Wild and wicked

We are having some pretty wild weather here in northern California today! Wind is whipping around at about 40-50 mph, heavy rain blowing sideways, and the neighbors trash bins ending up everywhere but where they belong. Trees and fences are coming down, and unfortunately, accidents all over the place. So what do I do? Well, make a lunch date with an old friend of course! When I woke to all of this today, I was very tempted to cancel, but we aren't going far and I've seen worse. Besides, it's the perfect weather to get to use all of those handknits, right? Especially those lovely scarves that you can double wrap around up over your face to prevent the stinging and the cold from the wet rain. Or in my case, to wrap up over the top of my head, and then bring it down around my neck in order to protect my long hair from popping into its natural curly state. We definitely need the rain!!

The cold I came down with three weeks ago continues to linger on, but I'm so glad the flu has run its course. It seems like I would begin to feel normal again, and bam! it got me again and sent me back to bed. Needless to say, I've had quite a bit of quiet knitting time to myself. There were times I didn't feel like taking advantage of it, so I caught up on some reading and listening to podcasts. A friend that I've had for nearly my whole life (51 years!) has a birthday next week, so I knew I wanted to knit something really special for her, as I do every year. This year, I chose a shawl that can be knit in two different sizes called Ishbel. I chose the smaller of the two sizes so it could be worn as either a shawlette or a kerchief. I used Cashsoft 4 ply by Rowan Yarns, which is a blend of merino, acrylic, and cashmere, and in a beautiful ivory color. This yarn is so incredibly soft, but with a nice drape. To give it a little extra weight, I added some pearl beads along the bottom edge. I am so hooked on knitting lace...the results of the patterns are stunning!!! My friend is having some health issues right now, so this will be the perfect "hug" from me to her!! I will post better pictures once it's done blocking...

A family member of mine has a birthday in a couple of days, so I will be casting on for another project today. Luckily, we won't be getting together until the weekend, so that buys me a couple of extra days. I'm thinking about a pair of soft, feminine mitts as she is just that kind of person. Afterwards, I will be starting another project that I promised for a charity drive an online friend of mine on Ravelry has begun. I'll keep you posted on all of this and if you'd like to participate, send me a message.

I have completed my training for Ravelympics 2010! I'm so excited that I finally chose my event and have all of my materials. I'm going to compete in the Sweater Slalom and chose the February Lady Sweater. I attempted this pattern once before, but I didn't care for the Knit Picks Comfy Worsted, so I frogged it. I have chosen a Berroco yarn this time in a very pretty teal/navy colorway. I know this is an easy pattern, but I'm challenging myself to finish it in two weeks, while watching the Olympics at the same time. I can hardly wait to get started...Go Team Sasquatch 2010!!!!

I didn't want to post today without mentioning the crises in Haiti. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see the devastation those people are enduring, and as a knitter and crocheter, my first thought was to begin mass producing things for donation to these people. However, I then realized that Haiti is a very warm climate, so there really isn't much use in contributing this way. The one thing we can all do though is donate money. Even if you think just a couple of dollars won't help, you are wrong! I saw on a morning news program today where one plantain (a type of banana) will feed a family of four and one dollar will buy about 15 of them! If you are a member of Ravelry, Casey aka Code Monkey, has set it up where designers can contribute proceeds from the sale of their patterns....that is just freaking awesome!!!! I have already purchased four patterns and plan to buy a few more. God bless the designers that are willing to do this too!!! From what I've been hearing, this has become very successful....knitters are such awesome people!

Till next time...I wish you all good health and happiness!