Winding Down

Christmas morning and the wild time that accompanies it! Sam, as always, is in the middle of things. What would we ever do without this vital family member?

We surprised Livvy this year with a trip to Italy that’s taking place in March. Superman and I will have been married 20 years! It seems more like 5. We will fly to Rome for 7 days and try to soak up some of the flavor Italia! I’ve never traveled abroad so this should be an experience, Livvy and him, on the other hand, have several stamps in their passports. I have already been on Ravelry to the Itlay groups and have recieved the most wonderful responses from knitters who live there with helpful tips, and offers of more help if needed. It never ceases to amaze me how close the world has become thru the internet. Also, how kind people can be with seemingly small things in common such as knitting. I don’t think this is just a ‘knitters’ thing, I hope it’s indicative of all humans to want to help someone feel less lost, I know I like the feeling I get when I’ve helped someone besides myself, I think most people do.

Annnnyyy Hoooo…..Continue your wonderful holiday, enjoy each other and lend a hand if the opportunity presents itself.

See you in the New Year!

Merry Christmas

Miles and Miles of Brown Rib….if you can finish these , you can finish ANYTHING.  The first one took four days the second took a month! For any adult or child who want to practice patience and stick-to-it-ness then start a  project like these for a size 13 foot.

Pattern: Basic Men’s Socks

Fiber: Pure Alpaca from the MD Wool Festival

For: Superman

Christmas Eve Knitting

Anemoi Mittens

Fiber: Jitterbug

For: Moi

There has been a bit more happening in the Meers House

Decorating:

Our annual trip to Opryland to view the lights, eat the food, shop till we drop, and get in the mood for Christmas Cheer!

MERRY CHIRSTMAS ALL!!

Seasons Change

What a lovely treat to come home to!!

I’m finally back on the blogging trail after a long hiatus. All the while I have been knitting… and tinking. I love this mug I found in DC, it starts a morning out well. Now if only I could apply it a bit better! Although tinking and re-knitting somewhat resembles “going in the direction of your dreams…its just your dreams  of a 4-ply cashmere sweater may be more of a nightmare than a lovely dream!

I confess I’ve also been destracted by this wonderful weather we’re experiencing here in the Southeast, chilly morning walks, leading to mild sunny afternoons. The sky is that incredible blue that almost hurts the eyes. My garden is on the way out but a few showey leaves remain and the hardiest of herbs hare hanging on for fall soups.

I know this is completely out of sync for the season but I had to get in these fall colors before next spring and with my blogging record it happens now or never.

Next some wintry Christmas pics and holiday knitting!

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Fall Fetish

I am having severe ‘startities’. I have begun and ripped at least five projects, finally settled on another Schoolhouse Vest to get me over the hump while I ponder my next ‘real’ project. I never make the same thing twice if I can help it, once I’ve bound off, I’m over it. I guess that makes me a process knitter not a project one. I’ve been playing with the red cashmere and ripped it three times, least you forget that’s 4 PLY CASHMERE!  I knit and knit and knit and knit…..and it actually seems to shrink as oppose to grow! All this makes for a tearful frogging process. I’m now thinking of soothing my wounded pride with some exciting like a garter stitch scarf in aran weight yarn!

Till next time, I hope your knitting is frog-free!

Victory in the face of Adversity

Excuse my tardiness! I’ve been celebrating my birthday week! In our house Mom doesn’t have a birthDAY but rather a birthWEEK. The culmination is Monday on the actually date I joined the world at large but the fun leading up to it is grand. But first things first….

My Olympic Project….the School House Vest was an excellent choice as even the slowest of knitters can complete it in two weeks. I, being the queen of ‘snaildom’,  was a wee bit ahead of schedule until  that familiar stumbling block that hits all knitters at some point…the why-should -I-read-directions-when -I-have- a- picture- right- in- front- of- me! block. I was so happy with the look and fit of everything about this design that I whipped up the armhole trim while flaunting my fo  to all my peeps at Bliss Yarns the day before D-Day. Then of course I was slapped down viciously when I attempted to flaunt this little number in front of superman who casually ask ” are there supposed to be ‘wings’ on the back?” AARRGH!  The arm trim squirmed and wiggled its way around my limbs like cranberry snakes! After a blistering tongue-lashing aimed at Stephanie Japel, the designer, (of course it’s her fault, I had a PICTURE for goodness sake ), I finally read the directions, all the way back to “materials needed:” and there was that little bit about size 5 needle for the bind off  and trim, not size 7!!!!! Well, why didn’t she put that in BOLD or CAPS or italics?? Doesn’t she know some slap-happy olympian, drunk with the flush of the finish line was going to zoom right over those simple details!? leaving her dazed and confused as to why absolute perfection had slipped thru her needles at the last possible moment??? Well I hope this is a lesson to you Stephanie!

