Are You Dreaming of a White Christmas?

Well, not any more. Plenty of snow in Rhode Island today.

We had one of those days that kids dream about. Today was a day when snow was expected, and lots of it.

Everyone stressed last night...what to do? What has to get done "In Case It Snows"?! That sort of anticipation and worry cracks me up because, I mean, it IS New England, right? We are supposed to expect snow in December. But people still freak out and get all crazy. Never fails. So last night, the kids are talking about if they will cancel school today, and all of that. Now, the prediction was for 5-9" of snow, starting this afternoon. Not really the kind of thing they cancel school for, just in case. I'm thinking that I really need some gas in the van, and I am not running out now. I did, however, continue to kick myself for not getting earlier in the day. Then I realize that we need some food and if the snow is heavy and the roads are bad, I won't be able to do the groceries as I'd planned; they'll have to be done in the morning, instead. Err.

In the last few years we have gotten tons of predictions of snow, but they usually don't really happen or they happen another day, something like that. Well, today was a day of wonder in terms of weather forecast accuracy. Well done, meteorologist.

I checked the news this morning, but (surprise, surprise) there were no cancellations. I expected as much, but I was hoping that they'd announce an early dismissal contingency plan or something. No such luck. So we go about our morning, and I explain to the kids that just because the weather guy said is would snow, doesn't mean that it will. Secretly, I still hoped for snow. I love the stuff.

We get Irene off to school and I decide to dutifully get the groceries earlier than planned, just in case. Keegan and Spencer help me at the store. By that, of course I mean that they are crazy at the store. Spencer tried to smash every bit of food he could reach in the cart, while Keegan continuously flops himself on the floor. I'm already thinking that "the guy" is wrong and I'm doing this with these two fools for nothing. Then my phone rings. It's the school...early dismissal at 1:00. Well, maybe it's better that I did get some food. We scurry off and I realize that I still do not have any gas, so I must stop. Gee, is it just me or is everyone in the surrounding area thinking that they should fill up before the snow? Great. Oh, and the snow has started.

Once we are all set on food and gas I realize that it's just after noon. We decide to just go get Irene now, since we're all in the car and then I won't disturb Spence's nap to go get her. Now, it's coming down pretty hard, but I feel guilty to pick Irene up early. I mean, the roads are fine. But I do it anyway. By the time we get to school and get her out and load back up in the van (not a small feat, mind you...carseats to buckle and groceries to climb over...it's been maybe 40 minutes.

Well, the roads are slick. We're slipping around a bit and I am so glad that I got her now and not an hour later. Even for me, a seasoned New Englander, I'm not loving being on the road right now. We get home safe and sound, don't worry. And then we start to look around. Wow. It's really coming down. It's just right on time. It's the right amount. It's beautiful. And the kids are bouncing around because there's so much, they are sure that there will be no school tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see.

Here's my front yard by the time we got home.

It's so pretty. There's something ethereal about the snow falling and how it's dark, but sort of light at the same time. And the silence. Snow can be so quiet. I tried to take some pictures, but I didn't want to go outside--it was too cold and I had groceries to put away and lunch to make. One of my favorite things about when it's snowing is looking right up at the brightness and seeing all the flakes falling from the heavens...it's amazing. Here's my attempt to capture it.

Not quite the same as being outside with the cold flakes falling on your face, but you can get an idea. And I wasn't kidding about not going back out there, either. See the window frame at the top, there? I'm what you call "an inside girl". I'm not sure Spencer liked the flakes on his face. He kept making weird faces and trying to cover his eyes. Hey, he's not even two, so I think it's o.k.

It just keeps snowing and snowing. So far, it hasn't stopped and there is a LOT of snow out there. I'll take some pics (outside) of the total accumulation tomorrow in the light. Poor Brian is still out there shovelling. I tried to get a pic of what's out there now:

I tried a second shot:

Weird. It's like it's getting blurry or something. What am I doing wrong with the camera? Third shot:

Oh, when I opened the back door the storm door started fogging up. Der.

In knitting news, Holli's sweater is done. Ah, what a relief to know that it will be all set for Christmas!

I also came across this today. It might be the biggest yarn stash in the world. Makes my bag of yarn look downright pathetic! Pretty cool to see, though. Take a peek.

Since I stink at capturing the wonder of the snow, I will try to put up a video. I've never done this, so hopefully it works. But it you're still reading, I figure you deserve a better look. Stay warm!

Um, it didn't work. I'll see what I can do about getting it up tomorrow. (Muttering under breath about annoying uploading video runaround)

Warning: TVyarn Spoiler...and some favorites

My December shipment of the TVyarn Chick Flick series arrived yesterday. I was going to wait a few days to post about it, just in case you might be waiting for your package. Unfortunately, I just cannot wait, so you're going to have to avoid this post if you don't wait to spoil the surprise. Sorry to force you into the grownup role...because I decided to take the child role. Hey, what can I say? You'll have to deal.

If you're new to the blog, you might not know what I'm talking about here. The Chick Flicks club is a three month sock yarn subscription. I wrote about it before here. This one is wonderful, through White Oak Studio, and I highly recommend it. This month's movie was Love Actually, which I'd seen before but couldn't remember. I knew Hugh Grant was in it, and Brian convinced me that it was the one with he and Julia Roberts. Ann would kill me for believing him and not realizing that he was thinking of Notting Hill! Anyhow, Brian rented it for me, and we watched it last night...LOVE it! Can't imagine how I did not remember what it was, but really I think you should run right out and rent it yourself because it's interesting and hilarious. Why is it so much funnier when British people say the F word? No idea, but it truly is.

Alright, I hope you've clicked away if you don't want to see the shipment, because here goes:



Here is everything. Well, almost. You'll have to imagine how cute everything was, all wrapped up. Jana does such a cute job, and everything was in red tissue paper and cute little snowmen baggies (Or was it Santa? Can't remember.) I love how festive and cute it all is--makes me feel special to open it.



