A Little Yarn On The Side

Andy and I have jokingly referred to my online knitting friends as my "imaginary" friends, as I've never actually met  any of them and only know many of you via blogs and Ravelry.  Friends all the same, but friends I wouldn't actually recognize in person, and when people ask me how I know this or that person, I have to say, "Well, I haven't." Tonight I realize how very real these friendships are to me, as I found out tonight that one of my online friends passed away last month.  I knew Janet had cancer, and had been undergoing chemotherapy on and off for as long as I had known her, but she always seemed so upbeat about it that even though it sounded  serious, part of me hoped maybe it wasn't. And it was. I suspected she was sick early this summer because I hadn't heard from her for a while, and no matter how sick she probably was, she seemed to spend as much time as she could posting encouraging comments on other knitter's blogs.  I sen...

The mitered mittens from Elizabeth Zimmermann's brilliant pattern are finished and blocking: and I have continued my mitten mania with these:  Mitten ornaments !  I started these yesterday and am up to 5 now.  I'm counting 2 for a finished project, so I'm one mitten away from finished project number 90 , so of course that makes me even MORE obsessed with them.  The mitten ornaments aren't doing much for my stash-reduction as they use up so little yarn that they don't even make a dent in the monster balls of Red Heart and Carion acrylic that I'm using, but at least they're counting as finished projects AND filling up my Christmas bin.  If I start to talk about having an entirely knit-themed Christmas tree, though, you are to immediately send a therapist!

86 days and 25 projects to go.  AND the garden is almost over.  We've started covering the peppers at night because it's dropping into the 40s at night, and we're currently planning on covering the tomatoes at night for a while to extend the growing season a bit.....but the knitter in me is thinking maybe we should just let everything die.  I think Theo is appalled by my thinking.......... Or he's just sick of the sight of all the canning equipment..............

* 16 pints of vegetable soup * 11 half-pints of roasted red pepper spread * 12 pints of multi-use tomato sauce Yep, I'm ready for vacation again.................

There's a garden with a very  long to-do list waiting for me after my 4-day vacation from it, but before I get to that, it's time for "What I Did With My Crafting Vacation:" As you might remember, I'm planning to do a music-themed Christmas this year, so I played around with an idea I had been toying with as a decoration: which aside from the slight puckering where I slip-stitched it shut turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I also got back to my mitten project, and am counting these five as a finished project: They're a bit addictive, really. Speaking of addictive, I am obsessed with these mittens!  Usually variegated yarns never end up looking as good on a project as I always hope they will, but this might finally be the answer.  I love how it looks with the cream stripe in-between.  Good thing I've already finished a lot of Christmas gifts for this year.  Otherwise I'd be embarking on a mad mitten-making rampage.  Of course, I might ...

First, the socks are done: Yay!  They are a Christmas gift for THIS year!  And they're done early!  Excuse me while I enjoy this moment...........it doesn't happen very often.  Andy is away for a few days, so I am taking a break from the garden and canning to do some crafting.  In a mad, allergy-medication-induced frenzy of yarn, I have another set of finished tribbles: part of another attempt at EZ's mitered mittens, although this time I thought I'd adjust needle size correctly to get gauge.  I still haven't figured out what to do with the monster mitten from my first attempt, but I have already tried the new mittens on, and they will actually fit a human hand.  I love being ahead without even having the first mitten done.  And I can now show you one of the secret projects, as it is now with its new owner and thus no longer a secret.  We have friends who have spearheaded a bit of a music club, and one of them had a recent birthday....

I don't know why Blogger won't let me respond to all comments, but it doesn't, so thank you to everyone for the anniversary wishes.  I can't believe it's already been five years.  It has just FLOWN by! Speaking of flying by--it's Monday already, and I still have no pictures to put up.  BUT, there has been knitting and in fact, I'm closing in on finishing the second sock.  I've never really had problems with Second Sock Syndrome, thankfully.  Once I get one sock done I'm in a real rush to get the second sock done to make it a Finished Object, so it may go faster than the first one.  Of course, nothing is going fast right now because of the gardening/canning/entertaining happening around here, but fall is in the air.............:)