SALE

To celebrate Piglet's second birthday I am having 20% off all memory boards in my shop. They have already been marked down so stop by and say hello. www.memoriestoyou.etsy.com

One of these days I will have knitting again! I just finished a hat, mittens and scarf for Piglet but he refuses to wear the scarf and the hat is at school - I hope!

Our first ambulance ride

I ask you... does this look like a sick kid?
Ok, what about this...

A few weeks ago I took Piglet to Urgent Care because he was having difficulty breathing and his rescue inhaler wasn't working. After about four hours they decided that his breathing was not returning to normal in the correct amount of time and he would need to be hospitalized. The catch... our little hospital didn't have the facilities to care for him so he needed to go to the Naval Hospital at Portsmouth - about 20 miles away. I had a choice to either leave my car there for the night and ride in the ambulance or let my baby go in the ambulance alone. Guess which one I didn't do! Thanks to good friend MaryAnne my dogs were fed and pottied for the two days we were in the hospital and my car was delivered to me. Piglet was ready to go home the next day but his doctors didn't agree. Personally, I think he was so cute and entertaining they decided to keep him.

We have an appointment next week with a pediatric pulmonary specialist to make sure we are on the right track for controlling his asthma.

In the middle of everything I decided to start selling my memory boards. I opened a little Etsy shop. There are a few more boards that need to be added but with Piglet home from school the past week, I haven't had the time.

Annabelle is doing much better. The prednisone is working so they are moving her to another immunosuppressant that has fewer side effects but works a little slower. She will have another CBC next week to see how she is progressing. She is definitely feeling stronger and has even tried wrestling with Baby Baxter. Unfortunately she is still starving and has been known to chase Piglet around for a cheese stick. Last week I told Big Boy that if I had to dole out medication to one more person in this house I was going to have myself committed just for the rest and relaxation!

Speaking of Big Boy. Only 90 days left until he heads home!

A New Creation by Me!

If you are like me and have tons of pictures on your refrigerator, then you need one of these... After seeing crappy memory boards in the stores, I decided to make my own. Ok, it looks a little crappy too, but it does the trick.

Once the crafting bug bit I couldn't stop. I made this little cork board for Piglet's room.

His is done with baseball ribbon. I turned the buttons into pushpins. This will be perfect for hanging his artwork in his room.

I also did one for Big Boy's room in Afghanistan but somehow didn't take a picture. I think I ran out of time during that two months it hid in the closet. His is done in camouflage and I used black ribbon with the buttons from one of his old uniforms.

I'm Sizzling... NOT!

I can't believe it has been a month and a half since I posted. This has been one wild and crazy summer. Piglet and I took a trip to Orlando to visit the parents. It was... well... like any visit with family. Shortly after returning we discovered that Annabelle, our 11-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, was very sick. We knew she was very anemic but it took several mortgage payments to figure out why. Turns out she has Immune Mediated Anemia, which, along with severe hip dysplasia, has made her extremely weak. She is now on Prednisone every day along with painkillers and glucosamine and Omega 3 fatty acids in hopes of getting her back up to speed. Our goal right now is to help her be comfortable until Big Boy gets home in December. Sadly, she was the only dog who would play with Baxter so now he is desperately in need of a friend. We decided it was either send him to “camp” every week or get him a puppy. Today he is off frolicking with new friends at our vet clinic’s daycare program!

The title of my post really does have a meaning. Last I posted I was working on Sizzle. It is finished… but I do not feel sizzling in it. The back portion is too large. Actually, it probably isn’t, but I tend to wear things that are more form fitting so I feel like it is. Last night at SnB we discussed a number of ways for me to fix this problem (without frogging) and most of them required a skill I do not have - sewing! I have to wonder if I should just stick to making blankets and scarves!

In the meantime I started two new projects. Reid is going to be a gift for Piglet’s half-sister for Christmas. It is done in light blue for the body and dark blue for the trim. She has the same blue eyes as Piglet so the blue will be beautiful on her. Of course as soon as I purchased all the yarn, the cashier at Michael’s handed me a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase this weekend. So, I returned all the yarn and will re-buy it on Sunday.

February Lady Sweater is the second project I cast on. The Superwash Bamboo from Elann is sooooo soft. I just hope the darn thing fits. It is top down construction so I get to try it on as I go. So far I am trying on each inch!

