Knitting Update

Ok Ok. Quickly, now...

No typo brother. My whole argument in White House Green Thumb was that the Obama's garden is a symbol, a piece of propaganda, but that I like what it stands for. I found out yesterday that the White House had a garden before this, but it was out of sight and out of mind up on the White House roof (which is pretty cool). To move it to the highly visible front lawn and make a big deal out of it means it's absolutely for show, but it's also a genuinely Good Thing.

Like Karen said, gardening is good stuff, whether you're looking for pesticide free produce, a productive hobby, cheap food, an outdoor escape, to lighten your footprint on the environment, a scientific challenge, landscaping, a way to spend time with your kids, to show the neighbors how fabulously green you are, etc, etc... Whyever you're doing it, it's good stuff. It's compatible with a huge variety of people and lifestyles. It's an excuse to be outdoors. It's great mild exercise. It provides you with fresh produce which is something we could use more of in our diets. And it encourages respect for where your food comes from.

If there's something wrong with more people doing it, I don't know what it is.


And now for something completely different!

I finished the Monkey Socks last night. I had a sock in progress that I remembered I was using US2s on, so I found a stitch holder and canabalized one of those needles. It's bamboo instead of metal, and relatively blunt, so it was a little bit of a speed bump, but much much easier than resorting to the interchangable circs.

Someone on the Yarn Harlot's blog a while back mentioned how quick a knit this pattern is, and boy they are right. There's something about the short, easily memorized pattern repeat that just speeds this little sock right along. I had the cuff already started, but it only took me two days to finish the second sock of the pair. And that's pretty decent speed for me.

But now all my WIPs are FOs! The Apple Mittens are done, the Monkey Socks are done and I need to start on something new.

I'm looking for caramel colored laceweight alpaca from Lynn's farm at the next farmer's market. Brett's mom, who came to visit this last weekend, thought it would be nice to have something made from the alpacas we visited. The weather was so pretty I switched from the gold cashmere scarf I wore most of the winter to the light blue mohair/silk lace I knit way back in the say. When she saw it, Brett's mom seemed to really like it and asked me to make something similar for her.

Since Brett and I became friends, his parents have been ridiculously generous and kind to me. From the kinds of big generosity of helping us move to New York and buying plane tickets so I could take the time to move my own stuff to the little gestures of a gift card for dinner out, they are constantly giving. They even took me in last Easter when I couldn't make it to my own home. I think a shawl is absolutely in order. She picked out the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits, which I think will look fetching tied under a little jacket, or over a pretty summer dress to keep off the chill on evenings out.

So I'm going to try to pick up about 450 yards and get started on that shawl. If all goes well, it could be done sometime in May. I think I'll also rip out the tank top I started last year and see what kind of yardage I wind up with. Then pick a sweater pattern and see if I can knit a nice cardigan sweater for myself. You know. Something to curl up with in the evenings while I enjoy the valley view from the back porch.