Christmas knitting and other misc

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

A couple of quick notes regarding some "loose ends" (how's that for incorporating a knitting term into "everyday language"?)...

You were right, Marit! I was granted admission into my kids' knitting haven once they needed help with their knitting projects. The "knitting help" they need usually involves untangling yarn, which I feel qualified as an expert to do, having a great deal of experience with it.

Cindy G -- Here is a picture of the "white whole wheat flour" I bought at Woodman's: According to Allison, it can be substituted for regular "white flour" at a higher ratio than typically done with "whole wheat" flour, and it doesn't taste as "healthy," even though it is actually made with the "whole wheat." We're going to make another batch of pretzels today, and I'm going to try substituting half of the white flour with this "white whole wheat flour."

Allison -- Your comment about my son's tactics for driving me crazy, and wearing his cardigan for no reason being #43, cracked me up! Today is "day 5" of the unexplained sweater wearing behavior, and this morning he told me that he "likes wearing" his sweaters... What IS going on??!

And Cynthia -- Lauren commented that you are knitting socks which have matching stripes with** no extra effort**??!! Is this true? (Actually, I don't want to talk about it :-)

A few days ago, I received a phone call from the Clinton campaign imploring me to vote for Hillary today in Pennsylvania. Am I even allowed to do that from Wisconsin? I have a cost reduction idea for her campaign...

I started my Christmas knitting! My five year old has observed me scrambling to finish a gift sweater for dh on Christmas Eve for the past two years, and suggested that this year, I start working on the sweater a little bit earlier. I so very badly wanted to make dh the Cobblestone Pullover. I showed the picture to dh months ago, just to get a sense of whether or not he liked the style, and he didn't seem very impressed by it. I know it would look *fabulous* on him, and went ahead and bought some dark, plain yarn (Cascade 220) for it. Realistically, dh is not a big sweater wearer. If we're going out some place special, he'll wear one, but that doesn't happen a lot. So, I decided that making a style he doesn't even really care for might not be my best move. I finally settled on making him a cardigan. He does not have any cardigan sweaters right now. This will be plain (stockinette). For the front, I'm debating between a typical vee-neck, or a Mr. Rogers zipper style. I have the back just about finished:I'll make the sleeves next, so that I may continue to think about my options for the front...

In sewing news, I made a couple of removeable pillow covers (for the couch pillows) out of fleece: I was going to cut fringe on the outer edges, but decided that I liked the "flange" look, so left them that way. They really brighten up the couch!

I've also been going skirt crazy. I wear a skirt or dress almost every day in summer, because I find them comfortable and cool. Here is a skirt I didn't like -- made me look frumpy. So, I added some length to it by inserting a panel from fabric I had on hand, and then twisted it after it came out of the washer let it dry all wrinkly. I think this will look much better on me now... Here's another skirt made out of fabrics I had on hand: The fabric choices aren't necessarily what I would have picked if given all of the options at the fabric store, though I think it worked out okay by selecting leftovers from my stash, getting "something" from "nothing." I let this one air dry all twisted up, too, for the wrinkly effect...

And, my daffodils, my favorite flower, the flower of hope! Last fall, I planted about a dozen bulbs for this lighter colored variety, and the score is squirrels nine, my garden three: They are lovely, none-the-less!

And our weather has been fabulous! We went hiking here last weekend: We all ended up with wet feet, and after my five year old's hat got knocked into the "rapids", he started crying, though dh was able to retrieve the hat. It was little solace to my five year old that the *hat * was knocked into the water, and *NOT* the five year old. We've had similar incidents with having to retrieve his hat from various locations, so I think he has some hat "issues." But I digress...

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)