A fine coating of moss

That's how this weather is making me feel - like I'm developing a fine coating of moss, or possibly mold. Me, the furniture, the cat, the car... everything. Mossy. Crap, if I'd wanted to live in Seattle or Ireland, I'd have moved there! ;-) We're looking forward to a break over the weekend, but I'm starting to lose confidence. The other day I actually caught myself thinking how sad it was that I hadn't gotten those plants in, and here it is the end of the season already. Ummm... no. That's a September thought. It's really only June. *sigh*

So between the weather and being sick as a dog last night, I gave myself permission to stay home today and drink tea and knit. This gave me the chance I needed to make some measurable progress on a couple of projects I've had waiting in the wings.

And yes, I did finish the back of The Big Red Sweater before starting anything new. So there.

First is Kyle's Boyfriend Sock in Dream in Color Smooshy, Chinatown Apple.




















Not only is the pattern quick and fun to knit, but the yarn is amazing. I can't say enough good things about Dream in Color. Not just the texture and the twist and the softness, but the colors are absolutely amazing. The photo doesn't do this color justice - it's actually lots of shades of brick red. I think I'm going to use my own skein in Wisterious for the new Outside In sock from the summer issue of Knitty. As far as the purl bumps on the inside sole of socks, I'm just the Princess and the Pea this was designed for. heh.

Another thing I've been wanting to get started in the Ten Stitch Twist blanket (Rav link). I am finally tired of Noro, after my long affair with Lizard Ridge, and I wanted a lighter blanket anyhow; something more suited for spring/summer/fall use. After Blogless Sara and I had our amazing yarn crawl, I had the first two skeins of the yarn I wanted - The Serendipitous Ewe Lucky Sock in Prickly Cactus. Wanting a lighter blanket, I knew sock yarn was the most likely candidate, but I didn't expect to fall in love with a yarn that would lead me to size US1 needles. Yes, you read that correctly - I've started a blanket (not a baby blanket, mind you) using US1 needles. Certifiably insane? Oh yeah. You bet. But look! Isn't it pretty?


















The knitting is just a simple garter stitch, but the construction is a magic trick. It tickles me that I can knit a round flat thing in a big spiral like this. It's... engaging. And the colors are just the tropical, floridian look I wanted. I'm very happy with it. Which is a good thing, because I'm a little worried that I'll be knitting this for the rest of my life.

The first time is never easy.

So we didn't get the house.

There was just too much work needed for the price they wanted, and when we counter offered with a list of projects and a reduced price, they basically told us to go take a hike. They didn't even bother countering.

*shrugs*

It would have been a good house for us, but I know there's even better stuff out there for the money. We're taking a little break this weekend and we'll start again fresh next week with a strategy meeting with Brian, our realtor. And it gave me a good excuse to buy myself some consolation yarn. A bag of Linen Twist in Chili Red. Mmmmm! heh heh.

Mister Tim was mostly sad that he couldn't get me a house for my birthday. How sweet is that? So instead he's taking me away for a spa day in Portland, Maine tomorrow. Oh yeah - that'll work! ;-) We'll leave right after the Reader's Theatre Collaborative stage reading he's directing on Saturday morning. If you've got nothing else going on at 10am on Saturday, I'd encourage you to go. The plays are a bit blue so don't bring the kids to this one, but you will laugh until you cry. The scripts are fantastic! And yes, I did get roped into reading stage directions. Again. lol!

One last bit of drama to impart - while we were having lunch downtown Wednesday, waiting to hear back about the house, Mister Tim's cell phone rang. I'm thinking it's our realtor with news, but about 30 seconds into the conversation, I know it's not that. It's Tim's main job in Vermont...

They laid him off.

Now, this is no where's near as bad as it sounds. He hated it, he was planning on quitting right after we'd finalized on the house, and he'd already been offered a better job with one of his contracts. But still. The timing was pretty... disconcerting, to say the least!

So that's all I have to report on The Great House Hunt for now. In knitting news I've finished a scarf that desperately needs blocking to be presentable, I'm trying really really hard to stay focused enough to finish the back of The Big Red Sweater before it's too hot to have it on my lap, and Kyle's "sock kit" is staring at me accusingly from my knitting bag.

Next week will be much cheerier. I promise!

====

Home...sweet... home??

