Fanny

Guess what? I’m here and finally posting. If I still have any readers left, please excuse my absence. We’ve been going through more difficult times here, as my husband has a recurrence of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is supposed to have a stem cell transplant. However, they haven’t been able to collect enough stem cells, so they’re on to plan B. Plan B is that he will be given a type of chemo which forces stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood. We are hoping and praying that this will work. It has been such a roller coaster!

In any case, I did not have the energy or inclination to knit, if you can imagine. I didn’t have the energy or inclination to blog either. However, I’m back to it now! After my husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s the first time, it was knitting a special baby gift that brought me back to knitting. The same thing has happened this time too. I have four friends who have all had baby boys! There is nothing like concentrating on the joy of newborn babies to revive your spirits!

Something else brought me back to knitting too,….a visit from my mother-in-law. She was knitting, and I missed it. It was as simple as that. I took her to my knitting groups and we had a lot of fun. I also took her to the Briggs and Little Woolen Mill, which is located a short drive away.

My mother-in-law walked into the yarn shop before I did, and all of a sudden I heard squeals and exclamations coming from inside! The wool fumes got her! It was hilarious! She had been looking for substitute yarn to make the A Walk In The Parka cardigan, from the latest Creative Knitting magazine. The pattern calls for Cottage Craft Woolens yarn, which happens to be made by….Briggs and Little! What a surprise! She bought the yarn that the pattern called for. The people at Briggs and Little weren’t aware of this particular pattern, made with their yarn. The lady, who was helping us, took the pattern to show the rest of the staff, and I heard more squeals coming from the back room! There are also patterns in the Twist Collective, by the way, made from Briggs and Little yarn, which are creating some excitement. They are Roo, by Kate Gilbert, and Sylvi, by Mari Muinonen.

Anywho, my husband and children decided to discretely back away from the mayhem. They took a walk by the lake, and enjoyed the scenery outside.

My mother-in-law bought three sweaters worth of yarn, plus more for good measure! I bought some of Briggs and Little’s new Softspun yarn, in Dusty Rose.

As chance would have it, my knitting friends have been encouraging me to enter some of my knitting in our local exhibition/fair. There is apparently a lady who contributes an entry for every category, every year. She walks in with a huge Tupperware container full of knitting. In any case, most of the entries are very traditional, and my friends would like to see more contributions that show new techniques. So I picked up my knitting again. I had so many unfinished items, and this was the push I needed to complete them. Briggs and Little happens to sponsor a Briggs and Little category, and I had a work-in-progress made from Briggs and Little yarn! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been working on this project. It seems like forever, and now it’s finally finished!

Meet Fanny:

• Pattern: Carousel Horse, designed by Ellen Sibelius (This was a free web pattern through Interweave…not currently available.)
• Materials: Briggs and Little, Tuffy
• Needles: 5mm
• Modifications: I did not felt this item. So, I did not knit double stranded and I used smaller needles than were called for in the pattern.

My daughter can not quite believe that Fanny is finished either, but she is delighted! I haven’t been so rewarded by a project since Curly The Cow. However, the fiddly bits on Fanny almost put her in permanent hibernation. Let’s not dwell on that. She’s finished! Wahoo! Not only that, but she won first prize in the Briggs and Little competition! My daughter was so excited that Fanny had a ribbon on her! She was also proud of her mommy. It was great!

I’m rather proud too; I have to admit. It was a challenge just to get Fanny finished, and I got hugs from my daughter, plus a ribbon and a Briggs and Little gift certificate to show for it!