High Fiber—Happy Holidays, Part Two

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday! I did! A few of us also had a birthday. This was my birthday haul:

Not in the photo are a gift card from Barnes and Noble, a bud vase that looks like knitting and a share in a  Knitters Gift Basket from Heifer International. It includes a llama, an alpaca, a sheep and an angora rabbit. What a great gift! There is also another card that got passed around and laughed over. I couldn't locate it for the photo, but when I find it, I'll show you. One of the cards speaks of cave birthday greetings in my handwriting, from DS2 and his DW. They wrote in something about still looking for the fossil evidence! Ha-ha!

In the photo are two bumps of spinning fiber, a hand-woven distaff for spinning, a handmade row counter (already in use) a video "Pure Country 2," the eBook version of the Yarn Harlot's latest book and a gorgeous hand-knit cowl, which I've also been using. 

We went to No Worries for breakfast with my friend Joanie. Later we went to Silver Sneakers, our exercise class, and DS2 and DDIL2 walked on the track. It's wonderful to spend a birthday with family! Most family members are in other states, but we managed to Skype with them over the holidays.

Miss Daphne is in Texas with the other grandparents. We will see her in April, when her little brother arrives. In the meantime, we have Skype. Here she is with Daddy and Blondie.

Tuesday, DGD1 arrived for a vacation sleeping and snowboarding. She's also getting in some knitting: her first hat. DDIL2 and I helped her find this hat on Ravelry. She's using the yarn I spun from the Gaywool merino and silk. I had her start a baby hat first, so she could learn how to work with two circular needles. She picked it up very quickly. I can finish the baby hat if she doesn't want to, but it got her started. If she isn't done with her hat by the time she has to leave to go home, I will give her the needles and buy more.

I've been working on a Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for our first DGS, Zachary, due to arrive in April. Here's my progress as of the time I was writing this. I'm probably done by the time this posts. If so, you can see a photo of the finished sweater in my photos.

The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport in "Cork" and "Bare." It's great for babies, because it's machine-washable and dryable.

DDIL, DGD1 and I visited Joanie during the week for a knitting session. She showed us the baby sweater she had made. The zipper has yellow and white checked ribbon covering the edges on the inside. She does such a beautifully job of finishing. I could learn a thing or two!

I hope to have a lot more for quilters this year, but in the meantime, here's a look at the yummy fat quarters DS2 and DDIL2 gave me for Christmas:

They came from Sharon's Attic, which I reviewed when I was in the Portland area for Sock Summit. (The review is here.)

I'm finally getting back to spinning, now that the Christmas knitting is done. I've started on the "Autumn in Park City" superwash blue-faced Leicester (BFL) from AlohaBlu (see link below in "What's on my wheel," which was based on a photo I took on an autumn hike. Here's the fiber:

And here's the inspiration:

That's it for this week. Here's wishing each of you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

What's on my needles: If I'm done with the BSJ, the "Dogwood Blossoms" sweater, which I'm doing as a cardigan.
What's on my wheel: The "Autumn in Park City" superwash BFL from Christina/AlohaBlu . I'll try to get a photo of the singles soon.
What's on my iPad: Still Anne McCaffrey's The Skies of Pern from Audible. I didn't have much time to listen during the holidays. Also the aforementioned book from the Yarn Harlot and a few other books and magazines.
What's my app of the week: Skype, of course!
What's in my wine glass: Montavina Barbera 2008. Yum!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber—Happy Holidays, Part One

Remember Brenda and her scarves from two weeks ago? Lynda was bitten by the bug!

The pattern is available from Tahki Stacy Charles and is called Filatura di Crosa. She has become the queen of scarves, and has her gift list taken care of. We had our knitting group meeting a few days ago. This shows what happens when you go to a group meeting or participate in a group online: You find out things.

This week I finished up the Daisy Chain quilt. I sewed the binding on and ran it through the washer and dryer. This was my first quilt with wool batting, and I love how it crinkled up. It's warm, too!

A more important project was the Prayer Cardi. It's done!

