Hersheypark Happy!

Hersheypark glad! Everyone remember that jingle from those TV ads in the '70s, or was it the '80s? Anyway. How's this for a Hersheypark Happy Face? Believe it or not, she really wanted to greet the Kiss Dude, it was only when Rich whipped out the camera and wanted to take a picture that this expression appeared. Well, the Kiss and the Webkinz look happy.

Hershey was a lot of fun. We did not get a lot of pictures, though. I think we were too busy. After 3 days of it, in fact, I think we were relieved to go home. We wore ourselves out.

We did take a very nice buggy ride in the Amish Country. That was pretty relaxing. The countryside around there is so beautiful, but we began to feel uncomfortable with the way the Amish people themselves seemed to be a tourist attraction. It was almost like they were like fish in a bowl. We passed one crummy-looking motor-lodge called the Amish View Inn. There were crummy looking plastic chairs set up in front of each room facing the road. Can you guess what was across the road? Yep, it was the Amish View. An Amish farm was there, and, coincidentally, there was a farmer working there at the very moment we passed. We saw the farmer, the crummy chairs facing his lovely field, and the name of the crummy motel, and it made us feel kind of ... crummy. We drove back to Hershey, with its strangely animated candybar characters.

And here, I finished one sock for Math Boy. Yes, I know I haven't finished Cat's second Panda Cotton Sock, but I could not resist starting something with this yarn as soon as I got it. It is Claudia Handpaint in the sport weight, in the Boot Camp colorway. This yarn is fabulous! It is so smooshy and bouncy. I love it the feel of it and I love this color. I simplified the "Inside Out" pattern from the Rockin' Sock Club to make this sock--essentially it's just a 2x1 rib with garter stitch short-row heel and toe. Super easy. I used size 1 needles for the toe, foot and heel, and 2s for the leg. That is Math Boy's foot, modeling the sock. His feet are almost as big as mine now!

I know I said that I did not like the fingering weight of the Claudia yarn when I used it for a scarf in February, but this sport weight is great! To be honest, my scarf may not have been the best project for that yarn. Anyway, I love this and probably will use it again.

All Better, just in time for Summer Vacation!

Here is our Cat Crazy Girl, feeling much better after 3 days on the amoxicillin. An awfully nasty bout with strep has had her knocked out for several days. She had a fever more or less constantly from Tuesday, when the school nurse called to have me pick her up, until Saturday night around dinnertime. She missed the last 3 days of school, and all the fun end-of-the-year stuff that was going on this week (final softball game, pool parties, ice cream socials). The teacher had to clean out her desk for me. Luckily, she is all better for our upcoming trip to Hershey Park, which is the important thing.

All in all, Cat Girl is not sad to put 2nd Grade behind her. It was not her favorite year, for various reasons. Math Boy, on the other hand, was very sad to see his school year end. In fact, he has been lamenting the end of school so much, I finally told him (and only half-jokingly) that he was kind of hurting our feelings. I am glad that he loves his school. What a change from the days when he used to go to Cat Girl's school. We are very lucky to have found such a good fit for him.

Cat Girl is hamming it up, modeling my Montego Bay scarf, made in Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Paris colorway. It's already wrapped up and sent to Mom for her birthday. Although the pattern called for the scarf to be 80 inches, I felt that 60 inches was plenty long enough. (To be honest, I was darn sick of the stitch pattern by 40 inches.) So, because this skein was so big to begin with, I'm sure I have enough left over to make something else, just ... not now. The yarn is very delicate and I'm just not in the mood for starting another project with it right now. So I re-wound the ball on my ballwinder to tidy it up and put it aside for a while.

This pattern was easy and a good showcase for this yarn. Aside from making it shorter, the only change I made was to use a size 7 needle instead of an 8. It was definitely lacy enough for me on a 7. I love the braid fringe! At first, I was worried it might be a little too funky-looking, but by the time I finished braiding all those tiny little braids I was hooked by the cool look.

Kids!

