The Great Cowl KAL

This is the first of my 5 cowls in 50 days. I was happy to have a perfect yarn in my stash that had been sitting around for quite a while, just waiting to be knit up. It was a fun and fast knit and may even get some use on chilly days. It's called Flurries Cowl, but we sure don't ever see flurries down here in sunny Tucson.

I did keep to my finish or rip program last month. I ripped a sweater and rewound the yarn for another use. Took a while to rip it out, but it felt good to get it out of the closet. Just need to figure out what skill I'm going to learn this month.

I also need to dust off the spinning wheel and play with some fiber. It's been too long sitting in the corner untouched, and I have so much great fiber to spin up.

New Year and New Tricks

Well it's about time that I learned a few new knitting skills so I've compiled a list. I wrote out my list right after Jan. 1st but I've lost and refound it several times, so decided I better put it somewhere safe. This year I'd like to learn :

Provisional cast on

Entrelac

Intarsia

Beading a knitted item

Advance my meager crochet skills

Brioche

Nupps

Moebius

Continental knitting

Contiguous

Fair Isle

Make a toy (poor Sheldon)

Cable without a cable needle

Toe up socks

I'll probably come up with a few things to add to this list, but figure this is a healthy start.

My first "trick" was cables without a cable needle. I've got the hang of it, but have only done three items with cable to the front, so I can't quite check it off yet......but I'm still happy with all three projects. Next to find a pattern with cables to the front and back.

Winter in Tucson

It was quite a surprise to wake up to snow last week. I was very busy running around outside in my pajamas taking pictures as I knew the snow wouldn't last long. It was a rare but beautiful morning. Had to throw in another great sunset photo from the night before last.

Cold in Tucson???

It's actually quite cold here, although I really shouldn't complain. A few plants have tried to freeze, but desert life is pretty tough. The cold weather has also gotten the javelina hungry. They've been busy digging up and munching away on anything and everything. They'll just dig down to the roots if something has a few too many spines. Jack had to scurry back to the house when he went to get the newspaper this morning because of a mother and her babies. Later they decided to stroll around the house and see if there was anything new to eat. I finally had to make loud noises and chase them away when they started in on the munching again. They're so ugly, but also so cute, that I have a hard time getting mad at them.....especially the furry little babies.

Is it winter?

I can't believe how much I love being away from snow and cold weather. Friends are talking about below freezing temperatures and I'm running around in a tank top. This is my idea of winter!

Have decided to not do the knitting frenzy for Christmas this year....just making a few small gifts for the gals at the club where we work out. Hopefully Jack can get back to some walking on the treadmill next week. Everyone at the club misses him and he's been hampered by his bum hip for way too long. I must say it's a brutal surgery and I really hope I never have to have it done. All the PT gals at the hospital said that Jack's doctor would be the one if they needed to have a hip or knee redone. We're lucky to have so many good doctors down here in Tucson.

Have a few summer tops on the needles....one of my friends was giving me a hard time about that....guess I better get going on more wooly items. Azzu's shawl was a lifesaver for hours of knitting at the hospital, and I really like the way it turned out.

Rip-O-Rama

It's been a week of backwards knitting. Sometimes you just need to have projects go away and get on with the new. First we had the sweater that was almost finished, but the yarn was unraveling, then the shawl where I absolutely could not find my place. I may just rip out a few more things while I'm at it.

I'll need some easy projects for the near future anyway, as Jack goes in next week for his hip resurface. It's pretty close to getting a new hip, all the same recovery, a lovely 12 inch incision, and all the same physical therapy afterward. Guess I'll be playing nurse for a bit. It will be so good to not see Jack in pain. We were on a run in June and he just said he had to stop as his hip was really hurting. Turns out his joint was almost bone to bone. I was glad when the doctor said it wasn't caused by running since we both used to run marathons. It was great that they squeezed his surgery in so he can get healed up and back to his normal active life....just no more running for him.

Terrific Tucson

It's always fun in Wisconsin, but I'm really happy to be back to our new home in Tucson. My friend Meggan did the drive across the country with me as Jack is having a lot of problems with his hip. Meggan and I did the leisurely trip with stops in Denver, Santa Fe and Sedona. I was home for two days and then off to Hawaii. September was a whirlwind, but I'm getting settled back into my normal exercise and knitting, spinning routine. Finally getting around to finishing some knitting projects. I had quite a few neglected projects that deserved some attention. I can't believe the end of the year is closing in.