Saturday was the inspection and I cannot thank our inspector, Ernie, enough for being so thorough (damn him). No really, I'd much rather know now and be able to negotiate for a lower price than get into the house and then realize there's $30k of work to be done. We do not have that kind of cash in the bank.

We spent two sleepless nights thinking about it, then last night sat down and wrote out all the things that were surprises versus upgrades that just come with buying an old house. It still added up to far more than it should be, plus there's that scary, full-length-of-the-house crack running down one side of the foundation wall. Yeah. Good times.

We rewrote the offer last night and our realtor sent it out this morning. I think we managed to be clear that, although there is more upgrading needed than we anticipated, the items we are talking about are all repairs (that central air they promised? yeah. defunct. And then there's the sill...). And we won't even know about the results of the Radon test until Thursday some time. So we reoffered with a substantially lower price, but we think it's a fair price considering all the things that need to be done (illegal plumbing, anyone?). They're bound to have an immediate reaction to the reoffer, for good or bad, so I don't expect this to go on longer than this evening.

So if you see me sobbing into my knitting at Knit Night tonight, I know you'll understand.

*sigh*

-------

Home Sweet Home!

It's finally happened - we found our home. We saw it for the first time on Sunday at an Open House, called our realtor on the holiday weekend, he set up a second showing for Monday evening, and by Wednesday evening we had a signed and accepted offer letter in our hands.

We are on the road to finally having a home of our own.

Life is good.

Where the hell have I been??

A sad excuse for not blogging is being too busy. But something happens when I have a million things going on at once - I want to wait until it's all over to talk about it. Normally, this would work fine, but this late winter/early spring things have just not stopped! Let me give you the run down.

March - The New York Book Show




















Mister Tim made it a big outing, with a fancy hotel stay and everything, to celebrate our real reason for attending... I took second place for Trade Books in a Series! I was so excited and so proud! The part that was fun was that it wasn't just a cover design award, judged by other designers, but it was for all elements of the finished book from paper choice to typeface to interior design (my forte) to printing and binding. It was really a thrill!

Here are a few shots, first of the view from (one of) our hotel rooms (The Helmsely was under renovation. The management was rude and uncaring. We had several rooms. 'Nough said. Note to self - don't try to save $$. Stay where you know you'll be welcome - stay at Essex House), followed by a few touristy NYC shots.














































































































I love New York so very much... :-*
And we never even made it to School Products, much to my shame. ;-)

March - The Big Yarn Crawl




















Blogless Sara took me on a most excellent yarn crawl to Yarn and Fiber Company and the Classic Elite warehouse outlet in Lowell. Yarn and Fiber is, in a word, incredible. Sara did some serious damage there, while I was there on a mission for an appropriate yarn for this spiral blanket. I wanted something self-striping, but not heavy. And I've already done a blanket in Noro, so I was looking for another option. And did they ever deliver! I scored two skeins (and ordered, I think, 4 more) of an amazing, hand dyed, self striping sock yarn, by Serendipitous Ewe in a bamboo/merino blend. And the colorway? Prickly Cactus! It's really beautiful, full of all the pastel-ly colors I was hoping for, and I can't wait to knit it up! And then there's the warehouse outlet... I just don't have the words. That is where I did my damage, because I can not resist a bargain. Here is a photo of my part of the day's haul.














Damned impressive, isn't it.

But you should have seen Sara's... ;-)

April - "The Cake of My Dreams"

Kath has always referred to our wedding cake as "the cake of my dreams", so when her birthday was impending, I knew what I had to do.

I called Hillary. This is her smallest, most basic cake. It's actually the size she uses as a "taster" when you order a wedding cake. This one is chocolate with chocolate filling and buttercream frosting. All I asked Hillary for was to "please, if it will fit, put 'Happy Birthday Katherine' on the top". And this is what we got.














If you are anywhere even near the north shore of Massachusetts, and you need a cake for any, any reason, you must call Hillary. You simply must. You will not be sorry. She is teh awesome. With awesome sauce.

April - Mister Tim's Surprise 50th Party

This was a miracle. I still don't know how we did it, but a huge thank you to James, Janey and Kath. There is now way in hell I could have pulled this off without you guys. As is, I went through a whole bottle of gin and didn't sleep for a week getting all the details and decorations worked out. People came out of the woodwork for the party and I was so pleased to be able to do this for my beloved husband. He deserved it, in spades. The theme was "Fifty and FABulous", with a heavy reference to his role as Philip in "The Movie Mogul." It was... well... see for yourself. Do you think he was surprised??



