Done Done Start

It was Thanksgiving here this past weekend, and that means that I spent the weekend doing two things I like a lot that scrambled my life so large that I didn’t stagger back to the blog until now. I hung with my family, I cooked, and cooked and cooked, and we got together three times in three different places and incarnations and I have these pictures to show for it.

Photo credits for a couple of these to Katie.  Thanks Kate!

First, Yes. Hank’s hair is pink – and we think it’s great. Crazy hair is a great temporary way to express yourself and be a rebel without accidentally setting anything on fire or getting to know the local piercing guy really well.  Also, yes, I know little Luis figures largely in those pictures, but it’s his first Thanksgiving and I think it’s clear the whole family is totally and completely in love with him to a ridiculous and competitive degree.  Kate and Carlos walk through the door and it starts. Erin has him, Amanda wants him, his Nana and Grampa seem to think he has some kind of stake… my mum claims experience, and sees to feel that gives her rights, Megan and Samantha cruise around waiting to play peekaboo or score points and Ken just lurks nearby.  He relies on stealth.  At the end of the day, we can all agree on two things.  Lou is the best kid ever, and Erin’s a serious baby hog.  (That’s right.  I said it. We were all thinking it, and now it’s out in the open.  Baby. Hog.)  We’re going to have to arrange extra babies for Christmas or this is going to get ugly.

We got through the holiday with a minimum of drama and a maximum of fun, and all the food was great, with the exception of whatever the hell my mum really did to that pot to fill the whole house with that weird smoke… but that’s a pretty good year for this family.  It was really, really good, and as though it totally got the memo, the weather turned and was a perfect fall weekend.  As it got colder (2 degrees, but we did not turn on the heat – I think Erin and I are the only two playing furnace wars this year.. )  I realized that it’s Rhinebeck time, and that means it’s Rhinebeck sweater time… and then I put it out of my head for being crazy.  "Rhinebeck is only twelve days away" I told myself, and I decided against it – because I’m a mature and reasonable knitter like that.  Last night when there were eleven days before Rhinebeck I thought it over again – and almost fell for it.  This morning, I think I might have given up and decided to knit a sweater for Rhinebeck.  I mean, Why not wait to make that decision until there are ten days left? 

It’s 10:30 am as I write this.  I’ve got some yarn out from the cupboard, and I might have narrowed this down…

A sweater in 10 days?  Maybe.

170 thoughts on “Done Done Start

  1. lovely photos! looks like you had so much fun. i must ask – what’s the tart-like thing in the 2nd-to-last photo? looks delicious!

  2. I think that sounds totally reasonable for a sweater….;-)
    I think the brussel sprout dish looks amazing! How is that made?

  3. I so adore the pink hair! I’m glad your holiday got the memo this year. You guys could be posing for a magazine cover about what constitutes a great family!
    Thank you, Ms. Harlot, I needed that.

  4. Come on, we know you’re going to give in to the Rhinebeck sweater mania. Let your readers have the fun of watching you go crazy AGAIN. I’m working on mine and only have one sleeve left to go.
    P.S. I was a little incredulous that Hank wanted a purple hoodie, but now that I’ve seen his pink hair, I get it. It’s so much fun to watch him growing up.

  5. Hank looks like an elf with that pink hair. 🙂
    What’s the tart-like thing in the bottom photos? I’ve been trying to guess the vegetables, but not succeeding.
    Make sure you leave room in your carry-on bag for your sweater. You may need to do the finishing on the plane. Good luck!
    Happy Thanksgiving! We’re so lucky to have family to share our festive meal. I’m also grateful that you share your photos with us.

  6. I’m totally with you on the hair. My lovely young son showed up for Mother’s Day several years ago with white hair cut in a punk style. I took a deep breath, gave him a big hug and off we went to brunch.
    That hair has gone through many changes in the past five years but he is still a great young man and still hasn’t pierced anything. And I wouldn’t care if he did.
    Long live free expression!

  7. I need a baby hog at my house, come on over! I have 3 week old twin babies (and a very friendly 3 1/2 yr old brother) to play with, a boy and a girl baby so options for everyone.
    Go for the sweater, you know you can! It’s not much more then the Olympics time line.

