martinimade

A couple of packages were waiting for me when I got back from Seattle.* Two of them, were full of mittens. And, O!, what mittens.**

Mittens for the whole family from Dr. Karen Purdy, who I've had the pleasure of bumping into at two Southern Festivals of Books. The momma-sized pair has a wee ickle pocket on them. Right?

Three pairs from Alice in Manchester, CT. I want you to take a good look at the middle pair. Here's a close up.

Fair. Freaking. Isle. For a pair of charity mittens. I am in awe.

These will go on the shelf, which I really should sort through soonish so that I know how far we have to go. You guys are awesome! Keep spreading the word and knitting the mittens!

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* One of them was full of dried cow parts, which made a certain corgi very happy and some humans very queasy.

** (If you're asking "why mittens?," click here. And thanks.)

The mittens just keep coming!*

These are from Tracey in Arlington, VA. (Confidential to Tracey: I have Opinions about the Space Before the Thumb Gusset, too.)

These were handed to me at work at The Green Toad on Saturday. The same knitter also made these.

(If you're asking "why mittens?," click here. And thanks.)

Months ago, I linked to a blogger who'd made headbands out of old neckties. My Dad just happened to have some old neckties and sent them to me. I finally got around to doing something with them.

This is only maybe one-third of the bag o'ties. I pulled out all of the stripes to start with, because I love a good stripe. I drafted the Girl to model:

I'm wearing one myself right this second, too. You'll have to take my word for it, though.

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* Which is surprising and wonderful and awesome. You guys rock.

I dug through the stash and found one little ball of Classic Elite's Majestic Tweed. Perfect, I thought, for one pair of mittens. Only it wasn't. Instead, it was perfect for one and a half mittens, which required buying another ball of the stuff. So much for moving yarns out of the stash.

Still, the mittens turned out well.

Into the bin they go. (And if you're asking "why mittens?," click here.)

In other yarn-y news, I ran into Peace, Love, & Yarn's Liz at Neil Gaiman's Saratoga Springs'* signing a couple of weeks ago, which was odd because I had no idea she'd be there and she just happened to walk past me at a time when I was looking up. "I have some yarn for your mittens," she said. "Great!" I said. 

Liz and her daughter went off in search of seats closer to the action. Yesterday, this box showed up:

The Lamb's Pride and Nature Spun will be distributed to any locals who want it for mittens. I'm keeping the Liz-dyed hank, tho, because I am selfish. Let me know if you'd like the others.

Finally, McGregor would like me to quit taking pictures and give him his sunny window seat back:**

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* I don't know that I blogged about it. Great fun, as you'd imagine an evening listening to Gaiman talk would be.

I actually worked on the now-finished mittens during the event itself. Because I am not good at waiting and listening.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a devastating, gorgeous piece of work that I devoured once I started it. The Pie Goddess, who was my date for the evening, and I didn't stick around for the signing. My randomly assigned letter put me in one of the later groups and I am old and tired. 

** Yes, we need new carpet - but are holding off until the Trout the Elderly Cat Who Has Grown Forgetful About the Litterbox shuffles off of this mortal coil. Which could be later this afternoon or in 2019. For now, we are Living With It.

The mittens* continue to arrive. 

From Carol in San Jose.** So delightfully squishy!

From Pat in Kingston, NY, which is just over the Catskills from me. Look at the teeeny ickle pair with the string!

Thanks, knittas! Keep 'em coming.

In other news, the Boy and the Husband went to Howe Caverns as part of a Boy Scout trip.***

I think he liked it.

** (If you want to know why mittens, click here.)

** Lemme beat you to the punch -- yes, I do know the way there.

*** Yes, I find the organization troubling. Our relationship is complicated.

Look! Actual knitting content!

Just a reminder, I'll be a guest at the Princeton Public Library's celebration of Worldwide Knit in Public Day on Saturday from 11 - 3. Come knit with me and my Mary Tudor. I'll be the one who isn't a sweater.

In other news, more mittens:

These are from Miss Clair in Indiana and have been added to the bin. Thanks!*

I also might have purchased some yarn, even though I really don't need anymore yarn:

But when you see its name, you'll understand why I couldn't help myself:

Right?

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* (If you want to know why mittens, click here.)

I spent most of yesterday waiting for various people to get back to me* with information I needed before I could move forward on about six different projects, which meant that I couldn't really leave my desk, just in case. And, so, pictures of various things snapped while at my desk.

The other night, the Boy came down after bedtime and handed us a picture he'd drawn. "What's this?" I asked. "It's me in the style of Pablo Picasso."

Indeed it is, my son. Indeed.

While we were away over the weekend, I was handed a pair of mittens by one-half of the couple we were staying with. More, she says, are coming. To which I say, Woot!**

Finally, this is what I decided to do while waiting:

I picked up stitches for my Blumchen*** while watching Supersizers. As one does.

* None of them did. That's just how this week is going to go. *lesigh*

** (If you want to know why mittens, click here.)

*** That extra bright light in the upper left is almost enough for me to see all of the stitches with. Almost.

Shameless promo first, just to get it out of the way: In case you were looking for a Mother's Day Gift and the mother for whom you are buying has an e-reader, you might want to look here or here. You're welcome. And thank you.

MORE MITTENS!

(If you want to know why mittens, click here.)

These were dropped off at the Green Toad by Barbara Burr. One big pair and one less big pair, exquisitely knit. What intrigues me most, however, is the bag, which looks to be from an agritourism spot in Milan, Italy.*

The mittens are in the bin. Thanks, Barbara!

Once I push through the next few days of finals and grading, I get to open this:

I cannot wait.

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* Or I have been thwarted by google maps. This has happened before. 

Let's go bottom to top. 

When I went to pick up yesterday's mail, these were waiting for me:

Six (!) pairs of mittens from Janet* in Arizona. Now we know the answer to the question, "how many mittens will one skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease make?" The answer is: four, for a total of 12 mittens in all, in Avocado, Loden, and Forest Green Heather.

Thanks Janet! They are in the bin.

(If you are wondering what all this is about, then, click here.)

Since I had the camera out, I decided to capture an image of Barney,** our quasi-feral former barn cat. Now that the weather has grown marginally less dire, he'd much prefer to be outside but was inside, for reasons known only to him.

Right after I snapped the picture, he sauntered over and bit the top of my head. Jerkface.

Then he sat in front of his window and waited for the person who he'd just bitten to come open it. Which I did, because I am a sucker. 

Note McGregor's disdain. Not sure if it's for me or for Barney.

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* If you have a blog, I'd be happy to link.

** a.k.a. Barnstable, the Barnacle, Asshat. Depends on everyone's mood, really. And, yes, he is missing the tip of his ear. Pirates were involved.

When I was working at the Toad on Saturday morning, an acquaintance slipped these across the counter:

Cable close-up activate!

Lovely, eh? I have added them to the box.

(The why part of the mitten knitting is explained here, btw. Knit on!)

And now a question...

Way back in 2012, I had the honor of taking Amy Herzog's Knit to Flatter class at the Knitter's Review Retreat. During the class, I fell in love with Chimera and wanted to knit it right that second. I had to wait until her book came out, tho, which was for the best, because I already had too much to knit at the end of last year.

The book is now in my hot hands and, given that I just had a birthday, I have a little bit of money to spend on yarn. But I can't figure out which color to choose. I'm trying to decide between Kittywake, which would be the practical choice because it goes with almost everything I own, and Parsley, which would be the more fun choice to knit and to wear during the long, dark winter. Thoughts?