Aberrations

1) A deviation from the proper or expected course. 2) A departure from the normal or typical.

I am never ahead of the game. Never. I am always a day late or a dollar short. I get a lot done when a deadline looms but all too often that "lot" is not enough. I sometimes feel I live in a chronic state of too little, too late.

Not today ace, not today. I'm still feeling a bit smug and astounded by what we sent off, Priority Mail (as opposed to the ghastly expensive Next-Day Air), to AFSC in San Francisco. Well in advance of the Valentine's Day deadline for this year's Campaign for Youth.

Three sweaters, one pair of socks (that last courtesy of the Princess; I don't do socks).

I find I am enjoying my self-satisfied virtuousness. These are really rather nifty knits, even the Purple Sweater which has haunted this blog and my home since the 2008 a4A Youth Campaign. That's three campaigns ago. Details of the struggle are here, here and here ( among other places). I am deeply, deeply happy that it's gone.

Sock details will have to await the Princess uploading them to Ravelry. Sorry, not my knitting.

The other two sweaters, now, for those I have details.

Pattern - Green Mountain Spinnery's Rosemary's Little Sweater from The Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book.
Yarn -Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in Balsam.
Needles - US 8/5 mm Addi turbos for the body and sleeves, US 7/4.5 mm for the cuffs and bottom ribbing, 24-inch for the body and three 16-inch for the sleeves (now my most favorite way ever to knit small tubes. I may never go back to standard DPNs).

Pattern - Green Mountain Spinnery's Puntas Sweater, also from The Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book.
Yarn - Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in Blue Gentian with touches of Moss and (I think) Rhubarb (lost the label).
Needles -Again, US 8/5 mm Addi turbos for the body and sleeves, US 7/4.5 mm for the cuffs and bottom ribbing, 24-inch for the body and three 16-inch for the sleeves.

Maybe if I do something three times it's not an aberration anymore?

Christmas Again or Mostly English

We, like a wide swath of the country, have gone all white and buried, like a Currier & Ives print. It seems then particularly appropriate to tell you about our second Christmas. Third, if you count Epiphany (which, when I was growing up, we sometimes referred to as Little Christmas). Fourth if you count the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Ever since The Princess spent her junior year abroad, she has gotten a box from the other side of the Atlantic in time to open Christmas morning. This year, we knew it might be close. We knew there had been knitting ( I have to get the Princess' permission to take a picture and post it. For now you'll just have to take my word that it's nifty). We (like the rest of the world) just hadn't considered that weather like I saw outside my window two days ago would intervene. Not just the storms that struck the east coast with such ferocity, but the storms that stopped ground transportation and closed airports in Europe. Christmas came and Christmas went - no box. New Year came and New Year went - No box. Little Christmas - well you get the idea. This past week,though, it was Christmas again. This year I know the giver. It felt like a bit of Norfolk in the dining room.

"So. Nice story. But what about knitting?" you say.

Diane H sent me this a couple of weeks ago and it occurred to me, I did sort of duck the whole Christmas post thing. Once upon a time, the Christmas season lasted until Candlemas day, so I could argue I'm only a few days late instead of weeks and weeks. Besides, this references so many of my favorite things (Christmas trees, helping people with disabilities live independently, East Anglia, knitting), how could I go wrong? When the Christmas box arrived, I decided I could share and give you all a nice multi-faceted knitting/Christmas/Norfolk experience to cheer the post-blizzard, snow-bound experience.



Happy Christmas, again.