Julie Update

Thank you for all the supportive comments and well wishes for our furry baby. She's home now, a bit groggy, but seems to be doing well. As soon as we got home, she was walking around smelling everything to make sure all was as she left it. Now she's all cuddled up in her Elmo chair.

We won't know about the pathology until next week sometime, but she's happy to be home.

I hope to get my yearly knitting summary and my knitty resolutions for the new year out in the next couple of days and I hope to blog a bit more regularly. Thanks again for all the good thoughts. If I didn't answer you personally, it's simply because I don't have your email address (Blogger doesn't always give it to me).

Animal Lovers

I know I've been posting very sporadically the last few weeks, but I just haven't been doing a lot of knitting. I've been doing a little and some spinning and I plan to do a summary of all completed objects in 2006 sometime soon, but today, I'm a bit sad. I know so many bloggers are also pet owners/animal lovers and I want to ask for your good thoughts for my Juliette today. I found a lump on her abdomen last week and the vet thinks it's mammary cancer (doggie breast cancer). She's having surgery today to remove it. We'll know how good or bad it is sometime next week. Please think of Julie today. She's been with us all of my adult life and she's such a sweet girl. Thank you!

Anniversary Present

My husband and I celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary yesterday. How do I know he really loves me? Because he gave me this:

Yep, that's a Golding, a purpleheart tsunami. And since it really looks much bigger than it is in that picture, here's one for scale.

Isn't it pretty? Not too much knitting going on, but I've been spinning quite a bit with my Sweetheart Golding. Some pretty silk which I've shown before. I'm spinning it very thin, so it's going to take a while. With my new Tsunami, I think I'm going to start on this lovely natural-colored cashmere silk (it's the one in the upper left) that I got at the Montpelier Fiber Festival.

Holiday Meme

Well, I don't have much to show you, so I thought I'd do the holiday meme that's been making the rounds. But first a picture of our "pup":

This is Juliette. She's a fourteen-year-old Shih-tzu and still in pretty good health. And now for the meme:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate, of course.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Usually just leaves a small thing or two unwrapped. I spend a lot of time picking out just the perfect gifts. No one else is getting credit.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope.
5. When do you put up your decorations?
Usually the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we still haven't finished all the decorations.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Cranberry sauce.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Getting up before my parents to see what I got, then acting surprised when they actually got up with the camera.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Don't remember.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
I try and finagle as many gifts as I can on Christmas Eve. Heck, I try getting stuff even before Christmas. I hate waiting.
10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree?
Crocheted snowflakes, some special bought ornaments and more recently, some beaded snowflakes.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread?
I love it for about the first snow, maybe two, of the season. But when I have to shovel the drive more than about 2 or 3 times, it gets old. Good thing I live where I do; usually just about enough.
12. Can you ice skate?
Yes. Sort of.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I don't remember.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with my husband and girls.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Cookies.
16 What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Making sugar or gingerbread cut-out cookies.
17. What tops your tree?
Crocheted angel.
18. What is your favourite holiday book?
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I re-read it every year. I love Dickens.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
I like so many, but I love Ella Fitzgerald's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy?
Definitely yummy. Love peppermint.

WIP Wednesday

I still haven't recovered full knitting mojo, but I have been working on a couple of things. First, I've begun the lovely Hidcote with my Sweet Georgia yarn.

I don't care how hard I try in Photoshop, I just can't seem to really capture the beauty or even approximate the color of this stuff. (My camera always makes everything too blue, so I usually have to color correct.)

Oddly enough, I didn't have to touch the picture of the Snowman Vest.

The first one is there just so you don't think I'm recycling old photos. I want to be done by Christmas, but I don't think it's going to happen, not with the mojo wavering like it is.

Something that has absolutely nothing to do with knitting: For those of you who watch House, I really wish Tritter would get hit by a bus. There I'm done. That's all I'll say.

