Years ago, there was a James Bond marathon on Spike TV over Thanksgiving break. That began a holiday tradition that’s hard to break. We no longer have cable tv, but we have a dvd player and we know how to use it. By Sunday, we’d perfected our lounging technique to where the delicate balance of pajamas, leftovers, movies, and knitting made time stand still.

Alle with the needles

We actually did venture out on Saturday long enough to hit a yarn store, a couple antique stores, and a brew pub. The only thing missing was a book store.

Much of my knitting is holiday-related so I am not showing it here, but some of it isn’t. My friend Liz is having a baby on Olivia’s birthday, 12/10, so I’ve done some baby knitting for what will be her family of three children:

This sweater doesn’t have a printed pattern. I just wanted something simple for a baby of either sex. I used Berroco DK Comfort, a comletely synthetic yarn. I once knit a child’s sweater in Rowan Cork. The child wore it once and it was eaten by their dog. I don’t knit $80 wool sweaters for babies I haven’t spawned any more.  I liked the yarn, so much, in fact, that I went back to A Stitch in Time in Bethel to buy more, plus a book. The yarn is very soft and doesn’t have the weird feeling most synthetic yarns have, you know the feeling that makes your teeth hurt?  I put the buttons on as if it were a boy’s sweater, but I can change this if necessary. Besides, I have to fix the button placement. I was just trying to turn over a new leaf and actually weave in the ends and sew on the buttons of the sweaters I knit. I routinely ignore the sweaters on my projects page of Ravelry. Do I really need to be reminded that I never put buttons on a sweater I knit a year ago?

This is one of those sweaters. I actually wore it to work the last week, without the buttons (notice the button hole?!) because I needed a brown sweater. I wove in the ends before work.  This sweater, The Most Boring Sweater In The World was knit from a pattern that was even boxier and more boring than you can imagine (all that garter!). I ripped out the straight sleeves and reknit them from the armhole down, making them flair kimono style. I also added two-colored gussets under each arm, going down to the hem so the shape would be a little less rectangular and have more “swing”.  Whatever. It’s a bathrobe I can wear to work. That’s the point.

For baby-to-be’s older siblings (they are both under 2 1/2 I think) I made matching hats.  The pattern is Cam by Berroco and they are knit in Comfort DK.

During the weekend of aggressive relaxation, two things routinely made my smile (besides pie). One was my stitch markers from Wool and Sheep. I usually make my own. No need to buy stitch markers, but these just made me smile every time I see them. Is there a better reason to buy stitch markers?  And the row counter?! I have been saying for years, who could ever need that thing when you have a pen and piece of paper in your knitting bag? Now I know the answer: I do. I sat on the couch like the mentally challenged person I can be, with the row counter hanging from my neck. Really. Knit a row, push a button. I think I need to get the label maker out and adhere a sticker to it which reads: Hello my name is Jennifer. If found please return me to…

If I make a neclace for my dvd remote, I may never have to think again.

I found one of my old Dale Olympic books (1998) and a bunch of Heilo. The Nagano Headband lured me away from my sweater fever for two entire episodes of Brideshead Revisited (how do you kick off the Winter season in your home?).

Nagano is lined in wool and that is an itchy proposition. So traded out the Heilo for Cotton Classic (also in my stash). Olivia gratefully modeled.

I’ve knit 2.5 sweaters in 2 weeks. I am not putting any of the sweaters together yet however. My plan is to knit them all, block them all, and then line up a movie marathon for finishing day. The good news is, my house is so filled with yarn and knitted objects that a few more pieces of knitting can go completely unnoticed.

We’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner here so I’ve got some prep ahead of me (Kids! Stash this basket of yarn in your closet, stat!) I’d better take a break to go buy a turkey and 7 pounds of butter.

I had some time today so I thought I’d try. Here’s my first attempt.

 u

I’m afraid it looks like some scary sci-fi thing, but I’ll turn it into to something arty, you know I will.

I also made another block print.

The subject matter was chosen as an homage to my daughters’ virutal band, Llamas Go Golfing.

The first project of the day was in celebration of fall.

I copied this tea cozy as best I could from here.  I didn’t have the pattern Christi used for the leaf and vine, so I made it up.  I do think hers is much prettier, but she didn’t use Red Heart Super Saver.  I think knitting this up in anything more spectacular than Red Heart moves it out of kitsch and into Dada. I’m not sure it’s safe to have Dada in the kitchen.

