I'm soooo spoiled!

Well I knew I had the bestest best friend in the world, but today was one of proof of that. Firstly, she made me cry... She blogged about me and I got all weepy! http://lyzsthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-day.html Of course I texted her to give her what-for for making me cry!! LOL! Next, I came home to both of the parcels I was expecting; my KP order (see tomorrow's post), and a gifty one from her. Now, I *was* expecting it, and I knew a *few* of the things that were going into it, but she out-did even herself!!!! As I got to the bottom of the box, I got all weepy again!

In August, she had gone to the Mary Maxim tent sale. I had asked her to look for some specific items for me. A cute, golfing Santa felt stocking kit was one. I had been kicking myself for months for not ordering it last year when I first saw it, as it had disappeared from the catalogue *and* website. It was the perfect item for Derek, and I had already purchased several similar kits a few years ago (one of which I mentioned back in October that I was working on it). Another was some Starlette yarn in a few colours so I could swatch with it for an afghan design I'm working on. Starlette is the only line of reasonably-priced machine-washable worsted yarn that has all 11 colours I need for this design. There were also 2 Harmony crochet books (the old ones!) which were the main reason she sent this when she did... I had whined about how in my now vast library of reference books, I had nothing to assist me in designing a crochet lace shawl!!! That's what I knew about!

Next there were several items I vaguely remember her mentioning at one point or another. There's some plain and purply-pink roving for thrums. The purply-pink should work perfectly with the rose and lavender Briggs & Little Regal I bought in the spring for thrummed mitts, and of course, natural goes with everything. There was the Creative Knitting special issue, Techniques, Tips & Tricks. CK is one of the (very) few knitting magazines that I consistently enjoy the projects from, so this was a must-have issue for me... and of course locating it here was impossible (until *after* she bought me a copy!). I dug out a ball of Mary Maxim Bamboo sock yarn... I forgot about that one! I have been purchasing samples of the various wool sock yarns from there, and due to the fibre content, hadn't tried this one yet. The colour she chose is like a rose garden of pink, purple, peach, and green... too nice for *just* socks IMO!!! One other item rang a bell... very soft ring mind you, but a ring nonetheless... a hank of a blue sherbet-like semi-solid hand painted sock yarn, packaged in a parfait cup (more like a slurpee, but that's splitting hairs!). It was for a cancer fund raiser a couple years back. Very cute and very smooshy!

Then came the complete surprises... A blue-grey-black ball of Mary Maxim Bounce, another sock yarn I hadn't tried yet, a *huge* stack of mostly colour-work patterns (I'm *really* needing a KP Palette sampler after looking through them!), a 101 stitch book of crochet stitches for afghans, and 2 *nearly* identical balls of deep blue jacquard sock yarn. Those 2 made me step back for a moment. The yardage on them is huge!!! 440m/ 481yds each! One ball should make even Derek a pair of socks *nearly* to the height he prefers! I later found out that it was in a bin for $2 each!!! I remembered seeing the *really* cheap sock yarn emails from Mary Maxim in the late summer, but this was still surprising... $2 for sock yarn that doesn't feel like it by any means! Usually you get what you pay for, but even Walmart charges more than that for a single pair of socks!!!

I've saved the very best for last... the item that made me cry, and truth be told, has me welling up as I write this. I could not believe my eyes when I pulled out a hank of "Cashmara" sock yarn in Petrol out of the mix. I remembered looking over the website that sold it (sorry, no linky) when Liz was ordering parts for her sock machine. She was doing to me what I do to her CONSTANTLY... making **me** look at yummy yarny goodness to help **her** pick out colours! Sock yarn wasn't the purpose of her order, the parts were, but she wanted some sock yarn too. I totally understood, as my KP orders have been mostly tools and reference, with yarn as an afterthought. I remember looking at the various yarn lines and colours, and how this one colourway grabbed me immediately. Even though the pics she sent me of her stash had a lot of these colours already, this combination was just too good to pass up.

All I remember clearly about that day is the two of us emailing back and forth (as always) and discussing the pros and cons of various colours. I also remember being so happy for her for having her machine finally, and looking forward to when she was practised enough with it to trust *good* yarn such as this to it. I've always lived vicariously through many of the things she does and can do that I can't. As jealous as I am of her being able to "crank out a sock" now, I also know that, for me, making nothing but stockinette, short row heel socks, is not what I want to do with my stash. Derek prefers his ribbed worsted weight Tuffy socks, and I like making patterns with nearly any yarn I have. Plus, heel flap socks are what work best for both of us! Regardless, I can't wait to see her socks once she gets off the current quilting marathon she's on! I love ya Liz!!!

