Lately

Long time no post...Life has been chaos...Dragons have been really restless.

We have recently had some very major changes to our household...big changes...changes that affect pretty much everything. Some of the changes make me sad...some scare me...alot...others...well I just don't know about yet.

My daughter R is graduating in about a month and a half...I can't begin to tell you how this affects me. I am so proud of her. She is an incredible young woman. She and I have been through a lot together...there was a time I was honestly scared of how she was going to turn out. I am so proud of how she has. She will be Valedictorian of her graduating class, accepted to the U of A on a 6-semester transcript to the Honors College with no restrictions. So proud.

On the flip side...she is moving out.

I will miss her more than I care to admit even to myself.

My other daughter S has been having some problems for the last couple of years. We aren't really sure of what has caused these problems...but...it is a problem. We had been able to deal with the problem because it had remained pretty private and isolated...then in one minute it was no longer private.

S had a seizure at school.

A horrible thing for anyone, but for her it was almost paralyzing...not in a physical sense thank God, but in a daily life way. S doesn't deal well with peer pressure or with teasing. She is a tender child. There were issues from very early in her childhood, these are private. The "seizures" are not true seizures, for this we are more than thankful. These are pschyogenetic non-epileptic seizures. Basically, trauma is working its way from her.  D went through a similar thing as a teen and grew out of them. We really hope she will soon. Helpless is not being able to fix a problem one of your children has.

Because of this becoming public, and other circumstances...we have chosen to homeschool her. We also had to get her insurance. Neither or our works has an insurance plan we can afford, and from what we have been told, they wouldn't cover this problem as it would be "pre-existing". The only thing that we can do is to get her on ARkids. With the economy, states have made cuts. To meet the income D has had to take a $500 cut in pay every month.

We didn't loose the payments that the $500 went to. We are acquiring a new payment to the tune of about $300 a month.  D can't make more money and keep ARkids.

That puts it on me...I'm concerned...outright worried...honestly...I'm scared.

I am sure that he realizes this, but no one seems to realize we can't spend. I wake up at night short of breath and panicing. I don't know what to do.

Everything feels so out of control right now...and it makes me crazy. Literally.

I really need some control...

My dragons are large and many...and they are roaring and breathing fire....

My New Sweater

When we last left...ages ago... there had been knitting...not alot, but some.

Well there has been more. I started an EZ Baby Surpise Jacket for one of the teachers at S's old school.

So far...I'm confused. I am very intriged by how this thing is going to come together...I just don't see it yet, but from what I am told...EZ is the "Knitting Godess"...so on I go.

Of course the yarn...Blue Sky Alpacas Multi Cotton, http://www.blueskyalpacas.com/yarn_detail.php?yarns_ID=19  in "Slushie", how appropriate, is a beautiful yarn. Unfortunately, it's cotton and it hurts my hands...I can't work on this for extended periods or I end up not being able to feel my hands.

I have also been working on my new sweater, the "Nora Sweater" from Interweave Knits, Winter 2009.  I...love...this...sweater!!!!! http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/37384.aspx 

I got this yarn at Loops, http://www.loopsknitting.com/ in Tulsa, OK a year ago. Wonderful, wonderful Cascade 220 in Forest Green. I have 12 or 13 skeins of this stuff. I tried two or three different sweaters with it and wasn't satisfied...until now.

It has been knitting up into some of the most beautiful fabric! Soft, good drape and even better my guage is right!!!!

I have the back, minus the pleets and the back inset done.

I have to say that the inset was a welcome relief after 21 inches of stocking net. I am happy to report that it currently measures out exactly as the pattern calls for it. 

The back inset was quick, probably 2 days maximum, and when you consider that the cable patterns are not too complicated, it made it really enjoyable.

I have both of the fronts done. I thought that I was being smart and knitted them both at the same time...You know, if you don't have 3 kids and  a partner involved...I'm sure that this would be a really good idea.

I figured that it would be easier and that all of the decreases would be in the same places and when I bound off that they would be the perfect mirror image of each other...Yeah. Then as with most things...reality slapped me and laughed!!

Looking a the finished pieces, I realized that something didn't quite look "right". You know that odd feeling you get when you look at something and go "Hmmmmm...something is off.?" Well they were beautiful and identical. Off to a wade in the frog pond. I first frogged the left front back to the beginning of the short rows and re-knit. No big deal, I was ok...Then I laid out the newly finished left next to the right and then, "Hmmmmmm...something is off.?!"
The right side was about 2 inches longer than the left...I cried...I cussed and about the time I decided that I would have to frog both pieces that little voice in my head said "Hey!? If frogging to the short rows worked once...could it work...again?!" I am happy to report that yes, only about 13 rows had to be frogged and now both the right and left are behaving nicely. Nice, properly measureing, mirror images. Life is good.

Yes, I know the light is awful, but it's a picture from my iPhone. I do believe that I have mentioned just how much I love my iPhone before. I just had really crappy lighting at the time.

This is the left yoke. I have finished shaping the armholes and I am about to start the decreases. I had considered knitting both the left and right at the same time, but decided not to stress myself that much. 

So far, so good. I still really don't know what I want to name this sweater yet. For right now, I am working on it as much as possible...I REALLY need a new sweater!!

I hope to have you a finished object before long.  Life lately has been too stressful to talk about right now...but soon.

Lets just say we made some monumental changes in our childrens schooling...

TTFN