Today is one of those days when I am really missing the West. Last winter we were living in Colorado, just west of Boulder, courtesy of my husband's journalism fellowship. During our nine months there, I fell in love with the Southwest, particularly New Mexico. I have regular fantasies about moving to Santa Fe. Today I am nursing those fantasies by crocheting the mosaic afghan from the yarn I picked up last March at Tierra Wools and I'm burning some Southwestern incense in a little earthenware kiva. Tonight I will make green chile for dinner.

Here is the finished "Incan Figures" bag, front:



and back:



I also stitched in a lining and zipper, which the ever-curious Dani inspects here:



I've made some more progress on the front of Fjalar and I've started the third repeat of Donegal. My mindless take-away knitting is The Rebozo shawl, but as I'm slowly working my way off of boards that have a lot of meetings, progress on that is slowing down.

No finished objects to show today, but I've made some progress on Donegal:




I've also cast on for a bag, "Incan Figures" from Folk Bags. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to make a nifty "current projects" link on this blog, but in the meantime, my WIPs include the mosaic afghan, "The Rebozo" shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls and the Fjalar pullover. Plus, I've swatched a couple of things for Level 1 in the TKGA master knitting course.

This blogger would like to congratulate John Kerry for securing the Democratic presidential nomination. Although I did not vote for him in my state caucus, I admire him and will be thrilled to cast my ballot for him in November. Godspeed, John Kerry.

The outrage of the week, or of last week more precisely, is the Resident's cynical endorsement of the proposed constitutional amendment -- you know the one. I wish someone would explain to me, in simple terms that I can understand, how a same-sex marriage threatens my heterosexual marriage? Sorry, I just don't get it! Personally, I don't need the help of the religious right to defend my marriage. May I be so bold as to offer my gay and lesbian friends this response to those meddling self-righteous villains, in the immortal words of Elizabeth Bennett when confronted with the demands of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh that she promise to not enter into an engagement with Mr. Darcy: "I am resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me." Much more eloquent than my generation's "mind your own damn business."

I have pictures! First, the completed "Midnight Sun" dress and cap:




You would not believe how adorable my daughter looks in it!


And, next, I've finished the back of Fjalar, which is from Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Patterns for Knitting:




I've tried several times and can't get the cables to show up well in the photo. It's in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, same as the little dress and Lochinver, the Starmore gansey I finished a few months ago. I got a great deal on all of this cotton fleece, but I'm getting so tired of it and very ready for the feel of something else.

So the next thing I'll probably be sick of is J&S jumperweight yarn, since I bought enough for two big projects: "Donegal" from Starmore's The Celtic Collection and "The Rebozo" from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. I've already cast on for both, but I didn't like some of the colors I chose for Donegal, so I'm waiting for the arrival of two replacements.

Oh, another photo:



That's the long-languishing crocheted afghan project, which I was inspired to begin last month with all the cold and snow we've been having. It's "Rich Ripples" from Lily Chin's Mosaic Magic: Afghans Made Easy; I wrote about it my last blog entry. I love working with the Tierra Wools yarn, and I'm even enjoying crocheting.

Plus, I have two eager helpers:



Dani, the world's most inventive yarn thief, and:



George, who always wants to cuddle up right under my chin, in a very inconvenient place between my eyes and my knitting. Hmm, now that I've posted photos of my cats, maybe I should join the knitting kitty webring.

Finally, one last photo for today:



This was my haul at the Super Bowl yarn sale at Lost Art. It is 6 balls of variegated cashmere. What luxury! I bought enough to make gloves and a hat, but now I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with it. Any ideas?


And one comment for the "think" part of this blog. We had the Michigan caucuses on Saturday, and I voted for John Edwards. I will be very happy to support Kerry in November if he's the nominee, and all of my friends have shared the same sentiment, regardless of who they're supporting now. It was kind of fun having a caucus and seeing so many of my friends out on Saturday, energized and happy to be taking the first step in getting our country back on track.

