Knitting Boondoggle - Spa, Knit, and Spin

I thought Friday's storm would have to be the last, but it is snowing hard again this morning and school is canceled on what was supposed to be the first day back after February vacation. It reminds me of the signs on the lift posts at Sugarloaf that says something like "the snowiest months are February and March!"

The Knitting Boondoggle went off without a hitch on Saturday. Saturday morning was spent with Amy Herzog in her "Fit to Flatter" class. I've got a much better idea of my measurements and how to use them in selecting patterns, but have to admit that I'm still fuzzy on what would really look good on me. The one thing I did get is that more fitted items, with waist shaping, and shorter generally look better on me. Probably the most striking moment for me (in a time period when it seemed everyone around me was having epiphany after epiphany) was when I put on my favorite cardigan sweater and Amy pulled in a bit of the fabric on the back and it suddenly looked fabulous! I'm definitely a convert to fitted sweaters and she gave us some great tips on how to do it.

That was followed by a fairly quick visit to the vendor section at Spa, Knit, and Spin where my head started to spin. I had every intention of buying yarn from Woolen Rabbit, but didn't have the pattern I wanted with me (next year I intend to have an iPad to tote with me to things like this), so didn't know how much or what weight. I then got distracted by a discount bin at Dirty Water Dyeworks and bought beautiful deep purple/berry/blue BFL (Blue Faced Leicester wool) fingering weight for a sweater and another skein of cranberry colored sock weight. I may design a simple cardigan from this, but first I'm going to swatch to see if it would work for a Sprössling cardigan. I spent some time on Sunday winding them into balls:


I did get to try out a couple of spindles at Spunky's stall. I'm particularly interested in turkish spindles and Spunky had some from the woodworker whose site I was looking at. She started me out on one of the small ones, but I found them too fiddly. I tried the original, larger one, and really liked it. I want to use one of my gift cards to buy it, but after registering it, am waiting for the card to arrive. I can make a detour to Spunky's shop in Lisbon on my way to my parents' house one of these weekends. I also wanted some silk hankies for knitting mittens, but she had only a few left by Saturday afternoon and the colors weren't really appealing to me. They were appealing to someone, however, because when we returned to cruise through the vendor area one more time after lunch, they were gone!

These are my Knitting Boondoggle friends - Sue, Amy Herzog (Fit to Flatter teacher/writer/blogger), me, and Cathie. Sue is holding her purchases from Woolen Rabbit. I'm holding a notebook in which to note color names.

When I got home, all I wanted to do was sit and knit, so got some work done on the wedding shawl. I finished my Fiddlehead Mittens in the car, and made slight progress on a pair of lace knee socks I've been working on FOREVER. I think I've realized it is the needles that are slowing me down -- they are beautiful nickel steel ones from Knit Picks, but I just would rather be knitting on wood or bamboo. I think if I switch out the needles, I'd be able to finish them.

Then, I climbed into bed with all of the books and magazines I'd gone through in preparation for the class and re-thought my selections. More on that tomorrow.

Snowing One More Time?

Yep - somewhere between 7-15 inches predicted for our area. I guess the predicting gets harder at this time of year, so who knows how much we'll end up with. The cars are parked in "storm formation" and, believe it or not, DH is looking forward to one more day in the driveway!

I have the day off today -- taking a 4-day weekend mini-vacation at the end of DH's week of school vacation. Yesterday included dentist appointments and a visit with my parents. The visit included lunch and a meeting with a realtor and one of my brothers to start to look into selling my parents' home. It makes my mother very sad. Probably not just the thought of leaving her home, but it must represent all that makes her unhappy -- getting too old to live independently. They won't be moving into assisted living yet, but hope to live close to two of my siblings (currently they live about half-way between them and me), which puts them closer to another sister. It also puts them further away from Mom's sisters. All in all, a tricky piece of work in progress.

