When It Rains...

It's been a bit crazy here.  Between my dad's death and his funeral, I ended up being admitted to the hospital with Atrial Flutter. It's kind of like the more common A-Fib, but I'm way too queasy to explain the difference to you. What I can tell you is that when your heart isn't working right, you feel just awful!

The good news is that it can be fixed with a procedure call ablation. The bad news is that I am so queasy that I almost passed out when the cardiologist tried to explain the procedure to me. "I usually don't put patients out for this," he said, "but I think I'm going to have to in this case." I second that!

My dad as a boy. I think his openness and sweetness really shows itself.

I was out of the hospital in time for the funeral. For the first time, I really understood the Jewish tradition of family and friends placing the first shovelfuls of dirt on the coffin. There is something very comforting about being part of that process, although it was extremely emotional for my mom.

He hasn't been his "real" self for many years, but the finality of death is always difficult to grapple with.  He was a kind, smart, funny man who wanted to help others. One of our struggles after the dementia set in was that he wanted to donate insane amounts of money to public schools and other good causes. His goodness was appreciated in my hometown, so the funeral was well-attended. It was a fitting end to a life well-lived.

Because it was such a crazy week, I don't feel like the loss has hit me fully yet.

As you can imagine, I have not gotten much knitting done. It is taking me forever to finish the second sleeve on my Vodka Lemonade sweater ... but I'm almost there!

This weekend I've been reading blogs and enjoying catching up with you!

All About Sweaters

Life has been busy here. With my travels coming up soon, I've been working, seeing our parents, trying to finish a project for a show.  And, most importantly, trying to set up travel knitting projects! Even summer vacation is busy.

I have finished the cardigan for my daughter, Rachel, with just over a week until I fly to Florida. I'll give her the sweater then -- and hope that it fits!

It's the Windchill Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre. The pattern is easy and well-written. I used Valley Superwash DK, which was lovely to work with and is a good value for the price. I really like the waffle-weave edging.

With that done, I have tracked down my Vodka Lemonade sweater, which I'm knitting in Cascade Sport-Weight. 

I was able to slip it on today, and I think it's going to fit. I have broad shoulders, so I added some length to the raglan shaping. It's a very sweet little pattern, but I'm not sure it was smart to make it in wool. It's more of a summer sweater. 

Maybe I'll make a second? I don't know. That seed-stitch collar took forever!

Knitting and Reading in Autumn Glory

The weather continues to be just glorious. I've been walking to and from work to take advantage of the mild temps and the scarlet leaves. It does mean I have to make sure I walk less at work -- but it's worth it.

Between work and the Jewish holidays, it's been hard to find time to knit or read. I did manage to finish the collar of my Vodka Lemonade sweater. I love seed stitch, but it makes for slow knitting

I've had to restart Where the Jews Aren't a few times because I usually read at bedtime, and I have been too tired to absorb everything. It's the interesting and quirky true story of how Russia set aside land near Mongolia in the 1920s to create a Jewish homeland. Obviously, it didn't work. I just started How It Went Down because I need to have a longer list of books to recommend to teen boys.

Last night my art group met at Tsela's house. I thought you'd enjoy seeing how her cat Cecil luxuriated in yarn.

I'll be joining up with Ginny to Yarn Along. See you there!

Happy New Year!

It's been a few weeks since I blogged.  I love my new school, but it's going to take a while before I figure out how to do this new job in less than 50 hours a week.  So it's nice that the Jewish New Year is giving me a three-day weekend to catch my breath and regain a bit of balance. I'll be attending services tomorrow and I'm looking forward to the peacefulness that brings me.

To mark the new year, I cast on for what I hope will be successful sweater number 2.

The pattern is Vodka Lemonade by Thea Coleman. Like my first successful sweater, it is a top-down design with an open front ...no buttons or button-holes! It is a little bit more challenging than my Harvest sweater, but not too much. I don't want to risk any more failed sweaters!

I've begun trying to catch up on my blog reading and I'm looking forward to seeing what each of you is up to.