Had to add a separate entry about Math Boy (new fun name that my son and I have settled on for him). There will be no pictures for this entry, although there really should be. Why? Let me explain.

Last night Math Boy's Montessori school held their annual end of the year "Festivities." It was kind of like a pageant: each class performed something they have been working on for a while that fit with the international theme that the school chose to use this year. Nearly all the teachers are from other countries, so each class generally did something to fit with the heritage of its teacher.

Because this was Math Boy's first year at the school, we really did not understand what a big deal this was. I did not think to bring the video camera. Math Boy told me that his class was doing an authentic Filipino dance--their teacher is from the Phillipines. That was pretty much all he told me.

We arrive for the evening, and a friend asked me if Math Boy was nervous about playing the piano for everyone. WHAT? He never mentioned that. Sure enough, at the beginning of the evening, it is announced that some children will play piano at the end of the evening, as accompaniment to a slide show about the school year. My son is reported as one of them, playing the First Movement from Khachaturian's Toccata (go here to hear someone playing it). And, again, I said WHAT?! As far as I knew, he hadn't played that in months. The sheet music was at home. Gathering dust. Sure, he did learn it through and through, but that was months ago and it's a darn hard piece and what does he think he's doing telling everyone he can perform that piece in front of all these parents and all I could think about was what a recipe for disaster this was. Rich told me I had better go find Math Boy and find out what's going on.

I sneaked backstage and was fortunate enough to find Math Boy quickly. He assured me that he has been practicing the piece at school and he's going to be fine. He doesn't need the music; he still has it memorized. Relax, Mom.

I went back to sit down. The preschool class productions were very cute, although kind of a mess. The songs were probably a little too long for these little ones (ages 3, 4 and 5) to keep their focus. There was one little girl who kept taking her dress off. The teacher's assistant kept putting it back on and tried to hide the girl behind the curtain, but she was bound and determined to disrobe in the spotlight. One boy discovered the side-stage door and kept running in and out, over and over.

Then Math Boy's elementary class (covering ages 6 through 12) did their Filipino martial arts dance with sticks, and it was great. They clearly had practiced quite a bit and had a lot of fun. The girls in the class had opted to do a harvest dance, which also was lovely. I settled down to worry about the piano perfomances, which were scheduled to take place at the end of the evening. But little did I know what was coming.

Math Boy had mentioned at some point during the year that he was doing the part of Peter Pan in a song the music class was doing. I thought it was just something they worked on in class. He did not tell me that was for the end of the year festivities. He did tell me that the kids were singing a Beatles medley for the music teacher and that we would see that during the festivities. So I was not surprised when the elementary kids came out and did a rousing version of Yellow Submarine, etc. But I totally unprepared for Math Boy to take the microphone and do the part of Peter Pan in a full length version of "I Won't Grow Up." The funny thing was that when he did pick up the mike, Rich and I both thought he was messing around and that he would get in trouble. Then he started singing. With a Microphone. By himself, for a lot of the time. And he was good. I don't think I breathed until it was over.

In the end, the piano performances did not really matter, because the evening was so rife with technical difficulties that it went very late and because the folks in charge could not make the slideshow work. Worse, nobody went up on the stage to let the audience know what was going on. I think most of the audience simply forgot about the planned slideshow/piano concert and just stood up and started collecting their kids and chatting with each other. Eventually the piano kids came out and did their numbers, but only those of us who wanted to listen--and who pushed our way up to the front so we actually could hear--got to hear them. That ended up being about 15 parents. And I need not have worried about Math Boy--he definitely knew that piece, without music, and impressed the few of us actually listening.

All I have of this evening is my memory. I missed a major video moment in my son's life--and, frankly, we don't really get that many. He says he did not tell us too much about the Peter Pan song because he was embarrassed. He forgot to tell me about the piano. I'm still a little shell-shocked by the whole thing. I was so blown away while we were there that I completely forgot to make him and his friends pose in their costumes for a picture, so I don't even have that.

I am very proud of him for everything he did. I just wish I could have had more warning!

Progress? Well....

