This little piggy went to the market..........this little piggy....

APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH...............PLEASE...............BE AWARE!

Stayed home and got to wear hand-knit socks WOOHOO. I LOVE these socks. This is the yarn I showed you the other day posing with Tommy Turtle lusting after it. This is the Proudest Monkey sock yarn from http://www.crashintoewe.etsy.com/ I can't even begin to describe how much I love this yarn. This colorway is my favorite. I am not sure what I see is what you see, but with me, if I can see it, I am VERY happy. The color hues in this are not of the same tone so this leaves a step variation that I can see separate. So far, everyone in my household wants a pair in this colorway. The pattern is just my normal basic 2x2 rib and stockinette stitch foot with the square heel. I am finding myself going back to the square heel instead of doing the short row heel. Now personally, I was VERY against learning the short row heel way (I'm funny like that LOL) I learned how to knit socks the traditional heel way and I do NOT adjust well to change...........Maybe all those years of dealing with Mr. Mann has rubbed off on me OR better yet, maybe I rubbed off onto Mr. Mann.........ohhhh no, poor kid *wink*. Anyways, I finally decided to try the short row, I had a bit of a time catching onto it and finally, I did. I started to perfect the gusset holes and adapt my own personal spin onto it and began liking it. I then decided it was faster to knit than traditional heel and guess what I did. Yep, I decided to time it. I made 2 pairs of socks, both with the same stitch, same yarn, same needles, everything the same. I then timed each sock from start to finish of the the heel. Once I finished the decrease stitches in the heel, I then stopped the timer. This is what I came up with. The traditional heel, from start to finish point took 17.5 minutes. The short row heel , from start to finish, took 11.7 minutes. So my thoughts were right, the short row WAS indeed faster. That sealed the deal for me, I started doing ALL my socks that way. After several pairs for each child and several pairs for myself, I started noticing that not only were the kiddies constantly tugging at their socks, so was I. The sock heels were continually slipping down. This was starting to drive me insane. What was the problem, why was this happening? Could it be the sock yarn was not worthy? Could it be that when pulling the socks on over the heel, the yarn stretched and was then unable to gain it's recovery therefore causing poor fit and slippage? That COULDN'T be it. I then made an effort to use some of the sock yarn I have that contained some nylon thinking that the recovery would be better. End result, no different. This was LITERALLY driving me batty. I couldn't stand the sloppiness this was giving my socks that I work so hard to make. So I decided to do yet another study. The fit of both heels. I will spare you the photo intense theory BUT this is the conclusion, the short row heels fit just under the actual heel the fit is shortened and bent to just make it slide off of your heel. The square heel (traditional) actually cupped your heel, causing a little covet for your heel to set into, this is why your sock doesn't slide down, the fit of the heel. So where does that leave me? I went right back to the traditional heel, the time it saves by doing the short row heel gets eaten up by constantly tugging at the socks to pull them up. This makes all the work going into the socks futile at best. This would cause me to slide the socks to the back of the drawer and grab another pair that doesn't fall or slip. That does NOBODY any good. In the weeks to come, I will be trying new techniques for heels. I have been gifted all these new amazing sock yarns (one photo to follow, compliments of my knitter friend Jen) Jen will be making her own blog here shortly and I am soooo happy, she is the one who bugged ME to make a blog and SHE didn't even have one LOL. So, be ready for a link when she is done. She is an AMAZING knitter/sock designer. She has just recently started designing sock patterns and I must say, they are really pretty. Way to go Jen. Look for her work to show up in some (not mentioning any names) online knitting magazines!! I just found this out and I think I am more excited than she is LOL kidding, she is pretty pumped LOL

