Week 4: Fresh Start

I'd hoped to go for a hike this morning and bring you guys back pictures of the mountain turning green, chubby little quail puttering among shoots of grass and wildflowers that have sprouted from all our rains. The only thing is that it was supposed to rain today. Not a problem as far as keeping me inside--since our big storm, we've reverted to our pattern of little, short rains. But the deal was that if it did, I got the car. If it didn't, las hermanitas got the car.

Talk about stacked odds.

There's no way I could walk to the mountain, so I took a hike around the neighborhood and down the canal, thinking I could find some good sidewalk graffiti left by construction workers, or a particularly gnarled tree, or something to photograph. Turns out, I could've given you guys a sweeping vista of the mountain from the entrance to the canal path (oh, the irony), but I forgot my camera in my haste to leave before the dog realized I was taking a walk without her.

So you'll have to be happy with a 2-week-old picture of a cactus, taken on the mountain, and pictures of little green things and quail will have to wait until next week.

I am not totally crushed here: This morning I finished the Hermanita Warm-up. That was the last of my Christmas knitting, and now--finally--I am free to start fresh and focus on new knits. Woohoo!

Week 3: It Never Fails

Well, it's Monday again, and guess what? I haven't gotten anything done.

Clarification: I got in a hike (picture of the telegraph lines above the trail), and completed my correspondence--which would have gone better if it involved me in an Empire-waisted dress with and a writing desk, not me in a Skellington hoodie with Gmail and Safari dropping my wireless at every opportunity. Now, I am attempting to get all my assignments for the week in order, but the clock is winning, and I'm going to drop everything half-done to get ready for a concert for which the tickets were bought eons in advance. I hate that--'cos it's all going to be there, half-done, when I lurch out of bed too early tomorrow morning.




In other news: did anyone else catch the annual dose of pop culture that is the Grammys? I took the opportunity of a couple stationary hours to knit and knit and knit on the bottomless pit that is Hermanita's Warm-Up. Since everyone can't stop by to work a round and see the bottomless-pit-ness in action, there's a picture looking into its depths.

As always, the show had its moments, but there were also several moments that made me shudder. Like the Jonas Brothers. And the Kings of Leon, some of whom also happen to be brothers. I'm noticing a theme here.

Also shudder-worthy was the Zac Brown band, which beat out Silversun Pickups as best new artist. *What* were they thinking? I mean, I would argue that Carnavas was the album that "established the public identity of the artist," as the award criteria states. But but rather than quibble, how about we give the award to the people with talent?

I managed to keep knitting while thoroughly dissecting this and basically the entire show con las hermanitas y mamá tambien, and wonder of wonders, I now only have two inches to go before dividing for the Warm-Up front and back. Take heart--knitty news may soon prevail!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas (or winter holiday of choice) everyone! I did, in fact, survive the madness of finals. Las hermanitas y yo even had time to help with Christmas baking, too. The gingerbread chalet is the most photogenic of our efforts: Monita decorated the front, and I decorated the sides. Hermanita forbade both of us from icing the roof, which is not as unfair as one might suppose--Monita and I both have histories of sticky Kitchenaids and similar lapses in fine motor skills whilst in the kitchen.

So I made it through finals, but what about the gifts? Anyone here who has been following the progress of the Tempest Cardigan will not be shocked to discover that it was a humongo (albeit tasteful and nicely-colored) black hole of time. I had to devote all of last weekend to finishing the beast. To circumvent a long rant, we'll just say that I now remember why I became so enamored with one-piece projects in the first place.



That's gift the first, off the needles but in the box sans buttons.

Note: I am fully aware my pincushion is politically incorrect *and* balding. Its inclusion in the picture is a desperate cry for a new pincushion.



Um, ya. That's what I've been knitting Hermanita. Formwise, the warm-up will look like a cross between this and this (the striped one), with sporty lacy side stripes, when it is completed. Which will not be until after New Year's. Mayhaps the Warm-up will want to take it up with the Thundercloud Cardigan.



This is the gift that gave me the idea for the labels. Last Christmas, when las hermanitas y yo were looking at my new knit.1 magazine, Monita said she wanted the Duotone Cardigan. Only problemecito: The smallest size is a 36. Monita wears a 32 at most. I really and truly tried, working a gauge swatch, crunching the numbers, working two dud starts that were like additional gauge swatches, and crunching the numbers again, but I only started on Tuesday (Monita might like to take this up with the Thundercloud as well), and I plain and simple ran out of time.

I think I know who's going to be busy knitting over winter break.

May you all have a very merry holiday, with lots of gifts sans assembly required under your trees!