Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Horning in on my turf


This is my first year growing tomatoes from seed. So far, I only have one really gigantic tomato to show for it, and a bunch of little ones that are just starting at this late date. Strange. So, there are things that I don't know. For instance, I didn't know it was going to take this tomato more than a month to go from green (I think I posted a picture of it at the time) to the orange-ish color you see here. I think I might as well pick it soon before a) some animal comes along and eats it like they did with my green peppers or b) it ends up with some blight I can't control or c) something completely unforeseen that is entirely likely given that I am an amateur here.

I did know that tomatoes are subject to pests. What I didn't know was how freaked out I would be when I finally saw
one. When this little bastard, and I don't think I am speaking too strongly here showed up on my other tomato plant this morning, I thought, that's it. I'm done for.
I promptly pulled off the stem he is attached to in the photo and took a picture so I could figure out what the hell he was. He is a Tomato Hornworm. And he's a nasty little bugger. And boy did he shoot a lot of juice when I squished him with my shoe. What I can't figure out is where in the world he came from. Is there some sort of worm convention I am not aware of where all the little worms meet-up to find out where the good chow for the season will be? I've never seen anything like this thing and he was huge! I was actually afraid to touch it (highly unusual for me) because of its menacing looking tail on the end. And short of using pesticides, it seems my best bet is removing them and stepping on them. I didn't see any more than this one, but you know, where there is one there is always another.

So, if any of you have any suggestions at all regarding the tomato adventure let me know.

Oh, and also, folks, I added a little map! It's in the upper right hand corner and I would love for you to stick in your pin so I can see where you are from. And there's a link too if you want to get one of your own!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Local Knitting News

Wow! There are a lot of people that are going to be around the next couple of months in our area. Hope lots of you get to take advantage!

Over at Sit N Knit, Candace Eisner-Strick is coming back to teach you how to do her Merging Colors Mobius Capelet on September 17th. The class is a six hour class (and worth every last minute, I can assure you) for $70 + materials. You even get a 20% discount on Candace's Kit for the class. I actually bought the kit when I took a Spring workshop with her. If I weren't out of town that weekend, I would sign up myself!
Visit their site for more info and to sign up for the class.

Marji's Yarncrafts in Granby is also having some exciting events. First, there is the Judy Pascale Beaded Envelope Purse workshop. She uses the same no pre-stringing technique that I did for the beaded wedding purse ( I am going to include some more pictures of said purse at the bottom of this post). It's Friday, October 6 from 9:30 - 2:30 p.m. for $75 and includes a nice lunch. And then, the big news, finally, the Yarn Harlot will be in town!!!!

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee will be the guest speaker (and book signer) for the 2nd annual Fall in Knits Benefit Fashion Event for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, CT Affiliate. The event takes place November 5, 2006 at Granby Memorial High School. Event starts at 2:00 p.m. with an Opening Reception and Fashion Gallery of Fabulous Knits from Interweave Press, Design Source, Reynolds Yarns, Frog Tree, Rowan, Nashua Handknits, and more. Light Refreshments and door prizes. Tickets are only $25 and they are on sale September 15th. Get your books ahead of time to have them signed.

And finally, at Creative Fibers in Windsor, Melissa Leapman is coming for a weekend workshop. For those of you not familiar with Melissa Leapman, she is a widely published sweater designer whose patterns have appeared in Vogue Knitting, KnitterĂ‚’s, McCallĂ‚’s, Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, Knit It!, and Interweave Knits magazines. Leapman has worked as a freelance designer for many leading ready-to-wear manufacturers, noted design houses, and major yarn companies. In addition, her knitting, crochet, and design workshops are extremely popular with crafters at all skill levels. The workshop will take place October 14th and 15th. Saturday 9-12 is Cable Ready, 1-2 is a book signing, 2-5 are Celtic Cables. On Sunday, 9-12 is Knitting on the Edge, Beautiful Borders and then 1-4 is Crochet for Cowards. The price is $60 for each three hour session.

And finally, just some more photos of the purse . . .