The yarn is sport weight for me, this time. It's super bright and colorful. I dig the printed paper Jana includes with the reasoning behind the colors and everything...nice touch. I tried to capture the colors and the vibrancy, but I don't think I did them justice:





I received the yarn, along with a matching stitch marker. All the goodies are packaged in little bags or the sweet little Santa boxes you see in the first picture. Jana included a Bee Bar hand cream from Honey House and their lip butter, as well. There is a Nutcracker ornament, a candy cane, and Christmas Spice Tea. In the 30 minutes I had free today, I enjoyed the tea. Let me tell you it's delicious! For the record, I consider free time to be any time that I am not in the car, driving, doing laundry, cleaning or cooking, and am also not changing a diaper or giving a bath, etc. So sitting on my couch while children literally climb on me DOES count as free time, to me. Just wanted to clarify that. I adore the colorway right away, but my favorite part is the stitch marker. Just love the look of it and can't wait to use her. (Yes, I have decided that the stitch marker is feminine, you know, like a ship. What???)



Pretty, no?

Actually, I lied. My favorite thing is this:



The Honey-House Bee Bar. I know, it seems weird. It's a lotion bar. Yeah, I said it was weird. I liked the little round box, but was sceptical. Then I opened it. It smelled awesome, but what was it? I took it out and felt it, however I didn't really understand what to do with it. The bar was smooth and slippery. I rubbed it on a few fingers to see if it sort of rubbed onto my skin, mostly because I couldn't think of what else to do. I held the odd item and wondered why anyone would make something so stupid. Then, while I held it, it sort of...warmed up. It softened and became a little more creamy. When I smoothed it against my hand, it spread pleasantly, and --wait for it-- it really works!! Oh, I love it. Sort of one of those things where you can't explain it. Someone just thinks you're crazy for liking it until they try it themselves, you know? Only no one will ever try it, because I'm going to hide it an never, ever share. Just Kidding. No, not really.

I've been making some progress on Holli's Christmas sweater. I just don't want to ruin the surprise of the finished product. Suffice to say, I've finished the body, neck ribbing, and one sleeve. I have the second sleeve left and to sew the bottom of the pocket. That's it! My plan is to show it after it's given, but you know me (child role), I may not be able to wait. Favorite part of the sweater: How the contrast color is only on two rows of the ribbing, instead of the entire ribbing. So cute!

Fun stuff today...Keegan and I made a Gingerbread house at the YMCA today, and it was a blast! O.K., truth be told, it's really a graham cracker house, but we'll just pretend for the boy's sake.



He did a great job, don't you think? My favorite part? The little walkway. He decided to make a tiny "sidewalk" to the house with pieces of graham cracker, like paving stones. Love it! And he put a pretzel out the back of the house. Um, sort of just sticking out there. Go ahead and chuckle, it's kind of funny. We determined that obviously the reason for the pretzel is that it is a flagpole. We'll be able to hang a cute little holiday flag outside on the house. What a sweetheart!

I couldn't wait to ball up my new Love Actually yarn. Now I know you want to see it...



The colors really jump out more from the ball. What should I make with it?

And finally, you'll be happy to hear that Ann is doing well with her knitting. An attempt at purling was made, but was...er, we'll say..."disappointing". Our plan is to work on purling next time. Ann dutifully makes squares and then unravels them and starts again. Yes, she is practicing! What a perfect pupil...

Favorite thing about teaching my sister to knit? She's found a new recruit of her own! Her Sister-in-Law Mandy showed some interest, so Ann shared the book with her and let her have a go at it. Ann says Mandy picked up some needles and yarn of her own, so now they can learn together. Isn't that cool!? I'm really excited about it. Good luck to both of you! I'll have to get some pics of their swatches to share with the gang, don't you think? Yes. We will have to. So, Ann and Mandy, if you peek by, drop a comment with how you're doing, O.K.? Inquiring minds want to know.

Love/Hate Relationship

Today I want to talk about my love/hate relationship with the three needle bind off. Generally, I love it. It's pretty quick, now that I have the hang of it. The bind off's neat looking on the right side, and has enough stretch to make a comfortable sweater. Sometimes I have trouble when I sew up a seam, making sure it has enough "give", but not with the 3-needle BO. These things I love. I first heard of the bind off from my mother-in-law, Suzanne. She spoke of a friend (I want to say it's Val, but I'm not sure, and I'll leave out last names just in case.) Suzanne's friend does a wonderful job knitting and from what I heard, she has a very special way of attaching shoulders (sounds so magical and masterful, doesn't it?) that's so professional. That's how it was described. Something about how Suzanne talked about it made this particular skill become a quite enviable. And for good reason. Anyhow, I love that every time I do a three needle bind off, I feel like a knowledgeable and accomplished knitter. Plus, it doesn't help that Suzanne (whom I consider to be a "good" and experienced knitter) can't ever remember how to do it, and she goes over to Val's house for help. Really makes me feel good. Well, almost every time.

Why I am not fond of the three needle bind off is that I futz it up a lot.

I'm not aware of the proper term for this. I can only say that every 4 or so times I do a 3-needle BO, I do it inside out. Uh-huh. Irks me something awful. Of course, I have to pull it out and do it all over again, and it really just goes up my butt. Come on, how many times do I have to do it before I remember?

Apparently, about five. Humph.

Don't worry, it's been fixed.



This came yesterday from The Plucky Knitter:

ELMER'S sock yarn


It's 80% Merino Wool and 20% Cashmere. I was originally planning to make the Lettuce Leaf Scarf with it, but I'm not so sure. While I was balling it up, it seemed to have quite a few knots, and I'm not sure how well I'll be able to hide a bunch of ends in this scarf. What do you think? The browns, blues, and grays are really lovely, and it's wonderfully soft. I'll either do the scarf or perhaps a simple pair of socks for me. Yum--luxury. Oh, I should say, that by "quite a few" I mean maybe 3 or 4...not sure if that's a big deal or all that unusual, but I thought it was a bit for 400 yds. Maybe it's normal? I'll have to consider it for a bit.

Sharing the craft...

