One Down, Three to Go

Finished seaming Backyard Leaves tonight. I hope my mom likes it!



Pattern: Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style
Yarn: 4 balls Karabella Aurora 8

I really enjoyed this pattern. It went fairly quickly and the chart wasn't too hard to master. I'm glad I got to make this one as a gift, I probably wouldn't have made one for myself. I'm more of a stripy scarf kind of girl.

Progress on Branching Out is going well. I'm at repeat 22 and need at least 22 more to make a decent length scarf. I don't want to make it too long though, it's not exactly a "wrap around your neck 3 times and wear out in a blizzard" kind of thing.

Now the problem becomes what to knit next. I'm thinking about making either the Log Cabin Socks (I have yarn already) or making the Vintage Beaded Gloves from Handknit Holidays for my Grandmother. Thing is, she lives in Florida - though she usually visits for at least 3 month during the winter. This one is a tough call. Any suggestions?

Don't Ya Hate It When.......

Don't ya hate it when you are really looking forward to finishing up a certain leafy scarf on the train ride home and end up running out of yarn with only 30 or so rows to go?? I sure do! I was soooooo close to finishing backyard leaves Wednesday night, but a little yarn shortage squashed those dreams. Luckily, I had some half knit legwarmers at home that didn't mind being destroyed:



So I picked the scarf back up tonight and finished up the lousy 30 rows, wet it down and pinned it to the blocking board. Hopefully it will dry overnight and will be ready to be seamed tomorrow.




Thankfully, running out of yarn didn't totally devastate my holiday knitting plans. Since I had planned on finishing BYL on the train ride home, I stuffed my knitting bag with yarn for Branching Out. I've done about 10 repeats so far and am aiming for 4 repeats a day. I'm using Rowan Kidsilk left over from one of my sweater projects. It might be a little thin, but it seems to be working out OK so far, plus this isn't exactly a scarf that my Aunt will be wearing for warmth. I started out with size 8 needles, but the lace seemed too loose so I ripped it all out after a repeat or two. I went down to size 6 needles and it looks a lot nicer now. It's going to need a nice blocking though.



So it's round 2 for the Christmas gifts already so to help me along and keep me motivated, I've joined the Who Wouldn't Love A Handknitted Gift knit-along. Whew! That's a mouthful.

Progress Report

The Christmas scarf is coming along better than expected. I have been a good little knitter and have done 2 repeats a day, if not more. I only have about 4 more to go on the second half. I might even have it done by Thanksgiving so I can get started on Branching Out for my Aunt.

And I have some news on my second Lucky:

I finally ordered my blocking board with some moola that I got for my B-day last month and starting blocking Lucky last night. I'll tell ya, I don't know how I ever survived without one before! Blocking is so much easier and more pleasant. Finished sweater here I come! The weather is finally just starting to get cold, so my cashmere lucky is right on time.



Now I just have to block my fairisle sweater, finish the neckband, and sew it together and I'll have another FO. That will be my reward after finishing the parade of Christmas knits.

And finally, my knitting buddy Mia found this link online and I thought the concept was very interesting - a completely knit wedding. I don't think my fiancee will go for this though......

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I'm Sorry, But I Had To

I know, I know. I'm not usually one to fall and do what everyone else it doing, but I'm so very curious where all of you guys are from. Please indulge me and put your little pin on the map as you have probably done 200 times before! Or just leave me a comment and tell me I suck for jumping on the bandwagon. I'm just way to curious and I've been debating whether to put it up or not for two days now...........there was way too much time spent thinking about it and not enough time being spent on the knitting of Christmas presents. So to end the dilemma, I posted the map, now it's up to my loving readers to post a pin or not post a pin.





Whew! Now that is out of my system here is some progress on backyard leaves (though it's kind of a crappy picture). I've almost finished the first 11 repeats (10 done - could have gotten one more done if I hadn't thought about the map so long!) I should hopefully have the first half done by this weekend. My goal is to have this completed by next week if not sooner so I can start on my Aunt's Branching Out. Then I've added a pair of socks for my Grandmom and a Knit your own Rock Star - Henry Rollins for my sister. So now that my list has grown, I better get my butt moving.

Christmas Gifts: Round 1

Started knitting Christmas presents this weekend. Started with "Backyard Leaves" by Annie Modesett from Scarf Style. This one will be for my Mom. Luckily I had 4 balls of Aurora 8 in my stash left over from my college thesis project.