May - A Trip to Key West

And finally there was our birthday/second anniversary trip to Key West. This trip was what Mister Tim expected as his birthday present. This made it infinitely easier to surprise him with the party!

We stayed in a resort this time (!?!), on a part of the island we'd never stayed before, way down by Southernmost Point. The Reach Resort was amazing. Spend the money and upgrade to the ocean view room. It is so worth is.
























Mister Tim's birthday theme was The Night of a Thousand Drag Queens. We started with a stellar dinner at Square One, then a short walk up Duval to a show at La-Te-Da. We were fortunate enough to have Randy Roberts performing that night. He is... incredibly talented. And damned cute, to boot.
























Randy, by the way, is the one on the left. ;-)

After that was 801 Duval, where they do not actually sing (which may be a good thing), but they still look damn good (for the most part). And those ladies can seriously bust a move. I dream of being able to dance like that. Seriously. Good times.

We had our anniversary dinner at the same restaurant where we had our wedding dinner - Pisces. We had almost the same menu, too: a bottle of Veuve, caviar, carpaccio, Lobster Tango Mango, and something chocolatey for dessert. Our waiter, Zak, was incredible. I know you'll probably never stumble across this blog Zak but, I swear, you made our night. We love you! I would knit you something - you made us that happy!

We also spent two glorious days house hunting. In Key West. But that's a story for another time...

;-)

This IS embarassing...

I seem to have fallen off the blogsphere for... good lord, could it really be almost 3 months?? I don't have a good explanation, but I promise I was busy.

Installment #1 - The Knitting Content

There was knitting and finishing:
























Those singles I showed you lo these many months ago were plied, and became this lovely little dress, Little Liza Jane, designed by Alison Greene Will and gifted to a friend and former co-worker. Thanks so much Alison for such an adorable pattern! I loved knitting it and, if some obliging knitting-friendly pal gives me the chance, I'll do so again!



















The entrelac sweater was completed, although the hem will have to be ripped and redone over the summer (the bind off is far too tight. I need to suck it up and just do the tubular bind off I did on the cuffs and collar). Here, The Mister, in full Winter Fur (and a couple of cocktails) does his best impression of a catalog model. I think he should keep his day job, don't you?

In addition, socks were knit! Pairs of them!
























These, Rivendell, in a steel blue merino/bamboo blend by Sereknity Yarn and Fiber, and below, Hedera, in some of the lovely Panda Wool I can't seem to stop buying from Little Knits.
























And the ongoing saga of the Big Red Sweater - progress has been made!























That's 19" of the back of the Cabled Jacket by Debbie Bliss. I'm about 1.5" away from binding off for the arm holes and starting to decrease. I love the pattern and the yarn, but my hands are exhausted and I have calluses on my fingertips. I'll be glad to finish the back and put it away for a little while to get on to other projects.

Like your socks, right Kyle? ;-)

And then there's this...

/begin rant

There was also a little Knitting Fail involving a pattern purchased off Ravelry. I don't want to bash anyone, so I'll leave out the name of the pattern, but, lord love a duck - people, if you're going to ask money for a pattern, could you at least make a proper chart and put in detailed instructions? And while you're at it, I'd appreciate it if you took a little more care and didn't just fudge it where it gets hard. It looks sloppy and unprofessional and you should know better. It's hard work and a real talent to be able to translate a design into a pattern. Those two things are not the same! Only one of them is worth money to others.

/end rant.

Next Installment - Where The Hell Have You Been?

Progress

I haven't been talking much, but I have been busy. I've been spinning a bit each night to get these singles done and ready for plying this weekend.
















That's the second half of the superwash I special ordered from Heather at Sereknity. I can't wait to see how it looks plied! The green came out so nice I'm sure this will be excellent. Then I suppose I need to decide what, exactly, I'm going to knit out of it. It's for my friend Amanda's baby, if you remember that far back. I'm thinking a little dress with a frill on the edges. I'll have to measure all this yarn to be sure.

I have also... knit a PAIR of socks! (Sara?... Sara?... Get up Sara! You fainted!)



















These are the An American in China socks done with Spunky Eclectic Beefy Sock in "Good Morning". Tim wanted this yarn the minute he saw it... not what I'd think of for "man socks", but what the heck do I know? ;-) They came out great and he loves them.

