Glittens Finished

Pattern: Convertible Mittens by Sandi Rosner from Not Just More Socks

Yarn: Jitterbug by Colinette in Velvet Plum

Christmas Images

Merry, Merry

American Gothic Greetings from our house to yours.

Knitting - not for the holidays

So, I got my holiday knitting done ages ago. I'm kind of odd that way; I either do no holiday knitting, or I do it all in the summer so I don't have to stress out over it. This year I did the latter.* The following photos show Vampire Kiss socks (because I always have to have a sock on the needles), the most recent pair of socks to be finished (which were cast on in September because I always have to have a pair of socks on the needles), and a pair of glittens, because I decided I want a pair for myself. I was going to skip the glove part, until someone laughed at me because I said I would do "the diddly part for others' but not for myself" (thanks, Nicole).

*a good thing too, since I have plenty of other stuff to stress out over this year.

Has anyone else noticed that the Blogger app for iPad sucks?

Hats!

Rose, the Gypsy is in New York. She sent pictures of these wonderful hats:
This architecturally inspired one is my personal favorite:
I've always loved hats. I like to knit them too. Today is a cold and blustery winter day, which would be ok, except we have no snow. Cold is only ok when there's snow. In the meantime, I'll wear a hat to ward off the elements...

Shoes, a Turtle and Cookies

I saw some great shoes the other night. Next time, I'll have to get my camera out earlier.


With practice, I'm sure I could improve my stealth photo shooting abilities.

There was also an awesome backpack in the crowd.

And last but not least, I started the holiday baking on Sunday. Per our tradition, spritz were first...the green trees are Girl-child's favorite. She swears they taste better than the other spritz.

Also, I was given a camel disc by a friend, which I am quite excited about as the camels were my personal favorite when I was younger.

See the camel? So exotic!

An iPad Sweater and Christmas Cactus

I decided my iPad was going to need a sweater now that winter is upon us, so I made one this weekend with leftovers (I feel like it needs a caption, "Do these stripes make me look fat?"):

And, my Christmas cactus, which I had just been researching because it hadn't bloomed in the two years since I bought it, has flowered! Turns out you have to put it in a dark, cool place for 12 hours a day for several weeks to get it to bloom. I didn't think I'd ever achieve that, but it turns out if it's next to a cold window, it will bloom on the window side, since it is cold and dark for long stretches every day.

What a lovely surprise, eh?

Little Free Library

Look at what I found the other day when I was driving down the street!
How awesome is that?!?!

Coincidentally, I was at my old book club's holiday party last night. We talked about Huck Finn, which I didn't care for much. There was a retired high school English teacher in the group though, and I learned a lot about how the book can be used with teenagers in the 21st century, so that was interesting (the book was not on the list at my high school in the 1970s, so I had never read it before). Anyway, I enjoyed the party a lot, the conversation was good and I got a great list of good books to read. My recent approach to book choices has been driven by what's available for download from my library. I love it. Right now I'm listening to Bonhoeffer on audio, which is fantastic, and reading George, Nicholas and Wilhelm (pretty good). I also recently read The White Garden (v.good) and Beatrice and Virgil (ok). I figure at this rate my iPad will pay for itself. If you prefer paper books, I would suggest stopping by the Little Free Library for ideas - here is its location:

It Gets Better

Thanks to The Kat for posting this:

Beauty vs Brains (not to mention brawn)

Beauty is so important for women in our world.

Pretending to be simple (read: dumb) was certainly encouraged in my day (mother: "you should let him win at backgammon" me: "why? I'm a better player").

Girl-child was introduced to someone new on Thanksgiving, and she told me afterward, "your daughter is lovely; so pretty" and I wanted to say, "yes, and smart and hardworking, and accomplished...just to mention a few of her not-skin-deep virtues"

And then I stumbled upon this in Salon this morning, about The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

"Any girl can look glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

Hedy Lamarr

F.O.s

I finally put buttons on the Peasy sweater. No guarantee they won't change.

And for the record, there was very little yarn leftover (Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool):

These socks are not actually done, but one is done and the second on the way. It's one of those pairs that kind of accidentally got started, and suddenly they're over halfway done.

This is the Montego Bay scarf, done with the sock yarn purchased when I was in Rapid City for my annual work conference in October. It's the perfect pattern for a skein of sock yarn. The colors are kind of cream, brown, blue and burgundy. Sort of. It'll go with a lot.

I also worked in the ends of three pairs of gift socks this weekend, cleaned the gutters and finished ripping out some carpet. Very productive weekend, plus there was good food and conversation. Hooray for long weekends!

Alice & Co for Thomson Airways

I would suggest you watch this, especially if you've suffered through a lot of airline safety talks/videos.



(thanks,Heidi and Rosemary)

Hot Tea

TEA time in LONDON from Hot Tea on Vimeo.

People have been sending me links to cool video, so I thought I'd post a few.

Thanks to Sarah for this one.

A Video Experience

Don't know how y'all feel about Jackie Gleason, but I was recently at the video store where Boy-child used to work (Filmzilla, on Franklin and 27th), and I found the movie Skidoo

Well! What a trip...Jackie Gleason tripping on LSD. Not kidding. Carol Channing is in it too. And Groucho Marx, playing God.

Stupid movie, but worth the trip. So to speak.

Knitting: Mine and Another's. And Yarn

I recently finished the Peasy sweater.

My only problem with it now is buttons. I've purchased three sets so far. And asked two people for their esteemed opinions. I still haven't decided.

Girl-child received a hat recently from Rose the Gypsy. Rose had made one for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild service project this year, and sent it (along with two others) to my house so that I could deliver them (which I did, last Tuesday). When I told Rose that Girl-child was thinking of stealing one of them, an offer was made to deliver a custom order to her. It is, as you can see, adorable.

And, while I've been really, really good about the yarn diet, I have been purchasing souvenir yarn. This is what I purchased in Prescott (locally dyed):

So much yarn, so little time

Random, but Really Cool

Never Heard of Her Before; Why?

Sophie Blanchard

Check her out here

The Best Hotel and a Cute Town

We stayed at a fabulous hotel in Prescott - it's called The Motor Lodge. It is the most amazing retro place, plus the service is outstanding. Wonderful all around.

You can't tell so much from this, but see the lamps? That's a start.

Cool prints on the walls, a mini-fridge, a full sized coffee pot with real mugs or paper ones to go, and a truck full of condiments.

Literally:

The bathroom had a truck full of goodies too:

And a poodle waste basket

And we had our very own tub toy:

I don't think this is a functioning phone, but I liked it anyway. We had a little sitting area with two chairs and a table, and free wireless.

The town of Prescott is charming too, with lots of Victorian-era buildings and houses.

And art galleries

An old fashioned diner.

and various saloons on Whiskey Row

It was a successful trip, in spite of the snow.