The Knitting on Top of the World Knit-a-thon

Heading Toward a Big Day!

WOW, lots of stuff to share with you guys!  I also wanted you to know, that I will work on getting some photos of the sweaters with me actually wearing them -- I have some company coming soon that might be willing to help out with a little photo shoot!

Sorry for the radio silence; I had an unexpected computer glitch last week.  I went to type a blog entry, and found out that all my files and photos were... gone!  Wiped clean! 

My home computer has been sort of threatening to give up the ghost, but when it did, HOLY COW!  It shocked me a bit - just to think losing all those photos since I started the blog -- actually, all my photos back to 2007!  As well as all my documents, and my financial records, and my unbelievable yarn and knitting project spreadsheets!

LUCKILY, I saw this coming; my computer has been making funny noises, and has been running really badly.  So, a few months ago, I got this online backup dealie from Carbonite.  I had so much stuff on my hard drive it literally took almost a week to complete the initial backup.  So after hyperventilating a bit after I realized my docs were gone, I crossed my fingers, found my Carbonite account info, and requested a download.  Again, it took a few days, but my files are back!  Every last one of them!  What a wonderful, wonderful thing, off-site technology that really works when your own on-site technology doesn't.  Anyway, we are back in business around here.  (sorry for the unsolicited plug, but really.  Backing stuff up is really important, and I sleep better now knowing that when my computer dies for good, all my goodies won't die with it!)

As for the Big Day mentioned above - this upcoming Thursday, May 10, I'm turning 50!  Yes, that's right - a half-century, as my son has pointed out to me on numerous occasions (ahem...).  My beloved sister Susan is flying out to spend a week with me, and my knitting buddies Renay and Eva are planning a spectacular weekend knitting retreat, centered around the Lake Elmo Shepherd's Harvest festival, and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!  I'm even going to take a week off of work, so that I can relax, enjoy a long weekend knitting and laughing with my friends and my sis, and then will spend a few extra days at home just enjoying my sister's company. 

So, I've been trying my darndest to catch up at work to the point where I can actually take from May 10 - 16 off the clock and just relax, and take a deep breath, and step into my second century with a modicum of grace and composure.  And in addition to work, some sort of weird cleaning-out bug has hit me.  I have been trying to get my house ready for company --basically, since everything in life takes a back seat to knitting (as you may have noticed :D), just the cleaning part can take hours!  However, I got distracted on Friday night and decided to clean out a drawer in the bathroom.  Which led to all the drawers in my bedroom.  Which then led to every cupboard in the kitchen.  And then the fridge... and sorting the spices, and throwing away old medicine, and going to the laundromat to wash the big quilts... And what started Friday night is still going on, and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface!  I haven't touched the linen closet, or the file cabinets, or the garage (YIKES!)  My entire recycling bin and garbage bin are filled to overflowing. 

And I haven't even started vaccuuming yet!  (Don't you find it amazing the lengths to which I will go to avoid turning on that vaccuum?  Maybe I was a spider that got inhaled into one of those contraptions in a past life or something...)

It is AMAZING how much unused stuff I've accumulated in this house in the past seven years since we moved in.  The point of storage spaces like drawers and cupboards is to put things away nice and neatly; but in my case, I have come to the realization that I barely open most of my cupboards and drawers because they are filled to bursting with stuff I basically never use. 

It is also amazing when you go through your cupboards in the kitchen and look at the dates on everything - time must move more quickly when you get older, because those bottles of salad dressing that I thought I bought just a month or two ago have expiration dates from 2010! 

It is very nice, I must admit, to have a fridge so clean that the glass shelves gleam as if they were brand new.  So for this brief and shining moment, I will enjoy this false sense of being a neat and tidy person.  But you and I know the truth -- life is short, and there is a lot of knitting to do!

I'm still plugging away on the motifs in the Lisbon Lace Pullover, but haven't been home much, and find I can't knit them on the bus (too fiddly).  So I've finished some more baby stuff!

This is a little boy's hoodie (called the Playdate Hoodie) from a pattern on the Lion Brand website, for my friend April, who is due in early July with a little brother to keep her daughter Hazel company:

It is made out of Lion Brand Recycled Cotton Yarn.  The photo doesn't show them very well, but the buttons have these tiny little blue trains on them.  They were left over in my sewing bin from when Nathan was a toddler, but at 15 he has sort of moved past the "choo-choo" phase.

And this is the Strawberry Sideways Cardigan, which is like a reverse-Einstein Jacket for babies - the sleeves are knit from one cuff to the other, and then the skirt is knit downwards.  I made this for our baby-blogger, Adeline, who will be 2 this fall and needs a fashionable sweater and hat to keep her cozy (or so I decided - never having had a baby girl for whom I can knit, I'm having a blast with my friend Kristin's!)

This is also a free Lion Brand pattern.  I decided to knit it out of their Lion Brand's Martha Stewart yarn called Extra Soft Wool Blend.  It is a 35% wool/65% acrylic blend, and really springy, glowing and soft.  I LOVED knitting with it, and bought a bunch of it on sale at JoAnn, as it is perfect for making washable baby knits, and it comes in those classic Martha rich-lady pastel colors like this soft green.  That hat is from a free Classic Elite pattern called "Minnow Merino Daisy Chapeau."

I made the edging a bit spiffier on the garter stitch sweater, by purling the last stitch in every row, and slipping the first stitch knitwise.  This makes a nice chain-loop-looking edge.  And as an extra bonus, this edge is especially nice for seaming, as you can mattress-stitch it up into a nice flat-looking braid that lies really flat (nice not to have bulky seams, especially on a baby garment!)

I think I'm going to make quite a few of these sets for the latest baby boom among my friends - they make perfect mindless bus knitting projects, and are just beyond adorable, IMHO.

In other knitting-related jaunts, I went to The Yarnery, a wonderful/famous yarn store in St. Paul, and learned that the people who work there just collaborated on their first book, Wearwithall- Knits For Your Life, which you might have seen recently around the "knitblogosphere." 

I can picture making almost everything in this classy book, and have started on the sweet baby afghan already; I found a great deal on Berroco Comfort Chunky, the softest-ever acrylic, perfect for a baby afghan (Garter stitch triangles sewn into a square with a garter-stitch border - I seem to be on a major garter-stitch jag lately!)

I also fell madly in love with a shawl on display at the Yarnery which was designed by Theresa Gaffey, one of the book's designers, called The Seaweed Stole (the pattern is not in the book but it is on Ravelry), which takes four skeins of Louet KidLin Laceweight.  Just breathtaking, and really long and lush - something an extremely tall person I know (ahem, me actually) could pull off really well... So this is currently the project that is haunting my dreams.  Which means, as you know, that it is only a matter of time until four skeins of said yarn find their way into that self-indulgent madness that is my impossibly huge stash of yarny goodness.

I also felt myself drawn by an unseen force to the Yarnover event sponsored annually by the Minnesota Knitter's Guild, where I visited Lila and Claudine's booth, decorated by these wonderful sculptures of their store namesakes:

This store is in Mahtomedi, MN, not too far from Lake Elmo and Stillwater where we are staying next weekend, so I'm hoping we can fit in a trip to see it in person!

I visited my buddy Steven at the Steven Be/Yarn Garage booth and couldn't resist the following knitting bag:

(Tee hee!  It even cracked Nathan up...)

And of course, I had to fill it up with some yarn (this is Madelinetosh Merino Light, the stuff that the Mason Dixon Knitters used to make the Honey Cowl recently - doesn't it just glow from within?)