  8. Belated Happy Thanksgiving (I don’t get mine here in the States for a few weeks yet).
    Those sprouts look WONDERFUL, by the way (and so does every single person in all of the photos!)

  9. I really, really, really want to like brussel sprouts. Why, I don’t know, but I do. That dish of yours looks like it might get me there. Care to direct me to a recipe?

  10. 1. I love Hank’s hair.
    2.I feel very envious of the Canadian Thanksgiving.
    3.Also ashamed because I never remember when it is.
    4.This sweater thing is going to get very funny really quick. I would go chunky, and see if any local grocery stores have coffee on sale, you’ll need it, and you’ll save wool money.

  11. Go for it! If I can knit a sweater in 6 days I’m sure that Stephanie can do one better! Only make sure you have enough yarn and are on gauge! I know it is tempting but it has caused many a knitter to fall down before (even yourself). That’s the secret to knitting an entire sweater in that time frame.

  12. I want to know what the vegetable tart thing is too and I definitely think you should post the recipe. It looks amazing!!!
    Glad your thanksgiving was great – our was too – although we don’t have pictures to show for it. Wasn’t the weather fabulous? Amazing.

  13. Where did you get your potato tarte recipe? Is it one of the savories? Glad your thanksgiving went well, thought of you on Monday when we were “observing” Columbus Day here. Go Hank! My nephew did the green jello hair once, it was fine until he got rained on…

  14. I’ve been looking at your potato tatin and wondering what it would be like with parsnips. They’d be sweet and glaze well but maybe not play so well with the tomato. More thought needed…

  15. Is that a t-shirt from Northampton Brewing Company I see? Peace, Love, Beer. Happy thanksgiving!

  16. I seem to remember a frantic sweater knitting before last year’s Rhinebeck. Gwendolyn somthing wasn’t it? And you practically set it on fire rushing the blocking? And we have yet to see a photo? Or maybe my memory fails me…

  17. Okay, you have one/two blogs to write about recipes because we are all craving the tart and the brussel sprouts…and the American Thanksgiving is about six weeks ahead of us!
    And, everyone knows that you don’t enjoy your knitting unless there is an impossible deadline looming!
    Hope to see you in Rhinebeck! That will be me, with the casual nod (and no special Rhinebeck sweater!).

  18. The less time you leave yourself, the more strongly you will want to do it.
    I consider a sweater in 17 days as Yarn Harlot level crazy, so, you are just constantly improving.
    Molly : )

  19. Thanksgiving is lovely. I’ll never forget the time someone put out the flaming turkey with the closest bottle of water complete with African Violet Food dissolved in it. We all survived.

  20. Happy Thanksgiving! The family looks great.
    1. Please share the recipes for that potato tart thing & the brussels.
    2. Please consider the definition of a Rhinebeck Sweater – go ahead & start it but consider that it can also be defined as the sweater you are knitting on while at Rhinebeck – nobody says it has to be done, blocked, & on your body.
    As always, thanks for sharing.

  21. Pleeeease post some recipes! i would love to cook up some yummy veggie meals and have no idea what is good. everything looks awesome!

  22. Sweater in 10 days? Yeah, sorry…totally do-able. I did one in sport weight for Ravel-whatever-we’re-supposed-to-call-it-during-the-Olympics, and I expect you’re a faster and more accomplished knitter than I am, and I know very well you’d be knitting a smaller size than I did, so…..Knit on!

  23. Just knit the sweater! You can totally do it.
    If you need motivation think of me here in northern BC where we’ve had our first snow and there was 15cm on my deck this morning!!! I need a new sweater….. Hmmmmm I wonder what I have for sweater quantities in my stash 😉

  24. I added a 2nd Rhinebeck sweater to my knitting when Rhinebeck was 2 weeks out, even though my 1st one isn’t quite done yet, so heck yes. You can totally do a sweater in 10 days, I believe in you!

  25. So, how come no one is wearing anything knitted? Did you all, like, have an agreement that this day, this one day, everyone would forego the wearing of the wool as a way of expressing appreciation for it the rest of the year?

