Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

When good knits go bad - find another use for them...I knit the biggest freaking beret in the world a few weeks ago. I'd show you a picture of it on me, but you'd just see it coming down to my chin. It's a bad picture. So, I used super wash wool on it, so there's no felting and no shrinking, but it turns out that my toaster is french and needed a french beret - so, there you go! I new cover for our toaster! Whew!

Chris asked me for a new hat - one that would cover his ears better for this winter. I cast on for my normal rolled brim hat. He likes the skull cap kind of hat with just a tad more length. The light is washing out the color on this wool - it's a rich, dark black. I love it. I hope C. will too!

This is my Christmas knitting pile. We're getting there. The scarf (and I have three other scarves too) and the fingerless knits should make great stocking stuffers. I hope folks will love these. Check out the cool crock that Kelly, Dani and Heather gave me for the wedding. I love it!

Here's a better look at the cables on the mitts. The pink shows them off nicely and I think they're the sweetest little cables that really give the mitts some polish.

Lots and lots of knitting happening here at chez Yarnal Knowledge. I also need to make some pies tonight. I'm making pumpkin! I have a secret ingredient. I love having a secret ingredient! It's so...secret!

So until next week - I wish you all a very thankful Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I think I love it because I really, really, really know how lucky I am. I can't believe Chris married me. I can't believe how cool my mom is and my brother and his family are so awesome. My in-laws are the best and I love them so much - I've got the best friends in the world. I have a warm bed, a good job and the ability to knit. I'm a lucky gal. Enjoy your blessings this year too!

Until then, it's all the news that's fit to knit!

Mitts

The fingerless mitts that I started in an effort to revive my delicate self from the mouse incident, have turned out to be fantastic. Here's an image of one of them. Doncha love the cables? I finished this brown pair, started a pink pair and have decided that I need a pair in black. I wore them today and they rocked. They kept my hands warm, but allowed me to use my fingers for important things like, iPod surfing, key operation and signature making.

I think these will be stuffed in atleast four stockings this Christmas. Yay!

Mouse update:

Haven't seen one since the last update. We found the traps that I wanted that lure the mouse in and then hide their little carcases away from me. They are in place and seem to be remining empty (so far). Of course, since I wrote this last paragraph, I've thought I'd heard the mouse twice. I've checked once and resisted once. Stay tuned.

So the needles are full of fingerless mitts! C. says that no man would be caught dead wearing them with their fancy cables. He's getting coal.

Till next time, it's all the news that's fit to knit!

And it goes on!

War has been waging here at casa de Yarnal and so far the tally is:

Us: 1 and the Mouse: 0

We lay our trap last night and no more than fifteen minutes later the all knowing sound of the snap - that sounds seems to echo to your little ears no matter where you are in the house. Lucky for me, my wonderful husband is willing to be the person in our house who handles the after the "snap" aftermath. He really doesn't have a choice - I won't go near it.

I've been thinking about who's actually winning this war. This is what my kitchen looks like right now:

The other side of the kitchen (hey, I live in NYC - I'm rocking the galley kitchen like everyone else!)

As a result of this awful intruder, I've had to store all of the appliances that you would normally find on the counter top. In NYC, space is at a premium and it hurts me deeply to surrender this space to a furry little squatter. Besides, doesn't that beautiful Artisan mixer just scream to be on display? I loooove it!

I feel the need to store the appliances because I know the little mice run along the wall and counter - where the back of each appliance is. I've had to sanitize all of the backs of each appliance (some had poop on them!) every day that we had a mouse encounter. The mouse has worn me down - and here I am, giving up my space:

In an effort to comfort myself, I have started on a pair of fingerless gloves, using a pattern from Knitty called "Fetching". It's been a very popular knit in the knit-o-universe, so I dug into the stash and came up with some chocolate / chestnut Patons Classic Wool Merino. Excellent!

Wish me luck tonight. C. is kind enough not to set traps while I'm working from home. The trauma of finding one that is occupied would prove to be far too much.

Till tomorrow, that's all the news that's fit to knit!

