Well, I can certainly appreciate your migraines. I have a friend with those and she is incapacitated more often than she would like. Glad yours are under control. I'm sure that you don't like taking the meds but its better to take meds than experience the headaches. I wouldn't be knitting either if I had a migraine, so it's understandable.

I'm still working on my sweater and on Lisa's. I really enjoyed frogging her sweater and knitting it again. I also altered the pattern to knit it in one piece rather than 2 fronts and one back. I've completed everything but the sleeves. I'm starting those right after the holidays.

My sweater from Interweave knits is turning out great. I decided that I wanted to make long sleeves, instead of the 3/4 length sleeves in the pattern. I hope they work out. One sleeve is done the other just needs the shaping at the upper end. So after the holidays I'll work on finishing that sweater as well.

You know, I am on the road this week, not to return home til the 30th. Because of this I had to have something to knit on. Neither of the sweater projects that I just wrote about are portable at this time, so last night I drug out some yarn and started a scarf for my hairdresser. I'm too late for Christmas, but I have a hair appointment for Jan 6th, so I'll have a scarf to take her as a gift. I played with the yarn and created a pattern that I like. Then I got some knitting time on the plane today. Here's what I've done so far. What do you think? I just started knitting without a plan in mind, I'm sure that violates all we've read about knitting, and Steven Covey - Start with the end in mind, right?


I think it will end up OK. The yarn is the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which I've heard that despite the label doesn't contain any cashmere. Don't know what makes it so soft without cashmere. At least it is a knitting project for the trip when nothing else would work.

Oh, I still have the socks, that I'm working to finish. I just got caught up knitting the sweaters and dropped the socks. They are in my briefcase, so I can finish them this trip as well.

Looking forward to sharing Christmas with you, Heidi, Kevin and your mom. We'll see you Thursday or Friday somewhere. My Heidi is taking skiing lessons, 10AM - 3:30 PM on Friday and Saturday, so you know where to find me. Knitting by the fire and watching her progress. See you soon.

Rally Warmer

Football in the south is a religion and it really doesn't matter what level of football you're talking about - high school, college or professional. The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) State Championships are this weekend and my alma mater, Northside High School, is in the AAAA State Championships for the third time in six years and the second year in a row. The Eagles have a great chance to bring it home this year and we lucked out and won the coin toss to host the game this Friday night.

Now it's been a little cool out in the evenings these last few games. Last week, the semi finals were held indoors at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, so no winter gear was needed. Thank goodness for indoor football since it was an unseasonable 16 degrees last Friday night. But this week it will be 30 something at game time and I felt like I should make something blue and white for the occasion.

The new winter issue of Knitty was out and this cute little head scarf seemed to be a quick and easy answer. Then two things happened that I never thought would:

1. I was in Walmart buying groceries and saw this cheap and perfectly colored blue and white colored yarn, which I thought would be interesting. I'm kind of a yarn snob. I really don't like acrylic and I knew, since it was at Wally World, it was acrylic, but I figured it was for a once in a while kind of thing, I'd take a second look.

2. The yarn, upon further inspection was actually camouflage colored yarn. Yes, camo yarn. I never in my life have liked anything camo colored. But this yarn seemed interesting to me. And I still can't quite figure out how blue and while qualifies as camo, I mean, maybe if you're hiding in an ocean or tropical area, but not in Middle GA.

Anyway - I bought the yarn. Acrylic, camo yarn to make this great pattern.

Now, I didn't make a gauge swatch. Why should I? There really wasn't a size. It was just a head scarf. I guess if I wanted to make something that didn't end up the size of my youngest cat, Nomie, I should have made a gauge swatch. Although, my finished measurements do match up to those of the pattern, the size is way too big and I hated the way it looks on me.

So, first try was no good. Second try I cast on 90 stitches instead of 120 (yes I know that 90 is not divisable by 4, but neither is my head), and it came out great. So, now I have a great head scarf to rally my Eagles on to a win on Friday night. I'll be sure to have my DH take a photo of me in it as we cheer the guys on to a victory.

Oh - by the way, both of our college alma maters are in the IAA National Football Championship Game this Friday night. UMASS (my husband's school) and Appalachian State play each other at 8p in Chattanooga, TN. It was a hard to decide which game to go to, but since we have cheered the Eagles on all season and we could both sit on the same side of the stadium, we decided to go to the NHS game.