Love Where You Live

I saw a post recently which someone tagged "Love Where You Live." It made me stop to think. I often think of finding somewhere else to live. Somewhere colder, less urban. I think about returning to Italy.

But then, I take a walk, or work in my garden, and I am content. I love the trees that surround us. I love living in these woods. I love the birds, and the early morning possums and raccoons, and the sometimes foxes and slinky coyotes. I love the train. The one that whistles, and the one that clatters. I love that I can walk to the store or a coffee shop or a taqueria. I love this city in the woods.

Recently, I have decided that we should eat bagels on weekends. I love bagels! They are a perfect weekend brunch with lox and capers and onions.

I'm still in the crazy knitting zone. Like a lot of people, I get too many left over yarn balls. I decided to kit these up into hats to donate. It was amazing how fast these came together. They were all made with the free Anthology knitting pattern from Tin Can Knits. I kind of planned to make them all colorwork, but then just scrapped that idea and knitted straight ahead. Now I need to find a place to donate them.

I think on my next project pause I will make some child or toddler colorwork hats. I enjoyed seeing how the patterns look in yarn vs. on the page. I am so not a designer, and would much rather just follow a pattern and even use colors someone else has figured out. However, for me, knitting is always about learning new things.

But, I am no longer on project pause. My yarn arrived for a sweater I am going to make. And I am so excited!! Of course, this climate is not a real sweater one--well, maybe for two weeks it kind of is--but I don't care. I can take this sweater with me someday when we can travel again. And hopefully, it will not take me that long to make it!

This is Icelandic wooly wool. Very beautiful, and a long time dream I have had. But--I'll write more on that later.

Until then--here's hoping you love where you live!

Winter Hat Craze

Finally a real winter snuck in around here.  Days on end when the temperature was below freezing!

We covered up the broccoli and brussel sprouts and brought in the fruit trees.  I brought my old lady rabbits indoors to stay.

And, of course, it was time for knitted and crocheted scarves and gloves and---HATS!

What in the world has been up with me and knitting hats?  Well, fair isle, I'd say.  I've found it quite addictive fun.  And the happy satisfaction of being able to start and finish a project in just a few days. That's a plus as well.

Not entirely happy with this first attempt.  Yarn tension was way too loose.  

These are patterns from TinCanKnits who had a fair isle KAL during November.  I didn't jump in and work a sweater--I just made these hats and am still dreaming of a sweater I might make.

A long time ago when I was about 19, a friend of mine went to live in Iceland for awhile.  He sent his mother back the most beautiful sweaters.  I remember her showing them off and saying how he had learned to knit.  Well, that was it for me! At that moment I knew I wanted to learn to knit a sweater like that.  And here I am--more than 30 years later and I'm just now getting close to really doing it at long last.

Meanwhile, I have yet another hat I'm working up while I dream.