The reason this little passage is funny to me is because THE SAME EXACT THING happened to me. I’m not sure if Coleman’s is very well known here in the States, but I happen to have an Irish mother-in-law with a fondness for mustard and we usually have a little jar of it in the fridge. The mustard is very spicy, and for most folks must be consumed in moderation.

My parents were visiting one time, and we were having sandwiches. Naturally, Gerald got the mustard out and as my Dad put together his sandwich, he slathered a large amount of Coleman’s on the bread. Gerald warned him, “That mustard is very spicy.” My Dad may have mumbled acknowledgment, but sat down to eat his sandwich anyway. After his first bite, his face got red and his eyes were watering, and he finally acknowledged, “Boy, that’s hot.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but today I have become even more fond of EZ.

An unrelated picture, just to prove that we have snow. Again. All the woollies are getting a big workout this year!

Poor Jerry; he often tries to drop in an “I did not know that.” But his timing is always off. It’s really not funny when he says it, ever. I feel bad for him, especially because he feels like if he could just nail this one joke, he’d be the man of the hour.

The thing is, most of what Jerry says is funny. Not usually laugh out loud funny, but seriously, quietly funny. He’s been reading The Guinness Book of World Records. About once a day out of the blue, he’ll tell you the world record for something.  So funny. I wish he wasn’t so concerned about this one particular joke. He’s a funny, funny kid. I love him so much that it sounds silly just saying I love him.

For Christmas, I knew Jerry wanted to buy me yarn (he’s funny and smart). So I filled out the “wish list” cards they had at my LYS and sent Gerald off with the kids one Saturday. On Christmas morning, I got two gorgeous skeins of Cascade 220. One bright blue. One bright orange.  Beautiful. This weekend, I finally got around to making him a hat.

The pattern is Kirsten Kapur’s Wood Hollow Hat. I used a size 5 needle (instead of a 6) and made the ribbing a bit shorter than in the pattern. Jerry is 7, but he’s got quite a noggin. This fits him perfectly.

The yarn, of course, is Cascade 220. The color is…9457, one of The Heathers. It took less than a skein, even with the ginormous pompom.

Jerry doesn’t really want the pompom, so he requested it be made removeable. “Like with a tie-clip or something.”

I couldn’t help myself and had to make the pompom anyway, even though I knew he didn’t want it.

That last picture immediately reminded me of another back porch photo shoot we had nearly 3 years ago. My how time flies:

march 2007

He’s all big now.

And funny as hell.

This sweet little bag was a gift from my friend, Jen. She has recently started making them and selling them in her etsy shop, yarn play cafe. There’s a blog, too.

Funny story. So Jen sent me the bag before Christmas and I ripped open the package, got very excited about it, then set the bag down and forgot about it. Actually, I think the bag came the day I had my second knitting class with the students at Jerry’s school.  I was busy and nervous and when I got home from class the bag was nowhere. Nowhere! I asked the kids but no one had a clue. The bag was missing for days! Weeks!  I was so embarrassed that I had received such a beautiful handmade gift and then I had gone and lost it. I looked and looked but couldn’t find it. It finally turned up one day when I was looking for something else. It was behind my bedside table, under other stuff, and I really do wish I knew how it got there.

Jen keeps adding new styles of bags with all sorts of cool sayings on them. It’s all I can do not to buy one of each. Thanks, Jen.

As for the secret knitting projects? They’re awesome. And you’re gonna love them. No kidding. But my lips are sealed for now!

Oh! And I almost forgot! I made a very sizable donation to Doctor’s Without Borders, thanks to all the wonderful knitters who bought an End of May pattern from Jan. 15 – Jan 31st.  I feel so privileged to be able to help, and I couldn’t have been so generous without all of your purchases. A big thanks to each and every one of you.

And to close it down for today, here are some SNOW pictures from our very snowy last week. All pictures, I’ll have you know, feature hand-knits.

In that last one, I’m wearing one of the first hats I ever knit! It was knit back and forth and then I actually seamed it! Mattress stitch FTW!

Stay home & stay warm!

BUT! There is a very exciting event happening in my part of the world, and it is quickly approaching, and if you live around here — the Piedmont Triad area of NC, Central NC, etc. — then this announcement is for you!

As you can see, I am helping (that term being used v. loosely) my friend Cindy host a Knit-In & Yarn Swap! I’ve been to a fiber swap before, but I happen to be a yarn swap virgin. So I am super-duper excited. I need to go through my stash before next Sunday to see what I’m willing to trade, and I’ll probably bring copies of my patterns to sell, too.

If you plan on coming, please drop Cindy a line…her email is listed above. Bring your unloved stash, and bring friends! See you there!

I can’t do much, but I’m doing a small bit. For all End of May hat or mittens patterns sold in my Pattern Store or on Ravelry between January 15th and January 31st, I will donate $1 to Doctors Without Borders to help with relief efforts in Haiti and worldwide. If you’ve been thinking of buying either or both patterns, now is the time!

