I HIDE YARN

Picot Progress with a Picture

All those days without Internet access...I should have more to show in the knitting department.  I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a knitting sloth.  When I could have been knitting I was...

• Checking and rechecking my internet connection
• Calling my internet provider
• Reading
• Watching mostly horrible t.v.  (I'm not sure which is worse these days, day-time T.V. or very late night T.V.)
• Checking and rechecking my internet connection
• Calling my internet provider
• Knitting a little on the sock
• Knitting and ripping and knitting and ripping Secret of the Stole
• Checking and rechecking my internet connection
• Calling my internet provider

In the case of the sock - I do have a progress picture...

The yarn is a new one by Fortissima Colori called Fortissima Mexico Country - Serengeti - color #14.  I think it has a decidedly masculine feel.  Just my luck, I kill myself learning the picot edge and I manage to put it on a manly sock.  My husband saw the colors and instantly fell in love, saying he would like to have a hat in those colors.  I briefly considered ways to make a manly kind of topknot out of the picot edge for a hat - heh.  'Cause we all know I am NOT ripping out that picot edge.

I do like how it has a subtle striping going on with some not unpleasant pooling splotches here and there.  I confess I had to beat the sock into submission a bit for the photo shoot.  Yes, the picot edge has a tendency to flair a bit...but then so do my decidedly thick legs...so maybe it will all work out.

There will be no pictures of the Secret of the Stole progress.  I rip about as much as I knit, but I am making some progress and I don't want to jinx it.

Winston has a new short do.  He has been suffering from allergies, poor baby.  Sneezing and itchy ears.  A quick trip to the vet, and he had to get a shot and some meds to calm his itchy ears.  The Poodles (Remy and Sachi) go to the doggie spa tomorrow.  Group photo tomorrow maybe.

Winston was not in the mood to pose for pictures today.  There are squirrels in the yard, and he is nothing if not on constant squirrel alert.  The squirrels have actually figured out the dogs cannot get out, and have the audacity to come right up on the patio and tease them!  So we had to have a little help getting pictures of the dapper dog.  Unfortunately he was sort of thrust right into the camera lens, which makes him look like the only Yorkie alive weighing in at about 50 lbs, instead of his usual six lbs.


Who might that be lurking behind the "massive" dog?

(Notice Winston is checking the window for squirrels.)  Why it's kiddo - straight from her one night engagement as the "Dying Prom Queen."  Her sister is the manager of a group home for disabled, and developmentally challenged adults.  M put on quite the "Fright House" at her group home, inviting other group homes to attend.  Each room had some kind of "horror" - nothing too scary to frighten the clients.   All staff, though in costume, were easily recognizable to add to the client comfort level.

In their room, kiddo was dressed as a prom queen, lying on a bed - being chewed on by her zombie sister.  There was a mummy jumping out of the closet, and a pup tent that shook and roared when touched.  The clients were all oohing and awing over how pretty kiddo was...until she would open her eyes and start screaming at them to help her.  If anyone looked alarmed, kiddo instantly assured them she was just pretending.  One young man from another group home, where M was the manager when he was just a young boy, has visited our home many times.

Young client:  (always calls M by her full first and last name) Is that your little sister?
M:  Yes
Young client:  Is that fake blood?
M: Yes
M:  (name of client) Are you have a good time?
Young client:  Does a train go to through the tunnel?  (This is his way of saying yes.)

Another older client, who has also been to our home many times, saw nothing else in the room but kiddo.  "Oh!  There's that pretty girl!"  What he always says when he sees kiddo.  He also thinks she is M's daughter - heh.

I'm not normally a fan of Halloween, etc.  However M worked for three days preparing this extravaganza for the clients' enjoyment.  Something they would not be able to enjoy in other places because some are physically challenged, and others would have seizures in the presence of strobe lights.  Although the aim was to entertain them with a Halloween-type haunted house, M was careful to make sure nothing was too scary or upsetting.  She goes above and beyond the call of duty to make as many fun things happen for them as possible.  Yes I'm a wee bit proud of her.

