the house! So, after he talked about it more on Friday night at his Dad's Thanksgiving dinner with a deep-fried turkey(which I had never had)...our 3rd, we decided to go find it. It took us 30 minutes to find it but when we did we checked it out. SK still liked it so we decided to call the landlord. We met up with him on Saturday and the house is nice. It's bigger than ours and all tile. Has an actual driveway, a garage, a bigger kitchen and bedrooms! The yard is fenced and not as big as ours now but still a good size. SK really liked it still and I did as well. The house is 2 blocks from my sister CZbrat, 3 blocks from my sister Fleas, 5 blocks from my cousin LD, and about 7 blocks from my sister G. We talked to the landlord on Sunday and told him we'd take it and by Tuesday we signed the lease and paid the deposit and we get the keys on the 22nd. 2 days after we get married. This is crazy but I'm so excited! Wish us luck with the craziness that we have started. I'm packing our first box tomorrow night!!

Ok..so that's my story..now lets get to the Dogs. Pictures!!

Here are the two of them on the bed with me, while I'm knitting on my sister's sweater! Jackjack is the black blob behind Abby's head.

Abby is just too cute...I had to take another one of her watching me.
So...I think I've talked about Jackjack and Abby's love/hate relationship with each other before. But, when I first got Abbs she was very food aggressive because she was mistreated as a puppy and Jackjack had the only dog syndrom. Once they figured out their differences, he still did not like her laying where she was touching him. In the last couple months, they have been getting closer and closer. Last night...IT happened!! Jackjack was laying on the couch and getting pet by SK. Abby came over and laid next to the couch and then decided she was going to squeeze in. So she jumped up and SK said "Abby, what are you doing?" I told him to leave her alone...and he did. Jackjack didn't move either. So, she laid down and got comfy. This was big enough for me.....
but...then she did this!!! We both looked at each other and smiled!! This has never been a sight at our house but they laid like this for about 20 minutes until it was time for us to head to bed and them to go outside for their last potty break of the night. It was so adorable!!
Look at those faces!! I just love it!! My heart melted!!
Well...I hope you enjoyed the stories and pictures!! Sorry for the infrequent posting but life is pretty busy with wedding planning and now packing to move!! Please pray for us and wish us luck!

Happy Dogs On Thursday!! And don't forget to visit all the other lovely DOT participants and say hi!

Got two packages yesterday!!! and sweater update!

So, yesterday when I got home I was on the phone with Sheryl and saw the box and just grabbed what I thought was all the mail. When Special K got home and we were talking about our day I told him about my package and he said "you mean the two packages." I was dumbfounded but then ran out to the mail box to find an envelope in the back of the mailbox. I squealed with joy!

Then pick up the envelope, which had Lapdogcreations all over it and was confused. (she already sent me her great package) I ran inside and ripped it open to fine two of the things in her etsy store that I had favorited. The breast cancer pink themed yarn cutter(SO CUTE!) and doggie stitch markers! I read the card and it was from AllyB!! How cool!! I was pretty excited!! It was like a bigger surprise because I didn't know it was there. Thank you so much AllyB and Nicole, both are wonderful! What great craftsmanship. Here's the pic I took last night.

It's all so cute!! If you have not seen Nicole's etsy shop, you much run over and check it out at lapdogcreations.etsy.com.

So...after all this excitement, I settled back into knitting....since I had moved on from the spinning from the previous post to knitting on the February Lady Sweater I'm making for my sister fleas. It's coming along nicely and I seem to be doing a better job paying attention to the increases on this one. I hope to prevent all the ripping back I had to do with the first one. :) What do you think??

Well...I hope everyone is well and yes this is another multiple post day!! Oh and one last thing since it is Thankful Tuesday! I am thankful for Travis and Presley, whose win has allowed me to receive all these wonderful gifts from friends...especially since I've been having a rough week and they have been bringing smiles to my face!! I am also thankful for my friends and family who listen to me when I need them. Thank you!! So...thank you to them and to all the GAD pool participants who have been making my week brighter!!

