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Dear Ellen,

Here is the finished Cinnamon Tee in all it’s glory.  I am very pleased with this little shirt.  If I hadn’t gained about 10 pounds since cast-on it would really look great…instead there’s a bit too much negative ease, but current plans are to make that a non-issue by summer.  Even so, I could wear it very happily right now as long as I had a jacket over it — and don’t you think that neckline would look great under a jacket?  It’s too cold to wear it alone right now anyway.

I’m also on the verge of finishing my last entry — all done except for sewing on 7 buttons.  I’m pretty sure that will be done long before closing ceremonies even start.  I’m about to go join Dale and Ruby for the big US-Canada hockey game and I should have those taken care of before the first period ends.  Did you know Ruby was a hockey fan?

Love, Jan

Dear Jan,

I suppose the east coast was swathed in clouds last night so you may not have gotten to appreciate the stunning full moon.  We were clear and it was beautiful.  Snow makes a perfect canvas for moonshadow.  It reflects the light so wonderfully you hate to go to bed and miss any of it.

Sweet Marie sent me a sweet gift for, of all reasons, me wishing her a happy birthday.  I’m pretty sure she is part hobbit.  I think I’ll go mark the calendar for next year, as the cards she sent, along with a charming notebook in the guise of a dancecard, are so delightful.  Thank you very much, Marie!  This is one more concrete embodiment of the wealth of friendship the internet knitting community has brought to us.

The stadium is in sight as I make progress on that gansey in my WIPs Dancing event for Ravelympics.  A few more rounds of ribbing on the sleeve, a redo on the neck ribbing (maybe adding a couple short rows to pull up the back of the neck), and some ends to weave in.  I’ll share a photo finish later.  What a luxury to spend a good chunk of the day knitting!

Love,

Ellen

P.S. On the topic of wealth - time to share more of it.  Whether they use it in Chile or Haiti or elsewhere, the Red Cross is getting a bit more from us this month.  Wilson and I are unbelievably fortunate; it is the least we can do.  I know others may have tapped out their discretionary funds with donating to Haitian efforts last month, so time for us to step up further. I encourage all who can to do the same.

Dear Ellen,

I didn’t mention scuba in the last post, because I’ve got a LOT of great scuba pictures.  Some of these are courtesy of one of the other divers who had a digital waterproof camera.  And some are from a waterproof disposable film camera that we picked up.

I won’t give a running commentary, but I will suggest you look for the manta ray, the shark, the spiny lobsters and the cute divers.  We got in two dives while we were there and are giving serious thought about getting our advanced qualifications before we go back.  Yes, we pre-booked to return in February 2011.  It was that fun.

Love, Jan

Dear Ellen,

Have you ever had a Blue Hawaii?  They’re made with vodka, blue caracao, pineapple juice, light rum and sweet and sour mix.  In Jamaica they have their own version, the Caribbean Blue.  Pretty much the same except with Mountain Due instead of the sweet and sour.  It’s a very tasty combination and a very pretty color that certainly justifies its name!  And Dale was very talented at bringing them to me.

Also in pretty Caribbean colors is my latest finished object.  Caribbean Paradise  was my entry in the Short Track Shawls event.  It’s the 198 Yds. of Heaven pattern knit in Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in the sage colorway.  I cast on on our last night in Jamaica…just enough so that I could say  I started it in the Caribbean.  I actually got quite a bit done on the ride from the resort back to the airport, even more on the plane home.  With only a few rows and the bind off left this morning, I finished it up.  The Mountain Goat was a joy to knit.  It feels cushy in your hands and has a silky feel from the cashmere.  The stitch definition was good with very slight halo softening up the pattern without obscuring it at all.  After I wove in the ends I spread it out to see what it looked like unblocked — rather like a manta ray, I thought.

I gave it a short soak in warm water and Soak and then blocked it out on wires.  It’s about 44 inches across,  a neckerchief size that will be nice for keeping a chill off your shoulders without overheating you.  It’s almost dry now and I’m looking forward to wearing it.  I modified the pattern a bit so I could use as much of the yarn as possible.  I added in an extra repeat of the 22 rows of the body pattern, but that meant I needed to forego 12 rows of the border.  As a result the shawl border is far less dominant.  When I realized I wouldn’t make it through the entire border I momentarily thought about ripping back to where the pattern directions started the border, but I  realized that it totally worked with a shallower border as well.  And as a result I only had about a yard of yarn left over.  Perfect!

My next post will be more on the vacation itself.

Love, Jan

Many of you have expressed a curiosity about my bean-eating habits.  I am not following someone’s magical bean diet or anything, I’m just doing what makes sense and appeals to me.

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Here is why beans for breakfast works for me -

1. Beans are easy on the environment.  I don’t feel like I’m sucking up the world’s resources for at least a good portion of my protein.
2. Beans are extremely high in resistant starch*.  Nutrition science is starting to unlock the benefits that resistant starch brings to a diet.  It’s emerging science, so I won’t make any claims, but I’m a believer.
3. I love my gut microbiota**.   They are my friends.  Also, they outnumber me***.
4. Beans come in an array of varieties that let me be a culinary explorer on the cheap.  Check out the wonderful varieties available at Rancho Gordo, just for example.
5. Beans are convenient.  I make a pot on the weekend, dish it into separate storage containers, and with one or two minutes in the microwave I have a piping hot breakfast.
6. I want something warm in the morning, especially in the winter.  I have nothing against breakfast cereal from a health standpoint and am happy to see my husband getting his whole grain every day, but I want something warm.
7. Beans keep my body running right.****

So that’s the story on my resolution to eat more beans, and legumes in general.

The story on my knitting is varied this week.  I chose not to take my Bohus project with me on work travels (over a dozen little balls of color on an airplane?  I think not.) so I got to spend some quality time with the gloves I’m designing.  Here is the right hand, prior to weaving in ends, tightening up joins, and grafting the fingertips.  I’ve added an asymmetric thumb gusset, plus a mini-gusset between thumb and forefinger, and devised a novel (to me, anyway) cast on method for between fingers that also allows insertion of a stitch or two for ease, another gusset, in a way.  Apparently, I have an inordinate fondness for gussets.

W is playing chess this weekend, so am back on track with Bohus knitting, having spent Friday evening and Saturday morning at it.  The knitting is done, though there are just a few ends to weave in!  Happily, I’ll get to look at the pretty underside of this stranded knitting while tackling this.  I’ll leave a more detailed review of the project once I get it tidied up and blocked.

Don’t think this burst of Bohus knitting is leaving me pooped*****.  I hope to post some finished shots of my baby Norwegian in the next day or two - just one more facing to tack down and the clasps to sew on.

Moving on******,

Ellen

*Resistant starch is so-called because it resists digestion.  It ends up in your colon, where it feeds friendly bacteria.

**See note on resistant starch.

***Did you know that you likely have 10 times as many bacteria in your gut as you have cells in your body?

****Um, I think if I elaborate on this it will definitely be more information than you wanted.  Just reread the post title if you really want to know.

*****Not that kind.

******Really, not that kind.