may the force be with you (but not the power)

We had a big wind/rain storm come through the Seattle area last week and coupled with the rain/wind storm we already had in November creating lots of downed trees, caused a million people to lose power on Thursday night.  We are one of the (un)lucky ones that are still without power and probably won't get power at home until at least Thursday (one week later!!)  Our offices got power early this morning so that is where I'm blogging from.  It has been quite the experience so far.  The kids are having so much fun - missing another 3 days of school - that brings up their total to 7 days and that means they'll probably will be in school until July!  At least, we have gas which heats our gas fireplace, our gas stove and our water heater so the kids sleep in front of the fireplace and we can shower and we can cook.  We are one of the only ones with a gas stove so our neighbors have been over everyday to eat with us and drink coffee (mmm.... coffee...).  So that's been a positive having enjoyable community gatherings.  Usually in the winter, we all hide out in our own homes so it's been so nice to visit and everyone contributes what they can to breakfast, lunch and dinner - and eating by candlelight has become a treat that we all want to do at least once a month with all the neighbors.  All of our food is outside in the cold so our freezer/fridge is empty.  Matt really scrubbed it all out with bleach so it's all sparkling and waiting for us to put food back in it.  The biggest drawback so far is that I can't do laundry so the piles keep getting bigger and bigger.  Also, I can't watch TV (missed the Survivor finale but found out Yul won!!! Yippee!!!) and I can't use the internet to see what you guys are all up too!  I've really missed you all. 

I have done some knitting though:

Yes, the nerd in me finished Matt's Star Wars reversible hat! Yep, it's not a hat for my 4-yo son, or even my 8-yo son but for my 36-yo hubby!  My sons keep stealing it though.

I ended up not wanting to do Darth Vader but R2-D2 is still on the hat:

As much grumbling as I did while knitting, I did like this loosy goosy Very Warm Hat pattern from Elizabeth's Zimmermann's Knitting Around.  Finally!  A Zimmermania project done, as well as a Stranded KAL and Knit Grey's KAL project done.  I put the charts in my previous post.  Here's a picture of the inside:

And an in-progress picture:

I'm rather proud of myself, finishing a project that wasn't step by step.  Knitting Around is a great book and has some of EZ's history in it too.  It's giving me confidence to retackle those mittens of hers!  Matt really appreciated having his head warm last night when we went to bed in our freezing cold (but really nice) remodeled bedroom.  Our neighbor, Scott, really liked one of Matt's other hat that I knitted for him and he wanted one of his own:

This is the simple cable and ribbed hat that I can do in my sleep using the Tahki Donegal Tweed that I had leftover from my Central Park Hoodie.  Here's another picture:

Scott's son now wants one too so I will be cranking out another one since I still have more leftover tweed and lucky you, will get another picture of the same thing!  And hey, this counts for my Tweeding Along KAL and Fall Cable KAL too.  Aren't I productive without any power?  It was kind of funny to be thinking about how things used to be all the time without power - knitting by candlelight after a long day of chores done by hand - dishes and such.  We draw the line at handwashing our clothes so I'll be making a trip to Target for underwear - ya'll really wanted to know that didn't you?  Anyways, think warm thoughts for me as I sporadically blog and catch up on your blogs too.  Happy Holidays everyone!

Comments

[Jeanne]

Tiennie, I really hope that the power is back on before Christmas. That is my wish for you. You ARE amazingly productive! :-) The Force must be with you.

[Phoe]

That Star Wars hat is awesome!

[Janet]

Please, please tell us how to make your cable and rib hat! It's so nice. So is your Star Wars hat. Great job!

[aj]

Well I'm impressed! :)

We got the tail end of that Northern storm over the weekend, no power failure...and really, not much of a storm. I love the rain! But I suppose when you have no power they aren't that much fun.

[Debby]

That is certainly productive! It seems like you are having such fun with what is usually a frustrating situation, spending time with your family and neighbors and being creative in all sorts of ways! I guess that's what happens when you can give up laundry!!

[Pat]

Your Star Wars hat turned out so great.... and the tweedy cable hat is beautiful!

[Kara]

Holy smokes. That hat is out of this world...get it? Wow. That was such a bad joke unworthy of such an awesome hat!

[Rose]

Would you be so kind as to share the cable hat. I would love to try and make one this week for a gift! Thanks.

[keri]

That - Is - soooo - cool! Your colorwork looks amazingg!

I love your hat also if you're interested in sharing the pattern, I have a few chemo caps that I want to knit and I like the simple hat with a twist! =)

[Jeanne]

The star wars hat is amazing - great job! Cute cable hat too. Hope you get your power back soon!

[dana]

Oh my gosh... my husband would love the starwars hat. LOVE to have it. I will have to check out that book.

[Sharmane]

OMG! I gotta get those patterns my husband is a Star Wars geek too! I would love to make a Star Wars thingy. Nice!

[Diane]

Tiennie....that's where you've been....I was surprised about no Survivor comment Monday AM..Yul...yes.....

I have been thinking about you all week...so sorry about the power situation.....you are so great to open your home to your neighbors...hope you taught them all to knit......lol

Take care...I hope the power comes back on soon.....tough week not to have power before Christmas...but sounds like you are making the most of it! Diane

[Siow Chin]

Love the Star Wars hat!

[Dr. B.]

Found you from Fig & Plum, and that Star Wars hat is so great! Both the important *grown* men in my life would die for that hat. (My skills are far too inferior to tackle such a thing, so they're just going to have to admire yours from afar and wish...) Cheers!

[Monica]

That is one cool hat. :)

[ashpags]

Oh my goodness - that is quite possibly the coolest hat I've ever seen!!! I like the idea of the VWH a lot...I just got Opinionated Knitter, and I might have to put Knitting Around on the list for my next EZ book. =)

[Celeste]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I featured your hat in an article I write for Fandomania.com. You can read it at the link in my name. =)