It started off a little bit shaky. I got through 1 1/2 repeats and decided to rip it all out. I was knitting a little too tightly and had made several mistakes in the chart. I should have really frogged after 1 repeat, but somehow I thought it would get different. I asked my finance several times if it looked OK and he said it did. Then he fell asleep and when he woke up, the scarf was no more. He seemed a bit more disturbed than I was. I started over, and things are well on the way. I figure if I do at least 2 repeats a day, that should leave enough time to knit my Aunt "Branching Out" in Kidsilk Haze.

Leaving for Minnesota Tuesday night for a business meeting with Target. Not really looking forward to flying - I get MAJOR anxiety attacks. I hope I'll be able to keep the nerves under control with my knitting. If security even thinks about taking it away from me I'll be in tears! Backyard Leaves is at least involved enough that I have to pay complete attention to the chart and counting. The less room I have to think about other things, the better.

Update 11/14: Trip to Minnesota is cancelled! What a relief! Though I don't get away totally clean - it's been rescheduled for 12/5. Oh well. At least I will be able to go to SnB tomorrow. It's our last night at Ten63 before they shut their doors. Sniff....

First Pair is a Charm

Yay! Finished my first pair of socks tonight. The second one fits a bit better than the first, but that's not a big surprise.



Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple - Beginner's Mid-Weight Socks
Yarn: 1 ball Lana Grossa Meilenweit 70% Virgin Wool 23% Polyamid 7% PBT

I was thinking about why it took me so long to knit my first pair of socks and I came up with one conclusion. When I was in college, my knitwear professor brainwashed us into not ever wanting to knit socks. She went on and on about "Why would anyone want to spend so much time knitting something they can go buy 5 pairs for $1?" For whatever reason this stuck in my mind for 6 years. I was even offered money last year to knit a pair for a girl I used to work with - I turned it down! Yes, I turned down knitting for money! So sad.

I'm not even sure why I listened to that professor, she was a bit weird anyway! "Why would anyone want to knit socks!?" Well, for one, this is the most comfortable, warm pair of socks I have ever owned! No more sock phobia here! Thanks again Secret Pal for the great sock therapy!

Sock progress

I've made a bit of sock progress over the past couple of days, though not as much as I would have liked. I finished the first sock last Thursday and the second is well on its way (turned heel tonight! woo hoo!). I hope to have a complete pair by tomorrow, but you never know.



The second socking finishing party might be put off until I put away all the junk in the background of the pic. It's been sitting around in my apartment for about 2 months now. Guess it's about time that I put everything away, I'm sick of looking at it.

Bought Handknit Holidays this weekend in preparation for Christmas knitting. I don't usually like Holiday knitting books, but this one is so cool I couldn't resist. I especially love the tree skirt made from Manos - however I'm not sure I would like the $ total after buying 22 skeins to complete it! Maybe next year after I win the lottery..............

Thank you so much to everyone for your engagement wishes! It is so nice to have such a warm community to share our happiness with!

Socks and Big Announcement

Yay! Socks! I am almost finished my first sock and I am so very very happy. How could I have missed out on socks for the past 5 years? I just don't know. I have about 2 inches of jersey left before I start shaping the toe. They have gone very quickly considering that I am knitting on size 3 needles. I should really be starting my on Christmas presents for the fam, but I just can't put my sock down. And don't even mention poor butterfly. She has been neglected for a week now.



Today I found a new online knitting magazine through Fig and Plum . It's called anticraft. It is very anti-cute and anti-pink. It's nice to see a different kind of knitting mag pop up. It's not for everyone, but it's one to watch for sure. I loved the little blurb on theCurse your Boyfriend sweater. And I definately must have the Snowball's Chance in Hell armwarmers!

And now for the big announcement.......

I'm engaged!!!!!!!

The big day happened on our birthday in New Hope with the sheep cheering him on. I would have mentioned it sooner, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for my Tuesday night SnB girls. Next fall will probably be when everything goes down. He is so excited about planning the wedding. I am soooooo glad I will have help and won't have to do everything myself.

The Happy Couple


The Goods!

Boo Hoo! Vacation Over

Yep, back to the grind in NYC today. It's hard to believe that I am back in such a noisy place after spending several days in the quiet quiet quiet mountains. Luckily I grew up in the country, otherwise it would have been total culture shock! The scenry was just absolutely breathtaking! Overall, we had a very relaxing vacation and our b-day was good. Thanks to everyone that wished us both a good one!