  26. Hi – I will be traveling from Baltimore, Maryland to Rhinebeck (I can’t wait!!!). Are you presenting there?? I would love to hear you speak if you are. Love your blog (I was just starting withdrawal symptoms when you posted today! lol)
    Thanks for all you do! You are an inspiration!
    ~Lesley
    Knitter/Spinner

  27. You can totally whack out a sweater in 10 days! What do you have in your queue that isn’t too crazy pants? Now’s the time to tackle it.

  28. Yes, I totally think you are going to have to cough up some recipes while you knit that sweater… Also, I want to put in my plug for total envy about the timing of Canadian Thanksgiving. It is a much more civilized distance from Christmas than American Thanksgiving.

  29. I think I see a photo of a BABY and JOE! BOTH SMILING!!!!! Didn’t you just say a few days ago that You = babies, Joe = Teenagers (I can’t remember if you blogged that or if that was in conversation). Lovely photos, lovely celebration, lovely family. Nice to see the girls together. Please post the tatin recipe (for those who missed it, the brussels recipe was linked a few days ago when she first posted the photo – it’s from Canadian Living Magazine, I think)

  30. Could you let us know what that tart is? And a recipe would be great too if it’s not proprietary. Beautiful pix and family!

  31. Me again. Googled and me thinks the potato tatin is from your new gift from hizknits’, the cookbook “Plenty” by Ottolenghi. Looks right!

  32. I’m with you on the hair thing – let kids do whatever they want with it.
    I’ll echo everyone else and ask you do describe/name/point us toward the recipe for the tart.
    I’m actually wearing my Rhinebeck sweater right now! I started it right after Christmas and mom sewed in the zipper for me this weekend. I take a little longer than 10 days….Good luck!

  33. I love the pink/purple hair! It’s pretty much fantastic. And I wish I was Canadian and American so I could celebrate Thanksgiving twice, that looks divine. A sweater in 10 days? If anyone can do it, you can. Just don’t put it in the oven this year.

  34. So much love and so much joy in those pictures! Thank you for letting us share a bit of it from the outside.
    As for hair, our younger son grew an afro out that I snuck up behind once and measure it: 18″ across. Hair is the most benign way in the world to experiment with who you are. Go Hank!

  35. I suspect you’re trying not to scare Joe off of baby-toting by pointing out that the best picture is when he’s doing the hogging. Have readied my own sitting-with-injured-Mom knitting, will follow yours with interest and glee.

  36. Hank’s hair is SO rad.
    Is that the tart from Around my French Table? I’ve been eyeing that thing for a while. Happy Thanksgiving!

  37. Thank you for sharing your family pictures! And I love Hank’s hair! My daughter did the same thing. Blue, green, pink (made it easy to find her when on a trip to NYC!) and bright red. Now both of my grown kids have dyed hair.

  38. Whoops! I meant from Plenty – now I know I have too many cookbooks if I am mixing those two up.

  39. Two hang ups about boys that drive me crazy, long hair and pink.
    My youngest boy (who loves pink) defiantly points out that pink is just red with some white in it and the older one quietly backs him up with once only kings could wear pink and purple.
    They’ve both gone through long hair phases and the suggestions that somehow not making them cut their hair against their will is tantamount to child abuse never fails to floor me.
    How are children supposed to learn acceptance and tolerance if we are constantly telling them that the only right way to be is to conform?
    Oh, I counted 2 pics of Luis, I call that barely showing up.

  40. Hank’s hair isn’t just pink, it is PERFECT pink! What color? What brand? The world needs to know!
    As for the 10 day sweater, I don’t know if that even cracks the top 10 of superhuman feats you have attempted for knitting science. Go to!

  41. What wonderful photos! They make me happy just looking at them. Now I can’t wait for our own Thanksgiving celebrations.
    Love Hank’s hair! And the sprouts. Although as much as I love food, pink hair totally wins the day.

  42. I am the baby hog in my family. It is not the least bit hurtful to have others yelling or screaming “baby hog” at you. Baby hogs rest secure in the knowledge that babies find them charming and prefer their company to all others.

  43. I sometimes wonder how we got through the first two years of holidays. Little Man was only a couple weeks old for his first Thanksgiving and not even 2 months for his first Christmas. Everyone wanted a piece of that kid. They still do, in fact.
    As for the Rhinebeck sweater…chunky yarn, big fat needles…but I’m not sure that’s your style.

