Family Visit

I really like the way my Huntington Castle Sweater is coming out. I haven't taken any pictures lately, but I'll try to do that tonight. They gray and purple are really pretty together. I have gotten about 2/3 of the way before the arm hole shaping. On Saturday night, instead of playing poker, I watched The Royal Tenenbaums and The Magnificent Ambersons while I stitched diligently on my sweater.

I have finished the baby sweater and socks for the soon-to-be baby boy joining our office family. (Again lax in the pictures.) He should be coming into our world (literally) within the next couple of weeks. I am trying to decide what type of sweater I am going to make for the soon-to-be baby girl joining our office family. Since I already have an adorable hat for her, I am trying to stick with the same style. She won't be joining us until late October/early November.

On a family note, my Aunt Angela and Uncle Mike are in town for a brief visit. They just finished up a month at UMass Dartmouth for a teaching grant that Angela won. Now, they are going up and down the Northeast visiting all of us East Coast folks.

Tonight we (Michael, Angela and me) are going to see Balancing Act, a one woman show written and performed by a friend of mine. I meant to go see it last Monday, but I couldn't make it.

Fun with Labels

A friend showed me this one, courtesy of StrangeCosmos.com

Picture Time!

I have been doing a bit of baby stuff these days for those expectant parents in the office.  The tricky part is that both of them sit on either side of my desk, so I can't be too obvious about my work.  Anyway, I do have a couple of pictures that I can share.
 


This is a sweater for a little boy that is due in less than a month.  I am having a hard time finishing it, though.  Every time I put down my darning needle, I manage to misplace it, along with the rest of my darning needles.    This sweater will also be paired up with a pair of "sweat socks" that match.  They will be yellow with 2 green stripes, a la gym socks of my youth.
 


This hat was inspired by the heavy chenille that Ayelet's grandmother passed on to me while we were in Vegas.  It isn't enough to do a whole lot, other than trim some baby clothes.  So I decided that I will also make a matching sweater (perhaps a bolero) with the same edging.  If you haven't guessed, this set is for a little girl.
 
And look what came in the mail last night!!!
 


As I was watching Monsoon Wedding last night, I got started.



Here's a close up of the pattern that will be at the bottom of the sweater and the sleeves.

Babies

I just realized that there will be two new babies in our office before the end of the year. (Not that we are putting them on payroll, but their parents will be here.)

So today, I made a pitstop at my least favorite knitting store for some supplies. For the first time, they actually had something I was looking for. It's a miracle. I think I will make a hat and sweater set for these new munchkins. Haven't got a complete plan, but that's okay.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday, in a fit of work denial and revelry of things much greater than the battles being fought there, I decided to give myself a birthday present. I truly fell in love with the cover pattern for the latest Interweave Knits. So I wandered around the internet until I ran into Baby Alpaca. After much discussion with a coworker, I decided on the light gray for the body and the plum color for the colorwork. I should get this present either the end of this week or the beginning of next. What a wonderful birthday present.

Thank you, Marney.

You're welcome, Marney.

New Interweave Knits

If you haven't gotten yours yet, check out the latest issue of Interweave Knits Magazine. Especially, check out the keyhole sweater. It was designed by former (mostly because I don't go very often) fellow S-n-Ber, Meema Spadola. Congrats, Meema! It's a beautiful sweater, not to mention how fantastic it is to be in IK!

So I have started picking out projects from this issue. Now, I am going to check out some yarns to get my projects started. With only my usual UFOs on the needles, I must find something new to occupy my latest obsessions. Not only that, but I need to find something to give myself for my birthday!

Thanks!

I got so many compliments on my new sweater yesterday. I think it came out very nicely.

As for new projects, I think I will go back to tweaking the iPod pattern for a little bit. I think I'm on the right track, but still have to make a few adjustments.

In the mean time, I have socks on needles because there's nothing like wool socks in July in NYC!

Alright, off to work.

