Ice, Ice Baby

I have been a bad blogger. It has been a rough winter so far here in Boston. According to the local news station last night we already have gotten more snow so far than the yearly average and then they had to say "and winter is only half over!" I should never watch local news and stick with The Weather Channel. The snow is bad enough but this year we have had some serious cold stretches so when it's over 35 it feels down-right balmy. And as I write this there are large puddles of slush that are icing over and are sure to make for a treacherous walk to the T tomorrow morning.
Between the weather and the economic climate I think I have a touch of the January blues. I am a natural-born homebody so my inclination to stay home and curl up is pretty strong. But I am knitting away. I am working on the Anatolian Mittens from Folk Mittens. They are coming along quickly so at least I will be facing the cold in style.

I have also been asked to do a very special project. See the situation is this - Soggy's feet are cold. Therefore Soggy needs slippers and Auntie Sarah is a sucker when it comes to her niece . Some of you have seen Soggy before . His feet are not filled so I am not sure what size they are but they can probably be into stuffed into a sock ornament. I may have even said that I would make him a hat and scarf too. I mean really, do we want him getting sick?

Oh, did I even mention that I treated myself to a share from the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm for my birthday a few months back? So when I feel those January blues creeping in I go to their new and improved website and check out my sheep and goats. The Lambcam isn't up yet but there are some sweet photos that make me happy. I think my favs right now are Martha and Nan.

A Stitch in the Right Direction

I mentioned in some earlier post that I was knitting a scarf for my brother. A normal statement for most people but for me it is well, huge. My brother and I have had had a difficult relationship for about the past 20 years so to knit for him is a big deal. But I dove right into the project with no second thoughts and never set the project aside to work on something else so maybe that is a sign of something. Like growing or forgiveness or some of that other junk.....we'll see -it is a new year after all.

We met up today with for me to give him the scarf and he seemed properly appreciative and wrapped it around his neck right away, could have also been the fact that it was something like 20 degrees out today.

Here's some knitting details on the scarf itself Irish Hiking Scarf knit with 2 skeins of Cascade 220. I forgot home something like a simple cable just looks so classic and in this colorway it just came out as such a good manly scarf.

I wasn't sure if my brother would want his photo the blog so I went and found another volunteer on Boston Common who was more than willing to take over modeling duties.



And a close-up

A 2008 Straggler

I can finally show one of my projects that has been done for about a month or so but was a gift that I only just now was able to give to my friend.

These are the Icewine Mittens knit in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. I would have taken photos of me modeling them myself but apparently I have freakishly large hands and luckily Meg has petite hands so that my slightly on the small side mittens, fit her just right. I have to remember to go up at least a needle size (or two) from what the pattern states since I tend to knit a wee bit tight when doing stranded work.

I really like the way they came out and Meg seemed to as well. But then again I had just had one of my favorite comfort food meals (meatloaf and mashed potatoes) and a yummy beer at The Publick House so maybe I just imagined she liked it since I was so perfectly content.

Happy New Year!!!

I am a few days late in ringing in the new year blogwise. I kept writing and deleting and writing and deleting a post on my New Years Resolutions. The "Big Resolutions" are all sealed up and will not be opened until next New Years Eve. But there is kind of one theme or more like a motto that I have adopted for this year, "No Excuses"

I am the truly a queen of making excuses. I will grab my gym bag in the morning and will have come up with six reasons why I can't go that night by the time I make it work. I do it with lots of things not just the gym and that is the habit I need to break. I have art that needs frames, a table to be refinished, rooms to be painted and the list goes on.

So 2009 is the year of "No Excuses". I have been to the gym twice in the new year and it's only the 5th! That's huge! But then again so is my ass....

So you will be seeing some long languishing home decorating projects here on the blog. And of course more knitting! It felt like I knit a whole lot more than the following mosaic shows I am pretty proud of myself for trying some new things: lace, stranded work with some silly projects thrown in for fun. Oh, and my niece loved the knit food I gave her. Did you know fairies really like strawberries? And I have one more 2008 project to post but I haven't sent them off to Meg yet I had to wait for her to return from visiting the penguins in Antarctica! But if you peek you may see it below!