River's Debut

I knitted River from Rowan #38 a couple months ago, but never got around to blocking it (mostly due to a lack of pins). I bought a big box of pins and laid it out the other night:

It was done drying yesterday afternoon, so I tried it on:

Ooooh...purty! Here it is, artfully draped in the winter light:

Details: "River" from Rowan #38, designed by Sharon Miller. Knitted with 2 skeins of Kidsilk Haze, Color #590 (Pearl).

This was my first lace project, and I have to say, I loved it! However, I don't think this pattern is the most fun--it was impossible for me to memorize it and get into a rhythm. Other bloggers who made this also complained about this problem. The yarn was the Rowan subscriber's freebie. I never used Kidsilk Haze before and it is pretty nice stuff. I'm not sure how much I'll be using in the future, since I try to avoid buying silk (I'm a vegetarian, though I do knit with wool). I also have no idea where I could ever wear this shawl, but it was fun making it nonetheless!

I found this quiz on someone else's blog and thought it was really funny:

You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little
anti-social, and may want to start gaining new
social skills by making prank phone calls.
What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

I love Edward Gorey's works, they're so weird and funny! I was first exposed to his art when someone gave me T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" as a child, which has wonderful Gorey illustrations. Hmm, maybe I should get some more of his books (as I turn my pants pockets inside out, and only a ball of lint falls out). Oh well, maybe someday...

Tomorrow we are heading down to Boston for the 6th annual New Year's Party with G's friends. It's always a great time, and it's always a bit (or a lot) crazy. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Back to Reality

I drove back on Tuesday afternoon from my holiday visit to my parents in Connecticut. I have to say, it was not much fun to depart from 40 degree temperatures and arrive to 10 degree temperatures! At least it is good knitting weather!

I had a tearful good-bye with my sister, who is moving to Switzerland in a week. I keep telling myself that I'm not going to see her any less than normal (she will will be coming home a few times a year minimum), but I still can't help but feel sad. She had to get rid of a lot of her stuff, so I did get to take a bunch of her clothes and books. Amongst the books was this one:
Score! My sister was trying to learn to knit this past year, but her lifestyle (very busy and split between home, corporate apartments, Europe, etc) was just not conducive to it. I've really been wanting this book for my reference library...thanks, sis!

My visit home was very productive, knitting-wise. I finished the other front to my "Twist" cardigan:

For some reason, this sweater has been giving me the roughest time with gauge. However, it looks like the two fronts match, so I'm going to ignore that negative voice in my head and move forward with the sweater. I suspect that many knitting horror stories start by ignoring those alarm bells in your head, but I also think I'm too much of a "Nervous Nellie" when it comes to my knitting, and I need to relax a bit!

I also started one of the sleeves:
As I said in an earlier post, my family and I don't exchange Christmas gifts anymore. However, I do exchange with G's mother, and she gave me a bunch of fun little knitting gifts:
Some knitting notions and a book! The book is "The Knitters Gift" by Bernadette Murphy and it is really cute. There are some interesting stories about knitting and a few simple patterns.

I received some yarn from my Grandma for my birthday, which is also in December:

I am not normally an acrylic yarn lover, but i actually kind of like this TLC Amore, it is very springy and soft. She got me enough yarn to make the sweater on the label, but I'm kind of thinking I want to make an afghan out of it, if there's enough yardage. I love the colors.

I was welcomed back to work yesterday by a gorgeous sunrise:

So I guess it's back to reality for me...work, grocery shopping, laundry...oh yeah!

Santa "Claws" is Coming

I'm in full Christmas-preparation mode now. Last night I made some Michigan Rocks for Christmas, from my mom's recipe. Most versions I've seen of these cookies have only walnuts and raisins, or sometimes dates instead of raisins. But my mom's version has all three of those ingredients plus maraschino cherries and maraschino cherry juice. They're my absolute favorite! My mom used to make them every year, but I think she's tired of baking (and cooking...can't blame her!). So this year I took over. I think they came out pretty good for my first time. Here's a picture:

They're kind of like little mini-spice cakes with fruit in them. My sister makes all of the rest of the cookies in our family (including my other absolute favorite: Cream Cheese Wreaths). I hope I don't come back from Christmas too bloated!

I also finished up a project I had started on Monday night: catnip mice for all the kitties in my family. My family and I don't exchange gifts anymore because everyone was getting too stressed about it, but that doesn't mean I can't give gifts to the kitties, right?