Have a glorious day and keep on knitting, spinning, dog walking, and enjoying life!

Foot update and a sad 21st Anniversary.

First off my toe has a bone chip. Yes, some how in the last two weeks or so my toe decided to shed some bone and has created a bone chip or Osteochondritis. The doctor said these are normal in our toes because we have so many bones but this one is in an abnormal place. My toe which is long and abnormal as it is...is abnormal. GREAT!! Well, the first good thing the doctor did today was he had the "girls" in his office set me up an apt with a foot doctor. I didn't have to do anything. The "girl" in his office just called me back and gave me the doctors name and time of the apt and said is that ok. I said sure is and I have my apt on Thursday at a time when I don't have class, which works out perfect. Now I just have to hobble around until then and hope no one steps on my bone chip and I have to kill them.

My Mother

Carmen Delia
May 25th, 1938 - January 7th, 1987

Well...now a change in my post I guess I'll say. Today is the 21st Anniversary of my mother's death. She passed away from breast cancer when I was 6 and a half. I know she had been sick for a while. Her death has effected me in so many ways. I miss her dearly and don't really remember her as I wish I could. I don't really have my own memories of her. I remember things from pictures I have but I'm not sure it's the picture I remember or the time of the picture.
I was young and very spoiled. I was a late baby, she had me four days before her 42nd birthday. One of my four sister's always tells me that she called me her masterpiece. I wouldn't say that but I was her baby. It's weird losing a parent especially a mother so young. I mourn her every step of my life. I feel when I need a mom the most is when I miss her the most. I know lately with my engagement and the planning of the wedding it's hard to think that she's not here. I wish I could call her and ask if she approves or if she supports what I'm doing. Everyone always says she was an amazing woman and that I look a lot like her. She had to be amazing to raise my sisters and brother and do all that she did. I miss her always and forever.


I got an email from my dad today. He always emails us on big days like today. I asked him if it's OK that I share this and he said OK. So here's what he sent:

It has been 21 years, since we lost that glimpse of heaven of our mother, wife and friend, Carmen Delia. Yes, it been twenty years today that Carmen pass away. Little did we all know how much of a void, she would make in our lives. We all have had trouble dealing without her support and counseling. Yet only the union of us, her family, has made her presence felt, and has help us deal with her being gone. She is still with us in every smile, every major action and every wise decision we make. God bless us all, for God has and is blessing her. And may we always keep her in our memory. Dad. January 07,2008

I can't describe how much I needed this today.

This was I think one of my mom's favorite necklaces. My sister Tammy has this framed with the necklace up in her living room. I love both the picture and the necklace. :)


PS...You would not believe how hard it was to get digital pictures of my mom. I tried to take pictures of the pictures I have because my scanner is at work and called two sisters. Fels quickly scanned the top one before she went off to dinner with her husband. I obviously took the picture with my camera of the one that is of me and her. Tam sent me the last one. Thank you to them for sending me those. I guess we need to spend time digitizing all her pictures.

Wedding Wednesday and THE video!!!!

First off I'd like to say that my blog hasn't been on the top of my list this past week. I've been pretty busy with work, wedding, Special K, Christmas plans and knitting. I did sneak in a concert on Sunday night but I'll post the pictures later this week. :)

Ok...Wedding Plans. A lot has happened in a week. Friday night was my work Christmas party and Special K and I were speaking to a 4th grade teacher who also happens to work at a local sports bar. Special K, his father, step-mother, and I used to play trivia at this sports bar every Monday night. We still go but it's very rare and infrequent. It was also were Special K and I had our first real conversation. At the Christmas party, we were talking about wedding plans and how we are looking for a reception site. She mentioned how people have had their wedding ceremony and reception at the sports bar. It's a pretty big sports bar and she said the downstairs area would fit up to 300. That's way more that our guest list. I haven't gone by yet and look at the place in the perspective of having my wedding reception there but I plan to soon. The final decision won't be made until the new year though.

