Crossing the Finish Lines

Well, NaBloPoMo is over, and I met my goal of posting each day. Some entries were lesser in quality than others were, but I made it through, and it also helped me to reconnect with blogging. Of course, I am, once again, behind in emails, comments, and reading, but that is nothing new. I am really glad I did this, and having you all stick with me all the way through has been wonderful.

NaFiSweMo is over, too, and I achieved my goal with that. Most of the time when I finish a sweater, I am so sick of it that I have a hard time finding the love for it, but not this time. I am so very pleased with my new sweater, and I have not taken it off since I finished it. I have already received wonderful compliments on it, and my friends can tell that this is a sweater that I will wear often. Salt Peanuts is a great cardigan, the color I chose is perfect, and I have even more love for the yarn (Patons Classic Wool) than when I started. I do not think I could ask for more.

Pajama Pants and Peanuts

In something of a surprise, bringing my colder weather clothes into the rotation and putting the summer ones away for the year did not coincide with a burst of unseasonable warmness. Instead, it is still cold, and I get to wear the pajama pants I made for myself. Yeah, I have a sewing machine and play with it a little, but it is not getting much attention because knitting gets all of my free time right now. Speaking of that, I need to get back to that last seam.

Monday, the 28th?

Cyber Monday and all of its coupon codes and emails have been raining down on me, and it finally got to me. So, a little bit of yarn fell into an online shopping cart, and will be on its way to me soon. Nah, I did it on purpose because there is some yarn I needed for gifts that I just do not have. The truth is, I already had the yarn in the virtual basket, but didn't get around to sending in the order until today. I kept fretting about colors, but it is a good thing I did spend extra time checking that, because I almost made a big mistake.

Speaking of yarn for gifts that I do not have, I bought some bulky yarn. As you know, that is not really my style, but I understand that there are some sparkly vampire movie fans in the family, and I think those mittens would make great gifts for a couple of people. They were chatting the movie and books up while we sat around and visited after Thanksgiving dinner, and that is when I got the idea.

Speaking as one who has not read the books, I will say that I am not much interested. I did watch one of the movies when it was on tv the other night. My nose was so stuffed up that my mouth was hanging open, and I could not think or do much, and from the commercials I had seen, that seemed to go along with the movie, so I lost a couple of hours to it. It just is not my deal, but I really do not care that other people love it. I kid around a bit, but I do not want to make fun of anyone enjoying a book, movie, or music. We all like what we do, and I hate to see people feel ashamed about things like that.

Anyway, can you believe that this is the 28th day of the month? Time has been so weird for me lately, and I was quite surprised when I realized that there are only two more days left this month. I keep plugging along on my NaFiSweMo project, but I need to kick it into a higher gear if I am to make my goal. I have one sleeve set in, and it took longer than I had planned, but the second should be quicker. Of course with these colder than average temperatures, (they say we are getting snow tomorrow) each moment with the pile of wool on my lap is good, and it is great incentive to keep working on it.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

I cannot make any promises for better photos of hats I knit, but with this new model to help, I might have a chance. The head is a gift from my friend, Helen, and I love it! Now I just need to get busy knitting a hat.

UM...A Little Bit of This + Little Bit of That = Not Much of Anything Right Now

Not settling in and seeing my way all the way through to the end of one thing is really not paying off for me, or so it seems. From knitting to reading to housekeeping, I just have overwhelming piles of unfinished-ness everywhere. Then again, I am making my way through several things. Right now, it is just difficult to see that I am making any progress, but little by little, I am chipping away at it. I am going to keep on keeping on, and I will have something to show for my efforts soon.

Crushed :: Bug
Thanks :: Again
Steam :: Punk
Bulletin :: Board
Budget :: Minded
Value :: Worth
Aquarium :: Shop
Logo :: Tee
Information :: Overload
Lend :: Lease

Friday Fail

Counting is hard.

Baby's First Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a favorite of mine, and it does my heart good to celebrate a day of thankfulness. Every day, of course, there are many reasons to choose to feel thankful, and I know my days are better when I make this choice. I am grateful to be joining in with others in celebrating this day, and whatever I do today, I hope it shows.