And then I met Lynae, the dyer of The Grinning Gargoyle, whose yarns were so lovely that they seemed to have layers and depths of color - like some freaky magical optical illusion.  She is a dyer based in Chicago, but if you aren't lucky enough to live near there or run across her at a yarnfest nearer to your home, you can find her splendid yarns at the Etsy shop (link above).

 

And here is what also found its way into my Zombie bag from her beautiful yarns:

The photos really don't do it justice.  This yarn may have to come to the office with me and live in a bowl to remind me on the hardest days that knitting is the sane center of my existence.

Other sources of joy - my son Nathan got his braces off this week (YAY!)  It is SO nice to see that smile again, metal-free.  And here he is with his Brave New Workshop Youth Performance Group - today was the final show of the season, and the graduation party for the 5 seniors who will be moving on from the group.  He is the smily extremely short-haired guy in the center back:

I think this class is what kept him sane through his freshman year of high school, which is done in just about a month.  He is going to take the summer session of the Improv class, and maybe do a week class as well and hang out with me in the office again, as we both enjoyed that last year.

Well, I'm very excited and happy to be nearly at my birthday, and SO looking forward to having a retreat with my friends.  I even was asked to pick a spa treatment for Friday !!!!  (ME!  at a spa?  I chose a body wrap, as it sounded cozy and less embarrassing than a full-body massage...)  I'm going to work a half-day on Thursday, and then go get a haircut, and then a pedicure, and then get my sister from the airport, and then we'll go to dinner in the city with family, and then WHEEE!!! we're off!  I promise to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it!

In the meantime, here is another springy photo I wanted to show you - a robin made a nest right beside our front door.  Unfortunately, she didn't stay to hatch the eggs, but I managed to get a photo of them after she had been gone for a whole day (I didn't want to disturb her). Such a pretty color combo, the gray-brown twigs and that unmistakeable blue.

Between this nest, and the new baby ducks and geese on the lake, and the blooming lilacs, and the trees full of tender baby green leaves, spring is all around me and filling me with hope.  May you find yourself smiling and happy with your life as well!

XOXOXO,

(older but better) Mary

 

The Kindness of Strangers (and Book Winners!)

 

Book Winners!

First of all, congratulations to our 3 book winners!  (Note - one of the books is used, a donation from a fellow-Raveler who felt that the patterns were a bit beyond her capabilities at present, but it is in good condition):

 - Ann Agrimson;

 - Linda. S. W.; and

 - Jennifer!

Just drop me an email to maryp55124 "at" yahoo.com and I will get your book on its merry way to your door!  I have lots to mail out this week; my dad wants to borrow my set of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones books.  He says all the bookstores near them in New Jersey have closed :(

And thank you all for your movie lists - I loved the descriptions, and am really fond of some of those movies.  I think my favorites are probably Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Bishop's Wife.  But I could probably list 100 movies without too much trouble.  Movies, books, yarn, food, and cups of tea; all that is required to make me completely content!

And I love all your comments.  Having this blog has made me feel like I have friends all over the place, and people with whom I can share my favorite topic (as well as lots of other random stuff).  It is like having pen pals; I feel like I've gotten to know some of you by now.

I am indeed planning on continuing to blog after this project; the only tricky part is whether I should keep this one going or start a new one, as the knitathon will be concluded at some point (I think maybe before Xmas!) 

Do you think I should start a new blog with a different name, or just keep going on this one?  Let me know if you have an opinion about that one way or the other; your advice would be much appreciated.

Ottoman Empire Jacket

YEEEE-HAHHHH!!!!   A VERY thankful shout-out to Raveler micstr, who happened to have the EXACT right dye lot of the Julia yarn I need, and who put it in the mail to me on Friday !!!  And she won't even let me send her money or any yarn, she said she bought it on sale and is just glad it will go to a good home!

SO, I went ahead and finished the back, and the fronts, of the Ottoman Empire Jacket, and blocked them this AM:

(I LOVE this kind of knitting - twisty stitches just are addictive to me somehow.  And this color.)  And tonight, I got started on one of the sleeves:

Although traditional Fair Isle has only 2 colors per row, some of the rows in this pattern have 3 colors (similar to the Princess Bride Mittens), so trying to keep the floats a reasonable length and not end up with a tangly mess is a bit of a challenge, but I love watching the patterns develop, row by row.

Hmmmm, what else is new in the Knitathon realm?

OH, since I'm on the colorful sleeves of the Ottoman Empire Jacket now, and Fair Isle just doesn't work well for travel-knitting, I decided to get going on the El Matador Jacket:

This is one of those layered knits, like the wonderful lace jacket on the cover of KOTOTW, pictured at the top of this post.  You make two separate starting pieces, which are made of k1, p1 rib with a neat little scallop effect, created by slipping a stitch every 6 stitches for the first 6 rows.  One is 2" high, and the other is 4".  Then you hold the two knitting needles holding each piece together and knit (well, rib-stitch) the two pieces together by alternately knitting and purling 2 stitches at a time, one from each needle.  It was  bit tricky to get the rib to work out, but I figured out finally how to get it to line up correctly.   Then you do another 2" in k1, p1 rib, and start the pattern stitch for the body, a 12-row repeat that will be easy as pie to knit on the bus. 

I also made some of the motifs for the next project, the Lisbon Lace Jacket:

The flower shapes are knitted from the outside, in.  I learned that I'm going to need to cast on more loosely to get them to lie flat! 

A First Sock!

I've been helping my friend Matthew figure out how to knit socks; we both work in downtown Minneapolis, so as he got to each new step (casting onto 4 needles; the heel; the instep; closing the toe), we met for lunch so I could show him how to do it.  And this week, TA-DAAAHHH!!! He finished sock No. 1!  These are for his daughter Olivia; he is going to knit the second one as fast as he can so her feet don't outgrow them before they are done!

My Favorite Scones:

Although it is really warm here - 60 degrees!  In March, yet!  I was in the mood to bake this morning, and made my favorite breakfast scones.  They freeze really well and are great to have on the way to work in the AM.  (I actually like them frozen, but a normal person would likely prefer to warm them up.  My mom used to bake batches of cookies and "hide" them in the freezer when we were little, so we just got used to snitching them and eating them when they were still frozen :D)

 

One batch makes 16, which is also kinda nice, if you are a lazy baker like me.

Mary's Favorite Scones:

Stir together:

 - 4 cups flour

 - 1 cup sugar

 - 1/2 tsp salt

 - 4 tsp baking powder.

Cut in 1 stick of butter like you are making pie crust until the mixture resembles cornmeal.  I do this with a pastry cutter, and then with my fingers.

Mix together:

 - 2 eggs;

 - 1 cup buttermilk; and

 - 1 Tablespoon vanilla.

Add to flour mixture; don't over-mix.  Add 1 cup of raisins (or chopped up apricots, or whatever you like).

Drop by half-cup-fuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 until lightly browned at the edges. 

A Little Comedy!