Yesterday my sister asked me again about knitting. She'd like to learn! Now, this has come up before, and I was considering putting together a little How-to-Knit Christmas gift package, but I started feeling bad when she brought it up for about the fifth time. Perhaps I should just show her, instead of waiting for the "perfect gift moment", you know? So I did.

Ann was here anyway, so it was the right time. I lent her my Stitch 'N Bitch book, a couple of plastic knitting needles and a skein of cream Red Heart acrylic. (The very same ball I believe that I taught myself to knit on--wow!) She read about casting on and then we did some together, and then she learned the knit stitch and practiced a bit. I think she caught right onto it, actually. I'm anxious to hear how it's going, but I don't want to bug her too soon. It was really fun to show someone else how to do something that takes up so much of my time. Somehow sharing how to knit seemed like a really special gift in and of itself, and I'm so happy that I didn't keep waiting.

It's really odd to try to teach someone something that you happen to know how to do. Somehow I didn't feel qualified to "teach" knitting. I barely feel qualified to knit at all, sometimes! I did my best and hopefully it was good enough. And if not, Debbie Stoller should take care of it, I think.

Happy knitting, Ann!

I thought it was pretty darned funny when I sat down today with my knitting and opened up my favorite podcast. It was all about how to teach someone to knit. Great timing, Kelley.

Panic Slowly Creeping In

I did not sleep well last night. Holli's sweater is coming along, but I spent yesterday feeling weird about it. All day. The pattern has me knit ribbing and then slip some stitches onto a stitch holder for the kangaroo pocket. Fine. Then I have to do a cable cast on to replace those stitches. Made sense. I start doing it and realize that this pretty much leaves a very long buttonhole looking HOLE in the front of the sweater. Um...what? Naturally, I look over the pattern again and try to see what I missed. Is this right? Is that how it's supposed to look? After several re-reads, I am sure that I did what the instructions say to do.

Onward...



I continue with the new stitches and knit the sweater up another 30 rows, as per the pattern. All right. I'm starting to feel uneasy about the huge hole. I know, I'm weird that way. So I look over the pattern again, thinking this is why you're supposed to read it fully first and make sure you understand everything. I swear I did that, but maybe it was more like skimmed... No sign of how to fix the hole. There's an explanation of how to reattach the pocket to the sweater at the TOP of the pocket, but nothing about the bottom. I am feeling weird, but figure that I'm missing it and it will work out.

Then I hear the Yarn Harlot's voice in Knitting Rules talking about how in denial knitters can knit for a really long time before they realize and admit that there's a problem. Hmmm.



Yesterday afternoon, I looked at the pattern again. Still not seeing it. Panic begins to creep in. I put it away. Last night, I sat down to watch TV (Kitchen Nightmares and CSI: New York) and stare at the sweater. I look over the pattern again. Not seeing it. I ask Brian to read it over. And yeah, he considerately keeps asking why there's a huge gaping hole in the sweater. While he reads, I start on the pocket, admiring the color choices and how they compliment each other. Nice. Don't worry, I think--he'll find it. You're just not seeing because you're looking too hard.



He doesn' t find anything about the hole, either. Or how to fix the hole. Uh-oh. I finish the pocket front. It's too late, and my tummy is starting to freak out. I had tried online, and didn't find any errata for the pattern. I also can't find anyone who has the book or has made the pattern--even on Ravelry! I emailed a couple of people, including the designer of the pattern: Louisa Harding. Desperate, I checked on Ravelry for another pattern with a kangaroo pocket by this designer. She has another kid's sweater that looks pretty much just like this one! It's called something "whistle sweater"...can't remember now. Anyhow, I stalk send a message to someone who's made the whistle sweater (successfully) to ask about the pocket construction for that pattern. Now I have to wait.



So here I am, trying to sleep while a sweater sits in a my knitting bag, gaping open at the gut. I feel like I am gaping open at the gut. Restful sleep evades me, while I worry and try to figure something out. The little devil of Denial sits on my shoulder telling me to "just keep knitting...you'll find a way to close the hole". The Knitting angel sits on the other, whispering "you'll have to frog back to the ribbing and find a way to avoid the hole in the first place". And then I fell soundly asleep. Not.

This morning I woke (still terribly tired, let me tell you) knowing that I had to frog back to the ribbing. I couldn't knit a crazy-super-sized-huge-sweater and not admit that some thing's wrong. If you've read Knitting Rules, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you should seriously go and get it. Really. So I hit the ground running, secure in the fact that when I took out the sweater, I would have to start ripping. Oh, it was sad.

Fast forward to right now. I'm about to log out and take my knitting to the family room for some television. I have a sweater with a pocket attached at the top and not the bottom. Yes, I do. And I'm going to keep knitting. Am I in denial? No. Am I crazy? Nope. Masochist? No, no, silly.

Louisa Harding emailed me back this morning. I am on the right track. Apparently I missed a little sentence at the very end of the pattern that says: Join cast on edge of pocket to top of rib for sweater behind pocket using slip stitch.

Errr...duh. Thank you, Louisa! And also to Pat from Ravelry, who took the time to answer my question, too--thanks so much!

Finally

Here we go. I've promised Irene's hat and I will deliver.



This is the hat itself, and boy, what a fiasco. This puppy really morphed from the original plans so very much. To date, this is probably the project that I changed and frogged the most ever. That is, of projects that actually exist. Meaning, of course, that there could be others that gave me as much trouble but they never truly achieved completion, if you know what I mean. Good example: I frogged back four times and then never cast back on again. That type of thing. Clearly, Irene really wanted this hat, or I would have succumbed to the almost inevitable. Frustration, frogging--repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Frog again. Cut up into teeny, tiny pieces with my Food Chopper. Flush down toilet. Luckily, it was only almost inevitable. And Irene really wanted that hat.

Here's the set, mittens & hat:



I really wanted to add some ear flaps, but Irene does not want them at all, all of a sudden. Poor little flapless hat. The deal is that as long as her ears are covered and stay warm (and the hat stays ON) she can have it without flaps. Is six too early to stop wearing things your mom makes you because they're too dorky? Please, no. Please, please, no. Plus, what's wrong with ear flaps?

