Thanksgiving and ISE5 scarf

We had a nice Thanksgiving day with our 2 sons, daughter, daughter's boyfriend, and his parents. It was especially nice because everyone contributed to the meal preparation and we didn't spend the entire day in the kitchen. It was nice to be together at the same time, but I was a bit shocked that at the end of the evening everyone went home and the house was empty. This is the first empty nest holiday. I guess I'll have to get used to it.

For the last two years or so, my cousin's husband Tommy has been sending You Tube videos of pictures he has taken of family gatherings. My aunt has all of her children and grandchildren within 2 hours proximity to her, so they have big gatherings. I don't think everyone got the video this year, so Tommy gave me permission to link to Thanksgiving 2007. The pictures are accompanied by music from Dick/Richard/Sam and Chris. Discovering their music this year has been a highlight for me, and I'm thankful for their musical gifts. I'm also glad Tommy chronicles so many family events. It's the only way I've been able to keep up with my cousins.

I have 5 minutes to say that I got my ISE5 scarves today from Angela in Germany.



The contents of the box included 2 scarves, some Zitron bamboo yarn in a color I don't have, and a few metal Made With Love labels to include on future handmade gifts. Angela informed me before she sent my package that she had made me 2 scarves. She wasn't happy with the first one she knit - she wasn't happy with the colors -and so decided to knit me an additional one. They're both wonderful scarves. I would have been pleased with either one and feel lucky that I got two!

Scarf 1:



Closer detail of the drop stitch pattern:



The colors match my coat perfectly:



I love scarf #2. The color is so vibrant and I just love the drape and squishiness of the yarn. I'm glad Angela chose this yarn because I wouldn't have done so on my own and now I'm pleasantly surprised by something new.



So, thank you again, Angela! I love my scarves and my sock yarn. You were a wonderful scarf pal!

November 21, 2007

I'm too sleep deprived to think up a clever title for a post. When in such a state, isn't it nice to rely on dates as titles!

The word on the Geopolitics of South and Central Asia class from my supervisor is that she is checking into the possibility of my taking it. I trust she'll do her best as she does understand we all have interests outside work. Plus, I work a crappy schedule. Being able to flex time to do things that interest me helps to keep me motivated to continue working this schedule.

I have had tendinitis in my thumb the last couple of days and have had to take a break from knitting. While I find that frustrating, I have been able to read. I've had mediocre experiences with reading all year due, in part, to feeling uninspired by books. I've loved to read all my life, but this year I felt oversaturated by book information from reading forums to publisher's hype to book reviews to reading lists - everything started to look the same and I just needed a break. I think I'm recovering. Right now I'm reading Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Laurence Bergreen. I haven't read a biography in awhile and have read little about exploring. Since Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road and many of the countries I'll hopefully be studying next quarter are on the Silk Road, I thought this would be a fitting book to read pre class. I've spent some time this morning reading about the Silk Road itself and came across the inevitable research temptations. I don't travel well, but I can dream!

I've also returned to book lists. I love to collect them. I think next year's reading list will encompass many books from the Conde Nast Traveler list here

I have no pictures to show today, but as you can see throughout this post, I have learned how to link. I got sock yarn for my knitting pal, but I can't show it. My other swaps have been completed and it's time to plan for the Loopy Ewe swap. I do enjoy these swaps. I've had good beginner's luck so far! Here's the Coffee Swap blog to get an idea of what a swap can be like.

What to do?

Since my daughter does read my blog, I've debated writing a generic note saying, Dear family, Do not read my blog until after Christmas! However, I think I'll just not post pictures of gifts until after the holidays. I just added a Loopy Ewe gift list and wouldn't want to deprive anyone in my family of seeing it! : )

I found out that one of my favorite instructors at Clark College is offering a course called the Geopolitics of South and Central Asia. For a long time the only geopolitical course this instructor was allowed to teach was about the Middle East. He had written proposals for courses in other geographical locations, but for some ridiculous reason the college administration wouldn't run the classes. I had sworn I'd take any of the courses he offered and this is the first quarter one of them will be taught. I might be able to convince my supervisor to let me take the class, but it would also mean I couldn't go to my knitting group. So, I have a dilemma. I should be taking classes to help me learn coding or helping me to move into Admitting or medical assisting, but I love geography and anthropology. There are days I'd love to be 20 again! I would certainly not be a medical transcriptionist if I could do it over.