Another exciting thing is I found my wedding dress. :) I know to me it even seems to early but I just fell in love with the gorgeous dress I tried on this weekend and had to go back and put a deposit on it. I went to a wedding dress warehouse with my friend Camille. She was getting measured for her bridesmaids dress and I figured why not go with her if she's driving to Tampa anyway. It was the first one I tried on of many and I just had this silly little grin on my face every time I even thought about the dress. It's everything I want in a dress and more. It's strapless and has an A line skirt with a beautiful train. It has just the right amount of beading added to the right places. The color is diamond white and my sister Fleas says the dress matches my ring. I went home after I tried it on with Camille and talked to Special K, my dad, and my sisters. I decided to go back on Sunday and try it on again with some family with me. I put it on and I just grinned. So...there we go...the dress is done. I'm picking it up in less than a month and then will need to get it altered in the fall of next year.

Ok...now for the video of Special K asking me. For those of you who haven't followed along, he asked in front of his whole family at his grandparent's house in Weirton, WV. I had no idea but everyone else knew. He had emailed my father in October to ask my hand in marriage. This was one of the most amazing moments of my life. :) When I think of it...I GRIN!!!

Edit: I realized when I listen to this again that the song is too loud and you can't really hear what Special K says. I fixed that it now. :)



Hope you enjoyed Wedding Wednesday! Stay tuned for some knitting posts. :) I promise.

Random catch up!!!

Friday was great!! I spent the morning sleeping in with Special K. He made breakfast and it was great. I took the dogs to the dog park and got in some dog park knitting.

Then I spent the afternoon at my LYS knitting my sock. I'll get up pictures tomorrow. I love the way the Knit Picks is knitting up!!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE Knit Picks?? Oh yeah, I did already just wanted to remind everyone. :) Anyway, I had a good time hanging out at the LYS and talking to the owner and a friend. The late afternoon was spent cleaning up the house and making dinner. We hung out at home Friday night and I got to the heel of my sock but haven't started to divide for the heel. I'm nervous. :)

Today I finished knitting a dishcloth for my sister Fleas' birthday which was last Monday. Purple is her favorite color and I loved this color. I made up a pattern on my own just for fun. I like it.



I also tonight finally finished knitting Anne's dishcloth for the contest on her blog. It's taken me a while because it was my travel knitting. :) I liked this pattern and I like how the color I picked knit up. I used clover bamboo needles size 6 and I knit Continental Method. If you haven't seen the contest on her blog head over and check it out. She just extended the deadline until the 30th. I finished this today thinking tomorrow was the deadline. :) OH well. I'm glad it's done and off the needles. :) I'm having finishitis trying to avoid the heel on my sock. :)



It's crazy how different the colors look when I took the pictures outside. I think the pattern name should be crossing borders. :) I don't know why that came to mind but it did. Only god knows the workings of my mind.

Thank you so much for all who commented about my Jackjack. I think he's in a great home and the more we spend together and the more confidence I see him build the more I know that bringing him into my life was a great thing.

Oh, my football knit along pal Andi got her package. I had forgotten to take pictures of the stitch markers that Special K and I made her because I was too excited to send the package. She sent me a picture. I wanted to show you what Special K helped me make. :) His first time helping me in my knitting world. I was so proud.

Well...I'm going to get back to hanging out with Special K and his brother. I might even brave starting the heel. :) We'll see.

Happy Knitting!!!

The Yarn Store Crawl - 9/8/2007

THE YARN STORE CRAWL!!! I know I've been teasing about this but here's the story.

The crawlers: my sister Fleas, my niece Surfer Girl(Sammy), my nephew Crazy Boy, and me.
Fleas is a crocheter who is learning to knit because her daughter, her son and I do. I think she's enjoying it but has always been comfortable with crocheting since learning with our grandmother.

