20 Year Mittens

This posting magically on it's own before I was done so - sorry if it shows up as 2 posts...

What's with all the New Year's Stash Reduction Plans?!? It's kind of frightening. Don't these people know it more fun to live in denial.


My New Year's plan came from the loss of half a tooth just after Christmas. When I called the dentist for an appointment they had me on the inactive list. WHAT!!! Has it been that long since I went. Yup. But - I already told you this story. The first thing I did for the year of Jill was - make a doctor appointment for Mom, talk to 2 people from Mom's apartment about their opinions about her mental status and went shopping for Daddy diapers. There seems to be something wrong with this basic plan. But I'm in denial. I'm convinced I can still have this be my year. I made 3 dental appointments to get the tooth capped and the others cleaned. I'm sure more dental care will follow the cleaning. Then - on to the doctor get all that stuff up to date. Just think, with all these appointments I should get in some good knitting time.


I'm going to get major knitting time in the 15th. Mom is having a basal cell blob removed from near her nose. The doctor is doing a surgical technique that can take all day depending on how many times they have to remove "another layer" to get everything. They remove a little bit and then you sit around for 1 1/2 -2 hours while they process it and check to see if all the basal cell is gone. Then you start over again, then again..... Between now and the 15th I'm going to have to come up with a Mommy kit filled with magazine (with lots of pictures) and treats and drinks to keep her occupied between rounds.


20 year old Mittens
Part of my plan for myself is to go through all the old boxes of stuff I haven't looked at for a while. This weekend I found a pair of mittens that just needed the thumbs. I'm pretty sure I started knitting these 15-20 years ago. I found the yarn yesterday so finished the mittens last night. They are Elizabeth Zimmerman's mitered mittens. The pattern can be found in one of her old newsletters or in Knitter's Almanac in May. The yarn is (I think) Brunswick Germantown. I can tell tells wool and that was my wool of choice in the olden days. I knit them with a tight gauge and did the thumbs on size 5 and they appear to match the gauge pretty good. When you make them you knit all the way to the end and then go back and snip a stitch where the thumb belongs, pick up the stitches and knit away.

I grabbed the thumb picture yesterday before it got too dark but will have to get a full mitten picture till tomorrow. The mittens are too small for me so I'll give them away to some charity.

Life is real exciting in the house right now -

But wait till tomorrow - I go exercise bike shopping (It all about ME!)