Incidentally, I don't know how Blogger works the advertising space at the top of this blog, but I noticed that after my last blog entry, it changed from being yarn advertising to political advertising. But today it's back to yarn. Go figure!

The Michigan primary is looming and we here at Knitnthink have not yet made our decision. While all of the Democratic hopefuls are vastly superior to the current incumbent, some may be stronger candidates than others. Now I respect my almost-neighbor Michael Moore's argument in favor of General Clark , especially his assertion that the election will be decided by a handful of voters in a handful of states. It's not that the rest of our votes don't count -- it's that a huge majority of voters are not up for grabs. Take me, for example: I would write in my dog's name before I would vote for Bush. About 40 percent of the voters will go with whatever Democrat heads the ticket and about 40 percent will back Bush, no matter what. Each party claims another 5 percent or so likely voters. That leaves roughly 10 percent or less that are truly ambivalent. You might know one of them. If so, consider what makes them undecided. Think about it, real hard. That 10 percent, especially in states that are evenly balanced between parties, will decide the election.

Who can best appeal to these undecided voters? I don't have the answer to that, but I'm getting a hunch lately that it could be John Edwards. The more I see of the guy the more I think: "He's just darn likeable." I think likeability is an important criteria to that 10 percent who are less concerned with policy distinctions than the rest of us. We'll see what the situation is by Feb. 7, when Michigan has its primary, but I'll be watching Sen. Edwards closely until then.

Now on to knitting. I've been very busy this week and I've finished "Midnight Sun" save for a little stitching and darning in ends. I'll try to get a photo up in a day or two. I've also restarted the mosaic ripple afghan, which is my first crochet project in about 20 years. It looks nothing like the afghans my grandmas used to make! The yarn is just gorgeous; I purchased it last spring at Tierra Wools in Los Ojos, New Mexico. I'm also still working on the Lavold pullover. I'm on a long stretch of stockinette stitch, so it is now my designated carry-along project.

And the yarn arrived for Donegal. I've wound most of it, but not swatched yet. I've also collected yarn for a Peruvian sweater/skirt/hat set in an OOP book, Sue Bradley's "Around the World in 80 Sweaters," Mendocino from Alice Starmore's "Pacific Coast Highway," and a cute little kitty-cat fairisle for my daughter from "Norsk Strikkedesign". Oh, plus the Rebozo shawl from Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Shawls." I've also been spinning and finally started washing the beautiful Romney fleece I bought at the Michigan Fiber Festival this summer.

Needless to say, I have enough yarn in my house or in transit to my house or waiting for me to spin it that I could knit for 5 years without making another yarn purchase. Yet tomorrow is the annual sale at my usual yarn shop so guess where I'll be when the doors open?

Which brings me to Lara's question -- what are the best knitting shops in Traverse City? Well, Lara, it really depends on what kind of knitting you like to do. All of them are worthy of your attention. Let's run down the list, shall we?

Lost Art is on Front Street in the downtown business district and its proprietor, Gerhild Uld, is a no-nonsense woman of German birth who has many years of knitting experience and superior knowledge. Gerhild machine-stitched a seam and cut the armholes of my first Dale sweater. She is skilled in most forms of fiber work. She sells Rowan, Cascade, Baabajoe's, Mountain Colors, Reynolds, Adrienne Vittadini and many other popular yarns. Probably due to the shop's prestige location in the touristy strip of downtown, Lost Art has acquired many new customers in recent years who enjoy the trendy, instant-gratification forms of knitting. You will see evidence of this by the fuzzy scarves on display in the store window. That is the yarn shop of the aforementioned sale tomorrow.

Yarn Quest is in a strip shopping center on Garfield Avenue. It also has Rowan yarns, as well as Brown Sheep, Dale (not a huge selection), Philosopher's Wool and many other high-quality yarns. I purchased a Poetry in Stitches kit there recently. It's also the only T.C. shop to stock Brittany needles and has the best selection of buttons. I don't go there as often because it's a longer walk.