It depends on what you are asking about, of course. Look: my van made progress, going over 100,000 miles this week. There were days when I swore it would never make it this far. I clearly underestimated it. I made some (very) small progress in stash reduction, knitting up these super-quick and inexplicably enjoyable squares of garter stitch on the bias. I used up a lonely not-quite-complete skein of Noro Silk Garden I've had hanging around for a while now, left over from a sweater I made. It was one of those things where I loved the yarn so much that I could not just throw this small leftover skein away (plus it was not cheap), but I had no idea what to do with it. So I made these squares for the Rebuilding Greensburg project.
I also made a couple squares with leftover sock yarn held together with some leftover black dk yarn from a sweater I made, oh, eons ago. The woman who began this project plans to make over 40 afghans for families in Greensburg KS with the squares she is collecting. All I can say is ... wow.

I made sock progress. I finished the Farmhouse Socks that Rock. There is no new picture of the FO, because I have taken enough pix of those darn things and I am sick of looking at them. As soon as I finished them I packed them away for colder weather and started these...
Look: already one sock done for Cat Crazy Daughter (she asked I refer to her by a fun name rather than just her initial). This is the Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in Vanilla Cream, a color chosen by Cat Crazy Daughter and bought from The Loopy Ewe. These were done toe-up on size 0 needles. I worked from the basic sock recipes out there and used a lace rib on the instep and leg. I still love working with this yarn. It feels incredible. Unfortunately, the foot for which this sock was made has gone to the pool for the afternoon, so I can't show a picture of it being worn. It fits her well--but not tightly. This yarn is nice and stretchy so I hope the 8-year-old-foot can wear it for a while. I just started the second sock. I also started this...
The Montego Bay scarf from this month's Interweave Knits magazine (look here and scroll down) in Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Paris colorway, also from The Loopy Ewe. There is no way I can adequately convey how completely gorgeous this yarn is. It even has a slight smell of the ocean to it. I know that sounds kind of icky, but it's really cool. The only irritating thing so far is that, for some reason, it was very difficult to wind. It does tangle rather easily. I only have about 12 inches done and I would like to finish it for Mom's birthday in about 3 weeks. Doable, I think. And this skein was so huge I should have enough left to make something else!

So. I haven't mentioned the sloggin' denim cardigan. Why? Because I barely have touched it since my last blog entry. It's not very portable and it is at a point where I really have to pay attention to what I am doing with it, and that just hasn't fit with my lifestyle for the past couple of weeks. It is due to become even less portable, because I realized I really should sew the fronts and the back together before I continue doing the button-band-slash-collar-thing. It's languishing on the rocking chair next to my side of the bed, so I have to look at it a lot and think about how I should be working on it, but other things are much more attractive.

Making Progress

Finished! Crystal Palace Panda Cotton anklets in Baby Blues colorway. Very cute, very soft, very stretchy. I wish I'd done a few more rows before starting the lace ribbing. Lesson learned. I have a ton of this left over; I'll have to figure out what to do with it. Buy a skein of a contrasting color and do stripes?
Almost finished! Blue Moon Socks that Rock in Farmhouse colorway.
Slogging away on the endless denim cardi and actually seeing progress. I finished the left side, then did the pockets and got pretty far up on one of the button bands.
Here's a close up, since my full-on shots always seem to look pretty much the same: big white sweater on a blue bedspread. For those of you not familiar with the denim yarn, this yarn shrinks up 10-20% when you wash it. So although the stitches may look somewhat loose right now, it all tightens up really nicely when it is washed.

Of Silkie, Second Sock Syndrome & Slogs

See this? This is my latest rockin' sock club yarn. It's Silkie, 19% silk and 81% wool. It's gorgeous, it feels incredible, and the pattern is so cool-looking, and I can't wait to do it ... but I can't. I'm not even allowed to wind it up (because we know where that will lead, don't we?). I did let myself open the bag and touch it, but that's it. No winding, no swatching. Why the need for such discipline, you ask? Let me show you.

