Hello, my sad and lonely Blog. I keep thinking I should drop by and update, and then I run out of time. On what am I spending all my time? A little of this, a little of that, some more of this ... I know I have been working jig saw puzzles, writing my representatives in Washington DC, reading some, knitting, skiing, cleaning ... All in all, just typical stuff. My next goal is to get back here before another three months goes by!
These last eleven months, almost to the day, have been spent in varying stages of pandemic restrictions. We have been totally shut down, partially shut-down, partially opened ... basically every stage of restriction at least twice. Still awaiting my Covid-19 shots ... still waiting for the borders to open. I last saw my grandsons in person in May of 2019. (That is not a typo. Almost two years now.) Thank heavens for the internet and video chats.
Speaking of my grandsons ... The eldest asked me once why I knit all the time. My answer was that I liked making things for the people I love. And while that is true, it is not a complete answer. The rest of the answer is that years from now, when I am no longer walking the face of this Earth, I want those I love to be able to look at pictures of them wearing things I made, and be reminded that I existed, and that I loved them. Loved them enough that I would spend hours of my life making them something tangible, something that carried my love for them in its very existence.
Which brings me to this —
This is an afghan my mother started years ago. She passed in 2003? The date gets a bit fuzzy. In any event, she has been gone for almost two decades, and the afghan ended up in my possession for finishing. It is a variant of arrowhead lace, and it took a while to get my head into finishing. But I did, and now here I sit, wrapped in the afghan that my mother knit. It is like getting a hug from Mom, something that I have sorely missed these many years. I have sweaters she made for me as well, but with the passing of time they no longer fit.
The yarn is Windrush, from Brunswick Yarns. (To be honest, I know the yarn is discontinued and I am not even certain if Brunswick Yarns still exists.) Five different colours of blue, worked generally in 4-row stripes. There is one stripe that is six rows, but I'm not telling anyone where it is. It's a design feature! Ultimately, when the border reopens, this will be delivered to my elder brother and then he may enjoy hugs from Mom.
Another project recently finished is a pair of Bernie Mittens. What are Bernie Mittens? Well, Bernie Sanders appeared at the inauguration of Joe Biden wearing a pair of fabulous mittens. They became quite the internet sensation, and by day's end there were patterns available on Ravelry. These mittens were requested by someone near and dear to my heart, so of course I was willing to make them.
I used the pattern "Vermont's Finest" and four colours of Estelle Worsted. I tried to match the colours as closely as possible to the original, and did fairly well. I used a 5.0mm needle, which worked quite well for the design and wool. The next pair of mittens, however, will have a few modifications. To-wit, the thumb gusset increases start immediately after 12 rows of ribbing; I knit 15 rows of ribbing and will add 3 plain rows to the next pair. Also, I find the hand portion to be a bit short for my liking, and will add a row of plain gold both before and after the white motif. Finally, the thumb could be a couple of rows longer ...
I recognize that not everyone has long fingers like mine, but the next pair are being planned for someone near and dear to my heart, and I know for a fact there is some additional length required. Right now I am trying to decide how to get these mittens to the recipient. The US Postal Service is still in a high state of disarray, and parcels are being ignored, not delivered, mis-delivered, etc. UPS or FedEx are possibilities ... Tomorrow I will make the decision and get them on their way.
And that is about all the news from my little corner of the world. It is snowing (still) and the lake is frozen. There is almost too much snow for comfortable skiing out there ... Right. We are actually skiing on the lake this year, much to Doug's chagrin. He has sneered at this idea for the past 21 years I have lived with him. This year, people cannot go anywhere, the gyms are closed, and so everyone is heading over to the nearest conservation area and hiking. This wreaks havoc on ski trails, not to mention that the over-crowding is making us feel unsafe. So, to the lake it is. I am enjoying it thoroughly and practicing my flat-land skiing. Not upping my game for going up and down hills, but it is exercise and I am loving it. The hot chocolate at the end of the ski also ups the enjoyment factor ...
Gosh, it's been nice to write a bit. I should do this more often!