Lastly, I completed a sweater for Piglet. It is very cute. A little big, but cute. I have to make it big because the boy is growing every month. I just wish his head would stop growing, but I guess it is housing a big brain. He is coming up with new words every day and learning new stuff that scares the bejeezus out of me. His new favorite toy is my old cell phone. I never thought I would see the day when I had to tell my nearly two year old that he could not have his cell phone at the dinner table or take it to school.

Only 107 more days until Big Boy gets home… but who’s counting.

Happy 4th of July!

Gosh, it feels like forever since I last posted. Let’s see, I have done some stash enhancement, a little knitting and a lot of nose wiping. Piglet cut four more teeth, had pneumonia and an asthma attack. There have been trips to the park, the museum, playdates, a lot of sweat and a lot of nose wiping.

Stash enhancement has included eight more skeins of the Artyarns Royal Silk to finish up Sizzle as well as ten skeins of Superwash Bambooin order to do the February Lady Sweater and this lovely skein of Vesper that I scored in a destash on Ravelry. Yummy!!

I’ve managed to accomplish a little knitting. It is usually reserved for the evenings since, as the SnB gals will tell you, when the Piglet is awake, there is no time for knitting. The boy is nonstop. He is learning so much at school (or coooool as he calls it) and has recently blown me away with saying “thank you” in the correct context along with putting his empty cup in the kitchen sink. He is too short to reach so he just stands back and throws it in. The most recent is to mimic me putting on my bra, to include the um, frontal adjustments. And today, he discovered his own boobies and enjoys calling them boo boos. How can you not laugh at that!

Oh, you wanted to see the knitting. There is a second Hemlock blanket. It was supposed to be a wedding gift but I decided that two kids who don’t have a pot to pee in probably need dishes and not a hand wash and block blanket. If it doesn’t go to SIL, it will make a nice gift for someone else.

Next up is the Sizzle. The yarn is silk held with a strand of Zephyr to give it more weight. I am spoiled for anything else now. The yarn is so deliciously yummy. I just cast on for the front and I hope to have it finished by my Vegas trip.

Last is Piglet’s sweater. Due to my inability to do math, I changed the body from cabling to just 4x2 ribbing. The sleeves only will be cabled. Will it look funny? I thought it would be way too big for him but he seems to be in a constant growth spurt these days so it should fit perfect by fall.

This month we are off to Orlando to visit with Grandma and Papa and in August I go to Vegas with my two girlfriends and I am trying to squeeze in a trip to Maine for the wedding and my Grandmother’s 90th birthday party. I’m afraid I am going to have to sell my soul to the devil though and spend a day with the in-laws. I’m sure I will have great stories and photos to come!

Big Boy, Don't Look!

Had to put in the warning title because Big Boy will be receiving these in the mail for Father's Day.

Poor Piglet was not in photo mood this morning. The poor baby is getting his last tooth, his nose is running and he is coughing. The photos are both for Father's Day and for Piglet's 18-month birthday.

My day was made better when I got to take these photos...

Montego Bay is done! All of the big details are over on Ravelry. As you can see, I decided to do the fringe. It took two glasses of wine and a late night but once I dove in, it was pretty fun. The pattern says to braid the fringe but for now I am going to leave it as is. I love this scarf. I love everything about it - the pattern, the yarn, the color, the weight, the smell.

And finally, a little yarn p0rn for ya'll. In case you didn't know, (and I didn't) anyone who donated 10 lousy bucks during RavelRaiser 2008 went into a drawing for prizes. I was a winner! I won a $30 gift certificate to Khetala's Etsy Shop and this is the yarn I chose. It is a laceweight and the color is called Deep Sea Follies. If you get a chance, check out her shop!

I'm Still Here!

I have not abandoned you, I promise. It has been a busy few weeks and now that we have Big Boy off to play in the sandbox it is quieter. LOL! I just made a joke! I have managed a little knitting in between sleeping, eating and keeping Piglet out of trouble - a task that isn't nearly as fun as it sounds!

Montego Bay is nearly finished and I have to say, this is the easiest knit ever. I can even work on it with Piglet around because there is no way to screw up the pattern. I still have to cut the fringe and I have to admit, I'm a little scared. I have never made fringe and the thought of cutting this beautiful yarn into 200 pieces makes my eyes roll into the back of my head.