Surfer Girl got interested in knitting when I started and it was all I talked about. I've written about her before in my blog but she came with my to free lessons once and has knitted ever since. She's still hesitant to purl much but I'm trying to guide her along. She's in 6th grade and has orders from all her friends for bracelets and the latest is doggie collars. I've given her some dishcloth patterns to try and she is interested in knitting on circulars. She has a knitting animals book that she is going to try.

Crazy Boy is a bit young at 3rd grade and has a short attention span but he's started learning to knit two weeks ago. I was sitting for two girls and they wanted to learn. One is his friend so he naturally wanted to try it as well. He's coming along and seems to enjoy it when he's not frustrated.

About our Trip: We live in St. Petersburg, FL and the plan was to start in Palm Harbor, FL and hit all the yarn stores we have not been to. (I will do another post with pics and stories about the two I frequent) I googled all the yarn stores and planned a route. I stuck to those in a general area and cut out the ones that would make the crawl too long for the younger ones.

We started out at about 10:00 am and hit Chick-fil-a for a healthy breakfast of chicken!! From there we headed to our first stop, Uncommon Threads in Palm Harbor. As we were getting there I realized that I had forgotten the one thing other than my wallet that I really wanted to bring. A CAMERA!!! I took the pictures of uncommon threads from my cell phone and after hitting the store we stopped for a disposable hence why it took me so long to get this post going. Ok... on with the Yarn Crawl. (ps. I've been writing this post for two days)

Uncommon Threads was probably one of my favorite yarn stores on the crawl. It was located in a strip mall and the sign outside that says YARN does not represent the quality of the store. When you walk in there is shelves and shelves of YARN!! There was plenty of places to sit and when I walked in I spoke with one woman who worked there and she was very helpful. It was a Saturday afternoon and it was packed!! Everyone seemed very friendly and there seemed to be a little group gathering in the back for snacks and knitting. They have an amazing selection of needles and the YARN!! It was so pretty. I saw some Shuibui Sock yarn that was amazing and should have grabbed it for my HSKS 3 pal but it was my first stop and I felt like I had to wait. (If I have time I may go back and get this for her because it was a great color) Surfer Girl really liked this yarn store as well. No one purchased anything but I think only because it was the first of four not because of the selection.

Second stop was The Yarn Gallery in Dunedin. I have wanted to visit this store for about three months and was glad it was open when we got there. (I called all stores ahead and made sure they were open) When I was working up in Dunedin this summer this store was closed for a month I believe because of a pregnancy. The lady who owns the store was so nice, extremely helpful and informative. The selection of yarn was pretty amazing. The store is roomy with three separate rooms and a table on one side in the middle room to sit and hang out but didn't seem as welcoming to strangers as I'm sure it may be. There was some amazing bags and needle rolls there as well. This one type of needle roll was made from recycled material and was a patch work pattern. The lady in the store was very nice and made a copy of a pattern for a sock with no heel for me. We all purchased some yarn at the Yarn Gallery.

Next stop was PIZZA at Cristino's Pizza in Clearwater. We weren't really planning on stopping for lunch here but Fleas had read a review of this place in the local newspaper a couple weeks before and we were all kind of hungry and ready for a break so we stopped. The pizza was wonderful as well as the atmosphere. We ordered a half mushrooms with sausage, a quarter cheese and a quarter pepperoni pizza. Fleas and I got salads for starters. For dessert the kids got gelato and Fleas and I helped them with it. I knit a little while waiting for our pizza. I would definitely recommend eating here if you are around Clearwater.

Next yarn store was Flying Needles Inc. in Belleair Bluffs, FL. This store was most needle point but had a pretty nice selection of yarn. With any purchase of sock yarn, you get a free pattern. I bought sockotta yarn and ChiaoGoo Bamboo double point needles in size 2. Surfer girl bought some circular needles. The two ladies who worked there were friendly and helpful. Fleas spent a bit of time speaking to them about their needle point. They had some high quality hand painted needlepoint patterns. The store was set up with one big room and had a table to sit and hang out.

