Knittinggarden

I'd like to keep a record of how my spinning progresses, so I'm going to put in a little more info about the knitting I've done with my handspun.  I documented the first project, the One Row Handspun Scarf , and now I'll show photos of fiber to finished product for the other two items I've made. The second finished object I accomplished was the socks.  These were made from the Interlacements wool roving I got in the gift box of practice fiber from Goatlady.  I spun half of it into thick/thin yarn (that's so soft!) but haven't used it for anything but a swatch yet.  I think it might turn into some fingerless mitts. Anyway, I spun the balance of it to continue practicing, and managed to achieve a sportweight two-ply yarn.  As I mentioned yesterday, the colors were not maintained in any kind of order; I just grabbed handfuls of fiber and thinned them down so I could spin easier.  The resulting yarn was quite mixed up, but very colorful! I knit a bas...

I can't believe that the last time this blog had any significant knitting content, the calendar read August!  Let's see, the reason I started a blog in the first place was to document my knitting.  We seem to have strayed pretty far from documenting anything, let alone knitting, in the last year.  I guess we'll just have to remedy that, starting right now.  I will blame Ravelry for my lack of blogging, since I do spend a bit of time there each day, and my projects are quite a bit more up to date there than they are here.  I'm just going to list the items briefly here; you can check out the information on my Ravelry projects page (if you're on Ravelry) if you want to know more. Sweaters first:  I made DH a vest per his request and had yarn left, so I decided that a matching sweater for Buddy was in order.  Aren't they cute?   The next sweater I made was for niece Chelsye's expected baby girl.  We won't know how well it fits a real bab...

Knitting and gardening have temporarily been interrupted to bring you this holiday adventure tale, courtesy of DH and the intrepid Buddy.  Hope you enjoy it! ICE GATOR! Ice Gator relaxing on the bench Ice Gator hears some noise and heads to the frozen pool to hide Ice Gator does his Apollo Ohno interpretation - Go for the Gold, Ice Gator! While relaxing after skating, he hears the approach of an Alaskan beauty...hmmm She doesn't notice Ice Gator Careful now, just a little closer.... Ice Gator goes Ninja.  Careful, Alaskan beauty!  Look out! Ice Gator makes his move!  Gotcha! I'll stash her for lunch later. Back to my hideout across the frozen pool. Slow going, but I'll make it.  Wait!  Is that Buddy the Wonder Dog? It IS Buddy the Wonder Dog.  Can I keep the frozen girl away from him? Oh, no!  Buddy sees the Alaskan beauty's predicament and readies himself for battle. The Alaska...

There just might be a few collections around my house.  Candles, martini glasses, menorahs, baskets, yarn, and fiber all seem to have plenty of company around here.  One of the other cupboards that is crowded is the mug shelf in the kitchen.  For years, we've collected coffee mugs from places we've been, and I enjoy the conversation that ensues when I use a selection of these for coffee at a dinner party. Ever since the Princess started college last fall, my desire was to get the last college mug so I could complete the set of the kids' schools.  For Chanukah, she brought me my coveted mug. Behold the story of our kids' higher education, as told through the mug collection. I love it.

Lucky us!  The Princess learned how to make homemade Challah a couple of weeks ago and treated us to a loaf or four when she came home. She and friend Ben were whirlwinds in the kitchen to a spectacular result.  We had the first loaf for dinner the first night of Chanukah, Ben took a loaf home to his family, and two more are in the freezer for our family last night of Chanukah dinner tomorrow. Here's a little photo journal of the Challah experience. Happy Holidays to you!

Since my whole post just disappeared, I'll try again!  My absence from the blog hasn't totally been out of laziness, but vacations!  In mid-October, DH and I flew to Florida, where we embarked on a week-long Caribbean cruise.  We left from Fort Lauderdale, stopped at Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya.  Without writing a whole travelogue, I'll hit the highlights with some photos.  Hopefully they will stay put this time! The ship was big: Are we having fun yet? Knitting was done On Grand Cayman, we went snorkeling from a 78 foot catamaran.  It was fun; the water was crystal clear and there were lots of colorful fish to see.On the way back, we stopped at a beach where rum punch was served by crew members in inner tubes! It doesn't get much more convenient than that! We had a couple of formal nights.  No photo of the Malabrigo shawl being worn, but here's a shot of it on our balcony. ...