Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Thank you for your lovely comments on my Christmas post - With Brian's assistance, Batty was selected as the winner of the Knit Picks Cable Connector set! I've sent you a PM on Ravelry.

With Christmas and other solstice-related holidays behind us, the New Year is on our doorstep. I like to do some sort of act to acknowledge the ending of one passage of time and the beginning of another. In the past, I've compiled knit lists (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006), and they are lengthy and take lots of time to prepare. So, here's a condensed version:
1 pair of slippers, many baby booties and baby socks, 1 scarf, 2 shawls, 2 blankets (one baby, one couch/lap), 4 hats, 3 baby sweaters, 1 child sweater, 4 adult sweaters: Kris' Cobblestone, my NaKniSweMo Cobblestone, Cloudy Sunday, and the orange February Lady Sweater), 13 pairs of mittens, and 27 pairs of socks.
I would say I did knit less this year. I spent more time working and spinning, and I joined Facebook. I'm very happy with the knitting I did this year, however.

Last year I also made resolutions. My two resolutions for 2010 were: 1) To be more authentic (my MSW brain is saying "That's not quantitatively measurable!") and 2) to go to the YMCA twice/week. Besides the measurement issues for #1, I feel like in a qualitative way, I moved toward and with that intention over the past year. And as to the second resolution, I accomplished it every week except the week we were in Kentucky. As a result, it's contributed to a weight loss of 65 pounds in 2010!

So, resolutions for 2011? I've been thinking about it and have a few idea rattling around in my skull:
1) Attain and maintain a weight of 197 pounds (that's an 11 pound weight loss from my current weight).
2) Save $1,000 and attend Rhinebeck - the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival on October 15 and 16.
3) Knit 11 sweaters in 2011 (more on that soon!)

What are your resolutions? How did you do on last year's, if you made any?

A holly jolly Christmas

This year, I was kind of in a bit of a hurry to get Christmas over with - totally not my style. But I was eager to begin a new chapter in my professional life, as a counselor at a halfway house for chemically dependent women and their children. This is the place I was gushing about all summer and fall as I interned there while completing my CD counseling certificate. I was hired on as a temporary fill-in for a woman taking maternity leave, and will be there through winter. I am so excited, and grateful, and full of joy to be able to do my dream job. I keep thinking that the Universe had a plan all along, even before I started school, because everything I've done has prepared me for this. Hooray!

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the holidays. My sister loved her knitted gloves, and Brian was happy to have new handknit hats. My stepdad was super excited about handspun, handknit socks - he was just asking when he'd get another pair to wear hunting. I even gave my mom a post-holiday sweater that was too big for me (The Cloudy Sunday sweater).

I certainly got spoiled, myself - my husband and my mother in law outdo themselves every year. For your enjoyment, a montage:

Lots of yarn for socks and 2 sweaters, books, and even a yarn meterage measurey thing! I'm a rich woman :)

I'm so rich, in fact, that I have THREE Knit Picks Options Interchangeable needle cable connector sets! I'd love to share the bounty with you, so leave a comment to this post before 9am on FRIDAY, December 31, and I'll draw a name at random to receive one of the sets! Good luck!

Hopefully your Christmas was merry and bright as well. Best wishes in the year ahead.

That's not quite how it should have been...

I ordered Brian some rad stuff for Christmas, it wasn't right, and I sent it back, about a week ago. The creator of the stuff said they'd try to get it back to me by Christmas, so I've been stalking the mail every day this week, hoping for an xmas miracle. I was thrilled to find two packages in the mailbox when I got home this afternoon! Until I checked the return addresses...

Hmmm... Spunky Eclectic fiber club?

"David's Gift" on superwash corriedale

No, that's definitely not what I ordered for the Husbeast Hotpants. Package #2?

December = Love!

 Gritty Knits Fiber of the Month Club? For November and December?

November! Specially ordered.

Definitely not Brian's Christmas presents. Of course, you can see he got me a big box, and wrapped it in his own special way. Poor Brian. No Christmas for him until next week. I won't be stalking the mail by then... I'll be busy spinning!

