All Done...Finally!

I have an unexpected work day today--it was supposed to be three weeks from now, but another teacher needed my day for some personal time. I, of course, have put it to good use by FINALLY finishing the Science Fair papers. There's nothing like taking a whole month to get them graded! They are all out of the way now, and they are safely stored in the trunk of my car so I can deliver them to school in the morning. The children will be so thrilled. Actually, I'm expecting an outright rebellion because so many of them lost huge amounts of points for not following the given format. I was extremely lenient in my grading to begin with, but it's really hard to be nice when they don't even follow the rubric! I guess it's all a learning experience, and it's all over until next year.

I did all my grading at Panera over a Cinnamon Crunch bagel with Honey Walnut Spread and coffee. Then I ran a few errands, and I grabbed my "lunch", a Coldbuster smoothie from Jamba Juice on the way home. I have a terrific head cold, and I'm willing to try anything to make it go away.

This afternoon, I intend to camp in front of the TV and watch The Dark Ages which I recorded on the DVR last night while I work on Monkey sock #2. I'm in the heel flap, so I feel like I'm in the home stretch.

Being in the home stretch is a good thing, because I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Rockin' Sock Club shipment. I admit that I couldn't wait for my package to arrive, so I have snooped on some other blogs to see what my goodies might be. Trust me when I say, you'll love it! I am going to throw all else aside and work with the yarn and package as soon as it's here and #2's toe is kitchenered!

Time to go soothe my cold with some veg time, my smoothie, and some rabid sock knitting.

13 Down, 16 to Go!

I spent the morning grading some of those evil Science Fair papers. It's so much easier to do once you're on a roll. It also helps to have a sugar-high and a great cup of coffee to keep you company while you're working.

Time for lunch and a quick knit before I head back up to school for my weekly math homework help!

Sentence Starters

In the middle school English classes at our school, our students are encouraged to use a variety of sentence starters to make their writing assignments more interesting. This is not a novel (tee-hee) concept, as I noticed over on Carol's blog.

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2006 Results from San Jose State University have been announced. Each year since 1982, the school has parodied the memory of Victorian novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton who penned the immortal words so beloved by Snoopy--"It was a dark and stormy night." The contest accepts entries for the bad opening sentences of fictional novels. There a multitude of categories, and I think my favorite by far is Vile Puns. Of course, it helps that the runner-up's entry appeals to my mathematical nature:

Herr Professor Doktor Weiss' reputation was made when he conclusively proved the fraudulency of the Mayan codex that claimed to show that that ancient people knew the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter to an exactitude unknown until modern times, in his article, "Bye, Bye, Mesoamerican Pi."

John L. Drost
Barboursville, WV

Not only does it include references to geometry, it highlights a great American song. I think I'll be humming all day now.

Be sure to stop by the web site to read some more!

What Science Fair Papers?

Oh, you mean the stack of 28 folders gathering dust on the dining room table. Yeah, well I'll get to those...tomorrow...yeah, tomorrow! I do have a deadline approaching--I need to get them all graded in time for the end of second trimester. I have figured out I can do 3 or 4 a day and finish in enough time. The grading madness will begin tomorrow during my work day. Sigh.

I have spent the weekend decompressing and knitting. I'm still working on the skinny scarf, but at 500 stitches a row, it moves rather slowly. I finished the first Mardi Gras sock, started a Monkey sock in another Miss Violet original--her Joy sock yarn, and spent the weekend wishing for some brainless knitting. (A couple of bad headaches that prevent adequate concentration have contributed to this desire.)

It led to another moment of which Kermit would be proud. I frogged the never-finished, never-seen, and never-worn chunky sweater. In the last month or so, I have spent a lot of time figuring out exactly what should have been done better to make it "hand-crafted" vice "homemade". I should not have decreased exactly at the edge of the sweater, and I should not have been so quick to seam the sweater. Both problems contributed to some really fat seams that would never have been flat. Since I knew it would never be worn, I got out my new ballwinder and swift and spent an hour adding all that yarn back into my meager stash.