I started a little sweater for Piglet. It is in Cascade 220 and the cable pattern is from Stitchionary 2. I think the color will bring out his blue eyes. Of course when I make the size that will fit his chest and fit over his melon sized head, the arms are very long. I am already at the length of his arm and still have a bunch more increases to do. I guess I can roll up the sleeves.

I did a little stash enhancement over the weekend. This is Claudia Handpaint Silk Lace. Can we all say YUM! There is a little story behind this yarn. I bought it in hopes it would make a nice stole to go with a dress that I may or may not fit into, for a wedding that I may or may not be invited to and may or may not attend if I am invited. Make sense? Well, can't fault a girl for being prepared. Well, as I was squeezing my butt into the dress and trying to figure out if I need to lose weight or just buy some of those suckitallin underpants I realized that I already have a stole that would look great with the dress. Yep, I have Print O' The Wave - a stole that created a lot of headache for me and has not been worn yet. Since this whole wedding deal is going to end up giving me a headache (it is a long story that includes small towns, family, friends, a church and a partridge in a pear tree!) I think the stole would be appropriate! Piglet figured the bee would help enhance the colorway "Walk in the Woods". The funny thing is, this colorway is not really me. But, each of the colors in there are! Still, it caught my eye and would not let go.

Speaking of the little monster... he had his very own cup of ice cream last night. He was so disgusting that I would not bring him into the house and instead "bathed" him in his swimming pool!

Buttons, Buttons... Who's Got The Buttons?

My Tangled Yoke is complete (and all the details are in my Ravelry page) and is just waiting for me to drag my happy ass over to the JoAnn’s and buy some buttons. I would like to say that there is no hurry and the sweater wearing days are over for a few months, but around here, one never knows.

There has been knitting and un-knitting (I believe you professionals call it frogging?) ‘round these parts. I sent the Lady Eleanor packing and in its place I have Montego Bay - a pattern that is simple to memorize and will take 1/4 of the time. It looks pretty and I think I may make a second one in a stashed yarn as a gift. As it turns out, Amy had this in mind all along when she bought the yarn.

I also started Sizzle a few weeks ago. And, just to keep my fellow SnB’ers laughing, I frogged it. It was justified. Really, it was. I used Main Line and found it was just too heavy for the pattern, and the summer. Of course I would have known all this if I had done a little research on the yarn and pattern before just diving in.

It has been a crazy few weeks here in the Knotty house. I need a t-shirt that says “I survived the Grandparent invasion of 2008”. My parents came to help out with yard work and Piglet (‘cause the two do not go well together!). Of course he managed to get sick while they were here and I lost my “parent of the year” badge because I refused to take him to the emergency room for what ended up being two new teeth. Sigh Then Big Boy came home. His second training was cancelled and he will be here until May 18. After that though, we are on our own. The not so little Piglet has been keeping us hopping. We have new words and skills every day (well, if you can call trying to throw your sippy cup in the toilet a skill) - his words this week are “school”, “ow”, “out”, and “uh-oh”. Of course he doesn’t use any of them in the correct context but at least we have more variety than “hi” and “gogogo” a million times a day.

Last week Big Boy’s parents arrived to drive me nuts visit with Piglet. They seem to be under the impression that I would enjoy visiting them while Big Boy is gone. I hate to burst their bubble but I have no intention of even answering their phone calls for the next six months, let alone hopping on a plane with kid and baggage!

And speaking of nuts… knitting seems to be full of them. I have now managed to read all 10,000 posts in the MCY thread and am waiting in anticipation for the day the undead Danielle is finally caught. Add to that the great Mystery Lace mystery of 2008 and you have yourself one hell of a train wreck. What can I say, it is better than anything on television these days!

So, what is next on the knitting calendar? I am going to do a sweater for Piglet in these colors from Cascade 220. I plan to do an all-over pattern from Vogue Stitchionary but I haven’t decided if I should do a v-neck or a hoodie.

The Lady is a Tramp!

What else can you say about a pattern that is working its way through your stash? A pattern that you think will be perfect for a yarn but then leaves you hanging for a better, more expensive yarn? A pattern that looks fabulous in the dark but come the light of day its a double bagger?

