'Tis the season

I'm back! Betcha didn't even notice I was gone, huh? Well, I wasn't gone so much as crazy busy with Thanksgiving. Hubby and I hosted this year, and I am happy (and relieved!) to say everything was delish and came off without any major disasters. Horray for us!


So, it is tradition in our household to put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We did yesterday and it looks great. Except.... I couldn't help noticing that there were no crocheted snowflake ornaments on it. Could it be? That last year, while I was crocheting my fingers to the bone so I could send snowflakes out in my Christmas cards, I neglected to make myself one? Apparently. What a flake I am (ha!). So I popped one out today while watching Simpsons reruns:

It is Number 57 from Leisure Arts' 99 Snowflakes. And now I think my tree is complete. :-)

FO: Fetchings

Yup, I wove in the ends tonight. These babies are done:

I actually would have finished a few days ago, except I goofed the picot bind off on the first Fetching. I didn't realize it until I was done, though, so after I finished the second one I ripped out the bad picot bind off and redid it the correct way. It didn't take long, but I was sorta dreading doing it and kept putting it off. The thing I did wrong on the picot bind off? Well... let's just say that when a pattern tells you to cast on one stitch using the cable cast on method, you should cast on one, not two. Two = an ugly nightmare.

Besides the picot boo-boo, these were a breeze and I would highly recommend this pattern to anyone. Surf on over to Knitty and get it (I'm too lazy to add the link)!

Gettin’ my freak on

With a book! (Had you fooled, didn’t I?) Specifically, with Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Any book that can compare sumo wrestlers with teachers and find a legitimate connection is a winner, in my opinion. :-) Seriously, I am not sure how best to summarize this book, since it uses economics to explore “the hidden side” of.... well, everything except money and finance. Why did crime fall in the 90s? Why do drug dealers live with their moms? Do teachers cheat on standardized tests for their students? It doesn’t sound like economics and it doesn’t read like economics, either. I kept comparing it to talking with that slightly geeky friend we all have, who knows everything, but is gifted with the ability to use that knowledge to tell a whammy of a story. If you liked The Tipping Point, Blink, or Guns, Germs, and Steel, you know what I mean.

On the Bookwormy Goodness Review Scale, where ***** is “go out and buy this book now, it is that good!” and * is “the most appalling awful book ever”, I give Freakonomics *****.

Sock Knitting, Interrupted

Fetching the first
Originally uploaded by LinknKnits

Yup, I have taken a break from the never-ending sock knitting to start on a bit of holiday knitting. Since, you know, Christmas is like 49 days away or something. [Insert panic attack here.] I had mentioned in a previous post that I would be knitting Fetching for my mom. I started on Saturday afternoon, and as you can see, I have quite a bit done.

This pic is actually out-of-date. I took it at about 6:00pm last night and by the end of the night I had bound off and added the thumb. I am using Pure Merino by Berroco on size 7 DPNs. The pattern? Lovely and easy and quick and I am completely in love with it. I couldn’t be happier with it as a choice for holiday knitting, as it is quick (did I already say that?) and looks SUPER! (Ok, I am really enthusiastic about them. But come on! Lovely and easy and quick!)

Part of the reason I have nearly one whole mitt done, is that I watched two of the movies from my Top 100 quest over the last two days. Swing Time was perfect for knitting since the plot was just a vehicle to get from dance scene to dance scene. I got a LOT of knitting done during it. I couldn’t concentrate as much on my knitting during High Noon, since there was a plot and all, but it was a short movie and I spent the rest of the evening finishing (nearly) Fetching Number One. I have to check my Netflix queue and make sure I have some light movies coming up so I can finish Fetching Number Two as quickly as I did One!

In which I discover...

... that socks, feet, and socks and feet combined are very hard to photograph! I swear, my ankles are not that thick in real life. I think.

I have also discovered that the sock is a wee bit tight. This is the first-time I have tried it on, and it makes me wish I had done so much earlier. I don't know. The heel and foot fit pretty well, it is the leg that is tight. If I cast on more for the second sock, I am afraid the rest won't fit. What do you all think? Except that maybe I really do have thick ankles....

Discovery Number Three: I am not making much progress on my current read, Lord John and the Private Matter. I can't decide if this is because it is a mediocre story or because of the next thing I have discovered....

I can easily play Phantom Hourglass for an entire evening. And be resentful when I have to go to bed.

And finally, I have discovered that I really don't want to put these guys away, even though Halloween has come and gone. They are too cute!