Alone, All Alone

This evening my dh left to take 2 of the kids to Youth Group. He took 2 younger kids with him just for the ride. One of our children is at my sister's house (dh will be picking him up). And the 6th one was working, but is going to stop by my sister's and then go pick up the 2 that are at Youth Group for us. So I am alone. Alone. ALONE.

I don't know whether to go have a LONG shower, take a nap, or do other stuff. So I elected the other stuff. I have dyed a skein of yarn for my7kids.etsy.com and have made a pair of very gothic, felted lace, black angora fingerless mitts for HeartFeltFun.

And, I finished my block for the day. This is the 2nd yellow and purple block for one of the healing quilts, and my 4th and last for those. Friday I will be able to mail them off. This one is called Harlequin Star. It is very striking and not boring. My daughter put hers together wrong, and I like it even better. LoL.

It is COLD here today. Supposed to be cold again tomorrow too, with a chance for snow. Everybody around here will be wiping out the grocery stores from bread, milk, and eggs. Because if there are FIVE fluffy, floating flakes of snow, these people panic that they are going to be snowed in. And of course if you are snowed in, you need staples, like bread, milk, and eggs. People actually call in to work saying they can't get there because of the snow! Wow, what would they do if they lived where I grew up in Ohio. Guess they would knuckle under and starve.

I am down 4 pounds since New Year's Eve. I think I must have shivered it off. LoL.

Ok that's all the news I have for now. Wow. I am ALONE. Think I will go have that long, hot shower after all.

About Those Gloves

Last year Jade didn't have a date to the company Christmas Dinner. She said she wasn't going to go, but my dh told her he would get one of our sons to accompany her. We strung Artemas along for a week or two. Every time he would ask what this lady was like, we would say, she makes good conversation. She wears sensible shoes. You'll probably like her. She isn't anything like a librarian. She isn't a day over 60.

We told him he should take her a gift, since he was her "date." So he did... scented candles and handmade soap. How cute. When she finally arrived at the dinner, he about fell over to find she is less than 2 years older than him. Blonde. Nice. Cute.

Later she was a cashier on the returns desk where my dh works, and it was cold near the doors. I said, Jade needs some fingerless gloves, so she can wear them and still use the cash register. Another co-worker was standing nearby. She said, "Do you know Jade?" I said sure... and then at the same time, Jade and I said, "She has been dating my son for about 3 months now (since Christmas)!" LOL. So it has been a running joke. But not really a joke to my son, he is absolutely smitten with her.

When I joined Etsy, I bought some hand dyed wool in her favorite color (green). Of course non-immediate things get pushed to the back burner. This past week, my dh says, Jade says she and her roommate, who works here too, are going to the Christmas party and her "date slot" is open, LoL. So I broke out the needles and the wool and some Patons Fun Fur and knitted these fingerless gloves, so my son would have another gift for his "date."

I think the wool was originally Cascade 220. I used a size 5 needles. Knitted 36 st, 10 rows in 1/1 rib holding the 2 yarns together... then 12 rows in 1/1 rib, knitting the k stitches through the back loop, and using 11 st on the front of the glove for the 9-st cable and a purl on each side. I did the cable in twisted stitch too. Increased 4 st around (to 40 st total) and knitted even for 14 rows. made a gusset for the thumb until I had 14 st. Put the glove body on holders and joined the thumb, worked 6 rows and bound off. Picked up 4 st on the bottom of the thumb, and knitted around for 5 rows. Began the 1/1 twisted rib again, still cabling up the front for 6 rows. Then twisted rib only for 6 rows and done. I actually did short-row across the palm of the glove and back once, to make the palm longer for when the hand is extended.

The cable is 9 st, the cable is worked over the first 6 st and to the back every 8 rows, and over the last 6 st and to the front every 8 rows, offset by 4 rows from the first cable crossing.

My own design and only my 2nd attempt at a mitt with a true thumb (as opposed to just a hole in the side), and I didn't have a pattern. I think they turned out quite well!