Yes folks, the Lady Eleanor has once again made her way to the frog pond. I spent many months working on it in the lovely Sea Silk that Amy sent me and I did find it beautiful, but, that itty bitty yarn in an entrelac pattern became a chore. The yarn is gorgeous and deserves something light and airy - like strawberries needing angel food cake and whipped cream. I think it will be most happy as the Montego Bay.

It has been a crazy few months around our casa. Big Boy has been in Texas and was supposed to go to Wisconsin before heading to Afghanistan but at the last minute he was sent back home for three weeks. We are happy to have him here! On Tuesday our Calvin had a cancerous tumor removed. We are still awaiting the results of the biopsy and are hopeful that they got it all and we will have our little Chow Pei for a few more years. It is hard to watch the babies age.

My parents visited this week and spoiled Piglet rotten. He has enjoyed having attention 24/7 and I enjoyed the slight break. Next week the in-laws will visit. I am VERY glad that Big Boy will be here to act as a buffer.

Oh the places we will go

Edited to add better photos!








Before I tell you about our latest travels I will show you the latest in the Knotty repertoire of finished objects.

Details:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket from Jared Flood
Yarn: Ecological Wool by Cascade in Latte
Needles: size 10.5 Options
Size: Ginormous - seriously, this picture is taken with me standing on my bed (and I whacked my head on the ceiling fan - the things I will go through for ya'll)! I ran out of room on the foam blocks and had to pin parts of it to my bedroom floor - good thing I just vacuumed. Now I just have to find a way to keep all the feet off it for the night.

If I were to make this again I would probably change the bind off. The ruffled bind off is pretty but it is a PITA to block

Now, for the good stuff. Did you see me on television? Yep, I was on the news in several different cities. Last week Piglet and I headed to San Antonio to spend the weekend with Big Boy. We got to Atlanta on Wednesday night and as I walked to my gate I wondered why there were a bunch of long lines at the ticket counters. Little did I know! Our flight ended up being cancelled. Since I would have had to stand in a very long line with a toddler I opted to have Big Boy buy us some tickets on another airline - for the next day. The hotels all sold out so Piglet and I spent the night in Hotel Hartsfield! A local station interviewed us around 2:00 a.m. and apparently stations around the country picked it up. By the time our flight took off I felt like a Sherpa as I was carrying a baby, car seat, stroller, diaper bag and purse! So, that wasn’t bad enough… the next day got even better. Piglet exploded all over himself and his very last diaper. There I was, in an airplane with no diaper! Fortunately the flight attendants were willing to go up and down the aisle asking if anyone with a toddler was willing to give up a diaper. We ended up with a diaper too big and no clothes. Wait, it gets better… my luggage had not arrived when I got to San Antonio and Piglet was still naked. I finally broke down in the Target as I searched for things that would get me through the next two days without my luggage. The weekend ended up being fun despite it all. We spent time with friends and took Piglet to Sea World. I also got in a few hours at La Cantera mall where I played with the iPhone that I will eventually buy (and I bought a pretty pink case). I am happy to say that our trip home was uneventful. Well, with the exception of traveling with a toddler.


And speaking of the monster Piglet. He started “school” this week and seems to enjoy his days. Of course this means that I have to buy more storage boxes to hold all the pompom caterpillars. I think he is just happy they have goldfish crackers for snack every day!

There is one last bit of knitting info… I frogged the cabled yoke of Tangled Yoke today and I will restart it on size 4 needles.

I think I tangled my yoke

I really have been knitting these past few weeks. I figured it was time I proved that to all. First up is the Tangled Yoke sweater from Eunny. I think I may have messed it up though. See, I used a size 4 needle on the body to get gauge. When I got to the yoke portion I went up to a size 5 needle because I was afraid the cabling would pull in too much, making the shoulders way too tight (plus my shoulders are wider than any other part of my body). Now, I'm afraid they may be too large. So, here is my question to ya'll... do I rip out those 36 rows of cabling and go back to the smaller needle or do I just switch now to the smaller needle and finish up hoping that it won't look too big.
The second project is Hemlock from Jared Flood, et al. I am doing it in the Ecological Wool from Cascade. I think I am about halfway through the chart now. This is a great television/SnB (if I ever get there to knit without Piglet) knit because you only have to pay attention every fifth row!

