A Mocha Squirrel

“Yeah, Hi. I’ll have a large iced mocha squirrel with skim milk, please…”

While driving home today The Boyfriend ordered me a mocha squirrel instead of a mocha swirl latte. “Champ, I think I ate your chocolate squirrel.”

I also finished my lace shawl! A week and it’s done. I’m not sure it’ll be the 50” in length but maybe after I block it. Sometimes my color and pattern sense come into conflict, or at least my desire to knit with a yarn and a pattern out weigh my common sense about color variegation and intricate patterns. See my first lace shawl as a prime example. Love the Socks That Rock colorway, pirate booty but it completely distracts from the stitch details of the lace, spring bandits. C’est La Vie! As Dad would say, maybe next will be the time I remember this lesson.

Speaking of Dad…Check out the Knitted Christmas gift recipients

Socks Socks Socks and a Hat.

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We had a brilliant Christmas. As always Mum is a hosting genius. We stayed for a week and felt welcomed and at home the entire time. Even when the kittens were bouncing around on us as we slept, we felt like we belonged there. The extended family gathering was fun, not as fun as the cocktail dress but that might have been an unmatchable high point. We tried out the game Apples to Apples which had us calling bottled water chewy and boyfriends untrustworthy (yes The Boyfriend did take slight offense to this). Christmas with the in-laws wasn’t long enough but as compensation there was a very tasty vegetarian pot pie and mountains of yarn. And lastly we rounded out the holiday week with a visit to AP. It was great to be with my extended family for so long and truly enjoy the time with family who are also friends.

And here it is, Christmas Eve.

And here it is, Christmas Eve. Are you ready? I’ve been listening to a lot of knitting podcasts and talking with the Seacoast Knitters. Everyone is knitting a lot of Christmas gifts this year. More than I recall in previous years. I wonder if this is a symptom of the economy or if we’ve all advanced enough in our knitting that we’re confident that our finished objects are as nice, if not nicer than the store bought equivalent? I think some of both reasons played into my Christmas knitting this year. Which by the way was finished last Friday. I took the day off to write Christmas cards and finish wrapping presents. The cards and the must-wrap-now presents were finished by 8 am. That left quit a bit of knitting time. Did I mention I love snow knitting days. Which is exactly what Sunday was. The Boyfriend and his three cats all cuddled in next to me on the couch. It was lovely.

Looking at my Ravelry page the last 6 finished objects are Christmas gifts! Wow, I only knit for AP and VS last year if I’m remembering right. Oh and the wine cozys.

Yesterday I had the day off, it was a case of use the time or loose it. So after the baking and more baking and laundry and packing was finished, I started a new project. A lace project!!! Eeee Gats!~#$%!

MMH & The Enforcer were quit persuasive the other night that my 100% merino Socks That Rock yarn would make a better shawl than a sock. At least a sock the way I’d have to knit it. Super tiny needles and reinforcing nylon thread that inevitably wouldn’t match perfectly and would then drive me batty every time I looked at how it didn’t match. It would’ve been a project in frustration. The Enforcer’s Spring Bandit shawl has turned me green whenever I see it. So the fact that she was wearing it, promising that I could knit it no problem, and on size 5s. I was sold! So here is my first lace project. I’m calling it the Christmas Bandit. It will be a lacey triangle rainbow when I’m finished. I absolutely love it and stayed up entirely too late last night so I could “finish just one more row!”

This past fall VS asked me to knit her a lace shawl and I managed not to laugh in her face. I thought they were massive endeavors that only the most tolerant and most skilled knitters could accomplish. Yeah I’m skilled but typically I lack the patience necessary for complicated charts and I didn’t think a she had any idea of the 50+ time investment that would take. But if all lace is this much fun, then bring it on! I can knit lace for Mum, VS, AP, AB, Memere, LT, The Mumma, you name it!!! And it’s a double bonus that it’s a new skill for me. Following the charts and doing the mirror image for the second side is not easy. It’s not the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s not for the weak either.

But enough about my newest addiction! I’ll have to set that aside for the next couple of days (except in the car! I can do lots of knitting during the two hour drive to and then from the in-laws. Which reminds…must pack my head lamp!)

Until we speak again, Merry Christmas and here’s hoping you finish all of your holiday knitting in time and have a wonderful holday!

