Look what a day off can get you!

You take a pile of thrums...


and a ball of Lamb's Pride Superwash Bulky in Oatmeal and Cream...



Add several hours of knitting time, and you get (most of) a thrummed mitten.




I need to finish my lonely thumb, and I think I've got to frog the top (my fingers are hitting the inside of the mitten up there), but it shouldn't be too bad. Then I've got to make the second mitten. It's the first time I think I've ever wished it to get cold again! We were freezing for so long, then, all of a sudden, we go from highs of 5 degrees to 45. What gives?

23 tidbits

In the secret pal 10 spirit, here's my questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I really like natural fibers. I'm partial to wool and alpaca, but I always ooh over the soft plant fibers, too.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Plastic bags for most of them. My set of interchangeable bamboo circs has its own case, though.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting about a year. I learned the basics off a Web site and got lots of encouragement from a knitter friend. We knit backstage during performances! Oh, the offstage excitement for an actor! I consider myself an intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I love the smell of fresh-baked goods, coffee, lavender, and the aroma of a sun-warmed garden in full bloom.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yep! I love chocolates, the darker the better, and especially mixed with surprising ingredients. Cinnamon and chili powder in your hot cocoa, anyone?

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I make beaded jewelry and dabble in glass mosaic. I don't spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like all kinds. Really. I know lots of people say that, then go on to say something like "except country and rap and anything with a guitar, but other than that, anything's fine." I mean it. I listen to bluegrass and blues, jazz, pop, world music, rap, oldies, singer-songwriter stuff. My favorites are the songs that paint word pictures and tell stories. I love Tom Waits, Woody Guthrie, Erin McKeown, Edgar Meyer, Ella Fitzgerald, Soul Coughing and They Might Be Giants.
MP3s are AOK.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I really like reds and browns. Gray's not my favorite.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married, with two cats, and hoping for children soon.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes and only because I don't have one. No, wait. I've got that blue and black fleece one. Where the heck did that end up? Now I must tear apart the closet to find it.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I haven't been knitting all that long... among my favorite projects are the hat with cat ears (slightly lopsided -- it was my very first non-scarf project) and the baby sweater I made for Ami.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I've got my first sweater on the needles and am rolling thrums for a pair of thrummed mittens. It's super cold here now. Highs in the single digits. I need warmth for my hands! But by the time they get done it'll probably be too warm to wear them. Darn seasons!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I do.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circular, bamboo.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yep! Christmas gifts from my in-laws.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Um... two weeks? Like I said... I haven't been knitting that long. Though in the essence of full disclosure, I've got yarn that I bought for a summery knit purse that I started knitting, but realized I was doing it all wrong, so I just stopped, but haven't ripped it out yet because I didn't need the needles.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Buddha's Birthday. I feel very connected to all my loved ones at that time, particularly my grandmother, and it is a time of great hope and joy for me.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Books, but that's only because I can't bear to get rid of the ones I love.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Interweave Knits, which I love. I'm still new enough to knitting that I'm not coveting any patterns yet, but I would love to have an illustrated stitch/technique dictionary.
Googling knitting techniques works, but it's not always the most efficient way to get help in a pinch.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm really intrigued by steeking and fair isle.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have some sock yarn, and I'd love to knit socks, but I haven't had the time to figure them out yet. I wear an 8 1/2 shoe... don't know if that helps.

23. When is your birthday?
June 3.

Peace

After wrestling with the insurance company I managed to get my prescription filled and started taking my shots a few days ago. My belly's already starting to bruise, and I'll be down to two pairs of pants by the middle of the week. I'm going to become one of those women who wears velour jump suits everywhere!

But it feels good to be out of the period of medical uncertainty and into the period of hopeful uncertainty. I started it out pretty well, I think. No big problems with the injections, and I'm not exhausted like I was the last time I had to take them. Here's hoping that was a side effect of the blood clot in my lung and not the medication.

This weekend was the annual Peace Retreat at the Zen Center. I was able to go Friday night and for the full day Saturday. My wonderful sweetie stayed home and stripped the varnish off the bedroom floor and wood trim, sanded it, and cleaned it with mineral spirits. What a lovely gift he gave me -- a day away from the chemicals and noise, and some time at retreat.

We brought the rented sander back to the store minutes after they closed, but with a few pleading phone calls convinced the guy working the tool rental desk to open the door for us. We had a quick dinner out before coming home to stain the bedroom.

Our house is a disaster -- there are dressers and rugs and mattresses piled in the dining room and drawer stuffed with clothes in the living room. We've taken over the little bedroom with the TV in it, pulling out the futon. Hopefully the rest of the process will go quickly and we'll be back in our room with shining wood floors in a few days.

Thrumming!

So, I've got the inside of the hem for Rogue done, but the LYS was having a sale... on everything! I bought Lamb's Pride Bulky Superwash in a sort of oatmeal-y color and apricot-colored roving so i can make some thrummed mittens. I am so excited about this little project. Winter has taken hold with a vengeance, and my fingers are numb after my three-block walk to the office from the parking lot. I need something warmer than my gloves, and thrummed mittens sound like just the thing!