While we were away for our year in Colorado, a new yarn shop opened just a block and a half from my house!! It is Baa Baa Black Sheep on 8th Street. I've found this most convenient, far too convenient. The owner stocks Bartlett and Debbie Bliss yarns, as well as the new Elsebeth Lavold silky wool, and others. She also sells some spinning supplies.

Farther afield is Inish Knits in Cedar. As I rarely drive anywhere, I've only been in this shop one time, but I'm thinking another field trip may be in order once the snow melts. Peggy, the owners, stocks Jamieson shetland yarn (very little 2-ply, however) and even has a stash of Starmore campion (sshhhhh....) She also has Jo Sharp yarns and is a Schact spinning wheel dealer. It is a lovely shop with old hardwood floors and a sleeping cat. You could stay for hours.

Also, there's a yarn shop in Glen Arbor or Glen Haven, but I've not been in it as I never get to that area without the hubby and kids in tow.

And, sadly, I could probably operate a yarn shop out of my house, but I remain convinced I will eventually knit it all!!!!!

If it weren't for knitting, I'm sure I'd go insane! Last night as I was sitting through yet another interminable meeting, happily knitting away on the easy part of the Lavold sweater, I wondered how all the other attendees could tolerate it when all they could do was just sit there.

But the major contribution knitting makes to my sanity is in getting through the winter. It is cold here in northern Michigan and, usually, completely cloudy. Today is an exception -- the sun is at least shining, even though the temp is still in single digits Fahrenheit. Brrrr. So I just hunker down with my knitting and try to feel grateful that I live in a place that enables me to make good use of the warmest woolies.

Today's sermon is about walking. For those who want to skip ahead, there is a photo of a pair of gorgeous Turkish socks below. But bear with me -- you might find this interesting.

There was a Washington Post story making the rounds on a couple of my e-mail lists this week about the near-impossibility of simply walking to a destination in the suburbs. No news there, at least not for me. But it did get me to thinking about the subject again. I'm fortunate to live in a town and a neighborhood in which walking is not only possible, but usually very pleasant. My neighborhood is 100 years old, complete with sidewalks and just a few blocks from the walkable downtown business district. There are 3 quality yarn shops within walking distance of my house, including one a mere block and a half away (way too convenient!!). Yet with all of this accessibility, I'm stunned at how few of my neighbors ever actually walk. I have seen some even drive to my house to pick up their kids.

Of course, walking in the U.S. is something that primarily takes place on treadmills and hiking trails. Bill Bryson has a very amusing essay on this in his book, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself," in which he shares the cultural shock of returning to his native U.S. after 20 years in England. For those who don't already, Bryson is now moving his family back to England.
Another excellent read on walking is Rebecca Solnit's book Wanderlust: A History of Walking.

My family owns a car now, and we do use it occasionally, but mostly we walk. We chose our house because of its location -- the vast majority of our regular needs can be met within a mile of the house. We have two groceries -- a mainstream and a natural foods co-op -- within a mile, also my hubby's office and the kids' school. I walk my children to and from school every day, regardless of the weather. Today was heavy snow and most of the other usual walkers received rides from parents, which puzzles me because I would much rather walk in it than drive in it. I will be pulling the sled to the feed store soon to get dog food. On the way back, I can stop by one of those yarn shops and get a skein for mittens -- my son complained that his hands are cold in his thermo gloves, so I told him I would knit him a pair of mittens tonight. I recently knit some for myself in GGH Aspen, a chunky merino-acrylic blend, and wow are they warm.

