Here be swatches...

Today, I ate at Arby's. Not an unusual thing (I have very little will power when it comes to curly fries) However, today, it made me very very ill. So... I left work early. And instead of sleeping, what did I do? Watched CSI & knitted. I started my Ravenclaw Fair Isle Bag and am now about 3/4 of the way through the knitting. My fair isle looks a little lumpy/squishy, but I'm hoping that blocking it will help.

I must confess... I have never blocked anything in my life. I don't even know how to go about it, but I will cross that hurdle once I've finished the execution step. And lining the bag is another story all-together. I can quilt with the best of them, but lining garments is actually very time consuming for me. I don't know what it is about doing that, but it takes me FOREVER! Alas, I think the bag may simply wind up being undergarment-less.

But in preparation for attempting to get my dearest boyfriend to purchase the Level I Master Knitter requirement/assignment pkg for me for Christmas, I have begun to knit swatches. Again, something I've never taken the time to do before. I've been mostly about quantity, not quality. I think it's time to change that. So far, I am using Caron Simply Soft (cause it's cheap & I'm poor) and my Suzanne's size 6 dpns. I'm hoping to branch out to some different needles/fibers soon, but here are my first few attempts:

Moss Stitch

Andalusian Stitch

I used this site as a resource for some stitch patterns. I cannot believe this resource was out there for so long & I never used it. Well, I am making up for lost time.

On the homefront, my niece, Ellie, had her first ear infection while she was with her father & his family this past week. The fever spiked so suddenly that she also had her first seizure. Bridgette (Brandon's sister, and Ellie's mom) was understandably shaken up. We had her over to make sure she stayed as calm as possible (she is now about 12 weeks pregnant with her first child w/ her new husband, Ben) and then Brandon's mom Susana & Ben, came over later. Our little house was very full. I had forgotten what it was like to have everyone there at once. Bridgette & Ben wound up driving up to PA to see Ellie the next day, which I am very glad of. I don't think either of them would have rested soundly had they not been able to see her before the next weekend when they were to have picked her up. It's a little bit of a shame that this is the first time her father has seen her in over a month & the visit was marred by this awful happening. But luckily, Ellie is doing quite well. On anitbiotics, and ornery as ever :) In all honesty, I was a seizure kid myself. When they told us her seizure only lasted about 10 seconds I breathed a sigh of relief. I am quite aware that even a seizure that short can do lasting damage, but it was a much better sign than if she had had a grand mal seizure. I just can't wait until we can see her again, and I can make sure for myself that she is the same littly punky we all know & love to bits. Keep our little punkin' in your thoughts, if you can... it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Blessed be. @-v- H.