Okay, let’s see if we can get back to something like normalcy around here :)  I’ve been running around, getting dad to his doctor’s appointments in Boston this week so what free time I have had has been spent mostly vegetating.  However, there has been some knitting going on!

I have finished the first mitt…

This pattern is one of my very favorites but let me tell you, it’s slow going - at least for me.  I knit at a reasonable pace but there’s so much going on here (and at such a small scale) that I have to slow way down to make sure I get things right.  However, slow though it may be, it is also incredibly gratifying to see the admittedly rococo pattern emerge.  I am truly enjoying this :)

Because I eliminated two stitches from the purl ditches, the leaf/vine motif enclosed therein does something interesting.  It hides when the mitt isn’t being worn.  When the mitt is donned, suddenly…

...there they are!  This was unanticipated, but I think it’s very cool :)

Featured in the same sale from which I acquired the sock yarn for the mitts was Lionbrand wool.  I hadn’t tried it before but since it was an excellent price, decided that now was the time.

I know, I’m supposed to be branching out from pinks and purples.  Eh, I do still like purple and because of the sale, only a limited selection of colors remained on the shelves.  I only got two balls of the stuff because, really this is a let’s-see-what-this-is-like exercise.  On the good side, it’s a larger than average helping of yarn since the ball is 85 grams (rather than the usual 50 grams) and 158 yds.  The yarn feels very rough to me though.  I will have to work up a swatch or a hat or something and see how it feels after it has been knitted and washed.  If it still feels too scratchy to wear, I’ll toss it into the blanket stash for future use :)

I started another cowl last night - hopefully a gift for a friend.

This a Paton’s Classic Merino of which I am growing more and more fond.  It works up nicely (for both knitting and dyeing purposes), has a decent hand, is easy to find and isn’t terribly expensive.  What more could you ask of a yarn?

Clearly my brain has been fried by doing the little teeny bobbles on the mitts.  What can I say?  I like bobbles :)  I must say, they’re a lot easier (and faster) at standard worsted gauge than at fingering weight and I envision bobble sections set off by seed stitch bars.  This is being worked end to end rather than in the round and will probably get buttons or clasps when its finished.

I saw the inaugural proceedings Tuesday, waiting with my father at the VA hospital.  The room was jammed with people - not only patients, but receptionists, nurses and orderlies - anyone who had a few minutes to spare.  I watched an elderly woman who was moved to tears and a young man who removed his hat for the opening prayer and recited the Lord’s Prayer (sub vocally) with the reverend.  I also saw several expressions of doubt and skepticism amongst the group.  But none of these reactions were specific to an age or a race.

It also occurred to me that if we, the people of the United States) can elect an African American to the highest office in the land, perhaps we aren’t as bigoted as I had feared.  While I am not in any way a political person and have no opinion on what kind of leader President Obama may turn out to be, I am heartened never the less.

Onwards!

Chatters is on for tomorrow evening.  I have missed our little sessions and am looking forward to hearing about everybody’s projects for the new year.

Hope to see you then!