The yummy yarn will now be reborn as a monster Clapotis. I've been wanting to make a new one for a while, and this is my opportunity! The chunky yarn, big needles, and plethora of skeins will allow me to make a near blanket-sized version for wrapping up in during these last days of winter. It is the perfect rainy day project for the last relaxing day of my weekend.

No, thank you, I do not want my red pen. Give me back my needles--I have to knit now.

Knitting in Silence

I feel like that's what I've been doing. What's actually happened is that I've been super-busy with the whole teaching thing. As the Science teacher in charge of the Science fair, you can imagine things were pretty hectic until last week. I just haven't wanted to blog, because I've wanted to have every spare moment available for my knitting.

I also don't have anything to show off, which of course, means I have little to blog about. I did finish a Shedir chemo cap for our school bookkeeper who has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment. I'll be handing it off today to another lady at school who visits her regularly. Most of us who work in classrooms are staying away so we don't expose her to the kids' germs. It's hard, because we miss her lots! In the meantime, our part will be to keep on praying for God to heal her.

I've been fighting with two pairs of socks and a scarf for the past month. One pair of socks is in the Lisa Souza Mardi Gras colorway, and I could not, could not, could not find a pattern that worked with it. Then I bought those U.S. size 0 needles. Now, I'm almost to the toe on the first one, but it's taking forever! I am starting to wonder how people work on anything smaller. I also fought a battle (and won) with a skein of Socks That Rock Rooster Rock. They were pooling terribly until I found Sockbug's River Rapids pattern. They're all finished now, and I actually wore them Monday. The scarf is a handspun wool and tencel blend in Bruised Raspberries by our own Miss Violet. I've tried four or five different variations on the scarf before I finally settled on the long skinny scarf in woven stitch I saw on Knitty Gritty. It's destined to be a gift for someone, so there won't be any pictures until it's mailed off.

For now, it's time to head off to work. I have to have some way to support my yarn habit...

I Am Adored

Valentine's Day Rocks!

My students at school love me. I got a Starbucks mug and card, some chocolate covered espresso beans, cookies, homemade English toffee, and a copy of the teacher's prayer. I also received some assorted valentines, and one of them was from a student in another class! They must not know me very well! Tee hee!

My children love me. They made me homemade Valentines, and they used up the extras from their Valentines for school and gave them to the DCA and me.

And most importantly, the DCA adores me. I, the poorly organized one, bought gifts online and NONE of them arrived in time for Valentine's Day. Two will arrive on Feb. 15, and the other two will arrive in a week or two. (No cookie for this bad Valentine!) I stopped at the store on the way home to buy cards and some chocolate-covered strawberries to expiate my lack of planning. As I was unloading my school stuff from the car, the DCA met me in the driveway with dinner from Buca di Beppo, and a bag of surprises. It was the coolest Valentine's Day ever!

Dinner was the chopped antipasta salad, rigatoni positano, and tiramisu. The kids were at church for the mid-week children's program, so we got to eat alone at the dining room table with jazz playing in the background. It was the best! We also shared a bottle of wine, and it's been ages since we've done that. After dinner, I was presented with some personalized M&Ms which followed yesterday's two dozen roses (so I can enjoy them longer). Then, I got to open my bag of surprises.

I'm not sure they were really meant for Valentine's Day, or maybe they were, but they oh-so-conveniently arrived at the yarn store this afternoon. The DCA went in the store--by himself!--a couple of weeks ago, and he ordered me--wait for it--my very own ballwinder and swift. He knew how tired I was of winding my own balls of yarn by hand, and bought me the best presents ever! You can keep your diamond jewelry, because my new toys rock!

So, I spent my Valentine's evening in the way every knitter should--I wound every hank of yarn in the house that I could find. It was a dream come true! (We'll just forget that whole part where I had to fight with a skein that wouldn't fit the swift and it got tangled and wouldn't play nice with the ball winder.) Now I need to find an appropriate way to thank the DCA--I'm sure I'll think of something!

