Starting the New Year

I have decided to knit my nursing preceptor mittens. She loves to ski. In the recent cold weather, she started wearing her ski jacket to work. Her husband drives her to and from the hospital, and I like to wear mittens when I don't have to drive. I hope she feels my wish that her hands stay warm.

However... I couldn't get gauge to knit Jared Floods mittens from the cover of Vogue Fall 08. I kept going down needle sizes and losing time. Plus the tinier the needle, the longer

the project will take. Did I tell you I want them for Saturday? Plus I work Friday and Saturday. The twelve hour shifts that leave no time for real life.

When I made the decision to change patterns and went to Ravelry (yay Ravelry) to research cabled mittens, it was already the afternoon. It may not surprise you that I have an eclectic stash, so any pattern that caught my eye would probably be OK.

There they were: Bella's mittens. I happen to be working with rabid Twilight fans. They are also Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Trek geeks. This is good. I can hold my own. I haven't read the Twilight books, but I have the audio book on hold at the library and my daughter is in the thick of them.

I got gauge with some really (really,really) old stash, but I didn't like the hand of the fabric. Plus she has really little hands. I went down a needle size and finally got going in the late afternoon. I'm thankful to have great wooden dpns in lots of sizes.

The first mitt is now done and the second coming along. This is not just a mitten pattern. It is brilliant shaping, use of ribbing and careful casting off within the cable.
My daughter is drooling and wants them for herself. Thankfully her hands are way bigger than mine and would never fit these smaller mitts.

The beginning of the year can be like the beginning of a project. Beginning time takes longer. You're getting your bearings and finding the pattern.

I have a new scarf. I finished it a while ago, but couldn't block it until the tree came down. I had help with the un-decorating after I packed up the tree ornaments. I needed to weave in the ends, too. This is not the shawl I wanted. But it is a great scarf to brighten up my outer wear in the crappy snowy and then monsoon rains that are continually beyond my door.

Amaryllis update. Even as the old bloom dies, a new one is trying to unfurl. Good metaphor for January.

I wrote the Immortal Memory for our Robert Burns dinner on January 24. This year I researched the scandals. 11 illegitimate children, 3 wives, poems to 80 women. I hope the crowd drinks enough to appreciate this tongue in cheek edition. I actually quote more poetry than in past speeches. I wrote 3, but only got to say one. Last year my sister did a good earnest job. The year before our minister brutalized the evening with such boredom and irrelevant dust. That spurred me on to make it more fun.

Today is my daughter's 16th birthday. We will have cake tomorrow after Scotty's piano recital. She has a big party with friends on Saturday. Unfortunately I work both days. But she is indomitable. Wish me luck on my last 2 shifts.