Pre-Christmas Craziness

I realize that I'm not presently working and I should be on top of, well, everything, but I'm not. I'd like to blame it on the not being able to drive or the ridiculously slow pace I meander at lately or the fact that I can't stand comfortably for more than 10 minutes. But really, I've been spending more time reading and watching movies than anyone should. Luckily, the continuous passive motion machine, my excuse for staying on the couch; as it pumped my leg to ever greater degrees of flexion, will be gone soon. And I made a list to get things done now, so no more excuses. I always get more done when I have a written list. I think the satisfaction of crossing things off helps.

I got a small project done in the past few weeks. This pattern was not difficult, but it very nearly defeated me. It was the having to pay attention all the way through each row. I have the attention span of a cat, on good days....
I'm pleased with how they turned out. They were all curly, so I had to block them...which seemed silly, but now they lie flat, which I feel is important in a coaster. The yarn had a lot more brown in it than it looked like, but it kinda matches my couches, so I can't complain. The yarn was also some Michael's special, possibly with soy or something interesting in it.

Nothing New But My Knee

I made this tart for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious. Cranberry, almond, caramel...mmm. I killed the caramel the first time. The directions said to use a 10 inch skillet. I own a 14 inch skillet (one can never make too much food....).
I didn't think it would be a problem.
I was so so wrong.
Don't ever attempt caramel with a pan that exceed the size of your burner...
But attempt two came out fine.
If I were to make again, I would use another shell recipe. This one shrank, as you can see, and was altogether more trouble than it was worth. But the tartness of the cranberries was an excellent balance to the caramel. You can get the recipe here:
And here is the ugly hat. Perfect size, but no stitch definition and what was it, knit? crocheted? you would never be able to tell. Ah well, it's not for me, and that's another skein of ugliness out of the stash.

I haven't been doing much knitting. Recovery is not painless, but at least I have a Costco sized bottle of Tylenol now :) I can bend my knee to 90 degrees, with discomfort.

For my birthday, my sister got me Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, which I've been coveting for at least a year:
She also got me another present, though not really for me.
She's pregnant! Yay!
So those cute knitted stuffed animals...yeah a great excuse to make them :) I'm gong through all my knitting books and making a list of yarns to buy when we're a mere 20 minutes from Webs during Christmas.

Pre-op

Quick post before I go to surgery. I've had 3, count 'em, 3 surgeries on my right elbow eight years ago, and no I don't snowboard anymore :) So I'm familiar with the process. But for some reason I'm a bit apprehensive today. Oh well, only an hour more to worry about it.

I meant to list the cozy pattern. It's a free one off the Berrocco site: Fleur-de-lis

I finished another hat yesterday with my charity acrylic. It was made with Lionbrand Color waves, and though I have about 5 more skeins of it, I don't think I'll ever use it again. It made my skin dry. And turned out a fabric where you couldn't tell the stitch definition. At all. So it made a interesting, bumpy fabric. Which I suppose would be great for a new knitter. If they dropped stitches or purled when they should knit you wouldn't be able to tell at all.
Pictures when I am less drugged...it might be awhile....

Mystery Revealed

Awhile back, I had been knitting something secret for my coffee swap buddy that I asked people to guess about.
Apparently it really looked like a lopsided bikini top :)


And while it is difficult to predict what something will be at 30% completion, I feared the picture below might have given the surprise away:

Can you tell what it is now?


Headband for someone with a smaller head than mine? (Freakishly smaller...)


Nope.


Sushi set coaster? (For keeping your sushi nice and mildly cool...?)


Nope.


Dishtowel flattening device?


Nope.


Omnikini?


Nope.







It's just a cozy.


It's actually a french press cozy.
When I took this picture, I didn't own a french press. Now I do thanks to a great birthday present from my friend. (Thanks Michelle!)
Teapot, french press, you get the general idea. Love the color and the stitch pattern and the Lamb's Pride yarn. Do not love grafting.