A New Hampshire Knitter

I spent a half hour in line at the post office today, mailing out tax returns for the law firm I work for. Since I didn't have my knitting on me, I finished a book I was reading on my kindle- Surrender The Wind by Rita Gerlach . Set after the American War for Independence, it follows Seth Braxton, an American who fought for independence, only to become heir to a wealthy British estate. A sense of obligation and a desire to see his sister again (who returned to England at the beginning of the war) drives him to England, and shockingly, it is the unexpected love of a woman who keeps him there. This story starts off strong, but in my opinion falters from there. I kept reading only because I wanted to see if they would tie it all together. Each plot twist was too definite for my liking, ending as the next wave began to swell. While everything was brought together at the end, it was done too neatly. I would give this 2.5 stars (out of 5).

In January, I wrote about the sock monkeys I knit for my cousins' daughters. Well, I haven't given Jen's daughter hers, but Michelle's daughter received hers. And, apparently loved it. I received a hand drawn thank you note a week or so ago, and it tickled my icy heart. I hung it on my wall, because it's kind of awesome when a 7 year old (admittedly prompted) writes a thank you note. I'm sure many crafters have often experienced the disappointment when a handmade gift is given with nary an acknowledgement, or if there was one, a lackluster one. I had also made my aunt (Michelle's mother) a tote- the Medallion Travel Bag. I had made one for myself one in the second half of 2010, and my aunt admired it, but said it was too big for her. So at the beginning of this year, I decided to make one for her, holding the yarn single instead of double like the pattern calls for. The result? Perfect. I had felted mine in my washing machine, which is a f...

Guess what I'll be spending my Sunday doing?

I knit this chunky cabled hat last July. I found it quite easy to knit, but I wasn't sold on it. It found its way in and out of my gift bucket several times since then, migrating from there, to my winter stuff drawer and back and forth. However, yesterday, New Hampshire got it's first (and probably only) winter storm this year (not including that storm in October.) As of this morning, You Don't Know Our Women was in my winter gear drawer, so after a momentary debate, I decided to look knitterly and wore it. I pulled it on my head before I left the office today, and one of the secretaries, who considers herself a bit of a fashionista, saw it and exclaimed, "Well, you're looking rather chic today." Me? Chic? Who'd've thunk?

I am a fan of historical fiction. All time periods, although I find that if it's a time period I know "too much" about, I have a hard time enjoying the book because of the inaccuracies. However, I greatly enjoyed Sarah's Key , written by Tatiana de Rosnay. It was two stories in one- the story of 10 year old Sarah, a Jew living in 1942 Paris, and the story of an American journalist named Julia, who is determined to bring Sarah's story back to life. I don't normally enjoy books written in this format. I find it distracting, for both the reader and the author. But this book was superbly done. There are so many things I want to say about this book, but I won't for risk of spoiling the ending.

The Catholics group on Ravelry held a mystery knitalong in January. I decided to participate, but as usual, the finishing took longer than expected. I used Dream in Color, colorway Into the Mystic that I've had in stash for a few years. (Originally destined to be a February Lady Sweater, it ended up becoming a Saroyan , a Bittersweet Cowl , an experiment in dyeing, and now this. I still have a skein and a half left. Don't know what I'll do with them yet.) I also selected buttons that came in a multipack bag I bought at a Big Box Store. The actual knitting took a night or two (or, would have had I had all the directions.) The finishing... not so much. It took over two weeks, probably closer to three to finally pin it out, then I left it on the blocking mat another week or so. It came off the blocking mat five days ago, and finally sewed the buttons on today. (I must confess, the only reason I took it off the mat was to block the shawl I discussed in my last post.) ...

I'm sorry for being quiet lately- life has gotten a bit crazy. I haven't given up knitting though- that's probably why I'm still mostly sane. I have gotten a lot done in the past several weeks. But right now, I can't remember much, except for the fact that I have completed my first quilt, and I am currently wearing a shawl. I never thought I would, thought it wasn't me, even though I find them quite gorgeous, especially the lacy ones. But I was in need of a hug one day and my best friend was busy dealing with a family crises (she gives the BEST hugs- the kind you still feel in your ribs three days later) so I cast on a shawl. I decided on the Simple Yet Effective Shawl , using scraps of Patons Classic Wool. My camera is on the fritz right now (maybe when Uncle Sam mails me my tax return I'll buy a new one. Yes, I have my tax return spent six ways to Sunday, how'd you guess?) so this is the best photo I can come up with: The colored yarn was dyed by ...