A Lovely Birthday Card

My Secret Pal sent me a lovely birthday card in the mail. I am beginning to wonder, despite the gifts and the card, if she really exists. You see, the person that is spoiling me has the same birthday as I do, May 22nd, and she lives in Canada. How many people can there be in Canada with the same birthday? Silly me thought it would be easy to figure out who she is with that information. WRONG!!! I've almost completed my second time through the participants list and I can't find her anywhere. I had some suspicions but the birthday is wrong. June is almost here and I hope she won't wait until June 30th before she lets me in on the secret. Hey SP, a few more hints are needed, believe it or not, so I can try and figure out who you are. I hope you had as great a birthday as I did. Thank you so much for the card.

Tagged Yet Again

Knitting Therapy tagged me with this meme.

Well, I am supposed to tell you 7 little known facts about me and tag 7 others.

I have done this meme before and it's somewhere on my blog but here goes. Maybe I'll actually think of other things that I didn't put in the first time.

1) When I was in high school I joined the band and learned to play the guitar. I'm totally self taught but I used to play a Hofner 12 string that my dad bought me when I was in grade 9. Now I am trying to get it into working order so I can hand it down to my grandson. He wants to learn how to play.

2) My mom had 6 children - 3 girls first and then 3 boys. I am the youngest of the girls.

3) I am 8 years older than my husband but people tell me I don't look my age so you would never know it if you saw us together.

4) I know how to knit and crochet but I have a very difficult time crocheting. When I was pregnant with my 4th child I fell a week before he was born and fractured a bone in my left hand. Now, if I try to crochet I have horrible pains in that hand. I don't have those pains when I knit, only when I crochet.

5) One of the things I would like to do at some point in my life is travel Europe. I have never been to Europe except the Heathrow Airport for a short layover but I would love to go to England, France, and especially Italy.

6) I am ashamed to admit this but I started watching The Young and the Restless again. When Paul and I got married, and we were living by his parents, I got hooked on Y&R because his mom watches it. A few months ago I found myself over there when Y&R was on and I got back into it.

7) I love unicorns and penguins. I collect both of them. I have some penguin stuffed animals, including one that makes penguin sounds. I have a bunch of poreclain unicorns that Paul has bought me over the years. I am very particular about them. Not all unicorns are equal. I don't like it if the horns on the unicorn are too long.

Paul reminded me of my Monopoly collection. I now have about 15 different versions of the game. No wonder my apartment is overflowing with stuff.

I am not going to tag anyone for this meme. If you see it and would like to do it, consider yourself tagged.

Nervous Nelly

My son-in-law always calls me Nervous Nelly and Henny (my daughter) is her sister (or the other way around) I just dropped Joseph off at school He is off to Ottawa on his school trip today. I was a blubbering idiot when I drove away from school. I'm surprised he actually gave me a hug. I didn't think he would do that. I thought he would say I'm embarrassing him. He will be back Friday around 6 pm. It's a good thing I have that nasty test on Friday. I have to prep for it tomorrow so I will be too busy with that to even think about Joseph being away. This is the first time he is sleeping away from either home or his grandparents. I know he will have a wonderful time but I can't seem to help but worry. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only parent that stuck around until the kids all got on the bus. My little one is growing up. I AM SO NOT READY FOR THIS!!!!!!

I saw this on Maureen's blog.

You Are the Index Finger

You are ambitious, driven, and capable. You aren't afraid to take responsibility for your actions - or place the blame on whoever deserves it. You are honest, free thinking, and objective. You see things in your own way - and you aren't afraid to let everyone know about it. You get along well with: The Thumb Stay away from: The Ring Finger

What Finger Are You?

