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Well folks, I'm back. And thank you so much for the nice notes about my poncho! It is warm and cuddly - you should make one too.

Here's a mild-mannered photo of the crazy place I've been to:



New Orleans is quite the deal, as my Minnesota buddies would say. I have to say, I was not feeling the hedonist vibe there. It was just too gross most of the time. However, I did really enjoy the music, what little I heard since I GOT THE FLU and started feeling sick the minute my meeting was over. Bleh. But I made up for it by buying a bunch of cd's at the Louisiana Music Factory.

I also went to two knitting stores, the Garden District Needlework Shop and the Quarterstitch. The former is quite large with a tremendous selection (Rowan, Alchemy, Prism, Cherry Tree Hill, Colinette, etc. etc.). The former is quite a bit smaller, eclectic (yarns are arrayed by color rather than gauge or another conventional method), and is - you guessed it - in the French Quarter. Unfortunately, neither store was set up for sitting and knitting - I hope there is such a place where N.O. knitters can hang out.

I did very little knitting, as I was first busy working and then busy being sick. But, I am happy to report that I am taking three days off from work (yay!), my mom is coming to visit (double yay!) and that she wants to go to the knitting store (too many yay!s to count). So, stay tuned for fun knitting adventures with Mom.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

The Poncho

So, I finally finished the poncho. As I said, it had to be re-sized, since the Yarn Girls "one-size-fits-all" pattern was not. Here I am, in all my poncho (and messy apartment) glory:




I'm pretty proud of myself, for re-sizing and finishing the poncho as well as learning how to use the self-timer on my camera. Ha.

Specs on the poncho:
Pattern: The Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits, Winter Poncho
Yarn: Cascade Pastaza (black) held with Colinette Mohair (Tapis colorway)

This project made me less afraid to work with mohair. I had Jo Sharp Rare Comfort in my stash to make a sweater I really liked, but when I tried to cast on, I made a big knot with the hairy yarn. But on Sunday I tried again, and I am making good progress:





The color is pretty accurate in this (overexposed) photo. I'm making this.

I am headed to New Orleans for work for the rest of the week, so the blog may be a little quiet. I hope to pop in at least one of the cool yarn shops there, so check back for stash enhancement photos! That's all for now - see you again soon!

Last Weekend

I spent last weekend in this wonderful town:


Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the Wolverines and also home of my dear b.f. It was great to spend time with him, but weekends are so short! I miss him so much already.

In case you were wondering about the poncho - I finished it like I said I would, but it was COMPLETELY ENORMOUS. I mean, I would need to gain about 20 pounds, and then be about 6 months pregnant before the thing would not engulf me in wool. So sad. I've already ripped out half of it, and now have to - GASP - do knitting math to resize it! Yes, I have to resize it because the Yarn Girls were under some mistaken impression that One Size Fits All. Sigh.

I wish I had a knitting group to go to tonight - I could really use some fiber fellowship. I think there's one on Thursday. Maybe I will post some pictures!

That's it for now. Take care, all.

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words...

This was painted on the sidewalk outside my polling place in Washington, DC. If you can't make it out, it says, "Our Dreams Will Never Fit In Their Ballot Boxes." I hope that someday we have a president who will fulfill many of our hopes and dreams, in a way that benefits all of us. I was born in 1975, and so I wasn't around for the Kennedy years; but I hope in my lifetime to see another president inspire the country like he did.

And of course, while staying up late to watch the election returns, there was knitting.


I started this poncho on Sunday night, and my goal is to have it finished to wear on Friday, when I go to Michigan to see my dear b.f. I think I can make this goal - in the photo you can see the front (on top) and back pieces (still on the needles); I'm nearly done knitting, then I just have to sew the side seams. It was 70 degrees in Washington yesterday, so hopefully the weather in Michigan will be more befitting a woolen poncho.

That's it for today. Have a good one!

I'm Baaaaack!

Hello there!

I have really neglected my blog, but for good reason - I have been travelling a lot for work, and I've only been working on one project (the multi-colored cabled sock), so there wasn't much to say about that. But now that I'm back, I have some serious stash enhancement to report:



The yarn is Colinette Mohair in the Tapis colorway, and Cascade Pastaza in black. Delish.
You can see in the background the pattern I'll be using, the Winter Poncho pattern from The Yarn Girls book.

And here's a pic showing what I've done so far:



This poncho is going to be gorgeous! I only hope I don't feel too self-conscious wearing it. I'm not often one for look-at-me garments; but hopefully this will be understatedly fabulous, which is my fashion holy grail.

So, about this posting business. I'm going to try and post three times a week (weekdays and weekends). Any more than that is wishful thinking. I do hope you'll continue to visit me!

Happy knitting!