Cadeau

I love getting gifts after Christmas passes. It helps with the post-holiday slump, work-induced stress and related depression.

I was lucky enough to win some yummy deliciously latte-hued Baby Ull Dalegarn from Madame Del at the end of 2006. And she enclosed the most gracious card.

It really could not have arrived here at a better time. Thank you so much!

And if you enjoy beautiful well-photographed knit creations and posts that make you chuckle and nod your head, please definitely check out her Cozy's Place.

Happy New Year!

Two blizzards in two weeks are enough for me. Fortunately, they coincided with some vacation time so much knitting and mega-Spock watching was in order.


Pattern: French Girl’s Giselle
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool

I will definitely order more of the French Girl patterns. Giselle was a simple, well-written and super quick chunky knit. The cape has a wonderful cozy weight.



Pattern: Knit and Tonic’s Le Slouch
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride worsted in Ruby (?)

Sadly, I must admit to being affected by pictures of MK and Ashlee and (blushing) even "She of No Panties" in their slouchy berets.


Pattern: Knit and Tonic’s Natty
Yarn: RYC Tweed in Bramble

Excuse the super chapped parched lips.

No Barbeque

Thanks for the positive vibes! The Power stayed on, no trees fell and the beer didn’t run out until last night. The sun has returned and neither Mr. Glaistig nor I pulled a Jack Torrance.



But the extreme weather did make me act a little wacky, as in picking up and working on my seemingly long abandoned cotton High Society sweater. Wishful thinking?

And, watching the news, I really wondered whether I would have half the grace and patience of many of the 4,700 poor folks who have been stranded out at the Denver International Airport since Wednesday.

One lady stands out. A stereotypical grandmotherly type (e.g., grey hair and glasses), she sat on a bench serenely knitting away on what looked to be a baby blanket while talking to a CNN reporter. Noting that she was forced to share her airport-supplied blanket with strangers, she exclaimed, “What will I tell my husband when I get home? That I’ve been sleeping with another man?” Then she let out the biggest most charming girlish laugh. Knitters!

Old School Colorado Blizzard

I've never had a work "Snow Day" before so I certainly welcomed today's morning announcement from the managing partner: "Go home."

Home is only a couple of miles from work but trying to get there with Mr. Glaistig at noon was a true adventure!

Porch:


Front yard:


Transfixed fluffy Bentley:




Please God. Let the Power stay on and the snow-laden trees remain upright. And the beer remain plentiful. Amen.

"Faery Folks are in Old Oaks"

I think I had to recover from knitting that danged Qaplatis or something. I feel utterly spent and I can't figure out precisely why!

But here are some Natalya Gauntlets in Lamb's Pride worsted (Wild Oak):



I've started and frogged the back of the Michael Kors Aran tee multiple times and finally inserted some flipping lifelines (the disco song " Last Night Night a DJ Saved My Life" springs to mind.)



The yarn is some old school Lion Brand Fisherman's (100%) Wool that I've had in my stash since I started knitting a couple of years ago. It comes in big creamy skeins which are oddly comforting.

But, I swear by Pan's hooves, the thing is still in imminent danger of becoming a tote bag or cat blanket if continues to misbehave.

Success

Pattern: Kate Gilbert's Ubiquitous Clapotis from Knitty (no variations)
Yarn: almost 7 skeins of Noro Silk Garden in #84
Needles: long and straight US8 bamboo
Inspiration: Dogs Steal Yarn

I left it unblocked because I adore the pronounced little undulations on the reverse stockinette side.

Wearing a Clapotis at work through the travails of the day was like being accompanied by a comforting Linus blanket. Its warmth allowed me to subsist on a mere tall soy latte instead of the usual and more calorific grande. Its embrace became the most delightful cure to the ills of trying to work on a gadzillion different trying matters at one time, including responding to desperate client calls, without resorting to jumping out of my (admittedly only half story high) office window.

But I've come to realize that I have a severe problem in saying "clapotis" and that thinking "clapotis" and actually enunciating it out loud are two different things. So I am personally renaming it Qapla'. It is pathetic that an harsh gutteral artificial language (which fatally marks its speakers as nerds) is easier to pronounce than the elegant tongue of the Gauls. But success is not always sublime!

Yay, the Clapotis, she is finished! However, due to extensive clapotis-itis*, I am too tired to weave in the ends.

*Clapotis-itis: cramped hand/pained palm syndrome resulting from compulsively knitting at all hours of the day on a huge scarf . . . .