Last night was a big treat; I took my brother Geoff, his wife Mary, and my son Nathan to see Louie Anderson, the stand-up comedian.   He got his start in the 1970's right here in Minnesota, at Dudley Riggs's Brave New Workshop.  When I was a freshman at the University of Minnesota in 1981-1982, I went to see him perform a number of times.  He was a friend of a man I was dating for awhile, Tom Pederson; during a cold winter's weekend we all realized that we hadn't made it home for Thanksgiving, and were regretting having missed out on turkey dinner, so we decided to have Thanksgiving in February!  I remember making the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie at Tom's apartment, with nothing but a old knife, a wine corkscrew, a tin pie plate and a cookie sheet!  Anyway, I haven't seen Tom, or Louie, in 20 years now.  But since Nathan is in the Youth Performance Group at Brave New Workshop, I thought he might get a kick out of seeing Louie, who got his start on the very same stage where Nathan and his group practice improv. And, since I've gotten to know the owners of Brave New Workshop through working on the Gilda's Club project, I want to support their brand-new theater whenever I can.

Louie's show was just lovely, and very sweet and nostalgic, too.  (He does a "clean" act, which is rare; most stand-up clubs only allow people 21 years or older, because the material is usually sort of R-rated stuff.  Nathan was the only minor there, however.)  Dudley Riggs was there last night, too., and you could tell Louie was very fond of him.  He told a lot of jokes that only true Minnesotans would understand, and just sort of riffed on things the audience would tell him, and we literally laughed until we cried.  (He also did some jokes about how you start falling apart at 50; since that is less than 2 months away for me, I cringed a bit at those...) 

At the end of the show, we had a chance to say hello, and I had my picture taken with him.  He asked me if I still knew Tom, but I told him we'd lost touch years and years ago.  It was nice to be able to tell him I've followed his career all these years and have been so happy for his success.

Next weekend, I'm taking Nathan to LaCrosse, Wisconsin again for the model train show; I will take pictures of some of the newest additions to the Greater Midwest Lego Train Club's ginormous model train layout, which Nathan is going to help set up on Friday!

Feeling happy, excited that spring is in the air, and glad to be zipping along again on my KOTOTW journey! 

XOXOXO, Mar

One Step Forward...

Well, the good news is, I FINALLY finished the Senorita's Floral Pullover, which means I have just 15 more projects to go in the KOTOTW Marathon!

I made it a bit longer (I could wear it as a tunic with leggings, as it covers my butt!)  Other than that, the only modifications I made were to put the scalloped trim on both sides of the red godets on each side:

I really like the flowers.  It took me a long time to get to them somehow - the prospect of sewing little beads onto each flower just seemed like a tough task, but once I got it going it was quite enjoyable.  The flowers are so ruffly you can hardly see the beading, but I know they are there :D

I'm looking forward to wearing this one; I have to introduce people on a legal panel on Thursday, so I think I'll get dressed up! 

That was the step forward... as for the step backward:

 

I got almost the whole back of the Ottoman Empire Jacket knitted this week:

I love how the zig zags are symmetrical on either side of the central rib.  I needed to lengthen it a couple inches, but I won't have enough yarn to finish it.  I am near the end of ball 5, I have 2 inches to go, and only 5 more balls!  Even though the fronts have a v-neck and will take a bit less yarn, the collar more than compensates for the difference in stitch count, and the cuffs and part of the sleeve Fair Isle is in the same color, too.

Sigh; I did a search on Ravelry to see if anyone had the right dye lot in their stash.  Only one person did, and she won't part with her 2 balls as the yarn is discontinued and she is saving them for a multi-colored Kristin Nicholas sweater.  I have messages in to about 6 other people begging for them to check the dye lot, but not everyone responds.

However, the oddly comforting news is, that the yarn that I used to make the Australian Alps Zip Jacket, Knit Picks Merino Style in Storm, is nearly identical, AND I have plenty left to make the entire Ottoman Empire Jacket:

Freaky, huh?  I'm tempted to just keep going, but the match isn't exact and I know it will bug me if the fronts are a different color than the back.  So I'm going to start again.  Luckily, I love cably things, and these are two-stitch cables that pass a single purl stitch behind each time, which are easy to do without a cable needle, so it won't take me too long to re-create the back and go on from there.

It was blissful to have a weekend without having to work; I cleaned my house (not so blissful) and then organized all the yarn I bought last year and put a bunch of yarn and projects up on Ravelry (totally blissful!)  Now I feel all set to tackle the last 15 KOTOTW projects, and know just where everything is to get them finished. 

Here's hoping your own spring cleaning is going well, and that you are finding time to knit in between the vaccuuming and scrubbing, too!

Book Giveaway:

One more week, folks!  (I forgot to set a deadline last time)... The deadline for winning a copy of KOTOTW is next Saturday, March 10, at midnight central standard time!  Just comment on this blog and tell me your 3 favorite movies, or if you would rather email me directly, email to maryp55124 "at" yahoo "dot" com!

 

XOXOXO, Mar.

And the Envelope, Please!

This will be a quick post (I know, Me??? a quick post?)  But the Oscars are on and I want to watch! 

I finally finished an onerous work task this weekend, so I'm hoping to catch up on my KOTOTW projects.  I had time today to block a shawl I've been knitting during bus trips to work and back for more than a year; it is a Monet Shawl from Morehouse Farms Yarn, in their amazing laceweight merino, one ply and yet strong and sturdy, in color Van Gogh's Haystacks:

I'm hoping to have a quiet workweek so that I can finish the flowers for the Senorita's Floral Pullover; we are having a knitting night on Thursday, so I will have friends to take photos of me!  And then onwards, to see if I really can finish the rest of the projects before the end of this year.

My son Nathan and I spend an awful lot of time at Target.  There is a massive Target store less than 2 miles from our house, and I do most of my grocery shopping there.  Since grocery shopping reminds me of my mom and childhood, I end up spending a lot of time there when I'm feeling anxious (which is mostly always).  I can tell I've been overly anxious lately because I have enough food in the house to live through a month-long snowstorm. 

Anyway, some things I noticed there yesterday sort of wierded me out.  First, walking past the toys, I saw this:

That's right - it is a Darth Vader plush toy.  Oh, and it talks.  So, this is what you give your toddler, so he can cuddle it and it can whisper things in his ear and lure him to the dark side????  Really?? They tried to make him cute by giving him a huge head and a tiny body, but still.  Darth Vader.  For a small child.  Words fail me.

And then, walking past the baby aisle, this caught my eye:

 

I just looked at this little activity center, and felt really sorry for the modern baby.  Look at all that stuff!  How confusing, overwhelming, and intimidating!  It is like the visual and tactile equivalent of a radio tuned to statuc!   Is this what you give your baby when you don't think she is multi-tasking fast enough?  Poor baby must feel like it is having hallucinations or something.  I think the one Nathan had, had just 3 little spinny wheels.  Red, Blue and Yellow.  That was it.  He was perfectly content. 

In other news....

We are expecting an honest-to-goodness snowstorm this week - they are predicting snows from Tuesday into Wednesday of up to 10 inches, heavy winds for drifting, the whole shebang!  Bring it on - I'm due for some serious knitting time!

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

Oh yeah - we are WAY overdue for a book giveaway.  I have 3 more copies of Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top of the World.  If you would like one, send me a comment and let me know what your 3 favorite movies of all time are!

XOXOXO,

Mary

 

Many (Completely Random) Things I've Been MeaningTo Show You!

I have been swamped at work (MAN can that job get in the way of my knitting sometimes :D)  But I think about you every day, and have sort of gathered up this assortment of things.  As I go through my workaday life, I'll take pictures on my cell phone and think, "Oh, that would be fun to share on the blog!"  So what follows is an (almost entirely random) set of photos and stories about what has been going on in and around my life for the past two weeks.

