My mother finished the king sized quilt she’s been working on for me for years. I love it!

Then, if that weren’t enough to blow me away – Daddy gave me a spinning wheel! He made it out of jarrah wood. It’s got ash splines in the wheel; but, otherwise, it’s 100% jarrah. It’s gorgeous and the weight of it is surreal. It definitely won’t be walking across the floor when I use it.

Plus a gorgeous cedar box. And, Dad let me play with his lathe and make myself a jarrah rolling pin out of the left over wood. How much does my Daddy love me? Well, he found out he was allergic to jarrah when he started making the wheel. Yet, he pushed on through and finished it for me – in a wood he’s allergic to!

Finally, we pieced together the family blanket. Each of the blocks was made by someone in the family:

Emily – age 10 – did the brown and blue variegated squares.
Jessica – age 12 – did the rainbow variegated squares.
Jason – age 17 – did the ivory squares.
Julia – my sister – did the maroon squares.
I did the oatmeal squares.
Mom did the green squares.

I did a key square to fill the one spot that was left empty. As you can see, not everyone got their full number of squares done.

I love how it turned out.

With that taken care of, I sat down to read my email and came across this in my inbox:

I’m a new knitting author (book forthcoming in February on the global history of women and textiles). It’s called: Knitting the Threads of Time: Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft. It’s being published by New World Library and Bernadette Murphy (who wrote Zen and the Art of Knitting) has said of it:

“A richly textured exploration of the knitting craft — as a source of warmth, a sign of love shared, and a tangible link to the fiber artists who precede us. . . . Anyone who shares the human condition will rejoice in Nora Murphy’s insightful prose.”

I’m wondering if you might be interested in getting a review copy of the book in January with the idea of writing about Knitting the Threads of Time on your great blog.

I’m thrilled to review this book, so stay tuned for the review. I have to work out details with the marketing people, of course; but, it will be nice to write reviews for a knitting book, for once. All the reviews I’ve written over the years have been for self-help, religious, relationship, history (which I love) and/or cookbooks. This book will blend two of my favorite subjects – fibre arts and history.

As for my own progress in the fibre arts – I am making progress on the baby blanket. Though I still stress on if it will actually lay flat. That’s one of the biggest issues on working from the outside in. I think it will – but I won’t be able to tell until I’m darn near finished.

I started a present for my sister (who reads this so no more information on that until it’s given). I had just realized the other day, when I was thinking of what gifts I’ve made over the years, that other than a cross-stitched hand towel …I’ve never made anything for my sister. So, I am working to rectify that. I figured I’d give it to her for Christmas, but she wrote me an email asking me to finish the cluster pattern squares for her and the girls for the crocheted family blanket we are making. She and the girls can figure out the other two patterns, but this one is confusing them. I will do 7 of the 8 here and keep one for finishing up there on Christmas day so they can see how the pattern goes. It’s one of those that’s deceptively simple – but, how it has to be worded can be highly confusing.

Like how I do a toe up cast on in knitting…I really need to bribe Sue Ann with massively awesome chocolate and get her to write it up for me…and supply photos with it.

Eep!! It’s time for me to boogie to work. I hope all of you are having an absolutely delightful week and are looking forward to time off from work/time with friends/time with family. I will be in Alabama from the 22nd to the 2nd and having someone over to house sit. Here’s hoping the house in still standing when I return.

It appears that a 2×2 rib looks nothing like a 3×1 rib. Who’da thunk it? So, yeah. I ripped it all out and will start over again. However, before I got started back on the sock, I had to do a block for the kiddo’s coverlet. I’ll take a photo tonight when I get home – don’t hold it against me, it was the first thread crochet I’d done in a while. By the end of the block I was back in the swing of things, so the rest will work out nicely. I’ll be doing 82 heart blocks and then spelling out the last name (six characters). This is being done in Filet Crochet – and I think it will make a really nice, summer weight coverlet.

Then I’ll knit up a heavier one like what we girls in the LSSK group generally make for the new babies that arrive. Very nice little blocks with feet and stars and angels and the Lone Star State (of course) all worked up and sewn together.

Yes, I’m still working on the socks and the hat. I’m pretty much done with my blocks for the crochet along, so the only thing that remains there is for all of us to sew them together over the holidays at my family’s place.

Here’s what the squares will look like – only a bit nicer since this was the first. Notice the improvement toward the end – top.  Plus, it’s unblocked.  I think it will turn out really nice and be easy to take care of.

Kate – my best friend – also dumped some yarn on me on Sunday and begged me to make her a hat and wrist warmers for her ride in to work.  The crazy woman rides her bike year round to work.  Every day.  She’s certifiable, in my opinion.  But to each their own, eh?  Told her if she got me a bit more, I could make her matching leg warmers too.  Might as well go all out, eh?  I’ll be doing it in the Harald cable pattern from the book Viking Knits.  And, I think I’ll modify it a bit to put on removable ear flaps for her.

I’m still working on the seed-stitch block afghan – it’s coming along; but it’s one of those “in between” projects.  So I don’t really devote a whole lot of focussed time on it.  Especially as it’s getting larger.

The crochet along afghan is moving right along.  I have one more of “my” blocks to make.  My son pouted that he hadn’t been invited to join in – so I gave him a hook and away he went.  Didn’t do too bad a job either!  Especially for someone who’s turned his nose up at crocheting for the last 10 years (he used to crochet with me all the time when he was younger).  So now the family block afghan will have blocks from all the grandkids, myself, my sister and my mother.  Yay!  This just makes me happy in a ridiculously big way.

In addition, I’ve started crocheting blocks for the blanket – I’m using Red Heart SuperSaver and Red Heart Fleck.  I’ve found the easiest way to work them is with an N hook and a tape measure.  Unlike knitting, I actually have to keep count of my stitches per row because it’s so easy to start leaving a stitch out – which gives you a parrallelagram instead of a rectangle … not cool.  But, I am not worrying about how many rows I go, so long as I get to the desired 10 inches.  

So, the only thing I have to worry about is keeping myself somewhat close to 8  inches across, and not skipping any stitches.  The pattern is so easy to do, it flies right along.  I got one block done in two evenings. Had I more time to just sit, I could probably have completed a whole block in one night.

Bratnik - Red Heart is available just about anywhere, which is why I chose it.  You and the girls and mom choose what colours you want to work with and so long as it’s Fleck or SuperSaver (or Classic) you’ll be golden.  I am using a “natural” (think undyed) look, so it will go with anything you guys choose.  I’d really like for the girls, you and mom to choose colours that really appeal to you so that the blanket comes out with all our personalities shining through.

Kaylee’s sweater has been washed, blocked and dried and now just needs to be wrapped and boxed.

I found a perfect present for dad.  Mom and my aunts are covered as well.  Now to figure out what in the world to do for everyone else!

I think Jaz will get one of these crocheted blankets.  They are quick, easy and lovely.  I think he’ll love one – especially if I do it in colours he loves…like red and black or something.

That just leaves the girls, Bratnik, the BIL (he’s darn near impossible to think of what to get), my uncles, Brian and Lesli.  I hate trying to figure out what men would like – I mean, I seriously have no idea what Uncle Bobby or Uncle Robert would want. 

At least I’m making an effort to have stuff for people this year.  I even got a fairly early start on it – that’s a first.

In addition to this book, I snagged the following:

Mediterranean Knotted Lace – by Elena Dickson

and

Hispanic Lace and Lace Making – by Florence L. May