I finished all but the thumb of the lining of my Fiddlehead Mittens yesterday, but had engaged the purple skein of yarn in starting the lilac mittens yesterday for car knitting. I got a few inches along, but reversed the colors for the wrist by mistake and don't like it. I also think I should do the wrist in a smaller needle to make them fit better, so I'll be frogging it today. The good news is, I'll be able to finish the thumb before I start the lilac mittens over again, which makes for 4 complete pairs of mittens in one month. I've also gotten started on the wedding shawl, though it doesn't look like much yet. Lace always looks lumpy and bumpy until you finish it and block it:

And, here's a smile photo for you. I contributed 16 of these as stocking stuffers at our Christmas dinner. Ours drooped a bit a few days ago and I couldn't resist braiding the "hair" on it :)

Tomorrow -- Knitting Boondoggle!

Smitten by Mittens

I have continued to have what appears to be a new obsession with mittens (I've actually been thinking about knitting mittens since last summer, but needed the collision of the Fiddlehead Mittens pattern and the color array of Nature Spun to get me moving). The gray and blue Fiddleheads have been received by my sister and now I can show you the surprise I included inside:

I showed you my periwinkle Faux Felted Mittens from the Portsmouth, NH Yarn Basket. I knit the first pair in a day and love wearing them, so thought I'd whip a pair up for my other sister as a surprise. I was so excited about sending them to her that I forgot to take a picture, but this is what was left of the LaGran Mohair and Wisdom Poems yarn I used:

The rewound blue ball doesn't do it justice -- it had a lovely combination of blue, green a bit darker than the mohair, and a purple/magenta colors.

I've also cast on for Lilac Mittens (free Ravelry pattern), but there isn't enough to show you yet. They are purple and white, so will be perfect to wear to high school events. That makes 5 pairs of mittens so far in the last month or so, and I still want to make SpillyJane's Camilla mittens and a number of others that I've collected. I love mittens!

I'm wearing my new sweater today! I admit that I'm thinking about taking the buttonhole band off and putting the first button higher, but for today I'm going to pin it where I think it should stay closed and wear it.
I finished the lining of one Fiddlehead Mitten last night! But I frogged the lining of the first one -- I knit the lining on the second one on smaller needles and it fits perfectly. The first lining lumps up, and I know I'd be mad everytime I'd wear them, so I'm re-doing the first one. It shouldn't take long, except I also cast on for the Lilac Mittens (free Ravelry pattern) in purple and white.

And, I forgot to mention that I started the Tibetan Clouds Stole for my sister-in-law's wedding. My color-coded chart has been critically helpful as there are a couple of errors early in the chart that I was able to catch -- the colors made it quite obvious when I got to those two spots.

Today is Tuesday, but because I have Thursday and Friday off, tomorrow is my Friday! Hurrah!

Off the Radar

We ended up falling "off the radar" this weekend, I'm afraid. I don't know why, but I really needed a recharging weekend -- I was tired last week and so ready for it to be over. I didn't even call my parents, which I feel badly about, and didn't talk with any of my siblings. I thought about it, but only at times when it wasn't a good time to call, and then got busy with things like cleaning the piles of magazines and clothes on my side of the bedroom, going downtown for coffee, going grocery shopping, or to church.

On Friday evening we went to Big G's for dinner and ran into a friend who teased us about Big G's being a "big evening out" and asking what we were going to do after, implying we'd be going home to go to bed early (which she knew was absolutely right). On the other hand, she was at the sandwich shop with her sister and parents and a few others, celebrating their parents' 55th anniversary! The night had turned pea-soup-foggy and they decided not to drive a half hour to a nicer restaurant where they had planned to go. Bottom line, we all had a good meal and a short drive home :)

I had my Fiddlehead Mittens with me on Friday night and knit a bit more of the lining while waiting for dinner. And, I finished the hand part of the lining last night while watching television. All that is left to do is the thumbs! I also did some secret knitting which I can share in a couple of days. And, I even finished the gray sweater jacket and was thrilled to find that it fits! Last night I found 5 matching old buttons in my button box that fit perfectly. Sorry not to have any pictures. I'll try to catch up with them tomorrow.

I spent more time finishing up the taxes and starting the FAFSA. I'll be so glad to have this done.

