Merry Christmas!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Frogging Friday
03
Dec
Goodbye, St Brigid
By the time you read this, I will most likely have one less sweater in my cedar chest (and a whole bunch of newly washed skeins of Debbie Bliss Merino Aran hanging up to dry).
I loved knitting this sweater. The cables were huge fun, the yarn squooshy and perfect, and the details of the design delightful. It went very fast, at this nice big gauge, and it came out exactly as advertised … which may be the problem.
It’s an in-between length, falling right at hip level – too short for a tunic, too long to wear with jeans. And the wonderful heavy yarn makes it more than warm – I’ve never been able to wear it for a whole day. It would make so much more sense to recycle the yarn for a cardigan.
Have I convinced you yet? I’m still a little nervous, so maybe I’ll sleep on it another night before pulling the plug.
Thankful Thursday
02
Dec
Thank you for the seed we eat
Thank you for the needs you meet
Thank you for the rain and snow
Thank you til the time we go
Running off at the mouth
27
Nov
In an effort to stave off writers block, I purchased a new toy… Dragon Dictate. I am using it now.
So, here I sit in my kitchen, knitting a sock, and blogging. The ultimate multitask. Do I have anything to say? Unfortunately, no. But, it’s kind of cool watching my words translate on the page. The accuracy is amazing! With only 5 min. of training, it’s recognized every word I’ve spoken except Staffan. And once I trained Staffan (the word in the program, not the boy) it’s done very well with it.
Note: apparently I do speak Staffan exactly the same as “put your stuff on the table”.
In knitting news, the elves are busy here. I’m all about the footwear this year. Socks, slippers, you name it, I want to knit it. At last count, three pairs of socks, two pairs of slippers, and one hat have cascaded off my needles in the last three weeks. I have conflicted feelings about giving these away, since almost every pair of handknit socks I own has deteriorated to the point of unusable mess.
(I am going to leave “unusable mess”, and make a mental note to create the word “unusableness”. Which apparently is not an actual word.)
Truly Magic cookie bars
26
Sep
Everybody loves Magic Cookie Bars. I love them especially well, although I’ve cut way back on the sugar and wheat lately I can make an exception for one of these. But now, having found this recipe for gluten-free graham crackers, I hope Lisa can love them again too. The cookie recipe is super easy, too. Click “more” for the full recipe.
Welcome Autumn
06
Sep
September has always been my favorite month. Well, maybe second to October, but way up there in the top 15% of months. Not only for the return of cool weather, sweaters, cider, knitting, bonfires, football, chili, wool socks, and school. (Though that does seem to be enough, doesn’t it?) Read the rest of this entry »
Why can't we have a decent LYS?
24
Feb
I went out to East Rochester yesterday to look for yarn. Unfortunately, the store just isn’t the same under the new ownership. They’ve got a huge sale on, but no extra help; the shelves are arranged poorly; the yarn is all over the place, with no clear method to the madness; nothing has more than 3-4 skeins of each color displayed, but there is no one to look for more. Ugh.
I’d decided on Cascade 220 Heather for Twist. They had some colors, and some heathers too, but almost all browns, oranges & yellows. (Not the pale blue / lilac I was looking for.) There were some medium purples, and navy, but none of these would do. Besides, nothing had more than a couple skeins on display – do most of their customers knit hats & scarves?
I needed buttons, too, and recalled that they have a lot of buttons. But! they are all set up on the windowsills, and yesterday just happened to be quite sunny. I couldn’t even tell the color, let alone any texture or detail. And if I’m going to pay $2.50 or more per button, I’m not going to have to squint and guess to do it.
The one thing they did have was Interweave Knits Spring 2008, which is out of stock at Interweave. I renewed my subscription, finally, but got a notice that it won’t start until Summer because they’re out of stock.
So off we go to Brighton, LYS #2 on my all time list. She too is having a sale, but not nearly so busy. And she has plenty of help, not only finding a substitute for the Cascade (only limited shades in stock, nothing I wanted) but finding enough of the two dye lots so I can knit the back & sleeves from one, the fronts, bands & collar from the other. (Her tip: changes in dye lot won’t be so noticeable when there’s a seam between them.) I saved $20 on 1824 Wool in a greyed teal, beautiful shade, and I love this yarn.
So I cast on for Twist, and we’re past the waist shaping already. After all the knitting on US 2s & 3s, this feels like giant kindergarten knitting – and it goes so fast! I want to knit Ariann too (I bought three patterns – these two plus CeCe) so I’ll need some yarn for it. CeCe might be nice in a hot pink funky boucle yarn I’ve got in the stash. Ariann needs Cascade, so I’ll look around online.
Vacation?
18
Aug
Chess camp is over, and Staffan has decamped back to Pappa’s house. I think we had a pretty good week. I didn’t see any of the “problem areas” J is always complaining about (being slow to get ready, forgetting to do chores). This confirms my suspicion that he (Staffan) isn’t given enough guidance to perform as Johan wants. I don’t care if he’s 13 yrs old, he isn’t ready to take charge of himself for 90 minutes of activities, without frequent help to keep on track. Which isn’t different from other kids, IIRC.
High point of the week: the Kriegspiel match Wednesday. I came in at the end, to find Staffan competing alone against a team of 5 boys. They were repeatedly escaping Staffan’s checks, and the game was finally called since everyone had to go home.
Low point: The lunch trip to Wendy’s, where Staffan forgot to order his burgers “plain with nothing on it”. We’ll need to practice ordering meals – usually I just order for him, since he doesn’t like to talk to the cashier.
I knit quite a bit this week, too. The first sleeve of the cashmere cardi is about 6″ from complete. It’s a flared sleeve, and I’ve just started the increases. I don’t know if I’ll like the look, but we’ll see. Most likely I’ll do a picot hem.
I read June’s wonderful entry on drum carder blending, and I’m dying to be dyeing. There’s no sock yarn left in my stash, and my recent purging has decimated my sock drawer. (Don’t hang on to socks with holes. Mend them or toss them. I’ll darn them twice, but then they’ve got to go.) There is no superwash in my stash, but there is some 80/20 merino/silk – will that shrink up like straight merino?
Independence day!
04
Jul
I’m celebrating Independence this morning, thanks to a 7 am call from Sean:
Did I get a letter yesterday from UNH? Because I got a parking ticket, but it wasn’t fair, and I appealed. They said they’d send a letter with their decision, but if they deny the appeal, and I don’t pay, they’ll boot my car.
Yes, here’s the letter, they accepted your appeal and you owe nothing.
Great! The dining halls are all closed here for the holiday, but I heard a rumor that some restaurants in town are honoring my meal card for breakfast – so I’m off to find some food.
Stapled to the letter is Sean’s appeal, hand written, cogent and obviously persuasive. I told him how proud I am of him – and I’ll spend the day reveling in his new-found independence. Amazing, how just sixteen days – and two hundred miles – away from home can change a boy into a man.