Back to walking. Why is using one's feet and legs as transportation considered such an exotic activity in the U.S.? I can certainly understand why people who live in scary asphalt covered suburbs wouldn't want to walk anywhere, but why is it unpopular even in a great walking town like mine? I know people are in a hurry, but some of their choices don't make any sense. One neighbor (who has since moved) used to drive two blocks to the health club to work out! She would also run 5 miles a day, but walking a few blocks downtown was never even considered because she was too busy (I don't think it takes much longer, maybe 5 minutes, to walk there). Another neighbor told me she felt like she had to drive 3 blocks to work because she needed her car at lunchtime to run errands. I try not to be judgemental about things, but I don't really find much merit in their reasoning.

There are so many good reasons to walk. In addition to the obvious benefits -- personal, financial and planetary health -- there is opportunity for family, spiritual and community growth. My best conversations with my children come during walks, I think because we don't have the usual distractions of home and they have no choice but to talk to me. When you're alone, walking is a great form of meditation. And it's a great way to meet your neighbors, who, while not walking, might be out working in their yards and open to impromptu conversation.

Now, the promised sock photo. Disclaimer: I didn't knit these, although I wish I had and, as an owner of Anna Zilboorg's "Fancy Feet" and a healthy yarn stash, I ought to be plotting out a pair right now. These were knit by an anonymous Turkish woman and purchased by my brother-in-law for roughly $10. Enjoy!

It's January and everyone seems to be on a diet. I hope those contemplating the Atkins diet or any that relies on meat will read this first. It's a very blunt essay by one of my favorite writers, Michael Pollan, on the sorry state of industrial meat. Actually, I don't bring this up to blast meat-eating or low-carb diets -- in fact, I'm trying to restrict my carbs, too, along the recommendations in The Schwarzbein Principle. And, after many years as a vegetarian, I'm eating small quantities of meat and fish again. My rule in eating meat is that it must be organic unless I purchase it directly from the farmer. I have a good local source, a young farming couple that raises drug-free livestock on pasture. Yes, it's more expensive than the meat at the supermarket, but isn't the health of my family and the planet worth it? I think so. Also, the extra cost forces me to keep meat from becoming a significant portion of my diet. In my grandparents' day, meat was a luxury consumed in small quantities. The industrial factory farming method has made it so cheap that now it's an everyday food item even for the poorest in the U.S. (I know this because I volunteer at a local soup kitchen and it's always on the menu there). I think that's too much meat-eating, and definitely too much consumption of toxins and drugs for those eating industrial meat.

Now, on to knitting. I have pictures! I'm close to finishing the body of "Midnight Sun," front:



and back:



Also, I'm working on pullover from Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Knits. It's in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, here:



And, finally, the fish bag. I haven't quite finished the embroidery, and I forgot to sew on the fins before I felted it, but my daughter likes it anyway. Here it is:

We're back from our holiday trip to North Carolina. Later, I will post a photo of the Turkish socks my brother-in-law brought back for me from Turkey. They are awesome!

In other knitting news, I had a little impulse buy at the LYS yesterday, purchasing a yarn pack for the vine motif cardigan from "Poetry in Stitches." It was just calling my name from the top of the shelf. I don't know when I'm going to start it. I cast on for a sweater from "Viking Knits" last night, and I still haven't collected yarn for the Donegal knit-along.

Tada!



Above is the finished back of "Shannon" and below



the front. Won't the little recipient feel special? I can hardly wait to give it to her, although I'm not sure I'll actually let her wear it.

More from the gallery coming up. I haven't been blogging because I've been so busy knitting. And here's what I've done:



The finished Christmas stocking. Since we've decided to spend the holidays with our families in North Carolina, this won't get used this year.



The requisite fuzzy scarf, which is a gift for my 20-year-old niece. It's in a Berroco yarn.

And finally,



I did two of these, gifts for a niece and nephew. Why didn't anyone tell me that garter stitch is NOT a good idea for stripes on an item that doesn't have a wrong side? Oh well, my sister promises me the recipients will not know the difference. Still, I'm sad to give them such a poor excuse for a Harry Potter scarf when I made such a nice one for my son.