  44. Gosh is it that time of year already? Stephanie your daughters are so beautiful….

  45. Why not pull out a UFO to FINISH for Rhinebeck? I don’t know, maybe something like, WILD APPLES BOHUS?!

  46. Love Hank’s hair! A fabulous shade. The family looks lovely. The food looks scrumptious. And I agree, it’s time to put a stop to baby hogs!
    10 days for a sweater? Is that how you do it?

  47. Beautiful family, Steph. Our Thanksgiving will be as joyful. We have a breast cancer survivor to celebrate this year. She came through surgery & treatment with flying colors & is doing well.
    Rhinebeck is on my bucket list. I’ll get there some year. Good luck with your sweater! I’ve already started Christmas knitting. 1/3 of the way through Aidez for my daughter. 🙂

  48. It’s so cool that Thanksgiving is in October in Canada. In the US it just feels like “Let’s hurry and get this holiday out of the way so we can REALLY focus on Christmas.” Stupid American holidays.

  49. I love Hank’s hair! Totally better to express himself this way than fire starting or piercing! Kudos to you all for supporting him. Pink is not an easy shade to pull off but he does it well!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

  50. A( I love the hair
    B( Please tell him that a fellow rebel loves the hair
    C( Those pictures of the food really made me hungry
    D( Why not knit a sweater in 10 days? It doesn’t have to be big or crazy

  51. I’m sure you can knit a sweater in ten days, but remember what happened to last year’s Rhinebeck sweater. And what about those little vests for nephews? What happened to that plan?

  52. potato or onion tart? looks fabulous!! recipe?
    Thanks.
    now you knew we were going to ask, right??

  53. you’re small – you knit fast – thick yarn – get to gettin’. Besides, you have to knit something because if you don’t, you won’t have room for the new yarn that you’re going to bring home from Webs and Rhinebeck. just sayin’…
    Come to think of it, at the rate you knit, you could probably spin enough bulky from your stash and knit a sweater totally in time for Web’s and Rhinebeck – then there’s absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t purchase roving *and* yarn…

  54. Bulky yarn and top down construction and you’ll breeze right through it. I usually do the same thing. I work better under pressure.

  55. I have only one question – how did a mom with such curly hair get THREE daughters with straight hair?

  56. Happy thanksgiving to you! Yum to the Brussels sprouts and ten days is more than enough time for YOU to whip up a sweater.

  57. Recipes please.. I thought it was onions, but everyone seems to think it was potatos… I want to make it for our Thanksgiving….

  58. Looks like a great family gathering. I too want to know more about the brussel sprout recipe please.

  59. Be sure to post a photo of the completed sweater so that, as I wander through the crowds in Rhinebeck, I’ll be able to spot it & smile, thinking “Aha! She did it, and beautifully”!

  60. Love the hair. Pink for breast cancer awareness, right? Oops, don’t tell him a middle aged lady likes it, won’t be cool anymore.
    Can I have the recipe for those awesome looking Brussels sprouts?

  61. Hank’s hair is awesome. And he wants a deep purple hoodie? That kid has wonderful, bold, fashion sense. 🙂

  62. This was the very argument I expounded to my daughter’s High School principal! He sent her home saying she had to dye it black, by the next day, to get it back to a ‘natural’ color! I had to explain that putting black over a virilant shade of Strawberry Shortcake Pink was not necessarily going to fix it and quite likely would make it worse! Also the goth “black” which, if we were lucky, would likely result was not a “natural hair color” for her. I made an emergency appointment with my hairdresser who had the nearly impossible task of pleasing DD, me and the school principal! She earned a HUGE tip, which tells you she was incredibly and, to my mind, magically successful!

  63. I LOVE Hank’s hair! (And, I’m glad I didn’t have to go through what elizaduckie went through when my daughter went to school with purple hair. And blue hair. And green hair….)

  64. happy thanksgiving! i’m curious if the rest of your family is vegetarian as well. your dishes look amazing! also, i’ll have to remember your saying about colored hair as my children get older…

  65. Hank looks like he could be Lucy Neatby’s “love child”, LOL!
    My son was 6 weeks old on his first Thanksgiving, and he was the first child born in my husband’s family in 19 years. He spent the holiday being passed from one relative to another, but no tug-of-wars ensued, thank goodness.
    I didn’t notice any turkey on the Thanksgiving table. Is the whole family vegetarian?