Exhibit A: The February Rockin' Sock. Notice I did not say Rockin' Socks. I haven't even turned the heel on the second sock yet. And it's a really fun heel to do, so you would think I'd want to do it.
Exhibits B and C: Lazy no-good socks lying about with nothing to do as they await the completion of their partners. The sock on the left is Socks That Rock lightweight in the Farmhouse colorway. The light blue sock on the right is Crystal Palace Panda Cotton from The The Loopy Ewe in the Baby Blues colorway, anklet height with a lace rib top. I absolutely love this yarn, by the way. It is so incredibly soft and squishy. I am highly motivated to finish this pair so I can wear them. They will be just perfect for this warm spring weather.
And the final exhibit: The state of the slog. I am almost done with the front. I do have the back done, too, but did not feel like dragging it out for a photo shoot. I have decided that, before starting the sleeves, I am going to do some of the finishing work on the body. Specifically, I'm going to sew the shoulders, knit up the pocket tops and sew in the pockets, and I'll start working on the daunting button-band and collar. There's a lot of garter stitch involved in the collar, so I think it would be good to get as much of that out of the way as I can before I go absolutely crazy from it. When I hit the garter stitch wall, I'll start up the sleeves. My theory is that the patterning will be a welcome change at that point.
Here how this should look when it is done and washed and the denim yarn has done its shrinking-thing. It's the Lizzie cardigan from the old Rowan Denim pattern book by Kim Hargreaves. I've been working on this so long, the book is now discontinued!I put the Lopi sweater away until it cools off again in the Fall. It's too warm here lately to work with Lopi.

I had a picture of the office to post, too, because I have also been doing some slogging for pay and for my career, but Blogger rebelled so you'll just have to use your imaginations. I have articles on climate change all over the place, along with the New Jersey ICLE books and homework. Between all this and the kids' activities, I feel like a hamster on one of those wheels. ...Which reminds me--has anyone fed the guinea pig lately?

So the Silkie yarn will be staying in the bag for a while.

C's Science Project

Anyone interested in seeing C's "land form" project for school, click here. The school also has a picture of C and her project together here.

Added October 2007: These links are no longer good. The school took the pictures off their website.

First Communion pictures

We had absolutely gorgeous weather here this weekend for First Communion. We were so lucky, everyone kept saying, considering that the horrible Nor'easter was only a week ago.
C. looked lovely and the mass was really nice. Everything went beautifully.
Here is a picture of C. with her cousin E. (I had to cut the boys out because they were blinking, but the girls looked so nice I could not just give up on the picture entirely!)

It was so nice to see everyone this weekend. Thanks for coming and helping C. celebrate this special day!

Slogging along

Here is the current progress on the endless denim cardigan. I knit about 4 inches this weekend, then realized that I had messed up the cabling and had to rip it all out. When you put a project down for, oh, 8 months or so, you do have to re-educate yourself about the pattern. Here is the current distraction:
Lopi cardigan. Coming along very fast on size 9 needles. Unfortunately, the contrast colors do not contrast enough with each other, but it still looks good.

Some Random Pictures

The Argosy scarf was completed last month. I used 2 and 1/2 skeins Koigu Kersti #K118B-10, purchased from Loop, in Philadelphia.











Spring is finally here, judging from this hyacinth. This is one of the very few bulbs that Rudolph the Cat has not unearthed and ruined. Sigh. At least he left me some hyacinths.









On the left is my first Blue Moon Socks that Rock sock I did, using the Farmhouse colorway in the lightweight yarn. C. begged me to use this yarn to make something for her. Next time, I said, kind of annoyed that she preferred my precious BMFA yarn to the pastel-striped Trekking XXL I had purchased (on sale! yay!) for her. Oh well: girl's got taste. The rib at the top is a mock cable rib. I'll save the Trekking for some future project. I think it's cute ....

