The previous stretch of Blog Silence brought to you by the Season of Thanksgiving!
I had at least one small intention to post last Wednesday before the holiday here in America but that quickly fell apart as my day slipped away. I was thawing a turkey, making cornbread for the cornbread dressing, and being generally lazy 🙂 Thursday turned out to be wonderful! I didn’t burn or dry out the turkey and it was my first one! My husband and I stayed in St. Louis and spent time with his brothers and his mom. It was just so nice to be around family. I enjoyed it so much that even though my husband had to work, I spent time with everyone anyway.
I have always been one to enjoy my family. My parents, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and now nieces and nephews, and in-laws are all fantastic people! Since I was a kid, my favorite part about any holiday was getting to see everyone and spend time together. We traveled a lot when I was a kid because my parents do not live near their parents or brothers and sisters. We would load up the car and go 🙂 I can probably count on one hand the number of times we stayed put for a holiday!
This holiday was different because I did not have to travel any great distance but was still able to spend it with some pretty great people! It certainly made me miss spending time with my parents and brother and grands and aunts and uncles and cousins, but this was a great holiday 🙂
On to the yarn.
So here in the US there is usually a huge shopping day following Thanksgiving on Thursday. It’s Black Friday and all the businesses here go nuts. It’s gotten so bad that some businesses are opening on Thanksgiving day, calling employees in from time with family just to make a buck. I was an employee who worked last year on Thanksgiving. Every time a customer would come in, I would have to fight the urge to berate them for leaving time with their family to come have a cup of coffee. Maybe because that is where I wanted to be?? So before you spend your money at a business open on a holiday, think of the employees. By supporting those businesses on those days, you are saying it is more important to spend money on that day than to spend time with your family.
Oh that was a fun tangent. I was supposed to tell you in there that I went over to Knitorious Friday and bought yarn. Then I went to Hearthstone Knits on Saturday and bought yarn.
Really, the yarn.
You’ll be happy to know that I have pretty much finished up the adorable pink Wee Envelope sweater for Payton.
It’s been blocked. I’ve woven in the ends.
The only thing missing are the cute buttons! I can’t quite bring myself to sew them on! Ridiculous! And I have so much extra yarn…those might need to be socks for her. DK socks go so fast!
I pretty much considered the thing finished because I bought more yarn to make her another sweater. This time maybe a cardigan. I’m thinking the Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down in some fluffy Plymouth Encore Dynamo. It’s an Aran weight 75/25 Acrylic Wool Blend and I’ve got 400 yds. I saw the cutest sample cardi knit up in it at the shop and had to make one for little bit.
I just love the colors. They are so subtle.
It has been super cold here. Like real, real cold. My niece and nephew have already worn their fluff hats in the snow. I noticed that their dad could use a cozy hat, too. So what did I do? Cast one on. I wanted to make him something that he could wear to work. So I chose….
black!
I know, I must be nuts. I keep wondering that myself. I try to just get in a rhythm where I don’t have to look down and see what stitch is next. It’s the Jacques Cousteau hat. I modified it just a touch so that the brim could be worn double for extra warmth. I even reversed the ribbing and started knitting the other way so the brim rib and the hat rib would line up. I know, nutty.
Last but not least in terms of active, fun things I’m working on…the Settler Shawl in my Two Grey Dogs yarn. (that link takes you to their etsy shop where they are having a Cyber Monday sale…)
I love it.
It makes me so happy. Whenever I want to drop kick the black hat, I just set it down and pick this up. I’m loving the crescent shape!!
I think that is all for now. I’ll stop in Wednesday with some fun thoughts. This is truly the season of giving and people have been very generous in both words and patterns 🙂
v’s & bumps,
Jenna
hardknitlife 
You SHOULD have asked all the customers that question. I hate shopping anyway, so it is no sacrifice to just stay home Thursday and Friday. But I think even if I loved it, I would not go out on Thursday.
🙂 Thanks. I’m not a shopping fan, unless it’s yarn but those who run yarn shops tend to have more sense about opening up at reasonable hours on crazy holidays.
oh yeah, yarn shopping is definitely OK in my book. But I still wouldn’t shop on a holiday or in the middle of the night. 🙂
Glad that you had such a great thanksgiving with family; sometimes being far away from family helps you to appreciate time with them. I love the idea of changing the knits and purls so you can fold back the rim of the hat!
Thanks! I definitely enjoy any time I can spend with my family. And the hat idea I got from a project my mom did 🙂 It does help the brim to lay just right!
I have to say amen to your tangent! You knitting looks so good, I’m not getting much done these days so I’m living a little vicariously through you… 😉
🙂 I’m trying to just keep knitting!! The hard part is to stay focused on one thing. I’m sure when the holidays slow down we will see wonderful things flying off your needles! Especially those designs you were talking about a little bit ago!
Oooh that tiny pink sweater is SO adorable! Combined with those buttons it’s just going to be the cutest thing ever.
And I’m so envious of the Two Grey Dogs yarn, that shawl is going to be fantastic with it.
I love the sweater! Tiny things are infinitely cuter just because they are small. The shawl is definitely a treat to work on 🙂