Ok, onto some more yarny goodness. This next snazzy little number is the ever popular Sahara. I have been eyeing this for a little under a year, never really settling one way or another on should I get the pattern or not. FINALLY I decided to get it. I just couldn't get it out of my head. I think this pattern is so lovely. It is VERY flattering although the top is a little lower than what I would wear, I have the solution for that, a lacy little cami under it. I now need to settle on the yarn to get for it. I have a few in mind but am not 100% sure on any yet. The Tilli Thomas yarn is just a bit to pricey for me and a little impractical. The beads are not important to me, Sometimes that kind of embellishments turn me completely off. So, now my new mission will be to find a yarn for this. This will make my summer knitlist complete. I wanted to knit myself 2 summer garments this year and I finally settled on the two ;) I make socks all year round and of course I knit the kids socks and sweaters and hats,scarfs, and the such but I really don't make

myself alot other than socks. So last year I decided I would make myself 2 items with every season change. It didn't have to be large or overwhelmingly difficult, just something that I like. That is how I came to this conclusion:)

This is the yarn that Jenn sent me. I have not knit with it yet but it feels really soft. The colorway says Militia. I think I am going to make King1 a nice pair of ribbed socks out of it. I'll keep you posted on it's progress:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following is in regard to Autism Awareness. Feel free to skip if this does not interest you...........but I hope you read it anyways.

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests
There are three distinctive behaviors that characterize autism. Autistic children have difficulties with social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests. These behaviors can range in impact from mild to disabling.

Autism varies widely in its severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps. Doctors rely on a core group of behaviors to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of autism.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is one of the federal government’s leading supporters of biomedical research on brain and nervous system disorders. The NINDS conducts research in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland , and also awards grants to support research at universities and other facilities.
As part of the Children’s Health Act of 2000, the NINDS and three sister institutes have formed the NIH Autism Coordinating Committee to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH’s autism research. Eight dedicated research centers across the country have been established as “Centers of Excellence in Autism Research” to bring together researchers and the resources they need. The Centers are conducting basic and clinical research, including investigations into causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment, such as the studies highlighted below:
investigators are using animal models to study how the neurotransmitter serotonin establishes connections between neurons in hopes of discovering why these connections are impaired in autism
researchers are testing a computer-assisted program that would help autistic children interpret facial expressions
a brain imaging study is investigating areas of the brain that are active during obsessive/repetitive behaviors in adults and very young children with autism
other imaging studies are searching for brain abnormalities that could cause impaired social communication in children with autism
clinical studies are testing the effectiveness of a program that combines parent training and medication to reduce the disruptive behavior of children with autism and other ASDs .

The above information is from the website :http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

Please take a few minutes each time your on the Internet this month and check out some of the sites that are being published this month. This disorder is life changing for the families it touches. If you know someone who has a child that has just been diagnosed, please, don't shy away from them. You may think they need time or their space to deal with this blow. I can tell you from experience, they need friends too. They need some sense of normalcy to stay consistent in their lives. Their lives are being tossed around and upside down, having friends who want to be there, it helps in ways that can't be expressed. It is emotionally, physically and spiritually draining to delve into this disorder. It is hard to accept that the child you love fiercely and the child you want the best for, will not go down some of the same roads that his/her peers will go down. It is hard to hear or watch a child that is neuro-typical playing with the kids next door, when you know that your child is physically unable to interact that way. You cry for all that your child will miss, all that your child will never know, and all that you cannot give your child. Then there comes the point where you stand up, brush yourself off, and look to your friends for support. I know for myself, I know that in time, there WILL be more help available for my son and many like him. I know that in time, there WILL be more research being done. I know this because I promised my son that we will not stop until we make a difference! Help me make a difference, please tag your blog with April is Autism awareness month. Just the fact that people will read it and look into it on their own is like moving mountains. At your next luncheon with your friends, ask them if they have ever heard of Autism. The thing that blows me away the most is that if you look and listen, more people either have someone in their family that has been diagnosed OR they know someone who has been diagnosed. It is frightening to know that this disorder is becoming so prevalent, we have to ask ourselves WHY, what is going on that is attacking these children and their families! When we figure that out, maybe we will figure out a cure!

Thanks for reading and thanks for caring. Mr. Mann and myself are VERY grateful!

We'll do it.....we'll do it together Mr. Mann, remember, even if it takes one family at a time, we WILL do it.
I love you buddy, you truly are my inspiration.