Still Here

Whew. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted ... I certainly didn't intend to go so long without blogging. It's amazing how much time working takes up! Heh.

But I have been knitting, if not finishing all those WIPs as I planned to do. For some reason, I'm all about berets lately. Here's one I finished last night.


Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Rowanspun Aran, about two-thirds of a 219-yard skein
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony circulars, sizes 7 and 8
Thoughts: A fun and easy pattern. I started it in seed stitch and then decided along with one of my knitting group friends that the tweedy yarn would look better in stockinette. Note that I used far less than one skein of Rowanspun Aran, and I knitted the slouchy version. The pattern calls for 200 yards of aranweight, but I think you could finish this with much less, especially if you make a less-slouchy version. I am slightly worried that this is going to look like a food service worker hair net on me. But, hey, it will go with my Clapotis.

Generally, I try to remain non-political 'round these parts, but I'm going to make an exception. Being a political junkie and former Hill staffer, I tend to get pretty fired up about national elections. But this year, the Presidential election feels more important than ever.

I believe this country needs a change: a change in our vision for the future, a change in our place in the world, and most of all, a change in our political discourse. I believe we need a leader who can unite people and who will address the many challenges we face as a nation: educating our kids, ending the wars we are fighting on two fronts, achieving energy independence, and protecting the environment. I believe we need a leader who can restore hope. For these reasons, I am supporting Senator Obama.



If you are not inclined to vote or be involved in the elections this year, please reconsider. If you favor a particular candidate, please go out and vote. If you don't, learn about the candidates and then don't forget to support him or her on Election Day. Participation really matters.

Beret! Yay!

It only took me two weeks, but here's the final FO picture for the Tweed Beret. I love you, blocking! It's been seriously cold here lately, with snow as well, so the beret has been seeing lots of action. I luff it.

Adjusting to single parenting, working, looking for a law firm job, the holidays, and divorce issues are tending to sap my knitting and blogging time. And my sewing machine? She is so neglected. But I am not giving up!

I have been thinking about doing a little crafty housecleaning ... I anticipate this involving a lot of frogging. If a project sits around unfinished at my house, it's usually because I have become bored with it. Since my time is so limited, I need to reassess how I choose projects. Having lots of works-in-progress used to be fun. Now those half-finished cardigans and socks knit to the heel flaps are just items on a to-do list, and not particularly pleasant ones at that. After my brutal frogging session, I want to finish up the things that make the cut. Then, a New Year's Resolution -- try to be a project monogamist.

Fresh starts. We're all about fresh starts around here.

A Beret, Nearly

I hope all of you in the States had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did. On Wednesday, it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit here in Cleveland. On Thursday, we had lovely and festive snow. Yay! My sister and her boyfriend were here from St. Paul and my aunt Becky came for the day from Akron. We had a great day, watching football, eating a ton, and playing a new game, Bananagrams. It's like a fast and loose version of Scrabble. Very fun.

And here is my holiday weekend knitting, blocking on a dinner plate. With this cold weather arriving, I realized that I need a hat. I wanted something relatively simple, so that I could knit while chatting with my visitors. I chose Tweed Beret (here's the Ravelry link), from the Winter 2006 Interweave Knits. The yarn is more of the Cascade 220 that I also used for my Dashing mitts. I just finished it up; it's a great quick pattern.

Because I am a relaxed knitter, I used smaller needles than the pattern called for. Unfortunately, as a result, my hat is a little more cloche-like than beret-like. Hopefully, the blocking will give it a little more slouch. If not, it still looks cute. And I can always knit another!