Dear Northwest Airlines,

It was lovely spending 9 hours of December 26 at Detroit Metro Airport thanks to your non-weather-related , completely unexplained delays and cancellations and meeting so many of your employees of varying competence. Above, Chris and I make the best of the Airport Bar experience.

Below, I get quite a bit of knitting done on my second Baby Surprise Jacket. For those of you who noted that this was an addictive project, you were absolutely right. This one is for a baby of as-yet-undetermined sex whose parents are serious deer hunters and all-around outdoorsy people.

To the right of it is a rusty nail. Thanks, Northwest!


Once the Northwest bit was over, however, we had a fun Christmas in Michigan. My mom's Minimalist Cardigan was a perfect fit. Here she is, full length and doing a sort of serious elegant look:


And here is the happy look:

And the first Baby Surprise Jacket was given to the mother-to-be. That baby girl will be fabulous!

We're heading back to Northwest Airlines in about two and a half hours. Send good thoughts our way!

On Babies

First of all, THANK YOU for all the lovely comments about my last design! I'm actually wearing it now. I wear it all the time. To answer some questions, the buttons are from Windsor Button in Boston -- give them a call and they'll send you some, I'm sure! The boots I'm wearing are Frye "Campus" boots, an investment I recommend. The hat is a Felicity from the lovely Wanett on Knitology. You know you want one (I've made four and kept two).

While holiday knits continue to cross the finish line, I've had some time to think about all the little guys that are going to be born this spring in the extended circle of my family and friends. One cousin and one cousin-in-law are pregnant, as is a very close family friend. For the family friend's little person, I'm making my first ever Baby Surprise Jacket, in a mod black-and-pink combo I think will really stand out:


That's Blue Moon Socks that Rock Heavyweight in one of the Raven colorways (Grawk?), with accents of Knitpicks Swish Superwash and Classic Elite Waterlily. All machine washable, of course, and the variegated black will hide stains nicely.

Though I won't be having kids of my own (for medical reasons, so no, I won't change my mind), and while I don't like babies in general (there! I said it!), specific babies tend to grow on me, especially when the parents are people who I know will do a bang-up job of it. And these babies need something cool to wear, so that's what I give. Later on Chris and I will be the eccentric aunt/uncle figures for some of these little guys, and I think that will suit us well, too.

Everybody Knows

the dice are loaded

Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

It's a new design in the Winter Knitty! For excellent modeled photos and the free pattern, go here (the photos died with the hard drive on this machine). Enjoy! I've been wearing it just about every day since I finished it in October, aside from the days that friends of mine were borrowing it. Though I borrowed the name from Leonard Cohen, it was inspired by a photo of Joe Strummer wearing a jacket with the collar turned up.

The yarn I used, Fly Designs Woolly Singles, is what would happen if Malabrigo and Manos had a child: Far softer than Manos, far less pilly than Malabrigo. The flat photo of the sweater published on Knitty was taken after over two months of solid wearing and several hand washes, just to demonstrate how it holds up.

Enjoy! It's the simplest, warmest, and most versatile thing I have ever made.

Strong Finishers

TA DA!!!! FINITO! PUT A FORK IN IT!!!!

A little over 60 inches of garter stitch handspun for a friend's Christmas present and one big book.

How about a closeup of that handspun?

I am the Finisher. I Finish.