Shamrock Knits

SP Question 7

What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit?

For machine knitting, I have a section of my basement set up. I like to have background noise around me, so I put in a movie. I don't have the cable hooked up in the basement and the tv has a tape player built in, so they're usually older movies. This is fine with me, since I've seen them so many times that I know what's going on without watching the screen.

For hand knitting and crochet, I usually knit on my bed or the couch and watch tv. I also knit during my lunch hour and meet weekly with a group of friends at a Barnes and Noble. Sometimes the only knitting I get done for the week is when I KIP (knit in public) with my friends. I haven't gone to a KIB (knit in bar) with Robin in awhile, so I think we should do that soon while it's still nice outside.

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?

Being surrounded by other knitters is really helpful. If I get stuck on the pattern or am not sure how to modify the pattern, someone in my group can usually help me out. I'm a visual learner, so having someone show me a technique really quickly is much easier than trying to interpret pictures from a book.

SP Question Catch Up

I'm finally catching up on my weekly questions.

Week 4 :

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
2) What yarn do you never want to be without?

Those are tough ones. I don't think I have a yarn that would make my stash complete. Unless it's a never ending supply of yarn. In today's buzz words, a renewable supply of yarn would be great. I guess I would never want to do without a squishy wool blend; a light cotton blend; and wait for it.... acrylic. I know there's a gasp out there, but I like acrylic for afghans. With my cats, I need to constantly wash and prefer to dry my afghans.

Week 5:

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
2) Where is one place you’d like to go?

My favorite place vacation spot is San Diego at my aunt/uncle's house. I love the SoCal area and they're great to hang out with. The one place I'd love to go is Ireland. Ihaven't been anywhere in Europe, but I'm longing for Ireland.

Week 6:

What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

I like to bring a crochet project. It's more portable and you don't haave to worry about airline security issues. I have brought sweater projects before, but not in my carry-on luggage.

Good News

Thank you everyone for your good thoughts and prayers. We heard good news this week. We thought my mom's cancer would be at least a Stage 3, but the pathology came back as Stage 2. Although the tumor was large, this means the cancer didn't spread. She'll still probably have chemotherapy, but we're hoping this means that it won't be as strong or as long as it could have been. We haven't talked to an oncologist yet, so we won't know until then.

My mom's healing well from her surgery. Sometimes she forgets and lifts something a little too heavy. I suppose that's a good sign that she's getting better. I'm guessing we'll talk to an oncologist within the next couple of weeks. We'll still need the thoughts and prayers to get through the chemo, but things are starting to seem a little better.

I'm still looking like a zombie though. I went back to full work days this week. I've been with my mom 3 nights and had a goodbye party for my boss after work one night. Plus I haven't been sleeping well. Stock in Coke and Mountain Dew should've gone up this week with the amounts I've been drinking. :) I haven't had a chance to knit either of my WIPs. A knitting friend from Indiana is in town this weekend, so I'm off to visit with her for awhile. I should get some done then. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good

My mom had her surgery last Monday. The doctor was able to do it laporscopically, so that's good. She's healing well. The nurses had her walking the next day. She came home Thursday night and was able to walk up/down the stairs. Prettty amazing. Overall, her spirits are pretty good. The last couple of days, she's been getting her spunky attitude back.

The Bad

The cancer was more extensive than we thought. We knew beforehand that the doctor was going to remove the lymph nodes to test them. The tumor (which was large), grew out of the colon and touched the bladder. The surgeon removed a small piece of the bladder, an ovary and tube. I'm hoping the ovary and tube were removed just to be tested as well. The doctor didn't say anything about the tumor going there. We go to the doctor's office this morning. Hopefully, the pathology results will be in so we know for sure what we're dealing with. The doctor said it's at least Stage 3 cancer. My mom will definitely have to have chemotherapy, but we don't know more than that right now. She has to heal from the surgery first.

The Ugly

Me - after 7 days of working, being at the hospital, or at my parents house. I worked half days after the surgery and stayed at the hospital for about 7-8 hours each day. My mom received a total of 12 flower arrangements. She was shocked. She didn't think she's that nice to people, yet she was just telling me how she sent a card weekly to a coworker who had her stomach stapled. After I brought her home Thursday night, I stayed at my parents house to take care of her. Grocery shopping, laundry, getting food, helping her get around, etc. I was pretty exhausted by Sunday. I looked so much like a walking zombie that my mom told me that she didn't need me for a few days. I'll either go to her house tonight or tomorrow after work. They have some laundry and need some more things from the store.

Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers, but we still need them. Keep them coming!

On a knitting note, I've been working on a scarf for my secret pal. It's almost done, but I won't post the picture until she receives it. I've also started the market bag that's in the latest Knitty. I had a few skeins of the old Cottonese in several colors, so I'm using that. I've finished th bottom and picked up to work in the round.