  66. I think the pink hair is perfect. I had fun colored hair at one of my early (after college)jobs. I didn’t need to meet clients, so I got to do lots of fun things to my hair. I cleared it with the boss first, because I didn’t want it to be a surprise but it made me feel more creative and fun and went a long way to making me enjoy my job more. Nothing wrong with fun hair!

  67. It looks like you’re having so much fun! And I can understand the baby hog, Luis is adorable!
    You are more advanced than me, so you probally could do a sweater in ten days. I tried to do a sweater for my new 2nd cousin for the olympics (first actual sweater too) and It ended up finished a month later (but it was loved all the same!)

  68. Just had to weigh in and say I LOVE the hair. I have a little pink in mine right now and there is nothing I like more than to find a kindred spirit. 🙂

  69. I’m in for the furnace wars! We’re in upstate NY and have yet to turn on the heat. Almost caved yesterday but it warmed up today. I used to think October was a respectable achievement but now I’m thinking we could make it until November.

  70. I love Hank’s pink hair. My own DD was always coloring her hair – pink, cherry red, purple, blue, etc. etc. She is finally at 23 settling on ‘grown up’ hair colors and now is a strawberry blond, but would take little convincing to go to something more fun. One of my favorite photos is when she was in Honor Band. All these blonds and brunettes and there is DD with fuschia hair and a young drummer with a shocking blue mohawk. They became quite good friends.
    Luis looks a totally adorable baby. I don’t blame Erin one bit for soaking up his attention.

  71. Happy Thanksgiving, I had forgotten that it was this past weekend, keep looking for a post.
    Thanksgiving should be the same time in the US as Canada if in the New England area, but not until late November if in Alabama. I guess the southern states won for Thanksgiving in the States! The cotton is still in the fields, for the most part, and there are still vegetables getting harvested from the gardens.
    Love the family pictures and really need to know what the tart like dish is!

  72. I would kill for the recipes for the brussel sprout dish and the (onion) tart dish!!! Please?

  73. Happy Thanksgiving! Looks like a wonderful time, thanks for sharing.
    What is Rhinebeck?
    I think you can totally do that sweater in time. But, just in case, do the sleeves first, then the back. That way, if you run out of time you can say that you’ve really ‘finished’ two projects – arm warmers and an odd-shaped shawl – wear both while rocking and knitting the fronts. Hee hee. Maybe after knitting one of the fronts, wear it around your neck like a scarf – viola! – 3 projects done by Rhinebeck.

  74. oooh! I can’t help but think of that bulky sweater pattern I just had to email you about recently. I’m sure you’ve been so swamped with emails you might have missed it. In any event, whatever sweater you knit, it will be great! Besides, why not throw in some steeks and two-color stranded knitting? 10 days? Totally doable! he he

  75. Hmmmm…..I think we still haven’t seen that pretty orange sweater you were knitting for Rhinebeck last year, eh? Was it that terrible? 🙂

  76. Well now you just have to post links to recipes, if not the actual recipes themselves. There’s a month until American Thanksgiving, and you’ve got some stuff going there that I’d like to incorporate into my own feast!
    Also, Hank’s hair is completely awesome.

  77. I look forward to your family holiday posts each year. You are all so blessed to have each other. It is obvious to anyone looking on that you not only love each other (as families should) but you LIKE each other and enjoy each other’s company as well. Thanks for sharing the warmth with all of us.

  78. It’s about the tart. I can see I’m not the only one who’s curious….you might expect as much comment and curiosity on this as on Pretty Thing. Make it easy, give it up.

  79. I too love Hanks hair! And also want the “Tart Thing” Identified and with a recipe. It looks soooooo yummy. Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  80. Yes…Fantastic hair Hank! Mine was purple for a time, my friends parents thought it quite radical… I thought so too (wow..really… that word wasn’t even cool in my time)
    …anyways… the tart thing Stephanie…give it up.. I’m pregnant again and you just can’t do that sort of thing to a pregnant girl and not tell her how it’s made!