The highlights of the weekend were two music events. On Saturday we saw a quintet of Colby faculty, plus a guest pianist, play a series of jazz pieces based on television theme music -- some recognizable, some composed by the musicians that they though should be theme music. It was a lot of fun. We ran into a friend we haven't seen in a while and it looked like he was on a date, so we got a visit the next afternoon where he told us that he'd separated from his wife. So sorry to hear that, but glad he's not just sitting at home alone -- I know the woman he was at the concert with and she's really nice. DH and I, though, are sure happy not to be in the dating world-- despite our respective flaws, we agree we're best off sticking together.

Sunday afternoon brought a much-anticipated organ concert at our church -- our organ was just refurbished and expanded a bit this past summer/fall. Our recently retired organist came back for the honor of presenting an inaugural concert. Although a bit long, the music was beautiful and the intermission snacks were delicious.

DH is on February school vacation this week. I'm quite jealous, but am taking Thursday and Friday off, so at least I get a short week. 6 years 'til retirement.

TGIF

I don't know why, but this has felt like a very long couple of weeks. I'm very glad to have the weekend arrive later today. I have found Fridays to be more manageable since starting to take a Thursday evening yoga class. A classmate and I always remind each other that being at class means the weekend is very near.

Yesterday's highlight was a lunch presentation by a professor about her African American heritage and love of music and people. She talked about her childhood, her religious upbringing, and the influence on popular music of spirituals and hymns. She's wonderful to listen to, and I got to knit some more on my mitten lining, getting half-way up into the thumb gusset before I ran out of yarn at the end of the skein. The nice thing was the way the yarn ended at just the right place with enough left to weave in -- it doesn't often happen that way.

Next week is February school vacation, so DH has the week off. I wish I did too! But, I will have two days off, and am planning to take all of April vacation off with him. So, it is just a weekend for me -- and I'm looking forward to it!

Seams Slow

I got a few more rows done on my colorful mitten lining yesterday at lunchtime (Weight Watchers meeting -- another 1 1/2 lbs -- 1/2 lb from -10!). It is slow going, but with my other new mittens and signs of spring, I'm not feeling quite the push to get mittens done that I was, though I'm definitely not done knitting them for the year. I've got yarn to make a pair of Lilac Mittens (free pattern on Ravelry) in purple and white, but won't let myself start them until I get these Fiddlehead Mittens done.

Last night, while dinner slowly cooked, I put in some prep time on the Tibetan Clouds Stole I'm making for my sister-in-law-to-be. I printed a bigger copy of the chart and color-coded it so it will be easier to work with. I started a swatch a few weeks ago, but the chart in the book is so small that I misread a couple of the symbols and made a mess. I'm hoping to get this project on the needles this weekend and now I'm prepared. I brought a little square swatch with a couple of the beads to show the bride last weekend and got the nod to go ahead. I'm so excited about doing this pattern!

After dinner, I sewed the collar on the gray jacket. I've got two jacket pattern books, one by the diva of knitted jackets, Jean Frost. The book this pattern came out of isn't by her and the instructions aren't as detailed as hers are. I found a similar collar on a jacket in her book and am using her assembly instructions. I sewed the collar on with an overcast stitch, with the right side of the collar next to the wrong side of the sweater so that when I flip the collar back the ugliness will be covered. I also used the chain stitch with a crochet hook to seam the sleeves onto the armholes and will use that same method to do the side and arm seams. Then weave in the ends and I'll have a new jacket/sweater!

I also got a call with the last piece of information I need for completing my taxes. I neglected to ask my contractor for some documentation last fall when they were working on our porch, but now I have it and can use it to claim a tax credit for insulating the porch and putting in the new windows. When we had an energy audit done on the house, that was the number one heat loss source. Even though we didn't put a heat source out there and therefore can't really use it in the coldest weather, there is clearly a difference in the adjoining rooms this winter. I'm so looking forward to even slightly warmer weather as it will become usable space much earlier than ever before. And the windows don't rattle!