I even think that she's striking an evil-looking pose to spite me. As in, "Mom, don't make me pose for another knitting blog picture...it's so em-BARR-assing". Really, she's only six. I may not survive the teen years at all...

Yesterday I tried out the Harlot's Unoriginal Hat pattern with Rowan Big Wool, and I'm liking it. Not sure it will have the give that I'm looking for, though. It's a bit stiff. Boy, it's quick. She was not kidding a bit.



Oh, and here's my yarn news:

I was looking online at WEBS and feeling just overwhelmed by the selection (and prices--they're great!) and wishing so badly that I could see what was there. Virtual shopping for yarn is tough, unless you've had experience with a particular yarn. I mean, how can you tell how it'll feel, how thick or thin it really is, or what the colors truly look like? And I don't have much around here to go and actually touch, so I feel lost on the Webs website. It's tough.

So I'm looking around and trying to process all the brands and the costs and the gauges and recommended needle sizes. Wow. I'm about to give up and I'm cursing the lucky bastards who live near this store and could go and see it all in person. Seriously, how lucky are they?! Before I just logout of my computer, I decide to see where the place is, because then I can actually mutter under my breath about a particular area. And that's really much more gratifying, wouldn't you agree?

Well, turns out Webs is in New England. Yeah. It's in Massachusetts. Um...what's that? It's only two hours away. Oh, yeah. I peek at a map and discover that if I go and visit my parents, I'd be just about an hour away. I let this news sink in.

And then I start to scheme. (insert maniacal laughter here)

Long story short, I end up there a handful of days after I discover it's location. And I really enjoyed it. Sadly, I was with my sister and my mom (which in and of it self--NOT sad--we had fun), and they are not really of the fiber-minded, if you will. Much of the magic of the words "Rowan" or "Cashmerino" combined with the word "clearance" was lost on them. As for me, the magic was not lost. Like a kid in a candy store, my friends. A very BIG candy store. And it was awesome.

I set my sister Ann up in the pattern book/magazine section to look for a sweater she'd like for my niece. Mom helps her. I start to drool wander around. Of course I'm touching and fondling all the pretty yarns that I've never seen before in real life, and there's just so much of it. There's a little sale section in the back, and I'm thinking that it looked like a lot more on sale online, and it doesn't really make sense. I sadly realize that it must have sold out or whatever, and I am still thrilled, because the place rocks.

Ann finds a whole other section next to the books (like more than I've ever seen anywhere but Borders) and it's all huge binders filled with patterns to buy separately. I didn't know this existed, and clearly I need to find more LYS's because I am hurting, people. She chooses a pullover pattern, finally, and goes to get someone to give her a copy of the pattern she wants. Actually, in all honestly, she chose TWO. Really. One for Christmas, and one for next year. Laughing my butt off about that one, but I love it. So this sweet gal comes over to tell us that all we have to do is go into the like 13 file cabinets over here and help ourselves to the patterns! I hadn't even wandered over to that side of the store yet, but I'm getting excited to keep movin'.

I talk with our helper elf for a little bit about yarn substitutions, and that's when Ann and Mom start to glaze over a bit. They're telling her how they have no idea about gauge, plies, needle sizes, swatching "any of that stuff", and how I'm the one who knits. Then about how we've never been here and I'm coming from Rhode Island, etc. She gets excited and asks if I'd like...a tour. Would I? Um, yuh. She tell me about the different areas, where the books are, sock world, and all of that. And she points out that little sale area I saw before. We ask about the Big Wool, because we saw it online. Did it sell out? "Oh no," she says,"--that's in the back". The back? "Oh," she says, "you don't know about the warehouse?" (eyes bug out a little, pulse starts to race...) My voice gets all serious, "Can I go back there?" Our sweet elf helper laughs.

So the warehouse in the back isn't just stock for the store. Oh, no. It's a whole other store in and of itself. Yeah. Take that one in. So she shows us to the back and it's like aisle and aisles of candy beautiful yarn on mega-clearance. She explains how it works, where stuff is, etc. She offers one last word of warning, that we should keep an eye on our watches, because it's a bit of a time warp back here (in the warehouse). And they close at five. Oh! It must be later than I thought! What time is it? She says, "It's about three". Now I laugh, not realizing of course, how incredibly fast the two hours will go by while we poke around back here.

All right, warning given, she heads back to the storefront. I say, "Oh my God, I'm SO excited!" Well, sort of.

I actually start clapping my hands like a child in a candy store. And I begin jumping up and down like a...well, let's face it, a crazy person. And THEN I say that I'm so excited. Yeah. Mom and Ann kind of wigged. But I had a lot of fun. And I found so much stuff that I really wanted, but I didn't need. I tried my best to be reasonable and resist. We were on a mission to get yarn for a sweater for my niece Holli, and that's what I had to focus on.

Here's what I returned with:



Ann bought the pattern she wanted for next year, and the book with the pattern for this year's sweater. How nice is she? Isn't that awesome! So I bought the yarn for the sweater...Valley Farms Sugarloaf in pink and green.



I chose some Regia Silk sock yarn from the warehouse.



I was kind of thinking the Regia was for me. Ann and my Mom sort of figured it was for Bri, though, and I felt like a schmuck to say I wanted it for myself. So we'll SAY it's for Brian's socks.

And then we were only $10 away from the discount, because the clearance stuff doesn't count toward the $60, which I knew. It turns out that the books and patterns don't, either, so...



...I HAD to buy this Shibui Knits sock yarn, too. To get the discount, of course!

Gosh, did I have fun. The store was so much more amazing that I'd even considered hoping. When I got home, I told Brian all about it, and he was really pretty excited. He wants to go, too. Ahh, job done. Plus, I told him about all the Big Wool (one of my faves) and how cheap it was and how I wanted to just scoop it all up and take it home, just in case... And he said, "Oh, why didn't you?! That is SO cheap!" And that's why I love him.

Caught in the "web"...

