Well, here it is – the concentrated work of the last two and a half months. This is my Level 1 of the Masters Knitters Certification off to be reviewed.

I do say reviewed rather than judged. My understanding is that the committee are not looking to ding you for every little thing, but to comment in such a way that you become a better knitter. I fully do not expect to pass on the first go-round. Hardly anyone does, but hope that the do-overs will be few. There is a bit of angst, and truth be told, a little bit of nausea in letting this go. It’s like putting your heart and soul out there on the line!

Here is the project for Level 1 – a mitten.

That cuff was a killer! I think I did it about four times before I was satisfied.

Now I need to figure out what to do with myself. This has been pretty much all consuming. I did find time for a little pleasure knitting and am working on a cardigan for myself.

The beauty of knitting top down is that you can try on as you go. Ignore the flaring at the bottom; that’s just the cable that’s holding the stitches.

I also made Abby a pair of birthday socks, but forgot to take a picture of them. I really need to finish up my Christmas knitting. I’m done with the major part and just have fiddly finishing stuff to do. It’s probably not wise to save that until a day or two before Christmas.

In other news – over the years we’ve been the recipients of Ben’s hand-me-downs, usually in the form of iPhones. Whenever he got the newest model, we would get his old one. Sadly, they have transitioned to Android phones and we have not, but he made up for it by upping his game. Here is the latest:

Yes, that is a Tesla Model S. It has been his baby for the last four years and when he ordered a new one, he wanted us to have this. This is something we never ever could have considered under normal circumstances and we are gobsmacked by his and Abby’s generosity! It is a dream to drive and we are having fun researching and learning all the features. Bill says it’s like driving the Starship Enterprise! We even have cute little his and hers key fobs.

The car even recognizes them and will adjust all the settings (seat, mirrors, etc.) accordingly. Fancy! The one thing we are dealing with is “range anxiety.” Because it’s all electric, you can’t just pull into any gas station. But since 99% of our driving is within a full charge we should be fine. And as more charging stations are installed, our range should increase.

Next week I’m off to visit my parents in Missouri. This is the second time we’ve visited since the flood. They’ve settled in very comfortably into their new place and the people who now have their old place have started reconstruction. I’m anxious to see that. It was so sad last time we saw it. Not sure if I’ll have any internet connection while we’re there, but I’ll blog if I can.