Friday, September 19, 2008

Thank you, all, for the birthday wishes. I appreciated all of the fuss and bother that was made over my birthday this year. The family even threw me a surprise party! How fun was that? Oh, and a note to self: Clean house more often. You never know...

And I'm so excited! The new Yarn Harlot book should be out soon, and as I was preordering it, I found the 2009 Calendar she's published. Woot! So I shall be very occupied when these items come in the mail, and the family will have to live off of the frozen dinners I am preparing in... well, preparation. I'm also starting a scarf for my oldest daughter, who is very difficult to knit for. Everything has to fit just so. When I brought home some red/pink roving from the last fiber festival, she right away grabbed it and asked for a lace scarf. I was so happy she wanted something from my needles, I just nodded and grabbed a spindle. The fiber was 2.8 ounces of Merino/Bamboo from Yarn Hollow, which is just great to spin, really. I've spun with bamboo several times now, and I think I'm an addict. (I'll let you know if my supply ever dwindles. That will be a sure tell.) It spun into 246 yards of a fine fingering weight. In parts, of course, because I'm not the most consistent spinner, it's nearly a laceweight. No matter, because the scarf is for show, not warmth, and it can be as lacy as it wants. The pattern is from Knitty, Argosy, and it's great fun to knit. I'm twitching to get back to it right now.



Things will be revving up soon for drama club and after school sign language classes, as well as teaching spinning to the third graders, which Arleta and I did last year. I am trying not to feel like I have to knit so much for the holidays. Everyone loves handmade gifts in my family, but I want to stay sane. Therefore, I think I shall sew this year, table runners and wallhangings, napkin sets, etc. They go faster than knitting, and will throw everyone a curve ball if they were expecting socks. If you all go crazy with knitting for the holidays, I will enjoy reading your blogs and allowing myself an extra cup of hot cocoa =)

6 comments:

Cheryl S. said...

Knit for the holidays? I'm not that crazy. The internet and credit card are my friends.

Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

What a cool scarf! Definitely not your average accessory.

Glad your birthday was great...you deserve it.

Anonymous said...

What? You don't have all your holiday knitting done in advance?

I love that coffee cup! And the shawl, of course.

Anonymous said...

The scarf is looking beautiful! I'm amazed at how much you manage to spin on your spindle; it takes me forever to finish any spindle spinning (although I do love the process, so all is good).

I've decided that I am not knitting for the holidays this year except for a 3 small people whose parents really appreciate the effort. There's enough stress in life.

Have a great weekend!

AR said...

That is going to be such a beautiful scarf! I have finished two holiday gifts ... oh wait, one is for myself, hehe. I have one more cast on and three more planned. I think everyone else is getting store bought gifts.

Bring the wool to knitting some Wednesday and we'll seperate it for the class. :)

Jen said...

I knit for Christmas a couple of years ago. I won't be doing that again. Only one person thought it was worth getting.
Love the scarf. I haven't tried very hard at that kind of pattern.