Teeny Little Vent

I just spent 3 hours at the mall and other shops, have seen the inside of countless fitting rooms, and shopped in every price range from ridiculous to, well, ridiculous. I'm trying to find a dress to wear to an event this evening (I know, I should have started earlier) that strikes the right balance of flattering, dressy, and whimsical. And for some fracking reason, I can't find it. Everything I tried on had something wrong with it - too slutty, too formal, fabric too thin, fabric too bulky, don't have the right bra/shoes/jewelry/face to wear with this, color doesn't suit me, what is with this weird poof of fabric right over my... you get the idea.

And at the core of my issue is that my body has changed so much this year that I have no clue how to shop for it and dress it. I got so used to being plus-size that I could just grab-and-go when I needed a particular outfit. But now I don't know how to find that magical place where my style and my shape intersect. It was a liberating day when I realized that I can no longer rely on my old favorites like Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug. But now where do I look?

I guess I've run out of time, and out of options. Part of what has motivated me through losing 65 pounds is wanting to feel less awkward in my clothes. Well, guess there's no happy ending in sight on that one. Ha. Ha.

In the week before xmas

In this week before Christmas, I've been relaxing. There's a possibility I might be able to start working at an amazing position, beginning next Monday.... more details about that as it becomes more certain. So for now, I'm trying to enjoy my time off.

Last night's supper: taco salads

Lettuce, soy cheese, TVP taco filling, red bell pepper, unfried-refried beans (from scratch!), salsa, tortilla chips, spring onions. Mmmm.

Last night's spinning: Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club - "Emerald City" on masham wool. Very different... very hairy. Going for a lightweight single. 

Presents under the tree, waiting for Saturday.

The cellophane bags with tissue paper are all knitted gifts. I love how they all look together!

New knitting:

Misti Alpaca Sport on a snowy morning, just after the hemmed border of the Wurm hat (Ravelry link). To match my new shawl!

More mittens!

Spunky Eclectic club in "Flannel" on Targhee, ~105 yds handspun n-ply.

Picture won't post, gah. Go here: flickr link

Impulse Shawl

My momma bought me a new coat a month ago, and I still don't have wooly hand-knit accessories to match yet. I mean, isn't that the whole point of being a knitter? I have a hat and some very unmatchy mittens I've been wearing, but had no scarf. Brrr!

When Katie C was visiting a few weeks ago, we went to the yarn store (Bonnie's Spinning Wheel) and I picked out this beautiful sock yarn.

 But instead of knitting socks with it (I'm kind of on sock hiatus, strangely enough), I cast for a little neckwarmer - the Holden Shawlette. It's a great pattern, and perfect for 1 skein of sock yarn. In the bind off, a little row of picot edging is created. Fiddly, but I'm glad I did it.

 

It's not very big, not even as wide as my armspan...

But totally perfect! Now, to whip up some mittens with this handspun:

Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club in "Flannel" on Targhee

1993 mittens

Envision, if you will: Jenna, age 8, wearing an oversized The Babysitter's Club t-shirt and hot pink spandex cropped leggings with printed turquoise & black triangles, rocking to the Michael Jackson's Bad on her teal and yellow boombox. Gentle reader, you have been transported back to 1993.

This memory came flooding back to me when I received a bump of hand-dyed top in a custom colorway. I'm calling it 1993.

Yep, it's really this bright.

 I picked up the fiber on Wednesday afternoon and set to spinning.

Finished singles. I let them take a break while I went out to eat with my family, and started plying when I got home.

 

~115 yards of Navajo-plied bulky-weight yarn.

The finished yarn took a quick soak in the sink and then I carefully arranged it on the drying rack, with a box fan aimed directly at it. By morning it was dry and I set to knitting. A few hours of Buffy the Vampire Slayer later, I had completed mittens. From wool to mittens in two days - I can move quickly when I want to! (Pattern is Tip Down Mittens, link goes to Ravelry)

Hooray for Handspun mittens!

How to Clap: For Dummies

My lovely auntie wanted a soft, black scarf. Most knitters hate knitting with black yarn, and I'm no exception. However, it's the price one pays for having the handknits be practical and useful to the recipient.

In order to meet the softness requirement on a reasonable budget, I went with alpaca. However, my LYS (Bonnie's Spinning Wheel) only had black alpaca in laceweight. So I triple-stranded it, and set to finding a pattern. This poor scarf got frogged four times! First I tried the Saroyan scarf - too fancy, didn't even show in the black yarn. Then I tried something else. I don't even remember, because it was that awful. Frogged again. Then I found the Dummy Clap pattern, based on the oh-so-popular Clapotis - but dumbed down. (We all know that Christmas is in a few weeks, right? I need dumb.) After a third false start (too wide... frogged again), it all came together.Simple stockinette, no need to strain my eyes looking at black yarn - pure autopilot knitting. A few hours of Dexter later...

