Ranunuclus 2 Troubles, The Deep End and Noro Fun

So, thanks to the wonder of Ravelry, another knitter saved my hide in being able to finish the second Ranunculus.  This one is done in Shirakaba by Noro (worsted weight - 42% Silk, 40% Cotton and 18% Wool).  It is a discontinued yarn and I ran out of the ones from my stash only a few centimeters from finishing.

I absolutely LOVED it when I tried it on UNBLOCKED.  But, after blocking, it was just too floppy, slide-y off my shoulders.  It got on my last nerve after wearing it all one day!  So, I did something I've never done with one of my good knits... I put it in the washing machine... eco-warm, handwash setting.

The, I put it in the dryer on a delicate setting.  This is just as it came out of the dryer.  Sucked back into shape and fitting like I wanted it to (the mannequin photos are post washing machine).   HOWEVER, this experience has me slightly stalled from starting number 3.  I want to do it in Madelinetosh Light... and I'm debating dropping a needle size or two.  The verdict is still out.

Speaking of first times!  This little guy jumped off the DEEP END for his first time while staying with us last weekend!  Oh, how he practiced and practiced in the shallow end wanting to be like his big brother who was jumping off the diving board on the other end.

I was afraid he might wear himself out getting ready!  But, you can see by this face, he was sooooo proud to have made the jump!  We are proud of you, too, Roo!

Nothing like the feeling of facing your fears and overcoming!

And, it doesn't hurt to be cheered on by your big brother.  Plus, the joy of knowing you can jump in the deep end... just like him.  ;)  Oh, summer fun!

In a rush dashing out the door Saturday NEEDING something to do with my hands... I grabbed a skein of Noro, a crochet hook and a stitch book.  I'm loving the look of this spike stitch and I think I see a vest in the making!

Meanwhile, fall is moving ever closer... all the Littles except Miss B start back to school this week and she starts next Monday!  How can this summer have passed so fast??

We thank you for your prayers for Johnny... they are deeply appreciated.

Here's to having the courage to jump into our own deep ends... whatever they may be.  

blessings ~ tanna

Putting a Face to a Name...

Milha and I met working in the operating room in 1981.  Our love of surgery, particularly orthopedic surgery, forged a fast friendship that has only grown deeper through the decades.  She is among a small hand full of people I call fr-amily (friends who became family).  I came to love Johhny because I loved Milha.  Now, I love him just because he's Johnny.

You never imagine in all the years working in surgery... doing orthopedics... that someone you care for will become the one bearing the diagnosis of bone cancer... or any cancer for that matter.  Somehow, it seems you should get a pass when you spend your working-years trying to put people back together again.  There is no pass.  

Johnny's cancer has proven relentless.  Not responding to aggressive therapies, he is waiting to be placed in a trial study at M. D. Anderson.  It doesn't start until mid-September.   Once again, I ask for your prayers.  I have personally felt the "holding up" of your prayers.  My friends need your "holding up". 

Thank you.  From the bottom of my heart.

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal Life."    Jude 20-21


With gratitude and blessings ~ tanna

Ranunculus; Lone, Late Blossom; and First Sign

This is the little top I finished last week post blocking.  Love. Love. Love this pattern!!  It is Ranuculus by Midori Hirose.  Worked from the top down, there are 276 projects (at this time) of it on Ravelry and I've loved it in every weight yarn I've seen.

Details on Ravelry here. 

Once in a Blue Moon, there will be a pattern I will love doing more than once.  I'm already on the second one and planning a third!  At this point, I'm in a holding pattern on #2.

I'm STUCK here until I receive a rescue package from a fellow Raveler!  Thought I might be able to eek it out with the skeins of this Noro Shirakaba (discontinued) from my stash, but NOPE (you can see I even considered a contrasting band... not working for me)!!  Thank heavens for ladies who list their stash on Ravelry and are willing to part with some of it!!   My hat is off to Mary of Arizona!  Yarn is on the way.  THANK YOU!!

This week a very LATE and LONE blossom appeared on my gardenia.  Feels like a sign...  I'm just not sure what it's a sign of... yet.

And, the first makings of blossoms on my sedums have appeared... their lavender beauty shines as September rolls through... my first sign that fall is not far behind... Oh, how quickly this summer has passed.

"The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference." ~ Audre Lord

blessings ~ tanna