2 years

It has been two years since I've started this blog and I have met some great people, learned many new techniques and discovered some beautiful patterns. I just want to thank everyone for helping me with this journey.

Thanks again,
Christine

40 years or Momma told me there would be days like this

It is cold and gray outside which makes me long for the days spent at Binghamton University what seems like eons ago. The few days that I have had off this past week were spent under blankets with kitties, tea and knitting or spinning, watching one of my favorite detectives. I don’t mind my tendencies towards being a hermit; after dealing with a practically rough week answering what should be obvious, and I mean blindly obvious, questions I don’t need to see more people, especially when they ask me stupid questions. Before you say that there are no stupid questions, there are those questions where you have to fight the urge to smack them and ask ‘Have you been living under a rock all your life?’ As a children’s librarian I understand and am okay with children asking me questions because they are young and are just learning; however when an adult asks me whether or not Martin Luther King Junior was African American I just stare blankly and wonder where this person has been. What kills me inside just a little is what a colleague of mine pointed out, I will be eligible for retirement at 65, I did the math, and since I turn 25 in a few weeks I have 40 years to truly learn how ignorant people can be about the world around them. That night I called a friend I met in Library School to tell her my little story because I knew she would get a laugh. I mentioned that 40 years was a long time, people have wandered the desert for that amount of time looking for the promise land. She replied that it would be all worth it in the end, to which I reminded her that Moses never made it there… she laughed.

All dramatics aside, I do enjoy what I do and find it very rewarding. However those of you who have the pleasure to work with the public understand that there are just days like that where it is hard to see the silver lining in it all.

While I do love the gray days, it does make it hard to photograph your hand knits. What makes it even harder is the fact that I haven’t been home during daylight (gray or not) hours for quite some time. I was finally able to photograph a pair of socks that I finished a few weeks ago.



Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark from Favorite Socks
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Wool Print in Rosewater sent to me by my sockapalooza pal
Needles: US1 2.25 DPN set of 5.
Modifications: I only knitted two repeats on the leg instead of three because I was afraid that I may run out of yarn and I nearly did.
Started: August 2007 on my way down to D.C.
Finished: January 2008.

I was never big on pink growing up but lately I love this color, I have also found that I get a lot of compliments when I wear pink. These socks remind me of Cherry Blossoms which is why I grabbed this yarn to knit on my way down to D.C. I am hoping that maybe this year we can get away for the weekend to see our friend and walk the streets admiring the beautiful cherry blossoms. I have never knit with a bamboo mix, while I found the yarn to split if I wasn’t playing attention, I really love the way the dye took to the yarn. The Bamboo provides such a lovely sheen and takes the dye a little lighter than the wool.

And your bird can sing

Mittens seem to be the new socks for 2008, with so many beautiful patterns out there I couldn’t resist. During the artic weather at the beginning of January I began “Bird in Hand” mittens in brown and light blue, my colors or the year. They are a quick knit, I finished them during the Spring like weather that we had a few weeks ago.




Pattern: “Bird in Hand” by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in “New Denim” and “Taupe”
Needles: Addi Turbos US1
Modifications: I re-charted the thumb to make it smaller and keep the bird.

All I need now is for the weather to get cold enough to wear these warm mittens.

Endings and Beginnings

I hope everyone’s holidays were nice. I always hate when they are over because it always seems to go so quickly. My sweetie took some days off and with the holidays he ended up being home for two weeks which is very nice since now he will be working late and the weekends for the next few months. One day right before the artic temperatures hit we went to the Bronx Zoo to try out my brand new Christmas present, a Nikon D40X! The Bronx Zoo is one of my favorite places to go and spend the day, especially on the day we had! We were also able to see the holiday lights which was something neither of us have done.










The snow leopards are always my favorite.

We were able to take in two shows while on vacation, “Curtains” and “Spring Awakening.” While “Curtains” was a fun who-done-it show, I have to say that “Spring Awakening” was tragically beautiful. It was truly a play way ahead of its time. We also had our first celebrity run in at the show; Eric McCormack from “Will and Grace” was sitting a few rows in front of us with his wife.

And now for some knitting:


My 2007 finishes stand as follows:
1 sweater
1 hat
1 little bag
1 cat toy
2 mitts
2 shawls
7 ½ pairs of socks (I included a single sock because that was all I needed to knit for the exchange)
My crafting resolutions next year are to finally finish our honeymoon scarp book and move onto our wedding, finish two cross stitch pieces (one a WIP from 5 year ago), knit the Rockin’ Sock Club 2008 socks when they come, finish a sweater, finish several single socks, knit the ‘Lily of the Valley stole” from “Lace Style,” knit the “Saffron Cables” afghan and become a better spinner. What I would really love to do is be as prolific as Kristy, man she knit a lot this past year!

I would also like to report that my mom loved her endpaper mitts which were finished Christmas Eve night.


Pattern: “Endpaper Mitts”
Yarn: Louet Gems Fingering Wt. in Pewter and Terra Cotta
Needles: Addi Turbos US0 and US1
Started: Late November
Finished: December 24, 2007

I really liked the way that this yarn looks and wears for this pattern; I may knit another pair of these for myself in this yarn.

I hope everyone’s 2008 is a healthy and happy one!