  81. I just started a sweater..definately will be done in less than 10 days..coming out great…soooo in case you wanna copy me, it’s a roll-neck, top down seamless, worsted weight size 10 needles, with a pretty band of mosaic stitch! weeee! pattern around the bottom. I’m a slooow knitter, so you can prolly finish one in 3 days tops.

  82. I will admit your thanksgiving photos made me tear up. I am on the wrong continent, and the only real Canadian I know is my husband (even my kids have never lived in Canada). I really miss fall in general (not even on the right side of the equator for that), and though it felt like nothing special here, your post reminded me how much I miss thanksgiving.
    As to the 10-day sweater, I’ve mostly committed to sewing 12 superhero capes and turning about 14 boxes into cars in about the same stretch of time, so one sweater doesn’t sound that nuts. Just make sure it’s a sweater you like more than all the sleep you’ll be missing on its behalf.

  83. Please post the brussel sprout recipe. It looks mouth watering. And the sweet potato tart, too. I would love to try them for U.S. Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing.

  84. I’m our family baby hog and I don’t care who calls me one.
    I love Thanksgiving and think next year I’m going to try to celebrate both Canadian and U.S. Thanksgiving. There isn’t a single Canadian in my family but no one will care if I serve food like those sprouts and potatoes.

  85. I agree about the recipes; both look very good! As for Rhinebeck, I agonize each year over what handmade item I will wear. So far, I have a crocheted ( sorry, Steph ) shawlette. But just today, I purchased yarn for a knitted shawl. Forgive me, but I am a Gemini after all. I plan to cast on this evening, so wish me luck!

  86. Happy, happy thanksgiving. Lovely pictures and clearly a special family.
    I’m celebrating that my Dad didn’t die on Monday. He now has a pacemaker. I won’t be at Rhinebeck this year, but I’m OK with that. Have a great time!

  87. Hank looks simply delightful – please tell him that the Blog approves! And Lou – Most.Beautiful.Baby.Ever!

  88. Love the shirt! I have a hoodie from the Noho brewery and it’s one of my favorites. Perhaps another trip there is in order during your next visit to Webs!

  89. Please tell Hank that his hair is awesome and I hope that my son will some day be cool enough to sport pink hair – although now that I think about it, he likes purple better : )

  90. glad you had a Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like you had a great time. What is the dish on the right under the picture of you? It looks Yummy.
    A sweater in 10 days. Maybe not for others but you are a dedicated lady. It’s so totally doable.

  91. WONDERFUL family photos. So many happy smiles. Do Canadians do the short sleeve sweater thing (you know, for layering?)? Maybe you could finesse things that way. And I also agree that Luis looks a little like Hank, but I can’t remember if they are actually related. (Lucky you, you have a big enough family for people to get confused by. We can count all our “participating” relatives on two and a half hands. Although there are a few members who enjoy satellite status because they live so far away we’ve never met them.)

  92. Happy Thanksgiving! What a lovely and loving group – it’s a pleasure to see a happy and growing family!

  93. Hoorah for Hank’s parents for not making a big deal out of him dying his hair. I’ve gotten grief from in-laws and out-laws about some of my kids’ escapades with their hair. In the end, they all decide to give it up on their own. My philosophy: hair is just not an argument I choose to have with my kids. It’s worked so far.

  94. I love, love LOVE Hank’s hair. He looks so much like my son – if you want to know what Hank will look like when he’s seventeen, I’ll send you a picture of my son, because they’re twins. 🙂 The whole shebang looks like it was an amazing time.

  95. Love the hair, love the food, love the photos – looks like a good time was had by all. I am in the group that would like the recipes as well. I was wondering if a sweater was going to enter the picture soon. After that maybe, dare I say it, Christmas knitting?

  96. Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Year Ahead to you and yours. When my son-in-law showed up (many years ago) at his grandparents’ house looking slightly different, not a word was said. As he was leaving, his sweet grandmother asked him, “Sweetheart, do you know that your hair is pink?” Gotta love grandmas.