Silent Poetry Reading

This one's for the DCA...

Sonnet XIV

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
I love her for her smile--her look--her way
Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of ease on such a day--
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheek dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou may'st love on, through love's eternity.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Go check out some more poetry over at Cara's and Lee Ann's blogs.

A Weekend Full of FOs

I spent the majority of my three-day weekend with my pointy sticks and yarn. As a result, I finished four--count 'em, four--items for various and sundry people.

Last Friday evening, I started a hat for myself. I used the Le Slouch pattern by Wendy, and it only took me a few hours. It all began because I nearly froze while supervising the carpool lane on Friday afternoon. I told everyone I ran into that I was going home to knit a hat, and then I did. I used a skein of Plymouth Encore Colorspun I had in the meager stash. It was supposed to be a pair of slippers for me and then for mom in a previous life, but I think it works much better as a hat. I finished the ribbing before bed that night, and I spent Saturday working away on it while we walked around the Maritime Museum. I finished it while we walked back to the car, and I popped it on my head. It's been a huge success at school this week--some of the teachers and a bunch of the students say they want one just like it.

I was one of those children who never, ever wore a hat no matter what the weather because I thought it made me look like a nerd. It could be below freezing and snowing outside, and I would ignore my mother's pleas to wear a hat just so I wouldn't mess up my hair. Now, I enjoy ignoring my hair in favor of being warm and toasty. I should have listened all those years ago, because a hat certainly does help you stay warm. This is one instance in which you can believe the hype.

On Saturday afternoon, I started a Mason-Dixon bobbled washcloth for my friend's birthday. There's nothing like being 10 days late with the present, but I had to find just the right yarn. Turns out it was in the stash disguised as an unfinished scarf. I took the washcloth along with me to our church dinner group that night and knit away on it while we chatted and caught up with one another. I actually finished it while we were there and wove in all the ends. The finished cloth and a jar of yummy peppermint scrub were presented to the lucky recipient on Monday at the Roo's Girl Scout meeting.

I also finished off the single Fetching glove my other friend had requested. She wanted only one, and she wanted it extra long to cover her bangle bracelets while she crochets and works the sound board at church. I took the almost finished Fetching to the Saturday dinner, she tried it one, and then I wove in all the ends. It was made from my leftover County Clare STR, and she absolutely loves it. I showed her my pair of toasty STR socks I had on, and she can't wait to wash her glove and soften it up a bit.

On Sunday night, I finished the Roo's Weasley sweater. She was at a sleepover that night since there was no school Monday, so she put it on as soon as she got home. She wore it around all day Monday and rambled on an on about how much she loves her sweater. We started calling her the unknown Weasley since Ginny was supposedly the last of Molly's brood. It was a true act of love, because I don't think I will ever duplicate stitch another giant initial on anyone's sweater ever again. That was a truly tedious and somewhat painful experience.

My weekend success has turned into nothing but frogging moments this week. I've done nothing but start and frog two different socks all week. It's all an effort to find exactly the right pattern and stitch count so that I can live with my results. I guess I could give away the socks to someone who could wear them when they don't fit me, but I am determined that these socks will be mine.

I'll post some pictures of the sweater and the hat when I get a chance. The other two FOs are already living in their new homes, and they are currently unavailable for the photo shoot.

Just a Quickie

As I suspected, returning to school last week has hampered my knitting time. I love teaching my students, but sometimes I wonder if I really need a different job--one that involves my knitting all day long with no interruptions. I'd probably get bored though.

The Roo's Weasley sweater is almost done. I need to do one more sleeve, but this won't be any trouble since it's worked from the top down and in the round. I have also started duplicate stitching her initial on the front, so I don't get tired of it later.

The pink frog has been reborn as the Meadow Flowers shawl from Knitter's Stash. I figured if I have a pattern in a book at home, I might as well use it! It's still a garter stitch shawl, but this time there are some yo's, ssk's, and k2tog's to keep things interesting. The edging pattern seems fairly easy to understand, so I should be able to complete it with little or no trouble. I think it will be just gorgeous once it's blocked. I can't wait to see the finished shawl, and since I'm having fun with it, I think I'll be done in no time.

