We Are the Champions My Friends...

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas with family and friends! (Or how ever you celebrate the holidays). I had a lovely time and enjoyed time with my moms family and spent the evening with friends. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful group of family and friends!

Guess what? I am victorious! I finished my Christmas knitting with time to spare! It meant switching a pattern AND yarn out to finish one and dropping another because I realized that the one person would not wear a hat. But I am happy, and the giftee's were happy too, which is ultimately what matters the most. So I am declaring this Christmas a victory, may there be many more in the future! (If you go to my Ravelry notebook you can find the projects).

I am enjoying my break from school. I have taken the opportunity to relax and work on some knitting and reading. I originally had a whole "Winter Reading List" but my break has turned out to be much busier than I expected so I'm sticking with the reading my profs told me about. So far I have started Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. I have not made it too far into the book but I am liking the story so far and the readability. Much better than reading Old English (Canterbury Tales anyone?). I will probably write a review of the book later, will be a good practice for when I have to discuss in class.

I am really looking forward to my next semester, I'm taking an Ancient and Medieval Civilization class, I have been dying to take the class since I started school so I am thrilled. After this spring I will only have 13 more credits until graduation, yay! I'm not sure where I'm going after that academically, but it is definitely time to start the job search. I'm a little scared about that considering there is a certain amount of commitment that goes with getting a "real" job, but I'm ready for the challenge. It's time to take that step.

Well Wishes,
Allison

Christmas Knitting

Yes, I am blogging about knitting. *gasp* I know! It seems so foreign to blog about knitting on a knitting blog!

In fact blogging at all on this blog is foreign, but I digress. Back to the subject at hand.

Every year I decide I will knit everybody something and every year I fail. Apparently this is not a condition that is unique to myself. Many knitters set out to knit everyone on their list some spectacular item that will be loved and cherished forever. I would also like to emphasize the "every-year" part of that statement, you see knitters can be a stubborn group in that we will continue to do the same thing hoping something will change (I think someone once called that insanity). While many have adapted and do succeed in their endeavours, often that requires beginning your Christmas knitting for next year the day after Christmas this year. I do not think that far in advanced. So I have had to make many adjustments in order to accomplish at least some of my Christmas knitting, including:

1. Sometimes, not everybody has to have something knitted.
2. If you do want to knit everybody something, only knit small items that will be fast to complete.

I chose option two this year and I am quite proud to announce that I am right on track for actually getting everybody on my list taken cared of. I might even add a couple more people at the rate I'm going (though I am not going to jinx myself by starting anything for them yet). I also further simplified my task by selecting hats as what I am knitting everyone. So far my list of patterns include, but are not limited to:

1. All-Day Beret by Debbie Stoller
2. Speedy Cabled Beret by Pauline Chin
3. A Men's Garter-Stitch Hat

So far I am really happy with the two patterns I've been working on and I'm looking forward to working on it some more.

Anyway, It's finals week and I have to vamoose.

Well Wishes,
Allison

Rebooting

So, I will give more details at a later date but basically I'm rebooting this site, so no it's probably not in it's final stages!
In the mean time please enjoy this lovely poem by Lewis Carroll, it's a personal favorite of mine.

____________________________

JABBERWOCKY

Lewis Carroll

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

 

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

 

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought --

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

 

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

 

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

 

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy.

P.S. This poem is probably signs of what is to come, just warning you ahead of time!