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind notes about our Libby; Nathan and I were both very touched that you reached out.  We miss her every day and are doing our best to appreciate Madeline more, and to help her adjust to single-dog life.  She seems less sad, but is still a lot more clingy than usual.  She very much likes her new doggie bed, with her new silly monster blanket.

I also bought her a long purple stuffed dachshund toy with sqeakers in it; I gave it to her and went to cook dinner, and by the time I got back to the living room this was all that was left of it (you can see the little squeaker bubble - tee hee!):

As my work overload continues unabated, I don't have much progress to show you on KOTOTW stuff.  I finished the Senorita's Floral Pullover except for the floral embellishments.  I am waiting until after my big deadline next weekend to finish the flowers and attach them to the pullover, along with the decorative red scallop edgings for the godet inserts:

I also looked through the rest of KOTOTW to see if there was some relatively straight, uncomplicated knitting projects I could skip ahead to, and get started while commuting; I started the Egyptian Isis Tunic, and the Great Bear Zip Tunic, both of which have lots of straight rows of stockinette.  I'm really enjoying this one.  I decided to stitch on the V's on the bottom and upper stripes via duplicate stitch, but I did the motif in the middle with intarsia. 

My friend Brandon sent some incredibly cute pictures of his baby girl, Finley, including this one where she is making a very droll expression:

I was lucky enough to meet her in person yesterday, and she is tiny, calm and smiley -- everything you could wish for in a baby girl, indeed. 

I had a big closing at work; in addition to her full-time job, my friend Eva is also the Vice President of Gilda's Club Twin Cities, Inc., our local chapter of the Gilda's Club organization.  When GCTC was hunting for the right space to open their first Gilda's Clubhouse, I asked her if I could please-oh-please be their lawyer and help with the purchase (and my very generous law firm, Lindquist & Vennum, P.L.L.P., agreed to donate my time on a pro bono basis!)  After a very looooooonng due diligence process, we finally reached the finish line this Wednesday and closed the on the purchase of a sweet little 7,300 sf building to turn into a Clubhouse.  Between sellers, lenders, GCTC members, brokers and closers, about 14 people attended the closing at my office, many of us wearing the signature Gilda's Club colors of red and black.  It was far more emotional than your average real estate closing; before getting down to the nitty-gritty of signing documents, we went around the table and shared some stories about how cancer has affected us or the people we love.  think the sellers were very moved to realize that their beloved building would be used by and appreciated so much in future and would serve the considerable psychological and social support needs of people dealing with the challenge of cancer. 

GCTC also had a volunteer appreciation event last week, and I received an unexpected new comer volunteer award, which I didn't expect (I didn't even have the chance to write my, "I'd like to thank the members of the Academy" speech!)   But now I have a beautiful reminder on my desk of one of the most satisfying transactions of my career.  After all, it isn't every day a real estate lawyer gets to use her powers for good.

Nathan and I received a special care package from Russia!  Our exchange-student friend Anastasia sent us some Italian and Russian sweets in a box labelled "Noyta Pocchi" which maybe means express post or something.  We went to Target to pick up some more Oreos, Jelly Bellies, M&Ms and chocolate treats to send right back!  (I wish I had thought of sending some of those written candy hearts in time for Valentine's Day; but then I don't know if Russians celebrate Valentine's day - hmmm....)

This Thursday I attended a meeting for ULI (Urban Land Institute) and heard Ted Mondale speak about the state's plans to do a better job marketing the Twin Cities as a great place to work and live.  Minnesotans are really terrible at tooting their own horns, and as a result most people picture the Twin Cities as a sort of unlivable frozen tundra/swamp with lots of snow and mosquitoes.  It is actually a beautiful place to live, and we need todo a much better job at getting the word out.  So I will henceforth try to be less mocking about my adopted home.  After all, we have some killer yarn stores, and perfect sweater weather for most of the year!

Anyway, instead of concentrating on what Mr. Mondale had to say, I was mesmerized by this woman sitting in front of me who had lovely red hair swept up into a bun, held together by two sticks topped with giraffe heads (I love giraffes - they are sort of my totem animal, being so tall and all).  I introduced myself after the meeting and told her how I admired both lovely hair and ornaments, and asked if I might take a picture.  The lovely Ms. Alison Bell, who works for the Metropolitan Council, was happy to oblige.  She told me that she used to work with the Peace Corps in Africa and had multiple sets of giraffe sticks, and would be happy to give me a set (!)  Now I just need lots more long hair.  Oh, and some Irish heritage to make it red...

The Mondale event was at the McKnight Foundation's offices, which are located in the ruins of an old flour mill on the banks of the Mississippi River.  The Foundation had a beautiful art display by an artist named Cynthia Binger Boynton, a member of the board who was about to retire.  There was a little plaque relating the story of the pieces, which were all inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel, and started with a picture she had drawn at the age of 5.  I just thought they were both beautiful and fascinating:

My wonderful friend and fellow dachshund owner Kassia (for whom I made the tiny Audrey Hepburn) surprised me on Valentine's days with candy and this adorable luggage tag:

Simply adorable.  Kassia manages to find dachshund-related gifts of every sort.  I think that she would be amazing at one of those Hollywood jobs where you have to find objects to create movie sets, as she seems to have an unending ability to find obscure and perfect things like this.

I bought my friend Renay that new book of knitted cats for Valentine's Day and walked down the street to deliver it after my big closing.  Renay was wearing this lovely hand-knitted vest, which I immediately coveted fiercely, until I remembered that Renay weighs maybe 67 pounds and can thus wear a bulky knit like this and still appear lithe and thin:

Speaking of knitting by others, my sister finished her Catkin!  (Mine is on hold until my work project is over with, sigh - so much for a January knitalong!)  Here it is being blocked last weekend.  I asked my sister for a shot of her modelling it, but she is in San Diego this weekend teaching at a real estate law boot camp, which sounded like fun until she told me that it ran from 9 AM until 10 PM.  Not much time to enjoy San Diego, apparently...  I love the colors she chose, and can't wait to see her wearing it!  My goal is to get mine done by May so that we can wear them when we go to the Lake Elmo Shepherd's Harvest festival together!

 

I read an article in a knitting magazine about a man in Texas who lost his family and was living on his grandfather's abandoned farm, and making a living selling hand-knitted bears on Etsy.  I thought that I would buy a bear to lend him some support, and also because I thought our guest-blogger baby Adeline might appreciate a new friend:

And finally, some Legos.  My son Nathan has a Lego city on the credenza in the kitchen/dining room, of this row of buildings.  Lego recently issued a kit for the same row of buildings in miniature, which is pretty cute.  I'm thinking I would like one for my office, being a real estate lawyer and all:

Anyway, in the full-size version of the city, he sets up these little vignettes with various figures, doubtless for his own amusement.  But I check them out now and again and they really crack me up. 

Here, for instance, is SpongeBob's friend Patrick.  Judging from the guy coming up behind him with a sword and a wand, I think he is in trouble:

The mini-figure of me looks to be in quite a predicament; I'm apparently facing off with Voldemort, who has the ghost of Davy Jones from Sponge Bob swirling about his head:

This guy sort of cracked me up; evidently he is on sentry duty, but decided to enjoy a Popsicle while on the job (you'll note the teeth marks on his helmet; unfortunately Libby thought Lego mini-figs made great chew-toys):

This is my current favorite.  Nathan and I are listening to Harry Potter in the car during rides to school and on errands, so we talk about the books a lot. Evidently the valiant Dobby is defending Harry (with his owl Hedwig cowering behind him) from Lucius Malfoy, while standing atop the train to Hogwarts!

