Monday, August 11, 2008

It's Been a While...

... so time to catch up a bit. I've started the Christmas knitting, a little late but I'm cranking along. This year it's mostly hats like the one above. The last time I was at the Classic Elite Outlet I found a ball of Rowan tweed and four hanks of Montera Hand Dyed in the dollar bin. It's discontinued and they were probably the last hanks in existence but for a buck who could resist. All four became hats.I like the way the yarn spiraled around the hats. Usually I hate pooling but these came out pretty cool.


The yarn is very soft and VERY warm. I may have to buy some of the regular Montera to make a sweater. Of course that will be next year, my yarn budget is now officially zero until next year.


I also finished a pair of socks I started last April. They've been my carry around socks, living in my purse getting worked on now and then. I won the yarn on the block of my favorite online sock yarn shop( http://www.simplysockyarn.com/ ) and I'm in love with the socks now that they're finished. They might go in the Christmas stash but I'm leaning towards keeping them.

This is the fourth Monetera dollar hat and the only one I'm not super happy with. I just don't like how the colors pooled. On the other hand someone might love it for the same reason I hate it so it'll go into the Yankee Swap.
I did manage to finish two lace projects so far this summer. I had made this Adamas Shawl pattern before but I've given them away. This one is just for me. I love the warm colors and the contrasting edging. I wore it for the first time, well more on where I was the first time I wore it at the end of the post.
I also finished my Baltic Sea Stole. It's in Twinkle Kid Mohair by Classic Elite. I grabbed this with the dollar bin Montera the last time I was at the outlet. It cost less than $10 in yarn to make but it looks like a FORTUNE. I've always had a love hate issue with mohair but this project tilted the scales a lot. I love it to death and I want it to be fall so I can wear it. As much as I love the stole, mohair and August in New England just don't mix.


Now, the bad news. My Nana passed away at the end of July. She was one of the most amazing women I ever knew. It wasn't unexpected, her cancer diagnosis was in January, but it was really fast at the end. She went from doing OK to dire in a matter of days. I think we were all relieved when it was over, she suffered a lot at the end and that isn't how she should be remembered. She did get to die in relative comfort and in her own home and that is at least something.

The usual craziness followed with the wake, funeral and mercy meal. I was really glad to have thought ahead and made sure everyone had good clothes ready to go, except of course my father but that's dad. It was the first time I had been to Mass in years, it was very pretty actually, I really liked the priest who did the Mass and graveside service. The one who came to the wake was a total dud and NO ONE liked him.

One of my mom's cousins hit me at the wake, shut up we're Italian. I made the grave error of telling her son, who I don't think I've seen in a decade, that I liked his full sleeves of tattoos. I guess she HATES them but seriously, they were STUNNING. My hubby didn't like me commenting on them either but I think that was less to do with he tats and more to do with that cousin being just strikingly handsome with really fantastic Italian facial features. Hubby got a big ole "dude that's my cousin" speech.

I've been trying to keep half an eye on my Papa for his sake and my mom's. He's almost 90 and hasn't been on his own for the over 65 years he and Nana were married. He's always been on the klutzy side, that's where the rest of us get it, and well, 90 is kind of old even if you're healthy and active. Also, two weeks after Nana died one of his little, by little I mean 80, brothers passed away and we're kind of worried about his emotional state. Hubby and I try and do what we can without being invasive or coddling him like a child but it's a really fine line. We live closest by almost an hour's drive so checking on him from time to time and some light yard work is the least we can do. Winter worries me a little but I'm sure we'll have a sort of routine before any big snow.

My Papa told me at the wake he wants me to have Nana's cookbooks. The thought of it makes me cry on and off. My Nana taught me most of what I know about cooking, baking, sewing, etc. and I'll be really glad to have them. We're having hubby's BIL make a book case just for them, something nice not a crappy MDF allen wrench thing. I'm sort of avoiding picking them up, when I do that she's really gone and I miss her a lot.