Mittens, Mitten Buddy & One Sweet Guy

As you may know I'm knitting mittens for Ry. They are grey and red and turning out quite nice. Well, last night the big sweetie turned to me and said "Would you mind making these for my sister? She doesn't have anymore winter stuff since the fire." (I'm paraphrasing)Well, how could I refuse, I love his sister and she does need more winter stuff, so I'm knitting away on them with the ultimate plan to shrink them a little bit before packaging them and giving them to her for the holidays. Is he the sweetest or what?

Mitten buddy: You posted a comment on my page & I posted a return comment, I'm not sure if you saw it, but it's there! I can reply to you that way or I can do it on my regular posts, let me know what's convenient for you!

Tubular What?

I think I have reason to believe that I may be an idiot. Hear me out, I wanted to do a tubular cast on for the mittens I am making for my partner, so I looked it up on Google and found this cast-on. Now the first time that I cast on, I read the directions all wrong and ended up with only two stitches spinning around and around, and then a tangled mess. But I persevered and re-read the directions and cast on again, this time I got it, but when I did the set up rows, I totally screwed up. I ripped back and cast on again (3rd time here people) this time it was perfect, I even removed the yarn and the whole thing...then I realized...WRONG SIZE NEEDLES! Idiot! I ripped it out and cast on gain...apparently 4th time's a charm. This whole process took about 2 hours! Yes, two hours of wasted time because I, like an idiot, cannot read directions. Lovely.

Nightmare Before Christmas + 3D = LOVE

So, on Friday we went to see the re-release of Nightmare Before Christmas. Now this movie is a favorite of mine, and had been from the moment I saw it but THIS time it was in 3D!!! When I told Ry that come Hell or high water we were going to see this movie, he gave me "the look", the "I-don't-want-to-see-this-dumb-movie-but-if-I-don't-I'm-never-going-to-hear-the-end-of-it-so-I'll-just-agree" look. When I was done ignoring "the look" he then said, "I can't see 3D." "What do you mean you can't see 3D?" "I can't see it." "Are you talking about those red and blue glasses 3D?" "Yeah, I can't see 3D with them." (rolling my eyes) "Of course you can't. Those things don't work, nobody can see 3D out of those! They have new ones that are clear, you'll be fine." "Oh." "We should go, you'll like it." "Mmmhmm."

So, he appeased me and when we went to see the movie, he saw 3D for the first time. Which was, of course, adorable because he kept pulling his head back when things "jumped out" of the screen. When we left he said he really enjoyed the movie and that it was better than he was expecting, since he does not like Tim Burton. (I know.)

All in all it was a good night, and if you can, go see Nightmare Before Christmas! It's only a 3 week engagement starting on the 19th. It's completely worth the money, I highly recommend it, especially if you liked the original. If you live in Western Mass, it's playing at the cinema on Route 5 in West Springfield!

Done and Done!

Well, that is it, my little Chickens! I am done with Ry's Socks and my Beret. Although I have a little confession to make. It's a little big...the beret. I made it with needles one size up so it would be a little big, so my hair wouldn't get mashed or a hat line or anything. However, it doesn't feel all that secure. Oh, well, at least the plan for no hat hair is in full force and effect! Ryan's socks fit him quite well, and he does love them even though some of our friends saw them in progress and thought the colors were "gay". First of all, what does that mean? That they look like drag queens with too much makeup and glittery bits? They're SOCKS! And second of all, when did blue whit and green become "gay" colors? Ugh. They are male fashionistas, and couldn't get around the fact that socks are rarely seen, except with dress pants, and these socks are too casual for dress pants. Idiots.

Anyway, moving on...I was sick all weekend and accomplished almost nothing, except I did finish my reading for classes and Ry's sock. So I guess I did something. I am feeling a bit better now but, still not great. I was also assigned my mitten partners! Yahoo!!! Let the mitteniness begin! I am excited to hit the stores this weekend and pick up the yarny goodness. I also finished up the shopping for my Mystery Swap partner and will be mailing that package out this weekend...I hope she likes it!

No More Humdrum Mittens (Re-post)

NO MORE HUMDRUM MITTENS QUESTIONAIRE

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?

I have been knitting for a little over a year now, and I am self-taught. I learned through the videos on the internet and the back instructional sections of knitting magazines.

2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I would consider myself to be an intermediate knitter that accepts challenges.

3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?

I LOVE reds and turquoises and purples, the only colors I don't really like are olive greens and mustard yellows.

4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I do like the Latvian patterns, however I do not have a favorite style. Although I can say that I do not like the fringed bottoms I see on some of the styles. I'm a no fringe kinda gal.

5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?

I know it sounds a bit selfish, but I'd like the mittens for myself. I've never really owned mittens before, mostly because until recently I lived in VERY warm states.

6. What other things do you enjoy knitting?

I enjoy knitting socks and sweaters and hats, of all kinds. I have been on a sock kick recently, but I am also enjoying the sweaters that I have going on as well.

7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)

For socks I like working with DPNs, for sweaters and hats I work with circulars. I recently purchased some Brittany wooden needles for my socks and fell in love with them! Although, I have been trying to hunt down some swallowtail casein needles to try them out.Usually ai Work with my Denise needles for the Circs and Pony needles for my DPNs.

8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?

The embossed leaves socks from IK, possibly something entrelac, the lace leaf pullover by Teva Durham. Something entrelac or fairisle. Umm...that's all I can think of. I really just enjoy knitting anything, except shawls.

9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?

I have been dying to work with Alpaca, cashemere or a wool/silk blend. I also would like to try working with some Socks that Rock yarn from Blue Moon, I love their Christmas themed colorways.

10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?