Muggles

Let me start this by saying that I love my husband very much. He is sweet, kind, and wonderful. He is my rock. I thought he sort of got this knitting thing when I was all excited about seeing The Yarn Harlot at the Knitter's Frolic. When she actually posted a comment on my blog and I sorta went screaming around the house in excitement. Joseph looked at me like I was nuts. Paul explained to Joseph that it would be the equivalent of Michael Schumacher commenting on his blog, if he had one. See? When I heard that I thought he got it. Well he didn't. Paul is a muggle. Why do I say that, you might ask? On Saturday, when I was so torn between going up to Gemini for the spin in, or going on the yarn crawl, Paul said I didn't need to go on the yarn crawl because I already had enough yarn. Hasn't he been married to me long enough to know you can never ever have enough yarn?

I saw this on Amy's blog.

Rochelle -- [noun]: A real life muppet 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

On the knitting front, I've finished my May Day socks. This is the May pattern for the Sockamania Club. I used Regia Stretch, Knit Picks 2mm needles and I knit them from the toe up. The pattern is written from the cuff down but I don't like knitting socks from the top down so I just followed the stitch pattern and used the same toe up sock design I use for most of my knit socks.

Once the socks were done I started working on the Forest Path Stole again. I am in the middle of tier 16. I don't know how much knitting I will get done on that before I have to put it aside again but even a little progress is better than none.

Believe it or not, Shayna is still in the hospital. She was running a low grade temperature so they did another CT scan today. I am not sure what is going on and I will rest a lot easier when she is finally home. They are going to do another procedure tomorrow and the drain is still in. The doctor thinks she might have another pocket that the current drain isn't able to drain. Hopefully this will be the last time they have to drain anything and she will be able to go home. One day at a time. There's nothing else anyone can do.

Birthday Socks

Ramona made these lovely socks as a gift for my birthday. I just love them. Lest it's been forgotten, she designed the socks herself. I only took pictures of one sock because the second sock needs to be blocked. Ramona wanted to make sure they fit before she finished off the second sock. I am pleased to say they fit perfectly and she couldn't have picked a better colour since purple is my favourite.

Contest #6

For contest #6 Robyn has asked us to blog about our WIPs. Here are my current works in progress.

This is the Forest Path Stole. I started in a few months ago but I had to put it aside when I had to get busy with the baby knitting. I will be able to get back to this soon.

This is the Moon Dance pattern from Pink Lemon Twist. I am making a scarf instead of a stole because I am using grey yarn that was gifted to me by Kimberly. I started it in November of last year and I will finish it by the end of this year.
This is the sweater I started for Mati. I started it almost 3 weeks ago. I wanted to have it finished by the time I went away but I ended up going to NY and leaving earlier than I expected so I didn't have time to finish it. I packed so quickly and space was limited, I didn't even bring it with me. Paul, Joseph, and I are planning on going back to NY the first week in July so I will have it done by then and ready to give to my DIL. The sweater is so big I am not worried about Mati growing out of it before he has a chance to wear it.

Instead of sweater knitting while I was in NY I chose to work on this. This is the second sock of the May Day socks. It is from the Sockamania Club I joined. I am now working on the cuff and I should have them finished either today or tomorrow. When these are done I will get back to work on the sweater.
This is the Scheherezade stole. I started it last summer when Melanie was doing her second mystery stole. It is, of course, another gorgeous Pink Lemon Twist design. I just have had so many other things to knit that it got put to the side when I realized I needed more yarn. I bought the second skein of Fleece Artist yarn but I haven't picked this back up YET. I do intend to finish it. I have it in a knitting back next to where I sit so I haven't forgotten about it. I just have to make the time to work on it.

Torn Between Two Loves

Since I was in NYC I did not get to see the post on Stephanie's blog about the yarn crawl today. I was so far behind in reading my blogs when I got home. I received an email from a friend yesterday asking me if I was going to go on the yarn crawl today and I emailed her back asking if it was the TTC Knit A Long she was referring to. She said yes and I didn't think about it again until I got to the book signing last night. When I got home I read all about it on Stephanie's blog. I soooooo wanted to go but I had a prior committment to go up to Gemini Fibres for their spin in. When Maggie ended up not being able to go I was really close to not going myself. Sherri was going to go with me to Gemini and she emailed me telling me that Stephanie had convinced her to on the yarn crawl. This made me want to go even more. I debated and debated but alas I get so little time to spin the spinning won out, especially since I am joining the Knit A Long on the 9th.

