Sassy Does It

Work has been sucking down my free time pretty hard.

I’m a little down for the count after a busy week on the road. We had a huge meeting, one for which I’d been planning strategy and logistics for months. Once it finally arrived, it was as expected - long hours, little sleep, lots of stress. Mixed with fun - can’t say I didn’t enjoy.

And, I’m happy to say that it went down smoothly - mission accomplished. But you know how it works - being able to sit back and enjoy the peace after this would be too easy.

As soon as I took my foot off the gas, my body reminded me that it had been working overtime to support my excessive demands. Within 90 minutes of wrapping my meeting, the tatters of my immune system raised the white flag.

The flu, or something resembling it, came home to roost.

But so it goes - I guess it’s my turn.

In between squirting that sinus-clearing stuff up my nose and enduring the general malaise of sore joints, I might get some knitting done.

Poor, lost-in-the-shuffle knitting. By the time I finish my projects, both of which are winterish, summer will be here.

I made good progress on Maizy’s socks on the plane back from England a couple of weeks ago. Then I realized I needed my 2-at-a-Time Socks book in front of me to remember the instructions for turning the heel. Winging it resulted in losing more time cleaning up the mess I made of it, so I just put it back in the bag and congratulated myself on finally finishing the length of the sock up until the heel (at long last).

Kymber’s birthday gift didn’t quite get done while I was still with her for her birthday in the UK. I made huge progress on it while I was there, but after a few days of turbo-knitting while half-looking people in the eye through my needles during conversation, I reconsidered.  Better than getting it done in time for her b-day, I decided, was to cozy up next to my friends with a cup of tea or a glass of wine and give our interaction my full attention while I still had the privilege of sitting righttherenexttothem.

In short: the Sheer Poncho is still not freaking done, but it has become more fabulous by the inch.

Since this photo, I decided to pull through a yarn stitch holder along the bottom of the poncho so that I could go ahead and knock off the cowl before continuing with more (possibly superfluous) length. It’ll be easier to tell how long it needs to be once the cowl is on, I think.

Or maybe I was just bored with the body and hungry for the more frequent increases of the cowl.

I think I’ll have plenty of yarn, but I’d rather finish the cowl with confidence that I can make it as bulky and swishy as I want and not worry about how much I’ll need for the rest of the body length.

So. Er, I guess that’s it on the knitting.

In the absence of any other knitting progress, I’ll post a few photies from my vacation.

First, I was in the north of England with Kymber and her blossoming fam (you’ll remember the recent addition of Little K, the recipient of Curlicue). In spite of the general chilly drizzly weather at this time of year along the northeast coast of England, we had some beautiful days of walking. The area near the Scottish border has lots of places to explore - castles and rocky coastlines and sea-hugging little villages.

One of these is a tiny island called Lindisfarne - complete with just such a village and a castle that were fun to take in on a sunny, crisp winter day. This is a tidal island, meaning that you can access it only by driving across the sandy strip around it from the mainland when the tide is out. No bridge. Just a tidal table that tells you what time you won’t get stuck.

It’s also called Holy Island - a place rooted in religious history beginning with the founding of a monastery there in 635 AD. The ruins of a comparatively new-fangled priory that was built in 1150 stand there today.

We meandered around and made our way out to the castle. I accidentally wandered a little too close to a few sheep who freaked me out with baa-ing and dirty looks, but I guess it could be interpreted as me freaking them out first. I’m not good with animals - there, I said it.

We embarked on what really should be coined a Sticky Toffee Tour while in the North. Pretty much every meal needed to end with sticky toffee pudding. If there was a chance that the restaurant or pub we were considering for lunch did not offer such goodness, well, move it along, folks. We’ll take our bulging waistlines to the next place until we’re satisfied.

On top of the sticky toffee, I consumed a whole lot of cheese and chocolate, not to mention the wine and Irish coffees.

Oh yeah…I brought home a little extra jiggle with me from this holiday.

Before I left England I swung through London to see my pals there, and it was so lovely to see them.  Frankly, though, what I’ll remember most from this visit will be the snow. Not that there isn’t a smattering of snow from time to time in London, but it’s very rare to have inches and inches fall down and stick.

I was walking back to the neighborhood where I was staying on the last night there when the snow that had flurried earlier in the day started to pick up. Even after I popped into a pub for an hour (oh joy, a pint, my laptop, my knitting, and happy pub-goers chatting around me - does it get better?), the snow kept coming.

After a gratuitous parmesan-filled dinner at a little Italian place, I emerged on the street again. Soft, heavy snowflakes that stayed on my nose and eyelashes, just like Julie Andrews likes them. What fun! Even the locals were snapping pictures; flashes were coming out of flats all the way down the street as people stuck their heads out windows to watch the happenings below.