So, what is with the title of today's post, you might ask? Well, the son purchased a house last month, (another reason to be thankful) so this is his first Thanksgiving in his new home. He played the part of the host for the big shindig. Since he is still very new to learning about the mysterious happenings of the kitchen, (so many stories) we brought the food.

Weird, wacky, and wonderful do not even begin to describe the day, and I do not have enough words to describe how thankful I am for it all.

Prepping and Unpinning

The cranberries are cranberrying, the pie is chilling, and the squash and friends are assembled and waiting for their time in the oven. I just have to stand on the Wii Balance Board with the turkey to see how early I need to get up in the morning. Everything else will wait for tomorrow.

Our weather continues to bounce from warm to cold with some rain in between, but I know that we will continue to have more cold days. That has kept me from just letting the pinned out pieces of my cardigan sit until next week. The seaming of Salt Peanuts is underway. So far, I only have the shoulders and half of the collar done, but it is progress. Once I get the sleeves in place, I think the challenging parts will be done, and the rest should go smoothly. Having The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by my side always helps. Wanting to curl up in a new sweater and read a book or three helps, too.

Decisions, Decisions, Nothing

In a fit of madness, I almost considered beading the nupps on the Swallowtail Shawl I am knitting. That led me to trying to decide whether I want to bead or nupp. After that, I got lost in the stash, and I do not have a clue as to how that happened. Several more leaps followed, and I was on Ravelry looking at patterns. Then I was calculating yardage on some handspun. Then I was back on Ravelry trying to figure out what to do with 75 yards of laceweight. Then I was dizzy and my Tuesday was over. I hope yours was more productive.

Mumbling and Bumbling Through My Monday

Perhaps I need a jumpstart of sorts, because I am having trouble getting this week going. I feel like that guy from the Cheerios commercials back about thirty years ago. You know, the ones where the chalkboard stick guy tries to ride his bicycle up a hill, but then rolls backwards. I tried to find a video, but my google-fu eludes me at present.

The good news is that I made it to the grocery store, and I do not think I will have to return until after Thanksgiving. The other good news is that people are having a lot of squash this year. I know this because I saw someone taking the last two from the bin and then receiving apologies from employees about there being no more.

Maybe I need coffee. I think I have only had a couple of cups of it so far this month. Yes, coffee is probably the answer. At least I think it is, but now I have forgotten the question.

May the Way of the Hero Lead to the Triforce

I am more excited about this than is reasonable, but there you go.

p.s. I think that the music on the cd might be perfect (for me) to weave to, but I cannot explain why I think this.

Still in Pieces

I confess; Salt Peanuts is still pinned out, waiting for seaming time. I cannot determine if it makes it better or worse that it took me several more days to get it out of the water and blocked. I just could not crawl around on the floor with pins, schematic, and tape measure without going into a coughing fit. Anyway, that is my excuse, but I will get to it soon, because I want to wear this sweater. It just occurred to me that I need to make a decision on the closure. The pattern uses a ribbon, but I am not sure about that. I have not spent much time looking at ribbons, but nothing I have seen thus far does it for me. I do not think I want to go the button route, but it is a possibility. There is always the option of using a shawl pin or stick I suppose, but for now, I am thinking of using i-cord. It should work, and it would blend in with the rest of the sweater. Then again, I might just be using the closure issue to avoid settling in for a long seaming session.

Birthday Cupcakes

Ever since Joan started The Cupcake Fiber Co, I wanted to experience her creations, but the opportunity always seemed to slip away, just when I thought my time had come. However, thanks to a thoughtful birthday present, it is my turn! Oh, how I love my bfl/silk batts, the color is gorgeous, and the spinning is a dream.

