Ivanhoe! and more

Good books can demand your attention and can broaden your knowledge. Ivanhoe does both. While it does not aspire to the higher thoughts of some great authors, it's daring adventures, brave heroines, carefully crafted villains and all-star cast of extras (including Robin Hood, Little John and Friar Tuck!) is satisfying and fun!

I just finished Ivanhoe today (while I was supposed to be doing other things like grade papers) and it has wound itself into my list of favorites! The language is a bit ponderous for such a light romp, but it was written long ago - and is well worth wading through. It'll be on my short list of Middle Ages literature requirements for my kids when we reach that time period.

An FO

Thanks for all the button advice! I've been finished with the "February Lady" sweater for several months, and been able to wear it for a month or two, since it got colder. On our way out the door to Lyceum today, a willing daughter snapped a couple of shots of it for me. I love its thick and cozy warmth!
More FO's coming soon as soon as they are clean again, and I can get a decent photo.
And..also a surprise craft.

Needing Buttons and help

What color buttons should I use for my wonderfully soft and warm February lady Sweater. The color is in the pictures from the last post and it is all knit up, but it has no buttons. Any advice?
light brown? Light blue? something else?

I am feeling silly to ask...but this one is confounding me. I'll probably wear it mostly with jeans and black skirts, and will wear black shirts and brown ones under it.

Knitting Olympics

We've been watching the Olympics. It's been terrific.

Did you know Hannah Kearney was a knitter? She just won the Gold medal in Freestyle mogul skiing on Sat night. It was an amazing run and she was vindicated after failing to qualify for the finals in Torino in 2006, although she had been the favorite to win. The picture at right is from NBC, (c) NBC Sports / USOC.

She is so genuine and sweet in her interviews and watching her get the medal in the ceremony last night was fun, too.

Me, I am finishing my February Lady Sweater for my own Knitting Olympics, and then I plan to make another Tee before the Olympics officially closes in two weeks.
I don't want to hear how overzealous that plan is. So don't tell me.

Here's a sample of the four baby bibs I've made lately:
And now I have a question for you. If you were going to finish the bib below, would you use the pocket....or not? Been reading.... lots! The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I didn't know it would end up being a proponent on Socialism. It was a perfect foil for another book I recently read, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, a proponent of Capitalism. It would have been very interesting to put them in a room and watch the sparks fly! See my current list for books read so far in 2010.

Olympian knitting continue!

Franken-gloves

My DH has been in dire need of good gloves. He asked me two YEARS ago to knit some for him. But alas, I COULD NOT find a normal pattern and was a little wary of making it up.

Finally, after watching him suffer last year in the 0 degree weather with his airplane prep...I decided to go for it....without a pattern.


It was knitting up well. I used a nice wool and when I had the wrist and thumb hole finished and half the hand done, I could see it was fine.





But then I figured wrong. You see...I divided the stitches between five fingers.
You have five fingers, right? So does he.



He just doesn't have a thumb AND five fingers.
I didn't notice until the second finger was done.
And then...there were just too many stitches left.



I have many friends who would have frogged it and begun again, but not me. I'd invested a year and half thinking about them ...and it was getting darn cold out there for my wonderful man.








So they became a little (OK, a Lot)mis-shapen, but certainly wearable.


I made the second glove perfectly.

When he puts his hands in them, you can't tell, very much. But when they are empty...they make me giggle.




One finger points out one way and the others go the other way...and the pinkie and forfinger clearly have way too much fabric.

Here's the thing:



He likes them.
He wears them all the time.


I can't wait to come home and see him (and his gloves).

I've spent a wonderful week with mom in CA and looking forward to home. Now, it would be perfect if I just didn't have to leave here to get there!!!!

Happy New Year to all!

Thank you for being there with me in the year 2009. It was a good one, seeing friends and family in CA, and continuing to build relationships in Illinois. The changes in our lives make the internet so much more important. Thanks for being a part of it with me.

I read a lot this past year, and look forward to finishing a good one, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand....interesting! If you want to check out the list, you can find it at my Reading Archive Blog.

I always want good recommendations for reading, and feel free to comment on any books on my list which you have read. Sharing books is a good thing.

Up next: the post about some warm wool knit gloves gone awry, affectionately dubbed "The Frank-en-gloves" by me.