Why we won't ever be safe and why we will just have to get over it

Three, maybe four days prior to the latest terror plot, I had a conversation with my mother (a flight attendant for a domestic carrier that flies internationally) inquiring if she feels any safer than pre-9-11 when we didn't know what we didn't know. And she said no. She said no because she sees things on a daily basis that the rest of us don't see. She hears stories about people on watch lists that aren't really being watched because TSA, Customs, and the FBI still are not doing a great job of talking to each other. She hears stories of other observant flight attendants who happen to notice suspicious persons, mention them to customs and low and behold, those two guys were on a watch list. Because that's ultimately the issue, it's up to all of us. And that is why we won't be safe.

We won't be safe for a lot of reasons but the biggest one is that we aren't observant enough and it's us who are "on the ground" in the whole safety game. I had to fly from Hartford to DC within days of the whole "liquids scare." Quick digression: Did you know that the guys in England hadn't even gotten their passports yet? Seems to me if you are going to imminently attack someone you better have your passport ready. But, I digress. First of all, I was flying on what is called a companion pass, meaning standby at a reduced fare. When I checked in with the very nice agent, I had a question about what we could or could not bring on and she couldn't answer it. Why? Because they get no briefings on anything. I know this because I had an extensive conversation with her and she said she is actually writing her congressman about all of the safety issues she sees every day that are not addressed. And, guess what? I had already gone on the TSA site the night before I left and their last updated info was from March. Way to help out the already stupid public.

I get to security and there is no one there. Which is weird enough in and of itself. I had checked anything resembling a liquid so I got right through. Then, they were doing random bag checks at the gate. I think this was only because the flight was going to DC. And it's random. And guess what, no one likes the idea of profiling, but all this random screening doesn't do sh$$ because the last time I checked Shea O'Sullivan with his red hair, green eyes and milky white skin wasn't the one blowing people up. (And don't talk to me about Oklahoma City, I'm talking post-9-11 here).

They don't allow you to take any liquids through security. Then they don't allow you to take any liquids you purchased in the "sterile" area on the plane. Why don't they just say what they mean? We can't guarantee your safety at all so we are going to put all these piecemeal, totally lacking in common sense measures in place so you average joes think you are safe when in reality you aren't and we don't know what we are doing. And we don't know what we are doing because all of our measures are reactive not proactive. And we don't want to inconvenience you too much because we know you'll stop flying and completely destroy the airline industry. Hello, El-Al on line one with some security ideas for you.

It was even funnier flying out of DC. I was sniffed. Have you been in those bomb sniffing machines yet? They blow air all over you and supposedly can sniff out if you've been near some sort of explosives in the past few days. Yeah. Am I the only one who sees all of this as just utterly stupid? They can't get a freaking x-ray machine to work, which is why they have bag checks. Their metal detectors don't work either which is why they then wand you and apparently that doesn't work either because then they have to pat you down. Is there anything at the airport that works? And also, the sniffer is totally random and you know, I'm highly suspicious looking so obviously I need to be in the line that has the sniffer.

Not to mention, why in the hell are they even letting us in the airport with liquids. I walked in with my Starbucks. And guess what? I could have blown up the entire airport according to them with my coffee cup and a clandestine meeting with someone carrying a water bottle. You could kill a lot more people at the airport on the ground than in the air even. And don't get shitty with me that I am mentioning this and giving a terrorist ideas. Because guess what? If you have read the parts about what you are allowed to take on planes, TSA has already informed these a-holes what to do. As in, as long you disguise it as breast milk or four ounces of cough syrup you can still accomplish your dastardly deeds.

But we won't be safe because we aren't paying attention and we don't want to do what will ultimately have to be done (like profiling) because we find it inconvenient or politically incorrect. We are waiting for the government to protect us and what are they doing? The equivalent of "ignore the man behind the curtain." We listen to them saying do this and you'll be safe. Leave your Blistex at home or in your bag and you'll be fine. And we're swallowing it. Bill Maher had a great point over the weekend: when they start planting bombs in hairdos, like the sheep we are, we'll show up to have our heads shaved. Everyone but my yiayia who wouldn't give up her beehive for an all expenses trip to a destination of her choice.

The bottom line is, we aren't safe. We may never be again. But guess what? We weren't really safe in the first place. We just thought we were. Ask anyone living in an area that is frequented by bombs and terrorists and they will tell you, they still have to go about their daily lives. Is fear a part of their lives? Of course it is, but they are living in a situation we can't even dream of. We're worried about getting blown up on a plane which has happened once in the entire history of aviation. They are worried about getting blown up buying milk for their kids. We have to be vigilant, we have to be observant, but for the love of God, we have to exercise some common sense.