In spite of the designers negligence in whacking me over the head with the obvious, I have managed to pull off quite a nice little knit and the final bind off was mere 15 min before the flame extinguished!

the length is perfect with my tall frame, one of the joys of knitting in the round where you can try things on before committing to decreases,

the bust darts fit even someone built like a teenage boy,, making the darts was just a stroke to my delusional ego.

See,,,not a bat wing in sight thanks to my extensive research and finely tuned deciphering skills! All in all a terrific knit , quick, easy, well fitting and with the worsted weight yarn there are a million options. I used the Cascade 220; I liked the look and feel….and the price tag, about $21 dollars!

I’m off to pick up where I left off in the birthday activities; today is picnic in the park with knitting followed by mani-peti’s for the bug and I.

Have a wonderful Labor Day!

the race may be over, but not the running!

YES! The vest vault is complete, but barely under the wire….more pics and info to come, right now it’s  off to school for drop off and then work.

Stay tuned…

Knitter Down!

I feel like the women’s gymnastics team at the beginning of the semifinals,,,,the injuries seemed to pile up on those gals, but like them I will persevere. Yesterday I spent the most wonderful day at my LYS with my best friend whom I haven’t seen in a month. Good company, lots of knitting, upbeat chatter..just one of those days that makes you feel alive and happy to be a knitter. I thought I would take all those warm, fuzzy feelings home and pour them into a good dinner for the fam since they had both been working all day. I got a great recipe from said friend, (who is Julia Child reincarnated), and began chopping away with my trusted Wustoff…then,

BAM, a chunk out of the middle finger!  I called Superman who was on his way home from the hospital and said, bring supplies! He had to clamp down hard on the artery to stop the blood flow enough to get a bandage on. Just so you know, artery clamping leaves you seeing stars for a moment then a dull ache sets in that makes you wonder if removing the digit all together might not have been less painful! Is there no silver lining you ask? Would this be the end of my quest for knitters glory?  No, No, No….  You will notice it is my LEFT hand, so just like those spunky rubber girls I was back on the mat, so to speak, pursuing my own personal gold, albeit at a reduced pace.  AND, the fam felt so sorry for me that Superman finished up dinner, Bug cleaned the kitchen, and I sat down to watch two hours of women running thru the streets of Bejing! I couldn’t believe they showed two hours of women in speedos running and sweating, the color commentator had his job cut out for him. But as I watched I thought a lot about pace and perseverance. I couldn’t knit as fast, (I’m a snail on a good day}, and I was getting a little bored with this project,( knitters ADD), but like the chick from Romania, I had to keep going, looking ahead for the finish. I finished up another two inches and still it looks like this:

Rather like a trumpet flower or a strange sea creature?  And yes, it does stretch, A Lot! I weigh a wee bit more than the flying rubber girls, or the runnerchicks, but yes, I tried it on as I went and it does in fact cover that middle blob below the rib cage. I’m back in love with it again as I can see my on finish line looming up ahead, almost in reach, just a fuzzy figure thru the smog, but still there, I just have to keep treking.

However, like every obsessive knitter, I am daydreaming about the next great thing, here’s a few more for my to-do-list:

The first two are from Anthropology, I adore the hoodie. What you can’t tell in this pic is that the closer is a small stuffed frog hanging from i-cord used to wrap around the opposing button in order to close. Ms. Crochet, otherwise know as Emiily at Bliss Yarn, has agreed to show me how to make my own version.  The second set of pics is from Berrocco.

The PomPom Peds are from here. A great site to have in your contacts. I’m thinking these would make semi-fast stocking stuffers for Christmas.

I hope this finds you all healthy, uninjured and cruising down your own personal finish line, just don’t forget to look ahead at your next race. As knitters there’s always ‘one more’….one more row, one more skien, one more project, one more sleeve, one more color, one more FO!!!