This hat fits me well, and it apparently is too large for this watermelon.

I knew I came from a family of large headed people, but this is ridiculous.

Morning Coffee Toque, made a little larger and longer for my head (or for a watermelon), test knit for Pippi. (See the pattern in her side bar.)

Really, this is the one I test knit:

Shown drying on a bowl, over a jar filled with sea glass. This one is much too small for my melon-sized head; I stretch it all out and it just looks silly on me. I guess I'll have to find a nephew or someone else of normal head size to wear it.

Off to eat the warm, fresh out of the oven, from scratch brownies that Howie made.

Hopefully a few of them will last until the party on Cape Cod we're heading down for.

The smell is killing me.

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Howie: I should say it’s that it makes others happy, but I want to say it’s that you knit for me.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Howie: That you can’t knit at night in the car when I’m driving.

Me: Why is that a bad thing?
Howie: Because it’s a waste of time when you could be knitting.

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
Howie: Really good or just average?

Me: Really good. [Why I would ask him about something just “average” is beyond me.]
Howie: That scarf, what is it? The “Sea of Purls”, “Wave of Seas”, “Sea of Waves”, “Prince of Seas”? [It’s my Print O’ the Wave Stole by Eunny Jang) …{Thinking}… I’m happy when you make a new accomplishment in knitting.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Howie: HAHAHAHA. Try scuba diving with mixed gases.

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Howie: Yeah.

Me: What are your hobbies?
Howie: Scuba diving with mixed gases.

Me: What about computers?
Howie: You think that’s a hobby?

Me: Yes.
Howie: Huh. [No more discussion ensued on this topic; we’ll leave that to another day.]

Me: So, if we compared money/time spent on hobbies, who would win?
Howie: We don’t compete.

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?
Howie: NO! {Thinking} I have a stash of Brenda-made sweaters.

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarrassed you?
Howie: What kind of a question is that? [Howie’s the one who tends to embarrass me in public.]

Me: Can you name another knitting blog?
Howie: Yes: [Sorry to everyone for Howie’s butchering of your blog names, but he’s always been one to come up with his own interpretation of words.] Pippi Longstockings, Yarn Harlot, Noodles, The Sheep, The Mason-Dixon people, Aunt Purl, Amy Boogie. [Like I said, sorry about the "Howie-isms".]

Me: Thanks, that’s enough.

Me: Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?

Howie: No. I want to check out scuba stores wherever we go.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Howie: Yes. So that your needles match the pattern length for how many stitches you knit.

Me: [Laughing uncontrollably]
Howie: Is that wrong?

Me: Moving on, do you read Knit my Dog?
Howie: Only when you tell me there’s a post.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Howie: No {Laughing} [I have no idea why he thought this was funny.]

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Howie: No {Laughing} The house would be cleaner if I helped you clean.

Me: Is there anything else you want to say?
Howie: Keep on knittin’ and spinnin’. Oh, and hi to all your blog friends, especially the ones I know.

So there you have it. A few minutes with Howie.

We were all deep in a real New England winter, snowbanks and all. I was sick and tired of shoveling the stuff. All I could think of was my upcoming dive vacation in Bonaire. Of course, I didn't know that before I could enjoy Bonaire, I'd get an awful cold, worry that my ears wouldn't let me dive, and cough for days on end. But, the warmth of the tropical island put all of that behind me, and we had a great time.

Christmas tree worms on brain coral:

After coming back, the thing that has taken all of my spare time is this:

Howie and I started looking for a cottage on the coast of Maine in the winter. After many trips up to look at houses, and a few offers that didn't amount to anything, we ended up buying this cute house in Seal Harbor, right near Acadia National Park. We've been so lucky in that it's the perfect location, the price was right, and we've been able to rent it for a bunch of weeks this summer (our plan so that we can afford the mortgage all winter). It's just been the biggest time suck! Many weekends of working 12 hours per day, long drives to and from, and about daily visits to Home Depot for about a month. I never want to step into another one of those stores as long as I live. Now that we're onto smaller projects, the local hardware store is just fine.

Next time, knitting update. There has been knitting, but it's been real slow for the last few months.

I haven't given up knitting. Evidence:

A completed Clapotis. Yarn: Araucania Atacama, alpaca. 6 skeins of some color I don't remember. I thought I was the last person in the universe to knit a Clap, but I think there are many knitters out there who haven't gotten the Clap yet. It's a fun knit and I love the finished product. I usually wear it scrunched up and wrapped around my neck like a scarf, not all shawl-like. I made it extra long and I almost ran out of yarn. I finished with just a few yards to spare.

