This was one knit filled weekend for me. On Saturday Jackie and I hit three different yarn stores. First we went to School Products mostly because I have not been there before. Then we headed over to Brooklyn to check out Knitting Hands. Both of us had really wanted to see what they had over there. I was happy to see that they had Wool-Ease which is not sold in Manhattan (according to Jackie's research on the Lion Brand site). [Let me clarify that statement by saying that I generally don't go out of my way to find acrylic blends but for the project at hand, I was looking for them. And, Knitting Hands has a plethora of other yarns that would probably keep me much happier.] I find that rather funny since the warehouse for this brand of yarn is down on 15th street. Finally, we ended up back at good old Downtown Yarns.

I got the Wool-Ease for Daddy's Golf Club Covers. They turned out very nicely. I each one in a different color with an argyle diamond on one side and the number of the club on the back. So far, I have stayed away from the pompoms. I think I will forego them this time. I kind of like them plain. Maybe I can get my honds on a camera before I ship them off to him. I really need to rectify that problem.

So, now I have all of this left over yarn from the Golf Club covers. I have decided to create something for my monsters (aka my cats - Nekko, Koshka and George). They love to drag my sweaters and works in progress to the front door where they can snuggle in and wait for me to come home. So, I have decided to make a big cat tube for them. I'll start with one and work my way up to three.

I am so very happy that today is Friday. I am ready to leave the office already. I am going a bit insane with the constant chaos of this office. Next week is my boss' last week working here. The following week is when my department is scheduled to move to a different floor here in the building. You may think it is no big deal since it's in the same building and all but I beg to differ. This will be my fourth office location (as well as third position) in the past year, not including the WTC. I remember back after the towers fell that the mantra for everybody was "business as usual." Here I am a year later in a department decimated by layoffs and restructuring planning to move to one more desk. When do I get to the "usual" or "normal" part of my job? I would settle for something that doesn't wildly change for a few months. But, I digress. This should be a forum for the happier things in my life, like my knitting.

I finished one golf club cover last night. I like the argyle look. The thing I am having problews with is the pom pom. I used the "wrap yarn around a piece of rectangular cardboard" method. My problem is that it is a bit uneven and a little sparse. I thought about using the circular cardboard method but I was feeling lazy and didn't have circular cardboard lying around. I see that there is also the fork method. I think that would not work for my purposes since I need a big, full pom pom. Maybe I should just make it a tassel. In the mean time, I am supplementing my not-as-full-as-I-wanted pom pom with some additional strands from an earlier attempt.

Well, on a different note, I got a letter in the mail the other day from my niece, Hailee. Her class is doing a project of sending a something of a chain letter into the world. The idea is to send a postcard back to the school from the recipient who then forwards it on to someone else to continue the "chain." I thought the coolest thing that could happen with this project would be if it went all the way around the world. So I decided to delve into the blogging world and asked Theresa if I could send her this letter in Norway. Thank you, Theresa, for being as excited to help with this project as I am. Hailee, keep your eyes open for a postcard from New York City and, soon, Norway.

I really don't have a lot to say today. I think I need to make a trip out to get more yarn for Dad's Golf Club Covers. Since I started one using Woolease, I should probably get a couple of additional balls to make the rest. I still need to get another ball of alpaca to finish my scarf before the weather gets cold. I think I still have at least another month or two before that happens. Maybe I just need to get together Marney's yarn wish list.

I did nothing knitwise last night. I did get some reading in, though. The Book Club is reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It is really quite a fast read. I should be totally finished with it by the weekend. Considering I got it on Saturday, that's pretty good. I am really enjoying this book. I like the idea of a omniscient third person story told through in the first person narrative from a character in heaven. Can you tell I studied Literature?

Although I am a bit late, I thought I would play a round of

1. "Gone With The Wind" or "The Wizard of Oz"? Tough answer. I think I will have to say Gone With the Wind.
2. "Toy Story" or "Shrek"? Didn't see either.
3. "Saturday Night Fever" or "Grease"? Grease was my favorite movie and music when I was little.
4. "Casablanca" or "Citizen Kane"? Casablanca. I'm a sucker for Flim Noire.
5. "When Harry Met Sally" or "You've Got Mail"? When Harry Met Sally. All the rest were mere copies of it.
6. "Forrest Gump" or "Titanic"? Forest Gump. Titanic irritated me.
7. "Pretty Woman" or "Working Girl"? Working Girl. I'll take brains over beauty any day.
8. "The First Wives Club" or "Thelma & Louise"? I didn't see The First Wives Club so I will have to say Thelma and Louise.
9. "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" or "James & the Giant Peach"? Willy Wonka wins every time for me.
10. "Legally Blonde" or "Bridget Jones' Diary"? Didn't see either.

