A Long Weekend

A long weekend comes in handy once and awhile and this one was no different. I got ambitious and cleaned the den...moving furniture, scattering dust and generally aggravating my allergies. (I knew I was allergic to cleaning!) By the end of Saturday I had a clean den, a nice tidy stack of patterns and magazines, and swollen itchy eyes. That didn't stop me from working on my Avon Lady's baby sweater...a vintage sachet with alternate purl-knit stripes done on size 1 needles posted here, and a pair of fingerless mitts to send to a friend in China. (No, not Fred. He's one of those who says 'no one wears them'.) With those projects finished I'm looking for another sweater to make for myself. Maybe in sport yarn this time. There were a couple in the new Interweave Knits that came on Saturday that looked good. Decisions. Decisions. Oh well, while I ponder I guess I'll make another baby set for the shop.

Fbruary Lady Sweater

Well, it's done and I'm wearing it today! I thought I'd never get my February Lady Sweater finished but between the dvd Mamma Mia and my knitting group last night I finished it! I decided to wear it today and have a photo taken that I can post here. And, maybe, a co-worker will like it so much she'll offer to buy it! Naw, I'm not that lucky!

I'm finishing a baby sweater for my Avon Lady that someone else had started and then I'm going to make some baby socks to use up left over yarn. I'm still knitting from my stash and I have a lot of leftover sock yarn so that should keep me busy for awhile!

No word if that slow boat to China has docked yet with Fred's Vest. School officially opened on Monday and the package was to be delivered to the headmaster's office. If the first days of school over there are anything like it is here, I'll give them a couple of days to get organized before I expect a reply. I've been looking at patterns for briefcase-type bags for his next package and found a Monk's Bag that I think he'll like. He's always been interested in Tibet and Buddhism and he's planning to visit Lhasa in the spring.

Time to get working. We're doing the annual patron count here at the library this week and yesterday we had 215+ people come in. Not bad for a small town library.

Winter Doldrums

I've got a bad case of the winter knitting doldrums. I'm tired of working on my February Lady Sweater eventho I'm more than half way finished with the body and the end's in sight! I got 2 books thru the library--Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop and One Ball Knits Accessories by Fatema Habibur-Rahman-and found a moebius pattern in the One Ball Knits that I'd like to do. How would a ribbon yarn on size 11 needles work for the moebius? I wear a lot of black and the ribbon yarn I have is quite colorful. I've also got a pair baby socks on the needles trying to use up some of the left-over yarn from the baby sweaters already in the 'finished bag'. One of the girls at my Tuesday Knitting Group showed me how to use 2 circular needles instead of 4 dp and I love the method!

This is Day 21 of Fred's Vest's trip to China and that's adding to my restlessness. I want to see a photo of him wearing it!! He spent 21 days of his 48 day vacation in the warm south of China at Nanning...near Vietman...doing 1 & 2 day trips around the area. But in near silence...few emails. (And that may have added to my restlessness, too!) Anyway, he's in Luzhou ready to get back to teaching again. He keeps telling me...and his parents... that he's safer in China than in the USA but a 6'2, 240#, blond, blue-eyed man who doesn't speak Chinese in a land of 5'5' black-haired people who don't speak English tends to stand out and we worry...and that really infuriates his 58-yr-old ego! Oh, well, at least he knows we care. Now what should I knit for him next? So far he's gotten 2 pairs of socks and the vest. It doesn't snow in Luzhou, so there's no need for gloves or mittens or scarves. I'm open to suggestions.

Got to get back to work, the book delivery just got here and there's things to do! Mary T