Before I get into the meat of the matter, I’m just going to throw out there that getting married is awesome. I love my friends, and can’t wait to see the whole family and buddies from so many parts of my life together in one room. And what can I say- the kitchen goods people have been generous to gift us will be well loved and used! Mostly we haven’t opened any wedding gifts yet, which is George’s doing, not mine- I’m all about tearing off the wrappings! But I figured shower gifts were fair game, and last night Bridesmaid Jo and I made pumpkin ice cream, thanks to a generous gift from two of G’s close friends.
Wow. I owe those ladies some ice cream loving in return. I’ve never tasted something so delectable in my life. It’s a good thing that making ice cream involves 15 hours of freezing, then making it, then letting the container COMPLETELY defrost, before washing. Drying completely. Before starting over. That means there’s a solid 3 day interval between ice cream sessions- and hopefully more. Because this stuff is sinful! The recipe was just a basic frozen custard recipe, from the booklet that came with my ice cream maker for the KitchenAid. I’ll think about posting it, or at least a variation, at some point.
Also of note- to substitute for pumpkin pie spice, it’s mostly cinnamon, with a hint of ginger, clove, and nutmeg. In case you think you have it in the house, and then don’t. Like me.
Now, back to the subject. When I’m married… I will no longer be working on nonbloggable things! This year I have NO intention of knitting for the holidays. I am still getting ready for the holidays, never fear- I’ve purchased a number of things for the ladies in my life. And I’m getting ideas for the guys. But not a single one of them is getting a handmade gift this year- or at least, not handmade by me.
When I’m married, I am going to start crafting for the sheer joy of it again. No deadlines, no due dates, and no goals other than my own! Here is what I have queued up for our first year (or two) of marriage- because it can’t all be honeymooning.
Before I get very far, I want to focus in on my patchwork. Specifically, I want to finish my Storm at Sea quilt top! I started working on it at the quilt retreat over a year ago now, and it’s been largely untouched since then. I’m a little nervous about trying to find all the pieces, since in between then and now I’ve moved. And my sewing room? A disaster. No matter, it’s still a huge priority for me! I want it done, and hanging on the wall. Pronto.

Of course, knitting will continue pre wedding, post wedding, forever as far as I know. My first queued up project? Girl Friday from the last issue of Knitty. I purchased the yarn for this project already- to my delight, I didn’t have enough worsted weight in my stash, which gave me the opportunity to buy some new! I ended up going with Knit Picks, since I needed it to be an inexpensive project. This is in large part because the other sweater I have queued up is for hubby-to-be. And he has good taste in yarn.
I’m making him a zippered cardigan, which we saw and loved in the Webs catalog. The pattern is from Blue Sky Alpacas, and G requested that I make the sweater exactly as-is- so I’ll be using the rust and brown alpaca yarn. It should be cozy to knit, and incredibly warm once completed! I think he underestimates the powerful heat of alpaca, but it should be a sharp-looking jacket for the colder months. I’m just very excited that he actually wants me to knit a sweater! He isn’t normally much of a guy for handknits- he appreciates my knitting, but he tends to wear sporty clothing. Lots of Patagonia, and fleece, and running shirts. I’m really happy that we both like a pattern, and that I will finally be able to ignore the curse with impunity. Just to make sure… I’m not even buying the yarn until we’re home from the honeymoon! Or at least- not until after the wedding ceremony.
With the Olympics coming up, I definitely plan to participate in the Ravelympics. I completed a sweater during the last Olympics, start to finish, and I think I will up my game this time by making something slightly more complicated. I might actually use George’s sweater for that purpose- if he can handle waiting that long to wear it! If not, there are other options in the queue. Maybe my Kauni cardigan… the fingering weight would definitely make it a challenge, but the color changes would definitely keep the fingers moving!

That or I have the yarn for a super awesome cabled sweater, maybe the Must Have Cardigan everyone was knitting a while back:

There are also a bunch of unfinished objects that… I really want to finish. This sweater:

Another sweater that’s about half done:

There’s my Monkey socks:

And, when I’m finally over my lace overload… there’s that cashmere.

But for now, I’m still knitting nonbloggables. I will be awfully glad when the last one is blocked and ends are woven in- so much for finishing before November! At least I’ve been attending knitting group again- I can’t believe I skipped out for months. They’re so supportive, and so nice! I guess I really am committed to Arlington, now that I’ve chosen Arlington Knotty Knitters for my regular weekly (or twice weekly) knitting group. I don’t imagine George will ever leave this town- so I’m glad I’m finally setting down roots of my own!