TAKE YOUR KNITTING TO WORK DAY

Sometimes the sky is too dark at 6:30am to walk the dog and so I sit quietly and knit for those few stolen moments.  It surprises me to realize something that I never would have guessed -I have become a morning person/knitter.  It was gradual - not unlike the appearance of crow's feet.  One day the bloom of youth - the next, a sullen old harpy!  (One who likes to rise with the birds and knit before dawn).

The Shelter mitts grew so much during the night - are there knitting pixies hiding in the corners?  I love this yarn - it has an airiness about it that is so surprising.  

It feels like a wee bird in the hand!  I'm told that it blooms when washed - can hardly wait.  I took it to work with me and it miraculously continued to grow!  (we had a slow day!)

When I went into the mail room I found the lovely Shanna wearing this gorgeous scarf - she epitomizes what the well-dressed Vassar student is sporting this season!  I think that I should grab my camera and take a walk about campus to photograph the amazing variety of scarves that are showing up ... maybe next week!

The following is a poster that some clever middle management person decided to post in the office.  I am getting dangerously close to ripping it down.  It hurts me to look at it and it lost its meaning about 10 seconds after it appeared!!!  Although I was assured that the Rottie was sedated for quill removal and suffered no long reaching effects, the visual makes me want to chew my nails off.  (or maybe the nails of the person who hung it in the office!)

We could discuss this for a long time, yes?  I mean, is it even POSSIBLE for seven women to work together in a cramped basement with partitioned work areas w/o getting into each other's biz-ness?  I don't think so.  A visual - scenes from the movie 'Jumping Jack Flash' - ones that depict the office 'pool'.  Scale it down, remove any and all windows, install putrid-colored dividers, take away the flamboyant characters and you have my office!!!!  TGIF.  
Another mitt has been brewing -

This is the Susies Reading Mitts pattern from the Dancing Ewe Yarns site.  I am knitting it in an old favorite, Mission Falls 1824 wool.  Good stuff.  I'm still wearing a pair that I made for my dad before he went into the nursing facility.  I pull them out on these cold mornings and wonder what I ever did before I (a) learned to knit and (b) loved my knitting enough to wear it!  
When I got home tonight there were two packages waiting for me - one from Morehouse Merino and one from Sunday Knits.  All hushy-hushy stuff.  Worth the wait, I think.  You may have guessed that I have slipped into production mode.  


Last Christmas I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to kill the pain that the 'silly season' produced within me.  In retrospect, I know those efforts to have been a massive waste of time.  I'd like to take a different path this year - a new approach, a gentler and more patient view of what was once a joyous time.  I heard from the beautiful and wise Nicole - she and I attended the same college many years ago and today she lives in Sweden. (we found each other again through the miracle of Ravelry! Yay!)  She reminded me of how difficult it is in this country, in this culture, NOT to fall prey to the consumer glut at every corner, and it's true.  
Think of it.  If you don't find a Lexus in the driveway, what's the point?  How can you even consider NOT covering her in diamonds?  And isn't every child entitled to electronics to break the bank? 


 I want to spend the month of December in Sweden, sharing laughter and cafe au lait and knitting with Nicole.  THAT'S what I want for Christmas, Santa.