You don't really think I can go to Gemini and come home empty handed do you? Especially when everything was 10% off. Here's the stuff that followed me home.

McMorran Yarn Balance

Louet Carders

Spindle Sack

Another Forrester Spindle.

Some white 10/2 mercerized cotton.

Two different colourways of Fleece Artist silk/wool fibre.

Fleece Artist merino fibre.

The Jig Is Up!

The person I am spoiling for SP10 finally figured out who I am. I can't begin to explain how much this pleases me. I am not very good at keeping secrets and I think she is the most amazing person. Her name is Ramona and she is Mezzodiva. Since she figured out who I was, and we both live in the GTA, we decided to go to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot, together. I drove over to Ramona's house when I left work and we went to Knitomatic. I've never been to Knitmatic before. I didn't manage to leave without any yarn, big surprise. I bought some Misti Alpaca baby alpaca in a yummy buttery colour. It is laceweight and I have to figure out what it wants to be.

I think Ramona and I were either sisters' separated at birth (as she likes to say) or we were sisters' in another life. It is truly freaky just how much we have in common. I am so glad we were paired together. I just know we are going to be friends for many many years to come. Ramona made me a lovely pair of socks for my birthday from a pattern of her own design. They are gorgeous. I wasn't able to get a picture that didn't look blurry, and if I tried to use the flash it changes the purple colour of the yarn to blue. I will get a picture in the sunlight and then post it. This is Ramona as we got something cool to drink at Starbucks before we went to wait in line.

All the knitters' rocked the house at the Indigo on Bay and Bloor. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. The turn out was amazing. I have no idea how many people showed up because I can't really guess things like that but there were people on the steps, and all over the place. Here are just some of the pictures.

Joey came all the way from Ohio to see Stephanie. It was very nice meeting him. Just further proof that despite popular belief men knit too. Thank you Joey, he took the first group picture that is shown above.

Ramona with Stepanie.
That's me. It is such a thrill to have been here. I am glad that Ramona and I did it together. It was so hot in Toronto today I think if I wasn't planning on going with Ramona I would have bowed out due to the heat. I am so glad I didn't. Thank you Ramona for going with me. It was wonderful meeting you face to face.

Tomorrow I am going to Gemini Fibres for the spin in. I was/am so looking forward to it but I wish I could split myself in two and be able to go to the Yarn Crawl and Gemini Fibres for their Spin in tomorow. I am going to bring the Joy. I haven't really used her since Victoria came and since it has the woolee Winder I am going to use that wheel.

A Week in Pictures

I am still exhausted. It makes me seriously wonder how Henny does it. I don't remember it being that difficult when my children were that age. I was younger then so that must make the difference. There is a reason to have children when you're young, I tell you.

This is Menachem Mendel. You have to watch him like a hawk. He is fast as lightening and loves getting into trouble. He loves wearing everyone's shoes so even if you put your shoes someplace chances are they won't be there when you go to put them on in the morning. Have no fear, he will look like a boy when he gets his haircut in the fall when he turns 3.


This is Shimon. He has an amazing imagination and talks a mile a minute to tell you whatever is on his mind. I think I am going to change his name to Mr. Stubborn. I thought I can be stubborn. This little one has me beat by a mile. When we went to visit his sister in the hospital the bus was really crowded. I asked him to move closer to Menachem Mendel. MM had a fit so I asked him to move back and give his brother more room. He refused to do it. After repeated requests I finally just told him I had treats and he wasn't going to get any because he wasn't listening to me. He said that it was alright because he didn't want a treat anyway. Yoni pulled out the treats and started handing them out and then Shimon moved away over, looked at me, and said "ok I'm listening now, can I have a treat?" If we had been anywhere but on a crowded bus I think my answer would have been different.


