Monthly Archives: December 2005

Family, Knitting

The Lion, The Witch and the…

Posted on by Jean

….Sweaters!!  We went to see Narnia on Friday night.  In a word… AWESOME!!  I knew it was going to be a good movie when the opening scenes had gorgeous handknit sweaters in them.  I loved these books as a kid and was not disappointed in the movie.   I bought Daniel a set of the books a few months ago hoping he’d read them before the movie come out.  Now I want to read them again.  Dan had never read them and thought it was one of the best movies he’d ever seen.  Joe faked that he didn’t like it because he wanted to see King Kong (yeah… that’s why he was so engrossed in it for the entire 2 1/2 hours).

Last year I shared Joe’s engineering talents with your and here’s this year’s efforts towards Habitat For Gingerbreadmanity:

I also shared a mini stocking pattern last year that Nilda (Waltzing Natilda) thought everyone might like to see again.  If  you click here and scroll down to October 26th, you’ll find the free pattern for a great little stocking.  Some friends and I made a bunch of these to send down to Iraq when their husbands were deployed last year.  They are the perfect size for putting a chocolate bar or a few small treats into.  I think I was down to about an hour each after I had the pattern memorized.

And lastly I have a FO to share.  It’s just a simple dropped garter stitch scarf using a strand of purple mohair and a strand of Knit Picks sock yarn.  I knit three rows and on the forth row, I knit but wrapped the yarn around the needle twice instead of just once before pulling it through.  Added a little fringe and you have a scarf perfect for any teenager:

Family, Knitting

The Start of the Wooly Madness

Posted on by Jean

Eight-month old Daniel in his first of many EZ sweaters and hats:

Ahhh… the start of it all.  This wasn’t my first sweater.  I’d already been knitting for about five years… sort of.  I’d knit something small and then not touch the needles for months or more.  It was, however, my beginning of the knitter I am today.  I was on a little group called the Knitlist around 1995.  That’s where I heard of Elizabeth Zimmermann and ordered Knitting Around.  And that’s where my love for all things wool began.  The kind of wool that’s rustic and warm and lovely.  This little sweater was done in Shetland Jumper weight that I ordered from Schoolhouse Press. This pattern is also in The Opinionated Knitter.

I took Aggie in for her 12-week vet appointment yesterday.  Last week I noticed a bump inside her left leg.   My fears were confirmed by our vet.  It’s an Inguinal Hernia.  She also has a hernia on her belly button which we knew about.  That wasn’t a big deal but the Inguinal one is hereditary and it just wouldn’t be responsible of us to breed her though we were really looking forward to letting her have one litter when she was old enough.  Oddly, the one who’s most disappointed is Daniel.  She’ll have surgery in about a month to repair the two hernias and to be spayed.  My poor puppy.

Animals and Nature, Knitting

A Hat for Lucy

Posted on by Jean

I hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.   We went to visit friends in Belgium.   They used to live across the street.  They’re in a wonderful old Belgian farmhouse that’s huge but very cozy.  It took us six hours to drive there but almost twice that to get back because we hit a huge snowstorm in Belgium.

I don’t know about you all, but I’ve found myself without much sit-down time over the past month.   It’s just crazy how much there seems to be to do these days.  I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever catch up.  The big time-stealing culprit has been the play that the boys are in at our community theater.  They play rats and kids in the Pied Piper.  Really  cute.  Dan and I really got into it.   I helped with the sewing of the costumes, keeping all the kids in line back-stage and we even ran the concession stand at the last showing.  Tonight is the last rehearsal (to remember everything everyone might have forgotten over the holiday) and then three more shows this weekend and we’re done.  I’ll take photos and video tonight during the full-run rehearsal.  Joe is the smallest and not the least worried about what the audience thinks when he’s picking his nose or playing with his pants. 

  During the trip I worked on a few knitting projects.  I finished the hat for my little friend, Lucy.  I’ll see if I can get a photo of her wearing it.  Until then, my dining room chair will have to model it. 

This was a fun little knit.  It seemed to take forever during the brim knitting.   Once that was finished it flew by.  The flower only took about half an hour to knit.  I can’t wait to see her in it.  She has the most beautiful blonde curls and pursed little lips.

The beginning of December means we have about two short months left with Dan before he leaves for Afghanistan.  We are making the most of it.  He and I are going to Dublin in a couple of weeks for some alone time.  We’ll be there three days so if anyone knows of some great wooly things to see, let me know.  I’ll get to visit with my friend, Janet.  I met her on the Scotland knitting retreat.

For Christmas we are going to Italy.  We’ll get to celebrate Midnight Mass with the Pope.  It’s a bus trip arranged through the post.  It will be a long ride, but we get to do all the Italy traveling we’ve been putting off.  We’ll be stopping in Pisa, Florence and Venice with a possible side trip to Capri or Pompeii.  The hightlight will be the three days in Rome though.   Dan and I have both been before but not together and it was something we really wanted the boys to see before we leave Europe.

For you Aggie lovers (and seriously… who isn’t?), I’m slipping in a couple of photos here.  I’m so in love with this dog is ridiculous. She takes my breath away when she just sits and looks up at me. She turned 11 weeks old on Tuesday.  She’s already been sitting on command for a couple of weeks now and she started going into her crate when told last night.  I was working on “lay down” today.  She’s the smartest little thing.  Spunky too.  She and Bailey love to fight over the felted wool ball I made for Bailey last year (look how Bailey has her “arms” around her puppy.  All together now… Awwwww… lol):