A New Hampshire Knitter

I've been reading up a storm lately. Normally, if I read that one, amazing book, then I have a hard time getting into another book. I spend a while moping, or busy with other hobbies, or as a last resort, I read a book that I've read many other times as a way to cleanse the proverbial palate. First one was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn . It was recomended to me by a coworker. Apparently,everyone on that floor of the office was reading it, so I said, hey, why not? Gone Girl is about a young wife who, on the day of her fifth wedding anniversary, mysteriously disappears from their Missouri home. I can't say too much about it except to say, if you are thinking about reading it, please do. The twists keep coming one right after another, and nothing is what it seems. I read this one in two days- I simply couldn't put it down. It got to the point, about halfway through the book, that I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. Next up came A Single Thread by Marie Bos...

Like most people in New England, I opened my back door to find this: 2 feet of snow, give or take a few inches. The snow came to about my kneecaps, and I don't feel like measuring my tibia. We'll just say I'm 5' 5. So, after I shoveled a path (stylishly sporting my You Don't Know Our Women and Houndstooth Mittens ) from one back door to another,    I knit a Miranda Hat , which I was surprised fit. For a while, the hat looked like it would be too small (which is my history with toque style hats, so knitting a hat that was too small isn't exactly out of the question.) Then I continued knitting Hugo, which is meant to be a birthday present for my mother, but it currently looks like a misshapen tooth. I might just give her a different monster. Dunno yet. I'm having a hard time imagining a better snow day.

So I'm a few days late. Sue me. I know in the past I've written about how I'm cynical about New Years, and all that hoopla over new beginnings. That being said, this New Years, I'm having great hopes for new beginnings and fresh starts. I have several resolutions this year, both crafting and not, even though I normally think that New Years resolutions are full of crock. Normally, I think that if you want to make a change, then today's the day to start. Waiting for the calander to change is just silly. But, without going into too much detail, 2012 kinda sucked. Maybe it didn't suck major balls, but it did suck pretty bad. So now that the calendar changed, maybe I can find the motivation to make everything else change too.

I love my smart phone. Every day, I wonder how I ever not had one. Loading items onto my Etsy shop is so much easier using the phone than it is to take photos with a regular camera, transferring them to my computer, then uploading them to the site. When it's typed out, it doesn't look any different, but trust me. It's a lot simpler with the phone. So, in celebration of all things December, and that I finally got a decent start on filling my etsy store, for the rest of the month, use coupon code DEC2012 to receive 25% off your order. Right now it's mostly just stitch markers, but keep an eye out- more should be coming.

... or Bah Humbug, whichever you prefer. Thanksgiving was last week, here in the US, which means the Christmas season is in full swing. Technically, the season starts on Black Friday, which is marked by major sales and insane crowds (use the word "insane" as a modifier or a descriptor, either will work), although the past couple years retailers have been pushing the envelope a bit. The mall nearest where I live started decorating for Christmas and playing Christmas carols starting in October. Now, that's a bit much. As much as  love Christmas, I shouldn't be pushed to my "bah humbug" limit before Thanksgiving . In my last post, I complained a bit about deadlines, and how I hated them I regret to say that the orange and yellow balls of Cascade 220 remain untouched. I have a more pressing deadline to make. This is what is in front of me. A quilt, approximately the size of me. That I am quilting myself. Originally, I had the bright idea of making ...

What is it about deadlines that makes me knit slower? In college, deadlines just made me type faster (and actually, I did better with them looming over me like some monster from a cheesy horror movie) but with knitting, quite the opposite. I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about, with Christmas on the horizon, and for those of us who need to ensure that the post office gets our brightly colored packages to their destinations in time, the deadline is far before December 25th. So what do I do with a ball of yellow and a ball of orange Cascade 220 that has a pre- December 25th deadline that just does not want to be knit? What do I do with the quilt that has a deadline of December 1st, because it is a housewarming present for someone moving in to his first condo on the 2nd, but just wants to sit there. The top is pieced, the backing and batting bought, it's just a matter of putting it all together. Every January, I say I will not do Christmas knitting this year. ...

Like most of us, I have a mound of Christmas knitting in front of me. I just finished the last dishcloth of my list- and I felt my brain go numb from the miles of garter stitch that I had just completed. It's been awhile since I've challenged myself with my knitting. I think the last project I did that really challenged me to push myself further was the Autism Scarf I made for my aunt last year. So, despite all the Christmas project (which is thankfully coming along nicely), I cast on a project that, not only is it for me, but it challenges me as a knitter. Pomegranate . I've only ever knit one doily pattern successfully,  and that was a much smaller, much less complicated one- only a few inches in diameter, using sport weight yarn. Pomegranate allegedly comes to about 6.5 feet, and uses thread weight and size ones. This might take me awhile, but it'll be worth it. Knitting itself is an act of love, pouring ourselves into every stitch, but one that takes t...