My shoulder is cold

I have a friend that I typically see once or twice a week. It’s not uncommon for us to go as many as 10 days without seeing each other. This week she’s gone across the country to celebrate the holidays with her family. I’m very happy for her and for them as I’m sure they will all enjoy the time together. But, I miss her. It hasn’t even been a week since I last saw her but knowing she’s not where she normally would be is making me feel slightly off, like a part of me is disconnected, or out of place. You know that feeling when it’s cold at night and you’re all snuggled in a warm bed but your one shoulder is out and that’s cold? That’s how I feel about her not being here, my one shoulder is cold. Have you ever felt that way about a friend?

Holiday Quotes

MacOban, the Christmas tree is not your enemy!

The Boyfriend in response to Mac's constant need to sit on presents and bat at the bottom branches of the Christmas tree.

Your laugh is like an evil cartoon laugh…!

A coworker in response to my laughing.

Christmas Preparations

Ok, let me explain what happened in the afternoon. The boss walked into a coworkers cube and said, “Ewwww! What is that?” And then the coworker explained that a friend in another department had a prank pulled on them and their desk was covered with these fake cockroaches and she took some to bring home to her son. I immediately popped up and said, “so wait, that bug wasn’t from my Secrete Santa?” To which everyone started laughing and the joke was on me. I’m so glad I didn’t get the equivalent of a lump of coal.

I did a bad thing. I started a pair of socks for myself while I’m on a knitting deadline. And then, I really liked the pattern and how the stripes were working up, which means I haven’t touched the last pair of gift socks for a few days. I have about 4” to go. Totally do able but every time it’s knitting time I’d rather work on the new stripy socks for me.

The Boyfriend has been a super trooper this week. Finishing up his classes and taking part in wrapping more than just my presents. He does the paper and I do the decorating. We wrapped miss LT’s gift in two stacking boxes tied together with string. Linus thought this was irresistible and claimed it as his own. It’s funny to look over at the Christmas tree and see a large fluffy Christmas kitten bow.

Not wanting to be left out, Isitt has been busy addressing Christmas cards. I think I shuffled her off my lap and table five or six times the other night while I was working. Oh and Mac, well he’s always been fond of hitting those bottom branches of the Christmas tree. One year he brought the whole thing down but since then he’s been gentle with it. And The Boyfriend ties the tree to the wall with fishing line, so you know, no worries.

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well.

Secret Santa!? Really?

My department is doing a Secret Santa exchange this week. Something every day leading up to breakfast and the big reveal. Last night I laid out all of the treats I’ve picked up over the last week making sure that I have chocolate/candy and some sort of goodie for each day. Nothing cheesy, nothing useless.
This morning I wasn’t the only with the idea of arriving early and delivering the goods. When my recipient opened mine it was a success. Later in the morning I went to the bathroom and came back to find a fake cockroach on my chair. Oh that’s nice! There was a cockroach incident in the dorms while I was in college that prevented me from sleeping well for about a month. So now here’s this plastic one, all to realistic if you ask me, that I need to move to sit in my chair. I Just threw it in the trash and didn’t acknowledge it to my coworkers. Now I’m twitchy and itchy all over. Who thinks that’s what santa would give!!! Honestly? This isn’t April fools. And now I’m dreading the rest of the week.

Later…I discovered a dove Christmas ornament had been hung in my cube. It’s very nice, but it doesn’t make up for my scare at seeing the fake bug!

Christmas Report

The list of knit gift recipients continues to grow as the allotted time in which to complete them continues to shrink. I started the holiday season with three people in mind, then it quickly bloomed to six. And then I felt an urgent need to knit a baby set of legwarmers, mittens, and a bonnet for a baby that won’t be arriving until March. I’ve finished two of the original gifts and two of the later additions, which leaves me with, yup you guessed it, two unfinished gifts.

One is a pair of socks that I’m 70% finished but man it’s a slog. The mindless rib seemed like a good idea at the time. Then I knit two pairs of socks that way and I’m really just over it. The other gift is more of a happy just because present since I wont see them between now and Christmas and I don’t want them to feel obligated to reciprocate.

Audio book wise, I’ve begun Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Wait, I think my geek flag is showing a little here. I still have a couple of hours left on Atlas Shrugged. I’m past the big speech and it just seems anti-climatic at this point. I also listened to the first Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I thought it might be fun since I enjoyed the first half of True Blood so much. Yes first half. The show just fizzled out for me at the end of season one. I won’t not watch seasons 2 & 3 but I wont go crazy searching for them. When they’re streaming on Netflix I’ll check them out, but not before. Oh and the book was even more graphic than the shows. I bit too much for me. But I must say, the show did an excellent job bringing the books to life.