I'm even thinking about knitting more socks...

In the meantime, back to the endless knitting of the hem on the entrelac sweater. I'm relatively optimistic that I'll have an FO post of that by the end of this weekend. Then my needles, and my bobbins, will ALL BE NAKED!

Sunday I may have to drag all the stash out into the middle of the living room floor and see what calls to me, althought I already have an idea - Vivian in a lovely blue Peace Fleece, and Rivendell Sock in some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino I have hidden away ... although I do have two other sweaters and a vest calling to me pretty loudly from my Ravelry queue, so we'll see. It will probably come down to which yarn I feel like knitting with first - Brown Sheep Lambs Pride in Roasted Coffee, Peace Fleece in Volgasippi Blue, Cashmerino in Lilac, or Peace Fleece in Sakhalin Salmon! Mmmmm... red yarn!....

Did I say "February" first??

So I bet you're wondering how I did with that February first deadline.

yeah, see... here's the thing...

I got all the pieces done, seamed during the day on Saturday, and knit both cuffs. I was terribly proud of myself and decided to try it on The Mister before going ahead with the collar and the hem.

...


I may have overestimated the length of his arms just a wee bit. :-( I've got about 3" too much. And there's no way to fix it without completely frogging both arms since the entrelac bit is knit in one direction and the rest of the arm in the other. And the built-in seaming. So I stood there, staring in disbelief at these horrible gorilla arms on this giant time-suck of a sweater. Unfortunately, I have a glass face - whatever I'm thinking tends to telegraph instantly - The Mister took one look at me and began the most endearing verbal contortions to convince me that not only were the arms not too long, they were completely perfect.

*sigh*

It took him a good half a day to talk me down from throwing the whole thing into Time Out, but he eventually succeeded and I carried on valiantly, picking up stitches and knitting the collar. I even used a kitchener bind off on all the ribbing. It looks a treat... as long as you don't hold it up and see those huge, dangly arms.

Now, I'm pretty sure that with the addition of the 4" of hem ribbing he wants (?!) it won't look half as bad, and he's convinced me that he really does like the arms extra long after spending his whole life wearing unintentionally 3/4 length sleeves, so I'm going to put on my rose colored glasses and carry on like nothing's wrong.

Even though I know in my knitterly heart that it is.

Such is love, eh? <3


The good news is that I started on the second of his American in China socks and I'm halfway up the foot. Yes, I may actually knit a pair of socks.

I know, right? ;-)

Baby steps...

Dealing with all this ice and snow, and battling the water that's pouring from the questionable roof into my bathroom, have definitely cut into my knitting time. But some progress has been made...




Cambridge Jacket
by Ann Budd, Interweave Knits, Summer 2006
yarn: Di.Ve' Zenith superwash in ginger, 12 skeins = 1440 yards

The Boy's Cambridge Jacket is finally, really, completely finished! I gave in and put the whole zipper issue into the hands of our local tailor after making myself sick about my sewing abilities, or lack thereof. It came back looking... well... like butt, frankly. I mean, the zipper was in and all, but the edge looked terrible. Probably mostly my fault, although the pattern doesn't really provide an edge other than single crochet, which I omitted. So I took the sweater back in hand and did a small applied i-cord down both sides and that really did the trick! It gave it a lovely finished look that makes me very happy! I hope The Boy still likes it in the final form as much as he did in his early fittings!

The part that does NOT make me happy AT ALL is this fracking yarn! Jesus H. Christ on a piece of toast! Who knew that a superwash wool would stretch like a cotton, fer chrissake! The damn thing grew two inches in length just with blocking (I was blocking for width, by the way), and then at the tailors the stored it on a HANGER, which added another two inches! Thank god The Boy is ridiculously tall - I'm sure he'll appreciate the gorilla arms this sweater now has. :-(

Note to self - suck it up. No more superwash. Any sweater recipients will just have to deal.

So one more down and two left to go. I've been working on The Mister's second sleeve every chance I get, but the seedstitch is boring the hell out of me. I'm forging on diligently anyways... albeit with martini in hand. ;-)

Another thing that's helping the mojo, particularly the spinning mojo (of which I have had.. ummm... none) is the redefining of my space within the apartment. Building 19, god bless 'em, had a big sale on sample orientals, so I took my trusty Subaru Baja and picked up two lovely new rugs for the living and dining rooms (thereby enabling me to move the heavy wool carpet into the bedroom to help ward off the chill from the only-partially-insulated floors). The end result are two actually quite fiber-friendly areas!

