I have not been completely idle on the knitting scene lately. Here are my latest efforts in knitting socks. The blueish pair I finished just before I went away for the holidays. And then when I was shopping in Weaving Works in Seattle I found the self-striping orange white and green yarn. Knitting socks goes very well with sitting and talking, playing Scrabble, and watching an excellent PBS Documentary on the American Revolutionary War.
More Socks December 31, 2007
Knit a stitch, take a bite December 27, 2007
Today I visited the Nordic Heritage Museum here in Seattle. It’s a wonderful museum with special exhibits for each of the Nordic countries. I was particularly pleased to see so many spinning wheels and examples of knitting. And one of the visitors was wearing a very nice Lopi sweater – perfect in that setting.
In the Iceland room there was a long poem about the tradition of the Christmas cat – evidently a black cat who can be extremely mean to children at Christmas time. I felt that there is a dark side to human nature to develop and perpetrate belief in such things. As you know, I have a black cat named Slinky Malinki after the Slinky Malinki in Lynley Dodd’s books. 
My Slinky Malinki is a lovely cat and I miss her – and I suspect she is missing lying on my knitting, as pictured here.
What I particularly want to call attention to here though is a knitting workshop which was held in the Museum in early October. I was talking with one of the attendants about it, and she said it was one of the most popular events ever held at the museum. They had over 200 knitters from all over the world. And she was particularly amazed to see such a large group of women knitting while they queued for their meals and even when they were at the dining tables. I told my sister about this and her quip was “oh, knit a stitch, take a bite”, hence the title of this entry. It is hoped that the event will be staged again in another year or two – sounds good to me. There is a booklet for sale with some of the patterns developed during the workshop – I might go back to the shop there to buy it – and while I’m there I just might succumb to buying one or even both of the Norwegian knitting books by Annemor Sundbo – Setesdal sweaters: the history of the Norwegian lice pattern and Invisible Threads in Knitting.
A book I did buy today though is a little book called The Literary Cat - here is a quote from it: “There are people who reshape the world by force or argument, but the cat just lies there, dozing, and the world quietly reshapes itself to suit his comfort and convenience.” (Allen and Ivy Dodd, American writers)
Attempt at a Knitting Lesson December 26, 2007
Here I am in Seattle celebrating Christmas with the Seattle McKee’s. It is very lively with the little girls age 5 and 3 1/2. The parents remain calm and unphased in the face of all crises and altercations. Today was present opening day and one of our presents to 5 year old Ashley was a Learn to Knit kit. Then I tried to teach her to knit ……hmm, I don’t think I’m a great success at teaching a young child to knit. Maybe I was a bit premature with the choice of that present. I know that some children as young as 3 have been taught to knit by their grandmothers but we didn’t hit it lucky today with the knitting lesson. 
We did hit it lucky though with our lovely Christmas dinner. 
The Long Sunset December 22, 2007
“No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.” This was the leader on my friend Freyalyn’s blog today and it reminded me of the beauty of our 10 hour plane journey from Amsterdam to Seattle.
It was dark when we left our house in Dublin but by the time our flight left Dublin it was daylight, and then our long flight left Amsterdam at mid-day. On a video screen in front of each seat, it was possible to view a map showing the path of our plane as we travelled up up up in a northwesterly direction over the North Sea, passing over Orkney, over Iceland, Greenland, Baffin Bay, the far north of Canada, and eventually down in to Seattle. We flew along latitude 69 degrees North and passed across 9 time zones. Watching that map was absolutely hypnotic. We had a lovely sunset for almost the whole journey. It was just beautiful. It will be a different story for the trip back – then we’ll have darkness for most of the trip.
Our flight from Dublin to Amsterdam was on time but we had such a tight connection that we had to run to get to the boarding gate in time – it was closing just as we got there. Well, you can guess the rest. Our suitcases did not get transferred in time and have only just caught up with us now 2 days later. We are very glad to be reunited with them. Funny that – we were so glad to get rid of them in Dublin.
It’s lovely to be in Seattle with the Seattle McKee’s. The girls are very excited with Christmas fast approaching. With the non-arrival of our suitcases we had the excuse to do a bit of clothes shopping. But then today I hit a favourite bookstore and yarn store – Weaving Works. Weaving Works is a treasure trove for weavers, spinners, dyers, and knitters. I succumbed to several books and a bit of Frog Tree alpaca yarn and a ball of the self-striping sock yarn. Upon my arrival back at the house, my younger granddaughter immediately wanted me to knit her something with the colourful self-striping yarn – knit me something now – she repeated over and over and over. Now that I have my suitcase and have unpacked my knitting needles, I can do just that.
Socks and Violence December 18, 2007
I am currently knitting socks. 