After so much fun on a Saturday, I can’t wait to see what Sunday holds.

my Joel’s Bison Lace Scarf (which is not for anyone named Joel, nor is it made of Bison. It is lace, however).

cashllama from Rhinebeck

And then I made this.

Years ago, I used to do block prints for a poetry magazine in college, but I haven’t done any since. When Lois, Evan, and I were in Great Barrington, MA last week, I picked up a couple of blocks and some new ink at an art store there. Now that I’ve gotten an easy print out of the way, I think I’d like to do a few others. Only one bandaid and the last 3 episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Season 3, were required for the completion of this block and prints.

Mostly, I’ve touched the remote.

I have been accused of being obsessive. I guess you could call it that. I think of it as passionate. When I immerse myself in something, I like to be completely immersed. This is why there are toys all over my house. Not my kids toys, my toys. There are yarn toys, weaving and spinning toys, sewing toys, jewelery-making toys, art toys, photographic toys (some of these are my husband’s and daughter’s), cooking toys (also my husband’s), and books. Books are everywhere, well, everywhere there isn’t yarn. But I digress…

Being a passionate person who tends to immerse herself in whatever tickles her fancy, it is usual that I find myself having television marathons of only one show or movie. I spent the better part of a week last year watching every Barbara Stanwyck movie I could get my hands on (and I already had quite a complete collection) while fiendishly sewing. Earlier this week, I watched both seasons of Mad Men. A week or so before, the entire first season of Chuck.  Up this weekend, Pushing Daisies, Season One. Fortunately (for whom, I don’t know), I can’t sit still and just watch. I need to knit, sew, make jewelery, or do something else. It can often appear as if I am accomplishing something worthwhile. Actually, it’s just binge-eating media.

I have one good friend who is an admitted pop tart. Her habits are different from mine, however. She faithfully DVRs her favorites every week and watches them within days of their original air date. I don’t have cable television so my watching is limited to the internet (streamed through my television and stereo) or via dvd or itunes. I don’t feel compelled to watch shows as they are on. As a matter of fact, I’d prefer not to. I enjoy watching several episodes back to back and can’t imagine sustaining any kind of interest if I had to wait a week or two between viewings.

Today, I’m feasting on House, Season 5. Although last season’s finale was a doozie, I figured if I had to wait all summer to find out what happened next, a couple extra weeks would fly by. And then I’d be able to have a mini, 5-episode marathon.

I know that my daughters are the same way about viewing. The four of us spent many an hour of couch time watching and rewatching Buffy and Angel back in the day. When Jessye had her wisdom teeth out, her only request was a How I Met Your Mother binge. I lost Olivia for a day when Pushing Daisies came out on DVD. Mark thought she had the flu because she spent an entire sunny day in her room (with her dvd player tucked into her bed with her). He thinks that it’s bad for us. But serisouly, you never wanted to stay awake for an entire weekend watching Deadwood (and how do you turn it off after one episode and walk away)? 

Then tell me, what is your guilty pleasure?

Pics of my haul:

Spirt Trail Fiberworks Tussah Silk

Cashllama and Cashmere Blend for dyeing

Alpaca and Tussah Silk to spin

Pewter buttons, a pewter Celtic cross, a shawl pin, and stitch markers

A Golding spindle…I’ve been looking at these since my first trip to Rhinebeck in 2003, before I could even spin.

Qiviuk. Okay, so the kid won’t be able to eat for the next week, but Mama will have her hands in the good stuff.

Pima Cotton was free with the mortgage on Quivik

The high point of my day happened at Golding Spinning Equipment. I was drooling over the spindles when I looked at the woman next to me. It was Amy Singer! Being completely socially inept, I blurted out, “Are you Amy?” She smiled and answered, “I hope so!” and she handed me a pin. I added it to my collection of pins.

I was so frenzied when I got my Rav pin that I scrawled my name. I was rushing to get into place for the photo taken at the meet up.

In other news, I’ve been busy working on a sweater of my own design. I had ordered some lovely Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Worsted and allowed it to tell me what it wanted to be. This is what it said:

Aquinnah

And in case you think my lack of posting is related to a lack of knitting, here are a few things I’ve done in the last couple weeks:

Voyager stole for my daughters’ step mother.

Waving Lace socks knitted toe-up with a star toe knitted in Trekking XXL color 126

Just in time for Rhinebeck

Happy Fall!