Also, I've knitted and felted the "Fish of Prosperity" bag, but I haven't done the embroidery yet.

All that remains on the needles is the "Midnight Sun" dress and the second in a pair of chunky mittens, which will be finished the next time I get an hour to knit. That won't be today, because I've got to get busy packing!

Happy holidays!

It's a rare sunny December day here in northern Michigan, and I've just come from a lovely breakfast with friends and a pleasant walk home, yet I'm infused with a sense of dread. When my kids get home from school, I have promised my son, who celebrated his 10th birthday this week, an outing with friends to the movies. In our town, the only place to see a PG or G movie is at the mall. Ugh! Can anyone think of a better way to wreck a perfectly nice day than having to go to the mall in December? It's usually a place I take great pains to avoid, especially this time of year.

On a happier note, I think the Christmas stocking is shaping up nicely. Here's the latest photo:



The snowflake pattern came from "Homespun Handknit"; the rest is my own. I don't know yet who the lucky recipient will be. I don't even know why I'm bothering to knit something as useless as a Christmas stocking. Bah, humbug.

OK, I've been skipping around it, so maybe I should just address the issue of Christmas. I hear so many people complain about the stress of the holidays that I wonder why it is the way it is. After all, this is something people do to themselves. Nobody forces anybody else to spend the month baking cookies, throwing parties, decorating and shopping. While there are many useful resources, such as The Center for a New American Dream, to help overcome the commercialism that Christmas has become, I've discovered two simple steps that are most effective: 1) stay away from the mall and big box stores, and 2) turn off the television. Most of the annoying commercial messages come from those two sources. Shut them out and let the peace come in.

If you do feel an obligation to purchase gifts, try shopping at locally-owned businesses, the kind that tend to be located downtown, if your town still has a downtown. Not only will you be more likely to find original and quality items, the money you spend will continue to circulate in your community, improving your local economy. For more information on this topic, read The Benefits of Doing Business Locally and Why You Should Shop Locally, just a couple of articles to get you started.

Back to knitting. Here's a photo showing the current status of Shannon:



All that remains is knitting the front bands and collar. I haven't decided yet if I want to follow AS's directions on that, which would have me knitting them separately and actually sewing on the collar band, or just pick up the whole thing and knit it as one piece. Because it's a V-neck, the trick would be getting the angle right at the intersection of the V and the button band. I could just make increases there, but I wonder if it would look as nice as a seam.

Soon almost all of my current projects will be nearing completion and I haven't determined which of the many things on my to-do list I want to tackle next. I'm thinking of this one:



Now I must go. I have lots of important stuff to do, such as clean the litter box. Ciao!

As the (hopefully) last of the Thanksgiving leftovers warms in the oven, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on this season of joy and gratitude. In the "what is the world coming to" category, I found this CNN.com - Woman knocked unconscious by trampling shoppers - Nov. 29, 2003 story in my inbox. After reading it in horror, I rejoiced in my smug superiority that I once again celebrated Buy Nothing Day instead of joining the hordes at the mall and box stores. But I realize now that I must step down off my high horse and concede that I, too, could have been part of a mob if the $47 deal was, say, "The Scottish Collection" or a 10-skein pack of cashmere yarn. Any other knitters with me on that? (For the humorless out there, I'm just joking ... I don't think I would really trample my fellow human beings for yarn or OOP knitting books ... I hope not, anyway). As a neighbor of mine -- an obsessive collector of country folk art -- used to say, "We all have our sicknesses."


I've finished the sleeves for "Shannon" and am now sewing it together. Here's a picture of it all blocked up (wrong sides):




Also, since apparently I did not have enough WIPs, I've started a Christmas stocking. I couldn't find a pattern I liked, so I took one from "Homespun Handknit" and tinkered around with it a little bit. Here's the start:



In other news, the following books mysteriously arrived at my doorstep last week:

"Latvian Dreams" by Joyce Williams;
"Around the World in 80 Sweaters" by Sue Bradley;
"Knitting for Anarchists" by Anna Zilboorg; and
"Folk Knitting in Estonia" by Nancy Bush.