On the right is my February Rockin' Sock Club sock: "Inside Out." It is pretty much reversible as the pattern is garter stitch and ribbing, with a cable-ribbed leg. I had to re-engineer the pattern for the foot to fit my gauge, but the leg I was able to do according to the directions on a size 2 needle. I am proud of myself for sticking with the cable ribbed leg; I was *that* close to wimping out and just doing a plain rib. I ended up having enough yarn to make the leg pretty long, probably because of the changes I made to the foot. (I had divided the skein in half and decided to just knit the leg until I either got tired of making it or ran out of yarn, whichever came first. I do have a fair amount leftover, in case I need it for the other sock.) The sock is very comfortable. Now I just have to make its friend.


Earrings! C. was very determined to have her ears pierced, and very brave about having it done. More importantly, she has been very good about taking care of them so far. If she were just half that good about brushing her hair ....

Taking over the world!

Just a little funny: I was perusing the list of players for C's softball league to find out which teams all her friends were put on, and found no less than 3 Sydneys in the list of 2nd and 3rd graders: there were a "Sydney," a "Sydnie" and a "Sydnee."

Yay! Sydneys of various spellings are taking over the world, stamping out the name Cindy wherever we find it and forcing people to recognize Sydney as a girl's name.

Knitting Update

Actually, there has been a lot of knitting here in the past couple of months. First, I finished the log cabin baby blanket (a la Mason Dixon) for my friend Chrissy. Unbelievably, I forgot to take a picture. I don't know where my brain was. I think I was just stupid with the aftershock of the sheer frenzy of knitting I had to go through to finish the blanket. I am not kidding or exaggerating when I tell you that the blanket was still damp and in the dryer at 5:30 p.m. and the shower was scheduled to begin at 6:30. I bound off the edge on the baby washcloth that C. made for the baby standing at the kitchen counter, with my coat on, ready to leave for the party. "Under the wire" hardly begins to describe the last-minute nature of the whole enterprise. So maybe I should not be surprised that I forgot to take a picture. I'm just glad I got all those ends tucked anyway.

Here is the next project. In December and early January, it was so warm around here we were beginning to wonder if winter would ever come (ah, those were the days). My thick and fuzzy scarves were too heavy and warm to wear, but my coat looked naked without a scarf. I decided I could whip up a light, lacy thin scarf to wear doubled or tripled around my neck in nothing flat, and I did:
Above, my creation, using a little over 1 skein of Claudia Handpainted Merino in fingering weight. The color is Chocolate Cherry. This is nice yarn, but I don't think I will use it again. It is very lightweight. It really wasn't what I wanted for this project. I needed something with a little more, um, presence. It just needed more heft or weight to give it a good drape. But I really do like the scarf. It's light enough that I can wear it with just a sweater and it doesn't look stupid.

As luck would have it, winter arrived the week after I finished the Claudia Handpaint scarf, so I put it away and pulled out the Serious Scarves--the Heavyweights. Coincidentally, C and I were in Philadelphia for a Girl Scout event on the first really cold and windy day. When we were done, I dragged her to loop. I've been wanting to go there for so long, I practically whined to C in the car as she begged not to have to go a yarn store after a long cold day of museum-touring.

At loop, (sorry kid: we did your thing, now we're doing mine) I found myself transfixed. They had Koigu. Lots of and lots of Koigu, in fact.

I've seen Koigu in magazines and on the web, but Iv'e never been in a store that carries it. I've heard from local stores that Koigu has a five year waiting list, and that they just can't seem to get their hands on any. And there I was: facing an entire wall of it. It was too much; it was overwhelming. What to choose? I bought myself some Koigu Kersti, which seemed to be exactly what I wanted for the aforementioned lacy scarf project.

And then--get this--they, gulp, wound the hanks into balls for me. C and I were both transfixed this time, watching the swift and the ball winder do their thing. Wow. Hours of handwinding accomplished in between 5-10 minutes Must. Get. One. Of. Those.

