pre-game day

one of our favorite family cookbooks, after 50-odd years of constant use . . . someone helpfully duck-taped the spine at some point, but the loosened, brittle pages still need to be handled with care.

i’m sure all of our american friends are as busy as we are today; whether you’re traveling or cooking at home, shopping last minute or all set with what you need, today is the day that many people begin preparing for one of our biggest national holidays—thanksgiving.

last night, after a full day of early christmas shopping, we started prepping stuffing ingredients and other vegetables for dishes that require peeling and chopping. at home, i would do all that on thanksgiving morning, but my mom needs to pace herself a little more now. today we’ll bake pies (pumpkin and apple).

we have a secret weapon—a helper stands atop the stove watching over our efforts

i hope we plan to stay home all day—i gotta tell ya, my mom’s totally got me beat at being fit enough to shop all day. it was a success though; we got quite few things crossed off her list in the way of gifts that she wanted a second opinion on. and i just can’t get over how now, even thanksgiving is not reserved for simply giving thanks—the stores are all open and beginning their sales hat day, now.
they should pass a law, ya know??

but wow. i am not cut out for that life, heh. after shopping all day and working in the kitchen for a bit, we did just a little knitting through a movie, and then i was ready to fall over before 11 pm (of course, i’ve been waking at 4 am every morning —yes, ME—because our schedule is so different here; that’s the one time i can work and answer email which doesn’t interfere with the planned activity of the day).

so what have i got to show for my knitting self today?

well the first and prettiest thing is probably the flaming desire sock, which i’ve designed for the december yarn4socks club kit

i love the way it turned out—the yarn and stitch pattern work so well together. BTW, valerie and donna have made more kits available in their shop—if you tried to buy one earlier and couldn’t, you can now preorder one on their club page.

the yarn is sooo comfy and cozy; i’ll be grateful to wear these in january when our floors are so cold. the first one fits me okay, but could be a little more snug; i made a slight pattern adjustment by taking out a purl stitch near the side, which will be perfect. now i’ve got the second one underway (and it was so fun to knit, i may actually re-do the first one, too).

though it’s been much too warm lately to think about layering, i’m getting ready for a sudden change of weather that could hit at any time

i knit a larger-sized cornrow mitten over the weekend and am contemplating whether it’s right or not. it fits me very well through the hand, but feels big at fingertips in a way that the smaller size did not. i suspect that i need to decrease a few more sts at the end of the cable pattern for a better fit. i think i’ll work on correcting that this evening.

the matching hat is almost done. but i can’t find the 4mm DPNs i thought i packed to do the topmost part. arrggh. at least i know it’s cute. and it fits.
both pieces are good and dense in knit up in zen yarn garden serenity worsted—the yarn’s tight twist makes a compact fabric; with a touch of cashmere to fill in any spaces that do exist between stitches, it’s practically windproof.

my second holidazed sock looks pretty much the same as it did the other day; i can’t remember if i worked on it or not since i left the retreat sunday, heh (we’ve been busy). i think i did add some repeats in the car. i should finish it up; i’d have a whole new pair of socks, seemingly overnight if i did (and i can use them; my own sock drawer is pitifully low). but i’m trying to get my red scarf done as well, so they might go slower than i planned.

i hit a little stopping point in my henley, which i need to confer with catherine about, so i went ahead and started the sleeve of david’s fatigue sweater. i figure it’s best to get it on the needles where i can pick it up any time i need something to do.

it’s easy-peasy knitting—just a rib stitch with increases at each side. i’ve added on to it since this photo was taken yesterday and got almost all the way to the underarm last night while watching the movie (wow, the pieces go fast when the gauge is 4 sts per inch—who knew??).

i think that’s about it for catching you up with my knitting progress—i’m going to do a separate post about the red scarf, in case anyone is interested in joining me for a special mini KAL.

i also did a little photo study today around my mom’s house of all her beautiful indoor plants and will bring those to you in a couple of days. i hope everyone that is celebrating this weekend has a lovely, festive thanksgiving holiday.