I've also made some great progress on Howie's sweater. No photos of that, but I'm loving the way it's coming out. It's taking forever though.

The spinning has been happening too. Julie and I took a spinning class with Amy a few weeks ago. We're both relatively new spinners and we learned some great skills in our few hours with Amy.

There was also SPA. I went for the day on Saturday and brought my wheel. It was at SPA last year that I learned to spin. So it was fun brining my wheel and sitting in the circle spinning away. I do have some completed yarn, but no photos. I neglected to bring my camera to Amy's or to SPA so the photos are really lacking. Now that it's actually light out when I get home from work (yeah!), I may start taking more photos.

In the non-fiber aspects of my life, work has been busy and winter is just wearing me down. It's still February and the snow is getting crazy. We have a plow guy for our driveway, and I bet he can put his son through college with the amount of money we've been laying out this winter. Please let it end soon! The sick kids at work are also getting me down. This is not a happy time to be working in pediatrics. I look at my schedule every day and it's the same: ear, cough, fever, vomiting, sore throat. Give me a good case of poison ivy or a tick bite and I'll know that spring is on its way.

No promises, but hopefully now that I've taken the plunge, I'll get back into the swing of blogging.

This one came out the best:

One skein each of colors 166 and 134
K1 P1 ribbing with slipped stitches to make a nice, neat edge
Long enough to wrap around the neck
First item done in 2008!

Now for a somewhat better photo. Howie and I have been playing around with our new toy, a Nikon D80 camera. We took a class yesterday to learn what some of the millions of settings do. Hopefully now I can take pictures on other settings than Auto. Here's Moebius in his usual position laying down next to his empty bowl waiting for food to appear.

This was taken a few nights ago using automatic settings and minimal editing. He had just come in from the snow, and you can see the flecks of snow in his fur. I'm excited to play more and learn what I can do with this camera.

This post was meant for yesterday, New Year's Eve, but because of the snow, we lost our internet connection all day. Funny thing, our cable TV worked. I would have preferred it was the other way around, but what can you do?

First, a comment on the weather. Howie took this picture last Friday morning:

You see, we've had a very snowy December. The day before it had been snowing, and it snowed all evening. We went into the hot tub before bed, and it was doing some kind of light freezing rain/snow thing. It was kind of foggy and misty, so no moon was out. I commented that in the foggy night, the snow on the trees looked beautiful. Howie replied that there was no snow on the trees...
This is what we woke up to.

Since then, we've had two more snow storms. Right now, it's been snowing for about an hour and isn't supposed to stop until tomorrow. Oh well, I guess the plow guy is happy. He's made more money from us so far this winter than all of last winter.

Onto the knitting.

I finally spent some time over on Ravelry updating my projects to reflect my actual knitting. I'm not going back any further than 2007, so from now on it's just future projects to post. (I'm brendab over there).

I also updated the Finished Object Gallery in my sidebar for 2007.

Here's a rundown on what was good about 2007, fiber-wise:

-I learned to spin (yeah for SPA!)
-I purchased a wheel (see above)
-I knit a large lace project - Print O' the Waves Stole from Eunny Jang - and I love it!
-I went wild and knit 6 pairs of Fetchings
-I knit three different items with my own handspun
-I did more knitting for others in 2007 than before: Dulaan, squares for blankets, gifts for family and friends, etc.

Finally, here's where my knitting is going in 2008 so far:

A swatch for a sweater for Howie. It's Cable Vines from Fall 2000 Interweave, made out of his favorite yarn yet: Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran. I've actually started the sweater and am about 6 inches into it. I'm loving knitting it and loving the way it's coming out.

I'm also going to get back to my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I put it down for holiday knitting and want to finish it soon.

Will 2008 be the year of the sweater for me? We'll have to see.

The four pairs of Fetching mitts were a hit with my bookgroup. I never took a photo on the recipients, but that's okay. I also knit a last minute pair for a coworker for a Secret Santa gift. Again, they were well received. I think I'm done knitting Fetching for a while.

The fingerless mitts for my nephew were also a hit. He's going to be styling in the cold computer labs at school.