Gratification

In my line of work, I am often dosing students with advice and encouragement without any hope of knowing whether they take that advice. Sometimes, however, I get feedback that something I suggested worked or helped the student move forward. Most of the time that is delayed gratification, but yesterday I got some (nearly) immediate gratification. A student I was advising in the morning reluctantly took my advice and happened to see me in the evening at an event I was hosting - and let me know that she HAD taken my advice and, much to her surprise and relief, IT WORKED! And that is why I do what I do. That student will, I hope and believe, have more confidence in herself as a result of her actions yesterday, which will serve her well as she approaches her goal of becoming a physician.

So, a late night at work was worth it, even if it meant I didn't get any knitting done.

I confess, however, that I purchased the latest Debbie Bliss knitting magazine yesterday on my lunch hour while running an errand at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I got about 5 minutes to look through it, but am still looking forward to a slow peruse (you don't really read knitting or quilting magazines -- it is a very visual experience of color and shape with little text other than the patterns).

Back in Long Underwear - But Not For Long!

The temps have dipped down into the teens again and the wind was blowing wildly last night. By the weekend it should be more like 40° with a chance of rain, instead of snow. But, it will be a while before I stop wearing knitted garments, so I knit on!

While waiting at the chiropractor yesterday morning, I started the lining on my second colorful mitten. At home in the evening, I worked on the gray sweater that I've had done for a while -- all it needed was to be sewn together. I used a 3-needle bind-off over the weekend on the shoulder seams. Last night I picked up and knit the band and button band on the lower front. I also pinned the collar in place and need to sew that on next. The collar is probably the most challenging piece to sew on -- after that it is setting in the sleeve and zipping up the side and sleeve seams.

The green and orange markers were to note where the buttonholes should be. Interestingly the buttonholes were formed on the "pick up and knit" row -- right on the "seam" between the sweater and the button band.

And, it was Valentine's Day. My favorite moment of the day was walking out of my building to go to lead a workshop in the classroom building next door. Students had made big red hearts, mounted them on sticks and placed them all over the quad in the snow. They were all different sizes and looked beautiful on the snow. DH waffled on Valentine's Day, but recovered beautifully at the last minute:

Tonight is a particularly late night at work -- hosting a graduate program information session, followed by a workshop, followed by a Pre-Health Society club meeting. So, no knitting for me, I'm afraid.

Two Pairs of Finished Mittens

Road tripping on Saturday and Sunday provided me with lots of good knitting time. I finished the gray and blue mittens for my sister -- in time for her to have a little wearing time before spring is sprung!


In addition to knitting in the car, I practiced a bit of subversive knitting on Saturday night. We went out to a restaurant/bar in the town where I have siblings living. The house band of the evening was led by the husband of my sister's friend and they were fun to listen to and watch. DH was particularly interested in the completely electronic drum kit - including electronic cymbals. Anyway, when we got there, I tucked into a discreet corner and pulled out my knitting until we got some dinner served. I can assure you that I was the only person knitting in the room!

On Saturday we were in Portsmouth, NH to have lunch with my son, his girlfriend, and her parents but got there an hour ahead of time so walked around a bit. I had done my homework and found out there was a yarn store in town, and had written down the address, so I made a beeline for The Yarn Basket. It was a sweet little shop with lovely yarn -- some I recognized and some new to me, which is always a good sign.

The Yarn Basket had a mitten tree full of what it called "Faux Felted Mittens" in bright colors and when I tried one on, it fit perfectly AND was in my favorite periwinkle color. I was hooked. The pattern was free with the purchase of appropriate yarn, so I bought a skein of Wisdom Yarns 'Poems' in purple and green and 'La Gran Mohair' in periwinkle. The wool was quite bright in color, but the mohair really softens that effect and is the main color. I managed to finish a whole pair last night and love them! The pattern is very straightforward -- I chose to go with just a "rolled" hem (that doesn't really roll) instead of the usual ribbing -- and it is bulky yarn when used together, so the knitting went very quickly. I was afraid I was going to run out of mohair, so made the cuffs 1/2" shorter than called for, and it worked out just right.


All in all, it was a lovely weekend. Time to visit people, travel to interesting places, spend time with family, do a little shopping (we stopped at Trader Joe's along the way), and lots of good knitting time.

