I have tons to do, so I'll just leave you with a little something delicious to take the edge off Christmas knitting (safe for Fuzzy Feet or a scarf, but I wouldn't try it with anything with a chart).
Homemade Eggnog:
Separate
six eggs. Beat the yolks until frothy. Add
one cup of sugar and mix until thick. Add
1 pint milk,
1 pint half and half, and a
dash of salt. Add
5 cups of whisky, brandy, or rum (we used 1c brandy and 4c rum). Mix and chill. You're supposed to chill this in the fridge for "at least two hours." We did 10 min in the freezer. It seemed fine. Beat the egg whites with a bit of sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into the mix, enjoy!
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!! Christmas is so fucking close!
I was just updating my Netflix queue and debating whether I should change the address to MS yet, when it hit me. I go to MS on Monday. That's really soon. And then we go to MN just a few days after that, and then the next day or so it's Christmas! Okay, time to rally the troops: call 877- SOS-KNIT.
Whew. It's going to be okay. I am not alone, and I will make it.
Let's take stock:
Mark:
Sweater of my own design - Half done with body and sleeves
Penny: Yarn/needles/book/teach to knit - Purchased
Chuck: Brioche Hat from Weekend Knits - Done
Ray: Green/blue Fuzzy Feet from Knitty - Done
Amy: Blue/green Fuzzy Feet - Done knitting, needs felting
Maggie:
Bobbi Bear - Needs duplicate stitching around neck
Tammy: Red/green Fuzzy Feet - Done knitting, needs felting
Mike:
Green/red Fuzzy Feet - Turning heel on one (forgot the short rows the first time and had to rip back the finished foot; I can't afford these mistakes!), decreasing toes on other
Rachel: Age-appropriate (non-religious) book - Purchased
Cory: Age-appropriate (non-religious) book - Purchased
Mom: Fair Isle Mittens adjusted from Folk Mittens - Done
Dad: DNA Headband - Have the yarn (every step counts)
Peter:
Thrummed earflap hat of my own design - Designed
Paul: Books - Purchased
Aaron:
Scarf - Have the yarn, moved it to the bottom of the pile to become a Jan birthday present if necessary
At least I have a plane ride, a 16 hour drive to MN before the headband and sweater are needed, and an 8 hour drive to MO before the fuzzy feet and bear have to be done...
On the one hand, living within stumbling distance of the bars of Fremont is nice; no worries about driving home or responsibility. On the other hand, getting up for work is going to suck tomorrow. And typing is hard. I hate when I act my age (in retrospect).
To move or not to move? This is a question I need answered rather promptly. Lately I've begun to feel a bit guilty about how expensive my apartment is compared to my other options in the city. I'm not really in a position to sign a long lease at this point, so I hit Craig's List and started searching for other people's leases I could latch on to (aka "roommates"). After some good people and places and others that were not so good (did you know a flop house can charge $400/month in Seattle?) I think I have found a place. It's in a great part of Wallingford, three blocks from the shops and the bus route to school. It is one bus to get to school and all my knitting meet-ups except Purlygirls (2 buses, but easy to get a ride from) and two to get to work. I will save $150-$200/month by moving there. I think there is enough space for all of my furniture and belongings, though it may be a tad tight. The apartment has decent sized shared areas, is clean, doesn't smell of stale hamburgers, and doesn't have drunk karaoke on Sunday nights. The gal living there seems nice and is... A Knitter (learning, anyway). I also get lonely being by myself all the time and end up going out and spending money, so it could be good to have a roommate. Of course she travels as much as I do, if not more, so who knows if I'll actually have much company.
So what's the problem? I love my current apartment, and I can afford it (plus I'm getting a $100/month raise next month). It is cute and old and has character. It has built in yarn storage. I painted the walls very pretty colors that relax me. It only smells like hamburgers in the winter if I don't remember to leave the window open when I leave for the day, and the noise doesn't really bother me (so long as it's not Sweet Caroline). It is in the center of everything. I thrive being in a center of activity rather than a residential area. I am energized by the area every morning when I walk out the door and every evening when I get off the bus. I can walk out the door and into a fabulous restaurant. If I turn I have my choice of several others. The library is a block away, and it is only one bus to anything I do. It is mine; I don't have to share the space with anyone. For a while Mark actually lived in this apartment, so I can sort of remember that I'm married here. And speaking of Mark, if things don't go exactly according to plan for him I may need to move in March (not very likely, but a possibily). And moving is a big hassle in which I have to bribe and abuse my friends.
*Sigh* I need to make a decision pretty quickly. I wouldn't be moving until 1 Feb, but if I want this particular place I need to tell her to stop looking for a roommate. I just don't know.
I changed my plan for Mark's dad's Christmas present. Instead of the really time-consuming mittens or the lightning-quick Big Kureyon hat I've gone with the intermediate Brioche Hat from Weekend Knitting. I really, really like it. Mainly this is due to the very pretty colors I'm using out of Cascade 220 (I added some extra stitches to make the guage match).
The pattern is a bit fussy to set up, but once you get going it's very simple. In the event you do make a mistake (or ignore the "do not twist" instruction for a few rows), ripping back a few rows is also a bit tricky, but doable. I love the fabric it creates, both in its use of color and how squishy and great it is to feel. I just really hope it's big enough.
I was recently commissioned to make Mark's grandmother a pair of house shoes, as she has been ill lately. From the description of what she wanted, the Felted Ballet Slippers from Fiber Trends seemed pretty much perfect. I actually finished them a few weeks ago, but have had some trouble getting the buttons to add as decoration since the straps are actually held down by elastic. I thought I was being very clever doing this to account for the fact that her feet have been swelling, but closer inspection showed that's what was in the instructions anyway. First I finished the slippers, set them aside until I could get buttons and forgot about them for a week. Then I bought the buttons and left them on the counter at JoAnn's. Then I forgot about them again. Then I bought buttons and left them in MS. Clearly they want to be buttonless, so they will be buttonless and actually mailed out this year. I actually mananged to do that yesterday, with a minimum of further delay.*
Here they are all floppy and weird looking prior to felting:
And felted, but still looking a tad wonky:
They're pretty cute on an actual foot, I think, I just didn't happen to have one around the right size for modelling. These were knit out of Lamb's Pride Worsted, and I was able to just
barely make it with one skein. I had about an inch left.
*While I was waiting at the Wallingford post office, some woman leaving the counter said "Of course I'll be back; this is my favorite post office!" What must the others around be like?! I mean, just ask
Jessica about this one.
Of course a new
Knitty would come out with lots I want to knit when I can add absolutely nothing new to my queue. I love
Kate and
Creatures and want to start some right away.
Tempting is, well, tempting.
Tubey is calling to me, but I'm not sure how flattering it would be on me.
Chaos is very cool and
Blu is of course adorable. I'm a bit torn about
Spike. I like it when it is wrapped around, but not when it hangs down loose. And
Mrs. Beeton are? is? so sweet.
I'm back from MS where I took a vacation so complete I didn't even check my email. It was a time of transformation:
This
Into this
This
Into these
And this
Into this