I like them all. So much to knit, so little time. The Estonian patterns make me want to take up sock knitting again.

"Shannon" is nearing completion. I have about half a sleeve to knit, then seam it together and knit the button bands. Here is the back, which is my current knitting masterpiece:






Now, should I let my daughter actually wear it?

I've decided there is no such thing as "difficult" knitting; there is only knitting you've done before and knitting you've not yet tried. Some knitting requires more attention and takes longer to complete, but it is still just a combination of knit and purl.

The snow has finally arrived in Traverse City and our weather experts tell us winter is here to stay. Instead of feeling the doom and gloom that a long, cold, dark, snowy winter usually brings to me, I'm determined to take a positive spin this year -- hey, isn't it great to live in a place where I can get so much wear out of all these warm woolly things I knit??!! Right now I'm snuggled up in Lochinver topped with Samuel, both of which can be seen here.

Not much thinking today. I have to write a book review and must, must, must stop procrastinating and just do it.

A great interview with Colin Firth (aka "Mr. Darcy") proves he is interesting and intelligent as he is gorgeous. Check it out at Fresh Air: Friday - November 14, 2003 And of course, once I figured out how to post photos on my blog, this had to go up:




In knitting news, I think the color substition for the "Midnight Sun" dress looks great. Here it is:



I'm on the second sleeve of "Shannon." It will easily be finished on time, as will the boring HP scarves.

Yesterday was a great knitting day as I had tons of meetings. I made lots of progress on the two Harry Potter scarves, but they are silly and boring and nothing like the nice one I made for my son. If only I had started sooner, I could have made equally nice gifts for my niece and nephew. But, then I would have had to knit the same scarf three times, so maybe it's just as well it worked out the way it did.

Here's the picture (I'm testing to see if I have finally figured out how to do this):



In the thinking category, a must-read story came in my in-box a few days ago about Wal-Mart and how we're shopping ourselves out of jobs. Apparently, those everyday low prices can only be achieved by shipping the work overseas. It seems to me this situation can't continue indefinitely for Wal-Mart because if we lose too many jobs, they'll lose too many shoppers.

Two new WIPs: Harry Potter scarves for my niece and nephew for Xmas. They won't be as deluxe as my son's scarf because there simply isn't time. I'm knitting these simultaneously on size 10s in a simple garter stitch. I'll probably make them about a foot shorter. I have lots of meetings in the next two days, so I should make tons of progress.

"Midnight Sun" is still coming along, and I have almost finished one of the sleeves for "Shannon."



The Neahtawanta Center Home page is the place to keep up with peace happenings in northwest Michigan. Great links and just about everything you need to know, including a running tally on the cost of the war in Iraq.

Today I must, must, must clean the house. I will not pick up the knitting needles or sit down at the spinning wheel or read anything until I have thoroughly cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and office. I also need to clean the litter box, do two loads of laundry and make sauerkraut. My domestic duties have been severely neglected.

But the neglect has been for good causes. On Saturday I attended a peacemakers conference at my church. We had more than 100 people from the community together to brainstorm actions we can take to create a peaceful world. All agreed that defeating Bush in the election next year is of vital importance, but that won't do it alone, of course. Nearly every U.S. president in the 20th century has waged war, and indeed, the fabric of human history is stained with blood. But just because it's always been that way doesn't mean it always has to be that way.

There are actions we will take as a group, and there are actions I can take as an individual. One thing I resolved do is to defer my Christmas gifts to organizations working to create a just and sustainable world. I have links to my favorites on my website.