Sweet Georgia Yarn

Check out my new yarn from Sweet Georgia. Yeah, I know I'm supposed to be on a yarn moratorium for sock yarn, but see, this stuff was actually ordered back in October before my self-imposed moratorium. It's part of the reason for my moratorium. Felicia was out of the country for most of October, so I'm just now getting my yarn. (Sort of like an early Christmas present.) Keeping in mind that the pictures do not in any way do this stuff justice, here's the lovely sock yarn:

Top to bottom: Velvet Underground, Coal Harbour, and (is it really any surprise) my favorite Paris. So I really need to use up some sock yarn before I buy any more.

And now for the reason I placed the order in the first place:

That's laceweight in the colorway Viola. I've already wound one of the skeins and printed out my copy of the Hidcote Garden Shawl pattern. All ready to start. Maybe my mojo is finding its way back to me. I've really wanted to do Hidcote ever since I saw it a couple of months ago and I'm very excited that I finally have the yarn.

WIP Wednesday

There hasn't been a whole lot of knitting going on. I often face a bit of "what to do" when I've finished a big project like the shawl. Even though I do have other projects going, I just can't seem to pick them back up. So there's just a little knitting for you:

That's my entrelac sock which has had just a little progress. (Debi's socks striped up very similarly to how mine are striping. I love hers!)

Did anyone else watch Monday night's The Closer? I love the show and there is a sweater that the character of Brenda has worn in several episodes (including this one) that I just love and want to duplicate. Anyway, in Monday's episode, she had been on administrative leave for several months and she had been trying to fill her time. There were several dying houseplants and on the end table was a basket of yarn and a knitting book. When her boyfriend sat on the couch, he hopped back up and said "ouch" and pulled out a ball of yarn with knitting needles in it which I thought hilarious because of how many times my DH has done the same thing.

I've been beading a little. You might remember these cute little snowflakes. Well, I've added two more to the collection. They are from a pattern in Bead & Button magazine.


I'm really hoping to find my knitting mojo soon because I'm just hopping between things right now. I have no doubt I'll find it eventually, but for now I guess I'll get some other things done. Like maybe getting the Christmas tree up. Usually it's up by now, but we're a bit behind this year. Maybe getting caught up on blogging - again.

The Tourist Thing

Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments on the shawl! The holiday party was Saturday and we went and had a lovely time. It was my first really fancy party and it was just fun seeing everyone all dressed up. The shawl was just perfect to keep me warm as it got a bit chilly at times. As for the dress, none of the picture from the party really show it off well (a shame), so I'll have to put it back on sometime this week with the shawl and get some pictures of the whole ensemble.

As for knitting, I really haven't been doing a great deal of it. Nothing has really inspired me. I've been sort of working on the entrelac socks, sort of on the second snowman vest, but can't really get to work on anything. I do have some yarn finally coming for the Hidcote Shawl, so maybe that will inspire.

Anyway, we did the tourist thing yesterday with the parents who are in town. I've lived in the area for about four years and this was the first time we've been to the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. We fought the chilly weather (about 45 with wind) and whiny kids (they were mostly good, but you really can't park anywhere near the memorials these days; it's hard on little legs) and saw the monuments.
So here's Abe:

He's actually quite impressive. You always see pictures of the statue, but it is really quite impressive in real life.
And Jefferson:


I couldn't get a decent picture of Jefferson because the light was behind the statue. And for some reason, I forgot my sock to take a picture with the famous presidents. It was in the car, but I didn't think about it until we were at Jefferson's and I wasn't about to walk all the way back to the car for the sock. Sorry to disappoint:)

I have my monthly guild meeting tonight. I honestly haven't decided whether or not to take the shawl or wait until next month. I feel like an overachiever sometimes. It brings me back to the Yarn Harlot's point a few weeks ago about undervaluing our work as knitters. Why should I feel like an overachiever if I'm good at knitting, especially with other knitters? But I do feel like that at my guild meeting sometimes.