The final project is this... This is the one that occupies most of my time. Actually, I spend lots of time trying to figure out ways to occupy HIS time. Now that he is walking he is getting more and more brave each day, and I am getting more and more tired. Tomorrow we are off to an Easter egg hunt. As long as it isn't raining, I hope to have great pictures and great candy!

I Need a Talent!

I am totally talentless. Ok, I knit. But that isn’t really a talent. It is the ability to follow directions; a skill learned at age five that will, supposedly, keep one out of prison. I can’t play the piano; I know, I tried for many years and frankly, I sucked. I can’t design bows like Rachel. I can’t scrapbook; again, I tried and royally sucked. What can I do? Well, I can shop and feed myself without having to change clothes after. Not exactly skills that will earn me some $$$. Well, shopping might but here where I live the average income does not allow for hiring a personal shopper to pick up your unmentionables at Wally World.

Ok, so by now you are probably wondering why I am droning on about my inability to do much more than turn oxygen into carbon dioxide. Well, because Big Boy leaves on Wednesday and will not darken our doors for another nine months. I need something that will occupy my hours besides keeping Piglet out of the toilets. In April, Piglet will start “school” three days a week and I am afraid that I will have nothing to do. What will occupy my evenings once the television season has ended? What will occupy my afternoons if Court TV doesn’t have a decent trial? I will have SnB on occasion but I can’t subject them to the whining of a toddler on a weekly basis - it just wouldn’t be nice. Last time I made it through by working, taking class and volunteering nearly full-time. Now, my time will revolve around nap and lunch.

Truth is, this deployment is harder because of Piglet. I know how much Big Boy enjoys spending time with him and it breaks my heart that he will miss so much. He gets such a thrill from teaching Piglet new things and I’m afraid I won’t have the patience or energy to take up the slack.

I guess I should talk about happy stuff. We had a nice, short vacation to Florida. We stopped along the way to visit with Susan and her family. I wish we had had more time because Piglet really liked Boogie. She was showing him a little of his future by having him hold her crayons while she colored. From there it was on to Orlando to visit with my parents. We didn’t get to do a whole lot because it was so freaking cold. Then it was on to Ft. Myers for a Red Sox game. Sadly, it was during that time we found out that Big Boy would not be coming home in April as originally planned. So, we headed home a day early. Leave it to the stupid Army to ruin a perfectly good vacation.

I know some of ya'll really enjoy the cool weather but I hope you will humor me and pray for sun and warmth from now until December. I am like a plant - I need direct sunlight to survive!

Musings From The Gym

I joined the Y back in July and it has been an interesting experience. My old gym had members who were seriously trying to get into/stay in shape. The Y... well, it is equal opportunity. I thought I would share some tips with those of you who are considering joining a gym.

1. Yoga is supposed to help me find my inner peace. I can't find inner peace when your outer pie hole is yapping.
2. Unless you are a surgeon who is on call to perform a life saving operation you do not need your cell phone turned on in said yoga class.
3. I understand the concept of "workout buddies" but this does not mean that you have to stand around each other's weight machines and hog same machine.
4. If there is an open machine in another room, please use it instead of asking someone else to get off theirs just because it has the flat screen television.
5. 300 pound man... I don't care how much you can bench press, you still have a beer gut and are sweaty. Stop trying to impress!
6. Please do not wear perfume. I understand you want to not smell sweaty but when you get hot and sweaty, that CoCo Chanel smells like CaCa Chanel.

Ok, got that off my chest. Hopefully it will help those of you as you head to the gym. Feel free to let me know if you have a tip you would like to add.

I have had a little fiber in my life over the past few weeks. Maybe I should change that to say Yarn so that I don't get a bunch of spam regarding my colon health.

Here is a skein of the Eco Wool that will be used to make the Hemlock Ring Blankie once my needle tips arrive. I have three skeins so it will be a very big blankie.


A second pair of Fetching are working their way off the needles. The yarn is Elann's Highland Wool along with some Diwa. I love the way the two purples look together. I have all the details over on my Ravelry page. This is a super easy pattern and one that I could do repetitively without going comatose.
I also busted out this little baby hat for charity. Not sure which charity yet. It is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and the size is toddler. No, it will not fit a toddler sized head. Again, all the details can be found here.
Finally, I realized I haven't given you Piglet love in a while. Here he is trying to comb his hair with his pick. Annabelle is in the background looking very worried that she will be next victim of this amateur hair stylist. I don't blame her as I have had this same pick try to make its way into my ear, nose, mouth and eye.