Boy, that was fun.

Well, there are a couple of Bloggers that have been absent from the last few S-n-Bs. Betsy and Liz, where are you??? Aside from the notable absences of a few other regulars last night, we had a very lovely S-n-B. My standard question for the evening was "Does this [tube for my golf club cover] look like it will fit over the head of a driver?" I would like to especially thank Dennis (a new member) who used his experience as a doctor (in training) to help me with my golf club dimensional needs. Maybe it was a bit stereotypical of me to go straight to the doctor in the group for golf advice, but he knew what he was talking about. There were also a couple of newbies joining us as well. Oh, Jessica was nice enough to make and share beautiful sticth markers out of some wire and beautiful beads. Even my little golf club caver got a little dressier with the pretty beaded marker hanging from it. Thank you again, Jessica.

I realized yesterday that October will be a month of weekend adventures for me and my friends. We are planning a day of Apple Picking, visiting the Sheep & Wool Festival in upstate New York, Knit Out in Union Square Park, participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, and going to the Loser's Lounge's tribute to Elvis Costello. Throw in a few birthdays and Halloween and that becomes one very busy month.

Speaking of Halloween, I have decided on my costume for this year. Of course, it requires a bit of design and assembly but I have faith in my creativity. We'll see if I actually have anywhere to wear it. Maybe I can find someone to walk in the 29th Annual New York's Village Halloween Parade with me.

I am looking forward to S-n-B tonight. I guess this is a running theme in my weekly posts. Tuesdays have become so much more enjoyable now that I have somewhere to go with people that all have similar interesets as I have. It's fun to see what everyone else is working on. It's great to be inspired by patterns, fibers or techniques. Mostly, I can talk about something that I have an interest in without feeling like I am talking to a brick wall.

Well, I have decided to bail on the previous ventures of the Golf Club Covers. They look way too small. I think I may start up new ones tonight with the argyle pattern I found yesterday. I think that will be a better pattern all the way around.

In the mean time, I have started a new project with the nasty pink yarn I made the Barbie rug with. I decided to make a matching bathrobe for Ms. Barbie. I am using the pattern (my adaptation of it at least) from the sweater coat pattern in Knits for Barbie Doll. You know, the sweater on the cover. Actually, I will make it on bigger needles and a bit longer so it hangs more like a bathrobe. Why would I put myself through such torture? Well, I am always up for a challenge. And I am a glutton for misery. I have never had to think so hard about garter stitch since I was 8-years-old. One dropped stitch kept me busy trying to find and fix it for almost 45 minutes.

New York Knitters!!! There is a new yarn store in town. String

After the past couple of weeks, I took the entire weekend to decompress. I didn't leave my apartment once. It gave me a chance to catch up on my knitting projects. I finished 4 (that's right, I said 4) fruit hats, 2 golf club covers for Daddy's birthday next Monday and started a Barbie rug. The rug was a project that I started a while back but had to frog when one of my #4 needles broke. That's what I get for using plastic needles with such strange yarn. Of course, I have no idea what this yarn is. It is kind of rough with strands that hang off like eyelash, but not that pretty. When it knits up, it is like a course terry cloth. Since it's in pink, it makes for an appropriate Barbie bathroom rug.

I found some fuzzy peach yarn in the stash from Ayelet's grandmother that makes a great peach hat. I have officially ventured away from cotton for these hats. I also had a skein of Woolease in Dark Rose Heather and another in Green Heather. A perfect cobination for a warm berry hat.

As for Daddy's birthday present, I made two golf club covers with this pattern over the weekend. I can't say that I am completely enamored of it. I don't know if they will actually fit the golf clubs. I may have to run down to a sporting goods store and try them out. They basically look like stubby mittns without thumbs. As I peered around the internet, I found these patterns that I think I like a bit better. Maybe I will dismantle the covers I finished for one of these. I kind of like the argyle design. More projects for this week!