You just never know what might be going on in the little town that lives in my dining room.

I hope everything is going very well in your little towns!  Before you know it spring will be here, too, which for Minnesotans means shedding the extra layers of coats and hats and mittens.  Somehow I always feel like I've lost all this weight by May, when in fact it is mostly just a lot of extra woolens.

XOXOXO, Mar

Just keep knitting, just keep knitting...

Goodbye to a Very Dear Puppy

I'm not going to lie to you; these have been two hard weeks.   I have Dory the fish singing in my head again, but instead of "Just Keep Swimming," I've changed the words to, "Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, What do we do? We knit!"  If work weren't so busy, I think I would have just stayed home and knitted the entire week.  Maybe while drinking gin and tonics.

We had to say goodbye to one of our dachshunds on Monday.  Libby, my red-haired tweener, was having a very hard time with the onset of kidney failure.  I never had dogs as a kid, and never had to make the decision to put one down before.  SO sad.  My kind brother, Geoff, drove us to the vet and helped me through the hard day.  Nathan was very sad and wished I could have postponed it longer. We all just spent the past week just trying to get used to her not being here, but it is going to take some time, I think, for us to grow used to being a one-dog family.  I think Madeline will like the extra attention, but she has been confused and is having trouble sleeping, missing her sis.

Libby was a rescue dog; a friend of mine at work who got both of her dogs at a rescue shelter up in Mora, Minnesota, told me that they had a dachshund up there that nobody wanted.  Mora is in farming country, and dachshunds aren't seen as very useful on a farm (which surprises me a bit; they are every bit as good at taking care of mice as cats!)  Anyway, we had had Madeline for about a year, and I was worried that she might be lonely during the day, so we drove up to meet Libby thinking we'd just meet her and come home and consider having two dogs; but of course we bought her and brought her right home that very day.

She had been abused, apparently, and was very afraid of men.  Although she was 3 years old, she wasn't potty trained yet.  She hadn't ever been walked on a leash, and wasn't familiar with the world outside; and she had been fed only human food, with the result that she weighed almost 30 pounds, instead of her natural weight of 18.  So, we slimmed her down, took her on lots of walks, gave her love and tried to make her feel less anxious and afraid.  Madeline tried to teach her dog things, like how to sniff at stuff outside, and chase after squirrels and rabbits.  The two of them were very adept hunters (or, rather, Madeline was a very adept hunter, and Libby was willing to eat whatever she killed!)

Libby eventually grew a bit more trusting of men; I accomplished this by giving all the dads on my street pocketfuls of dog treats to tempt her with as we walked by each evening.  Although it took over a year, eventually she got up the courage to approach them.

Food is a big temptation for all dogs, but Libby always ate anything she could find as if it might be her last meal ever!  She even managed to jump high enough to get bags of potatoes or bread off the kitchen counter sometimes when I wasn't paying attention; I swear, that dog knew how to levitate! 

I think her happiest day occurred when one of us accidentally left the door ajar on the freezer I keep for storage in my laundry room (this might have involved someone getting a popsicle; I'm not naming names!)  Anyway, I couldn't find her anywhere one morning when I got out of the shower, and then I heard some scrabbling behind the laundry room door - and there was Libby, surrounded by torn-open orange Stouffer's boxes and empty black trays; I think she ate her body weight in mac and cheese, swedish meatballs and lasagna!  She looked up at me so dolefully, her tail wagging as if to say, "I know, I know, I'm a bad, bad girl -- but that was SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!"

She had a sort of skin rash on her belly, under her arms, and in her ears, that would flare up whenever she was anxious about something (well, her steady state was anxiousness; but things like company, fireworks, loud noises, other dogs in the house, any change in the routine would really escalate her fretfulness).  She would scratch and scratch to the point where she was scarred; tears in the skin would be come infected, which would itch worse, and then she'd just take skin off in patches, fur and all.  We tried everything we could think of to treat it, keeping the infections at bay with antibiotics.  I would sometimes rub cortisone cream onto her and wrap her tightly in a blanket so she couldn't lick it off, and just hold her for an hour while she snoozed and it soaked in a bit.  The only drug that kept it to a manageable level, where she wouldn't actually wound herself, was cortisone.  The vet warned me that it would eventually lead to kidney failure, but we decided that it would be better to have a short and happy life without the constant frustration of scratching and infections.

It was a joy to take care of Libby and watch her blossom from a fearful, unhappy and misunderstood little creature into a loving, happy, affectionate ball of joy.  She gave us almost 6 very happy years, and gave her sister Madeline someone with whom she could alternately squabble and cuddle.  She pushed Madeline out of the way when she wanted petting or thought food might be at hand, but dutifully licked Madeline's ears each night to recognize her authority as first dog of the household.  Libby followed me around the house like a little shadow whenever I was home, and managed to take very good care of me indeed.  It was a gift and an honor to be the human she loved and trusted most in the whole world, and I will miss her like crazy. 

Other People's Knitting Progress!

Well, in addition to everything else that was going on in the past week, work just went bonkers.  All of my deals started coming to a head at once, a bunch of new matters had to be opened, and I was filling in for a partner spending the week in St. Thomas.  For the first time EVER, I missed my monthly knitting night (I know; no photos or nuthin.  So sorry; I needed to come home and be with Nathan and Madeline this week.)

To top it all off, I have a huge looming work deadline for a project at the end of February, all of which means, other than catching a few rows of black stockinette stitch on the Senorita's Floral Pullover, I don't have much to show you in the way of KOTOTW knitting progress!

However, my sister Susan is nearly finished with her Catkin shawl:

I think she is blocking it this weekend; I'm looking forward to photos of her modelling it!  (I think mine will unfortunately have to wait until after Feb. 25 when life resumes its normal contours...)

I am also part of a new monthly knitting group at my friend Wendy Ethen's title company, Guaranty Commercial Title!  One of her employees and a brand-new knitter, Michelle, just finished her first sock!

Isn't that great?  A lot of people's first socks don't even resemble socks, but hers is perfect!  (Totally cool jacket, too, by the way...)

Well, our winter continues strangely non-winterish.  Our snow mountain in the center of the cul de sac isn't even 5 feet tall yet!  We are all at the stage where we are wondering if this is all she wrote, or if March is going to end up being one constant snowfall...

Whatever your winter is doing, stay warm, don't slip on the snow, and take some time out to knit!

XOXOXO, Mar.

All Dressed Up With Someplace to Go!

I had a busy week of work, helping Nate while his dad is out of town (he is doing GREAT in high school; he really seems to be enjoying it more!), and watching while things get steadily busier on the real estate front.  I ended up having to work about 6 hours this weekend, which really cut into my knitting time! :D  Oh well, I'll take being busy over worrying about staying employed, any day! 

Besides, I actually felt like I had a sort of social life this week!  Last year, I had invited some favorite clients out to dinner and to the orchestra, and we enjoyed it so much I scheduled another evening for January. Our firm used to put on an annual event for clients, with a catered dinner and a talk by one of the musicians, but now we just sponsor the Minnesota Orchestra and receiving a certain amount of tickets in exchange.  As this kind of event is much more my speed than a Twins game, I try to take advantage of the tickets when I can, inviting two clients and their spouses.  Since one of those clients is Eva, one of my best friends and knitting buddies, we always have such a lovely evening.  Last year, my sister was in town, so I had a date, but this time, I went stag.  Then Eva's husband had to cancel because of a work event, so we invited Renay(!)  (Sort of like knitting night, minus the knitting part!)   We went to a nice French restaurant called Vincent just across the street from Orchestra Hall, and then enjoyed a concert (Brahms; Peter Sirkin playing the Piano Concerto No. 2, and then his Symphony No. 1; Brahms is my favorite composer, although perhaps after 2 glasses of wine one should not go to see a concert by the composer who wrote the word's most famous lullaby...)

