JessaLu Knits (and Spins!)

<p><i>Hogmanay: the name, in Scotland, for the last day of the year.</i></p><p /><p><i></i></p><p>It seems fitting that Hogmanay is the word of the day since today <i>is</i> Hogmanay (hmm, think they planned that? ;o) )and I’m mostly Scottish (can’t you tell? Where do you think I got my temper from?)</p><p /><p>This is a quick post because I have people coming over for New Years’ and haven’t cleaned a thing since Christmas.</p><p /><p>I started working on these last night:</p><p /><div style="width: 98px;" class="serendipity_imageComment_center"><div align="center" class="serendipity_imageComment_img"><a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/uploads/jaywalkers.jpg"><img width="98" height="110" src="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/uploads/jaywalkers.serendipityThumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></div><div class="serendipity_imageComment_txt">Call me lemming.</div></div><p /><p>and they’re calling my name - along with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (FMC is having a musical weekend - yippee!!!) so now that you all know what I’ll be doing this Hogmanay I will leave you with my sincere best wishes that all your dreams come true in 2006. Happy New Year!</p><hr width="100%" size="2" />Oh, you want to know how the heck I’m cooking for these people coming over tonight? Good old New England resourcefulness:<p /><div style="width: 106px;" class="serendipity_imageComment_center"><div align="center" class="serendipity_imageComment_img"><a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/uploads/12-31-05026.jpg"><img width="106" height="110" src="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/uploads/12-31-05026.serendipityThumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></div><div class="serendipity_imageComment_txt">A kitchen chair has many uses…keeping your oven closed is only one…</div></div><p />

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…my blog friend said to me!</i></p><p /><p><i></i></p><p><i>…A shawl! …will you join me?¹</i></p><p /><p>That <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=370&amp;entry_id=93" onmouseover="window.status=’http://caroleknits.knitblog.com/’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="Carole Knits">Carole </a>sure is a tricksy one. She pulls you in with her air of innocence and then before you know it…WHAMMO…you feel kinda dizzy and you’re looking at laceweight yarn you’ve never seen before on brand spanking new Lantern Moon needles that you had to have for your lace since they’re oh-so-pointy and smoother than a baby’s behind. Tricksy.</p><p /><p>She picked up on my brief mention of the DFS (Diamond Fantasy Shawl) in yesterday’s post and boy did she run with it.</p><p /><p>Ran like a <strike>yarn addict</strike> knitter who, in a bleary-eyed Rhinebeck haze, just realized that they were holding the last two skeins of Socks that Rock and only <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=371&amp;entry_id=93" onmouseover="window.status=’http://www.januaryone.com/’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="STR Fan Club Headquarters">one thing</a> was between them and freedom. ;o)</p><p /><p>First, it was all innocent. &quot;Are you really going to knit that? I’m going to knit that!&quot; You know, all nonchalant. Then the arm twisting began. Then the mindless purchases. Before I knew it I had been sucked into her lace-knitting lair, owned the <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=372&amp;entry_id=93" onmouseover="window.status=’http://www.siviaharding.com/Diamonds2.html’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="Diamond Fantasy Shawl">DFS</a> pattern and was frantically perusing Ebay looking for the ‘perfect’ yarn. </p><p /><p>She’s evil, that woman. Don’t let her fool you with that ‘who, me?’ look she has going on, she’s guilty! (at least, that’s what I want <span title="Roger Rabbit - my SO" class="serendipity_glossaryMarkup">RR</span> to believe. I don’t want him to think it was all my idea to go buy…more…yarn…oh hi honey! Didn’t know you were checking my blog from work! *ahem*)</p><p /><p>Then it was realized that I didn’t have everything I needed to start the DFS on the 1st. So, another innocent discussion began regarding the FBS (Flower Basket Shawl). I happen to have everything I need for this one (unless I find something I like on Ebay, that is *cough*) so the planning started to lean towards knitting that on the 1st…</p><p /><p>Then we couldn’t make up our minds. (who’s this ‘we’, anyway? For a second there I was a little delusional, I thought I had a say in this venture…I mean, she SAYS I have a say, but we all know the truth. She’s tricksy, she is.)</p><p /><p>Anyway…there is now a poll in play - <a title="Tricksy Carole" target="_blank" href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=373&amp;entry_id=93" onmouseover="window.status=’http://caroleknits.knitblog.com/archives/2005/12/sunday_is_janua.html’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;">go vote</a>, wouldja?</p><hr width="100%" size="2" /><font size="1"><i>¹Sung to ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’</i></font><br /><p>
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<p>We have four seasons around these parts, just like the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Only we have different names for them.</p>
<p>Mud, Tourist, Leaf-Peeping and Ski.</p>
<p>Guess what season just began? </p>
<p>It took me 40 minutes to get home today - it usually takes me 10. This is my fault because I left work to go home right before the biggest ski area let out. WHAT was I thinking?</p>
<p>To be honest, I was thinking that the season didn’t start for a couple of weeks yet. I was also thinking that…oh nevermind. I wasn’t thinking. </p>
<p>Have I previously mentioned that I have road rage issues? This is probably not so good since I have a ‘<i>put-your-town’s-name-here</i> Fire Department Member’ like a freakin’ flag on the front of my Jeep. It works well for getting out of tickets (not that I speed or anything *ahem*) but not so well when you’re screaming at some IDIOT who didn’t pass the South County Driving Test¹ and is just PISSING. ME. OFF. The chief hasn’t gotten a call yet but I’m starting to get nervous.</p>
<p>My big pet peeve at this point? People who pull out in front of you and proceed to go 20mph slower than you were going to begin with. My favorite? When they do this and there are NO CARS BEHIND ME. WTF?!?</p>
<p>When is mud season again? I actually like mud season, *they* aren’t here during mud season.</p>
<p>Anyway…</p>
<p>In the knitting front, not much has changed at this point. I’m at my weekly knitting meetup (alone, I might add. Apparently I’m a die hard.) and working on the IHS from hell. I got <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=355&amp;entry_id=92" onmouseover="window.status=’http://www.patternworks.com/PWShopping/partsview.asp?action=lookup&amp;partno=800439&amp;subject=U36.L12&amp;catpos=8′;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="Diamond Patch Socks">this</a> pattern in the mail today and while I can’t wait to get started on them, I’m also a bit intimidated. My <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=356&amp;entry_id=92" onmouseover="window.status=’http://www.bckonline.org’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="Berkshire County Knitters">knitting group</a> motto is ‘being fearless in our knitting since 2004′ so I don’t want to let them down ;o) I will soldier on! </p>
<p>Well, maybe after something easy, like the <a href="http://jessaluknits.yarncourtesans.com/exit.php?url_id=357&amp;entry_id=92" onmouseover="window.status=’http://www.siviaharding.com/Diamonds2.html’;return true;" onmouseout="window.status=”;return true;" target="_blank" title="DFS">diamond fantasy shawl</a> ;o)</p><hr width="100%" size="2" />^{<font size="1"><i>1</i></font>}<font size="1"><i>South County Driving Test: The ability to drive down main street at peak tourist/ski season in a stick shift with an ice cream cone/coffee with no top in one hand and and not spill anything. It can be done. I have witnesses. Oh, and when I did it? I had no clutch and therefore had to rev the engine up to warp speed and slam it into 2nd ;o)</i></font><br /><p /><p />