The Prayer Cardi was started by DSIL when she was ill with cancer. She asked me to finish it for her. I'll try to get a photo of it being worn. In the meantime, here's something Christmasy:

This tree is a metal frame covered with 1,200 8" squares knitted by several knitting groups and is on display at St. Aldhelm's Church in Poole, Dorset, UK. After Christmas, the squares will be sewn together to make blankets for the needy in Sri Lanka and Romania. You can read more about it  here.

This week will be spent cooking and cleaning, with time out for Silver Sneakers, the exercise class DH and I go to twice a week, and Sunny's and my final visit to the nursing home before Christmas. Friday DS2 and his DW fly in for the holidays. I can hardly wait!

What's on my needles: Lots of UFOs, including the Yei Figures Bag, which has been moving along slowly.
What's on my iPad: Christmas music, and finishing up The Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
What's my app of the week: The NORAD Santa app, of course! I will be using it to track Santa's progress as he spreads toys and holiday cheer across the globe!
What's in my wine glass:  Gold Rush Red from Val D'Or. Another nice one

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber—Happy Holidays, Part One

Remember Brenda and her scarves from two weeks ago? Lynda was bitten by the bug!

The pattern is available from Tahki Stacy Charles and is called Filatura di Crosa. She has become the queen of scarves, and has her gift list taken care of. We had our knitting group meeting a few days ago. This shows what happens when you go to a group meeting or participate in a group online: You find out things.

This week I finished up the Daisy Chain quilt. I sewed the binding on and ran it through the washer and dryer. This was my first quilt with wool batting, and I love how it crinkled up. It's warm, too!

A more important project was the Prayer Cardi. It's done!

The Prayer Cardi was started by DSIL when she was ill with cancer. She asked me to finish it for her. I'll try to get a photo of it being worn. In the meantime, here's something Christmasy:

This tree is a metal frame covered with 1,200 8" squares knitted by several knitting groups and is on display at St. Aldhelm's Church in Poole, Dorset, UK. After Christmas, the squares will be sewn together to make blankets for the needy in Sri Lanka and Romania. You can read more about it  here.

This week will be spent cooking and cleaning, with time out for Silver Sneakers, the exercise class DH and I go to twice a week, and Sunny's and my final visit to the nursing home before Christmas. Friday DS2 and his DW fly in for the holidays. I can hardly wait!

What's on my needles: Lots of UFOs, including the Yei Figures Bag, which has been moving along slowly.
What's on my iPad: Christmas music, and finishing up The Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
What's my app of the week: The NORAD Santa app, of course! I will be using it to track Santa's progress as he spreads toys and holiday cheer across the globe!
What's in my wine glass:  Gold Rush Red from Val D'Or. Another nice one

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber— Countdown to Holidays

Another busy week! The mittens are done:

I adapted the pattern Mitones Iveños from Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski. I changed the tip by using the round-toe decreases, because the thumb ended up in an awkward place. I dont know if I misread the pattern, but the thumbs stuck out at the sides instead of being on the side of the palm. The matched decreases caused the mitten to twist when worn. Rather than frog the mitten back to the top of The cuff and reknitting with the thumb placed further over, I just took out the top inch or so and did six evenly spaced dec's on each rnd until I had six sts left. Then I ran the yarn through the sts and fastened it off. This made the pattern rotate  to a slightly different position, but the mittens are comfortable to wear.

I blocked them using the leg part of my large sock blockers.

The yarn was Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted  in Coal, Cloud, Cranberry and Semolina. It was nice to work with. I used the two-circular-needle method.

Friday evening we took the annual long drive to Pleasant Grove for the NOC Assistants reunion. This group is made up of the volunteers who worked for the German National Olympic Committee during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Here are the members of the group who attended this year:

During the Olympics, we worked in the Olympic Village, running errands for and driving the Committee Members. Those of us who had spouses brought them to the party. The party was fun.

The "Prayer Cardigan" for my DBIL is almost done. I've sewn up the sides, underarms and pockets, and am ready to start on the front bands. I'll be able to give it to him for Christmas.

