Winter Is Here!

I'm being beat about the head and shoulders from multiple parties for not updating, so I'd best get to it! ;)

35 degrees and holding. Seriously, this morning's temp is today's high. In other words, COLD! A quick trip to J. Jill last weekend with Uska produced some lovely flannel jammies and a great sweater, so I'm ready to stay warm. To be perfectly honest, I've been wearing both to work all week. Fortune smiles on the telecommuter: only the dogs see it and they have no comment.

The scavenger hunt is on and I get to spoil a lovely person whose name and location will remain secret. I'm very excited!

I haven't worked on the black turtleneck much due to the demands of the silversmithing class, which I must say is awesome. I've decided on my first project and it's been blessed by the instructor: a representation of the Seattle skyline as a brooch. It's a skyline I've been fascinated with for years and have taken many pictures of it from the Ferry (all of which I no longer have, and that's a long story for another time). Barbara, half of our instruction team, had a lovely suggestion to implying the water of the Puget Sound. I'm still considering whether to add a stone, what kind, and where. Top of the Space Needle, maybe. And the piece contains the Kingdome, which has since been replaced by a new stadium.

Please send prayers out to my friend, Jim. Jim, and his wife Kay, have been a very close friends of my mother's for over thirty years, and I spent much time at their house while I was growing up. They both have meant a lot to me, and I have always held up Kay as a model of what a woman could be and could do. Jim has been active in a variety of pursuits, most recently archeology (he's been on many digs!) and photography. He's a terrific photographer, and some of my favorite images come from him. Jim is dying of cancer and I'm so sad to see such an enormous life pass from this world. Mom says the end is very close. If you're reading, Mom, I got your email and I'll send cards.

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Knitting Scavenger Hunt Profile

Mom, I know you're waiting for something more substantial. Just know that I'm getting to it! I start my silversmithing class Saturday, I have work up to my eyeballs, and I'm still not quite over my sinus infection. I have to certify a production fix Friday night so I might have a little downtime during those hours. In the meantime, here's some required information for the Knitting Scavenger Hunt Swap Thing.

1) Do you knit, crochet or both? How long have you been doing it?
I knit, and I've been knitting for 14 months.

2) What is on your needles right now?

• Black turtleneck sweater from Classic Knits by Erika Knight, in Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK
  
• Skinny long-wise scarf to be adorned a la Kristin Nicholas, in Cherry Tree Hill's "Springtime" colorway
• Modern Quilt Block scarf, from Knitting Daily (and Folk Knits) in the pattern's colors, in Kid Silk Haze.
  

3) What is the most frequently used tool in your knitting bag?
You mean besides my pattern and needles and yarn? It would have to be my stitch markers. Man, I use them for everything! A very close second is my flexible cloth ruler that I can poke pins into.

4) What are your 3 favorite yarns (fiber type or brand)? What are your 3 least favorite?
Favs: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino, RYC Cashsoft (all weights), Lorna's Laces Shepard Wool superwash (all weights).
Not Favs: Lion Chenille Thick & Quick Print (bleeds too much), Lopi (too scratchy), Lily Sugar'n Cream Crafter's Cotton.

5) What is your favorite color?
Blues/Purples. I've said in the past that I don't care for purple (YFB pals have heard me say that!) but after I went home I looked through my stash and I have more purple than any other color!! So, that said, I revise my statement: Purple isn't a color I usually wear. I don't think there's a color I really detest, though, except anything camouflage.

6) If you had a 5 minute shopping spree in your LYS, how would you plan your attack?
I'd probably go straight to the Cashsoft and grab about 20 skeins of whichever color grabbed me first, enough so I could knit something major, like a sweater. If I still had time, it's straight to the Cherry Tree Hill section and their yummy colorways.

7)What is your favorite FO and why? (post a pic if you have it!)The dreadlocks hat, I think, because it is so funky. I don't wear funky much because it draws so much attention and that makes me uncomfortable. And yet...I totally dig this hat. There are two, actually. I knit them in a bulky wool/silk yarn. The first one was with the yarn doubled. It's a very heavy hat for MLH (My Loving Husband). The second was single stranded, pictured, but not long enough, This yarn isn't that resilient. Despite all that, I love these hats. Be nice, now, I shot the model one with my camera phone. Here are two more: the heavy one on MLH, and the lighter one on Kat.


