Happy Holidays!

As a gift to you this season, I'd like to offer you one day of carbon neutrality. If you claim this gift, Brighter Planet will donate 136 pounds of carbon offsets in your name. These offsets help fund renewable energy projects and are an important part of fighting climate change. All that is asked in return is that you consider conserving where you can during the holidays. For conservation recommendations take a look at: http://blog.brighterplanet.com/2008/12/03/top-12-conservation-tips-for-the-holidays/

Once you claim your free gift, you'll be able to pay it forward to your friends, family and colleagues.

Best wishes!

Cowl Love

Seriously, I know you've seen cowl all over the place. I am officially declaring this the year of the cowl.

Well I am a girl who loves a fast knit so I whipped up a couple myself.




Pattern: Col GC Ravelry Google Docs
Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick
Needles: 10.5 US, 6.5mm

Knit in one day for the Yankee swap at work.



Pattern: Col GC Ravelry Google Docs
Yarn: Lion Brand Thick & Quick
Needles: US11, 8mm
Modifications: Moved up in needle size to a US11 from a US10.5. Knit in the round instead of flat. Cast on 70 sts instead of 86.

I realized I will not have the Loop Shawl done for Solstice this weekend so I will give it to my stepmom for her birthday in February. Now she'll be getting a cowl for Solstice.

Only one more knit to finish before we open presents on Saturday...

Yummy Tum Tum

This year on Thanksgiving it will be just S and myself. Friday we will grab the girls and go for a Thanksgiving/birthday (mine) dinner at my mom's but Thursday we are on our own.

I wanted to plan a meal that wouldn't feel too heavy but would also be somewhat special.

• Panko crusted boneless pork chops with Tonkatsu dipping sauce recipe
• Napa cabbage and rice vinegar salad recipe
• Cauliflower gratin recipe
• Cheese muffins recipe or gougères recipe (I haven't decided)
• Cheesecake recipe

I am super excited for all this food. It's a perfect time to make the cheesecake because we can take the leftovers to my mom's and not stuff ourselves silly... (He doesn't know about the cheesecake. It's his favorite so I'm making it as a surprise.)

I'll also be roasting garlic to make mashed potatoes for the Friday dinner.

Komi Cap

I finished it on Christmas Eve! I just need to get my hands on it again so I can take a decent pic. I realize that you may not know I was working on this because I didn't blog it "just in case." But if you spend time on Ravelry or flickr then you've probably already seen this.

Here's a WIP picture with better light and an actual camera.



Pattern: Komi Cap from Mostly Mittens
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette
Needles: Addi Turbo US0
Time to Complete: I don't quite remember but I think it was about 20 days, def less than a month.

I'm a little worried that it's a smidge big for the recipient but I don't think he'll tell me so.
This is by far my most satisfying knit yet.

For the truly nerdy, here's a picture of the guts.

Happy Halloween

via Worth1000

Happy 4th!

click on either picture to see more of my fireworks pics.

Happy (late) Solstice!

Hand Sewn, or why I knit

See that stitching? That's why I don't sew. Oh, and also because I hate it. I envy people who love to sew and can create beautiful garments in an afternoon (you should see the gems my friend Marianne makes) but I can't stand it.



What's that? Yes, it's another finished holiday knit! This is the Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. This scarf is for my step-mom.


There's no natural light at 3am.

Pattern: Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Noro Kureyon
Colors: 2 balls of 102, 1 ball each of 194 & 148
Needles: US9, bamboo
Time to complete: About a week or so
Modifications: I cast on 47 stitches instead of 23 and used 4 ball of yarn instead of 2. I don't know how long it is, I just knit until I ran out of yarn.



This is why I love my landlord. Another reason is that when he came to change the batteries in all the smoke detectors (!), he brought his son, Diego, so I could see the sweater I'd made on a real live by. The first picture isn't the best of the boys but the sweater looks great...







And last but not least I had to show you the stitch markers I purchased for my Yarn Aboard pal. Mostly because I want to keep them but if I show them to you then I'll have to send them. They're from a Girl Gone Mod over at Ewe Hoo!



I lied about the last comment before. It's finally snowing! Not dusting, light sprinkle, doesn't want to stick around snow but honest to goodness winter time in Vermont snow. I'm excited now but it'll wear off as soon as I have to go dig my car out. Scout knows what I'm talkin' about.

Solstice Revisited

Solstice was great! My mom ended up opening her one glove on Saturday night, Solstice Eve, and I managed to finished the other glove by Sunday night. The best gift I got was a gift certificate for a deep tissue massage. I really, really want to go get it as soon as possible but I'm trying to wait until after registration and the first week of classes since I'll probably really need it then.

Elah was worried that she wouldn't get what she wished for because she told her wish. Imagine her surprise when, on Solstice morning, she found a golden headband, dress, gloves and slippers; exactly what she had wished for. That Good Witch of the North sure knows her stuff.

The best part was getting to spend the night at my moms' with Elah and my sister, Sunshine. We get to do it all over again with Sunshine, my dad and my brother, Allan, on Christmas Eve. I won't lie, the presents are great but I love being able to spend some quiet time with my family, that's the best part.

Happy Solstice

Elah and I are about to head out to my moms' for out Solstice celebration. My sister, Sunshine, is coming from NY too. We'll all spend the night and then open presents from family and the Good Witch of the North in the morning. I'm wrapping my mom's one finished glove and bringing the other with me. You can see it here.

It's Beginning to Smell A Lot Like Christmas

Elah and I got our first ever holiday tree this past Sunday. I never got one before because I figured we didn't need it because we were never home; Solstice with my mom and Christmas Eve and Christmas split between my dad and Elah's dad. I realized that we still had to decorate when Elah started telling people that we didn't celebrate the holidays.

So we go get the tree and I spend a ridiculous amount of money on lights and decorations and I think we're all set but then realized that we needed a tree topper. I discussed it with Elah and she told me she wanted an angel. Now I know the holiday is about her, that's why we have multi lights instead of white and most of our decorations are pink but angels just aren't my thing. I told Elah that I thought we could get a star; my reasoning being that even though I knew she really liked angels I didn't like them so much and I knew that we both liked stars. And isn't the tree really for both of us? Elah agreed that was a good idea and we set out to find a star for the top of our tree.

Guess what. Apparently angels have cornered the market on tree toppers, I couldn't find a star to save my life. It just so happens that I got a Pottery Barn catalog the same day and they had a beautiful crystal snowflake tree topper but I know Elah was looking for instant gratification. We finally found an angel that was a little more stylized and not so angely. I leapt at the opportunity and told Elah it was the Good Witch of the North (she brings our Solstice gifts). Moral of the story? Apparently there's always an angel hovering over you whether you want one or not.