Nothing makes me happier than the fact that one came into my life at age 14, the other at age 48 hours.  Even though they are separated by 22 years, they are very close.  They hang out together all the time.

Oh - hee - the clients might not have been frightened, but one certain teenager who is never afraid of scary movies (really Mom, I'm not!) asked to sleep with her sister last night. 

Here's the Point

Remember I am a s-l-o-w knitter.  Many in the Secret of the Stole group have finished both points.  These were to be knitted simultaneously, but I knew this was a bigger challenge to my lace and beading experience than I wanted to tackle.  (Translation, when tinking - I don't want to have to tink twice as much to get to where I need to fix my mistake.)

I wish I were a better photographer.  The Knit Picks Shadow yarn in the color sunset is truly beautiful.  It is not a solid color as it appears here, but a blend of sunset-type colors.  The beads also do not appear quite as orange as they do in the pictures.  They just make the lace look like it is lit with fire in a few places.


This was just quickly pulled tight and pinned quickly.  I should have done a little better at getting it to look more even.


My attempt to show the beads close up.  Now I am off to knit point 2 and attach them together for the remainder of Hint 1.

(The fancy-schmancy picture tweaking is brought to you by Picnik for FREE..try it, it's fun!)

+++This concludes the knitting portion of our post, which is brought to you by the following brief rant about how ridiculous insurance companies can be+++

My husband had to remain in the hospital over the weekend for the following reason.  The hospital social worker could not get pre-approval for discharge/IV drugs delivered to the home on Friday, because the doctors did not sign his release until early Saturday morning.  When she called to set it up, she was told...BECAUSE WE DID NOT GET PRE-APPROVAL - WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY ALL FOR ALL OF HIS IV MEDICATIONS (very expensive, as he usually comes home on more than one IV drug)THIS WEEKEND IF HE WAS RELEASED.  This is what makes their statement totally ludicrous.  If anyone has any doubt why insurance costs remain what they are...remember this stupidity...

• We have reached all out of pocket expenses with his insurance company for the rest of the year - we met it in early April.
• That means no matter how long he is in the hospital, they will pay 100% and we will pay zero.
• They were fine with him staying in the hospital until Monday for "pre-approval"

Okay, let's get this straight.  Because they were not willing to pay perhaps $1,000-$1,500 for IV medications this weekend (which they would have discounted), they are more than willing to pay several thousand dollars for a hospital room, round the clock nursing care, doctors stopping in for their share of the medical payment pie, etc., etc., etc.  Remember when he is at home, we do all of his IV treatments.  No visiting nurses are needed, except once a week to change the PIC line dressing.  They will have no problem paying for all of the IV drugs for home starting on Monday.

Do you still wonder what is wrong with our health care system? 

They love to send letters every month or so announcing some drug has gone generic and perhaps DH could switch to that, instead of whatever drug his doctor has prescribed, as a way to save money.  When possible, we do that.  I think the next time I receive one of those, I am going to put a big arrow pointing to the back and write a statement about how they could save thousands of dollars by using common sense.  When presented with the option of sending a patient home on IV meds; reducing their costs by thousands, perhaps they should rethink their pre-approval process or find a way to warp speed it through.

Secret of the Stole KAL Begins

But am I ready?  I had beautiful yarn and beads...remember?

But I have yet to be successful at swatching this yarn.  Perfect yarn, perfect beads (center ones match) and a very imperfect knitter.

So we went to plan B...

This yarn is Knit Picks Shadow in Sunset.  It is lace weight, but a tad heavier (thus easier) to swatch.  I also got one of their new option colored bamboo needles (not pictured) - ohhh I LOVE IT! 

Here is a close up of the swatch, not washed or wet so therefore a bit skewed.  See anything missing?  Yep - no beads.  They didn't arrive yet.

I am going to attempt to swatch the peach yarn again before I actually begin the KAL.

Winston can't wait to see the first clue...