  97. Dear Y.H.: A belated Happy Thanksgiving to your and yours!
    Love the pic of Joe and Lou, obviously enjoying each other’s company! And that look on Lou’s face is priceless!!
    Hank, I think your hair is totally rockin’! You know, it may be high time your Aunt Steph did something like that — think you can talk her into it???
    The daughters, Erin, Kate, and your mom are as lovely as ever, while Ken and Carlos get more debonair every time we see them. (I would ask where Millie was, but I’m sure she was either under a bed or burrowed into the stash. Hope she got at least a small bite of her favorite foods from those fantastic spreads.)
    Steph, you want a new Rhinebeck sweater?? Go. To. The. Bay. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Do not drive yourself insane and/or develop carpal tunnel by trying to knit a drop-dead gorgeous sweater in less than a month.

  98. My daughter’s hair is currently turquoise and purple, and I so agree- let them do it, it’s just hair. It’s not a tattoo or a piercing, thank goodness.
    I thought it was an onion tart. But I loves me some potatoes, so either way, please post the recipe! It looks AMAZING!

  99. I knit a sweater in 10 days, and I’m nowhere near as fast a knitter as you, and also a lot larger. You can do it! It helped that it was easy lace. Check out Date Night on Knitty.

  100. Some thoughts:
    – the pink hair is fabulous!
    – the food looked delicious (not shown: apple pie with old cheddar — save me a slice next time, yeah?)
    – babies are the bestest
    – how can your daughters be that grown-up already? I just read the first Yarn Harlot books a couple years ago. They’re supposed to still be little.
    – Thanksgiving (US, Canada, Timbuktu, wherever) is my favorite holiday. Thanks for sharing yours with the Blog.
    – sweater in 10 days? You’re crazy! I admire that…or at least I enjoy reading about it. Good luck.

  101. Love, love, love the hair. The rule in our house was, “Don’t ruin Mom’s good towels with your hair dye.” Pretty much sums it up. Now, the school thought hair should be “a natural color” and there was the year it was still definitely blueish at the start of school, but we had a nice Sister as principal and really, it wasn’t THAT blue. Hair is hair and no one I know of ever died of pink (or blue or purple or green) hair. There are plenty of things to fight about without worrying about the ones that just don’t matter. Anyway, I think it looks great and wish I had the courage to do something like that to my own head!

  102. Thanksgiving was always the holiday celebrated at my house (albeit the November version!) and I do miss it. I am the lone North American in a mixed Portuguese/Bulgarian household living in Portugal and Thanksgiving is just not an item here. Even turkeys under about forty lbs, or pieces thereof, are rare. Lucky you and your family. (Envy, envy, envy!) That being said I am adding one more vote for turning this very temporarily into a knitting and cooking blog. That tart, foccacio,pizza thing is making me hungry!

  103. Love Hank’s hair!!! Don’t know if anyone else mentioned this or not, but Amanda and Samantha could pass for twins (probably NOT something they’d like to hear). Please, please give us the recipes for the tartin and the brussels sprouts dishes. Happy Belated Thanksgiving and have a great time at Rhinebeck!

  104. Wow. All I can say is that you are one very lucky woman! As I’ve gotten older I have realized that what really matters is the people we love and who love us. You clearly have an abundance in this area. Yay for you and your wonderful family!!

  105. What a great family.Wish I had the guts for pink hair,I’ll stick with the gray.
    Can you come to Texas and take me to Rhinebeck? Have a blast and dont forget to sleep between sweater stitches.

  106. Go for it! I think you’ll regret it once you get to Rhinebeck and see all the others with their new sweaters… just saying.

  107. You can make a sweater in 10 days, you know it! Those roasted vegetables look yum, by the way; we do roasted root vegetables for our Thanksgiving too, they’re a favorite. My Rhinebeck sweater has a back and most of a front; I’m not sure I’ll make it. I love Hank’s hair, and wish I could snorgle Lou, too!

  108. Hank’s hair looks great! I agree that it is a way for kids (or adults) to express their individuality without permanent damage. My son had long wavy hair, down to his shoulders, in high school (he is now 23). The only thing that was ever mentioned was that it had to be clean.

  109. Looks like a wonderful time was had by all, and Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
    PS I second/third/fourth the requests for the brussel sprout recipe! Looks very yummy!