I have come upon this article in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently it’s rather dangerous to knit socks. There are sock wars going on. Am not sure I would like to participate in this activity. Surely a game could be devised that did not involve “violence” if you didn’t finish your socks in time. And besides, when I knit something I take great pride in it and I’m not sure I want to send it off to an unknown person. I sort of like what I am doing now – I knit what I feel like knitting, either for myself or for others, and when I sell an item it is usually to a customer in our local Kilternan Market. I feel I have another friend if they are appreciative enough of my knitting to buy it. I don’t want the pressure of frantically knitting a pair of socks in order not to be “killed”. Is that a good game???
A Good Day at the Book Fair December 11, 2007
What a good day I had at the Dublin City Book Fair last Sunday. The books were flying off the table as I sat there and knit. It is so interesting to see who buys what and I am getting to know so many more of the other sellers and buyers. A most interesting group of people. I even came out in the black – that doesn’t always happen. Now I am feeling very enthusiastic about reorganizing my shelves, clearing more books – called letting go, and having an interesting array for the next Book Fair in January.
my table at the Dublin City Book Fair the first time I participated a couple of years ago
As for knitting - 
this is the sock I was working on at the Book Fair. I do not recommend trying to turn a heel and trying to sell books at the same time.
this is the cardigan I am working on – I’m knitting the front and back on a circular needle – but I am not up to attempting a steek – coward! Instead I’m just knitting one row and then purling back on the next. I’m using the lime green Dale of Norway Heilo as the base colour. The contrasting bands of colour are from my stash of Celtic Tivoli Aran.
Finally, here is my nature viewing along my route to the Town Centre.
As I was walking back from the Town Centre yesterday I was richly rewarded with this sighting of a heron in the stream. It was a lovely sight!
Self-Appointed Litter Warden December 6, 2007
When I walk from our house to the new Town Centre, about 3/4 of a mile away, I pass by a little stream in the woods – the path is strewn with litter and I’m still some distance from the Town Centre. I just feel so offended by the spoiling of this lovely walk by people who carelessly throw their litter. I have taken it upon my self to take a small bag now for my walks along that path and just plain pick up the litter (gloves on of course) and put it in the litter bin when I finally get to the town centre. My theory is that if people don’t see litter they are less likely to carelessly throw down their own litter. I haven’t done this pick up task very many times but already I am noticing a marked improvement. If only every caring citizen would do the same, I think we could go a long way toward solving our litter problem. At first I felt a bit furtive and possibly degraded by doing this but that initial discomfort is dissipating with the satisfaction I am getting from seeing a cleaner litter-free environment. I know this should be the job of the County Council or whatever……..but, the job just doesn’t seem to get done – at least in certain parts of our towns and cities. This is just a small neighbourhood but let’s, as responsible citizens, each try to do our bit. (Don’t come and enter my front door and say oh Janet what about this litter business – I’ll have to say no, it’s not litter, it’s clutter – a totally different thing!)
a nice little walk
note the shopping trolley in the little stream
Soft orange and purple, then fiery red and pink December 4, 2007
Soft orange and purple, then fiery red and pink - that was the colour in the sky this morning as the sun struggled to rise above the horizon shortly before 8 a.m. The leaves are gone from the trees now and the lighting through the bare branches is a treat. If I could turn off the flash on my camera I might be able to capture the beauty of these sunrises. Also, there is a lot of reflection off my neighbour’s glass house. I thought my colour treat was all over – 5 minutes later I looked up and the sky was bright red and pink and orange. It’s tempting to turn the computer so that I could watch these beautiful sunrises – as it is, I have to keep turning my head left to see the changes. This morning it is absolutely glorious! But this wonderful array of changing colour is all over within about 10 minutes. The days are short with dusk seeming to start shortly after noon time. And today it was dark at about 4:40 p.m.
My news for today is that I have now finished reading the 20 volume Patrick O’Brian Master and Commander Series. What a wonderful series it is. So much history there. What will I read next??
The Green Cardigan December 3, 2007
This is a cardigan that I knit a few months/years ago.
I added a bright blue I-cord trim. But the basic problems remain. The shoulders and the upper sleeves are just too big.
It’s time to re-examine this cardigan and rework the sleeves and the shoulders. I’ll use the Technique Sheets from Chamomile Studios and see how I get on. These instructions have been very good for my ganseys so I’ll see how I can do on a cardigan.
I have checked my notes and I see that I used needle size 4 mm. I think I’ll go down to size 3.25, do a swatch, and then figure out the required stitches.
Meanwhile, here’s a late autumn picture for you from last Saturday, a very sunny morning. 
but the landscape is decidedly brown.
Winter Socks December 3, 2007
Here are the latest socks, knit with yarn from my stash. I’m not sure about the fit. The instep and heels are disproportionately large – I think the yarn I used for those parts of the feet is causing the problem. Well, they might not be the latest fashion accessory but o.k. to wear around the house on cold winter evenings.
Add the yellow scarf and the wearer will be nice and cosy.
