decemberists in january

I came home today to find both kitties snuggling in the much-beloved heated cat bed. Kind of a tight squeeze, but what could be cuter? Many thanks for all the comments and well wishes for my sweet Kylie.  She's walking a lot better these days.

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For those of you in the pro-Decemberists camp, here's a delightful array of links:

- The new album, The King is Dead, is streaming in its entirety here. Hear that jangly Rickenbacker on "Calamity Song"? Love!

- An interview with Colin Meloy here -- I don't love the interviewer, but Colin's charming (as usual), and the live songs are marvelous. I was thrilled to hear Colin to talk about R.E.M., another old favorite of mine.

We have tickets to the Feb. 4 show here in Chicago, huzzah, huzzah!

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A very pleasant Christmas was spent at home as our sweet Kylie recovered.  We started off the day strong with gingerbread pancakes (yum!) for brunch. For dinner I cooked up what must be one of the healthiest Christmas feasts on record -- curried vegetable and chickpea stew (sans the cauliflower) with whole wheat couscous and goat cheese and leek focaccia. 

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Not the most flattering photo of me, but I do want to share the scarf and slouchy beret I knit for my mum for Christmas.

Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, by Natalie Larson (free!)

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Worsted, "Golightly," .7 skein

Needles: Clover US 9 and 10.5 16" bamboo circs and DPNs

my ravelry project page

Notes:

My mom's favorite color is aqua, and this yarn is so pretty and soft!  It's just variegated enough to be interesting, and it's just as soft and cushy as Malabrigo Merino Worsted. This hat pattern is a delight to knit.  It's the second one I've knit, and it's most definitely not the last (especially since I'd really like one for myself!).

Pattern: Chunky Ribs & Ruffles Scarf, by Nancy Kleiber (free!)

Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Worsted, "Golightly," 1.3 skeins

Needles: Clover US 10 bamboo straights

my ravelry project page

Notes:

I  cast on 124 stitches since I was working with a lighter-weight yarn than the Misti Alpaca Chunky specified in the pattern. Just fyi, the pattern repeat = (multiple of 4) + 3.

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I'm totally hooked on Freaks and Geeks, courtesy of the marathon on IFC over Christmas weekend.

What a great show!  I didn't really appreciate it when it was new, even though a friend was very into it at the time. James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jason Segel, and John Francis Daley all in one show? John Francis Daley, the shrimpy little brother, looked so familiar to me, but I just couldn't place him for a while.  Then it dawned on me... he's Lance Sweets on Bones now! Linda Cardellini is convincing as the former mathlete turned "freak." The only downside is that the adults are all a little wooden and not very finely drawn.

Anyway, I love the show -- it's less melodramatically angsty than My So-Called Life, and it captures just how awkward and painful high school can be, but also how it can be exciting and full of new experiences. Some of the geek storylines can be too painful for me -- I find myself cringing in the most visceral way. So far my favorite episodes are the keg party and the fake IDs.

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Happy 2011 to all! Here's to a fresh start.

elvishness

Lots of holiday cheer in the last few days! Now I must pay the piper and finish grading papers this afternoon and evening. Some highlights:

- knitting holiday gifts

Pattern: Acorns, by Melissa LaBarre

Yarn: Orange Flower Superwash Merino Worsted, in "Cadet" (3/4 skein)

Needles: US 5 and 7 bamboo circs + US 7 dpns

my ravelry project page

 Notes:

 Wonderful squishy yarn in beautiful blues!  The pattern is very well-written, and seeing the acorns emerge is delightful. I still need to block this, but the next few days are going to be hectic, so I'd better document it now.

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Pattern: Awbrey (free!), by Stacey Simpson Duke

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in "Mariposa," 1 skein

Needles: Clover US 10.5 bamboo 16" circs

my ravelry project page

Notes:

This truly was a quick knit, and the thick cables are super cozy. The Russian lace bind-off that Stacey suggests is easy and very effective.  The slightly flared shape is perfect -- it keeps the top (cast-on edge) from being saggy, and allows the bottom to flare out a bit where your neck meets your body.

My first time using Malabrigo Chunky!  Wonderful stuff -- very soft and cozy, and less fragile and prone to pilliness than the worsted since it has more plies. I love this colorway in the skein, but I was afraid that it would look horrible knit up.  As it turns out, it's still lovely! 

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I'm knitting a cozy cabled hat with earflaps to match! These cables are more complicated, but they're fun to work. The pattern's another freebie -- Snowboarder Hat that Rocks by Irishgirlieknits.  So cute! I was halfway through the fourth repeat of the cable pattern when I noticed that it was looking awfully tall; I ripped back a bit to do just three repeats before starting the decreases.  I'll definitely knit this pattern again!

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- listening

Low's Christmas EP, a (post)modern classic. Low hails from Duluth, by the way. 

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- watching

Paul watched Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas many times when he was a kid, but it was all-new to me this year! In a word, awesome. It's a Jim Henson piece, with plenty of Appalachian folksiness, mixed with a battle-of-the-bands with some super-psychedelic rockers. Very sweet, plus you can see forerunners of many Muppet Show characters. 

We also watched The Holiday, which is a mixture of treacle and charm, with bad acting by Cameron Diaz in particular. That said, the set designers are geniuses  I want to move into Kate Winslet's darling cottage in Surrey posthaste. Plus all the meta bits about movie-making were fun. I rather think that if casting had been done differently (Diaz and Jack Black), this could have been a great guilty-pleasure romantic comedy.

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- decking the halls

We decorated the tree while sipping fresh grapefruit juice & gin cocktails concocted by Paul and listening to the Magnetic Fields.  A very hipster Christmas, I suppose.

P.S. Have you read Neil Gaiman's piece on persuading his parents to get a Christmas tree yet?

luck

I finished up my Just Enough Ruffles right before the pattern was "Harlotted." This pattern is well worth all the attention! It's fun to knit, easy to follow, and it showcases soft yarns quite nicely. I'm planning to knit two more -- one for my MIL (apple green), and one for me (light grey).

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles, by Laura Chau
Yarn: Lion Cashmere Blend, cream, 4.2 skeins
Needles: US 9 Clover bamboo circs

I was lucky to find a fellow Raveler (veganpurls) who had some of this yarn on her destash page, in the exact same dyelot. Hurray for Ravelry! I was also lucky enough to receive a beautiful skein of handspun superwash merino from Micki, spinner extraordinaire. It's just gorgeous!

Crown Mountain Farms, "Crocodile Walk"

And I was also very lucky to receive this book from Kelly:
I must admit to being terribly out of it when it comes to all the latest vampire books/movies/shows. My friends were discussing them at knitting circle a few weeks ago, then my in-laws did likewise at Thanksgiving, and I felt like I'd been living under a rock. Or perhaps in Plato's cave? I blame grad school.

Kylie Cat hard at work,
testing the temperature of towels fresh from the dryer

P.S. Check out Melissa's blog for a detailed examination of how cats help do laundry. I think Artemis and Kylie are kindred spirits.