This is Liba. To be honest, I can't believe what a young lady she is becoming. She is so helpful. I think she is trying to make up for Shayna being in the hospital. When Menachem Mendel was born it was as if he was put on the planet to be her personal doll. I am pleased to see she has gotten over that. It's either than or MM won't stand for it anymore so she had no choice but to stop bothering him all the time.


This is Yoni. He is really missing his sister. We went to the pizza shop before we went to the hospital thinking if they all went with full bellies they might be a little quieter.


This is Shayna. I still can't believe she allowed me to take a picture in the hospital. I just want her home soon. She's been through enough.


This cutie patootie is Mati. Don't let the smile fool you. He has an amazing set of lungs when he is tired and hungry. I found that out on Monday night when I went to the hospital to visit Shayna. He was quite hysterical on the way home.


Mati's proud papa, Usher. I am please to say he trimmed that beard before I left. I just didn't get a chance to take a picture of the new Usher after he got a haircut and beard trim. When I saw him last week the first words out of my mouth were the beard has got to be trimmed. I thought it was quite disgusting. Nothing like a mother telling it like it is eh?


My son Shmuel Dovid's wife, Anna, is due any second. I didn't manage to get pictures taken of the two of them when I was there. I was hoping she might have the baby while I was down there but that didn't happen. Her due date is Friday so I don't think the doctor will let her go much longer. They did an ultra sound on Monday and Anna told me the doctor thinks the baby is about 8 1/2 pounds already. I remember how it feels to be so close to your due date and just waiting to give birth.

I did get some knitting done while I was taking the bus too and from the hospital, on the plane etc. I finished the first sock of the May Day Socks. I am about to start the gusset on the second sock so I should have that one done this weekend. I'll post pics when they are blocking.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my 52nd birthday. It's really nice to be in the same city as most of your children on your birthday. Unfortunately, I had to come home too. But I did make it to our snb tonight. Maggie and her sister Natalie got me the most adorable card that even her son Alex signed. She also bought me some yummy Fleece Artist fibre. I'll post more on my trip and birthday stuff tomorrow.

Shayna is still in the hospital. She developed an abscess so they had to clean it out yesterday. They put her to sleep for the procedure and she was really upset she didn't make it home on Monday like everyone thought she would. They put a drain in this time and I hope she will be home from the hospital soon. You have no idea how difficult it was to leave on that plane and head home when I know Henny still needs me. Unfortunately, I'm not self employed so I couldn't extend my stay.

Quick Update

I just have time for a quick update. They did the surgery to remove the appendix on Tuesday. The appendix had ruptured. Shayna is doing well. I saw her yesterday. I did indeed manage to get into NY on Tuesday evening. It was doubtful there for a while with all the thunderstorms in Toronto Tuesday night but made it I did. Everyone is hoping Shayna will be out of the hospital by Sunday or Monday. I'll probably go there again later today after I get the kids off to school and then I'll head over to the hospital. I probably won't be around again until I return to Toronto on the 22nd.

Prayers Please

Shayna, my oldest grandchild, is in the hospital. She is having her appendix removed today. Henny spent the day with her in the emergency room yesterday. I am in the process of trying to change my flight so I can get to NY tomorrow. I am worried sick and yes I know Shayna will come through this with flying colours but all your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Henny said that the entire time they were in the ER Shayna was just worried about Henny. She wanted to make sure Henny got food to eat, was able to go to the washroom etc and was worried about her brothers and sister. This is Shayna's first experience being really sick and she's really scared, as you might expect. Yoni has had his share of surgeries but this is a first for her. Me, I just hate being so far away. I can't wait for the surgery to be over so I can try to stop worrying. Of course I will feel much better once I get down there and can help with the rest of the children and get to the hospital to see Shayna. Now I have to figure out what to bring a 13 year old as a get well gift. What else are grandma's for if not to spoil the grandchildren.

My Knit List

I saw this on Jacquie's blog. Since I seem to love memes and this meme is knit related, how could I resist?

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (what is this???)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Tribute To My Mom

First let me wish all the mother's out there a very Happy Mother's Day.