Heat-seeking Cat

Thursday night is yoga night, and I usually go to class from work. Last night I stopped at home to feed the girls as DH was staying at the high school for basketball games -- the last games of the season. Our older cat gets really put out when we don't stick to the usual schedule, and lets us know in her own way (she leaves messages in various places). To give her some credit, we do know that eating late does upset her stomach, but that doesn't excuse her. So, I fed them on time and went off to class.

Often I find I'm not very hungry after class, but it is so easy to just graze all evening and end up eating much more than I should. Last night I tried to make appropriate eating choices and quickly sit and pull out my knitting so I would keep my hands occupied. I don't have pictures of my knitting, but do have photos of the girls.

This is what they look like when I leave for work in the morning:


And here is Lydia (our younger cat), who we call the heat-seeking cat. She loves nothing better than to lay on our radiator and soak the heat up. Last night she started with her usual stretching out on her belly, then migrated to laying on this paper bag. She snoozed with her face on the radiator while I knit. Lydia is most definitely not a lap cat, but she does like to be close by her people whenever she can. In this position, she was about 2 feet from where I was sitting.
Both of my "girls" are good company. Pandora is, at this moment, sitting in my lap at the breakfast table -- she's more of a lap cat, but not all the time. Usually, just when I'm wearing black slacks. Like today :)

Movie Night

Both DH and I had no outside commitments last night, so we went to the movies! This is a bit of a big deal because we rarely go out to the movie theatre, even though we have a wonderful alternative theatre here that I would love to go to more often. In fact, about 6 or 7 (or more) years ago, I gave DH a 10-movie pass for Christmas. I've asked about using it a couple of times but he had lost it (obviously, it would have been a better gift for me than for him). It reappeared this year when he was cleaning out a box from the basement and still had 8 movies left on it (we're talking a low-tech punch card here)! We've both been wanting to see "The King's Speech" and knew it would be leaving the theatre soon, so we had a movie date night and went to the 7:15 showing. It was fun and the movie was wonderful. Luckily I had a tissue in my pocket for DH -- one of the reasons I married him is that he cries at movies.

Before heading to the theatre, I was able to finish the main part of the lining for my colorful mittens (I still need to do the thumb). This version of the lining fits much better, though it could still be a bit smaller, so on my sister's mittens I've gone from using 2.75 mm dps to 2.5. The small crease in the lining on my mittens is something I can live with, but hopefully on this next pair, I can get it to fit.

On the Blocking Board

I took my knitting to work yesterday, thinking that I would knit at lunch time again, but realized when I got there that I had a meeting that went from 9-1, including lunch. It was a workshop night, so I thought it would end up being a no-knitting day, but DH and I got home at about the same time last night and he had a movie to finish watching, so I sat down and actually finished the thumb on the blue and gray mittens. The outer shells are done! I soaked them while getting myself ready for bed and then put them on the blocking board before turning in.


Now that I've worked out the bugs on the lining on my colorful mittens, the linings for these should be a breeze and then they'll be on their way to the happy owner!

Snowing Again

Someone sent me some photos of snow in Lead, South Dakota yesterday. Apparently they've had snow up to their roof lines. We haven't had quite that much, but we sure have had a lot. It has snowed every couple of days almost all of January and February. Just outside our front windows is a crab-apple tree, planted on my first Mother's Day, 21 years ago. The snow is up to the crotch of the tree, which is about 4' off the ground. Even I, who love the snow and have a wonderful husband who takes great pride in clearing our driveway, am ready for spring! However, the sunny days like yesterday, and warmer temperatures (I didn't wear long underwear to work yesterday and I wasn't cold) are just as welcome as flowers at the moment.

Yesterday's view:
Today's view:

I brought my knitting to work yesterday and at lunch time closed my door and got about 8 rounds completed on the gray and blue mittens. It was a nice oasis in a long, busy day. Today will be even longer, with 2 evening workshops keeping me on campus until after 8 pm. After a late dinner of salad and scrambled eggs, I finished the main part of the mittens and started the thumb. Hopefully I can finish that today so I can block them and then start on the linings. And, if the roads are cleared by lunch and the snow doesn't turn to rain or sleet, I'll visit my LYS to purchase pointier double points for the wedding stole. My blunt bamboo dps are likely to drive me nuts, as they did when I was knitting a swatch.

