My Boar has a cousin who is also a Pepsi Cola Distributor.  Before he came into Pepsi, this cousin owned some Boar’s Head routes in California. (If you are a carnivore, you should acquaint yourself with Boar’s Head – they make fantastic deli meats etc.  yummy!)  It seems that Boar’s Head showers its distributors with gifts.  This cousin was going through boxes in his attic the other day, found a certain something and thought of me!  It is quite extravagant, and I am thrilled to be the only pig collector he knows … here’s a peek! (at the risk of being gauche, I wonder what else he has up there?)

I finally finished the poncho last night.  Here is a picture taken by Daugher #2.  The flash on the camera seems to wash out the lovely colors of the yarn (not to mention me!), but you get the idea.  I also threw it on before weaving in the ends or blocking.  Here is a closer look. 

And now for the specifics:  This poncho is knit top down, has shoulder shaping and is designed with a turtle neck. The pattern is written for the yarn.  With the exception of the directions for the bottom ribbing with increases, it was very clear and easy to follow. The yarn is Farmhouse Yarns by Hopyard Spinnery and they are located in East Haddam CT.  It is a hand-dyed, three ply sport weight – the pattern calls for it to be double stranded.  I purhcased the yarn at Granny’s, with encouragement from Kathleen and Granny herself!

No sooner had the poncho come off the needles than I cast on for Clapotis!  Once I get a bit further, I will post some pics.

And if a finished object, a new project and crystal aren’t enough excitement for one entry, then let me share that the slimming regimen has been quite successful with another pound and a half off and a standing appointment with Helga the Reformer!  Perhaps I shall tinker with my sidebar to include some regimen progress.

We had some snow last night and spinning guild was canceled.  Hopefully they will still have the holiday party at next month’s meeting.

Ricki hosted our little knitting group today.  It is wonderful having friends who knit!  I am in the final phase of the poncho and was facing the knitters’ classic dilemma — do I have enough yarn to do one more row and still be able to bind off? — it really is a bit of a gamble.  So with Ricki and Peggy’s assurances I went ahead with one more row and it is looking like they were right.  I will finish the binding off this evening and will post some picture tomorrow.

My fellow snow-lovin-blogger is in Texas at the moment — I wonder if she will be back by this weekend?  the weather forecaster are saying we could get walloped this weekend!

We had some snow last night and spinning guild was canceled.  Hopefully they will still have the holiday party at next month’s meeting.

Ricki hosted our little knitting group today.  It is wonderful having friends who knit!  I am in the final phase of the poncho and was facing the knitters’ classic dilemma — do I have enough yarn to do one more row and still be able to bind off? — it really is a bit of a gamble.  So with Ricki and Peggy’s assurances I went ahead with one more row and it is looking like they were right.  I will finish the binding off this evening and will post some picture tomorrow.

My fellow snow-lovin-blogger is in Texas at the moment — I wonder if she will be back by this weekend?  the weather forecaster are saying we could get walloped this weekend!

The Reformer has generated a few comments!  I spent a half hour of my morning reforming! 

So, after many wonderful suggestions on what to name The Reformer, I have settled on Helga, thanks to Julia and sorry Luanne who felt that Bertha could kick Helga’s arse.  (I just need Helga to work on my arse for a bit!) Now that I have mentioned the fair and lovely Luanne, I would like to announce that she will be taking some knitting lessons in the not too distant future!

Back to The Reformer ….. my cousin has requested some pictures of Helga in action.  Sorry to disappoint, but that isn’t going to happen.  Far too much coordination is involved – and if I ask the Boar to do it, he will take a full body shot – which also isn’t going to happen!!  :)

I worked on the poncho last night.  I did what I always do, assumed the mistake was mine and went about re knitting that row per the instructions.  ergh!  What a surprise to discover that the same damn thing happened!  So I ripped again.  (reminder: this is all at the bottom of the poncho and it is a mother-lode of stitches involved).  So I was forced to do some mathematics, consult my Knitter’s Handbook and rely on my own experience – and it is all working out.  A few more rows and I will be done! 

Spinning Guild is meeting tonight – it is the holiday party!  Rather than add another party to the December crunch, the spinning group celebrates in honor of St. Distaff’s, or Roc Day.  We will be doing a grab bag … instead of the usual little gifts, each person will put in two ounces of their own spinning! …. which reminds me, I better go and wrap mine!