I know I'm supposed to be putting some pics of Irene's hat up, and I haven't but I will. My camera's batteries ran out of juice today, so I got all frustrated (how unlike me) and decided not to bother uploading any of the pics that were already on there, either. OK, the decision was made for me, since: no batteries, no camera power, no downloading pictures to Photobucket, etc. I'm kind of bummed, but it serves me right for taking pictures of the thing a couple days ago and never dumping them onto my laptop.

Hmmm, I'm also sorry if this isn't making a ton of sense. My husband is barraging me with random bits of information about Magnum P.I. (no idea why) and he just doesn't seem to care that I'm trying to think/write. Not to mention that I never even watched that show. (Gonna date myself here, but I believe it's because it was on "too late" and I *gasp* wasn't allowed to.) Ooh, good. I think he's finally done!

Nope, one more... Unbelievable. Rolling eyes Did you guys know that Tom Selleck was originally supposed to play the roll of Indiana Jones? Apparently his standing role in Magnum P.I. cost him the job and that's how it went to Harrison Ford. Fascinating, right? What a guy. Brian, I mean. Hey, I love him anyway. Just to show how odd it is that he keeps interrupting blogging for these weird facts he knows I'm not interested in, consider this. I had to look up how to spell Tom Selleck just now. ...That's how little I care. And yes, I did have to change it.

Anyway, I will get some pics up soon. I also cast on for The Unoriginal Hat by you-know-who, and I think it'll be good. I'm almost halfway done and I like it so far. It's just hard to tell how big it's going to be because it's on a circular needle, and I didn't really swatch for gauge before I started. I mean, gauge is over the pattern, for crying out loud...why not just dive in and measure then. I used a US 10 needle, a little smaller than called for, because my Rowan Big Wool is a little thicker than the yarn she used. Hopefully it will work out. It's a gift so I don't want to say too much, but let's just say the person's got a pretty big head, I think. No, Bri--it's not you. Sorry, Babe. (Maybe next time leave off the Magnum P.I. trivia?)

That's it for now, I've had a busy couple of days and I've got tons to do. I'd wanted to tell you all about a little trip I made over the weekend, though, and it does involve yarn...tomorrow, I guess. But I did give you a hint...

The First Card

Really, we are inundated with Christmas. Our first card of the season arrived today! My home reeks of festivities, you know. However, with all the carolling--and cooing, mind you--and fun, we don't have any decorations up yet. Just can't seem to bring myself to start. It's hard to imagine why, with all the little people to "help", break ornaments, tip trees, and plug/unplug lights, but I'm just not feeling up to it yet.

Congrats to Heather, for getting the Grinch reference. In an ironic turn of events, I actually do have a prize for her. Well, sort of. Let me explain...

You know the last prize for the Making Strides Walk contest? I just received it this week from Aimee (who's been terribly busy, so I totally understand and am just so thrilled she donated it in the first place--thank you!). All right, so I had a list of winners that I went down when I gave out the prizes, but I never mentioned the last winner, as I hadn't yet received the prize for her. Well, I peeked at that list again and wouldn't you know it?! Heather is the winner of the last prize!! Woohoo! I took a couple of pics of the Butterfly Row Counter bracelet and the Stitch Marker Set Heather will receive, and they are lovely. Thanks again to Aimee and her generosity. Disclaimer--this is from my original list of winners for the contest and in actuality has nothing to do with her getting the Grinch reference. So Heather, would you please send me the address you'd like me to mail these goodies to? You can email me or just send me a little message on Ravelry. Congrats!

Here are the super-cute prizes:



I'm most of the way through Irene's hat. I put four rows of polka dots to match the mittens, and I think it's cute. I'm going to do a few more rows of plain before I start the decreases, and then I'll be mostly done. Then I have to put earflaps on, and I'm not quite sure how to do that. I'll peek at the Kittyville pattern again from Stitch 'N Bitch and see how much I still have to learn what I need to do. Wish me luck, and I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

One other thing I still needed to catch up on--Thanksgiving. I know it's been an entire week, but I think that I'm still within my rights to share, so bear with me. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, filled with fun, warmth, and love. That said, let me tell you about my experience.

As I said in a previous post, I was sick last week. Spencer had been sick, too, and I'm talking fevers of 103, 104 degrees (F...if you're reading from far away) and not just one time, either. He scared me quite a bit a couple of the days. We're still not quite sure what the deal was, but he is better now, so I guess the point is moot. On Wednesday, Brian and I discussed whether he was well enough to go to Thanksgiving. We pretty much decided that he was right on the cusp. He could probably go and function and not appear sick enough for anyone to question why we brought him along to infect the whole clan. But, with his immune system down, there was concern that he might pick up any little thing anybody was carrying...and there are probably a good 40-45 people in and out of Brian's aunt and uncle's house on Thanksgiving Day. Besides the fact that I would personally be inconvenienced with a sick kiddo again, there was the fact that all those people could catch whatever he had, too. I just didn't want to be responsible for that, and, more to the point, I didn't want him to be sick again. All in all, it's a wordy way of saying that Spence and I had to stay home.

Brian (bless his soul) took Irene and Keegan to the Thanksgiving anyway, where they all had a great time. Spencer and I hung out and had a quite day of just chilling and resting and playing together. Yeah, I did get a little knitting in, too, but I rested too, since I'd been feeling like crap for a while by then. It was nice. I mean we were a little lonely, but if I ignored the fact that it was Thanksgiving I didn't really feel all that sad or left out, you know? Just a nice day at home with my little baby.

Um, except for one thing.

Yeah, I was planning to go away for the entire day to eat. And we were going to my parents' the next day to eat more. And sleep over. So, er, there was not much food in my house, since no one was supposed be there for about three days. Oh, it was sad. The pickin's were slim. And you can't just run out and pick something up on a holiday when all the stores are closed, either. Hmmm. Not a good situation to be in. After sandwiches for lunch, we were in a bit of a bind. If it were just me, I would have just hung on until Brian and the kids got home with a pie for me, but babies who aren't yet two do not consider that a good idea. At. All.

I scrounged around in the fridge and finally came up with this:

• Kielbasa, sliced and fried up in a pan
• Tater Tots
• Cucumber, cut up from the day before

Oh, it was a f-e-a-s-t, I tell you!

