Fill 'er up!

Onslow has gone through his first tank of gas. It was 98% in town driving, with a few trips to downtown Tulsa thrown into the mix. He went 325.3 miles and he slurped 13.8 gallons of gas. (I did drive him until his little pointer was on the dry side of the red marker. Onslow was a thirsty boy.) That's 23.5 mpg. And it only cost $36 for a premium fill-up. Much improved over what the Behemoth used to cost, bless it's van-y soul.

I'm pretty happy with 23.5 mpg. I would think that more highway driving would increase this figure dramatically, but I drive mostly in town not highway, what with me taking the bus to work and all.

Tonight saw the "kitchenering" of underarm seams on the fair isle baby sweater. I wove in the ends, soaked, and layed it out to dry.


17" around, 10" neck to hem, 6.5" underarm length. Hopefully it will fit the little one this spring. It can still be cool enough for a sweater in the UK spring.

I had to rinse and rinse and rinse, and then rinse some more before the water ran clear. This was to be expected, of course, with such a beautiful, vibrant red. There was only a little ball of the "Red for Suzy" from Deb of Fearless Fibers left. I knitted an Anne Hanson scarf from the skein and then this sweater. You certainly get value for money with Deb!!

I'd like you to meet....

Onslow!


He's an absolutely adorable, fully loaded 2006 MINI Cooper S, Challenge package, 6-speed shift (is there any other kind for this baby? I mean, really?), where the "S" stands for Sporty, Super-charged, Six-speed and Seriously Self-indulgent. Oh, and yes, it also stands for Suzy's!!!***


Our trade-in, the faithful 1999 Town & Country van nicknamed Behemoth, finally gave up the air conditioning ghost, and it died beyond even Hubby's ability to fix it. In other words, it was dead, Jim. Put that with the need for four new tires, over 130,000 miles on the clock, and a very disturbing transmission CLUNK when it shifted, we decided that this was the time to downsize.

I've always loved MINIs, they are the utmost in reach out and chuck them under the chin, while patting them on the head cuteness. This one was made for me, I can tell. I love everything about him.

For those of you who watch British sitcoms, you'll recognize I named him after the out of work brother-in-law of Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping up Appearances, who self-describes as "work-shy, bone idle, and out of condition" and has been known to ponder "the inconvenience of working." But he also has a heart of gold, a cuddly disposition, would do anything to help out Hyacinth's long suffering husband Richard, is a good person deep down, and lots of fun at the pub. I've always really liked his character, so when thinking about what to name my baby, Onslow kept popping into my head.

Now, in actuality, this is a knitting blog. I've been horribly neglectful lately, I apologize. Time seems to get away from me. I do have some new knitting to show off.

Sweater destined for our UK baby, to be born in October. I'm using the remainder of Fearless Fiber's "Red for Suzy" sock weight yarn, and Palette cream for the snowflakes.

Latest bus sock endeavour, using KnitPicks Risata, with a bit of elastic in the strand. I like it very much.

Not much to show you on the Classic Lines Cardigan, but progress has been made on the second sleeve. No progress at all on the Ladies Jacquard Sweater Vest, but I'll get back to it soon-ish.

***My hubby was the initial temptor in this caper. He emailed me a link, saying that he thought I'd look good in this car. He took me to look at it, and up until the time I actually pulled up next to it, I had no intention of trading in the van. One look though, and I was smitten. One test drive and I was drooling. One day later, Onslow was mine. Thank you Hubby!! Thank you!