Here is my progress on the Kersti scarf. After messing around with a lace mesh stitch, I found the perfect pattern to showcase the colors of this yarn: Argosy from the latest issue of Knitty.com. I saw Argosy mentioned on the Mason Dixon blog and realized that it was exactly what I was looking for. Doesn't it look cool? In sock news, I finished the Austermann Step socks, which I love. I finally finished the second of the Regia Silk Color socks--which I don't love--the other day in the waiting room at the car dealership. I love the feel of the Regia Silk, I just hate the colorway and I hated my decision to top the sock with 6 inches of ribbing I did not enjoy working with it. The leg of the second sock took me months. Yes, I know that the striping patterns on the green socks do not match up perfectly. I don't care. I actually kinda like it that way. And no, I have no idea why the foot on the zebra socks looks so long. I guess I have big feet. Both pairs fit me fine, and that's the important thing.It may be hard to belive, but we have been doing other things in our house, besides knitting. We got a First Communion dress for C; we went to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences with her Brownie troop; we've been selling (and eating) Girl Scout cookies; we bought and put together a new elliptical trainer; we found out immediately thereafter that it is defective and needs repair; I started doing physical therapy for my hip and finally am feeling better (limp free!). I am still editing for the Journal, but I also am going to be doing a large assignment for Rich's firm, which will help out a lot with things like summer camp expenses and school tuition bills.

Next up: I want to finally use the Lopi I've been saving for several years. Here is the pattern I would like to make, from The Best of Lopi. We'll see if I can get gauge--I had trouble before, that's why this pattern book and the bags of yarn have been languishing in my closet for so long....

New York: It's a heckuva town

It's a town where dolls get their hair done.
And don't my ladies look lovely?
We took the kids to New York city this week. It was their first time ever in the Big Apple. We did all the usual Christmas-time stuff. The boys went to FAO Schwartz to see the amazing stuff there, while the girls ooh'ed and aah'ed at American Girl Place. Then we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center. After a walk through St. Patrick's Cathedral and a delicious lunch in the theater district, we took a cab down to Macy's to see the windows, which were spectacular. Then we caught the train home and C. fell asleep in the car as we drove home from the station. New York wore her out!

I give you ... the Potholder Loop Rug

The kids talk a good game, but, in the end, I was the one finishing up this project. I had to. I ruined the rug I previously had in the powder room when vacuuming. Hey--how was I supposed to know it would fuzz up like that? I possibly could have saved it with extensive shaving, clipping or something like that, but it was easier to do the last few inches on this thing.

We all think it looks great. It is VERY soft and squishy. A testimonial: the other day, after I had not seen the cat for hours, I searched the house for him. I finally found him sacked out on this rug in our tiny powder room. The cat never goes in that room. So there.

Sad Clown & Happy Poodle

Here are our sad clown and happy poodle. A. was so unexcited about getting his face painted. Guess that's a sign he's growing older, hunh?

The Moorestown Christmas Parade was this past weekend. The theme was "The Circus;" all the groups participating had to do something in line with the theme. C.s Brownie troop were a troop of trained pink and white poodles. They jumped through hoops and sang all the way down Main Street. The Webelos Cub Scouts were clowns. Our sad clown claimed he would rather have been a pink poodle, but we think probably not.

The Bag is Done

I'm considering sewing the swatch to the inside to serve as a pocket. It is fuzzy, though, and I did not see electric clippers at AC Moore today. Will try Joann's or wait for my sweater stone.

A. turns the big One-Oh!

He so excited he's riding a fish! I'm not sure why. Because it was there?
We were in Charlotte for Thanksgiving, when A. had his 10th birthday. He had a really great weekend. Aside from the aforementioned fish-riding ...
...there was ice skating--in short sleeves, no less, although it just seemed so wrong to be ice skating in such warm weather. The balmy temperatures and bright sun resulted in a not inconsiderable layer of cold water on top of the ice--water C. got up close and personal with quite often because she was not quite comfortable on the rental hockey skates (no toe pick and weird sizing!).
And nothing says "birthday" like some rock climbing. Again, I am not sure why. Whatever--it was lots of fun! We checked out the brand spankin' new U.S. National Whitewater Center near Charlotte, and it turned out that there were some rather cool rock climbing walls there. I wish I could have gotten a good picture of A's smile after he reached the top on his first climb. :o)
Here he is at the top.
C. will not be outdone, and climbs some pretty good walls herself.
Here she is, at the top!