Spencer, where's the food?

Luckily, he didn't mind...

It was pretty sparse. Still, I was thankful my baby boy was o.k., and we were together, and we had something to eat. Really, it wasn't so bad...

(I mentioned the knitting, right?)

The Coo of a Dove

The level of holiday spirit in my household continues to astound me. Now, all kids are going to be asking for certain things from Santa in November and December. And lots of kids might see something cool in a catalog and suggest that maybe they should ask for it for Christmas. Plus, I am aware that my children are not the only ones out there pleading to turn on carols and dance (though I still think it's funny). All that considered, I think we may have gone one step further.


My children's newest thing is "the coo of a dove." They love the idea of it. They love to say it. They love to make the sound of it. My daughter walks around all day cooing. Yes. Cooing. Really. My son plays with his dinosaurs (just this morning, in fact) and crashes them into each other, saying "Then, with the coo of a dove, he jumps on the Sharptooth and..." No, I am not kidding. And it goes on all day.


Where did they get this coo of a dove, you say? Well, I am not sure how many times you might have read and/or watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If it's anywhere near as many times as I have, you would have known the answer right away, I guarantee it. Anyone know what the Grinch has to do with doves? C'mon--someone knows. Post the answer in the comments and maybe you'll get a special little something!? All right, not really. But I will consider you a special friend and if we ever meet in real life, I'll give you a big hug, o.k.? Hey, give me a break! It's the holidays and it's been a tight year. (Plus, it's insanely easy, but that's beside the point.) So, that's the newest thing here at my house. Constant cooing and dove references. Kind of cute, but believe me, it does get on your nerves after a little bit. These darned holidays are getting out of control...


On the knitting front, I did finish Irene's mittens. I used basically the same pattern as the boys' mittens: Classic Mittens from Free Vintage Knitting. Such trouble getting everything to work, details on Ravelry (I'm "theJilly" if you want to peek). In the end, I'm happy with the way they turned out, and Irene wore them to school this morning, so I believe she's happy, too.


The front:




The palm:

I think they'll be warm enough, and they match her coat pretty darned well, indeed. After much debate with Brian last night, we decided that she's probably too old to still have a string connecting her mittens. Actually, he kind of shamed me into the decision. I'd embarrass her...blah, blah, blah. All I could think was that if she lost one I'd have to knit ANOTHER one! He finally won. I deemed them officially completed last night, feeling mightily satisfied. Don't you know that this morning, she asked if she could have an I-cord, too, like the boys? Um, yeah, she did say "I-cord". Is that weird? Tonight, the cord will be added and I'll keep working on the matching hat. It's a cross between the Kittyville hat and the polka dotted mittens. Not sure how happy I am with the seed stitch at the bottom, but I am letting it transform and I'll decide later.

Did I show you Keegan's finished mittens?




They're just like Spencer's, but the size bigger. I believe it's 4-6 yrs.


Here's my progress on the Monkeys. It's not much, but I am close to the heel flap, so I'm getting pumped. It's just been so cold here that I had to put these on hold to work on the mittens and hats. Apparently, kids don't like to wear last year's "yucky" mittens while Momma works on fun stuff for herself instead of said kid's mittens. Who knew?




Ps. You'll be happy to hear that the Knitting Gods have taken pity on me and let Irene come home with BOTH mittens. I figure if she was to lose one, it would definitely be the day she wore them for the first time, while I planned to make and attach the cord that night, right?

Where have I been?

Sick. I've been sick, along with Spencer. And it hasn't been very fun. Luckily, we're all better now, though. I have lots to say, seeing as it's been a really long time since I last posted (sorry about that) and we've been very busy. Why is it that life doesn't stop when you're not feeling well? I mean, a little consideration...

I did manage to finish Keegan's socks in the generous four days I'd allotted myself. Note to self: DK weight socks CAN be made in a ridiculously short amount of time, but I should never attempt fingering weight socks in a crunch like that. Impossible, for me, at least.

I didn't take official pics of the finished socks, but you can see him opening them here.

He was very excited and tried to put them right on!

He's only five and was sort of freaking out (in a good way) so he needed a little help...

I think he was pleased...

We had a fun night. Here's one I had to show. He decided to "model" this new sweatshirt.

Apparently, my daughter does a lot of pretend modelling and it looks a lot like that. He's only five, maybe he'll pick up a more masculine runway walk?

How can he be so BIG?

A day or two later, it snowed for the first time here. Now, we have had some flakes already this year, but they didn't stay, so they don't count. I am not sure which day we did get the snow, as I was sick and sort of out of it, but I want to say it was Tuesday the 20th. The kids got all excited, but it didn't last long.



You can see the flakes falling a little bit. I know, it's a little blurry because of the screen in the window. Next time, I'll do better. I was sick! This snow counts because it lasted an hour or maybe a bit more and you can see how it collected on the ground and in the trees. Can you believe how many leaves are still on the trees in my yard? They only pick up leaves in my town until the first week in December, but lots of mine haven't even FALLEN yet! It's a problem every year...

I realize that my snow pics aren't so wonderful. Did you see the Yarn Harlot's pictures of snow recently? They are amazing! Take a peek here. Um, on second thought--don't. Mine are so terrible next to hers. Maybe finish reading and look at the Yarn Harlot's stuff tomorrow. Yeah. That's it. Tomorrow.

All right, I have to apologize--for some reason the pics on here are crazy-large. I don't know why. They aren't that big on photobucket, but they are here. And I keep resizing them, but it hasn't helped. I reposted the whole thing, but that hasn't helped. I even manually dragged the corners around to make 'em smaller, but then the pictures got all distorted and weird. Funny, actually. But weird. So I just left them big. Hmmm...maybe if I left them weird and distorted, but longer, I'd look thinner? ...Possibility.

Hopefully by the time you read this, I will have fixed the technical difficulties. But if not, I am sorry that they're big and probably take forever to load, and --my personal pet peeve-- you'll have to drag the bar around to see the whole picture. Ugh. Can't stand that.