For the past two days, I have been the host for a co-worker who is visiting New York from Utah. He has been in town for some training. I had the task of making sure he was fed and entertained in the evenings. It's a rough job to have to eat in some of New York's nicer restaurants and such on the company's bill. I guess somebody has got to do it. In any case, I think I have gotten back to some normalcy in my work life, at least for a couple of hours. This is the first time in 2 weeks that I have been able to sit at my own desk, with my own computer, doing my own work. Of course, we are supposed to move to a different floor here in this building next week.

Yesterday, my boss announced that she gave notice. She got a better job that will be better for both her and her family. After all of the changes at work for the past few months, this one is probably the most jarring for me. On another level, I don't have the same sense of loyalty to the new position that I have been given. That is for another discourse.

I have not had any time to do any knitting in the past couple of nights. Last night, I was so tired, I couldn't even move when I got home. I guess I will have to catch up on the weekend.

Last night at the S-n-B, I made some progress on my holiday gifts. I have been ignoring them for a while as I was delving into some other more challenging or more timely projects. Alas, it is already mid September and I am still plugging away. I think I should be about finished with them all by the end of October. I think that will be a personal record for me. Oh, but wait, I almost forgot that Daddy's birthday is a week from Monday. Maybe I should get something going for him. How the projects never seem to end.

In any case, I managed to get another fruit hat finished last night as well. I think I have enough in my stash for at least another 2 hats before I have to run out and get more Cotton Classic. I think that will bring up my total number of fruit hats that can be sold to about 9. Oh, Shetha, I will probably be mailing these out to a friend of the family that is a staple at the local craft fairs. I don't think I will be heading out west in the next couple of months. But when I do, I will make sure to let both you and Carolyn know.

On the work front, yesterday, I had to go to our new Westchester location. For anyone that is not familiar to this area, Westchester is the county to the north of New York City. It is mostly residential (where a lot of the commuters live) and, in places, rather economically well off. For me to get to this new location, I would have to do a reverse commute from Manhattan of up to 2 hours in each direction (depending on the trains and buses), costing me about $13 every day. My unhappiness toward this change has been very obvious to everyone around me. They kepp trying to sell us on the beautiful grounds. I agree they are beautiful, but I look for more than that in any job I have. Of course, this is not scheduled to happen for another year or so. A lot of things can happen between now and then. All I have to say is the only way I will even consider moving to this location is if my situation changes VERY drastically.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all of the comments on my previous post. It means a lot to me that there are other people out there in this crazy world that reach out in such a time of uncertainty and anxiety. Thank you very much.

Well, I have been a bit out of touch over the past week. I am happy to say that it was not because of any trauma or anxiety from the last week. Instead, I have been out of the office at a training meeting for the past few days. My new position at work requires me to go through quite a lot of training. Scarily enough, I will soon have to be a bit of an expert on Annuities and Life Insurance. I have not yet decided whether that is a good thing or not.

I can't say that my knitting has been going as fast as usual. I did take the opportunity of my mid-week day of hibernation last week to make hats, hats and more hats. The beaded scarf I was working on for my niece has been finished. So, of course, I had to make a hat to match. I really need to get my hands on a camera so I can post the photos for all to see. Well, I also made a handful of the fruit hats. I am working on a stockpile for the craft fairs back home. Right now, I have about 5 or 6 that are ready to go. I think I can get at least that many more in the next month and a half.

I am looking forward to S-n-B tonight. I brought my beaded stuff to show and tell. I am very proud of my latest technique.

In a brighter note, my friend Ayelet has started her own blog. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging.

I am afraid this is not going to be one of my cheery posts. This week is really a lot harder than I thought it would be. Although it has been a year since the day that changed the world, sometimes I feel like it was yesterday. Like most New Yorkers, I am feeling a bit inundated by the media coverage and the todo that is going on in the city right now. I am trying very hard to get past this anniversary without too much pain and fear. I thought I was doing very well until this morning. Since I woke up, I have had a weight in my chest and the uncontrollable urge to cry. As I type now, I am holding back tears that have been dammed up for a year. In case you did not know, I was actually in my office on that fateful day, 2 World Trade Center, 74th Floor. If you would like to read my story, click here.

