Author: BeverlyArmyWilliams

Holiday Knitting

I just cast on for Fetching 2 in Pair 1.  I love the way the finished mitt looks on my hand.  Another must have mitt for me! 

So, there’s an ad on the radio (we just finished listening to UCONN’s Women’s Basketball) that has informed me that the holidays are not that far away.  Really?  Ya think?  After last year’s holiday knitting frenzy–I made almost every gift, and I have a LONG gift list–I swore I wasn’t going to craft gifts.  But, with the cooling weather and my tight budget, as well as my belief that handmade gifts trump storebought gifts, I’ve grown another long holiday gift list.

I don’t want to talk about some of the gifts as my friends and family might just happen to read this post.  There are some giftees I know don’t read, so I’ll talk about their gifts.

The Fetching that are on the needles right now are for my cousin.  She’s going to love them, I’m sure.  I wanted to make a pair for her fiance, but Neal informed me that a man would not wear them. 

"Would a guy wear any fingerless mitts?"

"No."

"No, you wouldn’t or any guy wouldn’t?"

"None."

While I don’t believe him, his guidance towards mittens, always wearable (so I was informed), will be heeded.  So Richard gets a pair of mittens, but maybe I’ll make convertibles. 

I’ve tried to think of another gift that I can make for several people, and I like the idea of making calendars.  I’ve thought about this year after year, but I think I have a workable, elegant plan for this year.  I’ll keep you posted.

I’m going to turn off the radio and pop in a Jane Austen movie.  I’ve got about two hours of knitting time, and I can make a lot of progress on a Fetching in that time.

Still looking for other gift ideas…let me know if you have ’em!

Go Huskies

There is only one television program that I will clear my calender for, for which I will stay home from almost any event or festive occasion:  UCONN men’s basketball.  Last night we watched their first game.  The team is young–only freshmen and sophomores, and I’m excited to get to know the new players. 

You’ll notice that I changed the background color on my blog.  It’s as close as I can get to Husky Blue. 

Go Huskies!

Lovelies

Img_1210 Blogless Sara came over on Saturday.  We had big plans to work on about 2,517 different craft projects because we’re optimists that way.  What we actually did was muse over her sweater that we still need to steek and dye some roving.  I’d like to try knitting with roving and then felting the product, so I dyed with that in mind.  I’ve been spinning the roving that my nephew and I dyed over the summer, and I like the way it looks quite a bit.  I wonder if I’ll like this stuff knitted.

Img_1212

I had a fortunate day on Sunday.  Of course seeing the Yarn Harlot was great, but I also won a doorprize–a scarf pattern and a skein of yarn. 

Even better, though, I was the recipient of a lovely gift from my friend Cae.  She knit a gorgeous shawl this summer and made an edging out of one of the Nicki Epstein books.  She decided to put the edging on only two sides of the shawl, and look what she did Img_1213 with the extra edging.

Img_1214 Doesn’t she do lovely work?  Aren’t I so lucky?  Thank you, Cae!

It’s a rainy gray day here.  I’m going to take a little nap before I start my Treadmill Journal writing.  I have Friday off from work, so I’m looking forward to the long weekend.  I hope to set aside some time to start my holiday crafting.  What are you making for your gift list?

Things That Make Me Happy

1.  Seeing the Yarn Harlot at a fundraiser for breast cancer research.  I haven’t laughed so hard in ages.

2.  The quarter of a locally-made apple cider donut that I just ate.  So yummy.

3.  My swag from Scout.  Pictures tomorrow, but know this:  the Namaste bag?  I can hardly count the pockets there are so many, so smartly placed.  Know this, too:  the sushi kit will make you squeal.  Like an eight-year-old girl who just got her first Shaun Cassidy album (oh, wait, that was me in the 70’s). 

4.  A beautiful new scarf.  Pictures tomorrow.

5.  Dyeing roving.  Pictures tomorrow.

6.  Pippi’s dyed roving in Scout’s shop.  You read right, spinners.  There’s roving over there.

7.  Recovering from leaving my teaching materials (which I spent HOURS prepping) on the counter this morning.  I didn’t realize that I did this until I was half way to work.  There was no going back for them.  Oh, and today was my observation.  Luckily, all those hours of prepping paid off.  I was able to recreate my lessons in about 10 minutes.  The class went well.  I’ll have a debriefing next Monday, so I’ll see just how well.

8.  Visiting with two of the lovely Scissorinas.  Be sure to visit Christine as she’s destashing for some good causes. 

9.  My sister’s birthday.  MB and I love each other like peanut loves butter.  That means we love each others’ birthdays like they’re our own.  So happy birthday, sistah!  XX

10.  Playing with the dogs in the woods when no one else is in there.  Shhh…don’t tell, but I let them run off leash today, and we had a ball kicking up leaves and looking at fallen wasp nests (empty, I assure you).

KMKS Questionnaire

What are your favorite colors? Black, grey, pink, green.

