Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Twelve Knits of Christmas!

I bumped into a little contest over at KnitWitches Yarns, about making up a Christmas Knitting list in the style of the 12 Days of Christmas. This is my version. Hope you all enjoy!

The Twelve Knits of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
A Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the second day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the third day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
***Five Lace Shawls***
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Eight Fetching Mitts
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Nine Koolhaas Caps
Eight Fetching Mitts
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Ten Felted Clogs
Nine Koolhaas Caps
Eight Fetching Mitts
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon


On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
Eleven Scarves a waving
Ten Felted Clogs
Nine Koolhaas Caps
Eight Fetching Mitts
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,
and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love knit with me,
12 Christmas Stockings
Eleven Scarves a waving
Ten Felted Clogs
Nine Koolhaas Caps
Eight Fetching Mitts
Seven Monkey Socks
Six pairs of mittens
**Five Lace Shawls**
Four Baby Blankets
Three Kitty Pi Beds ,
Two Starmore Arans,

and a Lizard Ridge Afghan In Kureyon!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Lace Blocking Virgin

This morning my bed was empty. This might be a normal occurrence for most of you, but for me, this is rare. My husband is one of those rare souls who choose to work night shift. It has been "normal" for us since we were dating, and he would drop me off promptly at 10pm because he had to be at work at 11pm. Even with children, this has actually worked out fairly well. There is ALWAYS someone home if the school calls, or someone is sick. Javier is home for dinner with our family every night. He gets to play and talk with our children in the afternoon and evening when they are their most talkative. The down side is that he hardly ever sleeps, and I miss the warmth of him beside me during the week. But all in all this works for us.

Yesterday I finished the last of the "must do" Christmas Knitting. I had put metal to the grind stone, and cranked out the last 3 feet of my second mystery knit project. I was now faced with two incredible lace projects that needed blocking. Real blocking. The only blocking that I have done up until now has been pinning out pieces of a baby sweater on an ironing board and steaming them. A lot. Most of my work has been seamless, in the round - sweaters, hats, mitts. The occasional scarf, where I really just didn't see the need to block. But this is lace. It NEEDS blocking in the way that we need air and food. Blocking is what brings these things to life. But where? Where could I block these incredible works of art that I had wrought, with the sweat and blood of my own fingers. My pride in finishing these 2 things, and in finishing them well swelled in me - only to be following by the stark fear of blocking. This is where the sh*t hits the fan. Could I do it? I had to. I steeled myself, and scoured the house for an appropriate place.

The floor was out. I have a dog. A big black dog. A goofy, clumsy, labrador puppy. 3 years old. Nope. No floor space. Couch? No... this is still taken over with Mount Washmore, the eternal pile of laundry that I fight daily to fold and put away, but which grows to mystical proportions each day. Dining room table might do for one project, if I could find something to put on top that would hold pins, but the second project needs to be blocked out to 78" long. What's a girl to do?

At this point, I must say that I have been blessed with one of the most supportive and surprising husbands on this earth.

My husband is not the kind to model knitwear. He does not do "foo foo" things, prefers his everyday wear simple and unembellished. He is a simple, no-nonsense kind of man, and I can count the number of knit (hand knit or otherwise) objects that he has worn in the last 10 years on one hand. But in this last year, as my skill and passion for knitting has grown, he has packed the one sweater I made him as his only source of warmth on a trip to Vancouver, Canada. He asked for a hat and gloves, and wears those as well, displaying a quiet but overwhelming show of love just for me. No one else knows I made these things. But I do, and I know that this is his way of showing how much I mean to him.

Today he showed his love and support for me again - by sleeping in Liam's bunk so that I could block my lace on our bed. The bed that is never empty, but today it was. Then he topped himself by pulling a long tube out of his closet. Inside it was a blocking kit. Wires, T-pins, yardstick. I was speechless. He may not even realize yet how much this meant to me, but I hope that I can show him.

Tomorrow.

Today, I block. First I had to decide which one I was going to block first. One is smaller, but done in a fine merino/silk blend laceweight with about a bazillion stitches, and straight sides. The other, done in DK weight is much larger, but with a dagged edging - ultimately far fewer loops to push a blocking wire through. I chose to do my most delicate one first. I held my breath while it soaked in the bathroom sink,following blocking instructions gleaned from the Yarnharlot's, and Eunny Jang's blogs. I carefully balled up my pale lace, set it in a towel, pressed out the water, and laid it out on the bed. I then began the work of picking up each stitch along the edge, to make a nice straight line for the piece. This. Took. Forever.

I began at 10am, and wasn't finished until after 12pm. I finally found my rhythm about 3/4 of the way up the first side. The fabric was almost dry by the time I fnished, and I fussed about what to do if the blocking didn't take. I finally decided to let it be, and if it didn't hold shape, I could do it again. It would go faster the next time. And I wouldn't press out as much water.



But I didn't need to worry. It came out airy and smooth, a silken treasure. I can't wait until Christmas to give it to the recipient. I will definitely have to post a few photos of her wearing it.