Here are a few photo highlights of our trip:

This was our B&B in Stockton, NJ

Our buddies in Stockton running for some chestnuts

View from our window.

Our B&B in Kinderhook.

Now this is a staircase!

View of the Hudson River from Olana

Martin Van Buren's home

And of course my vacation would not be complete without purchasing some new yarn:

We went to a nice little yarn store in Chatham and I picked up 5 balls of Kathmandu DK and Scarf Style. The DK will be used for the turtleneck shrug by Teva Durham. I thought this book would be great to have for making Christmas gifts since my family has hinted that they want something handmade this year. Guess I better stop being selfish and start knitting for others. Christmas will be here before I even know it and I'll be breaking my wrists trying to get everything done!

I also worked on my socks a little bit. Haven't gotten to any of the exciting parts yet. Have about 5" of jersey to go before I turn my first heel.

Yay! Secret Pal Presents

First I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who left nice comments about Blackberry and my scarf with sleeves. It's so nice to be loved!

I received a package from my Secret Pal this weekend. It probably arrived in Jersey last week, or even the week before, but I hadn't been back there to pick up my mail for two weeks. So here are the goods......

Seems my SP got my hint that I wanted to knit some socks! Not that I made it very hard to guess! I love the color of the yarn and it feels like it will be warm and soft on my little tootsies. I wanted to start my socks right away this weekend, but my DPN were in NY. Receiving gifts in the mail is such a wonderful thing - especially when it involves yarn! Thanks Secret Pal! Look for my new pair of socks here soon!

Even though I wanted to start my socks pretty badly, it's good I didn't have some double pointed needles at my disposal. I was preoccupied with the front of Butterfly this weekend. I'm moving along pretty quickly and hope to have it done within the next couple of weeks so I can move on to something else (like socks!)


This Wednesday is both my boyfriend's and my birthday, so we planned a little vacation. This is the first B-day we are spending together so we thought a little trip was in order (not to mention that I will be on the verge of a nervous breakdown if I don't get some time off from work!). On Wednesday, it's off to New Hope, PA for a day of antique and yarn shopping (plus B&B we are staying at has a sheep pasture! So exciting!) Then on Friday and Saturday its off to Kinderhook, NY on the Hudson. Already did my research on some yarn stores up there too. No sheep pasture in Kinderhook, but we will be staying at the first law school in New York built around 1785. So we'll have a nice dose of history, yarn, sheep and food. I should have lots of pics to post when I get back, though I don't know how much knitting I'll be getting done.

A Surprise Finished Object

Another finished object! I am on a roll!


Found! 5 years in the making!

When I was getting my living room situated on Friday night, I found a WIP. I had completely forgotten that I finished knitting this project and only needed to sew the sleeves onto the long scarf like body. I don't know how I ever made it through 60" of fisherman rib without being bored out of my mind. This was my second knitting project started about 5 years ago from Rebecca issue number 12. This pattern has recently been republished in their special edition Soft Kid Mohair book. It is also available for free here.


Pattern: #17 Scarf with Sleeves from Rebecca #12
Materials: GGH Soft Kid: 70% super kid mohair 25% polyamide 5% wool
Knitting Time: Well, I started sometime in 2000
Notes: I don't remember much about knitting this actually. I remember running out of yarn because I made the scarf part wider than the pattern called for. I remember having some trouble with Rebecca's english translation. Otherwise, my memory isn't much help after 5 years!

So maybe, just maybe I'll have my fairisle sweater from Vogue up here soon. I just finished reknitting the front neck. The first time around I started decreasing too early and the neck drop was too low. Now it's just a matter of blocking and finishing the neck band.

Boo hoo! Rhinebeck, the trip that never was........

This weekend I should have been happily dancing around yarn and sheep and wool and sheep.........you get the point. I should have taken off for Rhinebeck Saturday morning, but it didn't happen. With all the rain we have been having for the past week, I decided that I didn't really want to walk around possibly soggy fairgrounds. Then my boyfriend (who was supposed to drive the Jeep up Friday) got a 103 fever because of before mentioned rain. He has been working outside in it for the last week and it didn't do a body good.

So there I was on a Saturday afternoon and in New York City - a sunny New York City may I add. One thing I do appreciate about rain for 7 days is the blue sky afterwards. All the junk in the air has been cleared out - well at least for one day. I'm sure tomorrow will be back to drab grey/blue.

