Post Thanksgiving

I spent a lot of last week getting the house ready for out-of-town guests for the Thanksgiving weekend. It was good to get some stuff cleared out - either to the thrift store or into the garbage and get my office somewhat tidied up so the sofabed could be pulled out.

I did a lot of cooking (for me) on the weekend and we've been enjoying leftovers ever since Sunday. Yum! I can coast on leftovers for about 3 more days.

I'm having lunch tomorrow with a friend who is undergoing treatment for colon cancer. I knit him a soft, light chemo hat with two colourways of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend using Jared Flood's Turn A Square pattern. I'll do a heavier one for the colder weather next. Here it is folded up.

It's pretty big. I'm hoping Robbie has a big head. ;-) (model: Skip)

I had it ready to cast off the last 8 stitches when I realized it was WAY too big so I frogged it completely and reduced the number of stitches. After re-knitting, it's still pretty big (pictured above) but it will have to do. I think there's probably enough yarn to knit a second one.

Tonight, I started Alana Dakos' Shawl Collared Cowl which I had seen at Soper Creek Yarn on the weekend. I didn't have the right chunky yarn in my stash but then realized I could double worsted to get chunky weight so I'm using two strands of Bergère de France Merinos in the Caresse colourway.

I can probably finish it in a day or two.

Today was the October meeting of my spinning and weaving guild, the Shuttlebugs, in the Greenwood Recreation Centre. Carol guided us through our project this month, which was a Christmas ornament using bent copper wire and a few beads.

I really enjoy "Make and Take" workshops.

After a summer of wearing sandals and flip-flops, my heels have taken a beating. It's been too warm to wear socks to bed but I needed something to cover my heels after I put some heel cream on my feet before turning in for the night. So I knit a little heel sock.

Basically, I knit about an inch of ribbed cuff, knit the heel flap, turned the heel, picked up the stitches on the sides of the heel flap, decreased for the gussets and knit a bit more ribbing before casting off.

My toes stay cool and the heel cream stays put.

Ollie (the best cat I've ever had) was a delightful host this weekend and, as usual, charmed our visitors. Here he is catching up on his sleep after an eventful Thanksgiving.

"I use my tail to keep my feet warm!"