November

What have I been doing since I finished the Aran Lace? Knitting mittens. Lotsa mittens. Did you know that one large ball of Red Heart will make ten pairs of mittens? I didn't either.

See that little ball in the corner? That's what I had left. Talk about cutting it close!! I was afraid that I would have to make white thumbs on the last pair of mittens. Thank goodness I didn't.

So why the excess of mittens? Our church has a project. Every January we send box loads of warm woolies to an Indian settlement in Northern Ontario. Not the one that's been in the news, although the living situation is similar. These kids are out waiting for the bus in minimal outer-wear, often without mittens and hats. These mittens are destined to help those less fortunate ... right here in Canada.

Who took my needles?

I have started knitting mittens ad nauseum for the Mitten Tree at church. In the process, I decided to take the flat pattern and convert it to knitting in the round. To accomplish this, I needed my size 7 (US) dpn. I could find two of them, no problem. Do you think I could find the others? After searching through bags and bags of yarn, baskets of patterns, more bags of yarn, they still remain elusive. Not to be thwarted, I just grabbed the size 4 & 6 dpns and went on my way.

Who knew I had THAT much yarn? I mean -- I *KNOW* that I have lots of yarn in my boxes. That's stash -- and destined for the Dulaan Project and the Mitten Tree. But all that other yarn? Yikes! And guess what I'm doing tonight? Going to Knit Night at Yonder Yarns ... where I hope to purchase some nice black yarn for a Christmas gift. (Teehee.)

To assuage my disappointment over having lost my size 7 dpns, my lovely hubby graciously ventured into Romni Wool and purchased an Addi Turbo, size 7, just for me. Not for my birthday. Not for Christmas. Just becuz. Isn't he sweet? Apparently the staff at Romni Wool went into overdrive in their attempts to be helpful -- especially since needles are not exchangeable or returnable. They wanted to be absolutely sure that he had the right one. Silly people. Don't they know that any Addi is a keeper?

In other news --

Tada! The Aran Lace sweater is finished. Here I am, modeling the sweater pre-blocking.

The sweater is designed to be loose-fitting, with long sleeves. C. says it is stylishly comfy. For anyone who cares, the design is by Annie Maloney, called Aran Lace, pattern #102. The yarn was from Lewiscraft -- Stylecraft Special, an acrylic/wool blend (80/20). Quite nice. Now to see how well it wears.

Hurray!

Can you believe that today is Wednesday? Neither can I. Just where the heck did the week go anyway?

Oh yeah. I remember. Monday was Hallowe'en. Don't know about your neck of the woods, but we had 2 trick-or-treaters. Yes, you read that correctly. 2. Our neighbors were having far more fun than we were, so we grabbed our candy bowl and headed over there. Imagine the scene -- a crazy woman chasing the little kids down the street calling "wait, wait! I want to give you some candy!" Ah well. Now I've proven that I'm crazy enough to live in our little corner of the world.

What else have I been doing? Well ... What you see here is sleeve number 2 of my Aran Lace sweater. And I'm almost done with it! Hurray!

I also discovered a LYS! As local as I get anyway. It's a 30-minute drive to get there, but definitely worth the trip. It's called Yonder Yarns, and is in Greenbank, Ontario. Louise, the proprietor, is running it in a room of her home. Every time I go there, she has more yarns to fondle. And she has a Knit Night on Tuesdays. There are three or four "regulars," and it was quite enjoyable. I went last night and made one mitten and started its mate. Out of *gasp* Red Heart yarn. Every year I buy a large ball to make mittens for the church, and every year I say "never again." NOW I remember why I don't particularly care for Red Heart.

Hopefully, next year I'll remember ...