Storm Damage?

Northern California has had some wild storms, but down here things are pretty quiet. We had some wind and some rain, but the biggest result was that all lacrosse games were cancelled. We now have to wait another week for Young Man's season opener and the introduction of his long pole (six feet!) to club play. Still, Young Man looks stylish in his dejection.

Project 1: Wonderful Wallaby (youth 10)

Yarn: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 6 and 8

Notes: Great pattern! My only quibble is with the hood. I knit the stockinette hood with garter stitch border. When I do this again, I will try the garter stitch hood. The border curls over and Young Man isn't very happy with that. He also thinks the hood makes him look like an elf. Mind you, he requested the hood and I think it looks much better than the hood on his old sweater.

Project 2: Knucks (size small)

Yarn: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 4 dpns

Notes: these are my first ever gloves (or near-gloves, if you must) and they were so easy! Young Man requested these because his hands got cold when he was practicing in our backyard in the mornings. I was able to whip these up in one afternoon/evening of knitting and we are both very happy with the result.

Storm Watch!!!!

Yes, it is another of those days. Southern California braces for ... weather! Oh! The Horror! I have heard that this is a big storm, but it is taking its dear, sweet time to arrive. The good news is that Young Man was able to have a dry practice. The bad news is that we are likely to have a very wet game tomorrow. Hopefully, it will all be worth it. Here is a craptastic photo of our snowy mountains after the last storm (hey, I was supposed to be driving, so stylish photography was out of the question). Me, I just want to curl up with some of my new teas, my wicked smart new tea steeping device, and some yarn.

Booking Through Thursday

It's about time I came back to this! Let's see, what is today's question?

Anticipation: What new books are you looking forward to most in 2008? Something new being published this year? Something you got as a gift for the holidays? Anythin in particular that you're planning to read in 2008 that you're looking forward to? A classic, or maybe a best-seller from 2007 that you're waiting to appear in paperback?

Oh, dear, this is going to be another difficult one. I have a stack of new books to read and I want to read every single one RIGHT NOW! Really, it's as bad as knitting. I did give myself an early present to assist with both of my obsessions. I now have a nice book weight. I learned about these from my mother-in-law. With this I can knit (simple stockinette is best, obviously) and read at the same time.

Okay, back to the list. Well, I already have several books lined up for my book club. I just finished the January selection, Emma, by Jane Austen. Next up is the February selection, 1st to Die by James Patterson. Since I am the discussion leader, I had better read that one! We also have selected Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, and The Gathering, by Anne Enright. I do hope that The Gathering is good. So often I am disappointed by award winners, but this one looks very good.

I also received a few books for the holidays. Feast, by Nigella Lawson is on my stack as are The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman, and The Knitter's Book of Yarn, by Clara Parkes. It will certainly be a wonderful reading year!

5 Points for Sheer Dumb Luck*

Mr. Engineer always said that one of the reasons he married me was that I'm lucky (one of the other reasons is my mother's wild blueberry pie, but he hasn't had more of that since well before the wedding, 20+ years ago). I don't always agree with him, but I do seem to have my share of luck.

For example, I have spent the past two weeks cursing my luck and trying to remember at which Michael's I purchased three skeins of Natural Violet SWS because none of the stores that I normally frequent seem to even have a space for it on the rack. Today I had some time to spare while Young Man was at practice and I wandered into the one Michael's in the area that I had not searched and, yes, there it was. Of course, the same dye lot is no where to be found, but I will make do with what I did find. The Palindrome Scarf will now become a reasonable length and I can stop obsessing over it!

In December I really outdid my luck and perhaps used up the better part of 2008's luck in one day. I spent a relaxing day visiting my local quilt shop and running holiday errands. At the local quilt shop, I found a cute kit for making felt ornaments. Then I went to several different stores before getting home. When I unloaded the car, the bag from the quilt shop was no where to be found! I dumped out every single bag and searched through the car with a flashlight. Still nothing.

While sitting on the couch knitting furiously, my mind raged - where could it be? I remembered hearing something drop when I was at Target, so I called the customer service desk. I suspect mine was their most amusing call of the evening, but they could not help me. I went over my entire day's errands in my mind until I thought of the rain. When I came out from the quilt shop, I had dropped the bag on top of my rain coat. The rain didn't start until I was on my way to Target. What if I had dropped the package in the parking lot when I pulled out my rain coat? So, at 8:30 at night, in the dark and rain, I set out for the local Target. I pulled into the parking lot and headed for the area where I had been. As I neared the spot, I spied a small, white bag that wasn't blowing in the wind. Could it be? I stopped and raced for the package, and cheered with joy! Yes, my kit was there and it was unharmed! Score one for tenacity, obsession, and parking in the lesser-used areas of a busy parking area!

* said in one's best McGonagall Brogue, of course

Don't Believe Everything


Just because ABC is broadcasting lovely, sunny pictures from Southern California for the Rose Bowl, does not mean that it really is that pretty here. In fact, it is quite cloudy. This is a very good thing as our humidity has increased from 19% to 67% over the day. It is supposed to rain on Thursday, just in time for me to drive to work. Hmmm.

December was a very silly month. Between getting ready for holidays, shipping stuff for holidays, celebrating holidays, and, of course, recovering from holidays, there was no time at all left over for blogging. There was crafting. Lots of crafting. Young Man still won't stand still long enough for a photo shoot with his new Wallaby (and fingerless gloves), but there are many other hand-crafted items that flew east for gifting.

Thanks to Alison and her hints, I found some super-quick kits for lovey-type quilts that went together nicely for two of the new babies in the family. Satin is still one of my least favorite fabrics, but the end results were worth the annoyance.

Pattern: Just a lengthwise garter stitch with color change every other row and a quick not-quite-lace border at each end.
Yarn: Trendsetter Dune in two colors
Needles: US 10 1/2, I think
Notes: This yarn is a little difficult to work with because of the double strands, the mohair in one strand, and the metal in the other. The bottom line is that you have to be sure that you want to knit a stitch because it isn't likely to come out later! The result was just what I envisioned, so I am very glad that I stuck with it. This very long scarf went off to my mother-in-law. She is tall, so extra length was necessary.



Pattern: Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 6 and 7, I think

Notes: I wanted to send a nice, warm hat off to my father-in-law to keep his ears warm. I added a bit of length to the brim and the body of the hat to make sure that it was long enough.

Pattern: House Hat and Mittens from Charmed Knits, by Alison Hansel

Yarn: Plymouth Encore

Needles: Whatever the book said

Notes: I still love making this hat. It is so easy and works so well! These are my first ever mittens and they turned out wonderfully well. This set went off to Young Man's cousin.