My knitting and computer area...


















and - drum roll please - my spinning area! At long last!


















Just this little thing has caused the return of my spinning mojo. To actually have a little corner to leave set up all the time has really made all the difference. Nothing puts me off more than having to re-place and re-adjust the wheel every time I feel like spinning for a half hour or so. And as a bonus this arrangment allows me to watch my blue jays and squirrels enjoying the birdfeeder! Joy! :-D

Success! One down...

A head cold and a clean living room enticed me to give myself the day off Monday to sit in my pajamas, drink tea, watch really bad movies (Battlefield Earth, anyone?) and finally sit down to seam Lizard Ridge. With the distraction of the movies and the peace and quiet in the house I was able to finish the whole thing in one day.

Now not only is my beautiful blanket finally done...



















...it works! lol!!

I decided not to do any edging at all at the present. I tried the i-cord and hated it. I tried single crochet and hated that too. So, since everyone likes it fine the way it is, edge-less it shall stay. For now, anyways.

The Boy's Cambridge Jacket is happily blocking on the dining room table, and I've picked up the stitches down the side of the first sleeve for Mr. Tim's Uber Cool Sweater. I'm still not sure about the instructions for the decreases, but I'm going to carry on, follow the instructions, and see what happens. Should be interesting.

And finally, a late holiday gift from Miss Kath -














Aren't they adorable? I totally love these. They're by ScaryMerry, handmade out of clay. Think there could be some significance to the black sheep in the bunch? ;-) heh heh.

The state of things

The New Year is here and I am feeling the need to do a little knitterly house cleaning. All those UFOs piled in the corner... I'm bound and determined to get them all off the needles before I start anything else.

Stop laughing. I mean it.

1. Edgar's Cambridge Jacket - while The Boy was able to try the sweater on during his Christmas visit (he LOVED it, by the way! Go me!) I was unable to get the zipper in on time, and JoAnn's doesn't carry 26" zippers, so I'm going to have to order online. In the meantime I can try to do justice to the single crochet edge. Really I'm just happy to be able to put off the dreaded hand-sewing for as long as possible. I.do.not.sew.

















2. Flared Lace Smoke Ring - 2-3 pattern repeats from completion, I conquered this one on New Year's eve, binding off just before 11pm. It's super cute and I love the way the grey yarn looks. Not sure I'll ever be able to wear it because of the Angora Factor - even while knitting it, I've spent a lot of time wiping invisible angora fuzz off my nose and out of my eyes.























3. Tim's American in China socks - I have had one done for about a year, while the other has languished as a yarn cake. I will complete a pair of socks. I swear it.

4. Lizard Ridge - I've been working on this for two years now and this past week I finished my last square. A quick run down to A Loom with a View for some black Ella Rae and it was time to face all that seaming. I'm about half done now and charging full speed ahead. I should have the seaming done by next weekend. I've decided to give up on the crochet edge and do a simple applied i-cord. I've seen it done this way by a few folks on Ravelry, and I really like the look of it.























5. Tim's Uber Cool Sweater - I have the body done and one arm panel. The disheartening thing about this pattern is also the thing I love about it - it's modular nature. It's very encouraging, because you're able to do a lot of casting off, which convinces you that you're getting somewhere.. when in reality it's just a big tease because there is always more picking up of stitches and knitting remaining than there are completed pieces lying about the place. Even when I finish both arms (panels and seedstitch) there's still the neckband, wristband, and waistband to go as well as... the seaming (shudder).

Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I love to wrap gifts. I fuss about it, but deep down I love it.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real. I was torn about this from a "green" pov, but it turns out that studies show a fake tree has to be used for something like 15 years before it offsets the same number of years of real trees. So instead we buy a real tree from the Elks Club and recycle it when we're done.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Second week in December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
The first weekend after New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Love it, but can't drink it. And the fake stuff is disgusting.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My grandfather got me a huge set of plastic dinosaurs. It even had little plastic palm trees and stuff. Super cool.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My grandmother. She's 97 for heaven's sake! What you she possibly need that she doesn't already have??