I do have a lot more to say and update you on, but I have been at this post for about 2 hours now, and I am going insane. I will get more up soon, but right now I need a time-out. And possibly a strong drink.

Now you know I just tried to post it and it's all messed up again. Every time I preview and then try to post, I double spaces anywhere I have a single space, and takes out one space between each sentence! Ahhh!! I am gonna lose it...

(Calm now.)

More later.

'Tis the Season

How funny it is that the cold weather brings on the holidays? At least is does for me. Chilly days and cold nights have really gotten me into the festive spirit. I mean, I'm not decorating or anything--don't be silly! But I do have Christmas carols playing and I have even put some in the car already. I don't know, they just help me get in the mood. And the kids love them. They belt out the tunes. Since I first put a holiday CD in the stereo, they ask every night: Can we put on Christmas carols and DANCE? You think that's funny? ...You should see the dancing.

This season is a particularly busy one for us, since it is not only the busy holiday season that everyone has gets to deal with, but we have additional demand as well. It's our "birthday season". Let me break it down for you. Keegan's birthday, Thanksgiving, Spencer's birthday, Christmas, Irene's birthday. And this all takes place in a matter of 7 weeks. Yes, that's right. By January, I am a complete psycho, completely drained of any creative juices, decorating or baking skills, and the general will to live. Ugh. It's a little much. I know, what were we thinking? I don't know. I guess the spring is a romantic time for us or something?

In knitting news, I am all over the place. I gave up on Irene's hat completely for now. A new needle is on its way, and I will work on it more then. I cannot deal with another dropped stitch right now or I will scream. (That sort of implies that I have not screamed already, and well, that is not true. But I will stop from now on. You have my word.)

My monkeys are coming along a bit. I have passed the second lace repetition, and I'm somewhere on the third now, I think. This is the last picture I have of them, but they're kind of hanging out for now.



The Tiffany Mittens are really coming along. This is a picture from last night. I started blogging but was interrupted several times, so I never got to post it up. At the time of the picture, I had finished the top of the second mitt and was due to weave in the ends (oh, so many!) and begin wrestling with the picking up stitches for an afterthought thumb.



Currently, the weaving in is done and I've picked up the thumb stitches and worked most of that chart. I think I have 3 or 4 rows left before I am done with the thumb and need only to hem the cuff...and then do a happy dance. (This one's been in the works for a while.)

Also, I started something new. I suddenly got the urge to make a quick pair of socks (no, I didn't mean that ironically--why do you ask?) for my son's birthday on Monday. I figured it was Thursday, if I did half a sock per day, I should make it.



It's a plain stockinette sock in a DK weight. Yarns are leftovers from the Tiffany Mitts above, Knitpicks Swish DK in Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Dusk. Hey, so what if I've started 4 pairs of socks and three of them are Yarn Harlot's basic sock recipe? Huh? Sheesh. I am just a boring person. And it's the quickest sock I could think of--I only have 4 days! They're coming along nicely. I am in the toe decreases, but I had to stop. Did you notice that the part of the Tiffany Mitts I'm still working on involves the Dusk? You did?! Good for you. Well, I need to make sure I have enough of that darned blue to finish the mitts. After that, I'll do the stripes of the socks as I can, depending how much blue is left. So I am going to finish the mitts, start the second sock, and make sure I can get at least to where I am now on another sock without running out. If I make it, I'll decide how much more I can do. Hopefully, I'll make it to the planned last blue stripe on the toes. Cross your fingers. I need all the luck I can get.

The best laid plans...

Wow. Long day here. No school + kids with colds (yes, all three) = long, tiring day.

Luckily, I've had knitting to keep me (relatively) sane. Once Brian's socks were finished, I sort of didn't know what to do with myself. This rarely occurs to me, as I tend to know exactly what one thing I want to be working on next. But here I found myself--socks finished, only one WIP (Tiffany Mitts) and quite unsure what to cast on next. Basically, I really wanted to cast on for either Monkey Socks with my Hazel Knits yarn or Purl-less Monkeys, the creation of Megann with I'm not sure what yarn. Hmmm...what to do? I also needed to cast on for Irene's hat and after that, mittens for she and Keegan, too. Did I mention how cold it is here now? Well, in the end, I felt like a bad mommy if I didn't put my daughter's welfare in front of my cute socks, so I cast on for her hat on Friday. What can I say? It has to get done.

OK, so I planned out what I wanted for the hat--not sure if I've mentioned it, but I think not. Seriously, how lazy is that? Can't I just click a few times and figure it out? Nah. It's been a long day. Here's the plan: some ribbing at the bottom, with a cuff...maybe 2 inches or a bit more? Then I am going to go a little bit in plain st. st., then add some polka dots (special request), and after a few rows of dots I'll start reducing. Dark purple for the hat, and lighter purple for the dots. I'm pretty certain that I did mention that part, right? Losing my mind? Don't answer that!

I swatched for the hat, and was not loving the looseness of the drape, so I went down to US 4's and tried again. Then I figured out how big I needed it to be, etc, and determined how many stitches I should cast on. Not good. The polka dot requires a 9 stitch repeat, so it has to be divisible by 9. You're following me, right? Then I also wanted K2, P2 ribbing, so I required a number divisible by 4 as well. Not good. I could only go up or down so much. The first number that worked would have made the hat 2 inches less around. Not acceptable. Ah! I had an idea--how about K1, P1 ribbing? Then I need divisible by 9 and 2, and that's not bad. I decided to go ahead and take 118, do the ribbing and then decrease by only one when I start the stockinette, which would give me the needed 117 sts.! Perfect.

