Fish Tales about a Guppy Swimming through an Ocean of Fiber
Today’s day 9, and I’m tired, cranky, and NOBODY wants to hear what I have to say right now. So I will spare you all, and I am taking myself off to bed with Innocent In Death, my Kindle, and the cat. I will be back tomorrow hopefully more myself.
In the meantime…have y’all seen the Sesame Street Google Doodles this week? Very cute. While I’m a big fan of Oscar, The Count’s Doodle was the most creative.
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
One of my pals, Emma, is getting married in two weeks! It’s sudden, in that she didn’t expect to be getting married quite this quickly, but it’s a long time coming, in that she and her Soon-to-be-DH Tony have been together for quite a while.
They’re getting married in Vegas, and I’ll be going. I’m kind of excited. LOL I haven’t been to Vegas since I was about 13, and I hear it’s changed a little bit since then. LOL. Two of my friends might be going with me, and it’ll be a fun, quick girl’s weekend if they can both make it. I hope they can.
Any suggestions for things to do/see in Vegas if you’re only going to be there for 2 days?
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
So yesterday was the “boy” version of the Easy-Peasy Baby Sweater, as I call it. No, I can’t tell you where to get it, because all The Fabulous Anita had was a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a… and the name/source of the pattern has been lost. Buttons once again purchased at JoAnn’s. There’s also a lavender version of this button I couldn’t resist.
Now, the only changes I made were to knit it in Stockinette with a 3-stitch Garter edging all around, and to crochet a row of Berocco Plush around the edge. That’s it. Other than that, it’s the exact same pattern, made the same size, with the same yarn (Cascade 220 Superwash). Because the pattern is asymmetrical, and it’s knit as one piece, I knit it so the buttons were the correct way for girls vs. boys.
Here’s the Girly Version (Ravel It!)
Cute, huh? The mom loves it, and has told me she can’t wait for this little girl to try it on. She says she keeps holding the sweater up to Baby to see if Baby’s big enough yet. LOL. When I have pictures of the baby IN the sweater, I’ll share them.
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
A friend of the family was having a baby, and I thought perfect! I’ll make a little boy sweater. I love making baby stuff, because it lets me make sweaters and feel like a fancy pants knitter without making my-sized sweaters, which would take considerably longer.
My knitting teacher, The Fabulous Anita (she teaches at Pearl’s), pointed me towards a baby sweater pattern that’s her go-to pattern. It knits up quick, in worsted weight yarn, and you can make a ton of modifications to it.
Since it was for a little boy, I decided to do it in Garter stitch. And I found these great little buttons at JoAnn’s, of all places. And of course I bought extra to have on hand. Never know when you’ll have a Button Emergency!
Well, I love this pattern. It is now MY go-to baby sweater pattern. It’s fast, simple, and it’s knit in one piece. And by changing somethings as simple as the yarn and the stitch, you can make it look COMPLETELY different. (RAVEL it!)
Unfortunately, I was too slow gifting this, and the baby boy outgrew it before he ever got it, so it ended up going to someone else who will love it. And really that’s what matters, right?
Tomorrow I’ll show you the “girl” version.
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
What am I loving this week? I love…
What are you loving this week?
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
Today is my mother’s birthday. How did she celebrate? At home surrounded by family? No. Out with friends for a great party? No. Off to the spa for a relaxing massage? Nope.
She spent it leaving the house at the crack of dawn to catch an 8:00 a.m. flight to New York for business.
So here’s a long-distance Happy Birthday, Mom! Your presents are here waiting for you.
And so are your cats.
Love,
Your Lady Jane,
aka Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
A year ago tomorrow my mother turned 60. Also a year ago, I voted for President and got to see my country elect its first African-American.
Just a few months later, I used one of my vacation days and stayed home on Inauguration Day and watched history be made. And while watching (in between naps during the downtime *grin*) I knit a scarf.