I enjoying baking, cooking, photography and sewing. I also love to entertain and go for hikes with our dogs when the weather is nice, and this year is the year I am going to learn to ski and snow shoe!

11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything?

I like to collect oddities, kitschy/tacky things that I can place in various places around the house, they make me laugh. I have a poodle ornament that hangs around and is all coated in feathers. It's so tacky it's cute!

12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?

I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I love cupcakes and candies and chocolate, and sweet combined with salty things too! I'm a food nut!

13. Do you have any kids? Pets?

I have no kids, but I do have two dogs and a live-in boyfriend.

14. What is your favorite part of Winter?

The mugs of hot chocolate while you're inside watching the snow come down, warm fires, the holidays and time with family.

15. What is your least favorite part of Winter?

Finals and the never ending grayness that lasts until April!

Vermont Weekend

Well, I am about 97% done with my little beret! Just in time, too because the weather is finally starting to act normal again, so I can wear my sweaters and hats now. Hooray! In other news Ry & I went to Woodstock Vermont on Sunday. What an awesome day! Vermont was so pretty, the leaves were all turning and Woodstock is such a quaint little town. To begin we walked through a little park area where people could walk their dogs. As we were walking through there I smelled something odd, but ignored it. Then we wandered in and out of these little art galleries admiring some of the works, agreeing on some things and disagreeing on others. Ry really made the effort to talk to me about what he did and did not like, and why that was so. I continued to smell something weird, so I asked Ry to check his shoes. Nothing. So we wandered on. We had lunch in a fabulous little restaurant we were fairly ravenous so we both finished our plates, and we had some Long Trail Blackberry Wheat Ale. Delicious! There was an old covered bridge that was still in use and some gorgeous old houses that we both wished we owned.




Later we had ice cream from an overpriced little shop (ahem, $5 for a cone), then sat on a bench looking at a babbling brook and eating out ice cream. Later we went to Quechee and saw the Quechee Gorge and a HUGE hot air balloon.



It was at the gorge that I discovered the source of the weird smell. It was MY shoes. Not Ry’s, mine. Did I think to check my own shoes? Nope, I just assumed it would have to be Ry’s shoes, because my shoes are so cute, they would never have stepping in something as gross as poo. Boy, was I wrong. Well, I managed to scrape it off on a rail thing and there wasn’t any in my tread, thank God, but I wonder how much was tracked in and out of those galleries…Anyway, the gorge was awesome and we saw it from both sides of the bridge. Apparently Ry had been passing over the gorge to go skiing since he was a kid, but had never stopped to see it, so it was a first for both of us. We also stooped at a cute little place that sold local cheese, handmade furniture and all things pickled. For instance there were pickled eggs, regular pickles, pickled cabbage. You name it they had it, and it was pickled. They also had flocks of sheep, bears and cows. Ry and I took photos in the midst of each! On the way back we stopped at a rural gas station/general store and there I saw the BIGGEST apple pies in my life. I ended up buying a blackberry pie, which is now gone, but was delicious. That pie must’ve weighed ten pounds, it was delicious and worth every penny we paid. All in all it was a wonderful weekend.

Fall Festivals and Pot Luck Dinners

Well, in the end I could not decide what to give to my friend. Apparently, though, that was for the best because she is going home in a couple of weeks and is going to ask her mother to teach her to knit. So she'll just get her needles and yarn while she's there.

For the pot-luck dinner we made chicken wings with 4 different dipping sauces, and bought a chocolate cream pie from Whole Foods for dessert. J & M made miniburgers and BBQ Chicken Chili. Now I don't know if you've had BBQ chicken chili, but let me tell you what it contains: BBQ Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Shredded Chicken and Elbow macaroni. Got that? Process it for a moment and let me remind you how acidic tomato sauce and BBQ sauce is...see where I'm going with this? I couldn't finish. It was like someone was pouring a vat of acid down my gullet. It has a good flavor, but it was really soupy, so the soup was tomato & BBQ sauce and I just couldn't do it. Apparently, this chili was something of a comfort food. J said they used to serve it at school with peanut butter crackers and it was delicious! Hmm. Ok, well either way, they cooked for us, and that always rocks! And we had pie...even better...yummmmm....

So Saturday Ry & I went to the Fall Apple Harvest Festival in the town common. It sounds like it was pretty cool,right? Like Gramma Ethel's famous Apple Spice Bread, Grampa Joe's Cider, and Aunt Tilly's Apple Pie were all being sold at little stands from different farms. And there was bobbing for apples, and bushels of apples so you could buy different varieties that you haven't tried before. Seems like that's what the festival would be like, right? Right? WRONG. It was lame. There was only one stand with apples, and none of the fall festival stuff that I was expecting. It was a complete let down. It was like being told you're getting a really exciting, super-cool gift and the fact that this super-cool gift is coming has been built up for weeks and then getting a roll of Scotch Tape. It was a fizzle rather than a bang. Still, it was nice to be out of the house. We walked around the town square and I went to a little yarn shop I had been wanting to check out and got some yarn for mittens for Ry. Then we ran some errands, and went home and decorated for Fall. Later that evening we took the dogs to the field to play with the frisbee. Well, Sam played with the frisbee, Molly just ran around and rolled in the grass.



Meanwhile I turned the heel on Ry's second sock! Hooray! I think that counts as being nearly done. I don't know what it was about this project, but I has SSS really bad...I kept thinking "Why do I want to do the same project all over again? In really want to do something new!" So I cast on for the second sock in May and didn' pick it up again until August. I guess i figured, Ry only wears sandals in the summer, why bother with the sock, if he won't wear it until cool weather sets in? It proved to be true, Ry rarely wore shoes all summer, and now the weather is just barely getting cooler so I still have time to finish it. (Barely)