The second one had to soak much longer. And I had to rinse. And rinse. And rinse again. The yarn is this gorgeous hand dyed from Briar Rose, called Wistful.
It was a sheer joy to knit with, and the colors are wonderful, but the colors bled. After 4 rinses, I decided that it was ready to block, even if there was still a little color left in the water. Compared to the delicate little ball the first one had made, this seemed enormous, and I didn't do as thorough a job pressing the water out. As a result, it is still not dry nearly 6 hours later. I am going to have to go to bed in 2 hours, dry or not. Sigh. I hope I don't have to block again tomorrow. As much as I appreciate that Javier is willing, I hate to evict him from our bed two days in a row. Setting up the blocking wires this time was MUCH faster. Instead of hundred of loops to pick up on each side I had a total of 44 per side. Quite the difference. Also, the larger guage made it easier as well. When I first took out the rigid blocking wires my stomach clenched. They seemed so thick! And there were no tapered ends! How was I supposed to get into these tiny stitches? At first it was a little frustrating, but after a few minutes I started to get the hang of it, and by the time I got the end of the first side, I had to accede to the fact that the people who designed these things might know a few things more about blocking than I do. So, the second piece was pinned, stretched, and blocking. I took a very close look at my piece, assessing the join, and the color change where I changed skeins. Remeber I said it was a hand dyed? This means "unique" in many different ways. The two skeins had some color variation, but I wasn't willing to have 10 million ends to weave in by alternating rows from each skein. If anyone knows how to do meld the colors, without having zillions of ends, or having to carry up the sides (just wouldn't have looked good on this piece) I would be truly interested in knowing the secret. I really liked this yarn, but I would like to meld the colors next time I invest in it - but if it means tying in thousands of ends - I don't know, I think that would ruin the joy of the knitting for me. I don't mind carrying up the sides - usually. But in this piece, it really wouldn't have worked. I might send the designer a line on her blog and ask if she has any suggestions.

So now I wait. And hope. Maybe I'll go make some fudge... just in case.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Oh Lord! I almost peed my pants...

My husband just sent me this story, passed along by someone on his Ultra Running e-mail list. After a long day of parenting and desperately trying to finish my Christmas knitting, I really needed a good laugh. And another reason to be truly Thankful! Anyone out there had a moment like this? I'd LOVE to hear about it!

THE KINDERGARTEN LESSON

For most people, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we've been given and savor the scents of crisp autumn days and pumpkin pie. For some, it's a little more complicated...

One November afternoon when my daughter was in kindergarten, I picked her up after school. She bobbed out to the car and crawled into the back seat.

"What did you do today?" I asked.

She couldn't wait to tell me. "We learned that boys are different from girls" she chirped.

Looking into the rearview mirror, I could just see the top of her head.

"My teacher told us that boys have a thing the girls don't," she added.

"Well, yes they do..." I said cautiously.

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so we were quiet for a moment.

Then she piped up again. "That's how girls know that boys are boys," she said. "They see that thing that hangs down and they know that he is a boy."

I mentally calculated the distance home. Our five-minute commute already felt like an hour.

"Did you know that when the boys see a girl they puff up?"

My palms were beginning to sweat. "Um... well.."

I was still searching for something new to say, to change the subject when she asked, "Why do the girls like the boys to have those things?"

Well I didn't know what to say. I mean, what woman hasn't asked herself that question at least once?

"Oh, well... um..." I stammered.

She didn't wait for my answer. She had her own. "It's cause it moves when they walk and then the girls see that and that's when they know they are boys and that's when they like them. Then the boy sees the girl and he puffs up, and then the girl knows he likes her, too. And then they get married. And then they get cooked."

That last part confused me a bit, but on the whole I thought she had a pretty good grasp on things. As soon as we got home and I pulled into the garage, she hopped out of the car, fishing something out of her school bag.

"I drew a picture," she said. "Do you want to see?"

I wasn't sure I did, but I looked at it anyway. I had to sit down.

There, all puffed up so to speak, looking mighty attractive for the ladies, was a crayon drawing of a great big Tom Turkey. His snood, the thing that hangs down over his beak, the thing that female turkeys find so irresistible, was magnificent. His tail feathers were standing tall and proud.

She was a little offended that I laughed so hard at her drawing, and I laughed until I cried. But when I told her I loved it - and I did - she got over her pique.

That was the end of that, for her anyway.

But I'm not so lucky. Every year I remember that conversation. And to be honest, I haven't looked at a turkey, or a man, the same way since.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Happy Holidays!

I will forever have "Must be Santa" etched into my brain by the shining face of my little Liam, framing that bright face with his dear little hands, and pulling on an imaginary white beard. Be still my heart. "Up on the Housetop" can be similarly immortalized.




And then there were the wonderful renditions of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Christmas Don't be Late" that Brandon and his classmates belted out for our enjoyment.


Who would have thought that an elementary school program could be so much fun.