Taxes Done (Almost)

Although I would rather have been knitting yesterday, I buckled down and did the taxes. Our federal and state, each son's federal and state, and one son's other state. Phew. I still need to get some numbers from our contractor so that I can put in for the energy tax credit, and need to go over everything with a calculator to make sure the numbers are correct, but the worst part is over. I also still need to do the FAFSAs, but as long as I can find our PINs, that won't take more than an hour. So, the most daunting part of the task was accomplished yesterday and it felt good.

The only knitting I got done was my early-morning knitting, so my hope of finishing the blue and gray mitten didn't come to pass. Instead of a SuperBowl party, we attended a potluck dinner to celebrate a friend completing her PhD. It was a nice evening and DH didn't seem too put out by not watching the game. He wasn't terribly invested in it, though he hoped that the Packers would win. He spent part of the day yesterday on YouTube, watching previews of the commercials -- his favorite part of the whole spectacle.

Today kicks off the real February at work. For the rest of the month I'll be working late at least two nights each week, starting tonight. I'll be ready for 2 vacation days I'm taking at the end of the month, that's for sure.

Mitten Mania

Looking at the mittens I'm working on, you might think I did nothing but knit this weekend. In addition to knitting, we did a lot of cleaning yesterday, did the grocery shopping, and spent a magical couple of hours at Colby watching a Sondheim musical review production. It was just a productive day.


I worked on the lining of the colorful mittens and got through the thumb gusset while waiting for the musical to start and during the intermission. I finished the first on Friday and then on Saturday afternoon cast on the second blue and gray mitten and got 2/3 of the way through the thumb gusset before going to bed last night -- it just zoomed along as I listened to Prairie Home Companion and part of Thistle and Shamrock. I got up this morning for some quiet time before breakfast and finished the thumb gusset and made more progress up the hand. I'm hoping to finish the outer mitten today, though I have to take time out from knitting to be productive in other ways and to attend a pot luck dinner celebrating a friend's completion of her PhD (DH is hoping that there will be a TV with the Superbowl on as a bonus).

The last tax document I needed to have in hand arrived yesterday, so this afternoon's task is to at least organize all the information I need to do the taxes -- I have a standard list I fill in with all of the numbers I'll need when I actually sit down to do the darn things. For the last time this year, my tax duties include my sons' federal and Maine forms and one for Pennsylvania. I imagine I'll be consulting on those next year, but since I won't need them for financial aid forms, I'm going to be sending all of it their way to do for themselves (unless I find myself feeling incredibly generous next winter).

I also swatched for the wedding stole -- I want to be able to show the bride the yarn knit into a bit of pattern with the beads so she can veto any part of it before I put all the time into it. If I do say so myself, we found some lovely beads that blend in but will give just a bit of sparkle to the central panel of the stole. I also learned that I need some pointier dps or I'll go nuts on the center panel. My regular bamboo needles are too blunt for the fussiness of the small center. A pair of Crystal Palace bamboo needles should do the trick and are available at my LYS.

I would guess that the sunny start to the day also had something to do with how positive it felt. It clouded up and started snowing just after dark. DH is up and out with the snowblower as I write. The oddest part of this storm, aside from the back and forth between snow and sleet, was the thunder and lightening in the middle of the night. The first lightning and crack of thunder woke us both from a sound sleep. It didn't thunder a lot, but a few hours later I did hear some more. Summer thunder storms roar through and leave, but this one seemed to stay for a long time. Very strange.

Best of all, sunny again today -- and already 32 degrees at 6 a.m.! This week begins a more grueling schedule at work -- at least two evenings of events I have to attend or present in addition to the regular week's office schedule. It will be nice going into the week feeling less like things are sliding at home -- if I can just get started on the taxes and clean the bathroom, I'll be a happy camper.