The sock in progress seems stalled. This is primarily due to my focus on the other projects. I'm sure it will pick up once the sweater is done.

I may have a bit more knitting time this week. The DCA is traveling this week on a business trip, so I won't have much company in the evenings except for my needles and yarn.

Pictures of the WIPs are coming soon!

A Clean Slate

When I think of New Year's Day, it usually involves something of a fresh start. I now have a whole new year in which to accomplish great and grand things. Most of my great and grand ideas involve knitting this year, so to kick it off I spent my New Year's Eve frogging two shawls.

I know Scout wanted to see piles of fiber, but with this much laceweight and mohair, I had no choice but to go straight to the ball.

Here's Icarus before:Here's Icarus after:

My blue frog will be reborn as Icarus again, but it will be on the right size needles this time. I am determined to make it full the entire border this time without worrying about having enough yarn.

Here's the mohair travel shawl before:

Here it is after:

I still haven't decided what the pink frog wants to be now. I really want to try the snowdrop shawl, but I'm leery of the edging. Something about picking up 218 stitches evenly spaced on each side of the shawl absolutely frightens me. I'll let you know if I find anything that piques my fancy!

Happy New Year! May God abundantly bless you all!

Knitting Resolutions

I have been inspired by Scout. She has decided to "Just Froggit", and I'm jumping on board with her program.

I have decided to frog Icarus. Yes, I'm in the border, but I know I'm going to run out of yarn. I did not have a US size 3 circular needle when I began this project, but after last week's trip to the LYS, I now have one in my possession. I loved the way it was working up when it was young and small and I believed I had enough yarn. I want to go back to loving my Icarus! After I frog it, I will dedicate myself to its completion and work away until the very last stitch.

Here's the next challenge. I am going to frog the mohair travel shawl, which I actually made out of kid mohair. This means, I will have way too much fun delicately picking at my fuzzy yarn. The original pattern called for it to be worked in two pieces, and having completed the first half, I now have second-half syndrome. I no longer love the way this one was working up, so now I get to search for a new shawl pattern. I'm thinking about some options like Branching Out (which will give me plenty of leftovers), Print O' The Wave (but worked in one piece a la Mason-Dixon), Leaves and Waves, or more than likely the Yarn Harlot's Snowdrop Shawl. I've loved Snowdrop since the first time I saw it on the blog. With almost 2000 yds of hot pink mohair, I can't think of anything better to brighten up the winter and to get myself ready for spring.

I'll post pictures of my piles of fiber as soon as I rip them up!

It's time for our quiet family New Year's celebration. We're staying in tonight with mucho munchies, and the kids are trying to make it to midnight so they can watch any fireworks on TV. I think the Moose may crash early, but I'm almost positive the Roo will make it through. Anyone willing to lay odds on this one?

Have a safe and fun evening wherever you are. See you next year!

The Speed of Socks

After my trip to the LYS last week, I started a sock for the Moose, then I did a sock for the Roo, and repeated the process. By Thursday morning, I had two complete pairs of socks, and my children now happily wander through the house with striped warm feet. They wear them with the pajamas at night, which makes me think I need to make more so they stay nice and toasty.


I am delaying my gratification in knitting my alpaca hoodie. Instead, I dove into my miniscule stash (I am odd--I only keep yarn around for projects in progress or projects to be) and came up with several skeins of navy blue Encore which were destined to be a Hogwarts scarf. I really have no need for a double-knitted, 10-inch wide scarf here in SoCal, so I frogged the scarf and started a top-down, loose-fit raglan for the Roo (growing room, you see).

