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.

Powers, by John B. Olson

I received an Advance Copy of "Powers" by John B. Olson and was intrigued. While the publisher is a Christian one, the book seemed to be something of an urban fantasy. Also, it was a sequel to an earlier novel, "Shade".

As I began to read, I found the words and phrases to be disjointed and poetic, almost as if I was watching something unfold before me which was blurred and somewhat incomprehensible. Clearly, this was meant by the author as a literary tool to keep you guessing and to put yourself into his hands for the "ride" and just see what happens.

Set in bayou bogs and forests with mysticism and ancient beliefs, urban centers with smoothly wealthy villains, and even including military/police conspiracy as well, it was somewhat jumbled. This too, seems to be a literary tool, making the setting contribute to the epic feel of the book.

The main character, Jazz, is a man who has power which he is only beginning to experience as blackouts and frightening situations which begin to happen. The "Mulo", the dark side, is already aware of him and has plans for him. He is befriended by several people near the beginning, one of whom seems to be along for the thrill ride of Jazz's current life, and others who claim to know what is going on with him. They claim to be alike, part of an ancient group of special people called the "Standing" which fights against this evil "Mulo".

Never knowing who to trust and how to interpret what is happening to him, Jazz is barely kept from death numerous times. It was this which began to weaken the book. Facing an impossible situation so many times and coming out alive began to get old.

Another main character, Mari (Mariutza), has much training from her grandfather, another of the "Standing", but no knowledge of its history or current situation. She is faced with trying to interpret how to put into action her training.

While I've enjoyed this genre before, I was somehow disappointed by "Powers". The murky setting and confusing plot was emotionally gripping, but didn't satisfy my mind. The Christian aspects didn't seem to be integral to the plot or the characters.

I decided to read the first book in the series to see if I could better understand this one. So, I read "Shade" and found the same types of setting and characters and the same impossible situations consistently resulting in our main characters remaining alive. However, the first book was somehow more satisfying to my mind, although the Christian parts were just as ill-fitting.

Bonfire !

What a fun night! Click on the photo to see it big. It was a huge bonfire.

We had a Reformation Day picnic and bonfire last night. Hay rides, Chili and lots of other fun.

A Photo Weekend

This Fall started out gorgeous and then degenerated into a soggy mess. The trees, which had promised to be gorgeous for some time, lost many of their leaves and we were left with trying to catch the last of them.
Making jokes proved good for treetime smiles.
Collecting leaves from the ground after the rain stopped was fun.
These cuties were dancing and jumping for Joy on October 31st.
The pink haired ones were carving pumpkins.

"Well, hey there, ma'am"

More carving with slimy guts and slippery seeds.