"C" in his Thorpe

Yesterday morning I took "C" and a couple of his friends up to Whitetail to do some snowboarding. "C" is in the picture walking by himself and the other picture is of his two friends.


They all had a pretty good time, but "C" would have liked to have had at least one of his brothers with him. He loves to snowboard with them and they challenge him to go on harder runs. The boys with "C" were not as daring as "C" and his brothers, so "C" was a little board not going on the harder runs.


"C" had worn his Thorpe hat, while snowboarding, which I made for him for Christmas. When we got home, "C" says that both the other boys have wondered if I would make a Thorpe for them also. I thought that was a compliment especially seeing as how Nathan is almost always wearing an earflap style hat whenever I see him.

This picture of "C" was taken a week or so ago. Now out that window you can see our first measurable snowfall. There is quite a layer of ice outside also. "C" is happy, school and seminary were canceled for today. ES and I still have to go to work, but "C" gets the day off. And he can use it! He's a little sore from all the snow activity yesterday.

I spent some of yesterday working on the baby sweater. It is coming along, but not very quickly. I haven't spent much time knitting lately. I have been doing some spinning every day and that is taking my knitting time. I also have been working quite a bit and that takes from the knitting time also. I am hoping to get some finished items before very long, but it will probably be spinning projects.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Finished Cowl

I have been busy knitting the past few days. On Friday night I finished the Sherbrooke Cowl. I made it from the yarn ES had brought me the previous Friday. I thought it turned out really well. I have worn it every day since Saturday morning, when I wove in the ends. It has helped on the dog walks for the past couple of mornings.

This picture shows the variegation in the Malabrigo which was a pleasure to work with. Now I understand why everyone has enjoyed this yarn, for the most part. It is so soft and nice to wear close to the face. I haven't decided what to do with the second skein yet, I am trying to decide if I want to make something for ES seeing as how he got me the yarn.

Sherbrooke Cowl; Time worked: January 13-17, 2009. Used all but one yard of the skein, about 149 yards. Cast on 80 stitches on size 8 needles. Dimensions: 11 inches long, 8 1/2 inches wide. Slouches really well and covers the nose when walking.

I am busy now working on a baby gift for my cousin and her husband. They have had a baby due in February and the little miss decided to make an early presence this past weekend. I didn't know this cousin was expecting until early last week, so hence the baby knitting now.

On a completely different topic: Catherine, my begonia is getting ready to bloom again! I couldn't believe it when I looked over on Saturday and saw the blossoms there. They are standing much taller today, but you get Saturday's picture. The begonia must like the evening sun. This will be the second time they have bloomed since I got the start in, I think, 2007. The plant has gotten really big since then and I have enjoyed watching it grow.

Sunrises and Surprises

Seeing as how it is Monday morning, I thought I would share last Thursday's sunrise with you. It's the dawning of a new week. School, work, play, knitting and spinning all need to have their beginnings, just as the day has to have it's beginning. I like sunrises and enjoy watching them. Walking Cleo in the mornings makes for a perfect time to watch the morning colors. I don't get to see the evening colors very often as I am at work. It's not very often that I remember to take my camera with me on these morning walks, but on Thursday I did remember it and the colors were all so pretty.

On Friday night, when I got home from work, ES asked me to close my eyes and hold out my hands. He did this four times, each time he handed me something different: twice it was a book on the constellations, once a cd of Bob Marley which promptly went to "C" (he has already listened to it), the last time he handed me these two skeins of Malabrigo. One in the colorway Coral and the other in the Caribeno color. I asked where he had gotten everything and he said the Smithsonian was having a "garage" sale and he had picked the things up there. He wondered if he had gotten a good deal on the yarn and I told him he definitely did.

BTW doesn't the Coral color match the Thursday sunrise?

Now just to figure out what to do with these two skeins of silk/merino blend. I'm thinking a cowl. It would be nice and warm and soft up against my neck on those cold morning walks. So glad ES thought of this fun surprise!

Happy knitting and spinning.

Ramblings

ES's socks are coming along nicely. I am almost finished! I don't know if he will get another pair any time soon, but I might do another pair if he wears these very often.

Not much knitting is getting done around here. It seems like all I do anymore is go to work or come home and go to bed. It was nice to have the last four months off in a sense. Now I'm back to two jobs and I have to get adjusted to that again.

Tomorrow is the start of the 5 am days, school for C, and the late nights getting home from work. I'm afraid the knitting is going to be taking the hit. It could be the spinning though. I have only touch my wheel twice in the past week and have only spun less than a quarter of a bobbin. The desire is there, just not the endurance to sit there after a full day's work and lack of sleep.

ES bought an electric blanket last week. I have never owned an electric blanket and now I wonder how I survived so long without one. I l-o-v-e my electric blanket. It is so nice to turn the pre-heat button on about half an hour before heading to bed. Then when I go up and climb in bed it is nice and toasty already. My feet haven't been as cold and that is really, really nice.

Tonight ES, C and I sat around the dining-room table playing 13. It was fun. At least once every couple of weeks we get the cards out and play Nertz(?) and now 13. It is a good way for us to find out what is happening in C's life and to let him know we are people too, not just his "parental units". Although it would be nice if someone else besides C could win! He always seems to win, no matter which game we play.

I find I have been enjoying the morning walks of Cleo, our family dog. We take the path and walk for about 15 minutes through the trees near the creek. Sometimes I watch the cardinals or watch the deer, always I watch the sun and the trees. It is interesting to see the same tree in different lights and seasons.

Thanks for reading my rambling today. Happy knitting and spinning.

Finished Adamas

Here it is two days into the New Year and I am still working on finishing projects from 2008. I haven't started anything new, but I do have a couple of projects ready to go.

Since I don't have anything new to show you, I thought I would finally post the pictures of the finished Adamas shawl I made for J-b and K's wedding reception in October.
The front view of the shawl shows the pattern a little better than the back view. It also shows the pretty shawl pin I picked up at Stitches East which I attended with Sheryl. The back view blends in with the color of the dress I wore for the wedding, but in real life it doesn't blend that much. The lighting was not the best to capture the pattern and it was too cold to go outside. I really like this shawl and have worn it on a number of occasions already.

Specs: Started in September. Completed by October 15th. Used just over 700 yds of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Moccasin Trail. Knit on size 8 circular Addi's. Adamas was a fun pattern and went relatively quickly. I will probably make this pattern again.

Now onto finishing ES's socks--he had BIG feet!!

Happy knitting and spinning.