Daydreams

In my daydream moments, I'm thinking about what I want to do with my gift cards. In other words, what yarn do I want to buy? I'm thinking about these two sweaters and would love feedback:
"Leaving" by Ann Hanson -- one of my favorite designers. This yarn will be available from Woolen Rabbit at Spa, Knit & Spin

"Sprössling," also by Anne Hanson. I already bought this pattern (though I would probably make it just a little less form-fitting).

The Brae Tweed Cara Cross-over Cardie, designed by Knit One, Crochet Two which is a company here in Maine.

I wouldn't make any of these in the colors in the photos. I'm more focused on the shapes and patterns and each one is appealing in different ways. Decisions, decisions!

The Saturday of the upcoming Knitting Boondoggle will include a workshop with Amy Herzog about how to choose patterns (or design patterns) that fit your individual shape. I wish I was doing that on Tuesday and then shopping at Spa the next day!

Back in the Swing

Yesterday felt more like the beginning of the semester without the storm hanging over our heads. The pace at work has racheted up a few notches (and we thought we were busy during Jan Plan!) and I felt like I was back on pace -- not caught up, mind you, but getting things done.

After yoga last night I combined my financial task with knitting. I missed one of my favorite NPR programs, Marketplace Money, on Sunday afternoon so downloaded it last night and listened while I did 10 more rows on the latest pair of mittens. I got past the thumb gusset, so the rest of the mitten will go very quickly now. Then on to its mate and the linings. As I look into my knitting corner right now, Pandora is cozied up to the mittens and balls of yarn on my footstool.

On the colorful mittens, I'm about to do the mitten gusset on the second version of the first lining :)

I can highly recommend Marketplace Money as a wonderful, easy, interesting way to learn about money management. My favorite part is when, each week, they talk to real people seeking financial advice. I learn so much from this show! This week they shared a strategy for paying off credit card debt. I'm fortunate not to have any, but we are definitely trying much harder not to use the card at all this month. They also talked about the difference between a broker and a financial advisor -- a topic I heard about in my retirement seminar the other day. And, it is on my to-do list this month to find someone for us to work with, once I get my files straightened out so that I'd be able to find the documents I'm sure an advisor would want to review. Just getting organized to do our taxes will get the files organized enough to move forward, I think.

No Knitting Day #2

Yesterday was my second no-knitting day of 2011. Spring semester classes began yesterday in the midst of a major snowstorm (actually 2 storms back to back). DH had a snow day and spent a good deal of the day in the driveway, but I had meetings and work starting at 8:30. I worked through lunch and managed to leave around 4:15, knowing that it might take some time to dig the van out in the parking lot and taking the longer way home to avoid going down a very steep hill. Although I was inside, relatively warm and snug, with electricity and plenty to keep me busy all day, there is just something about knowing there is a storm raging outside that makes you want to get home and keeps you feeling anxious until you do.

Upon arriving home, Don was still working on his latest push of snow and our neighbors invited us to eat dinner with them. They are nearly 90 years old, but in very good health and sound mind, and they are so appreciative of Don's work on keeping the yard clear (we share a driveway). They thought it would be nice to have a hot meal ready when Don finished his work, and it was nice to visit with them.

But, when we came back across the driveway, I worked a bit on the financial software project -- I'm slowly starting to understand what I'm doing -- and then just didn't have any energy to sit and concentrate on knitting. I climbed into my warm bed and wrapped myself up in a book I describe as being in the "warm blanket" genre -- a book without much plot or excitement but with lovely characters. I'm reading a couple of the Miss Read books, about the people in Thrush Green, a village in England, probably in the 50's or 60's. The Mitford books fall into this category, as do the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. I love them.

Financial Head Spin

Colby offers a day-long Retirement Seminar every two years and invites all employees over 50. This is the second time I've attended, but the first time I felt like I could begin to grasp the information and move on it -- the last time it was just a scary head-spin. This time, I left with a to-do list.

First on the list, however, is to get taxes done and complete the FAFSA before the end of the month. To do that, I've got to pull documents together and organize my files. And, at the same time, I need to get that money management software under my belt. These activities will also put us in a position to talk with a financial advisor, a CFP. (The interesting thing about CFPs is that I used to proctor the quarterly exams that people had to take to earn the CFP certification, back when it used to be paper and pencil exams and the CFP talking yesterday mentioned that fact.)