I knitted up the mice using this pattern from Wendy. I used some yarn left over from my Gryffindor POA scarf.

Once it was time to start stuffing them, somebody wanted to help:

Hmm...is this for me?

Helping is so much fun!

Aughhh! Pink Elephants!

And finally, the finished product:

Gryffindor Mice!

Santa came early for Quincy:

Merry Christmas to you, and a Happy New Year too!

Finally, Some Knitting Content!

I finally have some knitting pictures to post! I recently finished a pair of mittens for my boyfriend, who shall henceforth be known as "G." (name has been changed to protect the innocent :) :) :))

These are the "Maplewood Mittens" from the book Favorite Mittens by Robin Hansen. I knitted them in Fisherman's 2-ply from Bartlett Yarns. This was my first foray into the world of two-color knitting and I really love this technique, despite some early frustrations. I can't wait to make a two-color sweater. But first, I have another pair of mittens on tap for myself...the "Labrador Diamonds" pattern from the same book. Mine should go much faster, since I will be making the largest children's size!

I am also slowly working my way through the "Twist" cardi from Chicknits. I am knitting it in Cascade 220 in color #9454 "Plum Heather." Here is a picture of the back:

And the fronts:

I took this one without the flash in order to show the texture of the cables better. But I think the one of the back (taken with flash) shows the color better. When I bought this pattern, I kept picturing it in a heathered color (I think the one on Chicknits was done in blue heather--at least it looks that way to me), and I just fell in love with this purple yarn. I really hope this comes out well because it's the type of thing that I will wear a lot.

This weekend, I was almost up to the armhole shaping on the left front, when I realized my gauge had gotten way too tight! So I had to rip it to the point shown above. Oh, well.

G. left on Saturday to visit some friends for a few days in New Hampshire and Boston, and then tomorrow he is leaving from there to his parent's in Connecticut. I am going to Conn. for Christmas too, but I have to work until Thursday! Bah! To treat myself I bought a big box of Lucky Charms...if sugary marshmallow goodness can't get me through this week, nothing can!

Chick Lit

A good friend of mine came to visit a couple of months ago and left me a BIG stack of books to borrow (let's just say that the library here is less than stellar). The books were all of the genre best described as "chick lit," which, while not my all-time favorite category, at least usually proves to be entertaining. The loaned books included two Kaye Gibbons books. One was "Charms for the Easy Life," which although not great literature was at least a fun read. But this other one, "Divining Women," which I finished last night, was complete tripe.

The plot just seemed choppy, like it had not been thought out. The characters were not well-developed enough to hold my interest. And I am not an expert, but I found it hard to believe that an emotionally abused and downtrodden wife would suddenly be able to stand up to her husband in only a few week's time. The only reason given for this miraculous change was the presence of her feisty neice and reading some letters written by a woman in a similar situation. Again, maybe I am wrong on this, but it just didn't seem realistic to me. I think the book should have been about twice as long, in order to explore all of these undeveloped facets of character and plot.

This morning I started in on "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" even though I never read the original Bridget Jones book. It seems a little silly but at least it is a much more entertaining and interesting read than "Divining Women."

I already walked down to the store twice this morning to try to get a Sunday Globe. The first time I went, the store was not yet open (opens at 9) and the second time I went they had not received the paper yet. I guess I am going to give up, I really don't feel like walking down AGAIN.

I think I will make a big pot of cream of broccoli soup for lunch and curl up with my trashy novel!

Happy Blog-day to me!

Welcome to the first annual (OK, hopefully it will be more frequently than annual) posting of that new, exciting, scintillating, and, yes, life-altering blog........Lobstah Life!

The purpose of this blog is mostly to post about my knitting exploits, my opinions and thoughts, and other blatherings that hopefully someone will find of interest. And if no one finds it of interest, then I will have to go curl up in the fetal position somewhere and feel depressed at my utter boring-ness! Just kidding, of course...hey, if nothing else at least I'll find it interesting!

So a little bit about me: I'm 28 years old and live with my boyfriend and our cat in Maine. I currently work in the exciting field of environmental regulation and my main outlet for work-related (and life-related) stress is knitting, which I have been enjoying for the last year and a half. I also like reading, skiing, hiking, and watching movies.

Welcome to my blog and enjoy!