Nicole =o)

PS: The Cashmara feels as good as it looks... it's not "too good" for socks, and not "too rough" for a wearable accessory... the perfect combination in any sock weight yarn!!!

Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Still recovering...

Well I'm still recovering from this weekend's "migraine from hell". At least when I was younger, I had usually had some fun to deserve this kind of recovery pain! Not much got done around the house, but I *did* get some knitting done in between naps. The daily quota on the Monsterghan has been exceeded, and the ribbing is done on the Nearly Instant Gratification socks. I'm really enjoying knitting with Felici as much as I enjoyed squishing it in the ball when it arrived. I'm expecting a *very* comfortable pair of socks!

Nicole =o)

Recovering from a migraine...

Yesterday was *not* a good day for me... I had one of my crippling migraines. I've only been getting them the last few years, but they have been increasing in both frequency and severity. Unfortunately I haven't found out what all my triggers are, but the worst one is barometric pressure changes. Well the weather has been *very* variable lately, with snow off and on for about a week now. I had it when I first woke up, but I popped a few Tylenol, thinking that it was simply one of the headaches I frequently wake up with. This was not the case, but I didn't discover this until we were already in town for the day, and I didn't have any meds with me. Of course, to make matters worse, Derek had to work late, so I was stuck waiting (and suffering) for over an hour. By the time we finally did get home, I wasn't able to function on even the slightest level. Meds and a 4 hour nap later, I could at least move, albeit slowly, without feeling like I was about to die!

When I woke up this morning, the ache was down to a dull roar, so I could start working, at least a little bit. I managed to get a few rows of the monsterghan done, as well as starting a pair of socks out of some of my Felici. Add in some major Rav updates and catching up on the forums, and you have my day!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Have you seen this bag?

I recently was made aware of several thefts of designer's samples at some trade shows. It's shocking how much nerve it takes to do something like this, especially considering how unique and recognizable these items are.

This particular bag (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fulfillment) is an especially intricate work of art. Many of the designers on Ravelry are doing whatever they can to get the word out. This bag was stolen from the yarn company's booth at Rhinebeck. If you have seen this bag, please contact the designer, or contact me and I can put you in touch with her. Thank you!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

The productivity of avoiding work!

It's amazing how much I get done when I'm avoiding doing something that I know *has* to get done! That was the name of the game today! I did all kinds of things to avoid working on the monsterghan! About 4 complete loads of laundry, my bedroom cleaned, several rounds of "Age of Mythology", plus other assorted tidying-up jobs! I even organized the leftover balls of yarn from Melissa's afghan, and got that project properly set up in its own shopping tote.

I didn't *completely* avoid my knitting, however. From the time yesterday's picture was taken, I've gotten another 20 rows done. That's another square's worth of rows. I had already done more than my daily quota of 10 rows when the picture was taken, so I'm progressing quite nicely.

Tomorrow is an "in town" day, and I'm *really* hoping to get some major updating done on various things. The shortcomings of this phone can really be annoying at times!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

You ought to be in pictures... I hope!

Well wish me luck! I'm using this post to test my ability to add pictures to a post via email, and to see what happens to them!

I've been slogging away on the monsterghan all day, finishing almost one complete square's worth of rows. I desperately want to work on some designing, so this *has* to get finished quickly. I'm also waiting for 2 parcels to arrive. Hopefully Monday since tomorrow is a holiday, and I'm in town on Tuesday.

*If* the pictures work, please forgive the poor quality, as they were taken with my phone. One is of me hiding behind it to hold it up and show how big it is so far. The other is meant to show the colour and pattern better, along with a peek at our kitten, Spooky.

Nicole =o)

The monster rears its ugly head...

Well this monster isn't ugly, but would "The monster rears its soft and squishy head" been as dramatic?

After a couple days' break, I'm back working on the monsterghan again. It's nice seeing the tote bag I'm using for this project being filled more with "afghan blob" than "there's *HOW* many more balls of Homespun left"! I'm still not halfway through the yarn I purchased but I do think that I can say that I *am* more than halfway done.

This afghan is getting heavier and heavier all the time. Each ball of yarn is 170g/ 6 oz. That means that it currently weighs over 850g/ 30 oz. Its gonna feel like a quilt by the time its done! I do have to say that it sure is great for keeping the chill off of me while I'm working on it. We have snow now, and even though the furnace is on, the house still feels cold.