Now, that applies to gifts for me. I'm still knitting gifts for others. And the peace conference was a good place to knit. I made great progress on "Midnight Sun" for Leah. I've added a band of the fair isle pattern to the bottom of the skirt, and I think the colors are turning out nicely. I changed them somewhat from the original pattern, adding purple and flipping the gold and red to other spots.

I also started the second side of the "Fish", but I made scant progress on "Shannon."

And I cast on about 8 stitches for a Christmas stocking. I'm making up my own pattern as I go.

No knitting today, so far. Instead, I've been working on my web page, which is not quite finished, but is a lot better than it was. Check it out with the link on the right.

Now I'm about to head upstairs and work on the first sleeve of "Shannon." Tonight's a good knitting night -- Survivor and CSI, but I doubt I'll stay awake for Without a Trace.

"Midnight Sun" is cast on. I still haven't started the second side of "Fish of Prosperity."

I inventoried all of my knitting/spinning books and patterns today, and it's posted on my knitting website. I had a total of 50 items! I wish I had a place for a studio where I could keep all of my craft items.

Today looks to be a good knitting day as I have two meetings scheduled and the wait-in-line for swim lesson signup.

Right now I have 3 official works in progress and I'm swatching for a 4th. They are:

"Shannon" from The Celtic Collection by Alice Starmore. This is a child's cardigan and will be my daughter's Christmas present. I ordered the yarn direct from Scotland at Virtual Yarns. It is gorgeous. As soon as I figure out how to post photos, I'll put up the back, which I've finished. It is a two-headed dragon and a very complex intarsia pattern. Last night, I finished the second of the two front panels, so now all I have left to do are the sleeves and the finishing.

"Fish of Prosperity" from Folk Bags by Vicki Square. This is another Christmas gift for Leah. I've finished one side and plan to cast on for the second side today.

"Ripple Afghan" from Mosaic Magic: Afghans Made Easy by Lily Chin. This is a long-languishing crochet project. It has been sitting in my Lantern Moon basket for months. The yarn is gorgeous -- it's some I bought in Los Ojos, N.M., last spring break from Tierra Wools, a fabulous place. I intended to resume work on it after I finished "Shannon," but last night I started swatching for...

"Midnight Sun" from Scandinavian Knitwear by Alice Starmore. This is the dress and cap on the cover. The book is old (1982) and out of print, but I have it and I want to make this dress for my daughter before she is too big to wear it. I think I have enough leftover "periwinkle" of the Brown Sheep cotton fleece yarn I used for "Lochinver," and it would be very comfortable yarn for the dress.

There's only about 100 more things I want to make right now, so I don't know what I'll cast on for next. I suspect I'll finish the fish bag in a few days, as well as "Shannon," so I'll be ready to start another project. I have some lavendar Brown Sheep cotton fleece that I think would be perfect for a cabled sweater, maybe "Frode" from Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Knits.

So will the afghan ever be resumed? I think so, but I have to confess I was eager to start "Midnight Sun" because I wanted to use the lovely ebony circular needles I bought at the SOAR market a couple of weeks ago.

And speaking of spinning, I have spent a bit of time at the wheel lately. I spun some brown roving I've had sitting around for years, and I plan to try a Navajo ply on that, maybe tomorrow. I learned the Navajo ply at Maggie Casey's plying workshop at SOAR.

Another big item on my to-do list is to scour that Romney fleece I bought in August at the Michigan Fiber Festival. It has been sitting in a bag in my living room ever since.

I won't get it done sitting at the computer, so later!

Hello, and welcome to my blog. I'll be showing off some of the things I've knitted as soon as I can figure out how to work this thing.

In the meantime, I have two homepages to link to. The first is a family page about our year of adventures, although it desperately needs updating since it currently is only the first two months of the year away.

The second homepage will be about my knitting, when I figure out how to get it set up. There you will eventually find photos of my knitting projects, as well as helpful information and links.

So this is basically a test post to see if I can make the blog thing work. Hopefully I'll figure out how to load files and photos to my knitting home page today and that link will be operational.