I started by making a gauge swatch--25 stitches wide and 25 rows long--and then I used Knittingfool's sweater wizard to come up with a pattern for the sweater. It's all based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage method, but I, the math teacher, did not feel like doing all that math myself. So far, I have only had to make one major modification in the neck. I cast on using US size 6 needles instead of size 5, and I increased the number of stitches to be cast on so it would fit more easily around her head. All this is so she can have a Weasley sweater like the ones Molly makes for her children and for Harry every Christmas. If you need a good picture of one, go to Alison's blog. She even has her own pattern there.


Here's why I opted for a raglan. Though I love seaming sleeves and sides of sweaters, I find setting in the shoulders tedious. It probably has something to do with where I place my increases. It will come with time and practice which only means I get to do more knitting!

The Real Meaning of CHRISTmas

After all our planning, buying, baking, knitting, crafting, singing, decorating, and wrapping, this is what it's truly about. God's promised Messiah came to save us all and fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets. Here's the real story from Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

May God bless you and everyone in this holy and precious Christmas season. Merry Christmas!

Progress of Sorts

As expected, I am tired of Icarus. After Friday's trip to the LYS, all I've done is work on new socks. I made a plain vanilla sock for Moose in his chosen yarn, and I've started a plain vanilla sock for Roo in her chosen yarn. I love these socks! After fighting with the Mardi Gras sock yarn for so long, it was nice to see some forward movement in my knitting.

I will keep working on my socks today, and I'm thinking about dragging out the Mohair shawl instead of Icarus. It's miles and miles of mindless garter stitch except for the edging, so it will be good TV knitting. I'm DVR-ing oodles of Christmas shows to watch later, so I'll need something for all those programs.

Tonight's agenda includes feeding the reindeer, leaving out gingerbread cookies for Santa and a piece of cheese for Santa Mouse, and possibly attending my first 11 o'clock communion service since the kids were born. Having small children in the house who can't be left for long periods of time absolutely precludes my attendance at such solemn occasions. They both want to got to church tonight for the Communion and Carols service instead of to the more family oriented 7 o'clock service. It's the first time they have ever been interested in staying up for the late service, and I'm inclined to let them go if they can make it. We're going to take it slowly today and judge their readiness for this grand event by their behavior towards one another and us. I find the late service to be more intimate and more holy for welcoming Christ's birth, and I will be thrilled to be able to go this year if we can.

Enjoy the watchful moments while you wait for Him to arrive!

Two Steps Forward...

and one step back. This pretty much describes my knitting this week while I've been out of school. Let me spin you a yarn...

First, there was Icarus. Yes, I'm working away on it, but the super long rows are making it tedious for me. I started the last pattern repeat and got about halfway through it before realizing I was going to run out of yarn somewhere in the edging. So I had to frog an entire day's work. Thank goodness for that dental floss I put in there! The next day I started the edge, but kept switching between charts 2 and 3 instead of sticking with chart 2. I tried to knit chart 3's row 7 at least twice where it didn't belong. I think I must be desperate to move on to chart 3. Obviously more frogging was involved. I successfully finished chart 2 on Thursday, and my reward for doing that was starting a new sock.

I had to start a new sock because here are my County Clares I finished earlier this week:


They have cables at the top a la Fetching, they are worked in 4 x 1 ribbing down the leg and foot, they have what I consider a "normal" toe, and the afterthought heel. They also obviously need to be blocked.

Yesterday, we had to escape from the cleaning lady. The kids and I don't like to be home while she's here, because we feel like we're in the way. We went out to breakfast, and after eating, entertained ourselves by reciting the names and performing the hand motions for all the states from Maine to Wisconsin. I'm sure the other diners thought we were nuts. It's a memory device called Motion USA used in our 2nd grade class to help the students learn the names of all 50 states. The kids' favorite sign of the moment is Wisconsin. You use your hands to form a triangle and hold it above your head, and it's supposed to remind you of the Cheeseheads. They find it extremely hilarious. After breakfast, we went to the chiropractor and to the library. Then, we went to the yarn store. Oh my!

I had my Christmas gift certificate from my school secret sister, and it was burning a hole in my pocket! I have lots of new treasures like Trekking for the Moose, which is already turning into a sock,


Trekking for the Roo,


and some yummy alpaca


which is going to turn into this for me.