I’d taken a few pics earlier when the snow started accummulating, but by the time dinner was done it was even more important to capture for posterity. Too bad my camera battery died and I didn’t snap as many more as I might have done, but the memory of the thick flakes piling up all over - so outside of their natural habitat! - will stay with me.

In the morning, I was still happy but the natives were restless. It was beautiful, to be sure - nearly six inches on top of everything - but the fun had stopped for much of London. Nothing runs quite the same way with this kind of “adverse weather” (as the Voice of God making announcements in the tube called it). It was nearly impossible to get to Heathrow, but I did manage to sleuth my way there to try to catch my flight out that day. Much of the airport was closed altogether, and most of my day was shot with travel delays…but it was worth it. The snow was just so cool. Cold, even. Ha.

OK. Enough blogging. Back to knitting. Wish me luck finishing something.

In this moment, I’m about as happy as I can be.

I’ve just arrived back in the UK for a week’s holiday with friends in the north of England, and I can’t bloody wait for the good times to get rolling with some of my favorite people ever.

Before I fly further north, I’m hanging out at Heathrow.  Normally not something noteworthy, but I’m digging the new Terminal 5 like a kid in a candy store. Building this extension may have been controversial, but today it’s ringing my bell. I can’t get enough.  Now, by the time my connection takes off in 3 hours, I’m sure I’ll have had enough - but until the ADD kicks in I’m luuuurrrving it.

Although severely tempted by the Wagamama and Giraffe, my hungry belly veered me into the pub mecca in which I’m currently hoovering down my Stilton & Broccoli soup and Murphy’s stout.  I’d take a picture to show you, but I’m afraid it might not look as appetizing mauled and half-munched.  I’ll leave it to your mind’s eye.

Right - I could continue to ramble about my delight in the glory of T5 (did I mention that there is a much, much better selection of places to eat and shop and sit around? and that the design is just cool?), but that will get old fast in spite of its shiny newness.  Instead let me update you on my knitting.  What a concept!

My Thermis is off the needles and ready to warm my neck in the chill of the North.

FO:  Thermis

Fiber:  Cascade Rustic

Adaptations:  Fewer number of pattern repeats to account for taller row count in gauge with subsituted fiber

Verdict:  Like it.  Very quick knit.  Feels lovely.  The wool/linen combo of the fiber is surprisingly nice; warm but not heavy or scratchy.  The soft variegation of the gray shades works for me, and I can be picky about my variegated yarns.  The length is nice.  Little loosey-goosier than the pattern called for, but whatever - it’s a cowl, and fit-wise, it will be largely obsured under other warm garments.  And there’s always the dryer.

So much for gifting it:  immediately upon completion, the weather warmed up in all the target markets where my potential recipients were located.  I’m sure it will get cold again, but it seems silly to give a wool cowl to someone when it’s that balmy out.

Thus, I’m, er, keeping it for myself.

I do like the look of it, although even with adaptations for the bulkier row gauge for this fiber it ended up a bit bigger than I planned.  No biggie - and I didn’t sweat too long over my calculations at the start, so it isn’t surprising.  But it doesn’t matter, I do like it, and will flaunt it with pride.

I like the wee buttons I found for it at the LYS, so they make me happy.

I broke down and bought some cashmere mittens a few weeks ago (gloves/mittens for myself are too far back in my queue for my poor fingers to benefit this winter), and these new mittens are the perfect shade of grey to go with the cowl.  Good thing I’ll be in a chilly place this week to appreciate all the warmth.

My other project is moving along, although there is just a lot of ground to cover.  The Sheer Poncho is my gift for Kymber, who’s birthday-girl status is the reason for our reunion vacation this week.

It’s not done on time as I’d planned - of course - but I’m OK with this.  I’m not superwoman - there, I said it.

It’s looking lovely; the cashmere fabric is so dreamy, and the drape is perfect.

I think I’ll be able to finish it this week while we are loafing around.  This will make it less of an on-the-day surprise and more of a work-in-progress display of affection until it’s done.

I’ve churned a lot more out than is shown here, but you get the idea.

Oh look, a plate of mac and cheese with mature cheddar has materialized, as well as another pint of stout.

Yes, that’s two dishes with fatty cheese in it so far today (not to mention the second pint) - aren’t I good to myself?

I rationalize with the following:

1. I’m hungry. I’ve just flown many miles without proper nutrition.
2. I’m veggie. I need my protein from something other than the steak & ale pie alternative (as if this is well-known for its easy-on-the-waistline properties).
3. I’m on bloody holiday.

That’s it for now. Off to finish round #2 of my gloriously naughty not-at-all-good-for-you British lunch.