Speaking of wine:  I received this interesting bottle of wine for Christmas from my friend Wardo; we met right at the beginning of law school and became close friends, and still keep in touch.  He is a partner in a San Francisco firm, and married a wonderful woman named Melissa.  We were pregnant together with our babies, and then I moved to Minnesota; they ended up having a total of 3, and now are raising their family while both working as attorneys, which has got to be a challenge!  

Anyway, this bottle of wine had such an interesting shape, and I don't usually feel comfortable drinking at home much; Nathan took DARE very seriously and looks at me like I'm a grave disappointment to him whenever he seems me with a glass of wine in my hand.  So I brought it along to the restaurant to share with Eva, Renay, and my other guests, Richard and Melissa.  The waitress told us that the sommelier saw the bottle from a distance was just THRILLED, and couldn't wait to tell us all about it!  Apparently, this type of Italian wine, called Gattinara, was the favorite of the Pope; the bottle is curved to fit right into the palm of his hand.  The sommelier also shared with us that, according to the legend, after having a glass of Gattinara, you are absolved for any sins you might commit for the rest of the day!  (Sort of too bad we all spent the rest of the evening feeling snoozy and listening to Brahms; hardly sin-worthy behavior...)

I decided to dress up properly for the evening, and wore a velvet dress and my new Florentine Shrug Shawl:

It was a big hit at work; all my pals who are following the KOTOTW Project were so happy to see it finished, having seen me working on it for the past 3 or 4 months.  And I must say, I felt very elegant, and cozy.  The yarn is an incredibly soft blend of merino and cashmere.  (Note to self:  Find more excuses to dress up more often!)

I've finished the side inserts or "godets" for the Senorita's Floral pullover, about half the flowers, and the decorative edgings that are stitched to the side of the godets.  Although the pattern uses only two of these, I decided to make four total, so that I can decorate both sides of each wedge-shaped insert. The pattern was really fun, requiring you to knit one stitch, slip it back onto the left-hand needle, and then slip the 8 next stitches over it, which creates those little arches.  I'm now worrying that I won't have enough of the main color of yarn (black) to lengthen the sweater as much as I'd like (darn you, extra 2 1/2" waist length). So, I'm knitting a few balls and calculating stitches per row and rows per ball to deduce whether I'll make it, or whether I have to hunt up some extra balls or start again with another black yarn.  It is too bad this Rowan Calmer isn't being made anymore.  It is a stretchy cotton blend, and it feels like it would be very comfortable to wear against the skin, but lighter than a pure cotton yarn. 

My Catkin is coming along; I have finished the first section, and am now ready to start the second, middle band, which is all textured stitches in the lighter color.  My sister, Susan, is much farther along with hers:

I'll have to check in with Renay to see if she can send a photo of how she is coming along.  I am guessing that if this is a race, however, Susan is going to beat us both!  She has already finished the middle section and is on to the very bottom, which is striped like the top, but has these intricate balloon shapes made with slipped stitches - very intriguing.  The gauge swatch (wisely) contains one of these, which got me over my fear of trying to make the pattern nicely.  Once you tackle that, you realize you can totally make the whole thing.  The instructions are beautifully, carefully written, and have really nice multicolor graphs.  I'm going to look up other patterns by this designer, Carina Spencer, as I've enjoyed making this one so much.

It was an icy, rainy morning, but I braved the sleet to have breakfast at Little Oscar's with my friend, Regina.  I had to stop a few times to scrape the ice off the windshield, as the wiper fluid was just freezing up, and the weather was too cold for the heat on the inside of the glass to keep it from turning into a solid film! 

Regina and I meet for breakfast a few times a year, and we always have the best talks.  She is also someone I met through work, and has become part of my "professional women's knitting group," (PWKG is a hard acronym to pronounce!)  Regina took to knitting really easily and quickly.  She jumped right in and figured out how to make gauntlets, and is working on some scarves.  She sent me a photo of this cozy cowl (which is perfect for weather like we had today, actually!)

Well, I'm off to knit a bit more before I go to bed.  Tomorrow morning promises to be an icy, snowy mix; part of me hopes for a blizzard, so Nathan and I could have a snow day!

XOXOXO, Mar.

Two more Finished KOTOTW Projects!

WOO HOO! Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already past - it has been a bit of a whirlwind, getting back into the swing of things at work after a lovely break, and getting Nathan geared up for all the papers and tests coming due at the end of his second quarter of freshman year.

First up: I want to show you some long-awaited FOs!

 

 

I finished my friend Kassia’s belated Xmas present, a tiny Audrey Hepburn doll out of a book called Knitted Icons by Carol Meldrun. I made a little pearl necklace and tiara out of some beads, and her dress is made out of felt, belted with a satin ribbon at the waist.  Kassia was just thrilled with her gift! To say she is an Audrey Hepburn fan would be an understatement. Her entire desk is sort of a shrine to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, decorated in a pink and black color scheme. I accidentally erased the photo of little Audrey in her new home, but I’ll go upstairs to visit Kassia this week to take another one.

 

January 13 was the deadline for scarves for the 2012 Special Olympics Minnesota winter games. My various knitting pals and I made at least 15 scarves; I took a picture of some of them just before I had them delivered across town:

 

I get such a big kick out of seeing the different patterns everyone comes up with. It would be amazing to actually see the entire stadium of participants, all wearing different handmade scarves, all individual and different like snowflakes.

 

January Knitting Night

 

We had our first knitting night of the new year, with some new guests. I somehow managed to forget my camera (naturally) but my lovely friend Renay took some photos of us all settled down and knitting away in our favorite Starbuck’s. My friend Ann’s beautiful daughter came and started a cowl, which she finished less than a week later; her mom said she was texting with her friends that evening who wanted her to come join them, but she texted back that she was having too much fun with her mom’s knitting group (!).  Ann is working on a cupcake baby hat; the top uses speckled pink yarn, which looks just like frosting with spreckles on top!

 

 

 

Another new knitter named Ann joined us, although unfortunately we didn’t capture a photo of her; she diligently learned how to cast on and is working on her very first knitted scarf. Ann has some kids in after school sports, and is looking forward to having something to keep her occupied during those long hours in the bleachers.

 

And Kitty also joined us -- she and Eva have known each other for over 20 years, and it was really fun to see them laughing with each other, and sharing stories with us. After a long knitting hiatus, Kitty is working on a soft scarf for her husband, and might have a UFO or two stuck away somewhere with which she needs assistance.

 

Here is Eva modeling a wonderful soft cowl out of Sublime yarn; she had already made one of these in a soft gray, and her niece promptly swooped it up during the holidays, so now she’s made another one to keep! I love Eva’s smile. This woman literally cannot take a bad photograph:

 

 

 Unlike yours truly, unfortunately.  Here is the finished KOTOTW project 29, the Florentine Shrug Shawl. It is so wonderful to have this finished – that was a LOT of embroidery! I really did enjoy it, though; it brought back memories of when I used to do needlepoint and counted cross-stitch. I sort of lost interest in both because the finished products are decorative but not useful. Something about the fact that knitting produces clothing, bags, blankets, and other useful things is part of its great appeal for me. Here are front and back views; I’m hoping to wear this with more appropriate clothes to a concert this week, and will try to get a better photo for you.