The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple. I don't normally wear hooodies, but I really want to try one, and I'm hoping this will scratch the sweater itch I've been feeling lately. If not, I'll probably do the Perfect Sweater from over at Mason-Dixon.

Moose's sock is a result of my rebellion against my Lisa Souza Mardi Gras Sock! Merino. I have started and frogged a sock in that yarn about 5 times this week. I just can't find a pattern to suit me that works up small enough to fit me. I decided (duh!) it must be a gauge problem, so I also broke down and bought some US size 0 Addis so I can try again. I really want to knit Lombard, and I hope this solves my problem.

The DCA and I finished the wrapping last night, and I finally feel ready for Christmas. All that's left to do now is to pick up the ingredients for all the Christmas dinner yummies, so we're off to the store to do our last-minute shopping. I'm sure we'll have lots of company!

After that, I'm going to sink into the sofa with Icarus and the Trekking sock, play some Christmas carols, listen to my children playing, and get lost in the wonder of Christ's entry into the world.

You Know You Want To!

Go see Stephanie over at her blog. Once again, she is promoting a fundrasier for Doctors without Borders, and she is encouraging knitters to double our previous contributions. The goal for this holiday season is to bring the cumulative total on her page to $240,000. Help share the Light of this Christmas season with those less fortunate--give a few dollars to a great cause! (P.S. All donors become eligible for a drawing after the deadline!)

And in today's news: I finished the County Clare socks last night. I'm odd, I admit it--I love using Kitchener stitch to graft toes, so adding an "afterthought heel" that had to be grafted too was especially fun. It ends up looking somewhat like a short row heel, but with the decrease ridges that look like those on the toe. I still prefer a heel flap, but I may use this option occasionally when a pattern calls for a short row heel--I prefer this look. Sensational Knitted Socks says this is also a great option when people wear out their heels quickly. Apparently, the heel can be easily removed and replaced when needed because it was not knitted as part of the main body of the sock.

Today's project? Icarus. I'm feeling the need for some Black Bunny Fibers between my fingers, so I'm going to go see if I have enough laceweight to make it through the border. I'll keep you posted!

Tah-Dah!

I was way tired of the pink, and the button bar was just too crowded for words. What can I say? It had to be done.

It's a Muppet Christmas!

Friday was our last day of school before Christmas. Of course, the kids were wild, so after we mixed up enough hot cocoa mix (recipe from Yahoo! below) for the parents of both the 6th/7th and 8th grade classes, I popped in The Muppet Christmas Carol for everyone to watch during our Christmas party. It lent a certain Christmas-y spirit to the air and promoted the message of good will to all which is so needed during Christmas these days.

So you can imagine my delight when I took the Christmas movie quiz I found over on The Knitting Philistine's blog.

Your Christmas is Most Like: The Muppet Christmas Carol

You tend to reflect on Christmas past, present, and future...And you also do a little singing.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

While I was there, I also found the Muppet Personality quiz, and it turns out that I really AM my favorite muppet!

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts.You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary.But you sure can beat a good drum."Kill! Kill!"

The Muppet Personality Test

So, I have lots of plans for my Christmas vacation. First up is to finish the STR County Clare socks which have now been started and frogged about 6 times since my last update. I just couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I reverted to type and invented my own. I've started sock #2, and in my dream world, I will finish it today or tomorrow morning. I also plan on returning to Icarus and to the Mohair Travel shawl. I love Maude to pieces, and I want to take my time with her and to enjoy her for as long as possible. I am not quite so enamored with the other two shawls, and I want them out of my stash!

My secret sister from school gave me a gift certificate for my LYS for Christmas, so I will definitely be buying yarn some time in the next two weeks. I feel the call of another sweater, so that may be next on the needles after the shawls come off.

Some time in the next few days I have to mix up the annual batch of Colonial Williamsburg gingerbread. This is a family tradition that started when the Navy banished us to the Left Coast several years ago in a location much too far from the Raleigh Tavern Bakery. We'll have lots of gingerbread people to keep us company while we're out of school!