  110. Rule of thumb for kids’ bodies (or your own):
    nothing permanent in the name of fashion
    hair dye = not permanent
    piercing, tatooing, scarring, permament hair removal, permanent eyeliner, etc. = permanent
    You just never know how trends will change, and what you’ll be stuck with
    (one exception is one set of piercings in the ears–but even those close with time, and don’t leave scars)
    So:
    Rock on, Hank! If I didn’t have clients to see (and really dark hair that’s hard to dye), I’d be purple, myself.

  111. Can’t wait to see what you choose for Rhinebeck. I’m trying to decide which new sweater to wear: recently finished Sotherton or one of the new cardigan designs I’m wrapping up now (the pattern writing, not the knitting). Or the new idea I cast on last night to take the edge off all that pattern grading – do I try to bang it out in time? So many choices!

  112. I was wondering about furnace wars. I held off as long as I could. “I wonder if Stephenie has turned the heat on,” crossed my mind as we lit up the coal stove. I console myself with the thought that I’m pretty sure Toronto is a but further south than northern Maine. (Don’t quote me on that, I took two years of government studies in high school to avoid geography.)

  113. The food does look awesome – I might have to get my hands on copies of those cookbooks! Love Hanks pink hair. And we have also not yet turned on the heat yet, despite several nights in the near the freezing mark (32 – 34 degrees F), but I’m not playing furnace wars. I just can’t afford heating oil yet until I get a couple of paychecks in the bank – thank heaven for a new job! Good luck on the Rhinebeck sweater – I have faith in you.

  114. I have to say, (though this may be my inner sadist speaking) that I’d love to see you pull together a sweater before Rhinebeck. I’ll tell myself that it’s because such a thing would be entirely impossible for me, so I’d like to see SOMEBODY do it. *hint hint*
    Also, I’m loving Hank’s pink hair. He looks like quite the adorable (and not a bit scary) rebel.

  115. Yummy food pics. Thanks for the link on the brussel sprouts. I’m doing them for sure for our November Thanksgiving.
    10 days is just right foe a sweater. One day for each sleeve, one day for each front, 2 days for the back, one day for Button bands and one for blocking and sewing up= 10 days. Just right, not crazy at all.
    Julie in San Diego

  116. Okay, I really need the brussel sprouts recipe. As if there were a way to make my husband love me more.

  117. I love Hanks hair! Of course this is coming from someone who’s way older than Hank and has blue hair LOL. About the sweater……you are the only person I know who can state that they want to make a Rhinebeck sweater 10 days before Rhinebeck and actually has a chance to pull it off. You’re still crazier than a bag of wet cats but if anyone can pull it off you can. I would have to start the Monday after Rhinebeck this year to have it made in time for next year. If I was really lucky and the pattern was simple, I might be able to pull it off. Maybe. Good luck!

  118. I love your family, your blog, you and how inspirational you all are! How I wish I could be at Rhinebeck and see you! But I got something almost better — Shreveport, Louisiana and being with y’all at Knitting Under the Influence of Nancy! Enjoy Rhinebeck!

  119. Hank’s hair is FANTASTIC! Not just cool or rad but the possibly the best pink hair I have ever seen.

  120. You do know you’re already doing the sweater, right?? The hair thing: been there, and you’re right — “cool” without commitment. And I also want the tart recipe, please. The sprouts look wonderful; I already roast mine and this year I’ll have garden carrots to go with it. 🙂

  121. When I saw that second picture, the first thing I thought was, “Is that Hank?” Love the pink hair! Gotta love doing your own thing (says the nearly 40 year old woman who just got dreadlocks). Second thing I thought was, “I remember when he was but a wee thing; boy am I getting old!” (Been reading the blog for a long time.)
    Great pictures of the family, and a big belated Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you and yours.

  122. Hank’s big enough to have pink hair? What happened to the little bundle running around in the dinosaur sweater?
    I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving, from a longtime reader in the CA to the south.

  123. Loving the pink hair! Good for Hank to express himself so colourfully.
    I would be much OK with either of my kids having a go, but I’m fairly confident my hubby would just have a fit. To bad really.

  124. I looked at the calendar and thought of you. Looks like you had a great feast, family and oooh that baby.

  125. I’m just now catching up on your blog, and when I first saw the picture of Hank, I was positively giddy. “OMG, Hank dyed his hair pink??? That’s so AWESOME!!!”

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