Coffee Coffee Coffee

My life has been immeasurably improved by the new coffee maker with timer and sleek, brushed aluminum travel mug. Coffee in the morning: it's still a novelty. It's a civilizing as a drink after work. Maybe I should say the novelty is making coffee at home instead of standing in line at Intelligentsia. I've appropriated this mug, a gift from a former roommate, from its former duty as loose change receptacle. It is perfect for a classic cafe au lait, as it is the size the French call a bowl. I'm drinking a bowl of coffee, trying to get my head ready for the day.

I'm suffering from knitting interruptus. No, I haven't injured my arm again. It dawned on me that about half of my relatives and friends are pisces. This means a lot of present knitting, as I am presently not buying gifts. I was moving along lickety-split on my Jemima sweater. The sleeve didn't feel like the usual sisyphean task. I looked forward to wearing it before it became too warm out. Well, I need to whip up four presents in the next couple weeks, so it's no personal knitting at the moment. The first, and biggest, is a pair of socks for my grandmother. She dropped a very obvious hint about her desire for a new pair of socks. She's a former knitter, so she does know how much work this entails. I am generally resistant to hints such as these, but when one of my favorite LYS ladies at Loopy told me that I can knit a pair of socks in a week, I caved. I'm already doing the heel decreases on the first sock. In the back of my mind, I feel that I should be working on the sock now... The other gifts will be a couple of hats (no hints) and a scarf in Colinette Tagliatelli. I just can't figure out what to do with that yarn, but I'll work it out. Maybe I'll knit it on the bias. hee.

I had a bit of a stash panic attack the other day. I have so much yarn. When will I knit all of these projects? I dreamt that I could knit like Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter books, with the needles magically knitting on their own in a big circle around me. There is time for all things, I know, and not everything needs to be knit right now. The problem is, projects keep finding me. Like this fabulous cable collared short sleeve sweater, Wicked from Zephyrknits.

BTW, it wouldn't be possible to make a snow angel like the model here. The weather has finally warmed up here in Chicago. It's above freezing! There's even been a wonderful, warm wind blowing. Who knows how long this will last, but I am determined to enjoy it while it lasts. I've recently had my hair cut into a fabulous, flapper-y graduated bob, which blows around in the wind in an excellent, fun way that my longer hair just did not.
My savvier readers (like my Dad) know that I have one of those many March birthdays I was just whining about. This leads to the popular question, what do you want for your birthday? I don't know. I've been too busy transforming myself into a blithe spirit to think about that. There are some practical things that I could really use, like a new pair of cans for my ipod. The earbuds that ship with the ipod are short lived. I'd like to upgrade to the In-Ear Headphones that Apple sells, having dismissed out of hand the Bose ones that are advertised all over the El. Another thoughtful gift might be a needle case for all of my circular needles. Lexie Barnes has some cool ones, and there are others made by disadvantaged women in Vietnam, etc. Or there's the classic Lush gift certificate. You might ask me at just the right moment and get a more creative answer, but there it is.
Speaking of circular needles, Joann Fabrics (I know, I know) is having a sale on all their Clover Takumi circs. I bought a full set for $60! If you've been thinking of filling in the gaps in your needle case, now is the time to do so! They've also got free shipping through Sunday. Details on their website. Well, it's time to finish up that bowl of coffee, knit a bit of sock, and catch up with the ladies on The View. Oh, and get ready to go to work. Meh.