You can't have the rainbow without having the rain.....

I had to keep reminding myself these past couple of weeks that "you can't have rainbows without having the rain." I've finally finished my Rainbow shawl and I love it!!! It serves as a visual reminder so that when times get tough, or my body decides to mutiny against me I can wrap myself in color and know that everything will be all right.

I learned a lot during this knitting project. I'm normally more concerned with getting something done or starting something else. I can get pretty distracted and certainly my MS flare-up doesn't help with staying on task. Not to mention while I was knitting the Adara rainbow shawl project this came out so I promptly got the pattern and then went to my LYS with my Christmas gift certificate in hand to get the yarn. Then in the midst of my future knitting planning this came out. All I can say is WOW!!!! I purchased the kit from Kim (who is so very talented and quite nice) and when the yarn arrived I almost cartwheeled through my house (my current lack of intense mobility hindered the ability to cartwheel physically, but mentally I was cartwheeling around the block!). The yarn is so beautiful and both projects are amazing. Needless to say I'm quite obsessed with both the shawl and the scarf especially since there are lots and lots of beads incorporated into the pattern!!! I love beads almost as much as I love yarn so both of these projects have me in a knitting frenzy.

It clearly would have been easy to get distracted but I just kept on knitting my rainbow shawl one stitch at a time. I kept telling myself that as soon as I finished this shawl I could start on one of Susan's projects. She is such an amazing designer and the projects she has "in the works" just blow my mind. I love the fact that not only are her patterns gorgeous but she is also super nice and very active in the forums on Ravelry. It is so nice to like the patterns and the person!

So in the midst of this Rainbow shawl I definitely hit a rough patch of stormy weather and I think it is a small miracle that I didn't abandon the rainbow shawl when I came home from the hospital. The vibrant colors of this shawl really called to me and I was itching to get back to it while I was sick. Even though my knitting was a bit slower it still only needed one stitch at a time. So slowly but surely I continued the project. I'm also thankful that my physical and occupational therapists both thought knitting was a good idea and I've already had my knitting speed back up to its normal pace.

I just had to keep reminding myself that you can't have the rainbow without the rain so even though I hit a rough patch the sky has begun to clear I can enjoy the rainbow in front of me. Now the only dilemma is which project to start next!!

Alpaca Jelly Fish

MS3 is on hold while I've been working on this:

Audrey Scarf - Designed by moi for the Crochet Cafe

I've learned that I'm obsessed with Royal Baby Alpaca yarn from Misti Alpaca. I thought my obsession with sock yarn was bad, but I have a feeling this will get me into more trouble.

I've also learned that if you click the wrong button in your photo tweaking software you can make your scarf look like this:

Alpaca Green Jelly Fish

Now I'm not sure if Misti Alpaca comes in lime green but I'm kind of liking the green/blue bead combination. I think I must click the mystery button more often.....

Tunisian Crochet

So I finally finished my Tunisian crochet poncho. I used a size Q Tunisian Crochet Hook and 3 balls of tartelette yarn. I purchased an extra ball for the fringe but I have lots of it left over. Truth be told I had finished crocheting it quite a while back but I had failed to put the fringe and beads on at the end. While stalling on MS3 I figured I would take the time to put the fringe on so I can wear it to work tomorrow. I really like the way it turned out.

The puppies had a good time helping with the photo shoot. Halle thought it was great fun but Makena was not too impressed with wearing the poncho.

Halle & Makena

This time Halle was a bit more scared of the poncho than of the sock so she rolled over in submission instead of tearing off across the yard with it. I think that she thought we were playing a game of "roll-over" so she kept doing a crocodile roll a bit but at least she didn't start chewing on it. So that was an improvement.

Halle -

Don't worry she looks that idiotic most of the time

As for MS3 I finished chart A of clue one last night and am hoping to make some project on chart B this evening. My goal is to finish Clue 1 by the end of the week. I'm hoping all goes smoothly. If not I have a stack full of unfinished projects I can work on.

two dogs one sock

Sock #1 from the Mountain Colors Family sock pattern is complete. I'm teaching a sock class in a few weeks and I wanted to at least get one sock done as a sample for the store.

The dogs were quite helpful with the last minute knitting this morning. They even wanted to be involved in the picture taking. Shortly after this picture was taken the sock went for a joy-ride around the yard. Aside from being a bit slobbered on it was no worse for wear.

I managed to steer away from my normal crafting ADD while working on this sock. My half finished beaded necklace has been calling my name and my new stamps and inks have been staring at me from across the room, but I have held firm. Thankfully my goal was just to get one sock done otherwise I don't think I could have lasted much longer.

I know some people that won't start a new project until the one they are working on is complete, I am definitely not one of those people. The more projects going on at once the better. At least I have proven that when push comes to shove I can set a deadline and stick to it. Now I get to reward myself with finishing my beaded necklace, or making cards, or starting that new felted bag project, or whatever else pops into my mind.......