Last night was fantabulous. I just have the greatest family ever. We all got together to celebrate Amanda's and Dave's birthdays. I gave her the blue/green
Clapotis I made with the WotA I hand-dyed. She loved it. I'm also going to make her a newsboy hat out of the leftover skein from that dyelot.
Here's Amanda and Dave with the birthday cake, which was Mom's amazing spice cake with buttercream icing. Matt helped Mom in the kitchen yesterday, crushing chips for the taco salad, stirring the taco meat and icing the cake. It's been 13 months since his accident (and brain injury, for anyone just tuning in...) and he makes a little progress every week. The doctors can keep their pessimism. He is getting better. He is more himself all the time.
I made all of these Fibertrends' Felted Clogs for everyone over Christmas, but we just got around to felting them. Everyone really enjoyed watching the felting process, and they were very pleased with the finished product. They were all different. Mine and Mom's were done on the first try, but Dave's took a lot of tweaking because I accidentally made each of his with different sized needles. They came out even after some creative felting, though.
Obviously we're a casual family, don't mind if we put our feet up!
{Clockwise from me (note my fave Noro newsboy hat!) = Matt (brother), Amanda (Matt's wife), Christi (sister), Dave (Christi's BF), Tom (my BF), Mom}
The finished products, all lined up.
When I took color orders from everyone, Dad and Tom weren't that interested, but now they're jealous, so I'll be making some for them soon. First, though, I'm going to make my 3rd pair of
Grumperina's Jaywalkers using Lorna's Laces "Bee Stripe" for a family friend who loves crazy socks and is currently fighting a very tough cancer. These are definitely a priority. Then I'll do Amanda's blue/green hat, then Dad and Tom's felted slippers, and along the way I'll be starting on
Eunny's "Print o' the Wave" stole for my Mom, a felted bag of my own design, more socks for me, and -- when I can afford the yarn -- an Aran sweater for Dad using Shine Worsted. I can't wait to get my hands on the new Knitpicks yarn.
I also have some yarn that I dyed orange that I'm not too crazy about, which I am planning overdye, using dark red but tying on some resists, so it will have little patches of orange spattered on a deep ruddy red field. My only obstacle here is how to get it back into a hank. I don't have a niddy-noddy or whatever. I'll have to work on that one... I have 440 yards of this, so I'm thinking I'll do some kind of shrug. That should be plenty, I think. I could always add a black body to it, a la
Tubey. It's a pretty adaptable concept.
Today is the end of my work week, and Friday I have plans with Monica and Anne (
undiestakr) to go see the Rembrandt exhibit at the Taft Museum. I love going to museums with my friends. We always have such wonderful conversations. Also, if the weather is nice on Friday, we might try to go outside and take some better FO pictures.
I have a separate journal,
savvyknits, but I'm thinking that I should just merge them. Knitting is so much a part of my life, it's my outlet for productive creativity and my calm center. There's just nothing better than giving something that you made with your own hands to someone you love, to keep them warm and make them happy. My friends and family are always such grateful recipients, and it's so rewarding for me.