End of Hibernation

I feel like I am just coming out of hibernation.  I can't believe my last post was in November and we are now in May.  I wish I could say I was travelling the world or on the verge of some great discovery ... but, I wasn't.  I had thyroid surgery in mid-December "to keep me healthy" then spent the rest of the month and Jan recovering; Feb to March catching up, getting a grasp on  "keeping healthy" turning into the discovery of stage one cancer on my thyroid and a slew of new doctor's appointments; April diving right into organizing volunteers for an Orffestra Music Educators National Conference in Halifax with my daughter's dance competitions the week prior and the week following .... and ending up with both kids and husband home sick the week of the conference.  May ...I'm recovering from the month of April!!!   Sounds glamorous, doesn't it!!  

My apologizes to those that follow or have commented and I have not responded to your lovely comments. This is my fresh start.  After the twists and turns of this past year, I am looking forward to getting back to what brings me joy ...spending time with my family and in my spare time (hahahaha) spinning, quilting, drawing.....

Knitting was one thing that I could do after my surgery.  It kept me focused and brought me a lot of comfort. In the fall I posted some pictures of my Skywalker shawl off of the needles and the beginnings of my Clarus shawl (both designed by Laura Nelkin).  I have FINALLY blocked them and am so pleased with how they turned out.  Tonight, I am casting on a new lace shawl ... another beautiful design by Laura Nelkin and I am knitting up a gauge for a lace shrug.  I will hopefully get some photos up for those tomorrow.

Skywalker Shawl

Blocking Clarus Shawl

Knitting this shawl brought me so much comfort after this surgery.  I feel extremely blessed that my cancer was discovered extremely early and that they got it all with the surgery so I don't need any treatment other than thyroid medication and follow up appointments.  I know there are so many other families coping with so much more.  My thoughts and prayers are with those families. It seemed only appropriate that the shawl that I knit through my own recovery be used to raise funds to help others.

I have donated this Clarus shawl along with a table runner to help my children and their friends raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.  Their Relay for Life team (Rabbits for a Cure) is hosting an online auction on Facebook.  If you would like to help them with their Fundraising please join the auction. Auction ends May 28th at 9 pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/388918014579651/

or support them through their team pages

Cora ~ Relay for Life fundraising page

Charlotte ~ Relay for Life fundraising page

Love and peace xo

I'll Use My Lifeline

I've had a bit of a cold so have been curled up on my couch knitting yesterday and this morning.  I am taking a class through Craftsy called Mastering Lace Shawls, taught by Laura Nelkin.  I am a relatively self-taught knitter; I watched my grandmothers knit and crochet as a child but was never taught by them.  When I started knitting I had a general idea of how to create certain stitches. I then resorted to "How to Knit" books and a couple of friends that I met while taking the OHS Spinning Certificate program.  After rooming together for 8 days every summer for 6 years you can really pick up a lot of tips.  Today, however, I added the most valuable trick to my knitting toolbox.  After all the times that I have had to rip out and start again, why did no one ever teach me about the LIFELINE?

If you, like me, have never heard of a lifeline, this is what it is....

See that white strand of yarn through my knitting.  That is the lifeline.  Using a contrasting yarn and tapestry needle. thread the yarn through your stitches after finishing your purl row (edit: ws row). Cut your (lifeline) yarn larger than your work, keeping in mind that your work will be larger when blocking (right now my shawl looks horrible but when I stretch it out...beautiful!!!...I know there is hope once it is blocked). So....why the lifeline is important....

Well, somehow I messed up while tinking to get back to an error in my knitting.  On my last repeat, I had one too many stitches. I went back and fixed it then got back to the last repeat and was one stitch short (I knew I should have stopped the row before for a break!). Then I saw it...the dropped stitch and chaos following in its path. After "muttering" loudly for a while I then remembered that Laura gave us that lifeline.  I can easily pull my work back to that row and start again from there rather than risking dropping more stitches and losing everything.  

Ta-da...first I removed my needles from the messed up work (sorry about  the picture, it is just loosely draped over my knee). Then I picked up all my stitches along my lifeline (without removing the lifeline).  Once I closed my eyes was ready, I simply started winding my yarn back onto the ball, unraveling my work back to the lifeline holding my breath the entire time, completely confident that I would not lose all of my hard work. 

I am ready to knit again...after a cup of peppermint tea.  This time though...I'm adding a second lifeline up in that section where I messed up so I don't lose so much.

I would have appreciated knowing this on my last shawl...around the 5th time that I pulled it all out.  Now that I know this trick, I will forever be using it!

If you are interested in the Mastering Lace Shawls class, I do believe their 75% off sale ends tonight.  Laura is a fantastic instructor and she really takes the time to break down the steps to make it an enjoyable knitting experience.  I love that she knits along with you (and you can pause her because she is a much faster knitter than I am...I am now intrigued with Continental knitting!)

Pattern: Skywalker

Designer: Laura Nelkin

Yarn: Filisilk (70% Merino/30% Silk) made in Germany (my mom brought me 3 skeins from Electrictree Yarns in Kamloops, BC)

Needles: 4.5 mm Clover bamboo circular 

Happy Stitching