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Husband and son. They both like me to knit them stuff. Aren't they great?

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Ummm... no.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
..... cards..... ??..... heh

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A case of motor oil. No shit.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
I'm torn between "Holiday Inn" and "It's a Wonderful Life"

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I'll let you know when I get that far.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I'm taking the 5th on this one.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I haven't seen them in years, but Educator Christmas Cookies. They were made by a bakery in Worcester, MA that I'm sure is long gone. They were wonderful. All sparkly and anise-y. Now I make do by baking spiced nuts (pecans and walnuts with sugar and spices!)

16. Lights on the tree? Clear or colors?
Loads of lights. Usually clear but some years the hubby wins and gets colors. But they must always blink.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
"Christmas Island" by Jimmy Buffet. But the original version of "I'll be Home for Christmas" will make me cry each and every time. I'm a sucker for it.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
My sister has little kids, so we've been lucky enough to get to stay home or spend the day with friends the last few years. We have the family Christmas on my sister's schedule at our parents' house in NH, usually the weekend after the actual day.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
yes

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
We usually give in and open ONE present on Christmas Eve. Depends how much champagne has been flowing... Honestly, I'm lucky to make it to Christmas before begging my husband to open his gifts. Which is why I try not to shop until the last minute.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Bell ringers.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Red

23. What do you want for Christmas this year?
yarn. No, seriously.... ummm.... I'd love it if I knew a knitter and they knit me socks. I love handknit socks, I just don't seem capable of making them myself. Also "The Knitter's Book of Yarn" by Clara Parks. A new digital camera would be nice too, but maybe a little pricey for this year.

24. Angel on the tree top or a star?
a tin star

25. Favorite Christmas dinner?
roast duck, or goose, with chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes, rutabagas, Kuri squash, and at least two bottles of Veuve. Yes, we do cook like that. With something chocolate for dessert.

Key West Part II

You never know what a trip to Key West is going to be about until you get there. It *is* winter, and it *is* an island so, just like here, when you're surrounded by ocean, the weather can be iffy. We had lovely warm weather through Thanksgiving, but then over that weekend took a hit from a cold front and had a couple of days of cold and wet and very windy to contend with. Then the rest of the trip was sunny and warm, but not beachy warm - highs in the low 70s only with nights down around 60. So we switched gears from the sailing/beach sitting/kayaking trip we had intended and settled in to a 4 star restaurant/walking tours sort of trip.

Can't really go wrong either way, can you?

It's hard to walk half a block without tripping over an amazing restaurant in Key West. Makes staying on a budget impossible but, hell, you're in Key West so what's with the whole "budget" thing, anyway? So we ate... and ate... and ate! Here are some restaurants to absolutely not miss when you next head down -

Hot Tin Roof - the gulf view is incredible and the food is to die for. We had Thanksgiving dinner there and it was a 3 hour and 4 course event. Just the way I like it! You can sit inside or out (we chose in) but either way you have a perfect view of the sunset. They also make a great martini.

Santiago Bodega - walk past Blue Heaven and keep heading straight into the depths of Bahama Village. It's a tiny little place on a corner in a residential neighborhood serving amazing sangria and wines by the glass with a tapas style menu. Get the dates stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. You'll thank me.

Nine One Five - another amazing meal served in a little garden right on Duval just a block down from La Te Da (one of my favorite outdoor bars - and be sure to catch a show!). Great wine list, fabulous food. We had several appetizers then split the Soul Mama Seafood Soup, full of lobster, clams and grouper. Awesome.

Maison de Pepe - right on Mallory Square, this place has mostly outdoor seating and a live band at sunset. The cuban food is delicious and they make an amazing Mojito. We eat there several times every trip, or just sit in the shade and listen to the band.

We also toured the Waterfront Theater (what a great space) and saw a Key West-style Nutcracker performed at the Tennessee Williams Theater over on Stock Island. I had never seen a ballet *or* a performance of The Nutcracker, so that was a real treat! The costumes were so beautiful, and the battle between the Nutcracker and the King of the Roosters was something to see. I think my favorite part, though, was when they visited the Snowy Egrets (I think it's Sugarplum Fairies in the original?). Great fun!

Oh, and in case you thought there was no yarn in Key West, never fear - Knit Wits has you covered.
















Now for some more photos:

Obligatory shot of a Key West rooster.