All of that should keep me very busy this month, but I won't stop knitting! Last night I knit another 10 rows of my sister's mittens, getting 2/3 of the way through the thumb gusset. I've found that once I put the thumb stitches on a holder, the rest of the mitten pattern seems to go very, very quickly -- a nice reward for the fussiness of the thumb gusset. I've also gotten all the way to the thumb gusset for the lining of the colorful mitten, the lining I'm re-knitting. I won't know for certain that the smaller gauge is going to work until I get up past the gusset and can try it on, but I'm feeling like this re-knit is going to be fine.

Knitting to-do list: block the sleeves and collar for the gray sweater in preparation for seaming it, maybe this weekend? Knit a swatch of the stole I'm knitting for my sister-in-law-to-be with the beads and send it to her for approval. Knit commemorative Spa, Knit & Spin miniature sweaters to give my friends that weekend. Finish the sleeves for the Debbie Bliss sweater before Spa, Knit & Spin to take to the Amy Herzog workshop that weekend.

Hmmm. Two big to-do lists. Just have to pick away at it, I guess. If I just had a snow day, like DH today, I could make big dents in those lists! Alas, work often seems to get in the way of my personal life -- though that is a great incentive for working on the financial to-do list -- retirement can't come too soon.

February Financial Feast or Fast?

This year, February is going to be focused on finances. We tried a financial fast last year during Lent and I was really happy with the opportunity to pull back and think a bit about where our money goes (and how quickly). This month is not Lent, but does offer enticements to do it again -- not the least of which is the alliteration of February Financial Fast.

The feast part involves the many opportunities that present themselves as activities to focus my attention on our finances and financial planning. Today, I'll spend the day at a day-long workshop for employees who are over 50 that goes over various resources for retirement planning. Because it is the month when I have to do taxes in order to complete financial aid forms (for the last time -- hurrah!), I also need to put some time into organizing our financial records. That paves the way for hiring a financial planner to help us more carefully plan for retirement (I've got the name of someone to talk to, but haven't called them yet --I'm not sure I could put my hands on anything I'd need in order to have those conversations at the moment). And, I've been looking at computer software that could help us manage our money better. I found an article about various options for Macs and one of the top choices has a free trial (a couple of the less complex options are completely free and some have other i- apps which is appealing to someone considering the next generation iPad). I'm struggling through the set up at the moment, so don't know if I'll actually go with this software, MoneyWell, but it is good to try. So, there are a lot of activities and resources available to me to make this a February Financial Feast.

Fasting is a challenge no matter when it happens. But, February is the shortest month of the year and a month when work keeps us busy as we're both at the beginning of a new semester. Mainly the challenges involve a dishwasher that is in decline (and February is traditionally a big sale month for appliances) and school vacation at the end of the month (but we're not going anywhere beyond the dentist and maybe a dinner out). While the Financial Fast is focused on our joint/family finances, I do try to honor it personally too. That will be challenged by two anticipated expensive events -- signing up for Quilt Show classes that take place in July (one of my favorite teachers is going to be there this year) and a planned Knitting Boondoggle that will include spending a day and night at Spa, Knit and Spin and a second day taking a class at Purl Diva. But, both are things I've been budgeting and saving for, so I don't feel too badly about using my own, separate account, for those fun things.

With all of that money stuff going on, last night was mainly focused on bill-paying and software-experimenting. But, I managed to do a bit of knitting before bed -- 10 rows on Fiddlehead mittens for my sister (this pair is all blue and gray, though I have a plan for making sure that isn't "boring") and frogging all but the first couple of rows of the lining for the colorful mittens. I was thinking it was knitting up too loosely and was afraid it would bunch up inside the mitten so I put the stitches on a piece of scrap yarn and tried it out. And, it did bunch. I looked more closely and found I was using bigger needles than I should have been, so I ripped it back and will reknit with smaller needles. After just a few rows, I can already see the difference.