But all was not lost. My boyfriend felt better by Saturday morning and drove up to join me. We went to the Botanic Gardens in Brooklyn and took a walk around my old neighborhood. It was so nice to finally have some sun! I also checked out a fairly new yarn store in the area called Stitch Therapy.


Yay! Sun and blue sky!

Rose Garden

One of many

A Finished Object

Finally, as promised, a finished object! I finished Blackberry tonight and am pretty happy with the results. It needs to be blocked better before I can actually wear it, but I needed to get it up while it was hot off the needles. I was a little worried that the sweater might be too bulky looking on me, but I liked the way it came out. Sometimes bulky sweaters are hard for people to wear and even though they are quick to knit, sometimes you lose out in the end when it makes you look like the pillbury doughboy!



Pattern: Blackberry by Jennifer Thurston
Materials: 7 balls of Rowan Big Wool (Color 24, 100% Merino 87yds/100g), Sz 11 needles
Knitting Time: September 22 - Oct 10 2005.
Notes: Used 1 more ball than the pattern called for, so you may want to buy an extra just in case. When picking up around the neck for the ribbing, you might want to pick up a few more stitches than recommended. The ribbing pulls in rather tighly and needs quite a bit of blocking to prevent rolls in the body above the ribbing. Rolls are the last thing you want in a bulky sweater! Also, my bobbles look a little off, but nothing that a little blocking can't fix.

I also received some presents in the mail over the past week:



My 600 grams of silk sari yarn won on ebay. I paid $10! I couldn't pass that up. I actually didn't win the auction, but the winner couldn't pay up or didn't want it so I got a second chance to purchase. This may become a bag in the near future.



I received these two books from Crafter's Choice. They were the last of my free selections. I've wanted the toy book for awhile, but didn't want to spend the money on it. I love the little dog door draft blocker! I've had my eye on the yarn dye book for a few years also, but just never purchased it for reasons unknown. When I actually get some time, dyeing will be my next thing to try.

The Joys of Living in NYC

Yes, the joys of living in NYC.

Tonight it took me about 2 hours to get home due to some "credible" information that terrorists were planning an attack on the NYC subway in the next couple of days. First we heard that the NYPD had arrested a man from Iraq w/ plans and info on the bombing. Then we heard from Mayor Bloomberg that they did not have anyone in custody. Then we heard that there was an arrest in Iraq yesterday. So which one is it????? I don't doubt that they did in fact have some credible information, and I'm glad they let us know (we usually don't know til after the threat is passed) but they could at least get their stories straight.

So my co-worker and I decided to jump onto the bus, not because we were scared to get on the subway, but because we knew it would be a huge headache to get home that way. Everyone had the same idea - luckily we were the first stop. I heard someone on the bus ask if the subways were running again. I don't think the trains ever stopped running in the late afternoon - in fact I hear them going by outside - though not as frequently.

This just goes to show how misinformation can make things crazier than they are. Luckily, we got out of work before things got more chaotic! I would just hate to see what would happen during a real emergency. Luckily I was spared 9-11. I was here for the blackout a few years back - but that just involved a lot of walking.

So now onto the knitting news...........

I finished my second Blackberry sleeve the other night and am ready to block, stitch up and start the neckband. But I ran into a little problem - I didn't have enough yarn for the neckband. No problem, I thought, I'll just run over to the LYS on my lunch. I had just bought the yarn 2 weeks ago, so I crossed my fingers that they would have at least one ball left. When I got there, the shop owner confirmed my fear. They had sold out! In fact, she said that was the only color of big wool that people were buying! NOOOOOOOOOO! But then she checked one more time and found 4 more balls in a box. SAVED!!!! So if anyone is making Blackberry out there in blog land, make sure you buy an extra ball of yarn for this one. I'm making the XS which calls for 6 balls. I believe the Small also calls for 6 - and if I couldn't make it for the XS, the people making a S might have more trouble. So I wanted to come straight home and finish up the sweater tonight, but then life in NYC happened...........

New Stuff

I'm almost finished Blackberry from knitty. I've been working on it for almost two weeks and hope to have it stitched up soon. I really like cable work and bobbles. I think I may have to do a traditional fisherman sweater for my boyfriend. That would make him happy since he complains that he hasn't gotten a sweater yet. (I'm a very selfish knitter! There's nothing wrong with that right?)


progress

I picked up some new reading material lately. The first comes from the antique store. I was wondering around when I came upon these wonderful needlework magazines from the 20's. The seller had a whole stack that ranged from 1918 to about 1928. I leafed through to find the ones that had the best knitting projects in them, but there were also a lot of interesting crochet, embroidery, and sewing patterns. I'm getting such a kick out of the advertisements too - some almost seem brainwashing.....



