Friday, November 23, 2007

Ramblings

Me and Grandma Clara Thanksgiving Day ;0


Black Friday?
What insanity is this? Stores opening at 7am! 6am! 5am! 4am! Holy Cow...cash cow...at least that's what the retailers are hoping for. I've never felt the need to spend spend spend for the holidays. Mostly because we really didn't have much in the way of extra money when I was growing up. Don't get me wrong, as children we always had gifts under the tree. We were encouraged to handmake as much as possible though, and gifts of quilts, knit and crochet'd afghans and slippers, hand embroidered pillowcases and dishtowels, candles, and macrame' plant holders (i know...my age is showing again).
The Thanksgiving holiday was the grand opening for the season. My family would spend the long weekend at my Grandma Lynnie's home where any number of her 14 surviving children and their assorted families congregated. Hams, turkeys, gravies, homemade biscuits, side dishes up the wazoo...desserts beyond counting as Lynnie's daughters and daughter's-in-law (or out-of-law wink, wink) tried to outdo and one-up each other in the down-home country cooking department. Dozens of cousins ran screaming in and through and out of the 2 bedroom clapboard house. The screen door was always slamming. The plastic over the windows (to help keep the propane heat bills down) seemed to breathe in and out all day. After the meal, the aunts and older girl cousins washed and dried dishes. The boy cousins fed plate scraps to the pigs. The uncles lay around in the living room watching TV, or just yammering while the radio played twangy country music a' la Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, and miss Tammy Whinette......Later, a few would head to the pond to catch fish....some would head to the fields to hunt....some would just nap. The rest of the Thanksgiving holiday would pass in a blur of food and family and we'd sleepily pile into the car for the 2hour drive home, remarking on the Christmas carols suddenly playing on the car radio. No when...no where during that time was there "shopping".

Yesterday, during our small family feast, DD was invited to camp out with a friend at Best Buy, as the friend's parents were planning some major holiday purchases. DD looked at me with a mix of confusion and disgust...ugh! no way! She's planning to stay home and make bead jewelry for gifts, and watch a movie with the fam. I'm going to knit and work on some other homemade gift projects. I just shake my head at the whole Black Friday phenomenon. I guess that's fun good times for some folks....just not my cup of tea.......

Well, now that you've read my blather....here's a tiny bit of knitting content...I'm just "this" close to finishing Cobblestone. I would be completely finished except I lost/misplaced my pattern for about 36 hours! And it was a critical point of the shaping decreases after the short rows so i didn't want to wing it! Luckily, i found it under the sofa yesterday afternoon(as i was picking up shoes) and now hope to have it ready to block this evening sometime! Here's where I was before I lost the pattern:


In the interval, I opted to start on Grandma Clara's present. She asked for a shawl with buttons and pockets. I liked the look of the Library Wrap in the Cascade 220 pattern book, but as that's loaned out, decided to make-up my very own pattern for a rectangular shawl with a fat cable running down the middle and pockets at both ends (for Grandma Kleenex you know!). I'll then crochet two or three loops and add easy to grip buttons to keep it held together in the front. I'm making it with easy care Lion Brand Jiffy, which will be easy to wash up. The color is a deep ruby red, the grannymeister's favorite!


And lastly, just to give everyone a chuckle, a couple of the furkids got haircuts last week. Pearl underwent her every 8month shavedown. Despite her expression, she actually loves rubbing on everyone and everything and purrs and drools with absolute ecstasy for a couple of months until her base grows back in! Don't worry, the groomer left her a nice tail tuft that Pearl can groom.


Well kids, other than turning other local knitters on to Ravelry, and validating their yarny "splurges"...that's about it these days....hope everyone had a warm, cozy, and fulfilling holiday. Knit on!

Friday, November 16, 2007

news, weather and knit..



help..help...i'm stuck on sleeve island....Cobblestone's body is deliciously complete...as is sleeve 1....i'm about 10" into sleeve 2....yawn. nice soft squooshy warm cozy lovely knit.knit.knit.knit.knit.knit....zzzzzzz...oh, huh, oh yeah...

what else is new...we had our first big snowfall for the year on Tuesday. About 6" total. Of course lots of accidents on the highway. I left clinic at 5:22pm...and got home at 9:18pm. Some of you who know Anchorage will appreciate that it took almost 3 hours just to get from Tudor through Muldoon and onto the Glen Highway. There's only one road north...no alternative route. Always gotta have food, candles, blankets, snowgear and knitting in the vehicles these days. Thank goodness for Cobblestone in the car. That's where i finished the body and much of sleeve 1. Elann.com's Sierra Aran is just truly luscious.

I found this little YouTube series the other day. Very interesting and inspiring craftiness if you ask me. Kinda edgy and youth oriented but still some excellent crafty ideas..i.e. that cuff, instead of fabric scraps...howzabout yarny scraps...or a mixture...hmmmm...watch...i think you'll like....




ok...i gave you weather, i gave you knits....ok...here's some news...I GOT NEW BIFOCALS....but i can't take a decent photo of them lately so no pics. Well, that's all there is for today. Knit on!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

It's Thursday!

