Happy to Me!

So far, I have had four days of birthday! A girl could get spoiled.

On Sunday, my brother and son took me out for a great meal at PF Chang's in Portland. Yummy food, great tea, and wonderful company! After dinner, Zak and I walked a bit. The twinkly lights were on all the trees in the area making it all very festive. One store window caught my eye... Anthropologie had everything in the display wrapped in knitted snow! It was gorgeous!

And lookie what I got! A knitting book I've been wanting and a new travel press. (I recently dropped my old one and cracked it. Bummer!)

Monday evening (my actual birthday), Zak took me out again! We had a very nice dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant (Pho Viet). When we got home, he surprised me with a delicious Cranberry Cheesecake from Wild Oats! I was skeptical, but it was very subtle. Just perfect!

Tuesday morning, my coworkers and students celebrated with me by bringing flowers and chocolate chunk cookies!! Yummers! And today, I received cards, cash and gift cards in the mail!!! What a birthday!!! Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone!!

Folk Mitts and Hot Chocolate

I haven't done any colorwork for a while. Playing with bits of my hand-dyed recycled sweater yarns, I came up with these bright and cheerful "Folk Mitts." They are happily keeping my hands warm while I knit up the rest of my Christmas gifts. Check back...I'll post the pattern later.

And here's one more gift ready. It's a simple beanie for Zak. He likes things plain...no designs, no bright colors. So to make him a hat that he will actually wear, I had to reel myself in. But I don't like to get bored, either. To satisfy both of us, I whipped him up a "Hot Chocolate" beanie with my hand-dyed recycled sweater wool in dark brown and black. The color changes are very subtle and not even noticeable unless you're up close and personal!

mmmm.....wooool

There's nothing like a warm wool hat on a snowy day. Our weather just started looking like December. To honor (and prepare for) winter, I whipped up another Sisters Hat. Since it only takes about 90 yards of DK-weight yarn, it's a quick project...great for last-minute gifts, too!

The free pattern is available here.
The yarn is from JanKnit Recycles.

Speedy Cardy

I love this pattern. I rarely knit the same design more than once. This seems to be the exception. I have used this pattern for the cute toddler sweater and hat for several family members, including my son. A Rosemary Drysdale design, this and two other sweater patterns were published in Knitter's #19, Summer 1990. It's such a quick knit because of the bulky yarn and big needles...only three stitches per inch!

Modifications: I used three colors instead of five, omitted the embroidery, shortened the ribbing on the hat, and knit the hat in the round instead of flat.

This little set is for my great niece for Christmas.

Freedom of Speech

For all our problems here in the US, I am still very thankful this is where I live. I admit I am not a fan of the current administration, and had a good chuckle over the recent exhibit in the New York Public Library. The "portraits" showing George W. Bush and others Photo-Shopped into mugshots are the work of Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese. And, of course, the photos have been condemned by the Republican party, stating that it might somehow harm students walking the halls of the library.

But, in the midst of the controversy over some political spoofs of our country's leaders, there is another story that got my attention. On the other side of the planet, a school teacher was imprisoned and will be deported just because she named a teddy-bear Muhammed. Gillian Gibbons could have received 40 lashes and six months in prison in the case if found guilty of the more serious charge of inciting religious hatred. Hmmm....