Paint it Red

Bear's electric kettle is on the ropes. It seems to be the season for kettles going tits up. After a few weeks of drinking less tea than I would otherwise have done because the stovetop kettle had mysteriously developed a permanent convex buckling in the bottom, making it wobbly and slow to heat, we went off to Target and bought one of these on sale.

The first one we bought didn't work at all, but after we trekked back through the snow flurries and exchanged it, the second one did. So far, pretty happy. It doesn't whistle or ping or anything when it boils, but in our house I could never hear the kettle whistle from anywhere outside of the kitchen anyway, so ya boo sucks and all. It does have a little power light to let you know when it's on, and will automatically shut off when it boils, and (yay!) it is cordless, and it is shiny and red (double yay!). And it uses less power to boil a kettle of water than the stove-top kind. On the whole, winnish.

I'm still not sure what the hell happened with the old kettle -- did I let it boil dry at some point and warp the bottom? It wouldn't be the first kettle I ruined through inattention. My old Revere kettle boiled dry so badly the phenolic melted. Yeah. Lucky I didn't burn the building down, I guess. Here's to automatic shut-offs on kettles.

In Praise of Good Yarn

The knitting progresses apace. Since last we saw our humble correspondent, she has finished two scarves, and two pair of ribbed fingerless mitts, the second pair of which she knitted in the round on double-pointed needles, thank you very much. Now on to a hat in the round, whereon I may try to teach myself cabling. Or perhaps color work. I haven't picked up anything new since I started knitting in the round, so it's clearly time for new Mad Skillz.

When I was starting my first project, my cow-orker Susanna kindly gave me a ball of yarn to practice on as I struggled with the somewhat rough and difficult tweed yarn I had picked out for myself (inevitably when I'm picking up a new skill, I find ways to make more work than necessary). Especially in comparison to the bouclé yarn I used for the scarves, the little blue ball of yarn from Susanna was a dream to work with. It's twisted closely so it's harder to accidentally split, it's smooth and soft to the touch so that it's pleasant to work with for longer periods, and it has just the right amount of elasticity so that it knits up easily and pleasantly with less effort. The longer I worked with it, the more I adored it and I finally had to go back and ask what it was.

It's Cascade 220 worsted wool, and if you knit, and you haven't had the pleasure, by all means check it out. It isn't rock star sexy on the skein, but my word it's a dream to knit with. Especially on these new English-made double-pointed needles -- it's like butter. Nom nom nom that's a tasty feel. And now, on to the purple knitted cap.