Deep Winter

After a frighteningly mild start, winter has arrived with a vengeance. I am home for a second snow day in two weeks. And it looks like we may call off school for another day or two this week because of frigid temperatures.

This is not a good thing. We only budget for two weather days per school year, so we have to add minutes or days if we have three or more weather days. Not that I'm complaining today. A three-day weekend is always nice!

However, after I post this, I need to take a walk. The temperature is around 0 -- and that is about as warm as it is going to get for this week. And then I need to do some paperwork for school. Those special ed deadlines do not shift for snow days!

I've started a second Dewberry cowl with a skein of Sun Valley fibers. The yarn is super-soft and the perfect shade of blue to wear with denim.

I finished my Soundwaves Shawl and I'm not sure I'm happy with it. It hasn't been blocked, but it looks like the outer edge isn't going to accommodate the top edge smoothly. I looked at Ravelry, and I'm not the only person to run into this issue. We'll see if blocking helps.

On the first snow day, I went skiing on the bike path with some friends. It wasn't too bad. And it was nice to ski without driving Up North. 

I have been finishing up small art quilts, so I have a stack of them that need quilt labels. I spent about an hour this morning making some. I am just very slow with a sewing machine. I don't mind hand-sewing them onto the quilts.

Yesterday, I went over my friend Tsela's house and we drew. I am quite pleased with my sketch:

It really does look like Tsela. However, her couch is gray. I just wanted to get some more color into the picture.

These cold, snowy days make me happy (yes, I know that is not normal). It is just so cozy to be inside with a fun knitting project and a cup of tea when the weather is so bad. 

I hope you are enjoying the weather where you are!

I Blame Kathy!

If you read Kathy's blog (and if you don't, you really should) you know that she has knit up two Dewberry cowls. Hers are so lovely, that I just had to cast on one for myself:

Not only is it a beautiful pattern (which she says is also easy), but it lends itself well to Malabrigo Rios, one of my favorite yarns.

This is kind of a problem, because I'm supposed to be starting my Epic Knit, which is an amazing fair isle cardigan from Marie Wallin:

Is that not stunning? 

It's knit from the bottom up, so you start by casting on more than 350 stitches. Casting on that many stitches is so boring! I can't watch TV or listen to a podcast. It's all about counting. So I keep finding ways to avoid the start. I know, I need to develop some self-discipline.

It is going to take me forever. Marie Wallin is a British designer who runs an annual club of one pattern. I'll be shocked if I finish this in a year.

And since Hanukkah starts tonight, I want to gift you this hilarious and brilliant Hanukkah song:

Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday!)

A Quick Knit

My thoughts are with those of you in the Northeast who are dealing with another major snow storm. I hope you have heat, someone with strong arms (or a snowblower) to shovel, and lots of knitting.

Here in Madison, we have not had even one snow day this year, though I did enjoy our ice day. It's a long stretch from winter break to spring break.

I have made quite a bit of progress this week on my Underscore Cowl from Making magazine. This would make a great last-minute gift as it knits up quickly and is quite lovely.

I work on my appliqued jeans a little at a time because it's awkward reaching into pants legs. I've decided that my birds are going to talk.

As it's Thursday evening, I'm looking forward to a weekend of sketching and painting. 

And decluttering. I really need to get serious about this. I got The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up from the library. The first 20% of the book is sort of a sales job about how great her method is. I'm hoping to get into the how-to part of the book soon. I certainly need both advice and inspiration!

On Magazines

Where did this past week go? Work, mostly. I have three weeks left in my treatment, which continues to make me tired -- and that interferes with most fun things I do, like keeping up with all of you!

Magazines are one of my vices. I love pouring over an art or craft magazine with a cup of tea. But I am trying to cut back, both to save money and reduce clutter. I have a hard time getting rid of these magazines; they are just so beautiful and inspiring. However, at this point, I am drowning in inspiration!

I'm also trying to actually use them, thus I am going to knit this cowl from Issue 4 of Making magazine. This is a gorgeous knitting and craft magazine available only by subscription.  

