Overdue update

Since my last update things have been hectic and sad.  In less than a weeks time my family found out that my beloved Uncle had cancer and he passed.  It happened so quickly that there was no time for preparation.  I live almost completely across the country from most of my family and I feel detached and unable to do anything of any real value to help.  He was an amazing man and one of the few truly good men I've had the honor of calling family.  He will be missed greatly and never forgotten.

We're also making some big changes here at home and I won't bother going in to detail, but I've been really busy around the house and haven't had much time to craft.  We're going to be really busy cleaning and culling and moving things around for awhile so crafting time will be sparse for awhile (except late at night when I can't sleep, which tends to happen more often than not lately).

I did finish my mother in laws socks though!  Once I quit dragging my feet the second sock went really quickly.

I snapped the picture moments before Carmen snatched them and put them on her feet!  They fit perfectly, which makes me happy because I'd forgotten to have her measure her feet and I'd lost my notebook that had everybody's measurements in it.  Wouldn't you know, just two days after I finished them I found my notebook.  All the information I had is now safely tucked away in an online notebook via my email so I don't run in to that problem again.

A couple months ago, before I started blogging again, I made myself a hat.  I like knitting hats, but I rarely wear them so I tend to give most of them away.  Not this one though!  It's the first hat that I've:

• Actually worn more than once
• Fits perfectly - not too form fitting, not too slouchy
• Is in colors that look decent with pretty much anything I wear
• Is pretty darn warm, despite being acrylic
• Was totally simple, but is visually interesting

It's the Turn a Square hat by Jared Flood.  He designs some beautiful stuff (Like the Hemlock Ring afghan that I knit a couple of years ago for my mother) and I'd had the hat queued for ages before I finally cast on for it.  It was a really fast knit with worsted weight yarn and size six needles and I can totally see myself making more of them because I like it that much.

It's been pretty cold here in AZ, so I've been keeping it in my purse for when we run around and do errands in the late afternoon and evening.  I don't think I look particularly good in hats, but with this hat?  I don't care at all, because it's comfy and I love it.

I post all of my craft pictures to an album on Facebook, and when my sister saw the One Row Handspun Scarf I knit, she liked it a lot.  I thought about boxing it up and sending it to her, but my pride kind of got in the way and I didn't want to send her something scratchy.  Instead, I decided to knit her an Old Shale smoke ring.  It's a cowl in a feather and fan pattern and I'm using my prized skein of Zwerger Garn Opal Cotton (which I just now found out is discontinued!)  It's a fingering weight yarn and it's shades of soft purples and blues.  It's soft and beautiful and if I didn't love her lots and lots I would be greedy and use it for myself.  I just started on it this evening, so I'm only about an inch and a half in to the pattern.  It's on a 16 inch size six circular though and it seems like it's going pretty fast.  I'd like to have it done soon enough that I can send it to her and she can get some use out of it this winter.  She'll be able to use it quite a bit no matter when I send it though because she lives in northern California and it stays damp and chilly most of the time.  I think I'll keep my lips zipped though and send it as a surprise.  I always love getting surprises in the mail so maybe it'll brighten her day :)

That's about it for now I think.  It's late and finally quiet in my house so I'm going to take the opportunity to drink coffee and knit and maybe read a bit.  I have to admit that times like these are some of my favorites - little bites of personal time bliss.