Election Day 2008

Today I exercised the freedom to vote for the candidate of my choice, without fear or coercion. What a wonderful thing this freedom is! May God bless our country, and bless our leaders with wisdom, compassion, strength, and goodness.

Lovin' Lupin

You may have noticed that I added another linky to my Yarn Blogs I Read section: Lupin. While this artist isn't primarily a knitter, she is head over heels into the fiber art of felt. And she's a master of it, I think. I love her ingenuity, her incredible color sense, her spot-on depictions of flowers, critters, and things --- all boils down to the fact that I visit her Etsy site and her blog several times a week.

Please check out Lupin Handmade, run by Laura "Lupin" Howard. Linky to the righty!

Well, finally!

I seem to have a major problem with taking pictures. My intentions are good, but my follow-through is sketchy. Maybe it's because I'm not much of a photographer, and I'm rarely happy with my results. But today when I finished the Daina mittens, I made myself get the camera, the latest finished knits, and take a pic NOW. No lollygagging, no procrastination, no "I'll take pictures tomorrow when the sun is shining better" or after I finish the housework.




(top left) Daina, (top right) Swirly , (bottom) They Call Them Pirates.



Spooky decided to trade laps for a change - she's normally on mine while I knit - but this time she graced my hubby's lap instead.

The second mitt of the Kiehkuralapaset - Swirly Mittens by goldenknits / AnneL is complete and steam blocked. Steam blocking seems to work very nicely with mittens, and it's so easy.

Only three more mittens to knit, the mate to each of the others already done, and then my Christmas knitting will be finished.

Four down, four to go

Christmas gifts, that is, and I'm pleased with my progress. I finished the gift for my friend Lisa. It's an adaptation of the Cat Mittens pattern by Jorid Linvik. They're not mittens, but they are cats and fishbones. A nice little bag, very slightly fulled, won't stand on its own (I stuffed it for the picture), about 9.5"h, x 6.5"w at the bottom, with an i-cord drawstring. Knitted in KnitPicks Telemark, black and cork.










I also finished the mittens for my friend Dana. They are soaking in a nice blocking bath right now, so pics will be forthcoming when they are in a less compromising situation. How would you like it if your blocking bath was interrupted by cameras and flashbulbs? LOL

Mitten update

I've finished the first Willistead mitten, using KnitPicks Palette. I haven't blocked it yet, but I plan on trying steam blocking for the first time.

Happy Blogiversary to me!

It's my 1st Blogiversary -- here, everyone have some cake! :) This time last year Hubby and I were redecorating the downstairs, and living with aching bones/joints from tiling, grouting, painting, carpentry, etc. It turned out beautifully, and I still look at it in wonder, thinking, we did this, all of it. Wow.

I was deep in the throes of knitting my first big lace project, Mystery Stole 3 "Swan Lake", and knitting socks out the wahzoo. I'm still knitting lace, but have slowed down on the sock front to concentrate on colorwork, specifically stranded mittens. Lovin' that! If I ever save up enough money, I want to knit a Starmore piece, the Rheingold Wrap has caught my eye.

All in all, I'm really pleased with my blogging journey. It's been fun. Think I'll go for year number two.

Blog on.