Dum...dum...da dum....

In case you were wondering, that's me humming the wedding march. :) So, Juan and I are officially engaged and in the process of planning two fairly last-minute (but NOT shotgun) weddings. One will be in June in Maine and the other in August in Spain. We only picked these two places because they rhyme.

Thanksgiving was wonderful by the way- I've almost forgotten about the traffic and miserable weather on the ride home. But I will not forget anytime soon about the games (Apples to Apples -VERY fun group game) and the delicious food.

Ok, got work to do!

Recent Knits: Take 2

What I'm eating: OREO COOKIE BALLS These are soooo easy and yet taste as if they required three days in the kitchen. Make them for the next holiday party and be prepared for excessively lavish praise. All you need is: 1 package of oreo cookies, 1 8 oz box of softened cream cheese and chocolate to melt (this could be almond bark, candy chocolate, a candy bar or chips). #1. Throw the softened cream cheese and cookies in your food processor until they are well mixed and all the cookies are incorporated. #2. Put this mixture in your fridge or freezer, depending on how soon you want to eat these babies- you need them cold enough to roll easily. #3. When they're ready, roll them into smallish balls and then dip in the melted chocolate (the microwave is the easiest way to safely melt chocolate without burning-just put it on 3 minutes and check every 30 seconds or so). #4. Put them on wax paper and back in the fridge or freezer until outer chocolate hardens- then enjoy! You can make so many variations of these- low fat, white or dark chocolate, with mint or peanut butter oreos, etc.

What I’m wearing: Salina, from Vintage Knits, with Rowan felted tweed in herb. I actually started knitting this sweater in January, but have been working on so many other things that I just got around to finishing it this week. It fits PERFECTLY and I love, love, love the color of this yarn! In addition to being a beautiful shade of green, it has flecks of blue, black and white.


What I’m knitting: Basketweave scarf, from Stitch n’ Bitch Nation, with unidentified variegated blue/green yarn. This is a fun project because it’s easy enough to knit while watching tv, but more interesting than regular stockinette stitch. Also, it’s a quick knit, so practically instant gratification- yeah!

Project-in-progress on hand-made wooden needles from Maine

I hope you have a safe and delicious Thanksgiving holiday!

Recent Knits: Take 1

I completed a couple of projects this week. First, I finished the Debbie Bliss Biker Jacket from The Tweed Collection. I don't remember the brand of yarn I used, but it is a gorgeous charcoal gray tweed with flecks of orange, maroon, green, white, and blue- here's a detail that gives you a general idea:

And here are some more shots:

Detail of front with zipper


Right sleeve and front


Can't have a jacket without the bike!

Also, I started a new project last night- it is super difficult and like nothing I've ever done before- lace knitting. But I'm tired of just doing knit and purl, so I thought I was up for the challenge. It's Rowan's Butterfly, the camisole version that made the cover of the n. 37 issue:

If you look closely, you'll notice that this not only includes
lace, but also beads, another new knitting skill for me. And here are my beads and the yarn I'll be using- Rowan Kid Silk haze. (Which I received free for renewing my Rowan subscription.)

Now, knowing this would be difficult, I checked out a Butterfly on-line knit-along and read all the trouble people had with it, cutting and pasting pertinent entries into Word and organizing them by topic for easy referral when necessary. I consulted my knitting books on the terms in the pattern and instructions for beading. I spent at least a couple of hours of prep work and felt confident that I would be ready to start. Right. I'm not even sure how many times I re-started, never able to get past the first five rows. So, after nearly four hours of knitting (this does not include the previous two hours of prep work), this is what I came up with:


And, as you’ll surely notice, I will have to rip this out and start over because I obviously did something wrong. So, for now, Butterfly can go back into its cocoon, and perhaps I’ll try again in a couple of days when I’ll be in the car for a long ride to New York- less distractions that way.

Tomorrow I’ll add photos of my other finished sweater this week, and my other project-in-progress that is actually fun to knit.

So, where's the knitting?

Although I originally started this blog for mostly knitting purposes, I've yet to post anything along that line. And that's because I need to take pictures of projects and add them in somehow- I'm still learning how this all works. I used to work with html and web pages, but it's been a while, so all I can say is soon, soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to post some shots of our recent trip to Chicago. We were there right after the White Sox won the World Series, which is funny since I was in Boston when the Red Sox won last year. Then, I was too lazy to stand out in the cold for the rally, but this year, it was a gorgeous day and I was there anyway, so I figured why not?


Magnificent Mile


Mobi, me, and the Chicago skyline


At the rally. Go Red ...ummmm I mean, White Sox!


G.O.B. kicked us out of here when we tried to walk to our car with Mobi.
No dogs allowed!!! Even walking through!


An unusual parking garage


Notice the beads- she's got team spirit.

Película of the Week: La niña de tus ojos

Last night we showed a movie for the students who take Spanish here. It was part of our weekly Spanish and Latin American Film Series- an opportunity for them to see foreign movies, hear Spanish spoken, and get some extra credit. For some reason, the DVD player only put the movie on Spanish and the English subtitles didn't work. But they all stayed and watched it anyway.

It's about a group of Spanish actors that go to Germany in 1938 to make a movie in two versions: Spanish and German. The film they are shooting is set in Spain, but since they are filming in Germany, there's a lot of play with the contrasts between these two supposedly disparate countries. And you end up questioning what makes a country more savage- a lack of refined culture or cruelty. It's a very funny movie for those who know a little about the culture and Spain's history during the 30s. Though I would say the comedy is more on the darker side, since it does deal with fascism, Nazis and concentration camp prisoners. The cinematography is excellent and the actors are all the big comedic characters of Spanish cinema. Plus, Penelope Cruz is in it, faking a Malagueña accent, which I think the students liked since she was a familiar face for them.

It's Winter!!!!

So, it actually snowed last night. People kept talking about it, saying it would happen, but I refused to believe. Then, there I was in shivasana during yoga class, supposedly on my way to blissful nirvana, when someone says "hey, look out the window!" And what do we see but soft, fluffy flakes coming down. I have to admit, I really didn't mind as much as I thought I would. It was very cozy to be in the house last night and this morning reading under my quilt and seeing the snow come down outside.

It wasn't so great when I had to walk to school later this morning. However, I decided to make the best of it, so I piled on the layers, put my I-pod on Ravi Shankar to conjure up imagines of warm, exotic India, and headed out the door. About two blocks into my 35-minute walk, a woman pulls over and offers to take me to the university, since it was on her way. (She assumed I was a student). She was extremely nice, and while she talked about her kids in high school, I couldn't help but notice that she had a gold hoop in her left eyebrow. This was one hip mama, on whom the Karma gods are certainly smiling today. One more reason to love Winona!

3...2...1...Blast off!!!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for about a year now. There are several knitting blogs that I frequent, and I've wanted to join in the online dialogue. I find people's comments and pictures helpful for my own projects, and perhaps I can help someone myself, someday. Also, since I moved to Minnesota last January, I now live multiple states away from all friends and family, and this seems a great way to keep them updated on my goings-on, especially since I am absolutely horrendous with email and phone communication. I'm hoping people will also comment and let me know what they are up to. Additionally, a blog serves as a nice journal, something I never seem to have time to maintain anymore. Soooo... all these reasons (and a little study procrastination) have culminated in my not putting it off any longer. So, here it is!