I lost my mother on November 9, 1982. She passed away exactly one month after her 50th birthday. As the years went by I disliked Mother's Day more and more. I would listen to the contests all over the place that people could enter to win for their special mom but I didn't have a mom anymore. Of course my mother has always lived on in my heart and I miss her every day of my life. This year I have a blog and I just felt I had to do this.

My mother was the most amazing woman. Her name was Shirley. She had 6 children and she lived to see 18 grandchildren, I think. It was so long ago it's difficult to remember how many children each of us had at the time she died. I learned my love of knitting from my mom. She taught me one summer to keep me from getting bored. I learned to knit and crochet that summer. After I finally got the hang of it, if I wanted to knit something I never followed a pattern. I would just tell mom what I wanted to make and she would give me verbal step by step instructions on what to do. Mom never followed patterns. It didn't matter if it was knitting or crocheting, all mom had to do was look at a picture and she could reproduce it. I remember a baby blanket she crocheted for Henny with a bear on top. There was no pattern, just a picture.

Mom's talents didn't stop there - she was an amazing cook and artist. My grandfather was a commercial artist and my mother definitely inherited his talents. For the record, that talent skipped me. I almost flunked art in college. But I digress. I had the most beautiful book report covers when I was in school. Mom always made covers for my reports. Mom transposed all my dad's music. That wasn't an easy task believe me. The front pages would always have beautiful covers too. One year dad took mom to see Fiddler on the Roof and mom came home and sketched Tevya. It is framed and still hangs in my dad's house.

I could go on and on but I won't. I miss you mom and I love you. The pain of Mother's Day is a little easier this year.

Thank you for reading.

Ch Ch Ch Changes

Trying to take a picture of yourself is more difficult than I thought. I kept getting the camera over my face. When I managed to get my face showing I was looking at the camera and it was awful. This is the best I could do. I picked up my new glasses today. Joseph says I look more nerdy than before. He doesn't like the glasses but then he didn't like the previous pair either. I like them. I would have liked it better if I could have gotten a brown frame instead of black but I am happy with them. With the slightly different haircut and the new glasses I am so ready for my trip next weekend. Now all I have to do is get the knitting and packing done.

Speaking of knitting, look what was stuffed in my mailbox today. Shannon was working on some Trekking socks the first time she joined us at our SnB. I really liked the look of the sock she was working on so she sent me the url for her online source for this yummy yarn. I only ordered these 2 balls so I can give the yarn a try before I go nuts. I love the colours and I am sure I will be adding more of this yarn to my stash. Now I just have to decide what pattern I want to use to make my first pair. I have other sock knitting I want to finish first but I joined Summer of Socks 2007 so I will have plenty of sock knitting on the way.

I am almost up to the armhole on the second sweater. I should get there tonight. I am planning on getting this sweater done by Tuesday so I can try and knit a hat by Thursday.

Time for me to try and dye the blue fibre to match the yarn I ruined.

Broken Ends

Remember that end that broke when I was plying on Sunday? I brought the bobbin to our SnB last night and despite the most valiant efforts no end was found. So I came home last night and decided I would try to rewind the yarn onto another bobbin without cutting the yarn. BIG MISTAKE!!!!! I ended up with this huge tangled mess. Paul tried to help me sort it out but it was no use. Maybe I was too tired. It was almost midnight afterall. I finally just couldn't take it anymore and I cut the yarn. I lost at least half. You can see it in the garbage. It's a shame too because the stuff I was able to salvage, 45 grams worth, actually looks great. I still have more of this fibre I dyed to spin up and I just mixed another bottle of the same blue solution to try and see if I can get a close match so I will hopefully be able to replace what I lost.

On the knitting front, the first baby sweater is an FO. The yarn used is the Schachenmayr Perle in a mint green colour and size 3 and 3.25mm needles. I really like the finished product. I just have to block it. I would have preferred shank buttons but I couldn't find any that I like so I got these instead. I love the way they look on the sweater. I will use the same buttons when I finish the next sweater.