Not a terrific shot, but he *is* in front of the sign for the Key West post office, so that's kinda cool, even if there is a palm tree in the way.

Palm trees make nice photos on their own, too.




















But it's the harbor and the boats and the sunset that I bring the camera for.











































And finally, our last sunset, taken at a few thousand feet as we flew out of Fort Lauderdale. Bye Key West! We'll be back soon!

Key West Part I

I'll let these speak for themselves... more to follow.

FO Extravanganza

In between a busy work schedule, the usual Autumn craziness, and getting ready for vacation, I somehow got an amazing amount of knitting done. I was driven by the approaching holiday season to get as many projects off the needles as possible, while still sticking a little special something in here and there. So I give you, the Cavalcade of Finished Objects!

1) Seafoam Shawl




















US8 circs (and the longest cord I had) and almost every inch of 4.5 skeins of Artful Yarns Serenade (cotton/angora). The yarn is a very pretty lavender and mint green marl. I think the size came out just perfect for those cool evening boat rides in the Keys, and the little ruffle is uber cute without being too... girly.

2) Victorian neckwarmer


















This is the Susie Neckwarmer done in Araucania Copihue (100% Alpaca) in a very pretty colorway called Winter Boquet on US11s. I spotted the yarn as an upcoming sale at Elann, ordered the pattern, then waited to pounce on the yarn when the sale finally arrived. Exactly five skeins and I may have enough leftover to trim a hat. I was that close. The pattern is easy to memorize and knits up like a shot - it took me just two days from cast on to cast off.

3) A Christmas Surprise

4) Kath's Estes Vest

[insert photo here]

(yeah, I know I promised a photo, but life got hectic this week for both Kath and myself, so you'll just have to wait. It's worth it - I promise! heh)

I am so fricking proud of this piece. It's the Estes Vest from the Fall 2008 Interweave Knits. It knit up quick and the cabling was easy to memorize without becoming boring in the least. I love the effect of the honeycomb and although I was apprehensive about all that applied i-cord the end result is so worth it. I pretty much followed the pattern exactly, although I did add a few more pattern repeats before the waist shaping and I moved the pocket opening away from the edge a little more. Also I did the i-cord in the same needle size as the pattern, not one size down as was suggested. I will probably knit this again in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for myself.

Other than that I've been plodding along on Mister Tim's Uber Cool Sweater and have made decent progress on the oh so boring seedstitch side panels. I'm taking three skeins of this yarn with me to Key West to work on the entrelac sleeve panels. I also did another panel for The Eternal Lizard Ridge and swatched for Vivian from the winter issue of Twist Collective using Peace Fleece. Got gauge dead on first try, and Peace Fleece fluffs up so nicely on washing. I almost can't wait to get home and start this one for myself. My other travel project will be something I've been wanting to start for awhile. It's the Smoke Ring in a wonderful wool/angora handspun that I bought... o my lord, something like 15 years ago from a lady named Connie Lamm on eBay. The names of the sheep and bunny are Pepper Jack and Holly - I wish I still remembered which is which, but I love that I know their names! The yarn is about a fingering weight, so it should work fine for this pattern, although I will spend some time swatching to be sure. My main concern would be to run out, because there ain't no mo'!

I also attended The Northeast Handspinners Gathering the begining of November. It's the first time I've gone to an event with classes and everything and I have to say I was more than a little overwhelmed. I'm not a big fan of events with lots of scheduling, and this was definately one of those, but the people were awesome, the vendors were terrific (I gave in and bought just one thing - a pattern by Anne Hanson, Autumn Arbor Stole. Mmmmmm!), and the classes were... fun! I took a class on spinning cotton with Norm Kennedy who is fascinating to listen to even though I know I'll never take up spinning cotton; I took a class on spinning wool with Libby Sheen who is the most charming lady you'll ever meet and who actually got me to spin not only long draw but something called "from the fold" which is what I've been watching the ladies in spinning circle do all this time but couldn't figure out how they did it; and I took a jewelry-making class with Leslie Wind to make shawl pins with nothing more than needle-nosed pliers, a hard surface to bang on, metal wire and hammers of all sorts. We bashed and bent and laughed for three hours - it was the most fun I had at The Gathering! And here is what I have to show for it...



















a cable needle necklace, 5 different sorts of shawl pins, an orifice hook, and a pair of earrings! How cool is that?