Which means a day off during the week this week. Very nice. It's mostly been laundry catch up day, but there has been a bit of knitting too! I was able to finally make a good start on Cobblestone for DH the other day. I'm working it with Elann.com's Sierra Aran (a soft cozy wool/alpaca blend) using my KnitPicks Options. I swear this thing is knitting itself. Slides around the needles/cables like buttah! And the color...swoon! This is "Lichen", a soft greenish brown with flecks of orange to purple throughout. It totally changes colors in different lighting. Under fluorescents it was very blah...but in natural daylight or regular incandescent bulbs, the colors blend and flow. I'm about 8" into the body so far. It's a very comforting knit.





Just off the blocking head (otherwise known as the blockhead...hehehee)is another gift hat. Foliage from knitty.com's fall issue:



The Yarn: On Line Gaucho, a superwash worsted tweedy wool, purchased through elann.com about a year ago. Used 1 entire ball and a bit more, however, next time, I'd probably do one fewer pattern repeat just to keep it from being so long, and you could easily do that with just one ball. The yarn is a bit scratchy when working with it, but softens up very nicely with a soak in Eucalon.

Needles: Doublepoint bamboos in 5s and 7s as per pattern instructions. I really liked the fabric I got with this, the laciness is there but still dense enough to keep your head warm.

Overall, I thought the lace pattern was very easy to memorize and made a "totally adorable" (to quote a local 16yr old) hat. I can see myself making this again in the worsted weight.

Well, the dryer's buzzing..gotta go fold clothes ;0
Have a totally knitterly day!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Drops 103-1 and Cake!

I made a new sweater.



No...i don't have hepatitis...and NO! My new sweater is NOT see-through. It is however, adorable; wonderful; i love it and finished it yesterday and wore it to work today and got A TON OF COMPLIMENTS...UNSOLICITED..and the whispering...the sly sidelong glances..the overheard words..."you know, she knit it herself"...gasp...stunned silence.."reeeeeaallly"....yes...IT is that good! So good in fact that I am totally posting suck photos because I'm jest so darn proud of it!

The Specs: Drops 103-1

The Yarn:Elann.com Peruvian Highland Wool Chunky in Coffeebean Brown (purchased Nov 2005..gotta love that knit from stash)

The Needles: Knitpicks Options size 10

Modifications/True Confessions: I knew that 10s would give me a loose fabric with the HW Chunky, so I opted to go with the flow and make the 2nd smallest size...and blocked it hard to get the proportions and drape uniform. I also shortened the collar so it wouldn't be quite so "bunchy" arouond the neck. This is probably also the very very best seaming/finishing I've done on a garment. No ends anywhere. All seams are "invisible" and even.

Happy Factor: VERY VERY HAPPY. It has just the right amount of drape and substance to not be sheer or see-through at all, yet it's just the right warmth over a camisole or tee shirt. The buttons were perfect finds from JoAnn's and echo the rusticity of the pattern and yarn.

I'll try to post a natural daylight photo later in the week, but here are some details you might enjoy!



A close-up perhaps?



By the way, the man thoroughly enjoyed the wishes you've sent him! Thanks! He said I could share his (made from scratch of course) World Famous Chocolate Fudge Birthday Cake with you.



have a knittery day.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Happy Birthday Russ



In 1990 I threw you a surprise 40th Birthday Party, in Nashville, TN. All the Channel 5 TV crew came. There were black balloons, lots of 'over-the-hill' jokes, a cake with a tombstone on it. You were really only 39. And you didn't let on to anyone about my little mistake...that i tried to backpedal and cover by calling it a practical joke. Fast forward 17 years and so many life adventures later.......



You were born to be my soulmate. Getting older, parenting, everything...is better with you in my life. Thank you...and Happy Happy Birthday! mmmmmmmwwwwwwwaaaaaaaahhhh!


Leave the man a birthday greeting if you are so inclined!

DOGS IN KNITS!



It's 'Dogs Modeling Handknits' month all over blogland. Not really, I just made that up. But it should be. Sheesh...take a look at Cass's Pippin modeling the Calorimetry...(scroll down to her entry dated..oh..around october 31, nov 1st..and enter her contest. Scads of FABULOUS prizes. Tell her I sent you...and that Grace sent me! Back to the doggie action..have you checked out our Minnie's Sadie in her graceful Clapotis...My sweet boy Tucker was feeling left out, so he got to model the latest "Churro" (Amy Singer pattern) earflap hat in Lorna's Laces Superwash Merino worsted...soft and yummy!

And best of all, that little flash of brown knitting your seeing is the very last little bit on the Drops Cardigan 103...it's blocking time! Whoo...a big FINISHED OBJECT that is not Christmas Knitting will be posted this week. Stay tuned. I know Tucker will be ;0



And just as an aside, that AMAZING crochet'd afghan that you see in the background..the one with a zillion colos and patterns...was MADE FOR ME as a gift from one of my favorite patient/friends ever. She's had 10 (no typo..ten..) babies, and I've been able to catch the last 5! It's the most wonderful gift I've ever received and something I absolutely treasure. She says crocheting is what keeps her sane with all those children...i don't know when she can find the time! Hugs to you Linda!