The Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Betsy
Happy Birthday to you

Go and wish Ms. East Cupcake Texas Happy Birthday. Rumor has it she's 12!

Cheryl's Blankie

Knitting has such a great community. All of these people with the same knowledge of forming a stitch out of a couple of sticks and some string. One basic stitch, the knit stitch. There is the purl stitch as well but as Elizabeth says, that is just a backwards knit stitch done on the wrong side of the fabric. And there are a million different ways these two stitches can be combined.



My little Elann.com knitting community came together and made a blanket for Cheryl. The concept was simple. Each person was to make a square that had a non-curling edge and whatever stitch pattern they wanted for the middle.



You want lace? Knit lace. You want to do cables? Do cables. You want a simple stitch pattern? Keep it simple. Then it hit me. All of these different stitch patterns are basically the same 2 stitches combined differently. And you want to know what is even more amazing? All of the squares just seem to “go” together.



We decided on Devon by Elann.com in pinks, purples, and browns. When it was complete, we no longer had a "blankie" but a work of art.

Knitting That Must Not Be Named

For a bit now I have been talking about the Knitting That Must Not Be Named. I know that it drove you crazy which is why I did it in the first place. What can I say, I digress.

The mystery project was one that was fun and exciting at every twist and turn. For starters I got to knit with a yarn that had yet to be released on a project from a popular knitting magazine. Of course there was a catch to this delightful little morsel. The project needed to be 100% complete with in 8 weeks time. No matter what. There was to be absolutely no excuses. NONE.

Me, being up to a challenge, received my yarn (which I’ll tell you about in a minute) and put together a plan of attack. I figured out how much time I had to knit up the back, both fronts, the sleeves and the collar. Then I added in a week leeway for “just in case”.


The yarn to be debuted was Elann.com Incense. A wool, bamboo, and silk combo that is to die for. A perfect blend of fibers, it has enough silk for a fantastic sheen, the right amount of wool to make spit splicing possible and the bamboo added to its softness. Incense drapes wonderfully and has excellent stitch definition. I love this yarn and can see it being a staple in my collection.

I knitted away every night after the kids were in bed and completed the bulk of the knitting when I found myself in the hospital. What was I going to do? I still had the collar to knit and the seaming. My “for just in case” week was already used up and the thing was due the following Friday. It was Sunday.

This is when the praying started:

Dear Elizabeth. Please tell the Good Lord Baby Jesus that I really really really need some help here. I know that I do the swears and I’m not so good at going to Church but I do light the candle by His statue. So if He could just tell the doctors that my gall bladder really doesn’t need to come out and that I’ll be more than happy to come in next week, I would appreciate it.

Dr: Not a chance. Lady that thing has got to go.

Me: Are you sure?

Dr: Completely.

Dear Elizabeth. Forget it, it didn’t work but thanks for trying.

I was hooked up to an IV and not allowed to eat anything for 2 days. Two very long excruciating days. My roommate, on the other hand, was fed cheesecake and I had to watch her eat every last little morsel while she apologized to me about my current situation. Torture, pure torture.

My husband took pity on me and brought me my project. I knitted away while Janice ate and managed to complete the project by Monday while being held hostage. Ray packaged it up and mailed it off for me. Despite all the twists and turns the project somehow managed to get done. Thanks Elizabeth, I owe ya one!

I'm Back!

Hi everyone! It sure is wonderful to be back. Sorry for the bit of a sabbatical but life at home and work with 2 little ones is taking its toll. This is not to say that there has not been any knitting going on, I do need to keep my sanity after all! More about that later.

A question has been bothering me for a bit now. One that could easily be answered but also one that I was afraid to answer. Kind of like stepping on the scale only to discover that you gained 4 pounds. I don’t need disappointment like that. Honestly. The burning question was: How much yarn did I knit up in 2007.

I don’t remember knitting all that much. I was working full time, had a two year old who was definitely being terrible, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, attended a wedding and a funeral and fixed the counter under the sink. To say the least, it was a very busy year. So I was ready to realize that if I didn’t achieve my goal it would be OK and that life would go on.

One dark night when no one was looking, I got out the bag that contains the ball bands and started to count. Goodness there sure was a lot of bands in there. Where did they all come from and what exactly did I knit? I have absolutely no idea. There was the baby blanket, and a hat, and I started a top for me and the sweater for my mom. And of course there is The Knitting That Must Not Be Named! I counted 65 ball bands! Can you even stand it? SIXTY-FIVE! Well curiosity got the best of me at that point and I started to add up the yardage. 8394 yds! That is 79% MORE than what I intended to knit! I was completely shocked! Kind of like standing on the scale and finding out that you actually managed to LOOSE those 4 pesky pounds despite the chocolate cake for breakfast AND dinner!


A Special "Thank You" to Jeanne for hooking me up again with my knitting buds!!!!!! I now can go to Knit Night now that I know where its at!