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens? I’ve knit several pairs of mittens, including Kate Gilbert’s Gifted, as well as numerous wrist warmers and mitts (ok, when I write mitts, I mean fingerless gloves/mittens).

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?  I’ve recently learned to knit with beads, which makes me like solid fibers more than I have in the past.  This might be wishy washy, but I think the pattern determines which type of yarn to use.

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn? Soft, not scratchy wool.  I bought my first Malabrigo for some holiday knitting of Fetching, and I lurv it. 

Where do you usually knit mittens? I usually knit everything either at home, on my chair, in the car, or at my knitting group.

How do you usually carry/store small projects?  I have a variety of bags where I stash projects.  My smallest bags (used for socks) are my Madison bag and my GoKnit pouch.

What are your favorite mitten patterns? I like Gifted, and I also like Mrs. Beeton’s wrist warmers.

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques? As I mentioned earlier, and this is not necessarily just for mitts, I like knitting with beads.

What new techniques would you like to try? Is it possible to knit two mitts on two circs?  I wouldn’t mind learning thrumming.

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens? I like dpns for mittens.

What are some of your favorite yarns? I’m having a love affair with Malabrigo right now.

What yarn do you totally covet? Cashmere always rocks my world. I’d like to try Lush or maybe some Frog Tree alpaca.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? One of those fabu capes in Cat Bordhi’s book.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Really depends on the fiber. 

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Black cashmere.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Candied ginger makes me happier than anything else, as far as candy goes, at least.

What’s your favorite animal? Beavers and my dogs (stop it, Mona.  I hear your snickering.)

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts? I could go either way.  I wouldn’t mind trying convertible gloves, you know, the ones with fingers under a mitten top?

If you were a color what color would you be?  Black.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Water, especially the ocean and the Hudson River, make me happy.  Especially after two years in the high desert.  I also like peonies and ferns.

Do you have a wishlist? Yup, on Amazon.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? I’m so excited at the number of people playing with me and Scout for this swap.  Thanks, and I hope you all have a lot of fun.

Hurry if You’re Going to Join

We’re at 120 folks for the KMKS.  Head on over to Swap-bot if you want to join. 

In the meantime, have you checked out Scout’s Swag?  I sent an urgent e-mail last night to tell her that I. Must. Have. A. Sushi.Wallet.  I need one like I need air, and that’s not even an exaggeration.

Thanks to the encouragement of Julie (and the Craftborg podcast for company), I started spinning up the yarn for my shawl from that lucious green roving I got at Rhinebeck.  Kay in NM, my spinning mentor, reiterated that I really need to pre-draft to get the quality of yarn I’m after, so I took her advice and am pleased with what I spun today.

The dogs are taking turns jumping onto the chair and pawing at me.  Their watches are off.  It’s still early for their afternoon stroll, but they want to go now.  Sucker that I am, off we’ll go.

Lazy Afternoon

After two days of visiting DMV, I felt lazy this afternoon.  I had a high-energy teaching day (higher energy than usual, I should say).  I switched my office hours to Friday so I could register the car today.  Because yesterday, despite half a day spent at DMV, I didn’t accomplish everything I needed to.  I got my license, although the woman who helped me at the end of the procedure (no other word for me to use) wanted to send me away because my SS card did not match the name I wanted on my license.  I promise you, I visited the web site, studied the instructions and triple checked that I had all necessary documents.  I honestly thought I was going to cry in DMV, just like I did when I failed my driver’s test lo those many years ago.  The woman (rather snottily, but when I tell you I was surrounded by wack-os, please know that I am not a person who judges others for their wackiness readily.  I was surrounded by wack-os.  If I worked there, I’d be a total jerk) didn’t quite believe that it was possible to both transfer my license and change the name in one go.  She went on line to verify that I was truthing her when I said I’d followed directions.  I used my customer service training in reverse.  I told her I was so sad and disappointed that I couldn’t complete my transaction.

What do you know?  She asked around and found a way.  Rock on DMV with your satisfying results!

Today I went back to register my car.  Tomorrow I’ll put on the new plates.  Then I hope to forget DMV and remember my newly-truncated name.

How about a little knitting?

1.  Knit Mitt Kit Swap sign ups are still underway at Swap-bot.  I heart Swap-bot.  Heart.

2.  Yarn Harlot will be in CT on Sunday.  I’m so looking forward to hearing her speak.

3.  For Socktober I didn’t finish any socks, but I learned a thing or two about toe up socks. 

4.  Today I committed to knitting five things for Dulaan.  I have about six months, and I know I can find plenty of ultra warm things I’d love to make.

5.  If I weren’t so lazy today, I’d have started to spin a new project on my wheel.  I have a one-pound bag of roving that I want to spin for a shawl for me.  I’m thinking about this shawl, but I wonder if I would be happier with a rectangle rather than a triangle.  Any thoughts on the charms of either?

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