Husband encourages knitting - Film at Eleven

"I'm making an Amazon order, want anything?" husband yells down the stairs. "Anything knitting-related from my wish list. Please." I yell back. And lo, what do I receive but Weekend Knitting, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, *and* Stitch and Bitch Nation! I think he's officially an enabler. Well, I let him play World of Warcraft too. Wait, who is parenting our kids?? Just kidding. I plan to make some of the airy scarves from LMKG for kid teacher presents, and maybe iPod cosies for my nieces. And perhaps something for my wonderful enabler.

It's not December yet, so I don't *officially* have to start my gift knitting. Heh. Thus, I have begun a small version of Clapotis using Classic Elite Flash in Cool Mix. My knitting group on Sunday saw the yarn in my bag and all but insisted I start Clapotis, then and there. Who was I to argue? I think I'm surrounded by enablers!

Weasley Accompli!

Finished seaming up the Weasley sweater on Thanksgiving at my sister's in Vermont. The bottom rolled up to my son's navel, and, seeing as this is not the fashion for 5 year old boys, I decided to block it. Ah, much better. Husband was sure I was going to have to add onto the bottom, but the blocking helped immensely. The neck still looks big to me, but the boy likes it this way. He wasn't crazy about getting his photo taken, though. He wore it (pre-blocked) to a store in Vermont and was thrilled when the cashier exclaimed "Ooh, that's a Ron Weasley sweater from Harry Potter!" Mom was pretty pleased too. Will start one for the toddler girl after the holiday gifts are complete, i.e. 2005.

Almost Weasley

We're getting close to a finished Weasley sweater. I had to rip out and redo the rollneck. It's really big now, but my son likes it better. He was ready to wear the thing as a sleeveless vest! One sleeve down, one half of one to go. Maybe I can finish it for Thanksgiving? I am also on the V-neck of my 3XChic...my first V-neck, and I'm not sure I'm doing it right. We'll see. Then sleeves for that one too.

I am determined that December will be my gift knitting month...I did a test lace bookmark and will dig out the crochet hooks and thread to make a few snowflakes. Just to undermine myself I also ordered some patterns and yarn from Patternworks. I'll make myself another V-neck (assuming I learn how to the neck shaping properly) in Alpaca Boucle and a variant of the Weasley for my daugher in Plymouth Encore (larger needles, hooray). As I don't think I'm quite skilled enough for Rogue yet I also bought a pattern for a pullover with cable detail on the neck and trim.

Stay tuned for an imminent finished Weasley!

No, dear blog, I have not forgotten you

I've just been kinda busy. National election (not pleased with the result, but we'll press on), Red Sox World Series victory (not pleased with some players' publicized politics, but we'll press on), and raising a Kindergartener and nascent toddler (not pleased with some of their behavior, but...well, you get the idea).

But I have been knitting. Sunday knitting group continues to be fun if crowded. We have a nice range of knitters from 22 to about 60, and people come and go throughout the afternoon. I fear we are outgrowing the friendly coffeeshop but I'm not sure where else we might go. I've considered checking out some of the other Boston-area Sunday groups but now that I've made so many knitting friends in Ball Square it just wouldn't feel right. Yesterday we were talking about the FlyLady site - I had never heard of it, but I could probably use it. If given the choice I will knit instead of dust, and I have the sniffles to prove it.

My knitting progress: finished the back of my 3XChic and have about 5 inches of front done; finished body of Weasley sweater and possibly one sleeve. Have to try the sleeve on the boy because the specified length seems short. Not that my son is a gorilla, but he's pretty tall. I had to rip out and rework the neck of the sweater because when I tested it on him he found it too tight. That was very frustrating but was a good lesson in perseverance for me. I'll try and post a photo later.

I hope to finish both sweaters this month so December can be my knitted gifts month: scarves for my sisters and mom, and cell phone/IPod cases for my nieces. Then just have to shop for the boys (who are already harder to shop for anyway, sigh). Starting to think about what my January projects might be...a Weasley for my daughter? A husband sweater? I'd love to start using the Blizzard that my Secret Pal sent me; maybe for the heart scarf in Knitty, or something simpler. And I still have a first sock to finish. Hmm. I have many bookmarks in the current Patternworks catalog.

My songs of the week: "Nearer Than Heaven" by the Delays; "All at Sea", Jamie Cullum; "Coin Operated Boy", Dresden Dolls. Check 'em out on iTunes. Thank you TiVo for taping Subterranean for me.

My TV of the week: "Worst Week of My Life" on BBC America. It's like "Meet the Parents" plus "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Maybe not so original, but it made me laugh.

My movie of the week: "The Incredibles." I loved it, and so did my son. I guess I won't be knitting any capes (see the movie to get that reference...).

Weasley update

OK, with the World Series over it has been back to knitting. Made some progress on the orange scarf and also have almost finished the front of the Weasley sweater, including the intarsia R. I carried the yarn a little too tightly, so it's a little lumpy, but I think it mostly looks ok. Kinda like me, I guess. :) I hope blocking smooths it out a little. The boy is very excited.