Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I have not forgotten you! I've just been very busy. We moved into our new house on Monday. Before that, we were packing and shopping for house stuff and dealing with painters. And, as of this morning, a plumber to fix a leak in our bathroom. (No, not nearly as bad as what happened to Ruth's bathroom!)

Now we are unpacking and furnishing and decorating, and remembering where we packed/unpacked everything. (The underwear got lost in the move. Luckily for everyone, they were found the next day.)

I've still been knitting (mostly in the car on the way to work) (no, not while driving ... while husband is driving!).

Bloggy dear, I still love you! Every day, I think of something I want to post. Unfortunately, it has also been performance review season here at work, so I thought it best to focus on the tasks of my paid employment for a few weeks.

Luckily, the review went well, and I shall return with photos soon.

(In the meantime, if any readers have a favorite Etsy shop to recommend for artwork in the "el cheapo" to "slightly higher but still not expensive" price range, let me know. We're looking for bedroom and livign room art.)

Until later,
Danielle

bloggy baby gift

A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of some baby socks that I made.

I also made a hat to match, and shipped them off to Gleek for her soon-to-arrive peanut. She has been a great bloggy-buddy, always leaving nice little comments at this here lil' ol' blog, and I wanted to send her something nice in return :)


Project specs
Yarn: Koigu (it's machine washable! really!)
Needles: Size 3 CP bamboo
Gauge: approx 7 sts/in
Pattern: none, just winging it :)

40 Days for Others

Last year, I participated in a knit-along called "40 Days for Others", hosted by Annie. 40 Days is a KAL that focuses on knitting for charity during the 40 days of the Lenten season. I'll be doing it again this year! My reasons for participating haven't changed much since last year, so I'll just link you to what I said then.


I'll be knitting mostly for Dulaan unless I see another request for charitable knitted items that moves me. I'll still be knitting for myself and those I know, but will be mindful of creating balance between both kinds of knitting.

Here's my first 40 Days project --


This is a hat, which will almost certainly have a crown of a different color, due to lack of green yarn! It's a Lopi yarn that I overdyed with blue food coloring last year. I have looked at it so many times over the past year, and I'm glad to be knitting with it. It's a pretty thick yarn, but I'm knitting it on medium sized needles to create a dense and warm fabric. I'm guessing that I will find some blue yarn to use for the crown when I run out of this color.

anecdotal

Yawn. I'm tired, so all you get is a random brain dump.

Manly Man Socks:
Manly man socks are at "manly man bobby sox" stage. Think he would like some anklets this year? (Note: I accidentally typed "manly man booby sox". I bet he'd like those even more!)

Nantucket Jacket:
I'm back to the Nantucket Jacket, and am *this* close to finishing the two fronts, leaving me with just the sleeves to knit. No photos now. I need to reconsider a collar shaping issue before I finish, and then I will take a photo. BTW, who designs an aran weight cabled jacket with 3/4 length sleeves? Cute, yeah, but not highly practical. I'll be lengthening those... With my speed, the sweater should be done just in time for spring :)

Knits in the wild:
Earlier this week, I was driving to pick my husband up at work (he works on Union Street in Boston, right near the Union Oyster House, for those who know Boston...). I saw someone all bundled up in a wool coat and hat and mittens and thought "hmm, those look like handknit mittens". Looked up to check if the hat was hand knit, caught sight of the face instead, and said "hey, I think I know who that is!" Looked back at the mittens. Yep, it was a pair of Charlie Card Mittens -- nay, the ORIGINAL Charlie Card Mittens -- spotted in the wilds, worn by the Subway Knitter herself. I tried to whip out the camera and take a pic of herr out my window (you know, the way she shoots other subway knitters' photos), but the light turned green, and I decided not to risk life and limb for a photo.

Awww ...
Remember the pillows I made for the Mafia? Apparently, the striped one has been "claimed" by Little Man as his own. He even brought it to daycare one day this week. Too cute!