Tis the Freaking Season

Know how I know? Cuz the drivers on the road this fine December morning were even more insane than usual. Prepare to drive your armored tanks for the next 30 or so days until the furor dies down.
And speaking of holiday furor, I'll not be eating between now and...oh... 1/15/11. I ate enough over the past weekend that, in addition to my normal reserves, I could go on a hunger strike for six months before anyone would need to worry about me. (As a point of reference, we expected 20 people. We cooked 35 pounds of turkey. o.O)
However, the holiday was a good one, filled with family and fun. T's parents were in town and helped us cook dinner, and then we puttered around all weekend. Friday was the train park, Saturday was the symphony, Sunday was the local park and some turkey soup and mulled wine. Fun, low-key, lots of stuff for the boys to do to burn off energy (they were with Aunt Nan while we were at the symphony) and no one killed anyone else.
Since I couldn't be finishing the last rows of the shawl, I dug out a hat I'd started for Smacky last year and finished it. Then we went to the park and it was coldcoldcold, so I started some Smacky mittens in the same yarn as the hat (Jojoland Melody) only held singly for the mittens. Baby mittens are freaking hilarious. Exhibit A: Smacky-mitten cuff.



I have just the bind-off on the shawl, and may even dye it tonight, or see if I can't finish a tiny mitten. Eensy mittens are super-satisfying, but dyeing the shawl means it would be pinned out tomorrow night. Dilemma!

Update! That thar shawl ain't touching them thar needles.



Still need to dye and block the beast and weave in the ends.

It's been darn cold - unseasonably so - here the last week, even getting to freezing last night and tonight. May have to make T some mittens, though by the time I finish them, chances are it will be toasty warm and springlike outside...

When times get rough...

...I do a little hooking on the side.
So, last time I said I was mostly monogamous. Less than 15 minutes after I hit Publish Post, I was getting out the yarn for not one, but TWO new projects. Sigh. (I hate to be pigeonholed.) For one, the yarn was the wrong size so I must swatch and math, and I have not done that yet. The other one, well...



My SIL saw a hat like this while we were in CA, and she so subtly suggested I make her one by saying, "You should make me a hat like that." I said, more or less, "No way." I couldn't get it out of my head, though, so I went to Ravelry and looked around for a pattern. You know, just in case, for later. Then I remembered I had some Classic Wool in the stash, so I got it out. You know, just in case, for later. Then I told y'all that I was a monogamous knitter, so my fickle little heart demanded that I start it immediately. Sigh.



The pattern was well-written, and I didn't change a thing, despite the fact that the brim took an act of faith. (It totally looks wrong while you're working it, but comes out okay in the end.)(ETA: if I were to make this again, and I might, I'd go up another hook size, but that's just cuz I'm a super-tight crocheter. Make of that what you will.)

The other thing I finished was my handspun. I estimate I got about 410-415 yds of 3-ply. It came out a bit thicker than I meant for, what with the blooming of the fiber, so I prolly could have done a 2-ply and been spot on. Still, it falls between STR lightweight and STR mediumweight (it's about 5.6oz), so I will still prolly use it for socks.



I'm pretty durn happy with it. Thanks, Blogless Lynn!

Oops, and for Cookie: sometimes you need purple cupcakes.

Insert witty post title here.

Thank you for all the congratulations on the previous post. As you can guess, we're all over the moon about it. Bug thinks Noob is the bestest thing ever, and wants to kiss him and pet him every five minutes or so. Even tried to help me feed, but since I'm breastfeeding I didn't really need him to hold my boob for me. (Add that one to the therapy list.)

What the heck day is this, anyway? I can't even tell, they're kinda all blurring together. I can tell you, though, that compared to last week, Christmas is a bit...anticlimactic.
However, SOME PEOPLE are accusing me [winkwink] of having a baby just to get out of finishing my Christmas knitting, and here I have photographic proof that it didn't happen that way. (As a matter of fact, I removed the blocking wires and unpinned the second Aunt scarf after my water broke, before I went off to the birth center. I know where my priorities lie.)



Stats on Ravelry, here (for the green one) and here (for the other one).

Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, proof that it isn't only Christmas-knitters who procrastinate.



Does that look like a newly installed laminate floor and a new full-sized bed to you? Don't worry, the DH has, like, 47 whole hours to get it taken care of. o.0

Amaryllis watch...



I have a few more pictures of the Noob. (Yeah, like you're going to get away without looking at more pictures.)

Grampa came to see him:



The rest of the time he does this:



Unless it's 2am and then he's wide awake. You will forgive me for not having pictures of that. o.0

Now, I must brave the crowds for some last minute shopping. [weep]

A random conglomeration of fantastamous junk.

So, the official "I'm done" poses of Aunt Scarf #1.



These are not actually "done". I have not woven in the ends yet, because I still haven't decided if I want to pick out the cast off edge (on the right in the top photo), redo it more stretchily (is so a word) and reblock that little end. I'm letting it marinate on my desk at home while I think about it. It's conversing with the Shetland Triangle at this time.

Occasionally he's extra cute even when awake. (You can't quite see it there but he had his hands clasped in his lap.)



Oh yeah, and I'm off the hook for Thanksgiving. Whee! I mentioned to DH that some of my Braxton-Hicks were a tad uncomfortable these days, and he kinda flipped and canceled the dinner. I may get to visit with my brother and his fiance (and maybe her family) but whatever we do, it will be low-key. I can't tell you how fond I am of the low-key these days.

Edited to remove stuff about not being a loser anymore. I still am, but I hope to remedy that by the end of the day tomorrow.

Sometimes

...you just need chocolate for lunch.



And if that chocolate is wrapped in pastry, deep-fried, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream, so much the better.

Look, Joan! Flowers! (It officially hit 80 here yesterday.)



Baby sweater in the wild, with permission from Baby's papa.



(Bad color on Baby shows better color on sweater. He doesn't look like a tanning-bed accident in real life.)



(More natural coloration. I am not Pioneer Woman with Mad Photoshop Skillz.)

Additional randomness, I would like to tell you: if you are at all a plus-sized woman (which for the store in question means 14 or above, I think, and we will not comment on that at this time) and you have a hard time finding pants that fit, do please go right now to your nearest Lane Bryant and get yourself some Right Fit pants. I have THREE pairs of them, and I actually leave the store smiling, with a spring in my step, instead of either fuming or near tears, which is the usual. They redid their sizings so they are based not only on measurements, but proportion. Therefore, a woman with wide hips and thinner legs isn't trying to squeeze herself into the same size as a woman with a narrower waist and more booty. Refreshing, truly. I lurve them. Go buy them. Go tell your favorite store that everyone should have these options - even skinny stick women. (I would suggest that men have the right to nicely-fitting jeans too, but until they start making as many easy-care, attractive clothes for women as men get, I'm keeping mum.)

I am going to the lake this weekend and only packed four knitting projects. Is that enough?

Sock Madness (Ravelry link) starts soon and I can't wait.

And to complete the random, my wrist hurts.

Lovin' the weekend

Oh yeah, this was a great weekend, and I have lots of photos of warm for Joan. I think I will figure out one of those mosaic thingies so you all don't die of the boredom. Note the wearing of shorts in these photos. In February.



Click to embiggen and see the individual stuff.

Here's the most telling image of our warm weekend, though. Most of it was spent like this:



Some other few random photos, since I have them now.



Year of the Hat, FO #1 (I call this my glamour shot.)
(Coronet, from Knitty, in Cascade 220 Paints, unknown colorway, 143 yds, 5mm needle)



The camel that followed me home.



Also, a small knitterly PSA: A few weeks ago the Bug broke one of the cables in my options set. I emailed and asked what I should do, and customer service asked for the cable length that had broken and promptly sent me a replacement SET (TWO cables, the way they normally sell them, and four end caps) free of charge. Based on that, I'll still be recommending the Options sets to anyone who asks (or who gives me the opportunity to proselytize on the needles' virtues).

More FOs. I am on fire!

Actually, I finished the knitting of these in the last days of the year. I just never wove in the ends until I finished the DH's socks, and then I got lazy and didn't take any pictures. This delay works in my favor when I have nothing else to post.