Nothing Like New Clothes

So, I am wearing the new shell today to work. And since it's also book club day, it'll be shown off there, too. I think if I were to do it again, I would make the arm holes a smidge longer, but it's still very livable.

The sleeves were an interesting amalgamation. I picked up stitches around the armhole for most of the length of the arm hole. Then I added a total of 20 stitches over the next 12 rows. When they were finished, I sewed the edges to the rest of the arm hole and the remainder of the sleeve. The effect is a very round, bell-like sleeve that flops more than most.

All in all, I like the way it turned out.

Eyelet Rib Shell

Tada!

Back to the Grind

I made it back to the office today, after 11 fabulous days of vacation. So far, the vacation after-glow is still in effect, but then again, most of the office is away. The good news is I finally moved out of my office and into a neutral space that won't be nearly as hostile for me (hopefully). I'm still adjusting to the new space, and still moving in, but so far, so good.

So, you may ask, how did I spend the last few days of my vacation? I finished knitting the green shell (pictures to come later today or tomorrow), I started a pair of socks (one down, one started), I downloaded more music (found a whole slew of free music on Amazon.com, as well as the tunes on ) and worked at the theatre. That pretty much sums up the last few days of my week.

I really like the way the shell came out. I ended up adding sleeves - little floppy ones. I still have to sew it up, but I should be in a photo place for it tonight.

Knitting Update

Well, I was called in last night for an emergency knitting session for the new book. That makes about 4 or 5 projects that I have worked on for this book. Very cool. The reason it was an emergency was becasue today was the photo shoot. That meant everything had to be photo ready first thing this morning. So, I spent about 5 hours frogging, knitting, tinking and reknitting a hat (in that order). I think it really came out very cute. I am itching to make one for myself, but I have to wait until the book comes out to get the entire pattern (it was partially made before I got to it). But it is already on my wish list.

I didn't do a whole lot of knitting on vacation. But, I did bring some sock yarn with me, that started into a sock. I also got a delivery from one of my yarn fairies. My friend Ayelet's grandmother, once again, donated a bag full of sparkly yarn, that will be beautiful as some edging on a sweater or something like that.

At one point, there was a bit of a craft corner going on in the house, with my aunt sewing up pieces for a baby quilt, my cousin crocheting what could possibly become a bag (if she decides to make it one) and me doing a little bit of sockage. Apparently, the needlecraft runs in the blood.

I'm Back

Vacation is nearing an end, and the traveling part is over. There are still a couple of days left here in NYC for me to chill. I don't make it back to the office until Tuesday.

So, my vacation started out like any other, flying into Vegas at 1AM local time (4AM Marney time). By the time I got by bag and my car, it was after 2AM and I still had to find my way to the house that my family rented. When I got there, I didn't see any signs of life - no cars, no lights, no nothing. So I started to question whether I got the dates wrong.

Lucky for me, I had other friends in town. So, I called my friend Terry who was staying at the Flamingo and asked to borrow his floor. By the time I got to his room, it was about 3AM.

Of course, because I'm crazy, I woke up by about 7AM and was ready to go. We had breakfast, walked around, ran into other friends and spent the day shopping and such. By about 4PM, our paths had to part ways, and I finally met up with my family at the house.

The rest of the week was a combination of hanging with friends, hanging with family, shopping, gambling and lounging at the house. And, most importantly, I got NO COLOR!!!! My SPF 40 held up for me all week.

I am so sick of A/C right now, literally. My sinuses are thanking me for all of the nasty humidity. It is so hot out there, and they were having a cool period (under 100 for much of the week). I would never be able to live there. In fact a week was a plenty long enough time for me. Actually, it was 6 days and 7 nights, because all flights into and out of Las Vegas have to happen at night, apparently.

So, I didn't win any money gambling, but my uncle did....$1000 at video poker. I didn't drink or do anything to excess. I didn't get married to a stranger. I really didn't meet many of my goals for this trip. I should go back....

Well, it's nice to be back. Hopefully the vacation after-glow will last longer than the weekend. In any case, I have a poker game tomorrow night, which helps to prolong my themed vacation.