This has been a busy week, getting back to school and realizing that no, contrary to my firm belief, I apparently had NOT put the plans for the week in my day book before I left school on the Friday before Christmas. Needless to say, life has not been quite as smooth as I had wished (but it is going well). The kids are ajusting to the changes, and mostly they did their homework for me over the break: try something new. Notice the difference: TRY, not do it perfectly, but try it. It might not work smoothly (like the child who 'played dead' after a car went by--not something he will try again, and certainly not what he expected would happen!), but then again, you might actually like salmon for dinner!

In the interest of trying something new, here is a simple lace edging for the Striper Stash Busters:

Cast on 10 sts.
row 1, and all odd rows: knit all sts.
row 2: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, knit to end.
row 4: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, knit to end.
row 6: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, knit to end.
row 8: k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, knit to end.
row 10: cast off first 4 sts, knit to end (10 sts remaining)
row 12: knit (This is the spot to change colours of yarn, if you want to do a pattern, or just use up the stash for knitting).

My blocks needed 8 repeats per strip, and 9 repeats per block of 80 rows, plus one on each end for neatness. These will be put on like quilt block edgings: first the short ends, then the long sides, after having been knit separately.

You can, of course, cast on more, or less (although, I don't think less than 6 sts cast on will give you a nice edging to keep the blanket from rolling in). I think I will try it, for fun.

Happy New Year's Day

Happy New Year! We rang out the old and in the new with a party at a friend's house, and visiting my father in law in the hospital.

My father in law had a 'minor' stroke Friday (although he is a lot better) and will be in the hospital for a while. Is any stroke a minor stroke? The funniest part of this, in my opinion, is that he now speaks French better than he speaks English (and he didn't speak French a lot before this!). But, he can communicate, he can eat, and he is beginning to move around. So, be thankful for small blessings.

Today is New Year's day, and the first day that I propose to not go shopping (except for essentials, of course, like food). I can't even include sock wool, since I have a large bucket full. So, in the interest of surviving this new year, I will be joining the Knit from my stash group, from Wendy Knits...

Check it out here:

http://wendyknits.net/stash2007.htm