Monday, August 28, 2006

More great news from Astrid

I've mentioned Astrid of Astrid's Dutch Obsessions before. This site should be bookmarked in your cache and you should definitely sign up for the newsletter as she seems to almost constantly be having a sale, on top of prices that are already great. And, don't forget, she sends dutch chocolate which rocks.

Right now, she is doing free shipping on all Addi's worldwide (and she ships fast and the Addi's are cheap). Plus, the bamboo Addi circular's are 25% off. And she's doing some buy Gedifra get a slightly damaged pattern book free deal.

Very cool!

Sale updates

Just wanted to give you a few sale tips this week.

Kaleidoscope yarns (where I sadly did not have time to visit while in VT; next trip for sure!) is having a 15% off of Manos sale. This yarn is awesome for felting (although some find it expensive to felt). It almost has a bucle-type look when it is finished. And it felts really fast. The sale is on until September 1st.

Webs has a bunch of stuff on sale. Go see. Their site visually is not one of my faves, but they have really good deals on yarn. I already told you how fab the store is! The Noro overstocks are still there also, but I'm not sure what's left and they are still having the summer sale.

Holly, who is determined to put me into debt sent along the Little Knits site; they are having a great sock yarn sale.

And, finally, Royal Yarns has a bunch of yarn on Clearance. It's like the magic word for me. There are a ton of brands in there, so if you have any upcoming projects, you may want to check there first.

If ya'll have any other sales you want me to mention, just pass it along and I will post it.

More later on vacay and everything else fit to print.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Drive By

We just got back from a ton of traveling. Mostly to Vermont. So, I share this picture with you and promise a longer post tomorrow.

All I can say is, Stowe is my kinda town. (giggle, giggle, giggle)

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Yeti knitting


I am starting to have concerns that the dress I am making for Callista may not fit her until she goes to college. I "got gauge" prior to knitting it, but I swear I am off by at least an inch or more. I think the arm holes are going to be enormous. This is the back that I finished the other night. I am already onto the front. I beaded the bottom, and will show you a close-up of that soon. I'm going to bead the front bottom (obviously) and I think part of the pink top. Is it me or do the Berocco patterns make work you don't need sometimes?

Case in point, this dress. I've changed colors and added beads so that's on me. But they want me to crochet the shoulder straps which I find unnecessary. Like this poncho pattern I had from them a couple of years ago. Instead of knitting it in the round, it was a knit it flat, piece it together kind of thing. I'm starting to look at their patterns more like inspiration (when they aren't hideous) rather than something I can use straight out.

Monday, August 14, 2006

One Skein Pal Bounty


I meant to post this sooner, and go thrown off track. When I arrived home on Saturday from our grand Massachusetts Adventure, this fabulous package was waiting for me from my Secret Pal. She's a lovely I tell ya! I'm thrilled she sends me seeds. Just helping the old garden grow. And this yarn is really quite interesting textually and visually. Working on ideas for what I will do with it. Just dandy colors I think.

So, thanks again Pal (and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is so late, my pal must think she has a dud!)

My One Skein Pal project is just about finished, so I'll post it hopefully tomorrow. It would have been finished already except for the fact that last night I figured out that I had dropped a stitch somewhere. Why are they always such a pain in the butt to find. I actually know vaguely where it is. It's about five rows back. So, I am almost finished backing out of that and then it's about 15 more rows until the end. I have got to get it mailed out before Saturday because we are going to VT on Sunday (near Ben & Jerry's). Hey, suggestions welcome for any fab yarn stores up there!

Update on Mimi: She is really on the mend. As the doc who commented mentioned, she is going to be tired for quite a while. We're keeping her low key for this week so that we can keep an eye on her. She seems better otherwise and the attitude isn't quite as bad as it was. Just have to get her in gear because her first day of school ever is 9/5 and I can't get her there fast enough :) Thanks to all of you who sent encouraging comments and notes. This is her second major illness this year (after pneumonia in March) so we have to be extra vigilant.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

What was I expecting?

I don't like to think of myself naive. I've been around the knitting block only for a couple of years, but naive I'm not. I've seen some yarn. I've been to quite a few yarn stores. I haven't yet had the privilege of attending a Stitches mind you, but I shop for yarn like a crazy person a lot of the time.

