Softest Red Scarf Was Warming Your Throat

The Scroll Lace scarf I started in November for one of my Virginia nieces is done and drying! The knitting went very quickly, but the bind off was soooooooo slow--a lot of stitches, and alternating casting on a few and then casting off more to get the picot edge. Totally worth the extra effort, but not nearly as fun as making tiny Santas or gnomes.

The scarf used about 2.5 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca 100% Alpaca sport weight, and it should be very warm and soft. Fingers crossed that she's not sensitive to alpaca!

I've finished a couple of other Christmas projects, and really want to make some more of those snowmen and santas this next week. And I need to locate the cards that I started last year but never sent, and get them in the mail, and I'm supposed to be at a Christmas party in an hour or so but am not yet dressed. I'd better get cracking!

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Softest Red Scarf Was Warming Your Scarf: Laura Marling, Goodbye England (Covered in Snow). Love this song, love the album it's on. Just realized that it's a good Christmas present for at least one person on my list!

Let the Madness Begin

I've added a bunch of new projects to my list of Christmas knitting. Based on the fact that I haven't finished any birthday knitting this year, I know that I'm setting myself up for failure, but when my 10 year old niece requests "something knitted," what am I supposed to do? Obviously, cast on something for her (Ysolda Teague's Scroll Lace Scarf, above), and then add projects for the other niece, etc., etc. Yikes!

Have a Wonderful, Relaxing Thanksgiving . . . .

. . . but don't forget that it's time to get started on the Christmas Cards!

Chutney, Mincemeat, Shedir

This weekend was the first time I've had four days off work in a row since early June, and it was a pretty productive / relaxing weekend. I caught up on my sleep (quite a feat--Frieda likes to get up at 4:30am most days), finished the last bit of Sock Wars work, did a little bit of holiday shopping, and worked on numerous holiday-related projects. Today I made cranberry chutney and a meatless mincemeat made with pears and apples. I never really thought about mincemeat having actual meat in it, but evidently that's the case. The flavor of this mincemeat is similar to traditional mincemeat, although I used dried cranberries instead of raisins so it's a little more tart. I think it would be delicious heated over ice cream, or used in little hand-pies. I've never been a big fan of whole mincemeat pies, because there isn't enough crust for the amount of filling. Little hand-pies take care of that problem! The chutney is savory, and would be delicious with a baked brie or roast pork. It's also good on crackers with brie or goat cheese. It's nice to have these done, they are great hostess gifts and I like to have something handmade at the ready so that if any holiday invites roll in, I'm prepared.


This weekend I worked a couple of inches on Shedir, and am a few rows into the decreasing section. I love the way the cables transform from the repeating braided cables into the star-like top cable, and I'm looking forward to seeing this happen as I get further along. I took out one repeat of the braided cable so that it wouldn't come down so far over the forehead (and so I could move along to the top faster). Once the decreasing starts, the beginning of the row shifts occasionally, it's a little tricky but the way that the cables are charted makes it very clear. The biggest problem I've had so far is that the ball of Calmer is getting all loose and tangley--hopefully, I can stem the tide! I haven't decided yet whether I'll give this one away. Living in WA, I don't need a hat very often, but this is a hat that I could wear without itching, so it may need to be mine. Or I suppose I can knit another one in the same yarn after all of the holiday knitting it complete.

At last, the war is over

Finally, Sock Wars is over! And really, even though I was not the swag winner and I'll probably never get socks from my lame-ass assassin, I couldn't be happier that it is over--three pair from scratch (plus a little less than one more sock, started by Kate) is a little much for me in two months. I'm a little annoyed still about the people who either sent socks to people but didn't confirm they knew the rules and were still playing, or who received socks without bothering to follow through themselves. None of the people that I knit for fell into this category, though, so at least I don't feel like I knit for the undeserving. Man, that sounds stupid--it was just a game, after all. Anyway, the fourth pair that I completed was my first attempt at two colors in one sock, and I think that they turned out pretty well. I am a little concerned that they are a little too big, though--I've had no luck whatsoever with gauge swatches during this game, so I didn't make one for this pair. Celticdragonfly's feet are a little bigger than mine, so maybe they'll be o.k. I used Heirloom Yarns superwash Easy Care 8ply wool, it was nice to work with and came through the wash / dry just fine. Good thing, too--I would have cried if it felted after all of that knitting.

This weekend I also worked on Shedir and on the Olive Garden Scarf, which is now about 40 inches long. I also started a new X-mas gift project that can't be fully revealed at this time. Sneak preview to the right--the yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, the same 100% merino superwash used to knit the original two socks at once. The colorway is called, not surprisingly, "Rainbow". I looooooove the feel of this yarn. I took the project from Holiday Knits, can you guess what it is? Maybe a Rainbow wig for E____ G_____? Or a Rainbow clown collar for R_____ C_____? Perhaps a hippie halter top for A______ M______? Only time will tell.