Peaknit

Friday, March 30, 2012

Knitting abroad!

Well, the knitting project went abroad anyways. My husband did some traveling for work to China, and his contact there has the cutest baby ever. My husband requested a hat for his friend's child - which was a nice endorsement from the DH supporting my my habit. I could not resist the Cupcake Hat by Susan B. Anderson. Here is the baby, who's American name is Honey, coincidentally. Isn't she a honey? There is a little cherry on top, but you had to see her cheeks, I just want to kiss those cheeks!

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I also got some socks done. I have been considering trying my hand at spinning yarn again because I haven't spun a thing for an entire year but I haven't been able to part with my wheel - it is too pretty somehow. So my justification to keep it is to try knitting some handspun and see if I love it enough. Dang, I did love it...it is fun to see the handwork turn into something, rather than just pet the skeins. From roving to socks.

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My very own handspun, from Hello Yarn roving in the Peat colorway

In addition to knitting handspun and loving it, I learned that having some plain jane socks on the needles allowed me to actually finish something. I have too many tedious projects in progress that require charts and attention - I really needed some "TV knitting". I am working on a pair of Thuja's now - they are in the same vein, simple but with an occasional purl thrown in for interest. I see something getting finished again - finally.

Last up - I read a good book:

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Defending Jacob - It isn't all the court room drama the title would suggest. For me, it really raises some questions about how far would you go as a parent - it was very suspenseful and thrilling to the very end. The voice of Andy Barber, the central figure, it so bitterly sarcastic at times, I kind of wanted to quote him. Hee.

Oh wait - gratuitous yarn shot...

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The Plucky Knitter Rustic Aran in Bombshell

It reminded me instantly of Raggedy Ann's hair - I had "Raggy" who I literally loved the hair off of as a child - here she is reincarnated. Joy! This needs to be something awful special. Any suggestions?

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Hello Blog, I have missed you.

Has it truly been 4 months? Gosh, I have been so busy doing other things, I have realized just recently how much I miss my blog, watching my kids grow up here as they pose my knits, and avidly looking at other blogs for creative recharge - gosh - I have to confess I have been too sucked up into pinterest and facebook - it's shameful. I have given up facebook for lent. Gosh, I don't miss going down that rabbithole, peeking into my "friends" goings on - meanwhile, not creating any "goings on" of my own. Apparently I can't give up the cyber world entirely, but blogs give me something back which facebook sure can't, and I just can't seem to balance both. I hope to start being a more regular visitor to my blogfriends spaces again - I have been sorely missing the inspiration.

In the past months I have had serious knitting ADD. Probably my most significant knit has been a finished Cassis. It took me just under a year from beginning to end. The most exciting part of this finished object - I have worn it...in public. (more than once!) I think I look incredibly constipated in the photo, I think I was praying my husband would just. take. the. picture.


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I have also been curious about making bread. I read a book last year called Bread Alone by Judi Hendricks. It was a pleasant fictional read and there were recipes at the end of chapters - the book suggested to me that bread making could somehow be therapeutic. Well, that was all of the encouragement I needed. I tried a recipe off of the internet first - causing a serious calamity at 4:30 in the morning breaking a glass pie plate into a million pieces in a 450 degree oven - fail. So I purchased the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day - 5 minutes? I mean, I hadn't expected that - but I made my first batch of dough today - I cut a hunk off to bake and I think I may have a successful loaf here. The jury is still out - but I feel a bit like Henny Penny as my girls are chirping that they will be more than happy to help me eat it just as soon as it cools off. ETA: I'm proud to say my 11-year-olds first words were "It's amazing" - success!

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Lastly, I read a book recently - Snapshots by William Norris. At first I wasn't sure what to think of it - it was unlike ay book I'd read before - it tells the story of a family in literal snapshots in the third person and tells the story going back in time, from basically the present - to when the adult children in the book were children. I think there is a lot of the story left unsaid as it allows the reader to connect the dots - it was a different style, I enjoyed it. Meanwhile I keep having fits and starts muddling through Devil in The White City...I am having a hard time investing in this one -but I should be loving it - so I'll keep at it a bit longer.

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I hope to be back soon - I really miss this space.