A little family gathering

Emily is 7 and in the first grade. She looks so much like Hannah now!




Lydia is 10 and in the 5th grade--a middle schooler. She took us to Tech Day at her school to show us around.



Abby is 16 and the queen of snarky humor.


Joanne and Emily rest after a hard day!



Grandpa enjoyed a nice meal and some conversation.



Aunt Karen loves her nieces, Lydia and Abby.




Hannah writes her name on her cup to make sure no one runs off with it. She's now an English major, just like her aunt.




Grandma is making sure no one pulls any fast ones!

How cold was it?

Well overnight, it was actually -27 degrees F. But it's amazingly toasty warm in the house.

And it was a bright sunny day and warmed up to 0 degrees by 11 am,with no wind,

so we bundled up the small children
and took the dog out for a walk in Manson Park.



I'm surprised that the river doesn't freeze, but it is moving rather quickly, and there is ice along the edges.


A lovely winter day in Pittsfield, Maine!

Knitting in Maine

pre-travel sock


After a day's worth of travel knitting, this is how my sock is coming along.

Karen, wearing the sweater that was supposed to be for Mom, but Mom didn't think she would wear it much.

Marta, one of the children Karen provides care for.

Mom in her kitchen, after serving us delicious beefstew with dumplings.

Dad, in the sun parlor, after showing off his tomato plants.

Woodpecker eating suet in Grandma and Grandpa's yard.

How I Made My Mittens

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed
85% Wool 15% Angora
50 grams/85 meters per skein. Used 2 skeins with a generous amount left over. (1 skein is not enough. I had 3.5 oz and used 1.9 oz and have 1.6 oz. left over.)
Color 360015--charcoal grey
US Size 5 needle (magic loop method, 32"knitpicks needle).

Cast on 40 stitches using long tail cast on.
Join to knit in the round.
Knit 2 purl 2 ribbing for 2 1/2 inches (I would do 3" next time).
Knit one round all knits.
On next round, begin gusset: at the start of a round, make 1 using invisible increase, k 1, make 1, place marker, knit the rest of the round. (3 stitches in gusset, 39 stitches in body of mitten)
Knit two rounds plain.
Increase to 5 stitches in gusset (make 1, k 3, make 1, pass marker, knit remaining 39 stitches.
Continue knitting 2 rounds plain (st st) followed by an increase of 2 stitches until there are 13 stitches in the gusset.
On next round, slip the 13 gusset stitches onto waste yarn, tie loosely, and knit the remaining 39 stitches.
On the following round, cast on one stitch over the gap , returning the count of body stitches to a total of 40. (It looks loose but it tightens up as you go on.)
Continue knitting every round until mitten covers pinkie.
Begin decreases as follows: K1, ssk, knit across to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1, repeat on second needle (4 stitches decreased, 36 stitches remain, 18 on each side.)
Knit one round plain.
Decrease (32 stitches remain)
Continue to alternate decrease rounds and plain rounds until there are 16 stitches remaining (8 per side. ) Decrease again on the next round, to 12 stitches, 6 per side. Cut yarn to 12" length, thread through all live stitches and pull tight. Pull end through to inside and weave in.



Go back to thumb and put 6 stitches on one side and 7 on the other side (13). Pick up 3 stitches over the gap (16). Knit around. On second round, knit together 2 of the 3 picked up stitches to tighten up the gap. (15 stitches for thumb) If there are holes, insert needle through edge by hole and knit it together with the next normal stitch. Continue knitting 15 stitches per round until thumb reaches middle of thumbnail.
Decrease as follows:
K3, k2tog 3 times->12 stitches remain.
Knit one round plain.
K2, k2tog 3 times->9 stitches remain.
Knit one round plain.
K1, k2tog 3 times->6 stitches remain.
Knit one round plain.
Cut yarn, to 12" length, thread through all live stitches and pull tight. Pull end through to inside and weave in. Weave in starting tail on wrist.
Make a matching mitten for other hand. There is no right or left side unless you put a design on the back.

Christmas Knits

Kristen bought this yarn for me in Dublin Ireland and brought it home for my Christmas gift. It was produced in Ireland--85% wool and 15% angora. It took me a few tries to work out the gauge, but I have started on a pair of mittens to wear in Maine this winter. I actually finished this mitten tonight, and will start mitten #2 tomorrow.

I made Kristen a pair of Fuzzy Feet in lovely Moss Heather color of Patons Classic Wool, and just got them felted in time to put them under the Christmas tree still all damp. But they finally dried, and then we thought about something to make them snug and warmer around the ankles. So I knit a pair of 3" cuffs on 56 stitches (2 x 2 rib) and whip-stitched them in. They are really elfin and cozy now. I might go back and do the same for Sam's pair. And eventually I will have to make a pair for myself, but I'm really tired of knitting them after making 4!

There has been knitting

A wash cloth for Kristen in mercerized cotton, for her new apartment. Probably for use in the shower rather than the kitchen.

Fuzzy feet for Sam. Above you see a before and after shot, and then the pair of them after felting. I used Patons Merino for these as well, and it only takes one skein to make a women's medium pair, which happens to also fit Sam's feet. They take longer than expected to knit, and knitting loosely on size 11's is a pain, but once they felt up, it's so much fun! They're warm and soft and cozy and I hope he will like them. I am considering knitting unfelted 2x2 ribbing cuffs and stitching it inside, if they have a tendency to come off off or leave cold ankles. Now I have to knit a pair for Kristen and me as well!
A sweater for my mother, which may or may not be a little small for her. But I was quite happy with this, knit out of 4 skeins of Patons Merino, using a pattern from Custom Knits called the Round Yoke Cardigan. You knit the entire body, bottom up, then knit two tubes for sleeves, cuff up, adding increases as you go, and then you connect the parts up and knit the shoulder section all in one piece. This was mailed off to Maine this week, with $200 insurance on it!

And my favorite knitting, a pair of socks for myself in Patons Kroy stripes. Note that that stripes do not and can not match, because the stripe sequence is going in opposite directions! Fraternal rather than identical twins. I have enjoyed the first pair of socks I ever made, which used this same brand of yarn and has held up for 2 years, so I think these will be keepers. I liked them so much that I already bought another 2 skeins in a slightly different colorway to make one more pair. This is great yarn!

Attention Shoppers!

I don't participate in Black Friday sales. But I did happen to be at the mall at 9 am on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (I was waiting for the yarn store to open at 10 am). After opening at some ungodly half-past-dark hour on Friday, the mall opened at 8 am on Saturday. But to my surprise, the place was almost deserted. I wandered around, and somehow nothing appealed to me. Today I was at Target on Saturday afternoon, and again it seemed rather quiet.

It struck me that there is a psychology to shopping--that you need to build up a certain kind of energy in order to want to buy things. And while people might actually have less money at the moment, they also lack that energy. Buying things, spending money, suddenly just feels distasteful. The sense of fun is not there. It feels like a burden.