Tag Archives: snowbird

shawls and scarves.

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They are the best knitted things for coping with a never-ending winter. I haven’t picked up the needles in the last month, but I have been wrapping myself in warm things. And some of the times I do this, I remember to snap a picture. So, some knits in action. (And, of course, Boh in action.)

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Snowbird and Boh keeping me warm on the couch.

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Stripe study shawl.

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Just Boh in action. Here he’s “helping” with my pile of grading.

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Handspun eternity scarf — it matches my jacket perfectly!

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Lightweight cowl — I don’t even remember the name of this pattern, but it’s got a loose-knit ribbing that drapes beautifully.

Spring break starts this morning, which means I can pause all of my teaching prep (for most of the week, anyway) and focus on my dissertation. I’m hoping to get a lot of writing done, and Boh is hoping for longer walks. Seems reasonable. (And maybe there will be time for knitting?)

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almost all boh; no new knitting.

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Sometimes I have to put on pretty shoes (or any shoes) to get some writing done.

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I baked myself a cake: strawberry buttermilk cake, to be precise. (Based on that Smitten Kitchen raspberry buttermilk cake that I’ve totally made and linked to, here, many times. Of course, too lazy to track down the link right now…)

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Wrinkles and snoring.

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This blue vest is my new favorite thing — it’s the birthday present I bought for myself. (Do you do this? If not, you should.)

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Another handspun eternity scarf in action. This is the first one I knit.

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I picked a fight with the driveway the other day. A sheet of ice, courtesy of some early morning freezing rain, means that I’ve got a bloody knuckle and a banged up hip. Tough to get old. My students were sweet, though — I held up my fist and one of them said, “What’s the other guy look like?”

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This face is what I saw when I woke up on Thursday — I’d been trying to sleep in, and I didn’t set an alarm. Hello, sweetness.

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Boh seems to know that I’m in the market for a little extra puppy love these days. I’ll take it.

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Oh. My. Goodness. I swear, he puts that bone around his leg like a bracelet all by himself.

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And then proceeds to take a nap.

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Snowbird in action.

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Boh performs “lap dog” quite well sometimes. Happy Friday, friends.

 

routine.

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First up, I knit a tiny hat for my best friend’s son. He’s just about six months old, and I’m hoping this will help keep him warm this winter.

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Boh’s ears have been particularly entertaining this week.

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Snowbird’s out-of-the-house debut! You can see here that the shoulders aren’t quite right; I think they are too shallow for my arms. But the most important part of Snowbird is that it covers my butt. Perfect for covering up for heading to the gym. (Boots because of the snow!)

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More sweetness, and a huge arugula salad.

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Yup.

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“Helping.” No matter that his ears are actually in the way.

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One ear up for couch lounging.

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And this series is from this morning.

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From a look of complete boredom–what, you don’t like my conclusion?

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To full-on, quite loud snoring. I love this dog.

FO: snowbird.

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I love the pockets.

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The sweater is a little slouchy, but overall I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And just in time, too. These pictures are from last month, but since then, we’ve had cold and snowy weather.

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Sweetness.

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Squash soup.

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A few pictures from the last good fall walk we took before the weather turned.

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This light. So lovely.

It’s been a very busy fall around here, folks. So busy that I missed my blogiversary! Six years and counting now, even though I’ve slowed down a bit recently. Hope you’re all well.

happily, predictably…

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10nov09

The cold weather has returned, and with it, a little bit of knitting mojo. Wrapped in my Mara shawl and with my Terra on my lap, I finally finished my Snowbird cardigan. All that remained was an inch of one pocket, sewing the pocket linings, and weaving in the ends. It took a couple of hours (and several podcasts), but I did it. Here’s a pre-blocking shot:

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(Forgive my bleary eyes and pjs.)

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And here it is, blocking on the dining room table. The sleeves fit perfectly, but the body is a bit loose. Shouldn’t matter too much because it is an open cardigan, but depending on how it fits when it is dry, I might (gasp) toss it in the dryer to snug it up a bit. Stay tuned.

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It felt so good to be knitting that I even managed a couple of repeats on my Bristol hat. (Funny how that happens when the deadlines feel overwhelming. I’ve got a conference paper, a talk, a job application, and some dissertation chapters that need finishing on my plate right now…)

Want to see what else has been going on around here this week?

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No idea what’s going on in this picture. (And please, disregard the newsprint filled with dissertation-related list-making on the wall behind him.)

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Last bare-legged day of the season, I’m guessing. (These boots are in terrible shape, but I can’t bring myself to retire them…)

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An impromptu dinner party on Monday night, complete with butternut squash galette.

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Glorious sunlight on the good walk we’ve been aiming to take at least once a week.

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Boh, not at all interested in the epic waterfall behind him.

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One of us will not be mistaken for a deer.

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Tuckered out. I woke up yesterday to find Boh with his head on the pillow next to me. Silly, silly dog.

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One more bit of silliness: sharks surround Manhattan. Just a little bit of Friday night fun with sharks from M’s sharknado Halloween costume…

Hope you’re all well. I still haven’t found a solution to my Feedly problem, and it feels so strange to be blogging while I feel so behind on all of your adventures. Forgive me. And happy knitting!

a little more.

