On the Needle


So, yeah, I was looking for a catchy title for the latest missive. It's amazing what a day off can do to your head. I have another pot of amazing mulligan in the slow cooker - actually, it's cooling since it simmered all nite. I found a leftover Thanksgiving ham on sale for 30% off the other day & bought it. Since there was enough ham for 15 people, I divided it up & froze several bags. To my surprise, it was a spiral cut ham, so I chopped it up & made two pots of soup right away. There's ham, corn & potato soup cooling - I thicken it with instant mashed spuds too. I had a taste for breakfast, added more pepper & some sour creme - Mmmmmmm, yumm!! Most of it will go to the Ex - just keeping my inheritance safe!!! he he he I also bought a huge local cabbage the size of a pumpkin so I made ham & cabbage soup for me. I like lots of pepper in mine, he doesn't! One of the things I really love about Fall & Winter is soup - along with wool sweaters, ice cold clear days & wood stoves. I used to have the kettle & soup pot simmering on the old wood stove in the winter in my little house.


And that brings us up to wool sweaters. I've seen the light or is it 'felt the cold' & de-bagged my Briggs & Little wool sweater in progress. I need something warm. Now. I have been wearing my fuchsia wool sweater a lot lately but it's fancy - I want something to lay about in. To sit outside & feed the birds in. Something long with pockets for my fingerless gloves. I've got most of it finished. It's knit in one piece to the armholes & then split for fronts & back. I put a deep armhole into it & intend to pick up the sleeve stitches, short row the shoulder & taper it to a snug cuff. Not sure about big collar or hood yet. Here's an old pic of the side vent & bottom. I've carried the garter up the fronts & will frame the collar or hood in the same. I've finished the fronts with the deep armholes & am working on the back. I haven't decided about a front zip or buttons as yet - maybe just loops & a couple of odd buttons will do . . .

My purple sweater is almost done but it's going to be too light to wear outside - I could use it in the warehouse on Sundays though. I just about froze my butt off last week!! I still have to go thru all my bins & see if I can find the deep purple yarn to finish off the fronts & trim the collar. I know there's a whole sweater's worth of deep purple hidden away somewhere! Reminder to self - buy SEE-THRU bins for yarn!!!


Two Wallabies in the basket & one more almost finished!!! I've got about an inch of the yoke done on number three! I changed the yarn to the pastel green, pink & white for the yoke. I like this one better than the yarn with blue in it. It's really looking very cute & I think the solid bottom with the variegated yoke is the nicest look in this yarn. Most sweaters take between 4 & 6 balls of yarn - I'm making size 4 to 8 kids. When I get 6 done, they can go off to Knitopia to be sent to Afghanistan. Only 80 more balls to go . . .