I *really* need to get this afghan finished soon. The design muse is shouting at me and I *really* need to be able to listen better. I've gotten more than my *quota* of 10 rows done today, so I think I'm gonna call it a night.


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Be afraid... be *very* afraid...

Sorry folks, but this is yet *another* video game themed post! If you are completely against war/ violence video games, please read no further. There are no spoilers or graphic descriptions, as this is an editorial comment rather than an actual review.

Today was the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Derek has been looking forward to this ever since August or so when we first found out about it and put the deposit down on our copy. I *have* tried to play previous versions but I suck worse at "first-person shooter" games than I do at golf!!! (Trust me... that's saying a LOT!) However, Derek is really into this series, and is fairly decent at it too.

I was a "good wife" and picked up our copy of the game and the strategy guide while I was in town today. I know we could have picked it up after work as EB Games is just down the hill from his work, but that would have made him lose at least 30 minutes of potential playing time tonight! That's just not acceptable with a brand new game! LOL!

Well I saw something when he was loading the game for the first time that gave me a double-take. Keep in mind that this is a very violent game. The creators take pride in producing life-like graphics, and the 17+ rating is more than deserved. There was a warning for "Inappropriate or possibly offensive content". The game doesn't reveal any details of what type of content, but it does give you the option of skipping over it with no losses in achievements and the like.

If a game of this type offers this kind of warning, and the ability to skip it without penalization... just *how* offensive *is* this content?

I'm afraid... I'm *very* afraid!!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

It's a four letter word ya know!

Snow... Four letters and just as nasty as the ones your mother used to wash your mouth out with soap for!

We got our first real snow of the year yesterday, and it's still here today! A bit of it melted on the road but it's still covering our lawn and everything else. Only a couple of centimetres (if that), but that's all it takes!

Unfortunately, these drastic weather changes trigger massive migraines for me. So today has been declared an "on the couch" day with the curtains closed. I'll be the one over there --> whimpering under the blanket... Our DVD player has decided to act up too, so I don't even have any TV to veg out to!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Did you change your clock?

For most people in North America, this morning saw the end of Daylight Savings Time for this year. At our house, that means a *lot* of clocks need to be reset! My phone, and our laptops do it automatically. Derek's and the girls' phones have to be rebooted to recognize the change. The digital clocks on the microwave, coffee maker, and alarm clocks are relatively easy to do. Then there's the two wall clocks in the living room, and the one in the kitchen. I like to clean them whenever I take them down, so that's an additional step in the process.

I *thought* I had slept in until about 9:30 this morning until I checked my phone instead of the wall! The "extra" hour is pretty much taken care of with checking every clock!!! I spent most of the rest of the day playing "Age of Mythology", so I didn't accomplish anything at all on my knitting today!! However, I'm getting better at AOM, so it's time to add more opponents or increase the difficulty, or both! It's a nice diversion from my work, and a nice change from either my novel or DS.


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

So much to do!

It seems like the more I try to concentrate on one project, the more things that come up that require immediate attention!

If you have been following my writing lately, you know that my shawl design-in-progress (DIP) is what I want to work on the most. I am about 4 repeats into it, and I'm still liking it, although I *am* wondering a bit about it. That's the main reason I have been able to focus on the monsterghan.

When I measured the monsterghan yesterday, it was approximately 40 inches long. The overall width is 60+ inches as my circular needle is that length, and the afghan is wider than that. I declared to my best friend that I was about half done at that point. I've gotten nearly another square done on it today.

Now I also have orders for a pair of men's socks, and two pairs of slippers to be done. I have no choice but to get the monsterghan done before anything else, as this project was commissioned at the end of May. My designs are a big priority for me too, as I'd like to have my knitting and crocheting to be self-supporting at the minimum.

Well tonight I was commissioned to get a tree skirt done as well! I only have one pattern written up for that, and I'm not certain if it will serve the purposes I need. *sigh* So I have yet *another* design to work on!!

When it rains it pours!!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

And we're off!!! err... on... Casting on that is!

Now it's time for the next step in this design... choosing the yarn and casting on.

My Ott light is invaluable when it comes time to pick and choose colours. Especially at this time of year, natural light is difficult to come by. I pulled out the two colours of yarn, Doe and Kenai in Knit Picks Gloss fingering, and held them side by side. I called up a close-up of the prayer shawl and decided that the jade colour of the Kenai would be the best fit for my design.