 

Project No. 31 – Damascus Dream Dress

 

I finished this dress last night:

 

 

I lengthened it a bit; I think it looks better on me than on the mannequin, so I’ll try to get a “live” shot of this one as well.

 

The collar on this one was so interesting. To make it, you first knit 4 pieces with 3 tabs on each end, and then you weave the tabs together at each corner:

 

 

The bottom hem has a picot edge. To keep it from curling up, I picked up the live stitches, purled a row to create a turning ridge, and then knitted a hem which I stitched down inside using sewing thread and stitching very gently, so as not to create a ridge. Then, I picked up stitches along the turning ridge and followed the instruction for creating the picots. I think this will hang flatter without that rolling problem I always have with my stockinette stitch edges.

 

So now I’ve started on Project No. 32, Senorita’s Floral Pullover. The side edges have inset godets. I’m adding about an inch and a half to the length of the pullover to compensate for my long waist, so I lengthened the godets a bit. The flowers are the same pattern used in Nicky’s Vogue Knitting anniversary scarf; they are made out of garter stitch with a row of eyelets created after the third stitch of every other row; the points are made by increasing a stitch at one end every other row six times, and then decreasing six stitches and repeating. Then, when you have made 5 points, you cast off and run the castoff thread through the eyelets and pull it all together. The little 3-stitch part becomes the central flower, and the points make petals on the outside, kind of like a daffodil. The centers of these flowers will have beads stitched into them, and then they are stitched along the front and sleeves of the finished sweater.  I have to take a 2-day seminar in a week or so; the timing is perfect for this project, as the body of the sweater is mostly plain stockinette!

 

Hmmm – 17 projects to go. I am hoping to finish by Christmastime, but that is a tall order for one year! You never know, though.  It depends on so many factors – how busy I am at work (blessedly, the real estate market is picking up around here), and how much time I will have left in the evening after struggling through math homework with Nathan (sure wish he had inherited my brother’s math-whiz skills…)

 

The weather is getting colder, too! I was sitting in a coffee shop yesterday reviewing some cases and knitting away. I realized that I was wearing hand-knit socks, a hand-knit sweater, a hand-knit scarf, and that I’d brought my hand-knit roses bag, and a hand-knit hat – I’d literally surrounded myself in my own handknits! No wonder I felt so happy and serene! The coffee shop was in Nordeast, a part of the city with lots of artists’ lofts and galleries. I was just sitting there sipping tea, and suddenly a man, an older gent, tapped on my shoulder saying I’d caught his eye walking down the long alley behind the Thorpe building in my bright purple coat and scarf, and that the contrast of the purple with the blue of my jeans and the flowers on my bag made such an impression on him. He closed his eyes, and the purples became oranges and ochres. Anyway, he saw me there when he came in for a cup of coffee, and while I was sitting, reading and knitting away, my polka-dotted reading glasses on my nose, he had sketched a little picture or two of me on the back of a business card:

 

Such a funny little thing to happen, but it made me happy.

 

XOXOXO, Mar

 

Belated Happy New Year!

A belated happy holiday to you all! Thank you for the kind comments on my last post. Steven Berg is indeed a wonder -- and his newest store is featured in the new Vogue Knitting! I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished. I went to wish him a happy holiday and learned that he is on his first vacation (indeed, his first week off!) in over 3 years, someplace warm and tropical. I'm so glad; he deserves a nice break!

 I hope you enjoyed the last days of 2011. We’ve had some restful, quiet holidays at my house, but this one is one of the most serene I can remember. Even my job cooperated! Work was quiet enough to allow me to stay home Thursday and Friday; I was able to cope with the few issues that cropped up quite easily, while still getting some knitting done :D (Time off from work = best Christmas present ever!)

We had a Thai food feast for Christmas, thanks to the culinary talents of my sister-in-law, Mary, and my brother Geoff, who brought over a make-your-own spring roll bar, chicken skewers and peanut sauce, some wonderful beef-lemongrass stew, coconut rice, and pad Thai, all home-made and delicious. I made a frozen key lime pie for dessert which was quite the treat (the recipe is from Nora Ephron, and is on the Martha Stewart website – highly recommended!) It was nice to have a lighter feast than usual (Okay, I admit; 5 courses is hardly light, but at it wasn’t the usual stodgy rich foods you might associate with more standard holiday fare…)

 

My niece Amanda brought her dog, Kenzie, who is a regular at our house on holidays; she is a very dignified and lovely puppy and a welcome guest.


Rowdy was there, our old housemate doggie; I didn’t manage to get a current picture of him, but Aaron was showing us snapshots of Rowdy's puppyhood on his iPhone, so I’ll share one of those (just adorable - love those ears!):


And of course, the dachshunds, Maddie and Libby, were also there, overexcited at all the company and staying right by my feet where they felt safe (we live a pretty solitary life, Nathan and I).

 

 

 

 

I knitted my brother Geoff a simple cowl as a gift this year; just made it up, 2x2 ribbing and a woven tweed stitch. He is allergic to wool, so I made it out of this lovely Cotton Bamboo Worsted hand-dyed yarn from Three Irish Girls in a color called “corkboard”.



I think he looks quite handsome in it!

 

We had another family gathering on New Year’s Day at Geoff’s house. Mary and I made soups and breads this time, and I baked a lemon cheesecake for dessert (yum!) Mary, Geoff and I have decided to really go to town this winter with our massive cookbook collections; we’re hoping to find some really good soup recipes. Soup works out really well for work lunches – you can freeze soup in containers and bring it to work frozen so it doesn’t spill in your workbag, and then let it thaw during the morning, and then microwave it the rest of the way at lunchtime. Plus, there is just something comforting about having food I’ve cooked at home while at the office; it is part of my usual annual pledge to take better care of myself, body and soul.

I really enjoyed making homemade bread on New Year's Days – I love to bake yeast breads, mixing and kneading the dough, watching it rise. After putting it in the oven, I always try to leave the house for a walk just so I can come back and really appreciate the wonderful scent of fresh baking bread in the air – yummm!!!

 

But I hate to admit, I always feel a bit wistful on New Year’s Eve; maybe everybody does, as it signals so clearly that time is passing by.  I was home alone this year, as Nathan was at his dad’s, so I watched  some favorite old movies - It's a Wonderful Life, Enchantment, and The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.  

Sigh.  I hate to sound like Ms. Lonelyhearts, but it would be lovely to have someone with whom I could spend the holidays, someone special for whom I could knit or to whom I could give a special gift. My sister in Germany mentioned that for Christmas, her boyfriend Burkhardt gave her a trip to the Caribbean… sigh again... 

 

So, I’ve been feeling a bit ashamed of myself, at having to try so hard to keep the green-eyed monster at bay. I'm doing my best to focus on all the good and hopeful things in my life. After all, every new year brings with it new possibilities, a new chance to get it right, whatever “it” might be; work, parenting, friendships, relationships, how to make really good spaghetti sauce, exercising more, catching up on my New Yorkers... I will turn 50 this year, but there is still time in life for so much more, so I shouldn't waste the time I have left feeling blue.