I finished the Skull Hat (free pattern here) for my youngest nephew and he didn't take if off for the rest of the day. Here he is giving me a hug:

I used some leftover Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (from Fetchings!) for the orange and bought one skein of Sublime (cashmere, merino, silk) aran for the black. Nothing but the best for that kid!

I also knit the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat for my niece. This is the only photo I got. (Reminder to self: don't ask your 13 year old nephew to take a picture of the hat with your brand new digital SLR that you barely can use; the photo won't come out.)

The final photo in this gift parade is the Noro Kureyon scarf for my sister. Knit in K1, P1 rib alternating two different colors. I have no idea what the colors are anymore. All I know is that it came out beautifully and she loves it.

So that's it - Christmas is over and it was a success!

In all of the madness before the big day, I took an afternoon to be one in a thousand. A thousand knitters, that is. Franklin had a photo shoot in Maine! I went up with Julie, Sheepish Annie, and Patti. A good time was had by all, and we all were willing models for the photo shoot. I was pretty nervous but Franklin has a way of putting a knitter at ease. The place was packed with knitters and I got to meet a few bloggers in the flesh.

Now it will be back to regularly scheduled knitting - my Tangled Yoke Cardigan and a sweater for Howie. Those two projects should keep me busy this winter!

We've been in the house all day surrounded by blustery, wintery weather. I only went out to tromp down to my neighbor's house to borrow some yeast. Because I never got the memo that I'm supposed to buy milk and bread the day before a storm like everyone else in Maine, we don't have any bread in the house today and I wanted a sandwich! So breadmaking was in store. After securing the yeast, I made two kinds of bread: Anadama (pictured) and cinnamon swirl.

Norma's post had me craving cinnamon so I had to make it. I don't think I put enough cinnamon in though, because it's kind of weak in that department. Delicious, but not cinnamony enough. I cured that by sprinkling cinnamon on top of the butter I slathered on the warm bread. Yum, warm bread on a cold day

Onto my knitting. I had been working on this:

Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interveave Fall 07. Then I realized Christmas is fast approaching, so I only knit the cardigan on the go, and had holiday projects while at home. I knit the body to the underarm, and am knitting the two sleeves flat at the same time. Last week I abandoned this project and am carrying a Noro striped scarf (another holiday knit) as my traveling project. It's about four feet long at this point, hopefully done soon.

Here's some of the holiday knitting I've been working on at home:

Four pairs of Fetching mitts for my bookgroup. A fifth pair for a coworker is on the needles.

Another pair of fingerless mitts. These are for my nephew who goes to school in Florida. He's in some computer labs and they keep the temp in the low 60's. He has been complaining that it's been so cold inside that his hands are always cold. I hope these help and they're not too goofy for a 19 year old college kid to wear.

I also have a hat on the needles for my sister, and another planned for a nephew. Do you think I'll finish everything in time?

The idea of the exchange is I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment on this blog post requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog - this means you must have a blog, sorry blogless readers.

So leave a comment if you want to receive something from me, and post about it on your blog.

I have lots of blog fodder, but little time to sit and blog. I'm barely reading any blogs these days, commenting rarely. I hope to have some photos this weekend, and they should be of a much better quality than before due to an early Christmas present. I just want a little daylight in which to snap some photos. Is that asking too much?

First, Branching Out scarf in my own handspun:

The yarn is a silk/merino blend and is really the first "normal" yarn that I've spun. You know, the first yarn that I wouldn't call "thick and thin". I love the way it came out and I used up all 190 yards of the yarn.

Next, I jumped on the Monkey bandwagon:

They're made with Tess' Designer Yarn. I modified them with a picot edge, can you see it peeking out from under my jeans? I love the pattern and the yarn and can't wait to wear them.

This is my nephew modeling the cabled sweater I made for him:

My sister sent me the picture and told me that he hasn't taken it off since I gave it to him. Which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how often he plans on washing it!

Today I went with Julie and Patti up to Amy's shop opening. I packed my camera but neglected to take it out of my bag. Whoops! The shop is great, nice and roomy. She has wheels to try, and I even took a stab at the loom. And lots and lots of fiber. Needless to say, we were glad we took the minivan. I have the distinction of having brought home the biggest bag and spent the largest amount of money. Yikes! I'll take photos and post soon. In the mean time, check out the photos of Julie's haul.

These:

Became This:

Two and a half cords of wood, stacked and ready:

Moebius enjoying a favorite autumn activity of chewing on sticks:

I've also received some mail. I won Sarah's blogiversary contest. I always enjoy reading her blog, she's so insightful and thoughtful. She's practically a neighbor (VT) and she's enjoying the autumn too.

