Never leave home without it

I have a part time job on the weekends, Saturdays usually. I know, full time job, school and knitting! I am crazy, but I have worked weekends forever, since the age of 14. To not work a Saturday once in a while is nice, but to not work for a while seems boring to me. I was going to cut back to every other weekend, but the Hawaiian vacation is not cheap. After that then I 'll cut back.

Anyway, I go to my other job Saturday, and find I don't have access to the new program that is now in use. No problem, I'll call IS and be operational shortly. Apparently they couldn't track down anybody, and after two hours, I left. The sad fact is I HAD NO KNITTING WITH ME. I know! What an idiot! Especially after Suzy Girl, myself and Cattywampus discussed the guy in the elevator for 41 hours. Luckily I had the latest issue of IK with me, or else I really would have gone crazy. Never again knitting goddess! I swear!

So on to knitting, I am still working on the same projects. But here are some new WIP pictures:

The shrug is actually coming along nicely, considering I don't knit a lot or very fast for that matter. Using Shine Worsted from Knit Picks and it is soft and comfy. Suzy girl and I always pet this when I bring it to work for show and tell. This yarn would make for nice spring/summer tops or sweaters. It feels nice against your skin too. So, as you can see it's chugging along.

Next we have my first sweater, the citrus yoke pullover:

Far away and close up. As you can see I am working my way down the neck. The pattern starts on dpns, and I am using 10.5. You increase every 2nd row in the 4 rom pattern, so it moves along quickly. I was uneasy with all those stitches on dpns. I was afraid of losing some, so I bought 16' circulars. Well, the stitches are squished on there, so now I need to get 24' circs. That's what the pattern calls for anyway, but at first I didn't feel as though what I had would fit appropriately. Now I think it will. Using Wool of the Andes Bulky and I like it so far. Not really itchy, and pretty soft considering. Did I mention I have to wind up the yarn by hand? I'll get a winder eventually :)

I should also mentioned that last Friday night, the 25th, I finished my last paper and presentation for school. YEA! Very happy and excited about this momentous occasion, because I have spent a lot of time at the kitchen table writing papers and stuff. I'll give that presentation on May 5th. It's a piece of cake!

Also my hockey team, the Flyers, miraculously made out of the first round of the playoffs! Very excited. They won game seven in overtime! Nothing like giving me a little heart attack boys. They are currently playing the Montreal Canadiens, and don't even get me started. I am only asking that all the games get called fairly. Game 4 is tonight, and my boys are up 2 games to 1. Keeping my fingers crossed.Lets go Flyers!

TTFN!

It was all about the shoes

No, I haven't quite fallen off the face of the earth, but things at work and home have kept me so busy, that I...just....ugh! What can I say? Suzy girl and I have this major project at work, that is just kicking our butts. Stay late, come in early, and I have been too tired to knit let alone blog. I haven't even been able to keep up with my blog reading either. So I do apologize and hope to get back to it this weekend. I truly do miss all my web friends : )

I did manage to finish my last paper for school. YEA! Now I have to create the presentation, which shouldn't take too long, but will certainly distract from my precious knitting time. So on to the shoes!

My girlfriend's son got married over the weekend, so I instead of buying something I'll never wear again, I borrowed an outfit from my dear friend E Babe. E Babe is more family than friend. Anyway, this wedding was a fancy gathering, and E Babe had the perfect outfit and shoes for me. She bought theses shoes two years ago and has never worn them. The heel is quite high, and she wanted me to break them in. So I did! Now mind you, I am klutzy and not good at wearing heels. In fact there are only certain shoes and heels I wear outdoors. I know my limitations! So here they are ta-da:

And you gotta have the red toes! My dress was dress black with a halter top and rhinestone accent. I do dress up nicely, however I didn't take a very good picture of myself, so you'll just have to be contented with the shoes and my description. I brought back up shoes since these were rather high, but I never used them. But, my toes were numb until Monday afternoon. I guess that's what I get for being a glamour girl, dancing around in my silver shoes.

On the knitting front, as I stated previously, I haven't really knitted at all. Although I have mindless projects going, I was too drained from work to even look at them. I have started the neck of my sweater, and that's going okay. I have to pay attention at the moment since I am still on DPNs. My shrug is coming along nicely as well. No complaints so far, just plugging along.

Lately, I have been watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. I am a long suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan. No, I wasn't around more than 30 years ago when they won back to back championships, so I can't remember the parade down Broad Street. Actually I was around but I was a baby, so that doesn't count. Well, my boys had a 3-1 lead in a 7 game series. Now it is all tied up with game 7 tonight in Washington. Our prospects are not good. But I really shouldn't complain since they were the worst team in hockey last year, and now they are on the right track. It's just disappointing, you know your hopes and dreams for a championship dashed. I only support two home teams, the Phillies and the Flyers, with the Fly boys being my overall favorite. I bleed orange and black.

With that said, I wish my boys luck tonight, while I try to get some knitting done as well. Next time, and hopefully not like a month later (sorry), I will post whatever picture I have of my sweater neck. Until then, happy knitting!

TTFN! Lets go Flyers!

Late Saturday Sky

So this was my Saturday.
I had a casual breakfast with my Mom, my brother and his girlfriend. Brother and GF were in town visiting for the day. They brought coffee and donuts from Yum-Yum. Best coffee and donuts ever! Better coffee than Wawa. My Mom provided the kitchen. And I whipped up my famous scrambled eggs. According to my family, I make the best eggs in the world. No secret, I wisk them up really good, add just the right amount of water (maybe that's the secret) and the hot pan.