My second selection is Alterknits by Leigh Radford. I had a coupon for 15% off a book at BN, so why not pick up another knitting book to add to the collection?! Most of the projects are very interesting, and there are little blurbs that get you to think about your knitting in new creative ways. Sometimes I feel like I am in such a creative slump and this just may be the book to help me out from time to time. I mainly picked it up for these two projects:



I just loved this corset sweater! The front isn't too exciting, that may get a little bit of a rewrite, but I just loved the back!

I also loved these little lanterns:


They are made out of Habu textiles Shosenshi Paper and Paper Moire. I've been wanting to get up to 29th Street to try out their yarns and this may just be the type of project to start out with.


In closing, just want to remind everyone that hockey season starts on Wednesday! I can't wait! Go Flyers!!!!

Finished sweater on its way?????

Here is my progress on Blackberry after the weekend. I knit the back on Wednesday, most of the right front on Thursday, finished the right front and the left front on the train home on Friday, and started the sleeve on Saturday. I think I might just have to pick up bigger needles more often. I think I may have done the bobbles incorrectly on the sleeves though. Somehow I ended up with the bobbles on the wrong side. Need to frog two rows tonight and have another go.



I would have more done on Blackberry if it wasn't for...........curtains! Yes, I finally have gotten my curtains up! I was so sick of being able to look over into my neighbors apartment all the time! The roman blinds were good, at least when it was daylight. When it got dark I might as well not even bothered to put them down. Now I can finally have privacy in my living room. I also put together an ikea bedside table and my lovely bf helped me to put up the blind in the kitchen. It's only been a month, but the apartment is finally starting to get organized. Now I just can't wait for my bookshelf to be delivered so I can get all my knitting books out of boxes.


Sorry neighbor, no more peep shows!

Good Girl/Bad Girl

Good Girl

I've been a good girl this week. I finished the back of butterfly on Monday! Don't mind my bright background, I'm too lazy to dig anything else out at the moment (maybe my old blue carpet background wasn't so bad afterall). I've already started the front frill and hope to be finished the front very soon. Well, finished very soon if I had been totally a good girl this week........

Bad Girl

So I went to the yarn store yesterday - to shop for my Secret Pal - I SWEAR!! Well, it didn't quite go the way that I planned. I walked out of there with two balls of Kidsilk in Trance- destined to be the shorter version of Butterfly (I just can't help myself!) I also couldn't resist buying 6 balls of Big Wool for Blackberry. The store had just received a new shipment of Big Wool and I just couldn't help myself.

Then, to make matters worse, when I came home I spent several hours working on Blackberry instead of poor Butterfly. I checked my gauge and then started knitting like crazy. I had forgotten how nice and quick it is to be using a needle larger than size 2! So I knit for about 2 hours and got all the way up to the armhole shaping when I realized that my gauge was off. That sucked the big one. So I frogged the back and dropped down a needle size. Perfect! That is the beauty of large knits - work 2 hours - wrong gauge - no problem! Blackberry is filling a very big void in my life right now - or at least very soon - A FINISHED PROJECT! I haven't finished a project in I can't even remember how long. In fact, since I have started this blog, I have only finished a scarf and shrug. Shame on me! Lucky is ready to be sewn up and the FairIsle is almost finished and ready to be stitched also, but they don't seem to want to be sewn up any time soon.

Butterfly Progress

And SP6 is on its way! I received an email from my secret pal yesterday and sent an email off to mine today. I am really excited to finally be apart of the swap. Now it gives me an excuse to check out the fall stock in my LYS. I've been trying to stay away due to my large inventory of projects to be knitted.



Butterfly is coming along very well. I'm 3cm away from decreasing for the armholes. I hope to be starting on the front by next week. I guess it all depends on how much IKEA furniture I get put together over the next couple of days. I'll tell ya one thing, It's amazing they can fit an entire love seat in 3 small boxes. They must have an entire team strictly dedicated to getting the furniture to fit in small boxes! Could you imagine getting paid to do that?

I know I say this all the time, but I really need to start knitting faster. I have so much I want to knit, and not enough time! With the new Knitty out, I want to make almost everything! Every issue gets better and better. I think it's wonderful to have an open submission process that brings in fresh ideas. Knitty rocks!

