I hope you had time off over the holidays and enjoyed it as much as I did. The boys and I spent Christmas with my sister in Baltimore, where we met Gracie for the first time. She’s a peach!
The humans managed to keep the peace between the dogs as they all got acquainted, although there was a lot of growling, most of it coming from one little black dog. This may look like a cute picture, but believe me, there was constant growling coming out of the one on the couch.
He must have come home with a sore throat! By Day 3, when we left, there was actual play going on instead of just fending off so all in all, everything went well, and Gracie is a sweet and good little girl:
Okay, just one more, of Gracie and her “big sister” Maddie:
Where was Geordie, you ask? Asleep and well away from the fray, if he had anything to say about it. Which he did.
Other than that, I spent my time cleaning, doing laundry, organizing my office at home (lots of sorting and dusting of books, mostly) and that kind of thing, which is actually a pleasant activity when you have time to spend on it. I also had a jour de beauté, which I swear is a concept I learned from Glamour magazine in my teens (oh yes, it’s been around that long!). In those days, I read it assiduously, absorbing the fashion do’s and don’ts,(if stockings still had seams, believe me, mine would be straight) the boyfriend tips, the stuff to buy. There were a lot of rules in those days. Anyway, a jour de beauté was a day to spend taking care of yourself, including a luxurious bath, hair and skin treatments, manicures and pedicures, etc. It’s a great excuse to stay in your bathrobe all day, covering various body parts with glop and goo, then washing it off, “sloughing away dried skin along with dirt and toxins.” Teenagers don’t really need this. Sixty-one year olds could use it way more than once a year.
And of course, I spent some time knitting! I started this baby sweater at my sister’s (easy to pick up and put down, small enough to hide from puppies – turns out Gracie thinks yarn is pretty cool) and finished it a couple days later. I used fingering-weight cotton, but the pattern (from Oat Couture) also gives instructions for DK weight yarn:
I also got fascinated with a diagonal slip-stitch rib that I thought would make a great cowl. It did, then I ripped it out and made it into a loop scarf, so you could wear it at least two ways. Made one for my niece while I was in Balto, then came home and made one in this gorgeous pink. Both were in Classic Elite’s really chunky Toboggan, a soft and warm alpaca/wool blend in great colors:
Isn’t the stitch great? The slipped knit stitches look over-sized and the diagonality (?) (a useful, albeit made up, word) is done by making left twists every other row, moving the elongated stitches one place to the left. It was fun to do, even though I did it quite a lot!
I also made this little cowl in another color of Liberty Wool.
My goal was to make something in every colorway we have left, but I didn’t get there, being muchly distracted by many other knitting ideas. I do love the yarn, so I may make the goal eventually. Anyhoo, these two cowls will be free patterns with purchase.
Finally, I finished the fingering-weight sweater I’ve been alternately loving and hating for the last month. Love the pattern, love the yarn, love the sweater. Not for the faint of heart or the impatient. Fair warning.
The yarn is Mousse from Grignasco, a nice supply of which should arrive at our door shortly after we re-open. Lovely blend of soy, merino and silk. The pattern is Mendel by Carol Feller. I love it for the little ruches at the bottom of one “side seam” (it’s actually completely seamless) and both sleeves.
It’s just so “Trishy” isn’t it? If I were smart, I’d have checked to see how many little purple pullovers I already have before starting this one. I guess I really didn’t want to know. Anyway, moving on, I’m deep into a great amber-colored cardy in O-wool Balance, a really nice washable organic cotton/wool blend that you’re going to love!
I won’t get all wordy about the start of another New Year. I’ll just say thanks to my wonderful customers and friends and express my hope that the coming year will see less hunger and anger in the world. Oh, and less of me, too – about 20 pounds worth!
See you soon…
Trish