The package arrived:

Wrapped so beautifully with yarn bows. In an Earth Shoe box!

And there was yarn inside:

Yummy yarn. Two skeins of Green Mountain Spinnery Sylvan Spirit in a wonderful soft reddish color. What would you call that color? I can't find a picture like it on their website, but it sure is beautiful. And one skein of handspun (HANDSPUN!) from Vermont. They do make beautiful yarn in Vermont, don't they?

Her note said to enjoy the yarn (and the box). I was so excited about the package that I didn't really look at the box.
See what she did?

She created a farm scene (I'm sure it's a Vermont dairy farm) on one side of the box. The other side is of a (Vermont) village in autumn, with church, farm, beautiful trees, rolling hills, etc.

I love winning things on blogs! Thanks, Sarah ;-)

I do have some knitting to show you:

Simple cable sweater knit for my nephew's 13th birthday (it was in August, but he didn't need it before now). It's made from leftover Cascade 220 from my Perfect Sweater. It's blocking now, and hopefully I'll have a shot of him modelling it in the near future. He wears a sweater every day in the winter so I know it will get some use.

I've also been working on these:

Yes, they're monkeys. Since I took this picture, I've turned the heel and completed the gusset decreases (thank you Grey's Anatomy!). They're made from the Tess' Designer Yarns that I posted about last week. I love this yarn! The colors are amazing, they're knitting up great and the fabric feels sturdy.

I'm contemplating my next big project now that the other sweater is done. I've got a cardigan for me in the queue and I'd love to start something lace, Oh, and that sweater I promised Howie. I think I have some time this weekend to sit down and figure out my next move.

Yesterday at work, I received a delivery early in the morning. It was a wonderful bouquet of sunflowers from Howie wishing me a happy PA Day. This year they actually changed it to PA Week so we have a whole week to celebrate. The nurses in the office thought that my boss (the doctor) had bought me the flowers. Of course, he walked into the room and one of them announced that PA day was Saturday. He didn't skip a beat, and said that his flowers would be coming tomorrow. The florist showed up this morning with another bouquet!

Howie's on the right, the doc's on the left.
I NEVER get flowers and it's kind of strange having two beautiful arrangements in the house at the same time.
Happy PA week!

After making our way home, I made a yummy potato leek soup with veggies I bought at the fair. It was delicious, and so simple. I've been doing a lot of cooking lately because we're getting swamped in tomatoes and other veggies from our CSA. I can't keep up with it right now! But I better enjoy it while it lasts because we only have a few more weeks before I'll be forced to buy veggies at the supermarket.

This weekend I also ventured to a new LYS. Tess' Designer Yarns has been around for a while but just opened a shop in Portland. The pictures of the shop on her website are pretty accurate: beautiful colored yarn everywhere! I was looking to expand the sock yarn inventory around here, and buy some lace weight for a future project. Here's what I came away with:

Three skeins of her sockweight superwash merino. I don't remember the colors; she just rattled them off to me when I was paying. The green one on the right is going to be a pair of monkeys for me.

Two skeins of lace weight merino. I love the color and it's so different for me to choose something orange so I just went with it when I picked these up.

No purchases from the fair. I looked at and touched all of the fleeces but didn't buy one. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet - my spinning is still in its infancy.

On the knitting front, I finished a pair of socks for my sister's 45th birthday. The scary thing about that age is that I'm only one year younger. I'll be 44 in about a month, so I'm not far behind.
Here she is modeling:

If you look closely, you can see that there is more pooling on the leg of the left sock (her left leg) and that it's somewhat larger than her right. She was in a major motorcycle accident a number of years ago and has had multiple operations on that ankle. The most recent was to have it fused, so there's no joint left. No flexing of her ankle, just a ninety degree angle. She has so much scar tissue that her ankle is much larger than the other. She always complains that it is hard to find socks to fit. So I knit two different sized socks. She loved them and they both fit perfectly!

Just a simple stockinette sock with picot edge out of Mountain Colors Hand Painted that I won from Suzanne. Thanks, Suzanne! The yarn was great to knit with and I love the subtle color changes. The photo doesn't show it, but on top of the shades of red, there's a deep purplish hue and a dark orange.

I keep saying that I'm going to blog more regularly, but I'm not making any promises anymore. I want to blog, but life gets in the way.