If you missed the story behind this project, the sweater was started by my DSIL, who passed away a year ago in October. Before she died, she asked me to finish it for her. She had the back done and the ribbing of both fronts started. In the project bag was some of the bottle green yarn, but not enough to finish it. She thought she had more yarn somewhere. When DBIL couldn't find the yarn, I started looking for a substitute to use for the sleeves, thinking it would look OK if the sleeves were a different color. I found some black Aran yarn and ordered enough to make the sleeves. Then DBIL found the rest of the yarn when he was going through things. The pattern is in "Galway Heather Family Cardigans" by Lyric (Pattern Services) Ltd. and the yarn was purchased on the island of Inish Mor, Ireland. I had made the same sweater several years before for myself. It's the blue cardigan in my photos here: http://www.community.knitpicks.com/photo/aran1a-1?context=album&albumId=1984936%3AAlbum%3A389352

Daphne's book was shipped by Apple a couple of days ago, so it should reach Temple, TX, in plenty of time for Christmas. She is going there with her parents to visit the other grandparents. We will have to Skype. The book was fun to make. I put it together using my MacBook in the Projects function in iPhoto, then sent it to Apple over the Internet to be printed. Here's a photo of the intended recipient. My, she's growing up!

She's looking forward to the arrival of her new baby brother in April.

Plans for this week: housecleaning and cooking for the holidays. If there's time, I'll put the binding on the Daisy
Chain quilt.

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What's on my needles: Finishing the button and buttonhole bands on the Prayer Cardi.
What's on my iPad: Mostly Christmas music.
What's my app of the week: The Walmart, Target and Amazon apps, for Christmas shopping.
What's in my wine glass: Jacob's Creek Merlot 2010.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad.  No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber—More Holiday Projects

Christmas presents need finishing up. This week found several projects almost finished. I'm making a book for Daphne, telling her all about her first year of life featuring photos taken by family members.

I'm using the MacBook for this. It's a function of the iPhoto program. You can also use Shutterfly or other services for this, but I found this one easiest for me to use. You can get more information  here.

I finished the second sleeve of the Prayer Cardi for DBIL. I still need to sew it together and make the front band. I wanted a change, so I CO the  Mitones Ivoñes. One is finished. The pattern is from Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski. 

It needs blocking. I'll try to post a photo when the pair is done and blocked. Unfortunately, there are some mistakes in the chart, so I ended up frogging the hand and thumb gusset. If I were making these mittens again, I would move the thumb over a bit.

Common Threads met on Thursday. I always learn a lot from this group. Lynda brought a hat she had made from her handspun leftovers.

The pattern is stranded, but she put the stranding on the outside. It's a ponytail hat, with a button. She improvised the pattern.

Brenda has been making these frilly scarves. She says you can make one in a couple of hours. Last-minute gifts, anyone?

The pattern is Filatura di Crosa Tahki Stacy Charles.

She was using  Rozetti Marina yarn, which she says is softer, but it's acrylic. Now you have a choice, if you want to make this pattern. She is making some of these with the yarn called for in the pattern, which is very easy.

Lynda is trying to convert a pattern to knitting it in the round, but the hard part of the pattern is done on the back side. I suggested she knit it inside-out and then turn it. She tried it and it worked. Brainstorming is one of the best things about this group!

After our meeting, seven of us went to lunch at No Worries, the little Café at the entrance to our neighborhood. It was good we caught them during a slow time.

Saturday, Sunny and I visited a nursing home in West Jordan, UT, with a number of other teams from Therapy Animals of Utah. This facility isn't serviced during the year, so it was exciting for the residents.

DH and I got the tree up and decorated, and our holiday letter is done. I'm still hoping to get the binding on the Daisy Chain quilt before Christmas, but I have a lot of other things to do first. I'm expecting this to be another busy week!

