On the 12th Day of Christmas....

... Or something like that ...
So here's a redux of the Christmas knitting.

This is the Sea Silk scarf, done in one skein of "Nova Scotia." Loved it. So does the recipient. You can't really tell, but it's a faggoted lace pattern I got out of "Knitting for Dummies." It turned out long enough to wrap around the neck a couple of times.

Above, that's the Fool under the archway to Enrico Biscotti on Pittsburgh's Strip, a street of interesting food shops, including great Italian markets and a fishmonger that always makes me wish I had a lot more people to cook for over the holidays than I do. This year, I really felt, more than usual, that the holidays just blew by with no time to enjoy or really participate in any of the typical preparations. I was too worried at work about getting everything done ahead of time so I could take a few days off, and so I really enjoyed standing in the crowds, being around all these people finishing up their Christmas shopping and getting lots of delicious things to make their families.


This is a scarf I knit from two skeins of recycled silk for my friend Carrie, who loves saris and their bright colors.
When I started knitting this yarn, it smelled like a dusty hippie -- something incense-soaked from the attic. So I washed it.
When it dried, it smelled like mold and machine shop (I polled some friends who were over playing tunes).
So I washed it again and put a squirt of minty shampoo in the wash water in hopes that would help. It did! It smelled like minty old clothes then, and I decided to quit while I was ahead.
All the washing meant the colors really came out well, too, so in the end, I was pleased.

Today, I'm home from work because I worked a late shift on Saturday. I went downtown and visited the Fool for lunch (lobster roll!) and a latte at Intelligentsia Coffee afterwards. I knit a sock on the train and came home and tidied stuff up. I'm trying to make peace with the housework this year. I like a clean house and feel better in one; I just don't like cleaning that much. So I'm working on adjusting my attitude about that.
Happy 2007, everyone!