It's appalling....

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I have several appalling things to report, not the least of which is the appalling lack of blogging that has taken place here recently. No guarantees on any improvement in that situation, as the first quarter of 2009 promises to be nightmarish, as far as work is concerned. I do, however, still owe you all a report about my weekend at SAFF, (waaaay back in October), and the fantastic week I spent in New York City for Thanksgiving, (was that already a month ago?!). I would love to be able to blog about both of those lovely times over the course of the next week or two, preferably before the New Year. We'll see what happens....

It's also appalling that my second finished knitted object of 2008 was not started nor completed until last week. Nothing like squeaking one in before the end of the year so I can still call myself a knitter!

Here it is, as a WIP, being modeled by a coworker:



And here is the finished object:

Specs:

• Yarn:
• * Main: Lion Brand Cashmere Blend (in Navy)
  
• * Stripes: Lion Brand Cashmere Blend (in Cream)
• Gauge: 4.25 stitches per inch
• Needles: U.S. size 8 (5 mm) Clover bamboo 7" DPNs
• Pattern: cast on 84 stitches in main color, join in the round, K2,P2 every round for ~1", then knit every round for ~4", add stripes where desired; decrease & finish according to Super Simple Hat Calculator
• Size: ~20" circumference
• Recipient: Diego
• Raveled here
  

This was knit for 13-year-old Diego, one of the 8 children of my office’s sponsored Christmas Mother. Diego is a Dallas Cowboys fan, (I know -- appalling! Insert gasp of horror here!), so I made a hat for him in the enemy’s colors. Turned out quite nicely, I think, despite that major design flaw! My good Christmas vibes must have overpowered the bad hate-the-Cowboys juju. ;-)


What's not appalling is that I have lured another unsuspecting person into the abyss that is fiber crafts. Saturday night I had dinner with a coworker who's going through some difficult times right now, and while eating our Thai food, I "innocently" suggested that she might want to give knitting a try, to help relax her. One stop at a craft store later, and before she knew it, I'd cast on for her and shown her the knit stitch. I stuck around to make sure she was okay with the first few rows of her garter stitch scarf in a dusty rose merino worsted-weight yarn, and after I returned home received a call from her around midnight thanking me for teaching her, and letting me know she was "having a blast" (her words). If that's not music to the ears of a fiber-enabler, what is?

She called me again today and told me that she was already close to finishing her first 200+ yard ball of yarn, and would need help joining the new one, and she also wanted to buy more yarn to start a scarf for her son. (My internal dialogue: "You mean, I can take you to an honest-to-goodness yarn shop?? Be still my heart!") So, we're heading out this afternoon to buy more yarn. I gotta tell ya, this doesn't suck. :-)

And so, although this hasn't been a banner year for my knitting, I'm still quite pleased, all in all.

Here's hoping I can share more of my recent exploits with you, before 2009 is heralded across the threshold. But in case I don't get a chance to say so before then, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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