Gift Knitting

Despite the title of this post, I actually am doing very little--if any--Christmas knitting this year. I think that's partly due to my deadline-knitting fatigue after Rhinebeck (a good effort, but which should only be done sparingly to preserve my mental health). And also, I've knit something (or plan to) for most everyone close to me deserving.

But there is still someone, an uncle, who needs something to keep him warm this winter. A little stash diving yielded this:

That's a sideways-knitted scarf - 240 stitches, in seed stitch. I'm using a few colors of Nashua Chunky that I scored at the Knit Happens online blowout this summer. It looks a bit Christmassy right now, but I'm hoping that the brown I just added will town it down. I want natty, not nativity. Hope it works.

And that's about it. I admit to an extreme commercialism fatigue - when I was in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I nearly applauded when I saw a sign outside the Nordstrom that essentially "We only celebrate holidays one at a time. Come back the day after Thanksgiving if you want Christmas stuff." Hallelujah.

Three Blue, Two Oops

W ell, sorry to have disappeared there for a bit. Things were a bit hectic, what with cooking a feast and all, and then my best-laid plans sort of went awry over the long weekend.

I cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving, along with some mashed potatoes and other traditional sides. We had a few friends over for a low-key meal, and delighted in a 5-month-old baby who cooed her way through dinner. Thursday night was relaxing, and we had big plans to get up and go see the Edward Hopper exhibit at the National Gallery, which I've been dying to see.

I love Hopper, and the last show I saw was in the old National Museum of American Art, right before it closed some 5 years ago. We got up and had coffee, made a quick run to Best Buy (which wasn't crowded, and still had some of the stereo set we wanted in stock). Then it was on to the museum.

We waited about 40 minutes to gain access to the exhibit, and I bought an audio tour on the way in. We tackled the first floor, but as we began the second floor, my audio unit stopped working. I went to take it back downstairs, and somehow forgot how to walk. And fell down a short flight of stairs in a very crowded exhibit. Grace, thy name escapes me.

It actually looks much better in this photo then it did right after the accident, when I had a lovely softball-sized lump on it. A nice doctor from Atlanta talked to me a bit and pressed around enough to discern that it probably wasn't broken (whew!). Sadly, the trip had to be cut short. I'd like to say this was the first time I left a big museum in the wheelchair, but I'm developing a bad track record. Why does art make it so difficult??

In any event, we went home and I propped my leg up and we settled into some movies (The Sting, Vacancy). The knitting on JT's sweater progressed a good bit - I'm now mostly done with the front (to the armholes, anyway).

By Sunday, I could get up and meander around a bit, and my motion is coming back much better today. So I do feel like it could have been much worse.

There was another Oops of the weekend - a happy one!

That's 2 skeins of Claudia's Handpaint - colorway Oops! I coveted this when I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, but could only find one skein at Loopy Yarns. Thank heavens for Ravelry - I traded away some yarn I wasn't going to use, and now I have this yumminess in my stash. Yay ravelry!

Two Years Ago

It was a very good day indeed.

**

I have so much to be thankful for this year: good health, great friends, and the love of the people in my life.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Focus? Where?!

So, you know those little "validate your comment" codes that you sometimes get on blogs? I hate that my brain always tries to make a word out of them. As though w3rdt6x or sc7h1q mean anything. Is that just me?

***

Anyway, my knitting mojo has been a little frenetic as of late. I think that while I was monogamous to the Phildar Cabled Crew for so long, I was able to actively block out all other wanton knitting desires. But now that I have a little needle freedom, I can't control myself!

This is sleeve number one of a raglan for JT. In Rowan Denim, so you can always tell by my blue hands that I've been working on it. I'm two balls in and am concerned that I did some calculations incorrectly. (Not fatally, but it's stalled until I can rework things a bit.) I need to take the time to write out the revised directions, because this is actually going pretty quickly, despite the fact that it's on 3s. Plus, it is the ultimate in mindless knitting, which is nice.

Then we have Juno Regina. There is no picture because I just had to rip out my third attempt at this shawl. This shawl that I love and want and need.

I seriously don't understand what my issue is with this pattern -- I LOVE the result, but my brain is actively thwarting me. Twice now I've started and haven't even hit row 20 because I've screwed it up beyond belief. I don't understand... I could do the complicated cables with no problem, but all of a sudden a yarn over is giving me fits. If I ever make it into the charts, please remind me to lifeline early and often. It's clear that I need to find my Juno Regina rhythm.

Then, we have the yumminess that is Lion and Lamb (Glenwood colorway). In the deceptively simple my so-called scarf pattern. This isn't for me, but the yarn? LOVE. I've never used Lion and Lamb before. Such buttery silky goodness. The past couple of days, I find myself reaching for it... just one more row....