Now that my yarn is chosen, I *still* don't get to cast on yet! The yarn comes in hanks so I have to ball it up. I don't have a ball winder or swift so that process is done by hand. In my limited experience with Knit Picks yarns, this has been an extremely painless experience. The yarn doesn't seem to know how to tangle!

After the yarn has been transformed into a ball, I decided on a needle size, and assembled one. I had a few ideas on the set-up and fiddled around a bit until I found something that worked, and looked how I wanted. I worked it up until one full repeat was completed.

This is where I left it at so that I can "think on it" for a little while and decide if I like how it's turning out.


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Still in the planning stages...

The next step for this design is the graphing. Since I already have a stitch pattern picked out, I don't have to make sample swatches of various stitches to help me in the decision making process.

Call it "Old School" if you like, but I like using pencil, eraser, and graph paper for creating my draft charts. My laptop is often one of the final tools I use in the pattern writing process.

I made a rough draft of the stitch repeat. The book this pattern comes from doesn't provide charts, and does decreases different from my preferred method. I make these initial alterations while doing the written to charted conversions.

My research has found a generic guide for shawl shapes and designing. Since my intended finished shape isn't a typical triangle, this gives me a starting point to work from. I charted out the formula for my desired shape, but it wasn't working out like I had hoped. I modified/ combined the formulas and charted them until I got one I like.

The final part of the pre-cast-on stages is to choose a yarn. I've already decided I'm using some of the non-superwash Knit Picks fingering yarn I received in some sock yarn samplers. Checking my stash, I find 2 candidates: Kenai, a rich teal colour; and Doe, a light, warm brown.

Stay tuned for the cast on!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

The start of a design...

This is going to be the first in a series of posts about the design process for me. Each project starts out differently, and therefore is designed differently, but this is meant to be an example of one.

About a year ago, a very dear friend of mine became quite ill. She had a liver transplant about 20 years ago, and it was beginning to fail. Derek and I attended the fund-raising social for her, but I felt I still needed to do something. I'd heard of the "Comfort Shawl Ministry" and was compelled to make her one. I went through my stitch books and found one that inspired me. Long story short, I gave it to her and she got better. I really enjoyed the pattern, and kept it in the back of my mind.

This spring I started getting into a real "shawl mood". All I seemed to be able to think of was lace, and shawls, and scarves, and creating that magic that occurs when blocking knitted lace.

I wanted to create a different version of the prayer shawl... different shape, different construction, different yarn weight... basically everything different except for the base stitch. I had remembered an article on shawl design out of one of my magazines, plus did some research online on different shawl shapes and methods.

So after several months of "brain bouncing", and some research, a new design idea starts to take shape. I have some Knit Picks sock yarn that I've ear-marked for shawls, so the next step is choosing which one, and playing with graph paper!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Waiting and slogging; slogging and waiting...

That's what I'm going through right now!

I was able to place a Knit Picks order Saturday before the book sale was over. I have some more references on the way now, along with a shawl kit and lace samplers. Of course there's other goodies too. I'll share (brag) about it all when it arrives later this month.

All this lace weight yarn has got me chomping at the bit to start on some shawl designs. I'm sure I'll be taking a day this week to play around with my stitch books and graph paper! I'm itching to start swatching!

The slogging is on the monsterghan. Now that my pullover is completed, the monsterghan *has* to be my focus. I am committed to having it finished by the end of the month. I measured it on the weekend, and I would guesstimate that I'm around half-done. I would like to do at least 10 rows a day when at home, which is half a "square" in the pattern repeat.

Wish me luck in my goals!!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Single-mindedness

That pretty much describes my mind-set of late... and that's a very good thing! I finished my Tom Clancy novels, all three, last week. I'm looking forward to when the next in the "Jack Ryan" series comes out... It's definitely going on my Christmas list, even though it is a collaborative novel.

My pullover had the last of the seaming and ends woven in yesterday, and the craptastic phone pics we took were uploaded to Ravelry this afternoon. The monsterghan was promptly pulled out of the corner of my bedroom and repaired. I lucked out and it was a very easy fix. I've gotten another 24+ rows knit into it. It's about 32" in length, so I'm nearly at the halfway point. At 176 stitches per row, slogging doesn't begin to describe it, but I'm damned and determined to have it done by the end of November.

