Dear Ann,
We made it to Omaha, where it is raining. Raining! On the Plains! At Christmas!
Packed in my carry-on was my freshly blocked latest FO, a pair of Trip Mitts in Noro Silk Garden Solo in charcoal, finished with a yard or two of Lett-Lopi in pale gray.
I highly recommend Noro Silk Garden for these mitts. Mitts take a lot of wear, so if you use anything too soft, they will pill or felt. Noro Silk Garden doesn’t pill or felt. Something about the silk in the recipe? I don’t know. But I have used it a lot and not known it to pill or felt.
On the plane rides to get here, I couldn’t help thinking back to the days when this annual journey meant hours of keeping little ones entertained, many plastic cups of Sprite (the spilled and the nearly-spilled, equally stressful), markers lost in the seats, and the fear of leaving a precious toy behind. I remember the year that Joseph played with the ashtray in the armrest the whole way, and asked me, “what is this for?” Now, our biggest problem is leg room. Not a peep out of either of them; I was not even anxious about their Sprites.
I’ll sign off for Christmas now, wishing every one a good one. I’ll be back on December 29.
Love,
Kay
very impressive leg gear.
I remember the Sprite posts. What are holidays if not reminders of shared past?
Marry Christmas to you and yours!
Such a tender rememberance of traveling with littles. Oh how time flies.
And yes, lost stitch markers on the airplane is The Worst!
Great mitts. Enjoy your special time and travels with family.
Plane rides with kiddos! My husband’s parents moved from Chicago to Florida right about when our first son was born (second one followed four years later). I made many (many!) flights from Mpls to Orlando or Tampa in the years until they were in school (many! Every time the airlines had a fire sale on FL tickets.) . The best one was the Christmas when my husband was along, and he decided to be The Parent. He and the boys sat on one side of the aisle and I sat on the other. I was free to read, knit, whatever; also, to give dirty looks to those noisy kids across the aisle (not; they were reasonably well-behaved).
The Trip Mitts!! They look fabulous in charcoal gray. I need to think about more understated knits in the new year.
Love, love, love that you knit my little pattern. Have the happiest of holidays in in the hearltand! xoxox
No offense, but I’m guessing those lace clad legs aren’t yours, but if they are, kudos!
I once took four kids to Scotland, two were still in diapers. I felt rather like the burrough.
Cold and wet at home, and cold and wet in Omaha. Nice show at the Joslyn.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all!
I am spending Christmas in Omaha as well, and I also am finding the rain a surprise, not especially pleasant! Enjoy you holiday!
GAH! I’m getting pre-nostalgia, already, sheesh! And we don’t even GO anywhere for Christmas.
Pleased as hell that C made the journey in subtly patterned black tights and the extremely short denim shorts, a look that is The Look at the moment in NYC (and everywhere? no idea…). Saw an EXCELLENT one-up on that the other day in the city – take what she’s wearing and ADD garters peeking out from under the shorts to hold up a pair of extreme-scale white fishnet thigh highs on top. The fishnet openings were about the size of a JFK half-dollar. On top of the black tights, all that layering…it was pretty awesome.
Last long flight we took, my tall 7 (then 6) year old insisted in traveling in a suit, with his (paper) suitcase from grandma. So he would look like a proper traveler. The picture of him at the end of the trip, exhausted, still in full suit, bow tie, suitcase, and stuffed lion, is priceless.
Merry Christmas to you too Kay! Also to Ann!
Mud and damp here for Christmas, too. I was so sad when we stopped getting kid meals on the plane. That little box of raisins would keep them busy for some time. Enjoy your big kids, and have a great Christmas with your family!
Merry Christmas, Kay!
Rain finally stopped here, but it’s gone up to double digits (Celsius). Unbelievably warm, and a shoe-in for a green Christmas in Toronto and much of southern Ontario. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Enjoy the memories as you make new ones. And be sure to take photos…..
Thanks for the tip about Noro Silk Garden. Your mitts are gorgeous. I hope that rain turns to snow!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Kay!
(It’s raining here, too. The main paddock is ankle deep in slippery mud. In December! In Massachusetts!)
I’ve been looking at these mitts, and just love that little contrasting stripe/join. And I’ve got some Silk Garden in the stash, I believe.
Enjoy unseasonably warm Omaha! Merry Christmas to both you and Ann, and your families!
The mitts are g-r-e-a-t, Kay! The color, too, is a nice contrast to Ann’s project in her last post. I like the functional simplicity in both of your projects, as well as their great style.
Wishing you and yours much happiness as you spend this time together.
LoveDiane
Merry Christms Kay! and Ann! Thank you for all the Christmas cheer you have been sending our way these past few weeks! I hope you have a fantastic trip and enjoy the holidays. I love Noro Silk Garden too but for us year round warm weather knitters, I found an equally lovely, yet soft and not too warm yarn that I used to make a very similar pair of fingerless mittens last year that haven’t pilled yet using Madeline Tosh yarn. From Kathy in California.
Merry Chrismitts Kay & family! I hope you have a great time in Omaha. I sometimes miss the days of yore when the children were little, but then I remember things like Sprite anxiety and I’m good with them being grown up… one of them experiencing the joys of Sprite anxiety herself!
I am using the softest-ever yarn for Trip Mitts and they’re probably going to felt like a son of a gun, but they’ll be so wonderful for a while. I keep rubbing my cheek with my works-in-progress.
We had a visiting child look at something marked ‘not for use as ash tray ‘ and ask what an ash tray was. So ubiquitous and now I don’t know if it is a compound word, hyphenated, or what. Happy Holidays. Great mitts.
I need a pair of these in my life. What can I do to make this happen? 🙂