There also is a sock on the needles, but it refused to be photographed. And that's it. Not terrible, but I can't seem to find a focus point in all of that. I'm trying to be zen about it. And also trying to ignore any hint of Christmas knitting, at least for this week. I'm off tomorrow for my last fall work trip (Hello, Houston!), so I guess the mojo will have to try to find me there.

A Convert

I'd always been a Springsteen fan, but not really a FAN fan. I mean, I wasn't going to wake up early and stand in line for tickets or anything like that. But when tickets landed in my lap -- for seats in the second row, 20 yards from the stage, no less -- what could I say?

It was AMAZING. More than two hours of energetic, fun rock & roll, old tunes and new, with great intensity and fervor. I'm not sure it was the BEST show I've ever seen - I need a few days to gain perspective -- but it was easily in the top 5.

So if you see me today, I'll be the one humming "Lonesome Day" and drinking a double espresso.

(Knitting tomorrow. Promise!)

Not Tagged, but...

This question/meme from Carolina got me thinking about the music that I turn to most. A good chunk of it is from singer-songwriters. So, in the spirit of the meme....

The rules:1. List 5 singer/songwriters, and yes, you can do two lists. One for female and one for male.

2. The musicians are, for the most part, solo artists not part of bands. Kim Gordon doesn’t qualify ’cause she’s better known as part of Sonic Youth, and same with John Lennon or Paul McCartney.

3. They don’t have to be contemporary.

My top 5 male singer-songwriters:
1. Ryan Adams
2. David Gray
3. Moby
4. Jeff Tweedy (with a strong assist from Woody Guthrie... I LOVE the Mermaid Avenue albums and have started to listen more to Woody Guthrie)
5. Johnny Cash (didn't discover him really until I started dating JT, and then acquired the almost-complete catalog in the married-music merger.)

My top 5 female singer-songwriters:
1. Liz Phair (Exile in Guyville is one of my top all-time albums)
2. Natalie Merchant
3. Emily Saliers & Amy Ray... better known as the Indigo Girls
4. Lucinda WIlliams
5. Tori Amos

I'm not tagging anyone, but I found this fun.

Side musical note: Am I the only one who starts humming this when I see the Ravelry slogan? (Fast-forward to about the 1-minute mark, and be warned, the lyrics are explicit and may be offensive to some.)

Socktoberfest Wrapup: 1.5

Okay, technically I'm a little behind on Socktoberfest, but I figured it's never too late to show off my Socktoberfest socks! As usual, I thought I might get at least one more sock done than the three I completed. But I'm really happy with what I made, so I won't complain!

First up: A Chalet sock.

This pattern, while totally enchanting, was definitely not something that could be worked on with any distractions around. I was very methodical and beholden to the chart, and managed to make it without having to rip any mistakes out. I love all of the little tiny traveling-stitch cables! (Almost enough to attempt a Bayerische again.)

The yarn is Shelridge Farms Ultra, in Nutmeg - the true color has more brown in it than my camera acknowledges.

It's a warm, pumpkin-ish fall brown. And the yarn has a good twist to show off the cables nicely.

This one is headed for a friend, who will make the second one herself.

I also completed the very pedestrian but very functional socks for JT, in Trekking. It's a basic 6x2 rib. He started wearing them before I wove in the ends, so I figure that's a good sign. (He said they were great for the cool nights before we turned our heat on.)

(Sorry - my camera felt slightly blurry today, apparently.)

I did enjoy knitting with the Trekking - it's a little splitty, but I think the color changes make it worth it. I hope that it wears well since there are so many threads plied together.

Then, Socktoberfest landed on my doorstep!

Chawne sent me a single GORGEOUS Loksin!, in a rich deep purple, with a second hank for me to complete the pair.

I LOVE it, and this is a pattern I have had in my Ravelry queue but haven't yet had the nerve to attempt. Thanks for giving me that push, Chawne! Also - isn't that little project bag so awesome?? I love it. Inside it was also a hank of Cabin Cove Fingering, which I've never tried. Rockin'!

I was in Chicago for a few days last week and managed to sneak in a teeny bit of yarn shopping. I hit Loopy Yarns (surprisingly crowded for a Friday morning, what a delight!) and snared some semisolid Koigu in forest green and pumpkin. (One of these days, I WILL actually cast on for Endpaper Mitts. Until then, I will continue to stash solid-colored Koigu.) I also stumbled upon Nina in Wicker Park, and poked in there for a bit. I'd like to say I had strong willpower, but it turned out that Nina carries Habu kits, including the Kusha Kusha scarf I've been coveting ever since I saw Isel's. And since I was in a fall-colors kind of mood, it was only appropriate that a rich spice color leapt into my bag.