I desperately want to start a few projects, but I am trying to be a more monogamous knitter/ crocheter. I have a cardigan I want to do for Melissa, freebie pattern from Mary Maxim and yarn purchased at Ram Wools. I have the yarn for the kids' crocheted monsters waiting, along with the base yarn for Rebecca's Dinoghan. Another one that's screaming to me is the shawl design out of sock-weight wool... I... must... resist!!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Diversions and distractions...

Those have been the key words for this week.

One of the greatest gifts Derek gave me with my "permission to quit working", was that I was no longer expected to contribute to the family financially. This took the pressure off of me entirely in the case of my designing. I didn't have to force myself to come up with ideas, didn't have the stress of worrying about submissions, and everything that goes along with that. One of the other things this freedom does is allow me to pursue other interests as well.

This week hasn't been all *that* productive when it comes to my pullover, but it has been in other respects. I've decided that the piece I'm working is the front. I'm now past the neck division. A couple hours at most is all that's left for that section. I've really only devoted one day to working on it this week.

So what *have* I been doing this week? Mainly reading. I am a huge Tom Clancy fan, and I had 2 new books waiting for me to crack them open. "The Bear and the Dragon" was first on the menu. That one took me just over 2 days to devour. I'm now reading "Dead or Alive", but taking my time with it.

I've also been poking around in my craft room. Jackie and I had the goal of my craft room being "sewing ready" by the time school began, but we failed at that for a variety of reasons. I have a stash of at least 5 felt stocking kits that have been misplaced. No amount of digging and rearranging could locate them. I got a few bins ready for cleaning and reorganizing, and managed to discover one if the kits. That's what I spent the afternoon and evening on today... I forgot how time consuming they can be! It appears I got next to nothing done!

Soooooo... I may have been distracted and diverted this week, but at least I didn't start another knitting or crocheting project!!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Thanks RIM... for nothing!

My friends are used to me calling my phone "the speed bump". Well thanks to a *major* problem with the entire BlackBerry network, I haven't been able to do anything really with my phone for the last day and a half. That means I wasn't able to blog, which tosses me out of the NaBloPoMo contest for the month of October. I'm gonna continue on, as I'm enjoying getting into the blogging habit again.

Stay tuned... I'm working on the armholes and neck of the front of my pullover. I was slightly diverted this week by my books, but this project is still on my high rotation list!


Nicole =o)


Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Here is another episode in my series of stories about my dear husband, Derek.

The summer we were getting ready to move out to the country, I was put on a yarn diet. Not a strict one, but a diet nonetheless. It wasn't hard to stick to as we only had one *real* yarn store nearby then, and the hours made it difficult for me to get there. I never complained, as I knew our finances didn't allow for it, and I had more than enough stash to keep me going. I did buy needles there whenever I could, and got hooked on Addi Naturas!

In March, Derek was sent to Edmonton for manager meetings for his company. I had a wish list of items that I would like for projects I had in mind. I posted in an Edmonton Ravelry group, asking for suggestions for a LYS that would be able to assist him.

Now I trust Derek's judgement in making choices for me. He doesn't immediately look for the cheapest options, but what appeals to him... He even knows to check dye lots, often reminding me to check when we're shopping together! He will pet and squeeze the yarn to see how it feels even. What he doesn't understand is yarn weight and such, and that's what he would need help with.

My list had the yarn requirements for several shawls, blocking wires, lace needles, a couple books and the like. Now for the shawls, I simply stated the weight and length required, and the inspiration. One was part of a series based on the four elements, called Mystic Light, and I simply told him to find yarn that said "light or fire or illumination" to him.

He set off to the LYS, along with his dad and I can't recall who else, list in hand. Now I considered this list to be suggestions only, and by no means did I expect him to get all, or even most, of the items on it. The clerk at the LYS was everything that the Edmonton Rav group said, being extremely helpful. Derek went through my entire list, and everything they had there he bought! His dad was shocked at the $300+ bill, but understood when Derek said how good I'd been on my "diet" and how "this is what she likes to do and it makes her happy".

He didn't tell me that he'd made it to the LYS until he arrived back home. He handed me my list and asked me to read out each item in turn. He was like a magician with a top hat... endlessly pulling out item after item. The yarn choices he made were wonderful, and none of them were even close to *budget* prices! I recall that for one, it was $25 a hank. The amount I needed was about 700 yards and the hank was 600 (or something similar), so he bought 2!! The "Mystic Light" yarn was fantabulous! He chose a gorgeous semi-solid red that screamed "fire" and was a wonderful wool/ raw silk blend that just begged to be handled! He proudly handed me each item, grinning as he saw how thrilled I was. I felt like a little kid at Christmas!