So what is the next sweater you may ask? It's a sweater for Mati. I am using Laines du Nord Baby Star in Spring Flowers colourway. I know the colour is neutral and good for a boy or girl but this yarn is so soft I just had to knit something with it. I am going to knit it basically the same as the sweater I just finished but a different stitch pattern. Funny enough this yarn is supposedly thicker than the Perle but I tried knitting a swatch with 3.25mm needles and I don't like the way it looked or felt so I am using 2.5mm for the cuffs and border and 3 mm for the body. Now the race is on to see if I can finish it by next Thursday. Once the sweater is done I might try and knit a hat and booties to go with the sweater in the mint green and then finally get to work on the Sockamania Club socks.

Contest #5

For contest #5 Robyn has asked us to blog about our knitting. Our favourite spot to knit, what we do while knitting, etc. Well here I am in my chair working on the baby sweater. I usually watch TV when I am knitting at home or by my in-laws. I knit whenever I can get the chance - on the subway, waiting at the doctors' office, etc. When I knit outside I usually am listening to my mp3 player. Sometimes I'll listen to the mp3 player when knitting at home but I mostly watch TV. I don't have to watch my knitting except to check it every now and then so I don't have any problem multi-tasking while knitting.

It's back to knitting so I can finally finish that sweater.

A Day At The Clinic

Spinning clinic that is. I had such a blast. I can't wait for the fall to learn more wonderful things to do with a spinning wheel (carding, combs, etc). Yesterday I went up to Gemini Fibres for their spinning clinic class with Wendy Whelan. I can't say enough good things about her classes. She is just amazing. This is the third class I've taken with her and I've learned so much in all of them. What you see here is a result of playing with different fibres, learning to make a rolag, trying to do long draft(and I still haven't "gotten" it), and getting Navajo plying. What a fun thing the Navajo plying is. The next time I start a single I am going to try and do it with Navajo plying in mind. It is so much fun and you don't have left overs if one bobbin has more singles than the to other bobbin.

I also finished spinning the second bobbin of the blue yarn I dyed. I hope I have the underspun single problem solved. I respun the bobbin I was working on and finished spinning the rest of the singles last night. I two plied it this morning and had a bit of a challenge towards the end. The wheel was giving me a horrible time spinning. I don't know if the bobbin was too full or what but it got very hard to treadle. Finally the yarn broke. I have no idea where the end is. I tried using a piece of scotch tape to find it and I still couldn't find it. So I give up for now. I am going to bring it to our SnB on Tuesday and maybe Maggie will be kind enough to help me again. She managed to find the end the last time I had this problem.


Of course a day at Gemini wouldn't be complete without picking up some new toys. So here we have the Granny (on the right) and Linum Forrester spindles. One is about 18 grams and the other about 19 grams. I've already been playing with both of them and they are just as great as all my other Forrester spindles. I also got another bobbin for the Victoria. I find I need at least 4 bobbins so if I wind full bobbins of singles I will have an extra bobbin for plying so I don't have to wind onto a niddy noddy to free up the bobbin before I finish plying.

This is my new plying friend. It is the Schacht Matchless tensioned lazy kate. It is also the first horizontal lazy kate I have used. The built in lazy kate on the Joy and the lazy kate that comes with the Victoria are both vertical. It is so much smoother when the lazy kate is horizontal. I don't think I will be using anything else. I did have one problem that I need to fix. If you look closely to the top of the photo, one of the rubber rings popped off and went flying. I haven't been able to find it yet. I am confident I will be able to find something at the hardware store to replace it. When I go this afternoon I am going to get a few of them so I have extras in case I get to anxious again and forget to hold onto the rubber ring before I remove the stick.

On the knitting front, I am almost done with the first sleeve on the sweater. I should get that done today and start the second one. The good thing is once I cast off the sleeves I will just have those ends to tuck in because I've already done the rest and it is in the round so no sewing together. I just have to pick out buttons and sew them on. The second sweater is in sport weight yarn so it will go faster. Now if I could only find the time to block the blanket before I go away on the 17th I will be in great shape.