Triple Thick Thursday

Some people are more challenging than others are when it comes to giving gifts. My stepdad is like that. He tells people to just forget about getting him anything, but that seems wrong, especially when I know of something he will like and use. Several years ago, I knit a hat for him. It was a plain, black, superwash wool hat. It bore a great resemblance to cheap, black hats that can be purchased anywhere. However, it was what he wanted, he liked it, and he has worn it often. Since wearing the handknit wool hat, he now knows the difference, and appreciates how it keeps him warm without making him sweaty. The problem is that he has several of the cheap, black, acrylic hats from the store, and is pathologically unable to get rid of anything. He keeps grabbing one of the bad hats, and then remarks how it is not as good as his wool hat. I figure the solution is knitting another hat for him, but not black.
Right now, he is in Afghanistan. He was back for a couple of weeks in October, and it was clear that he was skimping on his cold-weather clothing. I would hate for his frugality to hurt him when there is something I can do to help, so I decided to knit a hat for him. I tried to be sensitive to the fact that he prefers boring plain, so I chose some calm blue, and instead of a colorwork pattern, (which really adds warmth) I knit with three strands of yarn at once. This ought to keep Papa warm this winter in Afghanistan.

Auntliness is Next to...

Free childcare? Hrm--I think I meant something else. I do love being an aunt; it is one of the great joys of my life. In the biggest surprise of the year thus far, my sister told me that I will appear even auntlier towards the end of April. Our minds are still swimming over this news. My mom has been buying new things for the baby, and my grandma is crocheting and quilting away. As for me, I am waiting to find out what brand it is before I start anything. The projected date for that news is sometime in the first week of December.

Since my sister's big announcement, I heard the rumbling of a rumor, and then confirmation of said rumor. My brother and his wife are giving serious consideration to increasing my auntliness, too. Shhhh--that might be a secret, though.

Life is full of surprises.

Ten Repeats Tuesday

Well, I am going to have to check everyone else's Ten on Tuesday lists, because I do not have that many ways to use cranberries. Instead, here is a shawl on the tenth budding lace chart repeat on a bag of cranberries on a Tuesday.

Water for Elephant Skins

Finally, the knitting of Salt Peanuts is complete! All of the pieces are soaking their cares away and looking forward to being pinned out into their cute sweater shapes. They are optimistic and believe that the seaming will go smoothly, and that the sweater will fit. Until it is time to put it all together, I am getting my daily dose of fiber. I am taking two and trying again in the morning.

UM...Sniffle...Snuffle

The annoying cold continues to drag on, but I think my brain is getting closer to coming into focus. I have high hopes for a more productive week. I had better be more productive, because my lying about has me behind on housework. Last week was also complicated by three or four days of Aunt Sarah duty due to an ill nephew, and then Veteran's Day on Friday was time with both the niece and the nephew. The parade was good, and then I fell asleep for a few minutes during Puss in Boots. Anyway, assuming that no one caught my cold, this week should be calmer. Maybe I can even prepare for next week; it is going to be a big one. Not only will there be Thanksgiving, but also more Aunt Sarah duty. My sister hopes that I will keep my nephew this weekend so that she and her sweetie can have a weekend away. Her hopes are about to be dashed. I want a weekend away with my sweetie, but I know this is not the time for that.

I will settle for having some time to knit and watch Dexter. I just received last season's dvd set, and I am ready to see what happened. I so enjoy settling in to watch a television show on dvd, just escaping from my brain for a few hours.

Speaking of my brain...



Help :: Me
Close :: Call
Start over :: Again
Dirt :: Gossip
Kilometer :: Mile
Speedy :: Gonzales
Shop :: Closed
Trumpet :: Horn
Dog :: Hair
Canoe :: Tip

Planning

I picked up a little yarn at a sale several months ago, and when I showed my purchases to my mom, she took a special interest in a ball of mystery laceweight. She usually joins me in oohs and aahs over pretty yarn, but I could tell that she could see that yarn becoming something for her. This discussion reminded me of another we had about shawls a few weeks before, and I began to formulate a plan. Then, the idea melted away with eleventy-billion degrees of the summer.

Well, it is not summer now, and her birthday is not too far away, (but not too close to do this) so I think it is time to plan for her new lace. I have been flipping through my books, and I have some ideas. I know that she is looking for something triangular and not too big. That gives me many options. I could use an established pattern and knit it as written. However, I could take a stitch pattern and use it to plan a pattern on my own. I guess that can be called designing, but that feels like too grand of a term.

Anyway, the first step is to calculate the yardage on my mystery laceweight yarn. As that is not my strong suit, that might be the most challenging part of this process.

Fun Friday

Probably not going to knit as much tonight.



















However, I did finish plying my little sample from the yarn store, so I did get my daily dose of fiber.