This weekend it's been non stop errand running and cleaning and packing in preparation for our Thanksgiving exodus to Key West. The condo is all set, the rental car will be waiting at the airport, the knitting has been packed (priorities, people!), and the weather looks like it will be terrific. We even have our Thanksgiving dinner reservations all set. Less than 12 hours and we'll be on our way... we'll have the laptop with us so I'll try to post a few pictures ever couple of days. But if I don't get to it, I know you'll understand! heh

Happy Thanksgiving all!

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!

1) I get to keep my son (he's 20 yo)
2) my (step) grandson grows up in a world where someone who looks like him can grow up to be President.
3) Alpaca Kathy - we don't have to move to Canada after all, but thanks for the offer. ;-)
4) There are not enough hankies in my house...

Congratulations, America. You done good.

Nesting in the Fall

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last blog post. So to the three people who read this blog, I apologize. However, Fall is a time for cleaning and sorting and putting-by, which is exactly what I've been spending the last month doing. Between Rhinebeck and fall house cleaning and The Mister's starring and directing in The Boston Fringe Festival's Second Place Winner "The Movie Mogule" (!!) and the fall push at work, I've had little time for anything fiber-y. Take this weekend for example - Saturday we finally had a whole day free so we popped up to NH to see my folks. Daddy (80), Mom (70), and Nana (93!). Picked apples in the back yard, knit, chatted and generally had a lovely day. This morning got up early, put in the laundry, made a full breakfast, and sent The Mister packing to view auditions at The Firehouse (he's directing one of the short pieces for the New Works Festival this year). Put in another load of laundry, cleaned off the front stoop (putting all the pernnials to bed and putting the annuals into the compost pile), and put on a big pot of potatoe leek soup to cook. Spun a bit and decided to enjoy all the sun that pours into my office now that the last leaves are off the trees and do a bit of blogging.

Phew!

However, some knitting progress has been made.

Kath's surprise is nearly finished; I've got it done and seamed, and on Tuesday the ever-kind Blogless Sara (aka Mrs. Onion) has promised to show me how to do an applied i-cord. From the pattern I'm estimating about 20 miles of applied i-cord will be needed. *sigh* I'd post a picture but, well, Kath has been known to stalk my blog, so that will just have to wait. The curious can always check my Ravelry Project page.

I've also gotten the body of the Seafoam shawl done and have washed and blocked in preparation for the ruffled edge. I've got until we leave for Key West at the end of the month to get this done, so I've put it aside to spend a little time with The Mister's entrelac sweater, which has been languishing for over a month. I'm just doing the seed stitch panels at the sides - a little boring, but I can't move on to the sleeve panels until I'm done, so that's going to have to be enough incentive to stick to it. I'm planning on taking the panels with me on the plane, and in the car, and on the beach in Key West so they can be done and ready for their own seed stitch panels by the time we get home in early December. I'm relatively optimistic that this year The Mister will actually get his Christmas Sweater at Christmas (or at least before the New Year). Then their's Eddie James' Christmas Sweater - a Cambridge Jacket that currently has the front and two back panels finished and is waiting for the arms, collar and zipper. I figured, since he's at school in Maryland, I have a little extra time on this one.

And that's it for the knitting. It's been slow going with everything else going on. I've managed to get a little bit more spinning done on the special order roving from Sereknity, but nothing to write home (or here) about. I'm going to try to spend a little time each night at it this week, since I'll be attending and taking classes at The Gathering over next weekend and I want my spinning skills well warmed up. I have two spinning classes and one class on making shawl pins! I'm a little nervous about the spinning classes, but I gave the schedule to Julia months ago, and signed up for what she pointed to. I know she'll steer me right!

I'll leave you with a couple of shots from Rhinebeck. I went by bus, I had a blast, I got a signed copy of "It Itches" (thank you Franklin!), I shopped a little, and was completely and utterly overwhelmed. The place was a zoo - I've never seen anything like it. For example, there was exactly one person I desperatly wanted to run into at Rhinebeck - my friend Annie from Canada. She in her tiara, and I in my Happy Hat. You'd think two people so.. adorned.. could find each other even in a crowd that big, wouldn't you?... :-(

But we will meet up, dear Annie. I just know we'll manage it eventually! xoxo



















Veeeery friendly sheep in the sheep tent!




















Obligatory shot of autumn leaves.