My friend Tsela saw a pair of appliqued jeans on line and emailed me the link, wondering if we could make our own. Of course we can! Here's part of my mine:

And finally, a glimpse of kitty fun. Kola is about a year old now, just about done with kittenhood. She is still very playful and loves to attack this kitty carrot toy.

Now I'm off to catch up with you!

It's Thursday Already?

How did that happen? This week is just flying by. Work has been busy, but mostly enjoyable. High school students are generally a lot of fun to work with.

I do try to get in a little knitting before and after work, and this has allowed me to finish one of my Knitvent projects and start another. Here is my completed Land of Sweets cowl, made from left-over sock yarn and a ball of KnitPicks Hawthorne:

 I have to admit that I am very pleased with it. I will try to get Keith to take picture of me wearing it this weekend.

I immediately cast on another Knitvent project, the Tchaikovsky Hat in a skein of Sun Valley Fibers DK that I've had for a couple years. 

It seems like it is going to go fast, and will go in the gift bin. I rarely wear green, even though I like it. I mean, who doesn't like green? 

At any rate, I am so glad that I joined Knitvent, and I won't be surprised if I end up knitting all six projects in the next year.

For now, I'm looking forward to the weekend, but also kind of dreading it. Two holiday parties! This requires more energy than I usually have during the school year. I'm determined to make them both. After that, things will calm down and I'm hoping for a restful break over the holidays.

Potato Chip Knitting and Reading

First, I want to thank all of you for kind words this past week for my cracked tooth. I swear those digital good wishes do translate into pain relief! It certainly does help to have so many friends out there pulling for me. (ETA: the verb "pulling" is definitely a pun)

I have had the perfect knitting and listening to get me through this. I am 80% of the way through my Land of Sweets Cowl, and I just can't stop. It's a proverbial "potato chip" knit -- just one more round! Even the lace sections are easy and relaxing.

Yesterday I got to the end of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng on Audible. It is a page-turning story that examines what it means to be a mother from many different perspectives. It also compares a an affluent family with a vagabond artist and her daughter, and raises complex questions about how important money is. It's really quite thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book -- and that's not something I say often. If you like audiobooks, this one is well-done.

I had to pick up the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook as soon as it hit the bookstore. If you haven't discovered Deb Perelman's web site and books, you are in for a treat. She makes amazing food that isn't too complicated in her tiny Manhattan kitchen -- and then shares the results with us. 

Now I'm off to sip my tea and catch up with you!

About To Go On The Needles

This delicious cake of Hawthorne Fingering in the Birthday Cake Speckle colorway is going to be cast on today as the start of my Land of Sweets cowl. I'm hoping that this plus my scrap yarn will be enough to complete the cowl.

I hope to squeeze in some reading time during this 5-day weekend, though it will be busy with family. I am halfway through The World Broke in Two. I am thoroughly enjoying it, but I would say that it's definitely a book for a book-lover.  If you are not fascinated by Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, E. M. Forster, and D.H. Lawrence, I suspect you'd find this book a bore.

I've just begun Bluets by Maggie Nelson. It's lyrical blend of genres, including memoir and true crime. It's short so I should have a review by next week.

Kola urges all Americans and anyone else who wants to join in to count their blessings this weekend. Kola herself is grateful for all crumbs dropped on the floor or countertop. She also appreciates a warm stove burner.

One Finished, One Will Never Be

About a year ago, my daughter asked me to make a pencil case for her. It just so happens that I have long wanted to learn to put in zippers. It took a about a year to figure it out. I thoughtlessly gave her the first one that was successful over Thanksgiving -- before I took a photo of it!  But here is pencil case No. 2:

I'm quite happy with it. It's lined and everything!

I see many pencil cases and notions cases in my future.

On the other hand, my Project Peace Cowl is not so peaceful. I thought I had joined it carefully -- as in without twisting it. I was wrong. Besides, I realized that this is not the right color. I really like the cowls, like the original, that are made in pale colors.  Maybe I'll make one next year.