Of Mice and Me

We have mice again. I hate mice. I think about them before I go to sleep - in my kitchen, on my counter tops. In the morning I find their poo behind the microwave - oh they love it behind the microwave. They love it over by my brand new wedding present glory that is the Artisan Stand Mixer. They love the corner behind the sink - they love my kitchen.

You must understand that I have done my best to make our kitchen totally unappealing to mice. No food, no crumbs, no water. So tell me, if there is no food, no water, no stuff to build a nest with - what are you doing in my kitchen? It's a barren place - it is a desert to a mouse. So what gives? Why come back? I'm finding no other evidence of mice in the rest of the house.

I hate the city! I've lived in the suburbs for most of my life with nary a mouse encounter save for the back yard. Here in the city, on the third floor of an apartment building, I'm lousy with them. I need a cat! If only C. would let me get a cat!

If these mice start messing with my yarn, we're moving faster than C. thinks!

Till tomorrow, it's all the news that's fit to knit.

Remembering

I miss you daddy!

Love,
Kris

Knitting!

Oh - you read this blog for knitting? My deep apologies, dear friends, I have been knitting, but have also been sidetracked by things like writing wedding thank you notes, the election, a foray into scrap booking for the wedding and NaNoWriMo - which is going better than I thought it would be. But I have been knitting. In fact, see the below scarf which I'm calling "the oopsey scarf" because I meant to do a totally different stitch pattern that I adapted from a book, but realized about six inches into it that I'd made the mistake and that I loved the mistake. I just love those kinds of things, don't you?

This is made from SeaCell Yarn, gifted to me by my mother-in-law. It's seaweed, wool and silk and it is the most wonderful thing you've ever wrapped around your neck. I should give it to her for Christmas, but I've been wearing it around the house since it came off of the needles:

This week, I'll show you a knitting failure...if I can bring myself to. It's a tale of why you really should check your gauge, or risk wasting five knitting days on a beret that could fit three heads. But when you walk on the knitting edge like me, you take those risks and sometimes you end up with a giant beret that even your friend with the biggest head you've ever seen couldn't wear.

Also this week, or next weekend, I'm pulling out the sewing machine to make a new table cover and possibly something else. It's time to learn to use that machine the right way. We're headed home to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving and I might need to have a session with mom and Rachel. Threading the damn thing makes me sweat (and swear).

Till then, it's all the news that's fit to knit! (and it's Steeler Sunday! GO STEELERS!)

And Next...

Well, now that the election is done and the country is looking toward the future, I figure it's time to get back to business of blogging here. I'd like to show you some knitting, but I need some sunlight to make something you can see - hopefully tomorrow. In the mean time, here's a picture of my kitchen cabinet. I show you this because you can see some of the amazing North Carolina pottery that was gifted to us for our wedding. Sadly, the potter who was a dear friend, passed away before the wedding, but not after making us this entire set of dishes. We really love them. The green plates were Chris' grandmother's and he's spent half a lifetime of Sundays eating with his family from them. It's a happy cabinet, full of fond and happy memories. Of course, the carrot shaped timer, that's just from Target!

Wow

Wow, wow, wow...what an amazing night and day this has been in America. I was overwhelmed by the President-elect's speech last night. No matter where your vote came down, aren't you thrilled to be living in a country where you had the choices you had yesterday? Aren't you glad to be in a country where anything is possible? I know I am. I'm really happy today to be an American and to be alive in the midst of historical change in this country.

Back to knitting tomorrow - go hug your neighbor today.

For now, it's all the news that fit to knit.

Vote!

Just a friendly reminder dear blog readers, be sure to vote today. Don't tell me who you're voting for or who you're not voting for, but seriously - just get out there and let your voice be heard. A lot people sacrificed a lot so that you can do this - be sure to cast your vote and be a part of this historical election today.

C. and I have already voted this morning and it felt great. The mood in the hour-long line was one of excitement and hope for a better future. I hope you'll feel the same when you pull the lever, touch the screen or punch the chad.

The lines are long, so grab a coffee, grab some portable knitting, or do like me and grab your spouse and enjoy some time hanging out together in line.

For now, it's all the news that's fit to knit!