Snow and Waves

Snow and waves... how can you have both? Well, here in Knottyland we managed both over the weekend. First, I finished the Print O' The Wave stole. Yes, I still have to weave in some ends. This little lacy thing took me six months to finish!


Details:
Needles: Size 4
Yarn: Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks, in the color stream
Pattern: Print O' The Wave from Eunny Jang
Mods: I worked this in one piece instead of doing the center graft like the pattern calls for. I also blocked the body and then picked up my stitches based on the length simply because the pattern does not leave an edge stitch and I had a hard time figuring out where to pick up. I have quite a few mistakes on the border - not my finest work!

Now, for the snow. We had snow on Saturday. Only about an inch but that was more than enough for me! Big Boy went out with the camera and got this great shot of perfect little Baxter footprints. He had never seen snow before and wasn't too sure about this cold stuff under his toes.

My piglet was equally unsure about this cold stuff. Here we are making a snowball. Shortly after this pic was snapped he plopped down in the snow and was not happy about the cold stuff creeping through his pants. As you can see, he is standing on his own - at least for brief moments. He will occasionally take steps on his own too but once he realizes what he has done he will plop back to the floor.



I decided I needed a quick knit to work on so I started a pair of Fetching. I am holding two yarns together to get an Aran weight and make these guys warm and toasty. They are going to a young girl with more pairs going to her teen brother and sister. The next set will be in purple and the boy's will be in a tweedy brown. The mitts are really fun to knit but I don't like the way the picot cast off looks.

Have you seen my mojo?

I seem to have misplaced it. Not just my knitting mojo. My, well, everything mojo. True, I haven’t felt like knitting much over the past few weeks but I also haven’t felt like blogging, reading, cooking or cleaning. So, what have I done? Um, played computer games. I tried blaming it on the holiday rush but truth is, I think it is more than that. Maybe it is that parenting a one year old is such a joy; you know, what with the whining because his food isn’t on the right plate, and the whining because his cup has milk and not juice, or the whining because he isn’t allowed to bang on the computer, or the constant picking up of the Tupperware (thanks Jen!) that has exhausted me. Or maybe It is knowing that the coming year will be a difficult one that I’d rather not face. In March my Big Boy will leave for San Angelo for two months of training so that he can leave us in June to spend six months in Afghanistan.

But, you guys came here to hear the good stuff. Yes, Piglet had a great Christmas. He is now the proud owner of a rocking horse; five new books; a shape sorter that talks and thankfully, has an off button; a dashboard that makes all sorts of car sounds and, thankfully, has an off button; a ride on toy; a Little People school bus that is politically correct with a kid in a wheelchair, but, has no off button; and, a bunch of other goodies as well. On Christmas Eve he left Santa some applesauce cake and found a love for it himself. Check out his stocking with a new "backup" lion.

I scored a Tom Tom navigation system, two different gift certificates, and this bracelet from Etsy (sorry, I couldn’t get a good picture at home).

What little knitting has been done has been somewhat depressing. I love the Lady Eleanor in the Sea Silk. In fact, I downright adore the Sea Silk. However, this pattern sucks yarn faster than California can fall into the ocean. I will likely have to buy a second skein.

Clapotis is coming along nicely and I think the decision to frog the original Lady Eleanor was a good one. My plan is to give it to a friend who has a birthday on January 12. Will I be done in time? Not likely! I have to put in quite a few more of the straight row repeats to get it long enough.

Finally, there is Tangled Yoke. The first sleeve is huge. Right now it is measuring about 2” larger than my wrist and it fits comfortably over another sweater. My original plan had been to wear it over a tank top but a recent bout with contact dermatitis (with an unknown cause) has made me think I will need a long sleeved shirt with the wool. This leaves me contemplating whether or not I really need to frog the sleeve or not. I am on a mission to finish this sweater. You see, MaryAnne has promised me lunch at Panera if I finish it and wear it to Stitch and Bitch. This deal came as the result of a conversation in which she pointed out that I never wear anything that I make; mostly I give it all away because I either make the wrong size (I have been fooling myself for a while now) or I don’t like the pattern once I get started, or I just plain ‘ole screw it up - what can I say, life is a constant learning curve.