Today was a great day: I got to cross country ski! This is the only exercise that I truly love. I could lose a ton of weight easily if we could have a snowy winter -- with reasonable temperatures. When we headed out to ski at midday, the temp was 10 degrees with wind chill, which is about as cold as I find it comfortable to ski. Even though I am terribly out of shape, it was awesome!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Quick Fix

By "fix" I mean as in chocolate or caffeine. I'm in the middle of a few very long, slow projects knit with fingering weight yarn and wanted to finish something! So I took a page out of Meredith's book and started an Interrupted Cowl with Universal Yarns Bamboo Bloom yarn.

This a great knit -- perfect for TV watching. The green is a bit neony for my taste, but overall I like the yarn.

Still reading and loving Middlemarch by George Eliot. On 500 of 800 pages.

We are experiencing a very cold cold-snap in the Upper Midwest. Right now, a little after noon, the temperature is 14 -- but it feels like 2 with the wind chill. Tomorrow is going to be even colder. There is a silver lining: I am wearing lots of hand-knit items at work and home.

Five and half school days until winter break!

I'll be joining with Ginny today to Yarn Along.

Seeking Peace

I rarely join in Knit-A-Longs. Too much pressure! As a special ed teacher, I already have more deadlines in my life than I can comfortably meet. So, you know that a KAL has to be extra special to draw me in.

A couple days ago, I was reading through my email and something in a message from Knit Circus (a yarn company based here in Madison) caught my eye: The Project Peace KAL. The brainchild of Christina Campell, this project combines knitting a cowl with daily reflections aimed at bringing peace to ourselves and the world around us by extension.

I had not heard of Christina, who blogs at The Healthy Knitter, but I already love her design and this project. You can check out the pattern here on Ravelry. I shopped my stash and found the skein of Pumpkin Pie sock yarn that you see here. It was gift from my dear friend in California, Joni, so it's extra special.

It's not too late to join. Really. You can start with the Dec. 1 post right here.

Loving Fall -- Especially This One

Walking home from school Friday afternoon, I had to stop and take this rather silly picture:

It was another warm day. The leaves crunched under my feet, but not loudly enough to drown out the sounds of the UW-Madison Marching Band practicing.  I gave myself a break from paperwork for the last part of the week and spent all my time working with students -- which is the good part of my job. It was one of those golden afternoons where everything felt right.

Like the leggings? They are really fun an comfortable. A few months ago I discovered Gudrun Sjoden, a Swedish designer, and I am crazy about her clothes. I bought a few with my birthday money and I'm pretty sure that's were some holiday gift money will go, too. These were part of the summer collection.

I've been doing some gift knitting. I wish I could remember and thank the blogger who pointed me to this pattern:

This is the Darn Knit Kinetic Cowl by Carly Stipe, knit up here in Berroco Brio. This is a great, fast knit. It just flew off my needles. And I love the result. It is very light and comfortable to wear. I might have to do one for myself.

My brother is visiting from Washington, D.C., this weekend, so life is good.  Hope yours is, too!

Getting Things Off the Needles

I haven't had an FO for more than two months, so it's clearly time for me to focus and show a bit of knitterly discipline. I'm starting by near-monogamous knitting on the Three-Color Cashmere Cowl. It is a super-easy knit -- perfect for these evenings when I'm tired from adjusting to a new school.

I can show embroidery project that soaked up much of my summer because the Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists show opened this weekend. Here is my piece, Original Garden:

The main panel is all hand-embroidered with plain-old DMC thread. I drew the flowers as I went along. It was a much bigger undertaking than I realized at the beginning and I'm still kind of amazed that I finished it. Each flower is native to Wisconsin (which was required to be in the show).

The opening reception was Sunday, and I am so grateful to the friends and family who were able to come. The show is up through October at the Arboretum, so I hope to get back and take a better photo.

Last night I started Mao II by Don DeLillo. I have never gotten very far in any of his books, but this one is calling out to me. I can say that the beginning is much more readable than other DeLillo books I've tried. We'll see.