Yesterday seemed like the prime opportunity to get to WEBS for the first time. It's practically around the corner from Magic Wings. Mimi was sound asleep in the back (update: she is doing much better on the antibiotic, but I'm still concerned, whatever it is, lyme disease in all likelihood, it's kicking her butt, fussy and tired) and Sugar Bear was content to hang out with DH in the car. I grabbed the wallet and nothing else.

First of all, the store itself, is the largest yarn store I've been to. Major wow there already. I think I actually uttered, "dear God!" as I walked in the door. Yarn everywhere. Cones everywhere. Spinning supplies you name it. I think I was in shock because I wandered for at least 10 minutes with my mouth open and an empty basket. I couldn't even analyze the prices because I was just in awe of the volume.

Second, I could have really done some damage in this store. I came away with 4 balls of sock yarn, very nice, not a major swag score but nonetheless, nice.Sugar Bear has already claimed the brighter colors for socks. I have failed to knit her socks as of yet so I need to get on that. I am working on her purple dress though, so it will have to be after the purple dress.

But, it was the open door to the warehouse that caused the beginning of my utter lack of ability to speak or process. ROWS of yarn and cones of yarn and exploding boxes everywhere. It was the kind of thing where as opposed to walking around in horror with your mouth open and wanting to scream, it was like the Beatles reuniting in front of your eyes and Paul singing right to you. You want to scream and cry and laugh all at the same time.

I'm stunned I only came away with four balls, but I think it's the kind of thing where you have to have a plan before you go. And you can't have anyone waiting for you in the car. There were several husbands in the store just sitting and reading, but I kept thinking, unless you are incapable of driving or the man himself knits, why would you bring a husband to such a place?
I mean, this is not a place where you want a significant other monitoring your spending. I wished that I had more projects in mind so I could just go crazy, but a) the stash is significantly large right now and b) it's not like I have time for a ton of projects right now. But, they are only an hour or so away, so I will be back.

They're having a sale right now, so go, get your knit on (especially NORO).

Magic Wings


We took the kids up to Magic Wings and Yankee Candle yesterday. I hesitate to say out loud that I had never been to Yankee Candle as it seems to be some sort of sin in this part of the world. So, while I'm at it, I'll go even farther to say, they aren't even my favorite candle (oh, the horror). We saw some of the most amazing butterflies. I had at least four of them land on me as you can see by the fab pic. This one actually did not want to get off of me. At least it was in a better spot than the one who landed on a guy's lip and was there for at least 10 minutes. Talk about tickly.

Sugar bear was a little miffed that none landed on her, but it's not like you are allowed to reach out and touch them (thank goodness) to get them on you. I'm starting to have concerns that my children are in desperate need of more time at the farm. They both tried their hands at milking these art cows. Sugar Bear actually said, "look, it's a girl, we can milk her!"

And, I need to gather my thoughts to post about WEBS, the largest knitting store I have ever been to which actually frightened me silent. Yarn is my friend, yarn is my friend, yarn is my friend.

And here are just a few more lovely butterfly shots for your enjoyment (from top to bottom (I think), the Malachite, the Cairns Birdwing, and the Indian Leaf (which really does look like a leaf when it is closed up).

Friday, August 11, 2006

In memoriam


Linda let me know that sadly, You Knit What has decided to hang up their snarky comments on fug. I can understand, this blogging thing can be all consuming. In their honor, I post this lovely picture. We're unclear as to whether or not the frightened look on her face has something to do with the sweater or the bizarre sort of dance she is doing. Devo meets Bananarama. And is it a rip off of the Diva sweater? Perhpas if she weren't trying to whip herself into a custard freeze we would know.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Dishcloths oh my!

So here's the post about the vacay knitting, it's not exciting like the bag, but it's finished. I ended up giving the dishcloth to my grandmother to try out and the Mason-Dixon ball band dishcloth became a hand towel by doubling it in size. Of course, now everyone wants one. Sounds like the beginning of Christmas present knitting to me . . . I did work on the One Skein scarf also, but I have no pic to show yet.