When he completed everything that was on my list that he was able to get, he told me there was still more! He handed me some sock yarn he'd picked out in a brand I didn't have. He remembered that I always try to buy sock yarn from wherever I travel!

It brought tears to my eyes to think of how thoughtful and generous he was, and is. I had been spoiled rotten on this trip! I posted to the Edmonton group to thank them for their help, and to share how great that LYS was... And of course brag about how great Derek was!!!

Nicole =o)

Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

The Ugly Doily

Yesterday's post got me thinking about how lucky I consider myself with my hubby, and all the stories I like to share about him to demonstrate that. Today I will share another one of my favourite stories.

The Ugly Doily

My husband, Derek, and I have been together over 11 years now, but right from the beginning I knew I had a "keeper". He loved everything I made, appreciated all the effort that went into it, and encouraged me greatly in anything I wanted to try. When we'd go out shopping and come home with crochet supplies (I only crocheted at that time), he'd even put the items away for me and in their proper places too... labelled bins are invaluable in that respect!

Two of my favourite crochet magazines were (and still are even though they're now out of print) Magic Crochet and Decorative Crochet. I would purchase them faithfully every month and would always have at least a half dozen doilies I wanted to make out of each one. Derek would often glance through my magazines, although I always thought he was being polite, or just *that* bored!

I had one issue that when I looked through it, it had the usual half-dozen or so WIMs, but there was one pattern that was *sooooo* not my taste. It was the last pattern I would ever make out of that magazine... I wouldn't say that I hated it, but the words "strongly dislike" were a mild indication of my feelings towards that particular design. There was no way I would ever waste my time on that doily... life is too short for working on patterns that I don't enjoy!

Derek did his typical glance through that magazine, and to my surprise, he asked me if I'd make him one of the doilies in it. Of course I said yes! How many men ask their wives to make them a doily?!??! Imagine the look on my face, and the dismay in my heart when he showed me the pattern he wanted me to make for him... that gawdawful fugly design that I'd never *ever* make!!!

Well there's absolutely no way I can say no. This man supports and encourages me in every little thing I do. He loves me and appreciates me for who I am. I *have* to do this for him. Even though he knows at this point now that I don't like the pattern (putting it very mildly for his benefit), I tell him to go pick out the thread he wants for it... remember, he's the one that puts it away when we go shopping so he not only knows *what* it is, but *where* it is too. He dives into my thread bin and proudly pulls out the most gaudy (okay, maybe the second-most gaudy) ball of thread I had in there. It was a loud variegated white-to-navy blue that gave me a headache just to look at it!

What am I to do? He's chosen the worst possible pattern, and the worst possible thread, and I have no choice at all but to grin and bear it. I work on the project for him faithfully, bringing it with me wherever I go to work on... if for no other reason than to get it out of the way as fast as I can! Whenever anyone would stop to look at what I was working on, I would get nothing but compliments about how great a pattern it was and how cool the thread was. It took every bit of self-control I had to simply say "thank you", and nothing more!

This wasn't a small project really. This finished size was to be around 45 cm when done in size 20 thread, and I was doing this one in size 10. I had about 5 cm more to go when the worst possbile thing happened... I ran out of thread. Not only was I being forced to work this horrific pattern, in this headache-inducing thread, but I HAD TO GO BUY MORE!!!! I *did* get the doily finished, ends woven, and blocked out in a decent amount of time. It ended up well over 60 cm in diameter, but then again, doilies never really take me a bunch of time (see my 3-day table topper in my Ravelry projects for an example).

Derek proudly cleaned off his dresser, and that doily has been displayed on there ever since. If it's not there, it's because I've taken it to wash and block it. There have been a few times that I've taken it off to show someone that I've shared this story with, and Derek is always terrified that I'm going to give it away (like 99% of my doilies... you admire it, it's yours!). I could never give that doily away. I affectionately referred to it the entire time I was working on it as "The Ugly Doily", and the name has stuck to this day. That doily is a symbol of my love for him, that because he loves me so much, that I will put aside my personal feelings to do what is the most difficult for me, simply because it is for him.

I love you very much honey, and I am thankful for every day that we have together.

FWIW, there never was anything really wrong with that pattern. No errors, and the chart was easy to follow. It was simply something that didn't appeal to me at all in the least. And it seems that I was about the only one that felt that way. I don't ever recall anyone disliking the pattern other than myself!!