Scarf and Monkey sock

Here's the scarf. I finished it on Sunday and am waiting until next Tuesday to mail. I need to work on wrapping the package contents. I used Malabrigo lace - a merino wool from South America. It's one of the softest fibers I've ever felt and has become a new favorite. It's closer to fingering weight than lace and thus is much easier to use, in my opinion.

Here are a few pictures of the scarf. The first is taken by my husband standing on a chair and looking down:



Here's a closer look at the detail:



Here's a picture in daylight. Please don't look closely at my kitchen floor!



Now that the scarf is done, I've begun knitting socks for birthday and Christmas presents. I started on a Monkey sock for my daughter's birthday and am using Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in the Sea Flower color.



I can see why people call this pattern Monkey crack! It's a fun pattern. I love the yarn too - Smooshy fits the description of how this yarn feels. I also love that the colors don't pool. By the way, I don't think this is a birthday spoiler - my children don't read my blog!

Leafy Lace Shawl done

I finished niece Elizabeth's shawl. It's the Leafy Lace Shawl by Louisa Harding in Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. It's made out of Vreseis Fox Fiber Boiled Cotton Chenille, a bulky-weight organic cotton. It's not dyed - that green is the natural color of the cotton. The yarn has no elasticity and seemed a bit fragile. It actually broke once when I was doing one of the knit 2 together decreases. The yarn is very soft though and I think I can live with the finished product. I hope Elizabeth and Caroline can too. It's going out to them tomorrow.

Can you find the fur in the fiber?

I thought I would start cataloging my sock yarn the other day, and then I got a helper. Can you see her? If not, here's a close-up:



This is Misha, by the way. I've sneeked her into this blog because my extended family doesn't really know about her. I have a reputation for collecting pets like I collect yarn. This spring I took one of the dogs to the vet and my vet showed me a kitten she was trying to find a home for (my vet is an enabler). Of course I took him. I named him Archie. He was an adorable orange tabby, had been raised in an apartment complex and loved to wander from apartment to apartment getting attention. So Archie comes to my home and I insist that he become an indoor cat. The short version of this story is that he did not stay an indoor cat. Because of his tendency to love everyone, he wandered off with a couple walking in our neighborhood. When I went to retrieve him from following they had disappeared with the cat. I was heartbroken! We put up posters and I registered a lost cat notice at the humane society. I would watch the humane society web page for cats that resembled Archie, but never found him. However, in the 6 weeks that followed I kept seeing this beautiful little white and black cat named Abby in the adoption pictures at the humane society. She was 3 years old, had always been an indoor cat, was friendly with cats and dogs, and was playful and affectionate. I just knew she would snatched up quickly. She wasn't. Six weeks went by and no one would take her. I was getting quite attached to Abby and couldn't believe she hadn't found a home. That Sunday a notice was put up that Abby had been in the facility too long and they were begging someone to come get her. I told my husband I had to have her. He reluctantly agreed if I would promise to take the humane society web page off my Favorites list in the computer (I have more stories like this one). So, we rushed down to the shelter, an hour before they closed, and I asked to see Abby. We took to each other right away. I held her for an hour and a half in a room full of wonderful adoptable cats, but never swayed from wanting her. The staff at the shelter felt we were meant for one another and Abby came home with me. I renamed her Misha. She's been a delightful cat. I had set up a cat bed on my desk so Mish could keep me company. However, she doesn't want the bed, she wants my lap. A typical work day picture:



So, anyway, I gave up taking pictures of my stash - it got a little overwhelming. I have too much!

I'm sort of on a sock yarn diet. When I bought my Wollmeise yarn from The Loopy Ewe in August I promised I wouldn't buy anymore sock yarn. Well... I haven't bought as much, but I have this interest in German sock yarns and Sheepaints is now in the Loopy stock. I bought some yarn this week and it just came in the mail. Here's a picture of 4 fingerless glove patterns and the Cherrywood colorway from Sheepaints.


So, family, if you would prefer fingerless gloves to socks, you have an option.

I'm almost done with my ISE5 scarf and have finished E's shawl. I'll include pictures of both in my next post. I have multiple projects on needles, but it's time for work and I have to go.