Secret Pal 6 questionnaire

Yay! I didn't miss Secret Pal 6, though I probably would have had it not been for the heads up by Chia!

So here is my (hopefully interesting) questionnaire:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I prefer natural fibers. Acrylics just pill way too much - after spending all that time knitting something nice, I want it to stay looking nice. As far as Red Heart and Lions Brand - every yarn has it's place, but it hasn't really found it's way into my knitting projects yet.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I want to learn how to spin. I bought my drop spindle about 5 months ago and am yet to get going with it. I know how to crochet, but don't do it very often.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Sometimes the occasional feline will send me into a sneezing fit.

4. How long have you been knitting?

About 5 1/2 years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Amazon and Half.com - though I only have a few knitting related things on there at the moment..........

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Vanilla

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

MMM, chocolate...... What was the question again????

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Bookbinding, beading, restoring old Dodge cars

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Alternative music such as Bad Religion, Pearl Jam, Weezer. Yes, I am MP3 capable.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I tend to lean towards cooler colors: olive, blues, turquoise but I also have a new fondness for magenta and rust oranges. Don't really like purple or pastels. Black is always good too (I've been living in New York for too long!)

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

No pets, but I really want a dog soon.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Life dreams - simple - to own my own yarn store in the near future!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Anything by Rowan - but I'm looking to break my Rowan addiction. HELP!! Kidsilk mohair rules my life!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Acrylic and scratchy wool

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Small needles and Rowan kidsilk - I also am itching to learn how to do socks.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Sweaters on small needles. But I really want to knit some socks.

17. What are you knitting right now?

Butterfly from Rowan 37 (mmmm, kidsilk and lace - perfect together)

18. What do you think about ponchos?

Well, considering I work in the fashion industry - I was over them before they ever hit the racks.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Straight

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo

21. Are you a sock knitter?

I want to be.

22. How did you learn to knit?

My grandma taught me when I was about 7, then I picked it up again during college.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

5 1/2 years young.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I have several: Grommet and Shawn the sheep, The Powerpuff girls, Hello Kitty

25. What is your favorite holiday?

My Birthday - it should be a holiday!

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Besides yarn..........can't think of anything

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Rowan International - though I should really get Interweave too, I buy it every season, it just took me like 2 years to notice I did!

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

I've been searching for a good sock book.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??

Blue Sky Alpacas: Knit Boots, Glampyre: Tubular Camisole, Mac and Me: Yoga Socks

So there you have it. I can't wait for my Secret Pal to be assigned! This is going to be so fun!

Moving Aftermath

So I've been in my new place for about a week and a half now and I absolutely love it! I only moved a couple of blocks away from where I used to live, but the new neighborhood is so much busier.

Here we have a perfect picture example of what moving can do to an otherwise healthy dana:


I moved into a 4th floor walkup without an elevator. We all felt like the above after going up and down those stairs 50 trillion times. So I am pretty much unpacked - NOT! As you can see, I have the computer up and running and then tons of boxes all over the place. I venture forth to IKEA this weekend to pick up some cheap furniture. I love IKEA! Then maybe I can get all my knitting books out of boxes and my yarn stashed away in it's proper place. I'm going to have a little designated knitting corner with a comfy chair, basket for work in progress, and a nice bright light so I can see what I am doing for a change.





And here is my progress on Butterfly from Rowan 37. I'm finally up to the waist after neglecting it during the move. I am very surprised by how quickly it is knitting up and I should have the back done in no time. The wood floors aren't exactly the best backdrop for the picture, but I really don't miss my old blue carpet! Next time I'll stop being lazy and get out a pillowcase or sheet or something!

And finally, thanks to all who have left me nice comments about my Magknits pattern. It keeps me motivated to keep turning them out. Knitty is next on my agenda, wish me luck!

Magknits is up!

Yay! Magknits is finally up and my new pattern is posted! It's so exciting. You can view my new pattern here: http://www.magknits.com/Aug05/sesame.htm.

I applogize for my lack of knitting posts lately, but I moved last week and it took up most of my time for the past couple of weeks. I only moved a couple of blocks away from my last apartment, but this one was a 4th floor walkup. Let's just say that my calves were screaming a little after the move. My legs are finally starting to feel better - 4 days after!

Butterfly has been coming along and I will post pictures once my computer at home is unpacked and back online.