Hi, All. Everybody keeping warm? We've been in the deep freeze up here in Minnesota. It's been way below zero degrees F every night for at least a week. A warm up is supposed to come soon. That will be good because I have to keep filling up the LP in the main house where my son is living and the electric heat we have where we are living is incredibly high priced. We are planning on putting in a Geo-thermal heat pump, but that won't happen for a year or 2. Good thing we have lots of wool long-underwear. I even wear my felted hat inside. I haven't made any fingerless mitts yet and I sure wish I had. I guess I just have to keep my hands moving with knitting and spinning so they keep warm.
We got my step-dad moved into the assisted living place. He's okay with it most of the time. He's kind of bored and wants to go places, but the staff wants him to stay there for a couple of weeks and get really oriented before he goes out much. It's a good idea because he gets so confused when things change, even the scenery. I'm going to spend the night with him on Sunday. We'll have popcorn and watch some movies. He'll really like that. Plus, I have a bunch of things that I want to do to make it more homey. Hang pictures, etc. It's really a nice apartment. Full size kitchen a huge bedroom, a big bath, and a good sized living/dining room. Hell, it's nicer than my place.
Here is a headband/swatch for the Norwegian Sweater KAL. I'm very happy with the way it looks. It fits both myself and my husband, but I promised it to him before I made it, so I'm out of luck. Rats. It sure feels nice.
Here's the sweater I made for my granddaughter before washing and blocking. She loves it. She slept in it the first night. The yarn is pretty but I have to say that it's not holding up well at all. I felt was a little loosely spun, so I should have knit a more dense fabric, but I was following a pattern and knit to the pattern's gauge. Next time, no loosely spun merino for kids. The pattern is from the November 2007 Creative Knitting magazine. I used KnitPicks Swish superwash wool on US size 8 needles.
I have some good news to report on my AVL loom. I got a sale flyer from the company 2 weeks after I ordered my loom. The loom was 20% off, so I wrote them and asked if I could get some sort of rebate or credit since it was only 2 weeks since I ordered it and 4 weeks before they will ship it. No problem, they said. They credited the balance of my loom to reflect the sale price. Now THAT sure is nice. I will spend a lot of that for software and flying shuttles. It's nice to know that this company is a fair dealer.
I've been ordering books lately. When it's cold, I spend too much time at the computer and look at my "wish lists". I haven't done more than glance at the books yet. I order them and then I'm too busy to read them when they arrive. That's okay. They eventually all get read. I read knitting, weaving, and cookbooks like they were novels. I ordered lots of fiction that I've been waiting for to come out in paperback. I prefer paperback books because they are smaller and easier to take along. I used a 25% off coupon at Barnes and Noble to get Donna Druchunas' Arctic Lace book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I have a few ties to Alaska, and this looks like my kind of book. Lots of history. I've never been a buyer of strictly pattern books. I have enough stitch libraries and technique books to make my own patterns. I really like the history of the techniques and the stories behind the patterns. I'm also am for the Selbuvotter book by Terri Shea to arrive in a KnitPicks order. It should get here today. I hope so, because I need the cables so I can start the Norwegian sweater.
The Secret of the Stole ii started this week. I've got the first clue 2/3rds done. I also won a random drawing prize on the first day! WooHoo! Don't know what it is yet, but it made my day. My camera is dead (I left it on. DUH!) so no pics. Not too much to look at, anyway. I'm using the leftover yarn from the last Secret of the Stole. Waste not, want not, but it's kind of boring using the same stuff. I'm sure it will be nice, though.
I suppose I better get my butt moving here. I have some errands to run and I really don't want to go out in the cold. I have to pick up my prescriptions, though, so I don't have a choice. BRRRR.