After I realize that I don't have a circ. needle in size 4, I grab my double points and decide to start. I cast on and start the ribbing, but it's pretty tight on the needles. Not "gauge tight", but too-many-stitches-on-not-enough-needles tight. Well, I had some trouble. You know how it is, sometimes you just have trouble when there is no good reason on this earth for it. I cast on 3 or 4 times--not sure, I lost track. Ugh, frustrating. Plus, I am not fond of ribbing, especially 1x1. By that night, I'd decided not to have a cuff at all. I couldn't see adding that much length to this cumbersome project. Stitches were constantly falling off the needles and making me crazy. I'd even zipped out to a store to try to find either a circular or another set of 4's, just so I'd have another needle or two to spread these stitches onto. Again, did I mention that it's a set of only 4 needles? Yeah, great, huh?! Apparently Michael's at the Blackstone Valley Shoppes doesn't even carry a circular or double pointed needle under size 6. Can you believe that? So I guess I am stuck for now. Right before I went to bed, I looked at the hat and realized I had forgotten to use smaller needles for the ribbing. Doh! Sadly, I shook my head. I'm going to have to frog this whole hat... Zzzzzzz.

On Saturday, I ripped back the entire 3" or so of hat and took a fresh look. You know what Irene had wanted originally? The Kittyville hat from SnB Nation. Somehow we got off of that and onto the polka dots. What if I went with the seed stitch (which I've been dying to try) from that hat, and then just did the dots and skipped the ears, finishing the top like a regular hat?! Yes!! That would work and be totally cute. If I've got enough motivation left yarn left, I can even do the ear flaps and little cords. All right, I started with a fresh attitude and positive outlook. I could best this hat.

So here is what I've got:

Maybe a couple of inches of seed stitch, and lots of frustration. I do love the changes, though. This stitch is SO much prettier to me than the ribbing was, and looks lovely in the Swish DK. If I hadn't frogged I would probably be about done by now, but hey, we all know I would have hated that hat every time I looked at the super-loose ribbing. It was for the best.

Yesterday, I'd had enough of fighting the Knitting Gods, and just didn't want to even go near that hat. So I did what I generally do not do...I started something else. Now, I'm not going to abandon the hat, but I need something "else" to work on, when the darn thing drives me to either drink or knit, know what I mean?

So, I cast on for the Monkeys. And I am loving this project! Shame, shame--I know. I want the socks very badly, and I've been waiting, and I ADORE the yarn...I am so happy. The colors are amazing and I can't capture them properly. Wendee has an incredible yarn, between the colors and the little bit extra tight twist. I love knitting with it. I will try to make sure to finish Irene's hat, though. Promise.

Today I still wasn't ready to face that darned hat, though. But I felt a tinge of guilt to ignore it on behalf of my beloved Monkey socks. Then a thought hit me...my poor abandoned Tiffany Mittens. Yes, I would work on those. And so I did. They're really coming along. I am almost to the decreases for the hand. Want to see?

Now for some comment responses.

Qutecowgirl suggested using the orange as an accent in the shawl neck sweater, and I considered it, but I think I want it one single color. But thank you--you always have lots of other ideas I can tap into, no matter what the problem is. And thanks for agreeing with me on the baby poo thing. ;)

Ruth, you know, I am not sure what season I am. But I may very well be an autumn, or at least it's what I would guess I am. And for what it's worth, I did look into the reds, but I just have a hard time picking reds that look good on me. Some do, some are awful...and I can never figure out which are which. Hey, from the looks of it, I may just have to wait for the color card after all. I've got a lot lined up for now to work on anyway, right? Thanks for the input.

Shewolfy and Jen, thank you both for the insight into the circs for sock knitting. It's all becoming clearer now... And Jen, I certainly will email if I have a hard time, thanks!

Wendee, isn't Ravelry the coolest thing that way?! I love it. And I agree, the socks do look like tiny ribs. Brian said the same thing when I first showed him my very first sock (same pattern as his socks, by the way). It's hard to imagine that the plain stockinette looks so pretty and interesting, isn't it? Even if it is boring to knit... It's worth it.

And not to leave anyone out, thanks to Megann and Aimee as well, for the compliments on the socks! I did contact Aimee about the prize, and I'll announce the winner as soon as it arrives. Oh, and Megann? Jealous of the weather? Well, there IS something to be said for knitting socks for fun and never having to wear them. I am jealous of you!

I am so appreciative for the comments you all leave. It feels amazing every time I get a comment. Each, and every time. You are all the best!

Ps. Sorry for the hat rant.

Oh, yes

Oh, yes, they are DONE! Brian's socks are finished--finished them last night during Grey's, as a matter of fact. How fitting since they were my project for the Grey's Anatomy KAL. I'm pretty excited about that. Brian wore 'em into work today, and I have to give him credit... He wore a grey mock turtleneck to match the grey socks, and EVEN donned his black shoes, instead of his usual brown-with-anything look. Impressive, no? I am very proud. (If you didn't know, I sort of have a thing about grey and brown together; it just skives me out.) It either bugs you, too, or you have no idea why it bugs me. Can't explain it.


Yeah, yeah, I know it looks a little bunchy behind the heel. Not sure if it's the sock or how he's got his legs scrunched...I will check on that.





Not sure why he did the pose like this. I think because I did it before so my ankles wouldn't look fat? Again, not sure if it's because he just saw me do it, or because he's trying to make sure his ankles don't look fat. (His ankles aren't fat.)

In Megann's blog the other day, she referred to "the Kitchner Bitch", which I thought was pretty cute. I'm at my computer, and I read this and start giggling a bit. Brian asks me what's up, and I have to say that it's a knitting joke. He's all, "Oh." I ended up telling him what it was, figuring it wouldn't be that funny, and he started laughing, too! Hmmm...sometimes they surprise you. I guess he listens to my knitting rambles after all. He even brought it up again last night while I was finishing the socks up: "You gonna Kitchner Bitch them up?" Silly man.

So, today I cast on for Irene's hat. I really wanted to start another pair of socks, but I just can't put her hat and mittens off any longer. It's so darned cold here! It was about 32 degrees this morning when we left to bring her to school. Freezing temps really require mittens for 6 year olds, so I'd better get on the ball. Her request for her hat was that it match her new coat (duh) and that it have circles. I interpreted that to mean polka dots--not sure what she'd meant. Circles sounded like a color work nightmare. Polka dots can be repeated nicely, so as not to cause me any stress or Agata. Works for me. I'll take some pics, but right now it looks like a half inch of K1,P1 ribbing in dark purple. You can use your imaginations.