I also get to mix up my first batch of the DCA's grandmother's homemade doughnuts. She makes them every Christmas, and sugaring them is a treasured memory of his childhood. This year's request was spurred by hearing that she was making them for all the family back in Delaware last weekend while his parents were visiting. I think I can handle it once I find all the ingredients.

The holiday hustle continues here, but the message of Christmas remains the same. The Light entered the world to show us the Way: He was God made man, and He came as a child to save us from our sins. The greatest gift of all is the salvation we receive when we call on His Name. Keep Him at the center of Christmas, and you will be blessed indeed!

HOT CINNAMON COCOA MIX IN A JAR
2 C. sugar
4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. instant coffee powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Process all ingredients in a food processor until chocolate is finely ground. Pour into a nice jar with a tight-fitting lid.Type or print neatly the cooking directions on a small card, punch a hole in the corner, and attach with a ribbon to the jar.

*Attach this to the Jar*
HOT CINNAMON COCOA
Directions for 2 servings
Stir 1/4 cup mix and 2 tablespoons hot water in a medium-size saucepan until blended. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups milk. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Button, Button...

I woke up at 3:15, and I can't go back to sleep, so I'm doing whatever good knit-blogger does and I'm surfing around your sites and updating mine. In the process, I found that Scout has a new button for her shop, so of course, I have to change it. Isn't it cute? I think it probably matches her new merchandise tags for the store!

I'm also trying yet again to upload a Lime 'n' Violet button. I love those girls, and I want all of you to go and visit their podcast. They have so much fun reviewing yarn and books for the rest of us!

I think I may go knit now--I might as well make myself useful if I'm going to be awake.

Do the Holiday Hustle!

It's the Christmas season, so it's that time of year when we all seem to run around crazily in 97 different directions trying to accomplish every little thing that needs to be done. My life and my knitting are definitely falling into the holiday hustle and bustle category.

I frogged Maude. After I took those lovely pictures last week, I stretched her out in all her loveliness on our coffee table to admire her glory. Yep, you guessed it, the glory disguised not just one, but two, places where I worked the ends of the bias stitch rows incorrectly. I couldn't bear to leave the errors there because I suspected it might someday affect my decreases on the other end. I re-started Maude and found I made exactly the same mistakes as before. I frogged back to the first mistake, picked up my stitches, checked for more errors, and then disgustedly threw her in my knitting bag. I have ignored her now for over a week, and I don't feel any pricks of conscience as a result.

Knitting was slower than usual this week because of my schedule at school. I spent breaks there and time at home entering grades into the computer and getting ready for report cards because the trimester ended Friday. I am pleased to say my report cards are almost completely finished. I just need to print them, copy them on letterhead, and stuff them in their envelopes in time for Thursday's awards assembly. It was painful to stay five hours on a minimum day afternoon, but at least they're done. I won't be one of the people scrambling over the next few days!

On a brighter note, I have made some amazing progress on some other things. I finished the plain vanilla *b-marie* socks on Thursday night, and then I wore them to work on Friday. They were a huge hit with everyone who knew them as my conference socks from Thanksgiving week.

I was on such a knitting high Friday after the extra time at work that I re-sized and cast on for a miniature sweater ornament I found via Emily's blog. The pattern for the real ornament is here. I couldn't resist it! Moose's class at school is having a hat/glove/scarf tree for Christmas. As part of the giving spirit of Christmas, each student is being asked to bring something new and warm to wear to add to the tree. The donated items will all be given to needy children for Christmas. I love how our tiny Christian school can still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and reach out to others during the season.