Mad Weave Socks!



Pattern: Mad Weave
Yarn: A Piece of Vermont, a discontinued blend sock yarn that I can't remember, colorway Blue Columbine
Needles: Addi Turbos, 2.5mm
My take on the yarn: lovely, soft, and squishy. A tad splitty in some spots, but I believe that had more to do with the fact that I carried these socks around for EIGHT MONTHS as WIPs without knitting a stitch for a month at a time, than anything about the yarn itself.

Mods:

subbed an eye of partridge heel (loves me some eye of partridge)



and only twisted the little side cables in one direction so as to save my sanity



I don't suppose I need a cat in the house since one little Bug manages to interfere with my photo shoots successfully...



In other news, Ceige has signed up for a knitting class in her town. YAY! In her own words (from a text): "Are you going to tell your blogging buddies you've converted me to the dark side?" Heh. She has no idea...

New Year Firsts

It's the new year, and I have some firsts.

First project finished:


Husband sock #1

First project cast on:



Husband sock #2

First dye project:



Leftover MIL cashmere lace, dyed for MIL Mother's Day project

First thing I'll regret later signed up for:



First Bug photo:

The Queen is Done, Long Live The Queen!

Juno Regina, that is.







I hope that last one makes you think of summer, Joan!

Do you see what I see?

That little counter in the sidebar is now showing less than 60 days. That means less than two months. That means the time to panic is getting C-L-O-S-E-R.
Over the weekend I finished the knitting and weaving of ends for Frill. I have yet to wash and block her, but I hope that will happen soon. In the meantime, there is still Tendrils (10 repeats and counting) and HPT. Jessie has just sent my yarn for Clapotis, the partner for Tendrils. Good grief, I hope it is a faster knit than Tendrils is.
On another note, can I tell you that I have rediscovered the library? When I was in high school, we were urged to buy books so we could take notes in them. (What a way to kill the joy of reading.) I got in the habit. I got in the habit of being super-selective about my reading. I learned to scan the artwork on the cover and read bits here and there to decide whether a book was worth the obscene price they're charging these days. (It amazes me how often it has worked out that if I like the artwork on a fantasy book, I have liked the book, and vice versa.) Anyway, recently (last week, I think) I got a library card with the idea that I would check out Generation T. Since then I have picked up a couple books that looked like they might be good, checked out a couple that I wanted but couldn't find locally, and have two more on reserve. Brilliance! If I don't like the book, who cares? It's free! My only complaint is the lack of popular knitting books in my local library. I suspect publishers don't like pattern books in the library to minimize copyright infringements - no way to control who's making copies that way. Anyway, I love it. I was reminded about how I used to go to the library with my mother when I was a kid. It was always a fun outing, always exciting to browse and find new books. And what a privilege it was when I was given my very own library card! I had forgotten. DH thinks it's mildly weird that I am so excited about it. I hope I remember all the time now. I hope I can pass on the excitement of a smorgasbord of books to The Bug.

Knitting content

But it's not mine.
The Bug and I have been under the weather. Well, the Bug has been under the weather for a solid month now. First the cold from Montana, then an ear infection, then pneumonia (!) and now a viral throat thing. This kid should have more immunities than a whole continent, but unfortunately, new bugs keep finding him.
DH has been in Montana for the last few days for his mother's birthday, so the Bug and I have been flying solo. Given the extra work (how do people do this by themselves every day?) and the yuckiness, no knitting has happened here.
However.
My good friend has made the Bug a sweater. She and I share, among other things, a love of all moose-kind. So, naturally, what better for her pseudo-grandson than a moose sweater?




As always, click to embiggen.

I dunno the pattern, I dunno the size, she made the chart up herself, and I think she said she knitted it from Lion Brand Microspun. It's just a little too big for him right now, which means it should fit him for most of the winter, and hopefully any bits of next summer when he needs a sweater too. At the beach, maybe, or at the lake. When it's too small for him, I think I'll frame it.

(As I sit here typing at my hideously messy desk (it's not my fault, there's no storage) I have discovered that the Bug is tall enough that he can reach everything that I have pushed back from the edge. When did he get so tall?)