Many designers are donating a portion of their pattern sales, and I urge you to support their efforts! To browse all the “Help for Haiti” patterns on Ravelry, see this page. You can even refine your search to include “Help for Haiti” patterns that you have queued, or that you have favorited.

Thank you!

The dates for the pictures are below each one.

Just learning to walk. January 14, 2007 (original post)

Still zipped (from the “Zipped, Unzipping, Unzipped” Series) September 11, 2007

How big is Maggie? SOOO BIG. (post about the mittens) December 3, 2007

Tire swinging. April 7, 2008

Big snow, with Tomten (you can see the hood) under the coat for warmth. January 20, 2009

Still fits. January 9, 2010

What a sweater! It’s part of Maggie’s life, and a dear part of my memories. She hasn’t worn it much over the past year, but I’m pleased to see it still fits. It desperately needs some zipper attention. When I put the zipper in, more than two years ago, I had not yet developed my patience for finishing.  If I were to fix the zipper, I think I would take it all the way out and start over.  Do it right this time. Maybe even get a better zipper.

I wonder, will it fit in another year? I hope it will. Good old Tomten.

Out of the 976 bathroom pictures I attempted, this was the one I liked best. It also, thankfully, was taken after I realized that I should clean my mirror.

Pattern: February Lady Sweater (rav link), by Pamela Wynne. It’s free! And it’s been knit by thousands of other knitters!
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed. 9 balls for the 44″ size. Felt mildly like string while knitting, but blocked like a friggen dream. SO SOFT.
Needles: Size US 5 to get the correct gauge.

With Pam’s blessing (and adhering to her policies for using her free pattern) I am teaching a February Lady Sweater class at Common Threads Yarn Shop in February. When I delivered my finished sweater to be displayed in the store, no fewer than four shoppers tried it on. Although it was a tad big on some of them, the sweater flattered everyone! It’s a funny thing when people of varying heights and body types can all look good in the same style of sweater. Cool and weird.

**Aside: I’ve updated my class schedule! Check it out if you’re a local knitter!**

So yeah. This is only the second sweater I’ve ever knit for myself and I can’t even wear it yet! I’ll get it back once the class is over. Speaking of sweaters I’ve knit myself, I’m currently wearing the other one. I’ve had it on since last night and I didn’t take it off when I went to sleep. Don’t know what came over me except I’m sick and tired of the very, very cold weather we’ve had this winter in North Carolina.  It’ll feel practically balmy later today when we reach the expected high of 45 degrees F.

Like the buttons? Me, too. They’re wood. And they’re dimply. This pic is also my first in a series of 52 self-portraits that I plan to do this year. And in a shocking (to me) twist, I’ve already completed week 2. Thought for sure I would tire of it already.  Go me!

In other news, check out these End of May Mittens. The red and white combo definitely makes me slap my forehead – why didn’t I think of that!?!? And these! They make me so happy. Happy, happy, happy.

…knit more in 2010. I’m not even kidding! Knit more, sleep less!

Hope you had a great time ringing in the New Year. All the best for 2010!

Okay, so the pictures have nothing to do with cheese steak sandwiches, but this new pattern that I designed is called Talkeetna, named after the town where I once had a cheese steak sandwich with my future husband.

The pattern is available for FREE because it has been published in the online magazine for kids, Petite Purls!

Get the Pattern: Talkeetna
See my pattern page for Talkeetna here.
To fit: Children from 2-8 years.
Yarn: Lanaloft Sports Weight. If you knit both hat and mittens, you’ll need two balls of each color. For just the hat OR just the mittens, one ball of each color is sufficient.
Needles: Size 3 (3.25mm) or 4 (3.5 mm) depending on desired finished size.

For all the very important details, and the pattern itself, please see the Talkeetna Pattern at Petite Purls!

I would also like you to take special note of the prolific pompoms in this design. The eagle eyed among you will count five, yes five, pompoms. I’m telling you, if I could have fit more on, I would have.

This is the first time a pattern of mine has been published by someone other than me, and I’m so very excited. There are some amazing designs for kids in the issue! I love them all! Some of my faves are the Cheery Scrap Cap by Kate Oates, Little Red by Aine Mahon, and the sophisticated Chanelette by Stephanie Voyer.

In other news, my Noro scarf and Laurel hat paired with my thrift store vest is my new wardrobe. I think I actually match! Not that I’m too concerned about being matchy when it’s cold, but it’s nice. Nice to be all matchy. And I am in North Carolina, so you can take “cold” cum grano salis.

Note to self: try to get some tinted lip gloss or SOMETHING for crying out loud. Geez.

In even more news, Christmas shopping is done but the baking hasn’t even begun and the tree is bare but for the lights and all the ******* I’m trying to knit are not even finished let alone shipped and if I’m going to reach my goals I seriously need to stay off the computer over the next couple of weeks.

Merry pre-Christmas! See you on the flip side!