What's on my needles: Finishing Mitones Ivoñes and DBIL's Prayer Cardi.
What's on my iPad: Knit Picks Podcast, The Knit Wits Podcast and Anne McCaffrey's The Skies of Pern from Audible.
What's my app of the week: On my MacBook, iPhoto and the projects function.
What's in my wine glass: Velvet Moon 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber—Finishing WIPs and UFOs

This week I'm frantically finishing up some projects that have to be done for Christmas or before. Remember Rocky's sweater, started last week?

 I wanted him to have a nice one for the Christmas season to replace the old acrylic sweater he had been wearing around the house in the winter. This was a quick knit, using Swish worsted in "Hollyberry." You can find the yarn here. The pattern is Biscuits and Bones Dog Coat, a free pattern I found on Ravelry. It's from Patons.

I needed to make a knitted gift for a special person in my life, so I CO the Elis Cowl. It was a quick knit and fun to do.

It involves Indian cross stitch. The pattern is available on Ravelry.

I'm using the yarn I spun from the turquoise merino I bought at Twisted in Portland last summer. This is the best photo I have of the actual fiber.

The fiber is from Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. 

Having finished that, I picked up the Prayer Cardi  and made some progress.

If you missed the story, it's the sweater started by my DSIL, who passed away a year ago in October. Before she died, she gave it to me and asked me to finish it for her husband, who is my DH's brother, so it's a very special UFO. She had the back done and had started the two fronts. We (DBIL and I) couldn't find the rest of the yarn, which came from a little shop on Inish Mor, in Ireland, so I ordered some similar yarn for the sleeves, hoping the effect would be taken for a "design feature." Then the yarn turned up. I finished the fronts and one sleeve. Then the sweater was on hold while I waited for a sweater of his to use as a guide for sleeve length and body width. He brought me one this week, and I was able to finish the first sleeve. I'm past the ribbing and into the pattern on e second sleeve. Then there's sewing up and the front band to do. It should be finished in time for Christmas, which is my goal.

My Daisy Chain quilt is waiting to have the binding put on. I'm dying to see it on the bed!

It has been a great week. Besides finally finishing some projects, I learned that Miss Daphne's sibling will be a boy, so I will need to knit some boy things. For you Miss Daphne fans, here's a new photo of her:

And DDIL1 got a 94% on her final in her tax preparation class. Looks like a job for her soon!

What's on my needles: The Prayer Cardi. 
What's on my iPad: Anne McCaffrey's The Skies of Pern, from probably my favorite sci-fi series.
What's my app of the week: Sticks and String. It's a direct link to David Reidy's website and the Sticks and String podcast. (He's back, BTW.)
What's in my wine glass: Vola 2009 Sangiovese. This isn't my favorite variety of red wine, but Vola makes a nice one.

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the iPad. (I used the Notes app to write it.) No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

Helping Those in Need

It's Thanksgiving time, and I'm feeling grateful for the roof over my head and food on my table. Not everyone is so lucky. When I drive to Salt Lake City, I often run into people with signs that say, "Homeless. Please help."
People have told me that they are reluctant to give money to these people, because they are concerned that it won't be used for food. My main concern about giving money is that they might have to buy food at a fast food restaurant or convenience store, where they won't get much for their money.
Here's what I do instead: I keep a bag of nonperishable food in my car, just in case I run into someone who is homeless.

I include a can opener, canned food, packaged food (like granola bars), napkins, etc. Nice to add are antibacterial wipes, toothbrush and toothpaste, "Space Blanket" (to keep warm, available at Walmart), a list of soup kitchens and anything else you would want if you were living on the streets.
I try to make the food more or less a balanced diet; including vegetables, fruit, a starch and a source of protein (beans or tuna). A small piece of candy is nice to include. I save samples of cereal or other packaged food to put in the bag.
I gave one of these packets away in Wisconsin during a visit there. The man who received it saw my license plate and said, "Thank you, Utah!" Other responses have been amazed expressions, looks of wonder and effusive thanks.
I've never had a homeless person seem disappointed to get one of these, and if your car breaks down in a deserted area, at least you won't starve. If you like this idea, please share it with others. That's what I'm doing.