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Because the weather has been glorious, I’ve moved all of my dissertation writing to the porch. This means Boh has moved the majority of his lounging to the porch as well.

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You know, except when it is dinner time. He knows when that is supposed to happen, and has been waiting for me right here.

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I’ve been making slow, steady progress on Snowbird — the pocket stitches are on stitch-holders, and I’m working my way down the rest of the body. I think the sweater is going to be pretty slouchy in the body, but it fits well in the arms, so I’m hoping I’ll love it and wear it a lot.

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One more. Sweet Boh at a nearby waterfall. We’ve been visiting this one weekly, on our way to get vegetables from the farm I belong to, and Boh loves it there. Happy weekend!

last night.

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21aug4

Last night this happened. Really. I almost hesitate to share because I don’t want to jinx anything. I got out my wheel, and spun a little bag of leftover Hello Yarn Targhee in the Sprout colorway. I listened to a podcast, drank some tea, and watched the sunset.

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And then I went inside, curled up on the couch, and pulled out my Snowbird. It actually smelled sort of damp and musty, probably from being shoved in a bag at the base of my fiber closet since at least December 2012. The “hard” part of this sweater is done — now there’s only knitting the body and adding the pockets. (Okay, and seaming the collar to the body. That might be hard.) I have a growing list of baby and wedding gifts to knit, but I might just cut myself some slack and try to finish the stuff that I both love and have let languish. Let’s see if I can keep this up.

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In other news, I spent Saturday night with my parents, and after we celebrated my grandmother’s birthday, we enjoyed a fire in the pit that’s built into the brick patio behind their house. Boh normally has to stay in his box for family gatherings (he is not very good with larger groups, especially if they include strangers), but when there were only a few folks remaining, I brought him outside to enjoy the fire.

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I think he liked it. I know I did.

Thanks, you guys, for all of your kind comments on my last post and my unintended absence. It means a lot to know you’re still here.

actual knitting content.

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On Saturday night, a couple hours after returning home, I went over to visit with my favorite greyhound and his people (who were kind enough to remind me to bring some knitting). We listened to an episode of This American Life, and I made a little bit of progress on the body of my Snowbird cardigan.

Remember this? The cold weather has me itching to knit cozy, cuddly accessories, so I dug out my Avery cowl and finished the first repeat. A couple more, and I’ll be able to wrap this around my neck. Twice.

I acquired some pink/purple cords, and I’m pretty sure these will help keep me happy this winter. I wear a lot of neutrals, so this bit of brightness should complement much of my wardrobe.

I snapped this shot on my way home after Thanksgiving. Snow was falling, and thick clouds were gathering over this silo. It will be December next week, and it’s time. I’m still getting used to bundling up! (Thank goodness for knitwear.)

And then there’s this guy. He’s been keeping me company on the couch these last few days. My mom was sick over Thanksgiving break, and on Sunday morning, I woke up with the first signs of the same thing: laryngitis and a chest cold. After overexerting myself yesterday, I decided to cancel everything today and focus on getting better. (And, I hope, writing at least a few pages of the diss chapter I’m working on.) I’m pretty sure I’ll be knitting a bit today too…

breaking news.

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Nope, not the president’s reelection. Or any number of the meaningful choices made on Tuesday — including to send more women to Congress, to expand the privileges that come with marriage to more people who love each other. I’m totally psyched about those things. Lots of folks on the internet (well, the parts of the internet I frequent) have written smartly and thoughtfully about Tuesday’s events, so I’m focusing on savory leek bread pudding. Yep, you heard me. There were leeks at the farm this week (my second-last pick-up) and then I saw this recipe, so I made a special trip to the store yesterday. Yoga was canceled, so I had an evening to let things simmer on the stove and bake in the oven. Yum. I made this with whole milk instead of milk and cream, and I left out the chives in favor of more thyme. This is a wonderfully creamy, comforting meal. And this lucky Rooster is heating it up for breakfast right now.

Also, this. I do not get tired of Boh’s sweetness. I hope you’re not sick of it either.

More Snowbird, slowly but surely. Time to eat some leek bread pudding and get myself to the coffee shop to write. Happy Thursday!

forward.

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Forward, both for my Snowbird cardigan and hopefully, the nation. As I write this, I’m waiting for my friend M. (of Sexy Yoda fame) to pick me up so that we can go to our polling place to vote. I’m excited — 4 years ago I voted absentee, so I haven’t voted in-person since 2004, when I worked as an organizer for a non-partisan youth voting initiative. Today is the first time that most of the undergraduates at my university will get to participate in the electoral process. (Note that I did not say the democratic process, because I strongly believe that voting is one of many ways to participate in creating the democracy we want to live in.)

And now I’ve got some unrelated cuteness. Or maybe it could be related, if Boh were running for any sort of office.

Boh is a strong supporter of roasted cauliflower.

Also, handspun shawls. (I was using this one as a makeshift hot water bottle cover yesterday.)

And he yawns, just like everybody else. The sweetness. Happy Election Day, American readers! Please vote.