a little local color and too much food

i hope everyone had a marvelous holiday, as we did here.
i’m full, how about you? we’re eating a LOT more often here than we ever do at home; it’s always a bit of a jolt for us to be on someone else’s eating and sleeping schedule. we conduct ourselves like feral animals at home when it comes to those activities—stopping to eat only when we’re very hungry and sleeping when we can’t keep our eyes open any more.

please excuse my absence for the last few days; i’ve been knitting and taking photos and even getting on the computer once in a while, but almost every time i’m ready to blog, i have to get off the computer to do something else. i even went shopping! i bought a new winter jacket, which has been on my to-do list for over a year, but since i dread shopping i never got around to buying one. and y’know how long it took? about 10 minutes. i really should just do these things instead of thinking about doing them . . .

anyway, enough chatter—i mentioned knitting and knitting we shall have.

i knit another warm hat in the car on the way from ohio while david took his turn driving; i changed the stitch pattern ever so slightly, but i like this one better. i’ll try for a better photo another day. tonight i’ll knit a second mitten to go with the first and then we’ll have a set.

yesterday i worked on the second spiraluscious mitt while we visited with my aunt who came for dinner, and then later while watching old movies—cheaper by the dozen (the original, with myrna loy and clifton webb) and yours, mine, and ours, (again, the original with lucille ball and henry fonda). AMC was running an evening of movies with family themes.

anyway, over the course of the day i took it from that to this

(sorry about the lighting on this one; it got dark today before i knew it). i soaked it during dinner this evening and it’s drying near a heat vent now . . i’m hoping to get some good photos before we leave on sunday. the pattern is all set to go, so i just need to add a nice picture and we can release it monday if everything falls into place.

i started a hat to match those lacunae mitts i knit before i left home. i’m planning on getting pretty far along with the hat tonight. i’m actually hoping to finish it but we’ll see—my mom is talking about going to another store . . .

i’ve also been working on some new socks but i’m doing it in fits and starts because i’m just not sure i’m doing the right thing with the right yarn.

here’s my dilemma: i love the yarn cuz it’s soft and cozy. i love the stitch because i feel it echoes the squooshy quality of the yarn with it’s round contours, making it even more cozy looking.

but i just can’t tell if the striping of the yarn gets in the way or not. i can see the patterning perfectly well, but i keep feeling that it might be better in a nearly-solid yarn (like maybe this red cashmere/merino sock yarn for a nice collaboration with roxanne??).

and then, i’m far enough along with this sock that i sorta don’t wanna rip it out. but i think i’m going to . . i need to find a soft, wavy pattern for the striping yarn.
ok, i think that’s settled then (so glad we are talking this out—i’ve been on the fence for days and i just now made a decision that took all of ten minutes)

while i mulled that over, i started another sock that i’m not all that happy with either (geesh).

now, let me be clear—i love the yarn. it’s luster sox, a fine, smooth, firmly-spun BFL yarn from mona and stephanie at dye dreams. its just the yarn for a sleek, smooth dress sock.

however, i was trying it out for the lacunae sock (to match the mitts and hat above), and i’m struggling . . . the stitch pattern isn’t that much fun in a fine, smooth sock yarn like this. it works fine in bigger yarn on bigger needles and i feel that maybe changing to a smooshier, fatter sock yarn might make a difference. also, the stitch pattern looks lax and insubstantial in this yarn, so, again, i think a tighter-twist, softer fiber yarn will bring it to life.

i need something woolier and poofier to get that same look that the mitts have. the luster sox will be a great yarn for an elegant, lace trouser sock, so i’m putting it back in the queue but earmarking it as next in line.

so, what to use instead? i have some STR here. and i’m sure i have several other choices at home, including some sweet sox, but not with me. aw, heck, i should just get started with the STR, right?
time’s a-wastin’.

for the rest of the weekend i’ll be working on getting the mates for the lacunae mitts and the warm mittens on the needles so i can work on those during the trip back to ohio (when i’m not driving). then when i return to my desk i’ll have a number of patterns to write up.

in travel news, today we went to the cemetery to visit family graves and place flowers nearby for the holidays (hence the opening photo). while we were there we explored the mausoleums a bit.

this is one of the larger tombs (mom added for scale).
though i didn’t look inside this one—many of them are open to the visiting public—i was fascinated by the look of the exterior, with its 24 columns on three sides. the area behind the building has a beautiful statue of an angel and has been set aside as a graveyard for children.

this was my very favorite—i just love the celtic knots on the double copper doors and the way the façade has a recessed cross shape around the entry. the building has no other openings except for one small, single window on the back wall

so i thought it would be very dark inside. but when i peeked in the front door i saw the opposite, actually

the simple white marble interior and stained glass amplify the incoming light to great effect

in another one, the opposite was true

this gorgeous window fills almost the entire back wall of the crypt it looks in on, opposite a large and elaborate door, but the dark stone inside creates a subdued subdued and eerie atmosphere.

it was too cold out there to stay all afternoon (why is it always so much colder at the cemetery than anywhere else?), but i wanted to; perhaps we’ll be back in the spring and we can take more time out there then.

my inner knitter is telling me it’s time to get needles and yarn in my hands, so off i go. i’ll try to be back before the weekend is over, but if not, then monday. see ya.