Between Times

We had a loverly Winter Solstice party at Milady Daughter’s on Monday. Just the immediate fambly plus Nana and T-Man’s lonely bro, whose wife and kids are currently in Quebec. Milord & Milady are going to Victoria for Christmas to be with his mom & step-dad so this was our only chance to get together until New Year’s Day. The gang is getting so numerous that splitting up for the holidays is inevitable. Since I don’t really care much about following traditions, I’m not bothered in the least. As long as nobody feels lonely or left out, it’s all good.

Princess Pink liked her legwarmers and they fit well so I may be working on another pair soon. Milady liked her rather belated Birthday Socks and Nana loved her Ishbel shawl. It was nice to finally give these away after sitting on them for so long! There was quite the coincidence too with Milady Daughter giving her sis-in-law, The White Lady, another Ishbel from the same merino/tencel sock yarn but in a different colourway. We even used the same modification: doing an extra repeat of the lace to make it bigger! All this same-same without actually conspiring together on purpose. Of course, Milady’s is much more evenly knit, even though she knit hers on public transit and I knit mine in the van on our vacation, so we were both working in moving vehicles. She just couldn’t control herself and had to put them together to see how similar they were!

Milady also knit her Nana a gorgeous shawl with her handspun lace yarn, using a pattern of her own devising from the ones in Evelyn Clark’s Knitting Lace Triangles booklet. See?

Isn’t it purty? That’s Milady herself modeling it about 10 minutes after the shawl came off the blocking board. Nana was thrilled to have two shawls: one warmer and one dressier from the both of us crazy-mom-and-daughter lace-knitting-maniacs.

T-Man is off work this week so things are a little more off-kilter than usual in Damselfly’s Pond. Sleeping late, getting breakfast in bed, reading and knitting/crocheting as much as I want…life is tough, eh? Makes me look forward to his retirement all the more. Then we’ll have lots of time – but no money. Ya wins some; ya loses some, doncha?

Meanwhile, I finished these little darlings:

Sleekit Mitts

Begun: December 8, 2009

Completed: December 21, 2009

Yarn: Newton’s Yarn Country Happy Feet sock yarn, 3-ply superwash wool/nylon, commercially painted (reds/blues), took 40 g/ 155 yds (still more left!)

Needles: Clover Takumi bamboo dpns, 2mm

Pattern: Sleekit Mitts by Star Rabinowitz (free pattern on Ravelry)

Mods: used smaller needles to make a tighter mitt for my small hands

Comments: Very nice pattern, long wrists and long thumb for extra warmth. The edging was originally published in 1840 and translated by Franklin Habit. I wanted to use it in something but Star beat me to it! I also learned how to do an invisible/sewn bind-off though it came out a wee bit tighter than I would have preferred. I need to learn to do it more loosely. Still it was pretty easy after all the Kitchener-stitch sock toes I’ve done.

Yes, I now have quite enough fingerless mitts/gloves. Need another pair with fingers however. One to wash and one to wear.

Now I have kneesocks and fingerless mitts and I still have some of that yarn left from the humungous skein I bought in June at the ANWG conference in Spokane. What can I do next with the remaining 150 g? Maybe a Baktus scarf? One combining the Lacey version and the Ruffled version maybe? That would be cute!

I’m also trying to finish a last-minute gift. I mean, isn’t everyone? I’d hate to be left out of the insanity. Nearly done. Will blog after the giftee gets it. Off to buy raisins for the Christmas Butter Tarts!