When I got home I did just enough cleaning inside to get by, and then headed out. Even though the sun played hide and seek all day, Spring was in the air, so I hosed down the deck and outdoor furniture, swept the front porch, and weeded a little bit. I have some mint that I've been trying to eradicate for several years. It sounds cruel but if you've ever had mint take over a flower bed or border you know what I'm talking about. I didn't plant it. It was here when I moved in and every year I do battle with it. I have to admit, most years I lose that battle around July when I realize there aren't enough hours in the day for me to do all I'd like to and spending 2 hours a day pulling up mint runners is really not going to happen. It's early yet, but the mint is already making a stand, so I pulled a bit at the one end of the border where I typically let it get away from me.

Then after all my hard work I settled down on the deck, with a cup of tea, wearing my fresh off the needles Sweet Feet socks, and knit a little bit.

I cast on for the Little Arrowhead Shawl, a free pattern from Interweave Knits, with my Manos silk blend.










All things considered, a pretty satisfying Saturday.

Coming up for air...

I'm feeling like a very bad blogger. Things have been a bit more busy than usual at work and consequently the blog, among other things, has been neglected. I haven't even made it to knit night the last few weeks.
So here's a quick update of what's on and off my needles!

I'm knitting myself a pair of socks with the Hill Country Yarn that my friend, Knittng Novice gifted to me on my birthday. Spring just doesn't want to come to us, here in Philadelphia. It's been a very gloomy March, so I cast this on in hopes of coaxing spring out of hiding. It reminds me of those early spring days when all shades of green shoots are poking up through the dirt and buds are starting to pop out on the bare trees. The yarn is really lovely to work with. This is my daily train knitting project so I'm further along then this picture demonstrates. I'm actually working the gusset of the second sock. I don't seem to be afflicted with SSS.

Yarn: Sweet Feet, 100% merino by Hill Country Yarns
Colorway: Pecan Orchard
Pattern: Plain Ole Sock top down on size 1 US dpns

I'm also making slow but steady progress on my cardigan. It's my knit night project because it's back and forth stockinette and great for knitting and talking. But since I haven't been getting to knit night you get the picture...
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic 100% wool in color 109
Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple Scoop Neck Cardigan #278

My Celtic Tote has come out of zzzzzzzz..... and I finally finished the first side and am ready to start the handles. It's my 'evenings at home' knitting project.

Yarn: Lion 100% Wool (main color is Cocoa with cables outlined in Lemongrass)
Pattern: Celtic Tote by Jennifer Tallapaneni in Winter '07 Interweave Knits

I had some yarn leftover from my Foliage Hat so I made a Foliage scarf to match. I did get to wear it once or twice, but now I'm ready to put it away for next winter!

Yarn: 1 and 1/2 skeins of Araucania 100% Nature Wool Chunky
Pattern: The leaf lace pattern from the Foliage Hat by Emilee Mooney
Needles: 10.5 US

I don't think I shared any of the goodies I picked up on the yarn crawl last month. Our stop at Rosie's Yarn Cellar resulted in this score... 2 skeins of Manos Silk Blend. It's been calling my name ever since. So I wound it up and I think I'm going to give in soon and show it some love.

And just in case you were wondering.... I blocked my clapotis and it's officially a FO. I still am not sure I can pull off wearing it, but I enjoyed knitting it, I enjoy looking at it and I'll probably make another one.


Whew!!!

Runner-up goodies

Saturday afternoon I got home from work, and was just having a crappy day. Tired and cranky I debating about whether to take a nap, when Lucky started barking at the window. And did my wondering eyes see, but the mailman dropping off a package for me. Yeah goodies!!

Cinnamongirl93 had a contest on her blog Happy Handwork to celebrate spring. You had to post a comment, and let her know about your favorite spring flower. Grand prize was 2 skeins of purple malabrigo yarn. There were also two runner-up prizes of yarn. Cinnamongirl93 received over 300 comments. And I was lucky enough to be runner-up in the random number thingy.

So this is what I got.

Revealed from the prettily wrapped packages are two pieces of chocolate, one a solid lamb and one crispy rice, like a big chunk of Nestle's. Yummy! Two coffee singles you brew in the microwave in your coffee cup. Two scented candles that you can smell from far away. I believe the scent is white tea and it is heavenly! I don't want to burn them so I am going to keep them in my stash so the yarn will smells pretty. I did that before with some scented wax, and while I knitted I had a nice aroma going. A cute little card with a hand written note accompanied the package. That I brought to work and hung at my desk because it was pretty. But the best goodie of all was....

A skein of malabrigo chunky! YEA! Now you may find this hard to believe, but I have never knit with malabrigo, so I am definitely looking forward to using this yarn. I am going to make myself a nice warm hat for those days that are just brutally cold.

Thanks again Cinnamongirl93! Please check out her blog when you get a chance. She has very busy hands!

In other news, I cast on for my sweater. So far, so good. Didn't get very far, but I am working it, you know? Had trouble finding a good book to read. The past few have been duds in my opinion, so I went to the library yesterday and checked a couple of books out. I just started Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler and I have trouble putting it down. Basically a modern day girl goes through a break up, spends a night drinking Absolute and reading Pride & Prejudice. Then wakes up the next morning in 19th century England, a la Jane Austen's time. That's all I 'll say because I don't want to spoil it, but if I don't get a lot of knitting done this book is the reason why : )

TTFN!