I had never really put a whole lot of thought into survivor guilt until I was faced with this experience. I have to carry around with me the fact that there were over 3000 people that died so I could live. Because the plane hit the other building first, I had time to escape. If the timing was reversed, I would not be writing this post. It still hurts a lot. Much more than I realized.

There are so many reminders everyday for me. Even when I was up in the Poconos, I couldn't help notice the beautiful clear blue sky. It was the same color and clarity of September 11, 2001. Planes flying overhead or tall buildings still give me a little pause. Unexplained loud noises have a new effect on my nerves. Smoke in the sky takes me back. The smell of burning city, which was the only way I can describe it, makes my stomach lurch.

I have been back to the WTC site a few times. A couple of times, unintentionally. I still feel the anger and the sadness and the pity and the fear everytime I see the images in the media. I work in an office of survivors that can't or won't let go. Not a day goes by when the topic of our former workplace does not come up in casual conversation. I know that I have changed since that day. There are parts of me that will never be the same.

I think that is more than enough lamenting for today. I hope everyone out hter ecan get through this very emotional time without too much pain and fear. I know that I plan on hibernating tomorrow. In fact, I may start sooner than that.

I have been a bit lax in updating at the end of last week. I swear I have very good reasons. Thursday, I was stuck out at our Jersey City location without access to a computer for more than just a moment. Actually, I was waiting there for my CPU to make it there. As I was waiting (and had nothing else to do), I picked up my knitting and kept myself occupied. So my day was only 3 1/2 hours long (due to the missing CPU - which didn't make it until Friday) and filled with knitting. I got paid for that! Not a bad gig.

Well, the rest of my weekend was really pretty wonderful. I went to a lake house in the Poconos with some friends for three days of vacation. Big thanks to MJ who arranged the lake house with her family. I know it was hard for all of us to leave yesterday.

On a knitting front, two of my fellow vacationers were watching me knit on Friday morning out on the sun porch. They asked me to teach them. Being the enabler/dealer that I have become, I jumped at the chance of bringing more people to the "Yarn-side." I am trying to get them to come out to the S-n-B in the near future.

Well, I am up to my eyballs in work right now. I will have to take time later in the afternoon to revel in the weekend.

I have to admit that I am jonsing for some knitting time. Last night, I missed S-n-B (for a very good reason). Tonight, I may not be able to get in a whole lot of knitting time, either as it is Book Club night. Of course, I usually bring a little something to keep my hands busy while I chatter away. That will make me happy.

Last night, a bunch of friends got together to celebrate Mary Jo's birthday. We went to Hell's Kitchen for a fabulous dinner and entertaining conversation.

Tonight for the Book Club, we will be discussing Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation. I think we will have a very small turn out tonight. In fact, I am guessing that we may not even have 5 people in attendance. It is a holiday week and all. I think the small group will also have to decide which book we will read next month. Our current poll has a tie between The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. I'll be happy to take any opinions on these books if anyone would like to share.

I almost forgot to mention that I will have to miss S-n-B tonight. I think my friends should change their birthdays so they no longer land on Tuesdays! At least it will be a nice evening with friends. I'll make up for it by knitting to my heart's content over the weekend in the mountains. (More to follow on that front.)

What I Did on my Summer Vacation by Marney

My summer vacation this year was only three days long. How I long for those days of going back to school after three months of free time. Well, as we all know, there is no going back to the good old days. That is for another e-essay.

My weekend consisted of old friends, new friends, Greek food, gay bars, getting back to walking the loop of Central Park, knitting scarves, an Impressionism Exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, more Greek food, a movie, puppy sitting, shopping (of the window variety) and walking in the rain all weekend long. All in all, I think it was a rather fabulous long weekend. It is not very often that I actually have time off with no plans scheduled that turns out so fun and packed with exciting adventures. To top it all off, I actually did get some progress on both my beaded scarf and my lacy alpaca scarf. Both of them are coming along very nicely.

Oh, one other thing, I have gotten back into the Fruit Hat thing. I am stockpiling these little guys for craft sales back home. Right now, I have two strawberries and a peach that are waiting for some friends. I have found that one hank of Tahki Cotton Classic will give me a 6 month size and a 1-year size pair of hats. Not bad! (By the way, the colors on that site are not very acurate.)

That being said, I am going to get back to work and pine longingly for time off again. (Well, not that longingly since I'm taking another long weekend this week!)