This week has been a bit confusing and over the top re: holidays. Gotta love America’s melting pot of holidays! On the 10th it was a celebration of Chinese New Year. Time for some General Tso’s chicken. My DH and I always argued about whether it was General Tso or General Tao. He asked one of his graduate students and she said it could be either one, but that it’s really not something you’d eat in China. It’s American Chinese food.
Tuesday it was Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday. Here the Mardi Gras meal includes King Cake, a sweet yeast-dough ring cake with a cinnamon-sugar filling and purple, green and gold frosting. I’ve read in other blogs that on Shrove Tuesday, folks always eat pancakes. Today is Valentine’s Day and the hustle/bustle is all about luuvvv. Chocolate! One of our fellow gym class members met us at the door this morning with this little treat.
Saturday is our local Gold & Green Ball. Click on this page to see more Gold & Green Ball. Without holidays, what would we do with our time and money?
But that brings me around to yesterday’s “holiday,” Wednesday Night Knitting. Ethel brought chocolate-covered pomegranate pips with which to celebrate. Woo hoo!
The scarf pattern Ethel chose is a variation of this one in Creative Knitting. she used a 100% merino tweedy twist and then half of the scarf has a strand of green sparkly Stacy Charles Ritratto held double with the wool for a little excitement. Lois and Ethel discussed new possibilities for afghans. Lois tried the feather and fan, but didn’t like how the yarn bunched up. Perhaps simple stockinette would make a better blanket? Stockinette with a seed stitch border to keep the edges from curling up? Long circular needles will come in handy to keep the long rows in order. I started a kind of an afghan: the pattern is Lana Grossa’s Mohair Wrap from the Quick Knits mag. Except rather than luxurious mohair, I used Joann Sensations boucle, hence my title variation: Ghetto Mohair Wrap. I have a ton of this yarn in my stash. (“Perhaps the result of a clearance sale?” Ethel asked.) I’m not crazy about boucle yarn, however, I started knitting this and I like it a lot. It’s a big rectangle of stockinette stitch with a wide ruffle border. With this, I have become a knitter who has “more than one project on the needles” at a time–something I could never imagine myself doing. I have evolved! Here’s another current WIP, the February sock from the Sock It To Me 2013 ravelry group. I’m also working on the Laera Shawl via Craftsy and another ruffle scarf.On the spinning front, I latched onto this antique flax wheel I found in McIntosh. It’s not quite ready to spin; it needs a drive band and the broken flyer fixed. But I’ve had a lot of fun dreaming of folks in the past who may have spun with her, and the practical projects they may have provided to their luuuvvved ones. Happy early spring holidays everyone!
Enjoyable evening – thanks. I found Rattie’s flower wreath right where it left her head and fell on the floor as I picked up my bag. Now to find some nicer yarn to remake her hair with. She evolves – maybe some more detail on her outfit?
It was a stretch for me to refrain from putting on a pic of Rattie anyway! Next time she will get top billing in all her Norwegicus finery!