I thought a slightly larger version of the mini-sweater would make a perfect tree topper in the classroom, and I couldn't wait to give it to his teacher. I knit like crazy Friday night, and finished the sweater before bed. All I had left to do was the weaving in. Roo and I attended the Christmas tea at our church on Saturday, and guess who was there? Moose's teacher, of course! I had the teeny sweater in my knitting bag, so I quickly pulled it out of my bag and wove in all the ends while listening to Christmas carols and chatting with the other ladies at our table. After I finished and during a song break, I jumped up, ran to her table, plopped it on her place setting, and ran away. She stopped by our table later to say how cute it was. Please imagine a picture of it here, since I failed to take one in my eagerness to give it away.

Most of Saturday was spent knitting a pair of Fetching for myself using my leftover Highway 30 Socks That Rock yarn. I used U.S. size 2 needles and didn't make too many adjustments in the pattern. (I must have skinny hands.) I started them in the morning and had one finished before we left for the tea. I started the second one while we were there. I took them both along when we went to watch OU win the Big XII championship with the Sooner Club (Look out Arizona--here comes the Sooner Nation!). I practically finished the second one--I actually bound off the hand part and then realized I did not have enough yarn to make the thumb hole. I had intended to make the hand section longer (24 rows instead of 18), but I had to shorten the length of the hand and frog back to 20 rows instead to have enough yarn. Of course, when I did that, I had to go back and change the other one too. I'm so glad I was lazy and didn't weave in any ends! I finished them up after we got home from the game, and I popped them in my knitting bag to keep in case my hands get cold.

Everyone loved Fetching at church this morning, and I can't wait to wear them to school this week. My friend from church wants half a pair. She only wants one for her left hand, and she wants it extra long to cover up her bangle bracelets. She crochets while she runs the sound board during the church service, and Fetching will keep her bracelets from jingling and clinking while she works. They're not only adorable--they're functional! I already have her Christmas gift done, but I may make her one anyway with some more leftover sock yarn when I finish my next pair of socks.

I intended to work on Maude today since I have been neglecting her so. Instead, I have been doing the holiday hustle around here. We decorated for Christmas when we returned home from church, and then I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen preparing my annual batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies*. When I finished up that enormous task, the DCA and I started Web surfing to find the best price deals on the few remaining things we need for the kids. Because presents are available locally and shipping is getting so ugly, it has been decided that I will spend my teacher work day this Friday bopping around town to finish up the shopping. I then did some online shopping of my own for the DCA and paid those ugly shipping prices anyway.

Somewhere in all this, I started the next traveling sock. It's toe-up (yes, I know--the cuff-down girl must be high on cookie fumes), cabled, and absolutely lovely in STR County Clare. I went with toe-up this time, because I want to try a reverse heel flap and because I want to use the picot edge from Fetching at the top of the sock as a decorative detail. I'm just in need of a challenge after the plain vanilla pair I just finished. STR is pretty stretchy, so I'm confident I will have a lovely cuff when I'm finished. Now where did I put that sock???

*So you want to know about Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies? Once upon a time, the DCA and his family lived in Italy (his dad was in the Navy and was assigned to Naples). His mother's friend shared her recipe, and these cookies became an annual tradition in the DCA's house. When the DCA and I got married, I was handed the recipe and informed that the cookies were now my responsibility. The original recipe calls for a 5 lb bag of flour, a can of chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts (among the other "regular" cookie ingredients), and the cookies are supposed to be rolled out like the play-dough snakes we made as children and then cut into bite-sized pieces. I followed the recipe exactly for our first Christmas, and the DCA hardly touched any of them. Upon questioning, I was informed that he doesn't eat nuts in ANY baked good. I have no idea why it took me over 18 months to learn this about him or why no one in his family mentioned this tiny change in the recipe to me. I also learned that rolling out a full batch of these cookies by hand in the original method is literally a day-long project and that dunking them in their powdered sugar glaze can sometimes cause them to go moldy. I have since tweaked the recipe and made a few simple changes, and each December, I produce one half-batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts dropped by teaspoonfuls on their baking sheets. I must do okay, because the DCA says they're wonderful, and the Roo informed me this afternoon that they are her absolutely favorite cookie in the world. Do you think I can abdicate as cookie queen when she gets married???