knitting: commentary

28 dec 2003 the aftermath

just about everything i've done since christmas has been done to the monkeyball soundtrack; jim and sophie are absolutely entranced with their new nintendo game cube. me? as long as they are busy monkeying around, i can get other things done!

christmas gifts given were very well received. my sister loves her sweater and it fits her exactly as it should. and her mother-in-law loved the long black skinny scarf. success!

on the gift receiving end, i did very well in the fiber arts world. knitting: green mountain spinnery book, two knitting software programs, 15 skeins of noro to arrive momentarily, a ball winder and a swift. other textile related gifties: a needle tatting book, and a small sewing machine.

i won't even get into everything else i was blessed with except to say jim did very well by giving me an outing a month for the next six months -- the opera several times, the symphony, two plays and a lecture. my parents have already agreed to babysit so we are good to go! i think i need to knit myself a nice shawl to wear to some of them.

the only thing i am working on at the moment is the reworked scarf using the adrienne vittadini and a green and gold yarn. the a.v. is knit into wide flares and the green/gold into a long skinny ribbing. in my head it looks great; we'll see how it handles the real world.

24 dec 2003 and to all a good night!

the stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. and i've all but finished my sister's sweater. i want her to try it on before i bind off and knit on the borders, so she will get it in this state and i'll do the last little bits before she leaves on the weekend.

merry christmas everyone! happy holidays!

16 dec 2003 countdown to christmas

all the knitting complete, except for my sister's sweater, and that is coming along swimmingly so the panic is officially over. it feels good to not have all the yarns and projects hanging over my head and i can now look upon them with great fondness instead of great angst.

great auntie lulu's christmas ball hat! this was the final knitted gift that needed to be mailed and it is in the post as of this weekend. sophie thought it should be hers but decided just maybe her auntie lulu needed a hat as well. if i am feeling particularly industrious, i might make a sophie sized one next week.

and after pawing through all my stash looking for red and white washable yarn, i decided i have entirely too much. and i have some really nice yarns that i might well never use. great stash redistribution to the rescue!

09 dec 2003 we three bags

the bags all felted wonderfully. each was just about identical in size pre-felting, but all are different in size post-felting. kinda cool.

and here is a shot of the four of them. this weekend or next, i'll be baking and will fill these full of goodies before handing them over for christmas prezzies.

i also finished the matching scarves for v's daughters. i had an inch to spare of the jiffy, literally. i don't like cutting it that close but i also didn't want any waste. they are very cute and very furry and surprisingly warm, so i think they can be deemed a success.

a k2p2 ribbing, 12 stitches for the larger, 8 for the smaller, with the two yarns held together. i'm still not sure if i like fuzzy furry eyelashy scarves, at least not for me, but i have to admit they look fun. and sophie likes them so hopefully the other girls will as well.

up next: more christmas knitting. i am about 1 inch from finishing the skinny black scarf. then i just remembered i promised sophie's great-aunt a hat that looks like a christmas ornament so i need to whip that right up. then back to the sitcom chic, finally. my sister will be here a week from thursday!

07 dec 2003 in the bag

i love the smell of wet kureyon in the evening.

i've been knitting round and round and round and i have three bags to show for it! well, the beginnings of bags. i'm felting this evening and will then have a total of four bags ready for christmas giving. for each bag, i used one skein kureyon and then whatever other wools i could find in my stash: brown sheep, irish wool, unidentified skeins picked up here and there. it is a great way to get the effect of the gorgeous kureyon without breaking the bank.

i'm also whipping up two little scarves, matching for a set of sisters. i using up more stash yarn, one skein lion jiffy and one crystal palace fizz. i think i am just going to squeak out the two, which will make me very happy. then, just to finish the long skinny black scarf and my sister's sitcom chic and maybe, just maybe, the beginning of a blanket for my sister-in-law.

i don't have the time, but i do have the inclination.

november 2003