Joining up with Ginny for Yarn Along.

It's a Lovely Weekend

 It is a picture-perfect weekend here, which is especially nice on a holiday weekend. It's really too bad that we have a three day weekend after two days of school. The year is off to a great start so I certainly didn't need a break!

 I snapped this photo of a compass flower on a bike ride yesterday.

 I have finished the knitting part of Arika. It's hard to believe it is going to turn into this.  It's all in the blocking!

 Today we are going to take my dad to Chicago for a family gathering. Sadly my mom has the flu, so she won't be joining us. Here's my contribution:

I hope the weekend is a lovely one for all of you!

Getting Back to Real Life.

 Coming home from vacation can be hard, don't you think? All that time to enjoy life and see new things -- and then it's back to work. While teachers in my district don't officially start until tomorrow, I've been tackling some of the paperwork that dogs special ed teachers.  I know I'll be glad in the long run that I got a head start on things.

With all the focus on work, I've been doing mindless knitting on my Three-Color Cowl. It's a pleasant TV knit, but not terribly exciting to make. It did get me through the latest season of Orange is the New Black. I thought this season was excellent, but also disturbing.

I'm nearing the end of White Trash by Nancy Isenberg. I don't think it lives up to the reviews. It starts out focused, but seems to lose focus by the halfway point. Kind of mad I bought it in hardcover.

Last night I started T.C. Boyle's novel, The Harder They Come. As always, his writing sparkles with wit and word choice. I'm hoping it's good.

Join me over at Ginny's to Yarn Along.

Knitting in the Heat

It has been a hot summer, hasn't it? In southern Wisconsin, we're headed back up to the high 80s, and the humidity is off the charts!

The only good thing I can say about this weather is that it is perfect for iced coffee, which I love. My method: Set up a French press the night before; put it in the frig overnight with the plunger all the way up; then plunge in the morning and pour over ice.

If you know me, you know I cannot knit monogamously. Just can't pull it off. Even though my Whiz Bang socks are coming along fine, I just had to cast on the Aprika Cowl. I saw a few samples at an LYS earlier this summer and then fell in love with the yarn, Rowan Softyak. It really is soft. And not as pricey as you might think at $13 per skein.

I've started reading White Trash, which got excellent reviews. It is fascinating, but also discouraging. This country has never offered opportunity for all, even going back before the Revolution. I am not shocked, but it is painful to read the details. It is well-written, but I'd say it's a book for history nerds.

Join me at Ginny's Yarn Along.

There's Nothing Like Cashmere

Don't you just love it when you stumble on a pattern you love and find that you have the perfect yarn for it in your stash? That's what happened with the Three Color Cashmere Cowl.

I saw a sample in a LYS and realized that I had the perfect gray and black yarn in my stash. They are Sun Valley Fibers yarns, and they do have cashmere in them. My neck and face are sensitive to wool, but the cashmere seems to solve that problem. The red is a MadTosh. It doesn't have cashmere, but there is only one section of it.

The Water Knife is like a lot of thrillers: The plot is better than the characterization. Set in a dystopic future Southwest, where water is in extreme shortage, the story follows three characters. The idea and setting are quite convincing. Not sure if I'll finish this.

Is it hot everywhere? We are having a hot week here in southern Wisconsin. My favorite weapon in these times -- we don't have AC -- is Starbuck's Instant Via Very Berry Hibiscus.

While I sip away, I'll be checking to see what everyone is up to at Ginny's Yarn Along.

Short and Sweet Update

It's a crazy busy week: a couple of 12-hour days at school and my aunt is flying in from Seattle tomorrow, so I want to do some cooking.

Zuzu's Petals knits up pretty quickly, as other bloggers have noted. The lace pattern is quite easy to follow on the chart. You can't tell from its current state, but I have just two more rows and cast-off left to do.

I'm doing some more serious reading this days, research for the work I'm planning for the Jewish Artists' Lab, which runs through May, when we'll have a show. Emancipation is about the Jews' battle for citizenship rights in Europe during and after the Enlightenment. I'm addicted to those sticky notes. I love being able to mark pages without writing on them.

