She Knits By The Seashore

Noni bag -- Flexible bind off

Here is the flexible bind off for the Noni bag:

There are clear instructions on how to do this at Knitty, Summer 2006. If you scroll down the page, you can find them where it says Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bind off. At first I thought it would take forever, but it's just as fast to sew the stitches off as it is to knit them.

Speaking of Elizabeth Zimmerman, I have a question I've been meaning to ask for some time: What is her first book, or the first one you'd recommend I read? I've seen Knitting Around, Knitting Without Tears, and Knitter's Almanac, and can't figure out what is the first or best one between the three. What are the differences between them?

Today is my birthday. Usually I take the day off work, and try to plan something special. Last year I couldn't decide what to do, and ended up staying home with no particular plan. This year, I have to work, because I need to take Friday off instead. I did make an appointment for a manicure at lunch time. It's not something I do very often during the year. Mostly, I do my own nails, but by this time of the winter, my hands really need some extra help. This will be a nice treat!

Since I don't have a summer birthday (insert annual rant here about canceled childhood birthday parties because of snow/ice storms, no picnics at the beach, etc), Chris and I will go out to dinner tonight. I always like Italian food, but since I've started working on my family history, going to an Italian restaurant this year somehow seems more meaningful. Or maybe that's just an extra excuse to enjoy the wonderful desserts?!

On Saturday morning, we're leaving for the weekend for Cape Cod. I know that the time will go by too fast, but it will be wonderful to be there again. We haven't visited since before we moved last summer, and I'm looking forward to getting some real rest there, maybe a little shopping too. It is one of those places where you feel like you have space enough from your daily life to take a deep breath, smell the salt air, and let your stress go out with the tide. I can't wait.

Noni bag

I finished the body of the Noni bag. It looks huge! Does it really felt down so much? The next step is a flexible bind-off, which I've never heard of before. I'll look online to see if I can find instructions on how to do it.

Added still more rows to the Gossamer Wrap. I have three skeins left to knit up, plus one for the fringe. Still knitting the back of Caroline too. It's going so slowly, I think because I've lost motivation for this project for some reason. It's just not as exciting to me as when I first ordered the yarn.

With the cold weather, I've been reading more mysteries. I finished Die Laughing, one of the Carola Dunn mystery series that takes place in 1920s England. Daisy our detective is married to Alec, a DCI at Scotland Yard. She always manages to step smack in the middle of a murder, this time finding her dentist dead of nitrous oxide poisoning when she goes to his office to have a tooth removed. Alec is forever trying to keep her out of detecting, though he usually needs her help to solve the murder. The series reminds me very much of Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, though it takes place in Victorian England.

When I finished Die Laughing, I missed Charlotte and Thomas so much that I pulled The Whitechapel Conspiracy off the bookcase. The story begins with Thomas giving evidence for prosecution of a murder, though he can't provide a motive for it, yet. I'm at the beginning of the story, so I know Charlotte's going to go and have tea soon with someone and find out!

Lastly, Sarah recommended In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson. I'd never read any of his books before, but this one intrigued me because it involved a murder that took place in the 1940s. The town where it happened had been flooded by a reservoir, but in the year the mystery takes place, the reservoir has dried up, and so the body was discovered. The story travels back and forth in time, and the author depicts WWII England on the homefront very clearly.  Most of the characters are pretty dysfunctional, so I didn't enjoy them as much as I do the Anne Perry characters, but it's a great story nonetheless if you are looking for a page turner to while away the winter nights. That is, if you're not watching the Tour of California this week, on the Versus channel. *Love* those shots of palm trees, and seeing all that bike racing reminds me that spring really is around the corner.

Besides Knitting

Steadily I knit on the back of Caroline, almost to the neckline now. I take the not-so-gossamer wrap with me in the car for travel knitting, and work on the Noni during Netflix films. Unfortunately, there's no significant progress on any of them to photograph this week for you, so I thought I'd give you a glimpse into what I do in my free time, besides knitting. Don't be so shocked!

Around New Year's Day, an interest in genealogy snuck up on me. My mom and a great aunt have kept some pretty thorough records, so I've been hanging out at Ancestry.com, inputting names and dates. This past weekend, I took my first field trip.

Here is a photo of my great-grandparents' grave, along with their son, an uncle who died in WWII. I knew where they were buried, having visited their grave with my grandparents as a teenager, so this visit was more about documentation than discovery. But -- I just found out from my grandmother that her grandparents are also buried in the same cemetery! I never knew that. I thought they had remained in Italy. Since the cemetery office was closed last Sunday, I didn't have access to a map to find them, and it's too huge a place to wander around in the cold. This week I've been on the phone with the receptionist there and she's faxed me some maps so I can locate everyone, including some other great great aunts and uncles. Since it's only about 45 min away, I'll be going back on Saturday .

My great-grandmother crocheted the most amazing pieces (of which I have some) from Italian pattern booklets, along with sewing beautiful dresses and growing flowers in her garden. She is the one great-grandparent I did not know as a child, so I always enjoy learning more about her life.

Another New Year's goal was to start volunteering at Rainy's former shelter. (Rosie's is too far for me to travel to during the week). Welcome to my new humble domain, the infirmary.

There are 6 double cages in this room, four visible in the photo. Every Wednesday night, I and another volunteer give medications, top up food and change water bowls, scoop boxes, and help everyone stay clean and comfortable. It takes about 2 hours by the time we give out medications to the "loose" cats in the other rooms, sweep the floor, and try to give everyone a little attention. Here is my buddy Tom, who rides on my cart and makes sure I do a good job:

He likes to sleep on the pile of towels opposite the row of cages.

I also want to introduce you to Mama. When I first met her, before Christmas, she was in one of the long-term cat rooms, but she's been in the infirmary the past few weeks. She is incredibly thin, and has a large appetite. I was told that she has intestinal lymphoma, just like my sweet Charlie did, so she is extra special to me. I don't know if she ever knew a home or the love of a family, but I'm thankful that she is loved and spoiled here as much as possible. This past Wednesday, I let her out to walk around the infirmary, and enjoy some freedom.

Mama

I'm thrilled that a good number of cats we met when we adopted Rainy have already been adopted. New cats have come and also gone to homes, but even so, the shelter is at capacity. I'm just grateful the remaining ones have a safe place to live, a warm bed, and meals til their new families come!

This week has been insane, and I've been totally remiss in acknowledging the kindness of Lynne, Kerri, and Deb, who tagged me for a Make My Day award. Thank you so much!!

I've feel like I've been such a terrible blog friend the past few weeks. We had a big work project that is hopefully winding down now (among other things), and I'm looking forward to catching up on blog reading and more regular posting. Have a wonderful weekend!!