Long time, no talky.

Funny how much difference time away from work makes. The Belisle November retreat has come and gone, as has my time off for Thanksgiving (just about a week in PA), and the 2005 Pirate Party in Key West, and some time over Christmas. Fortunately, I got a lot of knitting and stitching done over that time. And I’m bound for Belisle again this weekend, so I need to post some status here so I can update you with some more amazing progress next week. (Har.)

Finished:
Whale Tail Hat: The intended recipient of Trellis arrived and received the name of Jonah. Now, how could I resist making a little stocking cap with a whale tail on top instead of a pom-pom? I couldn’t, that’s right. Since I had plenty of Cotton Fleece left over, he got a matching hat, too. :)

Wedding Snowflake Hardanger: Wrapped and hemmed while relaxing at Belisle Ranch. I gave it its final pressing and delivered it just before Christmas. It turned out beautifully.

Leetle Teeny Bebbe Sox: Delivered before I ditched town for the Thanksgiving and Pirate holiday. Totally cute, and totally appreciated.

Muppet Pelt of POWER: So, my buddy Madam was recovering from elbow surgery post-moped accident (just about as bad as it sounds) and had to wear a giant robo-brace for the next few weeks. I knit an elbow-warmer thingee (like a legwarmer, only about a foot long, and for your arm) out of my leftover magenta and lime Lamb’s Pride Worsted, and added lime and hot pink/peach funfur in the body of it. It is HEINOUS. It is ATROCIOUS. It was PRECISELY what she needed, since she finished PT/OT three weeks ahead of schedule.

Joe and Sally Snow: I took advantage of a week in PA to complete these two and give them to my brother and sister-in-law for their anniversary. They turned out beautifully—and twisted cord finishing hides a multitude of my sewing-machine sins.

Another pair of socks: Super-cute, nearly identical, and very warm—which is good, since it’s January. Wool socks rule.

Requiring Finishing:
Baby Kimono: No change. Going with me to WI this weekend, though.

Silk Garden Cardigan: It’s sooooooo pretty. I knit the lion’s share of the back piece on the way to, during, and back from the Pirate Parrrty in Key West, FL. Kniterati, indeed! It’s all in pieces—needs to be seamed and have the crochet edgings applied.

On the Needles:
Party-Time Apron: No change.

Charity Raglan Kid’s Sweater: The body is done and on hold for sleeve joining at some point in the future. Sleeve #1 is about 3 inches long. The stripeys seemed like a great idea on the body, but all those color changes on tiny sleeves might not be so fun.

Dragon-Scale Socks: I loved this pattern when I found it at Marnie MacLean’s blog, and thought my stash Trekking yarn in a pale green/yellow/tan colorway would be perfect. After starting, however, I thought it might be too busy and end up obscuring my stitches, but that was because I was reading the damn chart wrong and was doing the wrong decreases. Ripped it out, started over, and now it looks great. Turned the heel on sock #1, and am moving up the leg.

The Ferret Sock: My friend the Zombie Fan has a pair of ferrets who love getting into trouble. I was knitting a sock at his house while we were watching movies one night, and he commented that the sock was just about the right size for a ferret, and wouldn’t a really long sock tube be fun for his little beasties? Well, I’m not doing a 6-foot+ tube in fingering weight, but I have a lot of Red Heart leftover from some craft project that’s going to become one big long tube of ferret toy. I’m going to knit until I run out, and if it’s not long enough, I’ll add another skein. Woo!

Checkerboard Scarf: Yes, I’m knitting something for Squid again, finally. I found this NEATO yarn while I was in PA from a local farm. It’s a colorway called “Barn Swallow”, and it’s mostly wool, with some intriguing little bits of cottongscattered in it, but not “novelty” at all. I’m making a ribbed checkerboard pattern, which takes a bit more concentration than I’d expected.

In the hoop:
Merry Cox Sailor's Huswif: No change.
Floral afghan: Some progress on the basket.
C.A. Wells Needle Cottage: A little bit of progress-finished the trim, and am working on the detail.
Edward Scissorfish: Okay, he’s hard to describe, but he’s a beaded fish scissor keep, and he’s sublimely ridiculous. I have his eyes in and his “nose-like” area.

Obligatory Cultural References
Reading: Finished Something Rotten. Read Anansi Boys, which, to me, read like a Noel Coward farce (a good thing). Took another brain break w/Lemony Snicket’s The Penultimate Peril, and then actually read and enjoyed Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides) for book club. It’s been a looooonnnng time since I both read (for the first time) and enjoyed a Book Club Book. (Killer Angels and Wicked were re-reads for me.) Then I tackled David Sedaris’s latest (Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim), and just finished The Sociopath Next Door, buy a Dr. Stout whose first name I can’t remember. Next up are The Kite Runner for Book Club and The Shelters of Stone because I started reading the Earth’s Children series at one point, and just can’t let it go. As long as I don’t think too hard about the clunky language, they’re very interesting.
Listening to: The Avalanches.