jaimebourne.com

Maybe there can be a contest where the person with the least number of entries written, but who survives the holidailies cuts, is the winner. I might be in the running for that one. Somehow I escaped the cut again. Don’t misinterpret that for bragging. It’s more, “boy am I lucky this year… I had better get my butt writing now.”

We’re doing Christmas tomorrow. Jim and Connor are out the door to Sunshine right now, and Jonah is still asleep upstairs. The sleeping isn’t going to last long, so I must write with haste. And with not pictures! I promise, pictures with the next post!

I bought Favorite Mittens: Best Traditional Mitten Patterns from Fox & Geese & Fenses and Flying Geese & Partridge Feet this week, because the internets told me to, when I went searching for some help with thrummed mitts.  I have to admit, I picked the book up a few days earlier, judged it by its cover, and put it back on the shelf.  Now that I’ve read a few pages, I’ve realized that it’s a wonderful book.  I love that it talks about different mitt designs from a historical aspect.  It has also forced me to learn a new cast-on and two “traditional” increases.  Mitts are more than decorative paw warmers, and I had never thought about the generations of people before us who had to come up with ways to warm themselves.  Pattern by pattern, I am devouring the book.  I find that knowing more about the mitts, I am attracted to more of the designs than I would be, had I not read the background bit.

So I’m currently thrumming, which is really my way of stalling, because I’ve knit the body of Emerald three times now, and I’m just a tad discouraged.  Something is amiss with my gauge.  Never before have I had tension issues.  I can actually see the paired rows on the back of my work, the ones that I caution my beginning classes to look out for.  I have 1 sleeve finished, but it took me two tries to get that done.  And yes, I DID do a gauge swatch.  I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that I was knitting the sweater while I was going through leaving my job, and all that worked up to that.  Anyhow, the mitts should be a satisfying and quick way to escape my tension issues.

2 interviews scheduled next week.