A Bit of Beading

When I am really stressed, I find that following a pattern to make jewelry is relaxing.

I've put these little bracelets together over the past week, using a pattern that I Xeroxed from a book a while ago. I think that the pattern may from Hip to Bead, but I'm not sure.

Why so much stress? Well, it goes without saying that work is stressful. The continuing cuts to education funding makes each year harder than the one before.

And then I have yet another health problem. I mean, really, wasn't breaking my leg in April enough? Apparently not. I had a CAT scan a week ago to see if I had a concussion (smacked my head into the mantel while cleaning -- doesn't everyone do that?). The concussion was mild, but it turns out I have severe arthritis in my right jaw. And I am nowhere near old enough to have such a severe case.

For some reason, that news really upset me. But I've begun physical therapy and it is feeling more manageable. A friend says I should use it as an excuse to go to a milkshake diet ... which is tempting!

The bracelets are a simple right-angle weave with 2 x 2 squares, embellished with fire-polished glass beads. They helped. And they have fewer calories than a milkshake!

Another Baby Blanket

The gift-knitting extravaganza continues: 

One of my co-workers is expecting a baby in January, so I "had" to start a second baby blanket of the year.

I'm going with a quilt-type look, just plain squares. I finished my last baby blanket in August (also for a co-worker) and it was a log-cabin design. I'm doing mitered squares, which I have done a lot of. I just love them and find that they are fairly mindless.

I'm using the same yarn I did for the last blanket -- Lion Brand Jiffy -- which I love for its thick and sturdy qualities. It has the added bonus of being stash busting --unless I find that my left-over yarn isn't enough and I need to "invest" in more Jiffy.

Mindless knitting does have its drawbacks -- i.e. boredom -- so it's a good thing that Keith and I recently began watching Breaking Bad!

Loving that Noro

(It is tempting to start out by apologizing for my gap in blogging, but that is SO boring that I'll assume that you assume that I am indeed sorry.)

There has been some knitting, but not much to say about it. I am still churning out gifts. This is my third Turn a Square Hat by Jared Flood. The colors in the photo seem to have a purplish tint; in reality, the solid yarn is black and the variegated is gray and blue. I do love watching the color changes in the Noro.

It took me a long time to understand what anyone saw in this scratchy yarn -- but now I do. It's a good thing the yarn is too scratchy for me to wear against my skin or I'd be tempted to invest a fortune in Noro yarns.

I should have taken some photos last weekend when my daughter was visiting from Washington, D.C. It's so amazing to watch her turn into a fabulous adult person who I would want as my friend. She and her brother are applying for grad school next fall, so it's going to be a long winter of waiting to hear where they will end up!

Due To Technical Difficulties

When I got back from my travels this summer, my scanner would not cooperate. I had all these great sketches, and no way to get them digitized! Back to school time is always hectic, so it took a while for Keith and I to figure out the problem.

So, in the spirit of better-late-than-never, here are a few of my favorites. The first one is from Madrid:

I drew this sitting on the steps of a little Church on a square near our apartment. I worked in the mornings while sipping my coffee and nibbling a chocolate croissant. It is a very typical apartment building from the older sections of Madrid. Those wrought iron railings are everywhere and give the city an elegant feel. I had a lovely soundtrack while drawing: the morning services a the church!

This next sketch is from Copenhagen:

This was the first castle that my daughter, Rachel, had ever seen, and it was so much fun to share that discovery with her. The wealth contained in these castles resonated strongly with both of us -- how can the few have so much when the many have so little? Nonetheless, it is magical to walk the halls of history and have the people and places jump of the pages of history books.

And I have to add that sketching has added depth to my travels. I really see something when you draw it. The experience is more important than the final product!

Same Hat, Different Color

Yikes! I did not blog at all last week. Just one of those weeks. Lots of work. Spent time with family. Who knows where the hours go?

There was some knitting, though.

This is yet another Turn a Square Hat by Jared Flood. Again I'm using the yarns called for in the pattern: Cascade 220 (black in this case) and Noro Silk Garden in a gray/blue colorway. At this point, I am not at all tired of knitting this pattern, so maybe I really will be able to knit four more!

However, I have enough gift projects that I'm going to need some tv/videos. A friend keeps encouraging me to watch Breaking Bad. A long time ago, I watched the first episode and it was just too dark for me. My friend says it's worth it. Have you seen Breaking Bad? What did you think?

More Gift Knitting

I am almost done with this scarf. I love to wear scarves, and I love to give them as gifts. I feel like they are likely to be worn by the giftee. Fingering-weight scarves have always appealed to me. They are so pretty and light-weight enough to wear comfortably. But, few things are as tedious as a fingering-weight scarf!

I'm nearing the finish line with this, and I will be glad to cast-off! But I still think it's pretty and I know the exact person to appreciate it!

Gift knitting

No selfish knitting for this girl!

There are so many things I want to knit for myself, but I decided a while ago that I was going to give knitted gifts to all the guys on my list. Hanukkah falls really early this year, so I don't really have time to change my mind.

So, hat number 1 is almost done:

It's  the Turn A Square Hat by the ever-popular Jared Flood, who blogs at Brooklyn Tweed.

It's a great pattern, fast but a truly lovely finished hat. I'm using the yarns he calls for: Cascade 220 for the solids and Noro Silk Garden for the stripes. Noro is SO expensive, so it's nice to use it as one yarn in a project. I think I can get at least two hats out of one skein of each yarn.

Am I the only one thinking of the holidays?

Welcoming the Cold

The weather here went from summer to fall overnight, which gave me the opportunity to cover myself with hand knits:

I am wearing a hat from a Vogue Magazine pattern; mitts from a free Internet pattern; basic ribbed leg warmers knit with Kidsilk and Cascade 220; and a very simple shawl. I love fall!

We ate outdoors last night -- in a temporary structure called a sukkah. The sukkah is part of the Jewish celebration of Sukkot, a harvest celebration.

It was a potluck, and most of the dishes were vegan. It seems like more and more people I know are vegan, which I find challenging to cook for. I make a lot of vegetarian dishes, but many of them have cheese or eggs.

Are you running into this, too? My friend Tsela recommends two books: Vegamonicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. I am going to check these out. It's not that I plan to ever become vegan -- no more cheese? forget it! -- but I  want to be able to make food for all my friends.

Are you running into more vegans these days, too?

Weekend Getaway

Keith and I drove to Milwaukee Saturday morning. Luckily we wanted to do a some indoor activities because it was a rainy, windy weekend.

We toured the botanical domes, which were a bit disappointing because the tropical dome was closed for maintenance.

We really enjoyed a special exhibit on African-American art at the Milwaukee Art Museum:

And we went to some fun restaurants, like Honeypie on the hip Kinnickinnik Street, where the meals are homey and the pies are amazing!

With school starting this week, I haven't done a whole lot of knitting. But I haven't yet shared with you this great painting I saw in an art museum in Copenhagen:

The painting, titled "Anna Seekamp," depicts the artist's sister, knitting in her hand! Bertha Wegman, a Dane, of course, painted it in 1882. It was so much fun to stumble on this little masterpiece at the Statens Museum for Kunst -- the National Gallery of Denmark.

Do Europeans know how lucky they are to be surrounded by so much beautiful art and architecture?