NAPPY HOO YEAR!

oops. scratch that. HAPPY NEW YEAR! there, better now?

ok, i've got squat. i've been sick. i have accomplished some, but most i can't post, since it's still holiday knitting. if you want to know what, email me, and i'll tell ya. if i don't have it posted elsewhere, lol.

so, i'll give ya the redneck, plus, i've got 4 new calendars for the new year, lol (i'm a glutton for daily calendars!)

12/30: you might be a redneck if you carry more than two extra tires in the back of your truck.
12/31-1/1: you put 9th grade on hold while you started a family (um, yeah).

Patter of the Day:
12/30: Troika Scarf. non-pattern. sigh. only thing different is it's a crochet cast on that you leave in, and you use 3 different yarns. sigh.
12/31-1/1: Multi-Purl Stitch. this looks interesting. all the cool stuff is done on the wrong side, instead of the front. hard to describe it without giving it away, but it looks fun! nice ending, guys!

and now (drum roll please)
2006!

(time to put the other calendar away, and toss jeff in the trash (honest, jeff, i do love you, but you're done for 2005)

(much rustling of cellophane and plastic, i've been a good girl, and not peeked ahead (either that, or too lazy, lol))

have patience, it takes time to open 4 calendars!

Knit Bits
12/31-1/1:Knitting can be solace, inspiration, adventure. It is manual and mental therapy. It keeps us warm, as well as those we like & love. It has existed almost as long as the soft sheep, and in giving us wool they are deprived only of an uncomfortably warm fur coat in the heat of summer. - from Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I own this book, and yes, EZ is a knitting goddess.
1/2: Knitting had become such an arcane activity that doing it in public always elicited a response. It sent older men into fits of nostalgia about their mothers. Older women gave a knowing smile. Young men & women would stare with open-mouthed curiosity. I might as well have been churning butter. - from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook, by Debbie Stoller. I don't own this (i do own nation, though), and she's right. granted, she is lauded by some and deplored by others, but, by god, she brought knitting to the forefront!

You might be a redneck if you wear camouflage underneath your choir robe in church.
. . . you've ever thrown up in a squad car.

Knit Pattern:
12/31-1/1: Swirl Hat & Muffler. muffler? it's a freaking scarf! all fancy schmancy! this is made with very fat yarn (gauge is 5 st=2"). it's cute, i will say that!
1/2: Twisted Rib Crazy Socks. Ah yes, more socks. gotta love these people! they insist on Regia Crazy sock yarn. i can see it. hmmm, does elann.com still do regia?

Crochet Pattern: (just so ya know, this is edited by my favorite designer, annie modesitt, who had the brains and brilliance to put me in next year's calendar!)
12/31-1/1: Mini Roll-up Checkerboard. this is so cute! it's tiny, and you can play with nickels & pennies (it says so right here in the pattern), but i'm sure you could use dimes, or whatever you could scrounge up (i would dig through my ashtray for this). and so simple! good job!
1/2: Toe Up Socks. well butter my backside and call me a biscuit. i'm not normally into crocheted intimate apparel items (i would call socks intimate apparel, so hush!), but these are cute. they are actually done in the sockyarn every body loves. Hey michelle! a use for all that sock yarn (if you crochet. if not, i'll teach ya, i've been told i'm a good teacher via internet!)

and now, to go collapse in my bed, as i have to go back to work tomorrow (blech). so much for my "vacation." knit night is going to look so good this week!

Have a nice year!