Mitts



Click on the photo to enlarge

I've been on a mitt craze lately. The cooler weather has inspired me, and these are fun and quick to knit. I wear them on evening walks with the dogs or in the house when my hands are cold but I still need to use my fingers and can't wear gloves. They also keep your wrists warm and flexible. I have to make a few more pairs to get the fit right--the ones on the right are a little loose. The ones on the left are for a friend with little hands, so they were made intentionally small. I've discovered that they need to be knit on the snug side as they stretch quite a bit.

Here are the yarn and pattten specifics: The eggplant-colored mitts on the left are made of "zealana" a worsted weight New Zealand wool, and the pattern, available on ravelry, is "Symmetrical Braided Gauntlets" by Rachel Calado. The middle ones, "Maine Morning Mitts," designed by Clara Parkes and also on ravelry, are made of Noro "Taiyo," a cotton, silk, wool and nylon blend (a heavy worsted weight). These are my favorites. The mitts on the right are made of Cascade Yarns "128 Superwash" (a bulky weight), and the pattern, "Cabled Fingerless Mittens," is by Fran Jepperson. I got it for free when I bought the yarn at the yarn store in Anacortes when we were there on the Labor Day weekend.

Catching Up with Projects

It's been a while since I've posted any finished projects, so tonight I thought I would try to remedy that just a bit. In addition to the things shown here, I've finished three pairs of socks, a dishcloth or two, and maybe even yet another scarf or shawlette. The picture of me is a little scary, I know.

This is the "Featherlishous Neck Warmer," designed by Victoria Myers and knitted with Araucania "Aysen," an absolutely gorgeous worsted weight yarn made of merino wool, alpaca and silk. I remember I just had to have this yarn, and then it took some time until I found a good way to use it (typical for yarn addicts!). I enjoy wearing this a lot because it is very warm and fits nicely around my neck without having to worry about wrapping and securing the ends (it is one circular piece).

Scarves, shawls, and shawlettes are very popular to knit and to wear right now--I make them often and really do enjoy wearing them. Here is Stephen West's "Little Colonnade" knitted in "Lola," a hand-painted, super soft worsted weight yarn. Because the yarn is so soft and drapes so nicely, I can scrunch this up and put it in my purse or bag and then put it over my shoulders in over-air-conditioned restaurants or stores. In the winter I will wear it with the bottom of the triangle in front and the ends wrapped around my neck.

Some time ago Akiko mentioned that she liked a crocheted tank top I had made, so I made one for her too. The pattern is "Sweet Tea" by Doris Chan, and the yarn is a silk and wool sport-weight blend by Mirasol Yarn Nuna.

And here's "Edwin's Sweater II" for the son of friends in Munich. The pattern is called "Children's Neck Down Cardigan,"  by Diane Soucy and the yarn is Paton's "Decor," a wool and acrylic blend that is self-striping. I used my favorite method of sweater knitting for this--it is made all in one piece with no seams.

Summer Reading

We've had a busy summer, but I've still managed to get a lot of reading in. I hope I can add some posts soon about our summer trips and activities, but in the meantime, here's my book news:

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson, 2008.  I enjoyed reading this a lot, just as I enjoyed Three Cups of Tea. Of course I was unhappy to hear that Greg Mortenson probably exaggerated some of the material or maybe even lied about it. It was such a cool story and so inspirational—building schools instead of dropping bombs in Afghanistan. I do hope that he really did build some schools and that some kids are benefitting from his efforts.

A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols, 1997. An exciting, well-written, true story about the first sail boat race around the world in 1968, attempted by 9 sailors. One of the race participants was Donald Crowhurst, a novice sailor who essentially lost his way and his mind during the voyage and didn’t make it back. The documentary Deep Water tells his story, and the novel Outerbridge Reach uses elements of it as well. There are so many amazingly well-written books to read; this is definitely one of them.

The Longest Journey by E.M. Forester, 1907.  Forester (A Room with a View, Passage to India, Howard’s End) is one of my favorite novelists, so I approached this with high expectations. It is, however, not as accessible as his other works; still, it is the kind of novel that grows on you and that you understand better some time after you’ve read it. The story is about a young man who wants to become a writer but who gets married and gets diverted from his ambition along the way. It is interesting, but it is also work to read this novel.

The Death of the Adversary by Hans Keilson, 1959 (translated by Ivo Jarosy, 2010). Amazon has a blurb about this book from the New York Times Book Review in which the author is called a “genius” and the novel a “masterpiece.” I agree whole-heartedly. I would add that the translator is brilliant. The novel is a psychological study of Hitler and his rise to power, and even if you think you’ve read enough about this topic or know enough, you should read this. I was lucky to have it sent to me to review for the National Translation Award; I gave it an excellent rating, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wins the award.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka, 2005. There are just so many good books to read. I really loved this story, told with wit, humor and intelligence, about a Ukrainian family that immigrates to England after the Second World War. The story revolves around the 84-year-old father in the family who has become a widower and who marries a 36-year-old Ukrainian bimbo who is using him to be allowed to stay in the country. There are several layers to the novel, and in addition to its cleverness, it quite moving.