What we've been reading ...

We had to go get this at the bookstore the day this was released. A and I each finished it within a day. It took C a bit longer. Then we all had to listen to the audiobook version, just because we love Tim Curry's readings so much.



We took this on the trip to the mountains. Rich got it all to himself while I had to slog through the awful book chosen that month by my book club. Every time he laughed out loud while reading, I would get envious. Having read it now myself, I can say it is probably good that I did not read the discussion of bear attacks before our night of camping. But it was a very enjoyable book overall. I learned some interesting things about the Appalachian Trail.

C has flown through every Disney Fairy book, gobbling them up faster than Halloween candy. She can read one in a day. I wish I could persuade her that she is capable of reading harder books on her own (i.e., without a parent sitting next to her and taking turns reading paragraphs).


I recently "finished" this book--I can't say I read it, because I actually listened to it. I downloaded the mp3 from audible.com and kept a section of it on my little Rio player at all times. It took me several weeks of playing it in the car, during walks around the neighborhood, etc., to get through all 18 hours of it. Now that I am done, however, I have started it all over again. It was that interesting. The writing is very good--he takes some rather arcane science and makes it very accessible for the non-scientist. And the reading is good as well. A and I both really enjoyed it.

A has been working his way through E. Nesbit's work, and liking it very much. So far, he has read The Enchanted Castle, Five Children & It, The Phoenix & the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet. He also re-read Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux for today's meeting of the library bookclub.

And Rich is still working on the biography of Churchill.

Knitting progress report

Toasty toes, in my wool socks. They are machine washable (the socks, of course), and I let them go in the dryer for about 15 minutes on low, before pulling them to finish drying on the side of the bathtub. I love 'em.

About a month ago, I became completely obsessed with the felted purse pattern in the latest "issue" of knitty. It was so different from anything I had done before. I had to make it. Making the swatch was, um, an interesting experience, but I was not deterred. I changed from worsted weight wool to bulky, and then proceeded to splurge on size 13 and 15 Knit Picks Options needles (not the whole set!) to make the darn thing (love those needles, btw).

Anyway, here it is. The picture above shows the purse and I-cord strap before felting. The picture below shows it in the midst of blocking--stretched around a three-volume set of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and toasting by the fire. Although I am very satisfied with the way it looks, it's rather fuzzy and I think it could benefit from the sweater stone. I just sent away for a free one. :o) Here are my other finished objects. The washcloths are going into teacher gift-packages for Christmas (need 3 more of those). The black/brown sock is for me (I am only halfway up the foot of the second sock), and the colorful sock is a going to be a gift (I am halfway up the foot of a second sock in that pair as well). The first was made with Regia Silk Color, and the second is with Cherry Tree Hill Farms Supersock Handpaint, supposedly in the Champlain Sunset colorway, but my skein looks nothing like what the website says.
Meanwhile, A. has asked to be taught how to cast on. When I taught the kids to knit last year, I did not teach them how to cast on. He and another boy at school who knows how to knit apparently are upset that their respective knitting teachers (their moms) never taught them casting on. A. says he wants to make his school teacher's washcloth for her Christmas gift basket and he wants to do it completely--from start to finish. So ... we had our first casting on lesson last night.

Oy, what a challenge! He is very nimble with his hands, so that's not the issue. With practice he is going to be fine. But it was incredibly difficult for me to take something that I do almost without thinking and break it down into explainable chunks for him. Anyone listening to us last night would have thought that I was an idiot: "You take the tail ... and then your thumb is here, no the other way ... wait, let me think, no you go left to right, wait, no, yes, hold it, let me try that again. Yes, left to right, but then right to left...." You get the idea. When I thought he had it under control, I left him to read for C's bedtime. Big mistake. When I came back, he was nearly in tears.

We'll try again tonight. I promised I would stay by him for all 45 stitches.