I've had a little problem on my hands. Mimi got bit by something while we were at the lake. Think it was probably a tick but not totally sure. It has gotten worse as the week wore on, and now it's pretty damn bad as these pics will show you. We've been to the doctor, she's on an antibiotic, but I am still not sold on the fact that it's lyme disease. If it grows in size (we finally drew a ring around it tonight at the on call doc's suggestion), we'll know more. She's got a high fever and all the flu-like symptoms so it may very well be that it is lyme disease, but when you look at a lot of the spider pics online, it looks more like that to me. It really is a bummer because she is so utterly miserable and it takes a lot for Mimi to be out. She fell asleep tonight at dinner (at Friendly's; sorry we didn't see you Cindy) in front of a plate of mac n cheese. I don't think I have mentioned this before, but Mimi asks for Mac from the time she wakes up every morning.Obviously, she is sick when she doesn't take even a bite! And she didn't want ice cream. Seriously??

So hold some good thoughts that by tomorrow she is much better, cause it's really starting to freak me out.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Aren't we all sick of it?

I know I promised a knitting post today with vacay knitting, but with all the comments coming our way about the Connecticut primary, you know me, I can't keep my mouth shut.

And I quote Mr. Lieberman, who says he is "going forward because [he's] fed up with all the partisanship in Washington that stops us from getting anything done."

And how sick of that was he before the Democrats in CT said enough is enough? Cause I don't remember hearing about putting partisanship aside at all in the last five years. In fact, I should say four-and-a-half years ago, when 9-11 occurred, that was the last time anyone even thought about putting partisanship aside. And if putting partisanship aside means a rubber stamp for Georgie boy, then I guess I will be even more partisan (if it's possible) than I have previously.

Lamont is a "partisan polarizer?" He's running on the Democratic ticket people, if he's not partisan, he too would not have received the nomination and support of the party. I'm not even sure I like Lamont that much, but I feel betrayed by Joe. I think we all feel betrayed by Joe. Chris Matthews talked of anecdotal evidence last night, based on the stories people were telling him of how, "out of touch" Joe has become with his constituents. Dance with the boy that brung ya Joe...the Democrats don't want you, pick up your ego, and whatever dignity you can salvage at this point, and go spend some time with the grandchildren.

Oh, and regarding the utter nonsense that bloggers crashed his site. I can't speak to the truth or lack thereof of that accusation, but according to the Daily Kos, the Lieberman campaign had their site up for $15/month on a server with over 70 other sites. Can you hear the duh where you are sitting?

The sad part about this is, if Joe hadn't completely lost touch with the party he would still be the Dem nominee. He'd probably be able to affect more change for the better. But, no . . . and now we have three candidates.

Anybody actually know the name of the Republican candidate?

And one more thing, Joe, polarizer is not a recognized word.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

My latest adventure in knitting stupidity

So, I am signing up for Sock Wars. No really, I have lost my mind. Don't know what the sock wars are , well, here is the link. (Holly, don't hurt yourself when you sign up for this, I think you will make an excellent assassin)

The gist of the deal is this. Once you sign up, they send you the name of someone you have to "assassinate" by sending them a finished pair of socks before the person who has you sends you a finished pair of socks. If you are successful, they are dead and they then send you, their partially finished socks and the name of their person whom you are now trying to kill. This all makes at least a little more sense on the sock monkey site.

I say that I have lost my mind because if you have been following along like good friends, you realize that I have not finished my socks from my first shipment of Blue Moon Rockin Sock Club. Um, yeah. Not like I can't whip out a pair of socks (especially now that the beaded bag is finished and I am halfway through my one-skein project), but I bet whoever is out to "kill" me will knit faster and I'll get some pattern I have a hard time with. At least I'll be getting some custom socks out of it, right? As soon as I get confirmation, I'll put up the Sock Wars button so you can all play along with me.

And pics tomorrow from vacay and some finished knitting (not nearly as exciting as said beaded bag).

Monday, August 07, 2006

Democratic Primary

Even though I am on vacay with the fam, I am still thinking of all of you.

Sappiness aside, if you are a registered democrat, get yer arse to the primary tomorrow. I am openly endorsing Ned Lamont (albeit late) for several reasons. One, you've got to love those quirky television ads. I think the dork factor is really working for him.