A "knit 3, drop 2" pattern is knit in the last row to create the lacy, deconstructed effect. Just what I needed, and the alpaca drapes so wonderfully. Another successful knit! (On the heels of a few failures. But shush.)

The Great Yarn Closet Clean-Out

The Yarn Closet was in tough shape.

I was really just throwing stuff in there without even turning on the light. It was overwhelming chaos, plus I had all this other random non-knitting stuff in there too.

My horoscopes for today said:
"It's a good time to rethink your approach to your furniture, books, accessories or whatever else you think is under control. New systems of organization are easier to bring to life today!"
and
"Your life is feeling as stale as an old cat’s breath, so you might want to think about ways to redecorate your home or office. An updated decor isn’t going to work miracles, but at least your environment won’t be as tiresome as you are."

Wow, okay, I get it. So I spent 2 hours this afternoon taking everything out and putting it all back in. It was a little sketchy for a minute (I envisioned myself ending up like Langley Collyer), I made it out alive.

After the yarn & fiber came out... just the beginning

Whoa. Barren!

 Now the closet looks snazzy!

Nice and organized.

Yay! I can walk into the room again!

The only mistake I made was spraying furniture polish in the room - the floor is like a miniature skating rink. Whoa. I also winnowed a full laundry basket of yarn and tools to bring to the MN Prairie Spinner's Swap on the 27th. Hooray for cleaning, organizing, and pretty yarn & fiber!

Secret Knitting

It's hard to update the blog because it's all Christmas knitting, all the time, around here. And I'm in that particular stage of delusion where I think, "I've got 15 days. I can totally whip up a few more hat and mitten sets." It's getting pretty wicked around here, folks. And so, it's hard to show off pictures of finished knits because the recipient might scope them out. So here's some lovely yarn I'd rather be knitting:

Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in "Castle Danger"

Knit Picks Stroll in "Tree Fort"

Oh, and remember when I used to spin yarn from scratch? Cuz I barely do! Cannot. Wait. For Xmas to be over!

Yay! Katie Weekend!

My very dear friend Katie C. came down to St. Cloud to visit this weekend. We met when I was living up north in the frozen tundra while I was in school, and became good friends when we realized how much we have in common - and how interesting our differences are (hello scientist!). At least once per year, one of us ends up trekking all over the place to get to the other one, and this weekend I was lucky enough to have Katie visit me here in St. Cloud. It's great when although months have passed since you've seen a friend, it feels like you've been apart for only a minute. It was absolutely amazing to spent the weekend with her!

The weather was seriously shitty. We got tons of snow, and it was a 4 hour drive for her in slippery, low-visibility conditions. She is one tough North Dakotan, however, and made it safe and sound.

After staying up late knitting and talking Friday night, we went to a few yarns stores Saturday, and it was all about the alpaca! I had to go to a baby shower for a few hours that afternoon, but when I got back we headed over to my knitting pal Leah's house for some festive seasonal knitting. I seriously love the St. Cloud Knitter's group - what an amazing, talented, funny, friendly group of women! They made Katie feel right at home, and we had an excellent time.

Yay Katie! Reknitting the sweater her son accidentally/carelessly felted...

Jessie, Sarah K, and Rachel M

Anna, Sharon M, Rachel M, and Jessie

Leah, our fabulous hostess - she's really only

 pretending to knit... :)

Unfortunately, Katie had to head back up north early Sunday morning. What a whirlwind weekend - it went way too fast! I do have to say that it's a rare great thing when although months have passed since you've seen a friend, it feels like you've been apart for only a minute. It was absolutely amazing to spent the weekend with my dear friend Katie!

Secular Advent

You may gave noticed, but I'm a little into Christmas. One thing that's been missing from my redandgreensplosiveness for a while has been an advent calendar. When I was a kid we did the whole advent wreath thing, and I liked it a lot. (except for the Jesus part. But I digress.) So last year, my amazingly creative mother made me a secular advent calendar.

Today I placed the first magnet on it (there's a sheet of tin under the paper) and squeed a little bit. 24 more days! What are you doing to get into the holiday spirit?