8) What are your favorite things to knit/crochet?
Socks seem to be a recurring theme, but I'm still a newbie and haven't tried everything yet.

9) Do you collect anything?
Books and maps.

10) What are your five favorite things (not necessarily knitting related)?
In addition to knitting:
Reading Playing flute
Time spent with my husband and kids - all of us together in the same room is such a rare treat these days.
Time spent with my girlfriends - knitters and non-knitters alike
Photography

11) Are you on Ravelry? What is your ID?
WeeBitEccentric

12) Do you drink tea/coffee/cocoa?
Herbal tea, white tea, Coffee (not flavored), sugar-free cocoa

13) Favorite Sweets?
My mother's shortbread sugar cookies, almond cake, plain old cheesecake, and fresh fruit. It's high season for clementines right now and I can't get enough of them!

14) Any allergies?
I'm highly sensitive to soft, flowery perfumes; I start sneezing and my eyes get watery and I turn into a puddle of mush in about ten minutes. Hay fever occasionally knocks me on my butt.

15) Do you have pets? kids?
Two dogs, Maggie & Tasha, both age 7. Two boys still living at home, Nick and Patrick, 21 and 19, respectively. All are potty trained.

What kind of knitter am I?

This is how I behave in all my creative endeavors!

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days. http://marniemaclean.com

Take this quiz!

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...Sort of

I thought we'd have maybe at least purchased the range by now, but we've been interrupted by K's Bat Boy rehearsals, insofar as Hell Week has run three weeks and they opened two nights ago. I think we'll probably be able to move forward again. Of course, now we're practically into Holiday Season. You know how I know? Because that's when Food Network begins their serious holiday food programming. Emeril did Thanksgiving variations last night. I don't watch very often but he makes me laugh when I do. Paula was doing a pumpkin cheesecake, ohhhh yum! Food Network is a good knitting companion.

My vacation starts Monday.

Getting back into the swing of flute playing wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined, though there are challenges. My chops aren't what they were. My tonguing is pretty sloppy. In the past I remember thinking how difficult my flute is to play, there it has more resistance than I care for, and that the tone was never as bright as I'd wanted. Well, gosh, that's because it's gold plated, duh. And because of the latter I've never really complained aloud. But...I played a Jupiter recently and loved it. Big bright sound, very centered, as Amy said. I like that sound in a flute. So I'm looking around at what's out there. I think I may just rent some flutes and see how I like them. It's not going to do anything for my tonguing but that's okay. Maybe I won't feel so tense when I play it. I feel like I'm always pushing against my flute, at war with it. And this other one...wow, it was like liquid. No fighting required. What to do with the old one? Give it to K, of course. K took the alto flute out and we discovered that one of the keys is not seated, so off it goes tomorrow to Calamus for repair.

The Christmas knitting is coming along. If I said anything more it wouldn't be a surprise! I've been Tivo-ing like a nut so I have goodies to watch while I do all this knitting. Monday is the WHRO cocktail reception at the Vintage Kitchen. I've never been to a cocktail reception although it's probably not much different from a Dining Out (a Navy event). Fun dress-up time! Tuesday K meets with a contractor to discuss porch repair and siding options. Thankfully, I'll only be there for a brief time before I run off to Yarn For Supper fun. It's just better if K handles these types of things: I'm too trusting.

Did I mention that my vacation starts Monday?

I added some goodies to the right hand side of the blog. One is a widget that publishes my shared Google Reader items (only Harvard Business Review so far) and the rss feed to one of my favorite blogs/podcasts.

Vacation. Monday. Yes.

And so begins..

...the kitchen remodel of 2007-2008.

Thinking optimistically that we'd tackle a piece at a time, we think we'll first do the eight-foot wall with the range.

We went range shopping today.

K is checking out the "prosumer" ranges at East Coast Appliance. Far left is a new Electrolux 36" dual fuel range. Very, very nice. The other is a 48" Viking with built in grill. Also very nice. The Viking really sings to us but it's way too wide. On that wall we can really only accommodate a 36" range. I spent time tonight mapping the kitchen on grid paper.