The last but not least yarn stop was Knits n Krafts in Seminole, FL. The woman who owned this store was the nicest lady I have met. She was an older woman who was eager to help and wanted to make sure we knew that we could come and sit, knit and learn whenever we would like. She said she has taught many of people to knit. The selection of yarn was not as high end as the other stores but there was a wide variety and lovely colors. There was a nice selection of wooden and bamboo needles.

We all had a lot of fun on this yarn crawl. By the end we were tired and yarned out but eager to go home and knit...at least I was. I hope you have enjoyed our little store of Yarn Crawl 9/8/07. This probably will not be the last.

Happy Knitting!!!!

Follow-up on DOT, on Friday...Saturday Yarn Store Crawl!!

Thank you all for your comments about Abigail's skin. :) We use Benadryl now to manage her itchiness and plan on saving up for the testing. The vet recommended us doubling her flea meds to make sure it's not a flea allergy. I'd love her skin to get better and for her to be as happy as she can be. :) I'll keep you posted on her progress when we get started.

It's also nice to get comments about my cute puppies. :) Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting.

Tomorrow, Fleas, Sammy and I are going on a LYS Crawl. We are heading as far North as Dunedin, FL and then hitting all the yarn stores on the way back to St. Petersburg, FL. We have 4 new ones and maybe stop in to the 2 we already frequent. I'll take tons of pictures of our little crawl. Stay tuned.

Happy Knitting!!! or as I will be tomorrow Happy Yarning!!! heheheh

Stitch n Pitch!!

I picked up my tickets for this Saturday's Stitch 'n Pitch at Tropicana in St. Pete, FL. :) My niece Sammy wanted to come with me because she's started creating her own knitting pieces. Naturally if she's coming then my sister, and Simon Says are coming too. :) The four of us are heading to the game so I'm super excited to meet all the knitters and non-knitters attending.

I picked up some more Sugar 'n Cream yarn to knit up the Mandy's Candy bags for my fellow teachers. I'm going to try to make at least 10 but we'll see I'm hoping to just get 5 done for a start... I'm not sure how fast they'll knit up. I'm crazy ambitious with this idea but I just think it would be a great back to school present.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I feel like I've gotten so much done with getting back to school and packing up. I feel great. I'm now off to knit in 5 min. :) I'm going to get settled in my living room and knit as long as I can. The dogs are walked...I can just relax.

Happy Knitting.

Stitchworm!!!!

So...this morning I started my day at the dog park with the pups. They ran, played ball and had a great time. :) Here's a picture of us the other day at the grassy knoll by the water.
THEN!!!! As we were heading home I got a text from Fleas saying that her and Sammy would like to go with me to Stitchworm to learn how to knit.. YEAH!! So, we showed up and every one is so nice and they sat us down at the table and this nice woman Ricky showed us how to cast on and knit. Since I already knew how to she had me just work on my own and help Sammy a bit. Fleas and Sammy had a bit of trouble at first but then they slowly picked it up.

Fleas knitting.

Ricky and Sammy.

When they got going, Ricky started to show me how to purl...yes purl. I was excited. So..she had me cast on again and knit one row and purl a row and do the stockinette pattern. We continued to knit and purl as she showed Fleas and Sammy how to purl as well. While we were there Ricky also showed me how to bind off my first knitting project. ;)

My first piece...not sure what it is but hey it's knitted. :)

Me knitting.

Then when we were done Ricky showed us what kind of yarn to get... I did better with some help. :) Then they got some needles and we headed home. I couldn't even wait to get home to start and I started to try to find the center of my yarn and made a mess in the car so I had to start to wind it in a ball. :) The following pictures if of the yarn and needles we got. The pink is Sammy's, the blue is Fleas, and the maroon is mine. They got two sets of size 8 needles, one bamboo and one metal.


Our homework for next week is to make a scarf with any pattern of knit and purl rows we want. I wanted to blog here first but I'm off to start my new practice project. :)