Two, are you kidding me Mr. Lieberman? I'm pretty sure you were part of the presidential election where the vote was so close because Ralph Nader helped to split the democratic party vote. Remember that? Remember how the Democrats lost control of the White House? Yes, potentially we could lose a deomcratic senate seat because of your ego, because if you lose tomorrow you are unwilling to back down and support whomever the party chooses. Drop the ego Joey boy, it really doesn't work for you.

Three, the fact that two of my Republican (ahem) friends/family think supporting him is a good idea. That in and of itself has been a kicker for me.

Four, Lieberman is counting on losing this election. Love that negativity. Why else would he have canceled his get out the vote efforts (I know this for a fact)? Why else are we not able to get an honest answer about petition efforts?

And finally, if Lamont can handle Colbert, what can't he handle?

Friday, August 04, 2006

Secret No More

Thanks for your patience with my sometime mention of my top secret knitting project. It's big reveal time as I am finally giving it to my friend Jen, for her wedding.

A little history . . . Jen's my girl. We met in VA at the restaurant where I also met my husband. Ironically, though we seemed to know all of the same people, we never met. We've been friends now for 14 years or so and I was blessed to have her in my own wedding. And now, I am blessed to be celebrating her joyous event with her and her fiancee next month.

I thought of making a wedding shawl, like the lovely Donna had made for Robin, but September in DC is more like Indian Summer so the chances of needing a shawl were slim and none. So, I moved on to accessories and decided on a lovely beaded bag. Two things: I had never beaded before and I didn't have a pattern for a bag.

But, the talented Cindy Grosch had a pattern AND showed me how to put them on the stitch without having to pre-string the 1800+ beads that I needed to use for the project. I definitely altered the pattern, once on purpose by making it a wee bit larger and once by accident in that I had the beads placed differently than she said to. Not sure what part of the pattern I screwed up there :)

I had to make tubular handles and was supposed to put a wooden dowel in each but didn't like how the dowels stretched the yarn and beads. Enter the Magic Wands. No, I haven't gone off on an acid trip. Someone had given my daughters these two rather inexpensive magic wands (I don't want to imply they were cheap, just less expensive than the highway-robbery ones we usually get from Disney) and one had already fallen apart leaving a clear plastic solid tubing behind. Well, the second wand had a happy little accident, right after I figured out how perfect the first magic wand was for the space.
My lovely friend Patty, who has sewing skills that I do not posses, was kind enough to sew in a lining for me and voila! It is finally an FO. I will post more photos of Jen with the purse as I think that it needs to be seen in situ to be appreciated. These photos do it absolutely no justice as is evidenced by the ooo-ing and ahhhh-ing that happens when people see it in person.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Mimi's Curve Ball

We're headed to VA today for vacay and DH is staying behind so naturally, he wanted the babies to sleep with us last night for last minute snuggling. Sadly for him, he was unable to sleep. At 2, he must have nodded off when Sugar Bear kicked him in the head. Then at 5, he began to fall asleep again when he was hit in the face with Mimi's pull-up which bounced off of his head and landed on the floor. She had apparently pulled it off in her sleep and the proceeded to launch it. Do I really need to provide a punch-line here? Thank God, she has been keeping it dry at night.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

No, I didn't flake out

EDIT: I wrote this on Monday. I have been without service since Sunday night. Arrrggghhh!!!! Comcast came today and figured out that the outside cable was damaged. Not totally sure how, but damaged. Five minute job. Just happy that it is all fixed and here we are back online!

I have no idea why my Internet service is down. And due to the fact I didn’t blog over the weekend, I am feeling a wee bit out of touch. I finished the top secret project, wove in the ends and am having a friend of mine who sews do her part. Then I have to do a tiny bit more finishing and the gifting will occur Saturday morning. We’re going to VA on Thursday, but I will just have to blog from there so I can finally show you my most ambitious project thus far.

I’m moving right along with more dishcloths and am getting ready to pick DH’s sweater back up. That and the Socks that Rock. Suffered a near tragedy with them over the weekend. My size 0 needle came out of the heel. I haven’t put the stitches back on, but I am dreading it. Such a pain to get something that small back on the needle. And yet, I don’t use a lifeline. Something must really be the matter with me that I feel so optimistic to think that this won’t happen. And naturally, I didn’t have point protectors on to keep the damn stitches from slipping off. Nah, that would have been the “easy” way out.