Simply Precious.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Mistletoe Mountain

This weekend we all went up the mountain in search of mistletoe with Brandon's Cub Scout Troop. What a wonderful way to pass a day, really. It has been cold - for So. Cal - and as we drove up the mountain, we started seeing bits of white peeking at us from between the trees. Then we started seeing it sprinkled on the ground at the sides of the road. It looked exactly like powdered sugar! All my kids are in the back of the car yelling out "SNOW! Mama, Dada, I see SNOW!" It even made me positively giddy. Finally we arrived at our destination, aptly named "Mistletoe Mountain" by my boys, and we got to work with clippers and ladders, and long pole cutters. The mistletoe around here grows on the oak trees - a parasite actually - and clumps up around the branches. It has lovely little white berries, and smells wonderful. The rangers are actually quite keen to have us (and others I assume) cut it down, as it will eventually choke an oak tree, if left unchecked. Good for us (it is the troops only fundraiser) and good for the tree. Can't beat it. But the best part of the day was watching my babies play in the little patches of snow, learning how to make snowballs, and then figuring out what to do when they actually get HIT BACK! LOL. And to the troops credit, when we were finished there was hot chili and corn bread - but the best? Hot chocolate. With marshmallows. A lovely day.

Can't wait to go back next year.

Friday, December 7, 2007

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

It's about this time of year (when it is actually cold enough for a poor So Cal girl to dream) that I wonder if this will be one of those VERY few years that snow makes it down to our home. It never stays long enough to pile up - it seems to melt right before it hits the ground - but it is actual snow falling from the sky. And in sunny southern California, that is magic all by itself. My father can remember one year in his childhood enough snow falling to the ground that he and his brother were able to scoop it up from all over the yard and make a small snow man. If only my kids could be so lucky. This would have been in the 1950's, so maybe we're due by now? Perhaps a quick note to Santa might help things. At any rate, I'm enjoying the cold beside a warm fireplace, and about to do some Christmas knitting.

On my needles right now is Mystery Knit #2 (about 45% done), mittens (52% done), and a hat ( 20% done). Coming attractions include mitts to match the hat. A hat for the mittens. And 2 pair of socks. The socks are likely to be casualties of the Xmas knitting sprite, but they are there for now. I haven't knit a pair of socks since I FINISHED a pair for my MIL, and for some reason, she couldn't pull them over her heel. Even though all the measurements were spot on. I still haven't figured out what went wrong... I am thinking that the heel flap could be made longer, to give it more stretch. Bigger needles really wouldn't work. She has VERY petite feet. She wears a women's size 5.5, and has tiny ankles as well. The heel flap measured 2.5 inches, following the pattern with smaller needles. I am wondering now if that is something I should have adjusted... Any thoughts?




"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there."
Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Mama said there'd be Days like this...


The holidays approach. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE the holiday season. I love the Christmas Carols playing all month long on Coast 103FM. I love all the decorations in the mall. I love to dream about decorating my house. I love the opportunity to help my children learn to give. What I don't love right now is the state of my house, and the amount of time I now have to get my home in order. Sigh. I actually thought I was doing okay, right until I dug out all of the kids stuff that had been hiding in corners and under my chairs. The kids are delighted. I, however, am not. Sigh. Much sorting to do. I have been unwilling to give up sleep until now, but perhaps this is a must... I'll have to sleep on that.

And while I'm sleeping, I'll have to figure out what I'm going to do to manage 4 boys and a little girl at the mall this Saturday. Brandon is beside himself with joy at the prospect of taking one of his best friends (along with his little brother, who happens to be one of Liam's friends) to the mall. Maia is excited because her brothers are. Me? I'm hoping I'm not in over my head... Who to call for reinforcements? That's something else to sleep on. We're also going to visit my BIL at his newly purchased home. I think. He invited us over last weekend, but unfortunately Javier was in the midst of moving a printing company from one facility to another, and I was shopping with my MIL, and hoping to catch my husband at home for a few minutes. So I think that we are going to be there on Sunday, but who knows for sure. The most exciting thing for me this weekend, is that we are going to pick mistletoe with Brandon's Cub Scout Troop. I have never done this before. I'm actually a little bit giddy.

It might even be cold enough to wear my hat and mitts!

And maybe even a scarf! Maybe I should knit the kids some mittens... it's only two days away. I could finish 3 pairs of mittens... or not.



But speaking of finished objects...I FINISHED MYSTERY PROJECT #1!!!!!! Finished. I started this puppy in AUGUST! But it is done now. Good thing that I wasn't seriously planning on giving this until Christmas. Any guesses? I can't wait to put up photos of this bit of lace blocked. I've been doing some checking around, and for my first blocking attempt, I think I'm going go with a needle, crochet cotton, and some pins. Wish me luck. I am also steadily chugging along on mystery project #2. Keep your fingers crossed for me - this should also be done by Christmas. If only I could be put on bedrest for some reason, I might be actually finish everything I'm dreaming of for Christmas Knitting. But for now, I think I'll just concentrate on this project.

Well, off to sort some toys now....

Happy Holdiays everyone!