I’m off to work so I can knit on the remaining sock at lunch. Have a pleasant Tuesday!

Finished!!!

I knit these so fast. Like someone who doesn’t work. Three days off for Thanksgiving helped out with that. Berroco Sox seems to be a durable yarn, not soft but worth it if the sock wear well. Loved the pattern, Groovy Socks. Simple to knit with a decorative result (best kind of sock pattern if you ask me). These are the Speta & Finach socks. I thought Mum’s version of feta and spinach was too memorable to let pass without memorializing it. Oh and I’ve knit 26 socks since June 1^st!

Closer view of the stitch pattern.

A Sweater's Worth...

Did you catch my mention of Webs? Yes last weekend we attempted to visit Webs for the second time in two weeks.

I was a woman prepaired, a woman on a mission.

I had a seven item list. This was monumental since I’ve only ever had a yarn shopping list one other time, Rhinebeck this year, and that was really more of a yardage requirement list. Saturday morning bright and early off we go to Webs. I’m thinking I’ll follow the Crazy Librarians example and attempt to spend less than $50, that way I’m sure to beat Meow Meow Head in the ‘who can spend less game’ that we only play when she knows she’s won.

Did I mention that the list contained,
-yarn for a boy hat, indistructible and superwash
-half a sweater’s worth of yarn to go with the Zenith Dive I picked up from The Communicator at the yarn swap
-yarn for a girl hat, no idea what color
-a pattern for the sweaters worth of mohair I’d picked up from The Communicator at the yarn swap
-a sweater’s worth of tweed yarn to make the Berroco Nonpareil Sweater
-a sweater’s worth of Misti Alpaca in Granite to make my Elizabeth's Percentage System sweater
-and one more thing I can’t remember, so clearly I didn't get it.

Ok first flaw in my logic, all that can not be purchase wholesale for $50, let alone retail. Second flaw in my logic, just because it’s on the list doesn’t mean I have to buy it, this is not grocery shopping. That being said, I didn’t buy it all, the pattern proved too illusive, oh and the girl hat flew my mind once we found the perfect tweed for the Nonpareil (Valley Yarns Williamstown is a perfect substitute). I choose Navy and I believe MMH went with forest green.



And then my long lost love, the one that got away found me. Misti Alpaca Hand Painted Worsted Weight 100% Baby Alpaca in Granite. Does that sound as wonderful to you as it does to me? I’ve been pining for this yarn since we saw it on our way back from Rhinebeck. I know you’re wondering if it’s wise to make a sweater out of Alpaca but I honestly don’t care. I love this yarn that much.

And now off to make the Sweet Potato Casserole we’ll be bringing to Thanksgiving, finish my Christmas knitting and dream of my Misti Alpaca!

Thanksgiving Halt

I have one of those jobs that’s crazy. Specifically it’s crazy at the beginning of the week and then tapers down as the week goes on. Every Monday it’s wild and requires my full attention or things will be missed. Every Friday we collect ourselves and begin prep for the next week. And then some times the work just runs out. I work as hard and as fast as I can all day every day to try and ‘dig out’. I can count the number of times when I’ve been without a mountain of work on one hand. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fast pace and constant goal just out of reach. Today just happened to be one of those grinding halt days. It’s a funny feeling when you’ve been chugging along, full speed ahead and you suddenly find there’s nothing left to do. You have this magical thing called free time. And there are other projects to tackle and deadlines to meet but their not looming ahead of me like the signs hanging overhead on the highway. Instead they are the signs posted at the on-ramp noting that a city is 26 miles away and another is 72 miles. No impending doom and plenty of time to stretch my legs and breath. What a rarity.

Of course Thanksgiving is coming and with it lots of family time. All of The Boyfriend’s family will be there this year which is nice since I desperately missed his mother last year. She’s my knitting buddy. Unfortunately I don’t see her as often as we’d like but we always catch up on each others projects, new techniques, and yarn when we’re together. I have to start thinking of projects to bring. You know socks will be involved, but will I pull out one of the new yarns I got this past weekend when we ventured yet again to Webs. In the last week, between the Yarn Swap and Webs I have enough yarn for 5 new sweaters. Seriously, F-I-V-E!!!! That’s insane. But I had to get yarn for the Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern…can you say Misti Alpaca in Granite? I’ve bought this color way in two other yarn weight/contents and finally broke down and got a sweaters worth. I know Alpaca!!!! Am I crazy? Yes I am, crazy in love with this color!