We'll probably go with the Electrolux unless we decide to not piecemeal this. If we wait then we might splurge on the Viking. That Viking, by the way, is a scratch/dent model. The scratches are on the sides and back which no one will ever see. Shopping for ranges can be fun. They can also be a pain in the neck. We kept refining our requirements. That part wasn't fun.

In other news, Christmas knitting is coming along splendidly. I can't say anymore or I'd give it all away! I join a flute choir in November after my flute comes back from the shop. They aren't rehearsing this Wednesday so the next get together is Nov 7. Cool. It's like riding a bike. K is pleased. I'm pleased. I was stunned to realize that I've had this flute for twenty years and that in those twenty years I've never once had it really thoroughly overhauled. There are bent springs, the pads need replacing, and it needs a new head cork. I'm so excited to play it now that my arthritis is under control. My chops, though, are sadly out of condition.

Bat Boy The Musical is limping along and still scheduled to open mid-November. K is very frustrated by the whole thing. Actors not showing up for rehearsal or dropping out, director who isn't actually trained in theater (he's a psych major). K was cast in a terrific part but didn't at first feel he could sing it; there are some high notes for a baritone. He's coming along, though, and is more optimistic. The show strikes me as similar to Angry Housewives.

Today was the Head Of The Lafayette (HOTL) race. Patrick cox'd for the women's open masters fours (four rowers) race, and they won first place!! I'm so proud of him! He's been coxing with the Hampton Roads Rowing Club women's team for a couple of years now. The ladies adore him. He also sat in with the Maury High junior varsity men's fours because they were short one man, and they landed sixth in their category. I don't know how many boats there were...but the Maury JV men have never been that great. Nonetheless, Patrick had a marvelous time. The fun thing about HOTL is that it's an open race, not a high school only race, so they have colleges, high schools, and independent rowing clubs are going head to head. It's always the Sunday before Halloween and teams often dress up. There is always a good turn out. I love being able to walk up the block with my chair and watch. The course's big stretch runs right in front of the neighborhood :) The weather was perfect: just a little chilly, with a beautiful blue sky.

I Didn't Knit This

But I sure wish I had. It's soooo beautiful, and that yellow/gold is really fetching. The photo design and knitting is work by Anne Hansen of Knitspot.com. I was thinking "what a great gift for someone for Christmas!" Yeah, Christmas 2008, I think, because it takes me a long time to knit lace. Socks, though, I'm digging socks for sure. Three pairs so far, and the last pair, the ones I wrote about, were really satisfying to knit. I have three projects lined up right now: a beautiful wildly colored scarf in a mohair/silk blend, a pair of yummy thick socks, and another beret. The socks and the beret are quick but that scarf is going to take some time mostly because the two most common colors in it are out-of-stock and back-ordered in every online knitting shop I visit! I guess the thousands of us who receive the Knitting Daily newsletter all had the same idea: "wow, gorgeous, must knit now, must order yarn." It uses eleven different blocks of color in various configurations.

Moving right along. Erica proposed to Nick, who said yes, and so they are getting married...in a couple of years. Their plan is for Nick to pay off a couple of bills and move to Maryland in early 2008. Which means I now I have an even better excuse to visit Maryland, a state I really like. I'd love to move to Baltimore but that's just not in the cards at this point. Patrick, on the other hand, is in New Jersey doing some engine repair training for the Army. This will provide him with another skill set and more reservist options. Apparently Fort Eustis doesn't have much call for large equipment operators. His MOS (military occupation something or other) was merged with another MOS so he also has to expand his skills to fit the new MOS. Nonetheless, they are both gainfully employed, they've learned painful lessons about credit cards and money, and will hopefully both be in college between now and 2012.

Rehearsals for Bat Boy, the Musical (as in Bat Boy from Weekly World News) began early last week. Kent is playing the role of Parker, Bat Boy's father-figure. Parker is not a nice person but he has a couple of songs. The show opens sometime in November, I think.

That's the news for now. Summers are pretty slow but fall and winter are shaping up nicely! Just for fun, have a pink caddy (picture

Nick & Erica

A nice picture of Nicholas and his girlfriend Erica.