 

The gift of a bit of extra days between Christmas and New Years didn’t go to waste, on the knitting side of my life, at least. In addition to plugging away on the Florentine Shrug Shawl embroidery (I tried to take a picture of it with Libby in the foreground, below, but she sneezed!) (Madeline is that lump underneath the blanket to the left):

 

 

...I finally lined the knitted bag I had made for my niece Amanda a year (or more) ago! The pattern is from the Noni Medallion Travel Bag; I turned the graph sideways and just used the middle motif.

 

I think the thing that took me so long with this project was getting over my intimidation with this fancy Elna sewing machine I bought about 6 years ago, and still haven’t figured out. It is a really fancy quilting machine with 99 different stitches; it can evidently embroider, and even can stitch the alphabet. But it also has a different threading system than I’m used to, and I have somehow been afraid to delve into the instruction book.

 

It turns out that it isn’t so difficult to figure out, once you actually look at the instructions and threading diagrams (ahem…). Anyway, now that I have it figured out, I need to get the rose bag and some other projects lined! Anyway, to finish this one, I put plastic canvas in the bottom to square up the shape, and lined it with striped fabric, with pockets in a coordinating floral print. Now I’m just waiting for the handles to come in the mail and we’ll be good to go!

 

 

I finished a Gudrun Hat and Neckwarmer set; I went hunting on Ravelry to find a pattern for a big winter hat that wouldn’t smush my hair too much, now that it is curly. My hair is still damp when I leave in the morning, which isn’t a problem in the summertime, but in winter, as I live in Minnesota, waiting at the bus stop with wet hair could result in fatal exposure to the elements (!) The hat came out too big even for my large head, and I over-steamed the neckwarmer, inadvertently turning it into a sort of muffler. But it still works just fine to tuck into the neck of my purple coat. I think this will get a lot of wear this year.

 

 

I finished a long scarf/shawl knit lengthwise, about 400 stitches on a size 10 needle, alternating 6 rows of stockinette stitch in Kauni, a Shetland wool with long-interval color changes, with 6 rows in Schulana Kid Seta, a yarn similar to Rowan Kidsilk Haze. This is just like the scarf Renay made recently, but I made it a bit shorter (hers had 475 stitches and about 11 stripes, I think) because I wanted mine to come out wider (mine has 15 rows). I am supposed to felt it now, but I think I may just wear it this way this winter, and maybe felt it when it gets washed along with my other handknits in the spring.

 

 

I like that the alternating stripes are sheer and opaque:

 

I’m also making a tiny Audrey Hepburn for a friend from work (kinda late on that Christmas present, I know… but it will be adorable!)

 

I started a couple of commuting projects as well. A “scribble scarf” from the “recipe” in the first Mason Dixon knitting book, in some sparkly silver gray Kidsilk Haze and some beautiful Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon in grays and blues:

 

 

And finally, I also started a feathery lace shawl (from an Irish Shreier pattern in Exquisite Little Knits) out of Schulana Kid Seta in a beautiful blue:

 

I know, I know – too many distractions from the KOTOTW project. Maybe the winter nesting instincts came along with a bit of startitis this year :D

 

 

I'm looking forward to a happy and productive new year -- after all, 2012 is the year when I intend to cross the KOTOTW finish line, so it is time to get cracking!

 

May your New Year bring you many happy surprises, and lots of time to knit!

 

 

 

XOXOXO, Mar

 

 

 

There’s Fabulous, but THEN There’s…

--- my friend Steven Berg, who owns The Yarn Garage and Steven Be Studio, yarn store/communities in Rosemount and Minneapolis.  Steven celebrated his _____-eenth birthday last night with friends and fans in true Steven style with a pre-show party at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, followed by a presentation by Ballet of the Dolls of “Nutcracker – The Lost Act.”

Steven was dressed in true Steven style:

I especially liked the boots:

And here we are hamming it up as usual; he was very impressed that I got dressed up (well, dressy for me, anyway) in my old black leather mini-skirt:

And I was very impressed that it still fit!  Yay!  (I am very conscious of my fiftieth birthday approaching (sigh).  At least I can still rock a miniskirt with style!  (OK, maybe I can’t, but no one at the party reacted with visible horror or an outburst of laughter, so I took that as a good sign…)

In addition to this last party, it has been a busy December so far – so many social events for work and various trade associations, etc., that I have to admit, I’m feeling like I’m going to have to be a hermit for about 8 weeks just to recover.  I am literally small-talked out at this point.  I’ve been to two separate annual economic forecast meetings, hosted by Stewart Title and SIOR, and by Urban Land Institute; I’ve been to two fundraisers for Gilda’s Club Twin Cities, Inc.; I’ve had drinks with WoWE (Women of Wind Energy) and a firm Christmas party; and numerous client lunches and dinners.  PHEW!  Now it is time to take a deep breath, and catch up on holiday preparations.

Today I FINALLY decorated the tree (OK, it is a fake tree, I know; I just hate killing trees, and am not crazy about the smell of pine. There, I said it.)  Among her many lovely gifts, my friend Renay gave me this lovely ornament – filled with blue yarn, of course:

And Eva had these beautiful decorations made for each of us by a local artisan:

Here is Nathan’s special ornament this year; a felted penguin from the Textile Center:

So cute!

And finally, here is a present from Nicky from a year or two ago -– these felted slippers came out much larger than any human feet I know of (except maybe my nephew’s, but they are not exactly his style), but I think they look perfect over the fireplace – you know, “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care…”!

OH, and I just remembered – I’ve been meaning to show you this great yarn artwork that was at my hair stylist’s salon, Haus Salon on Nicollet.   The artist’s name is Hot Tea:

And his current art showcases various uses of yarn!  Either wrapped:

Wrapped and painted (these panels are in front of a photograph of a subway train, like graffiti:

Strung from pins (remember string art from the 1970’s?)

Or, my favorite, a hanging rainbow of strands of progressive lengths:

This was hanging directly above where the customers get their hair washed, so as you relax and enjoy someone washing your hair, you get to look upwards as this glorious view (of yarny heaven)!

I mentioned this to Steven, and he said that Hot Tea is going to be doing some murals for him – I can’ t wait to see them, and will be sure to show you as well!

Knit, Swirl:

Steven has the trunk show for the new book Knit, Swirl by Sandra McIver at his stores now:

My sister and I want to do a knitalong of one of these.  I even got to try them on!  Including the actual cover sweater!

Pls. excuse the goofy expression.  I think these sweaters show great promise, and especially like the fact that they cover the butt.  Not that I'm ashamed of my behind, or anything, but I like long jackets in the cold weather here. 

Speaking of knitalongs, my sister and I are going to knit a shawl on Ravelry together in January called "Catkin" by Carina Spencer.  I figure I am far enough along that I can fit in another project (especially considering we're entering into seeerious winter here, so knitting season is upon us!) 

And finally – ½ of a Ta-Daaah!

As of this afternoon, I finished embroidering exactly half of the Florentine Shrug:

Isn’t it lovely?  I love the colors, and the soft yarn, and am enjoying the process.  However, my joy at having finished the sleeve is somewhat undercut by the realization that I now have to do it all again on the second sleeve.  Completely. From scratch.  (But, you know how the second time you do things, they tend to go more quickly?  That is what I’m hoping, anyway...)

I hope your holidays are coming along, and that your gifts are bought and wrapped, and that your cookies are baked… oh, who am I kidding!   We are ALL likely still in the midst of it all!   Don’t forget to set down with a cup of tea and watch an old Xmas movie and knit – you deserve some holiday relaxation, too!

Lots of love to you all,

Mar.