Daughter

For those of you who have them or are one
Daughter, performed by Loudon Wainright III

Happy American Thanksgiving!

I have FOs to give thanks for sadly no photos yet. I have also started monkey socks with the Fleece Artist sock yarn that Fibreholic spoiled me with back in September. It is a treat to knit with it and I am loving the pattern (I think this Monkey Sock craze may really start to catch on.)

I have updated the button file so please, switch it with your old one, it will look prettier against your coloured backgrounds.

Button Up

For Yarnhog
Download the gif file here



I am almost ashamed to admit that I was ripping back a pair of socks I had intended for my mom for Christmas when I read about Suzanne's movement. Realistically they were not likely to be ready in time for Christmas anyway. The button is my first and I forgot to save is as a gif file for you so it will not have those unsightly white corners on your lovely coloured backgrounds.

Update

Thank you to Leslie A Friend to Knit With for her idea for casting on for the Bones backless shrug which was a total aha! I had thought about casting on from the shoulders but the splits for the arm holes had me flummoxed but now that I have had a little more sleep I can see that she is right. I will redraw the pattern, try a fabric version and swatch some choice yarn for it and keep you all posted. Nobody hold their breath mind you but I will try to keep this timely. It would be nice as a Christmas gift if I can get on it.

Thank you for all your support!

I Call It The Bones Backless Shrug

As I watched Bones (on Fox) the other night the lead character, Temperance Brennan, had on the most adorable shrug over a blue silk shirt. I have searched for a photo of it to no avail. To the best of my recollection the illustration above is the closest I could come to re-creating it. I thought, "Maybe I could knit one?" The problem? I am not so good at knitting that I can tackle knitting my version of the shrug without a few tears and maybe some hair pulling. So I am appealing to you if not just for me, but for the sake of my hair. Does anyone out there know of a pattern like this one? Maybe something I could use as a rough guide? I would even accept some advice as to how to cast on for this sucker. I was envisioning having to start working it in two parts casting on the valleys below the armpits, working the armholes sections separately increasing stitches on the right front and left front to achieve the angles I want, working the middle section with increases on the left back and left front eventually adding several stitches to connect the back section across the upper back and neck and then sewing up the to connect the shoulders. My brain has flipped over in my head. Is this even possible? Does it makes sense to anyone else? Maybe I need to start in the round at each sleeve and join it at the neck? I apologize if my thoughts read a little like Latin. Unless you read Latin in which case they read a little like Greek. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

In Remembrance

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

— John McCrae

On August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Canada, as a member of the British Empire, was automatically at war, and its citizens from all across the land responded quickly. Within three weeks, 45,000 Canadians had rushed to join up. John McCrae was among them. He was appointed brigade-surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Artillery with the rank of Major and second-in-command.

The day before he wrote his famous poem, one of McCrae's closest friends was killed in the fighting and buried in a makeshift grave with a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already beginning to bloom between the crosses marking the many graves. Unable to help his friend or any of the others who had died, John McCrae gave them a voice through his poem. It was the second last poem he was to write.

In Flanders Fields was first published in England's Punch magazine in December, 1915. Within months, this poem came to symbolize the sacrifices of all who were fighting in the First World War. Today, the poem continues to be a part of Remembrance Day ceremonies in Canada and other countries.

– taken from the Veterans Affairs Canada Website

Boxing Day

Every day is boxing day around here. I have tackled packing about 12 boxes to date (35 days until the move). Today the kitchen cupboards got a little lighter. I like having my Tupperware cupboard emptied out, that's right Kristin I am operating on a limited Tupperware supply over here (gasp!). By the week's end I hope to have my kitchen down to the bare essentials. Knitting has been slow, I have tried to finish daughter number two's socks but I am stalled at three inches down on the second sock. My first daughter has been wearing the socks I knit for her to bed. This works out well since a) they are warm and b) she refuses to sleep with a blanket. Is this weird? (I say knowing full well that anything a child does is probably not unique but out of sheer frustration I will say it anyway) I have had the thought that because she used a Grobag for three years the shock of not sleeping with it anymore has driven her to this. I am thinking (hoping) that by the time the temperature drops to sixty degrees at night, inside, we will effectively freeze out the no blanket thing. I don't know how she can do it. I can't even get her to wear a sweater.

This weekend I made a little heaven on a plate. If you have never purchased Fine Cooking before and you like cow — as we say to our daughter who is reading Charlotte's Web and is now more aware of where her meat comes from — then I urge you to get the latest issue for the Fennel & Rosemary Beef Tenderloin with Creamy Mustard Sauce (there are many great recipes in it in addition to this one).



I have tasted this recipe once before (thank you Mama Mia) and it turned out delicious both times. As an aside we used yogurt instead of creme fresh both times for the sauce with great results. Mashed or roasted potatoes make ideal sides. Yum!