The Many Types of Knitting

As an educational service to you, my faithful and rare readers, I would like to introduce the many and varied types of knitting. You may be quizzed on this later, so please pay attention and take notes.

EXTREME KNITTING:

Yes, I have now become so completely obsessed that I have been taking knitting with me into the woods. Zeke doesn't seem to mind, and this is a cotton washcloth, so if I drop it in the mud, it's not too big a tragedy. Plus, if I were to become lost, it's bright enough to be used as a signaling device to any passing light aircraft.

FINISHED KNITTING (a very rare form indeed):

These are the fatal socks with which I killed my target in Sock Wars. Clearly, I am very good at finishing a knitted object under threat of death.

FUTURE KNITTING:

Most of my haul from Rhinebeck. Hmmmm.... And it's all sock yarn. Those of you who are knitters will recognize the various brands. Those of you who are not knitters....probably don't care.

REALLY, REALLY FUTURE KNITTING:

Alpaca, my new favorite fiber.

Excuse me Ma'am, weren't you in that movie, "Babe"?

COPYCAT KNITTING:

I loved January One's knee high socks so very, very much that I have begun a pair of my own. I am not nearly as talented however, and had to re-do the cuff literally 6 times before I got it to fit. I now appear to have stopped due to sheer exhaustion, but I leave the yarn sitting out because it's so darn pretty.

LACE KNITTING:

I got this AWESOME book at Rhinebeck. It describes in detail (with patterns and instructions) a co-op of Native Alaskan knitters who make gorgeous knitted items out of qiviut - yarn made from the down of musk oxen. It is lighter than silk, warmer and stronger than wool, and softer than cashmere. And more expensive than a shopping spree at Tiffany's. I will not be knitting with qiviut...probably ever...but the book's patterns can be knit with any yarn. I found this giant cone of Alpaca laceweight for a STEAL. I can't believe my luck!!! (Oh and qiviut? Most of it comes from a handful of musk ox farms. Since you can't shear a musk ox, they are put into big squeeze cages to hold them, and then the down is combed out of them. Is that cute or what?)

VINTAGE KNITTING:

An awesome person in my knitting club brought me this 1955 pattern book he found at a yard sale. Is that sweet or what?


And inside is a pattern for argyle socks! Yippeee! Thanks Steve!!

OBSESSION KNITTING:

The second I saw this pattern, I HAD to make it. It makes a leafy pattern in lace! See it? That green thing is my swatch, with yarn leftover from the socks above. I went back to get more...and they were OUT of green. ARRRGH!! I can't find it on-line and AC Moore doesn't sell mail order. Crappers. So I started it in white.

CHRISTMAS KNITTING:

HEY! No peeking!

A brief update

Flowers a-bloomin'...

Snow a-snowin'....



The snow happened weeks ago....and now it's all gone. Now it's rain a-rainin'...

More to come soon! No really, I mean it this time.

Fantastic Friday

Remember the magic when you were a kid, and you woke up to discover the world covered in snow? That's what I got this morning. I had no idea it was coming and glancing out the window I felt just like a kid again. Three gorgeous inches of white stuff this morning, making the whole world look different. (I'd attach a pic, but you know how it is in the winter - go to work in the dark, come home in the dark.)

For some reason that euphoria stuck with me the rest of the day. Work is so busy and constant that's it's kind of fun, and I'm starting to get to know my new co-workers better and to really like them. And every few minutes I'd look out my office window and giggle at the snow flakes. Plus, because of a glitch in the phone system, I got out of having to talk to a particularly nasty customer and got to fax him instead.

And THEN, I got home to find not one, but TWO, TWO packages waiting for me!

This one's from Norway - the real Norway! (Not the town of Norway up the street.)

My Sock Wars assassin killed me with these great-fitting, and very warm socks!! Thanks Killer!

And LOOK what Lula's Mom sent me!!! What could be in that intriguing box??

Let's open it up...

FLOWERS! For me! And not just flowers, but IRISES, my favorite, favorite flowers in the whole world.

And a note with the flowers that made me cry and that I'm not sharing because it was a note for me. And a gorgeous card with penguins a-snugglin' each other.

OK, I've got to tell you, I think getting surprised by flowers out of the blue is pretty FAN-DAMN-TASTIC. I am so excited! I can't wait until they start opening. I have plans to poke at them constantly and ask them how they're doing, which seems to actually be working. (I didn't want to jinx anything, but FU Tree is still looking pretty darn healthy and I poke at him nearly every day.)

The flowers are to cheer me up - My Grandmother passed away last week, hence the blogging silence. I really, really miss her, but I'm grateful for the year we had to catch up on the past and to grow closer together. I think her passing was made as comfortable and peaceful as possible, due in great part to the caring folks at Hospice. What a wonderful group of people. They loved and cared for my Grandma as if she was their own grandmother and I am eternally grateful for that.

The pictures don't show it, but these irises are lavender colored. Lula's Mom - did you know that's my Grandma's favorite color? She would have been so excited to see them. So I thought it would be appropriate to put them in one of her vases. Erm....at least, I'm pretty sure this is one of hers. Mom gave it to me a few years ago and I think she said it was Grandma's?

Well, let's just pretend, shall we?