I'm joining up with Ginny at Yarn Along.

If You Can't Live By the Sea ...

One of joys of blogging is seeing other bloggers' photos of their trips to the ocean. I love the ocean, the waves crashing on the sand, the whitecaps racing to the shore, the shifting colors. But Wisconsin is a long way from anything that could be called a "sea."

I think that sometimes I am subconsciously drawn to things that have echos of the ocean, like the yarn I chose for this Shredded Cowl.

I LOVE this color, but as I near the end, I'm wondering what I think I'm going to wear it with. I tend more toward black/grays than blues. But I'm going to have to find something to wear this with. I want to keep it.

And this novel is all about the mysteries of the ocean.

I have laughed out loud many times at the wit of the narrator, a smart but snarky MBA type from California whose honeymoon in the Carribean takes a number of unexpected turns. Now, I need to say that I don't like magical realism, and despite the presence of mermaids, this novel stays largely out of that territory. The mer-plot is handled deftly and does not require too much suspension of disbelief.

Don't forget to see what everyone else is crafting and reading over at Small Things' Yarn Along.

Success in Knitting and Reading

I just zipped through the Shredded Cowl, which is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Knit-Purl magazine and I just love it. I will have to do an FO picture later. While this photo makes the yarn look purple, it's really a burgundy red.

This is a easy project that knits up fast. The downside? Each one of the 19 i-cords has two ends that must be woven in. I didn't mind. I am sure I'll be making more of these. Oh, and it looks great on, too.

Finally, after three months, I finished Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. I mostly listened to it on an Audible recording, but I got the book out of the library so I could go back and check things I had forgotten or was confused about. Yes, I listened to all 36 hours! It is a very good book, but also very depressing. I didn't think I could get more cynical about politics, but I was wrong. Nixon was a masterful politician, but he was a horrible man who refused to end the Vietnam War because he thought he couldn't be elected without it. At any rate, I'm actually considering listening to another one of his books. Really, it was that good -- if you love history and politics, that is.

I am about halfway through Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones. It's very interesting, but I hate the way it is structured. The narrative jumps from person to person and issue to issue and then comes back to those people and issues at later points. I've given up on keeping track of the people he uses to tell the story. Somehow, though, it's still quite readable.

You might remember the cupcakes I baked all day in the heat Saturday. Totally worth it! Here are the beautiful bride and groom:

I've known Ilana since she was in utero and I am so moved by the the strong, loving woman that fiesty little girl grew into. Her mom put together an amazing celebration that went from 1 to 10 p.m., starting in a park and ending with a buffet dinner.  I just hope my daughter doesn't think I'm ever throwing a 9-hour party! It was a moving event. These are the moments that make all those years of worry and carpooling and laughing arguing worthwhile.

Don't forget to join Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.

I Already Need A Break!

After just three days of school, I really need this three-day weekend. Nothing terrible happened, but spending 7 hours a day with middle-schoolers in 90-degree weather and no air conditioning is exhausting! It was an unusually busy first week. I got three new students on the first day alone -- and more will trickle in. We are getting lots of students from Chicago; I suspect that families are fleeing the increasing violence there.

So, I started this morning with a short bike ride to a cafe to have coffee and knitting with my friend Marsha. The rest of the day is devoted to cleaning and making these:

These are the yet-to-be-frosted Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes that I'm making for a wedding picnic tomorrow. Ilana, the bride, loves these cupcakes, so I'm making 80. (The recipe is from the book Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor. It's my favorite cupcake book.) I'm cleaning because at 8 p.m. I will be hosting Selichot, one of the services that precedes the Jewish High Holy Days.

Thank goodness we have a window AC unit in the kitchen as it's another hot day!

I have feet issues so I have to take regular sitting breaks, which almost always involve knitting. At some point today, I'm going to cast on for the cowl on the cover of the latest Knit-Purl magazine. I'm using Rios, but in a different colorway. It looks like a pretty fast knit.

I hope that no one else is suffering in this heat.