Das Versprechen by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, 1958. Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author who was a master the suspense/crime novel in German. I tried to read some best-selling crime novel in German this summer and was very disappointed; then I picked this up and couldn’t put it down. He also wrote Der Besuch der alten Dame which is often read in intermediate to advanced German classes. Das Versprechen is about a serial child killer.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, 2001. I see now what all the fuss is about this author—he is also a genius! This amazing work is about a more or less typical American family of the past few decades. The author is able to “become” each of the characters—the three grown children, the mother and the father—and the writing is fast-paced, intelligent, and very funny. But as with any truly great work, there is truth here in the writing, and that makes it so much more than just a great story.

An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale, 1990. A very simply told autobiographical account of Neale’s life on Suvarov, an uninhabited (when Neale was there some time ago) tropical atoll in the Cook Islands. I found this to be interesting and oddly comforting. Chris sailed to Suvarov during his time on the tall ship in the Cook Islands!

A Painted House by John Grisham, 2002. This really surprised me because it was very good! I always thought that Grisham was, well, a “schlocky” writer, but now I have to revise that opinion.  This is a well-written, fascinating story of a young boy who lives with his family on a cotton farm in Arkansas in the 1950s. It describes the difficult but also authentic life of farm families in the American South, and it helped me understand where a lot of our current American values come from.

Life is Hard (Not!) in the South Pacific

We just got an email and a few of pictures from Chris, so I thought I'd post some of it here to fill you in on his latest adventure. He has been working as a deck hand on a tall ship in New Zealand; they just left there three weeks ago headed to the Cook Islands, the first stop on their six month South Pacific voyage.

Here's what at least some of the passage looked like from the ship. . .

And here is Chris looking very happy to finally see land--Rarotonga--after the long, sometimes wet passage:

These are from a snorkeling trip to Aitutaki that a local took Chris and his friend on:

Greg and I are enjoying his trip vicariously...what fun!

A Nice Picture and a Quote

(Conrad took this picture in March when we were all visiting Greg's parents in Laguna Niguel, California.)

Es scheint...dass wir uns unsere Wünsche, unsere Interessen nicht einfach wählen können, sondern sie wählen uns und wir hängen ihnen an, ohne dass wir sagen könnten, warum.

(Uwe Timm, Halbschatten)

It seems that we are not able to simply choose our desires, our interests, but rather that they choose us, and we become attached to them without being able to say why.

A Texas Gardener's Cap and Some Books

While we were visiting my family in Texas, Dad requested that I make him a new knitted cap to wear while he's working in the garden. He had been wearing this crazy red and black acrylic thing that I crocheted eons ago. The yarn had hardened over the years; I couldn't believe I had ever made anything out of  pure acrylic because I dislike it so much. Here's a picture of Dad wearing the new green knitted cap. OK, the worsted-weight yarn does have some acrylic in it, but it also contains wool, which will make the cap warm, yet breathable.

Book News:

Run by Anne Patchett (2007). This is an interesting tale about a white Catholic family in Boston that adopts several black children. The surprise twist is that the birth mother has secretly followed the lives of her children as they've grown up with their family (I won't give any more away!). Patchett explores questions of where people belong and what they feel compelled to do with their lives, and she does it in that poignant yet realistic way that made her Bel Canto so lovely to read.

JPEG by Doug Coupland (2006). Coupland is a prolific novelist who wrote the famous Generation X, but this book doesn't appear to be available stateside. It is quite a hilarious read about young, brilliant computer nerds and is a good change of pace from the typical novel.

Dinge bei Licht by Tobias Hülswitt (2008). Martha and Alexander have been a couple for a long time when Martha has an accident and falls into a coma. Alexander, who has been having an affair, realizes what he is about to lose, and tells the story of Martha's life and their relationship. Although I found parts of this somewhat tedious, the writing was also very compelling.

Halbschatten by Uwe Timm (2008). Timm tells the story of Marga von Etzdorf, a female German aviator who actually lived and died young of suicide. He uses an odd device of telling Marga's story, and other events in Germany's stormy past, through the voices of several famous people who are buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin, where the aviator is also buried. This technique can be rather distracting at times, but Timm is such an amazing story teller, that I couldn't put the book down.

Captain James Cook: A Biography by Richard Hough (1994). Greg loved this book, and I liked it too, but not as much as he did. I enjoy a good biography, but I found this one a little lacking in imagination at times. Still, it is very worthwhile to read it if you want to learn more about Captain Cook, who explored so much of the world, including New Zealand and our own Pacific Northwest.

A Visit to Texas

Greg and I took advantage of the three day weekend for Presidents Day and flew to Dallas, Texas to visit my family. We didn't try to get too ambitious about seeing and doing a lot--it was mostly just a chance to catch up with family and a couple of old friends.

To the right is the beautiful and historic Denton Courthouse with my sister Fran and me standing in front of it. As you can see, we had good weather--clear skies and not too hot or too cold.

Below is a picture of my brother Andy, my Dad, my step-mother Mary, Fran and Greg at "Miguelito's," a local Tex-Mex restaurant. Greg really wanted to sample Tex-Mex, and this place did not disappoint!

And here's a picture of Greg with Grace, our dear friend from Korea who lived with us in Spokane for a while. She lives in Dallas now where she is going to school. It was so wonderful to see her!