When I showed my mom this yarn back when I bought it, I got her patented “What the HECK were you THINKING?!” look. Everyone I showed the yarn to thought it was VERY VERY unlike me. And it kind of was. I’m not usually known for my flashy yarn stash. LOL. But I saw someone knitting this scarf at one of my LYSs and I fell in love with it. I love all the blues and all the texture.
And I still love this yarn. It’s more like a boa than a scarf, but it’s really long, and really skinny, and I love just looping it around my neck when I ‘m wearing jeans. Looks great.
…Now if I can just keep my coworkers from stealing it…
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
Friday was Halloween, and yes…I dressed up for work. Well, down at any rate. LOL. I went to work in my pajamas and loved it. Did anyone else dress in costume? Or am I the only freak?
I’m still plugging away on my Secret Garden shawl (Ravel it!) but I’m getting a bit discouraged. I’m on the final clue, and I started the first pattern row of Clue 5. Got halfway around a 700+ stitch round and realized I was doing it wrong. So I tinked it all back. Started the pattern row again. Got halfway around a 700+ stitch round and realized I didn’t do the two plain knit rows the pattern calls for. Tinked it back. Knit the two plain rounds. Got halfway around a 700+ stitch round and realized I started the round in the wrong place and needed to shift my stitch markers. Tinked it back. Moved my round marker. Started the pattern row AGAIN. Got halfway around a 700+ stitch round and realized (once again!) that I screwed up the last time, and if I had left the markers in where I had them after the knit rounds I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. *sigh* Guess what I get to go home and do?
How did it get to be November? I mean really…It’s 90 degrees here. Where’s the cold? Where’s the rain???? Where’s the darn wind?!?!?!?!
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
Well, why not? LOL Think it’ll kick-start the blog? I know I have a lot of finished items to post, so hopefully!
Ready…set…BLOG!
Lynda the Guppy
aka The Fish With Sticks
Dear Greg,
It’s two years today since we lost you. Can you believe it? It’s hard to imagine that life has gone on for that long without you.
I went to see you today. I was feeling strange because I wasn’t feeling this large grief like I did last year on this day. Until I got in my car to go home and I started crying, and I sobbed the whole way. It’s like I’m moving on and coming to terms with you being gone, but there are these large pockets of grief that sneak up on me, and the next thing I know, I’m crying my eyes out on the 101. Like I said. Strange.
The first Year Without You seems easier, as everyone EXPECTS it to be hard. They expect the first birthday, the first vacation, the first Christmas to be so, so difficult. And it was. BELIEVE me. But the second year seems even more difficult, but in a different way. I guess I imagined this second year would be easier, and…it’s not, because it means that a significant amount of time has passed and you’re still gone, and you’ll never be here again. I can’t tell you how much that pains me.
Your brother and sister had a marble stone carved and placed it on the shore of Lake Powell. Your Aunt Nancy took you to England. Your parents took you to Paris. Did you see all that? Do you know how much you’re still missed? Do you know how much we all still grieve for you, even as we know you’re okay up there? Do you see that now during holidays and other family events there’s always that moment that nobody speaks of…the one where we all realize you’re not there. Do you see that we still look for you in the room, even now? 22 years of habits cannot be changed in a measly two years’ time.
I keep imagining you, your Grandma Dorothy and your Grandpa Jim up in Heaven. I picture you and your Grandpa Jim building things, and he’s teaching you how to build it bigger and sturdier. And you’re teaching him how to make it go faster, with your Grandma Dorothy either trying to keep you two from getting yourselves kicked out of Heaven for being too rowdy, or strapping on a helmet to join you. And as comforting as that thought is, I realized something a few weeks ago…
Your brother is now 22. At some point this year he’ll become older than you ever were, and I realize how much of our lives you won’t be there for. And how much of your life will never be. And I wish you were here.
Today is the beginning of the third year without you.
I still love you. I still miss you, Gregger, all the time. We’re all getting better, but it is taking time. A lot of it. But we’ll always love you, no matter how long you’ve been gone. And I think we’ll always look for you in the room. Every now and again, I hope you’ll be there.
Love, Cousin Lynda
A Still Grieving, but Slowly Healing Guppy
