oi vey its been too long - something about the turning into spring here in the north - its seems like such an upheaval - with rain and wind and dark cloudy days and then a day or two of sun and promise of warm weather and then back to the wind and rain and clouds... this goes back and forth for weeks - - - it really takes a toil on me. i think i am much more sensitive to the weather than i realize.

work has heated up to a stressful level - lots of angst and tension and - well, lets just say i was at the office very late three nights last week (like midnight including friday)... and although the weekend was really gorgeous i was exhausted. and enjoyed it thru my windows - of course i had done my garden winter clean up last weekend in the cold and wind and wet - but it was nice to know that as i was tired i wasnt remorseful about not working in the garden - its a grand feeling to look out at my little garden plot (its only 80 square feet) and see it all clean and laid down with mulch and all the roses pruned nicely (like haircuts ) and lovely little green and red leaves bursting on the rose canes and the gorgeous red peony buds poking up thru the mulch in such a hurry to come up. and the few lillies that survived the drought poking too.

so today and this week i MUST plan my orders - at least the summer bulbs - i once again didnt order any spring bulbs - i was working way too much last fall and didnt get anything in. but next year... tulips and croci and hyacinths i swear!

anyway i love lillies and would have a whole garden of them if i could - but i love phlox and snapdragons and sweet willilam and foxglove and delphs and , well the list is way too long for a little plot such as mine. so i have to be judicious and order three of this and three of that and ....

i do get to order a new rose as i have decided to get another rose pillar and put another climbing rose on it - this one will be taller and willl have some gorgeous pink climber - i just have to find one - i could also have hundreds of roses if i had the room.

ok more later

the knitting finger moves...

hmm another week flies by....

mainly i dont post enough cause i only have a laptop and a dialup connection at home and well, after working all day in an IS (computer dept) when i get home (finally - usualy 7-8 pm) all i want to do is knit - something non-computer related and with the satisfaction of seeing immediate results. its like when i was studying piano and practicing 4-5 hours a day and working at night, i became a fiendish baker - baking all the time - bringing in goodies to work and to my teacher (who gave me extra time so i felt it was some small compensation) anyway - she said i baked to have a "result" in my day - since practicing and playing the piano is a long term process.

how i got to IS from music - dont ask. (and there are a few other twists in between).

anyway

yesterday i heard from the wonderous meg at Schoolhouse Press that the Frost JACKET book AND the republished A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt are BOTH on their way in the mail.... ooooohhhhh i can not wait.

to quote Meg - "I was excited about the idea even before the publisher asked me to write the foreword. Am I allowed to quote myself?: What a useful and welcome book this is. At present we are happily awash in scores of books about knitting techniques and garment design, but relatively lacking in information about the origins of our craft. The knowledge herein offers the historical continuity necessary to provide a solid foundation for our ever-growing knitting community." see more on her New Books page.

i have been working on the Aran Cardigan i am designing (as i go)/knitting for my nephew. i am at the point where i need to decide to do something with the sleeves - either STEEK or split off the front and the back and proceed on them separately. i am also waiting on the total length of the cardigan (hopefully my sister will get it tonight). i hope i can get it cause its about 10 inches long right now and i just finished one of the valentine heart patterns so it would be a good place to steek or split.

i am really thinking i will steek the sleeves - i am already steeking the front of the cardigan - even tho i am making this in COTTON FLEECE. i have steeked in wool and it was fine. cotton will be another thing - but well, i am nothing if not adventurous. but for now i need to wait until later to get the length so i can figure out when to do this steek.

i decided to re read the Elizabeth Zimmerman books - so on the subway tonight you will see me reading "Knitting Around".
onward

ok so its been another crazy week... i meant to post over the weekend and yesterday - my job requires a lot of admin work for the computer systems of the law firm at which i work and i monitor the backups for all the servers... 80+ so each day i spend about an hour or so dealing with the admin of the backups.... then there are other problems which creep in - anyway, this is all to say that i meant to post yesterday and didnt - it was a choice of going home at 630 or staying even later... i went home.

a reader commented that i should check out CBC - i think i will - i keep forgetting about it in my enthusiasm for the BBC...so i will try it today.

on to knitting stuff -
(i KNOW i need a digital camera...i am searching...)
so last night, based on the latest measurements of my nephew, i FROGGEd the little red cardigan i knit last summer and fall and which i never sewed the buttons on - that'll teach me right? so now i am starting a larger size of the same cardigan - its of my own design - out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece - Barn Red - its full of cables and i loved designing and knitting it the first time - so this time will be easier... i might even write down what i do. it was a little depressing to rip it out but i am looking forward to reknitting it in a size that i hope he can wear for at least a year or so.

his chest is 21" now and i am thinking of making the circumference 25" so that it will fit over clothes and last a bit more than a few months.

i tried to stay up and cast on but i was pooped by the time i had frogged and rewound the yarn = while listening to the BBC news on the war. so i cast on on the subway this morning.

warning warning rant ahead
why oh why is it that people feel they have the right to SPREAD out (including their legs) over more than one seat on the subway DURING RUSH HOUR!!!!??? i have gotten really aggressive and like this morning, will sit or actually perch on whatever open inches i see - usually people ignore you but this morning the woman on one side of me engaged in not-so-sublte but passive-aggressive behaviour by pushing her left leg against my right leg - i just sat there and pretended i didnt feel anything and prayed (yes, prayer is very useful at times like these for me) and after about 5 minutes or so, she stopped.

someday i am going to say = "and did you remember to pay for the two seats you are taking up?" but i would probably get shot, right?

ARGH
ok, rant over.

am itching to start one of the Alice Starmore sweaters for me... let me say i have only worked on the Seaweed Stole of AS's designs so far - i have the kit for both bags (Thistle Bag and Heart Bag) i have NOT knitted a sweater yet - but i LOVE LOVE LOVE cables and i think i know enough about how to adjust my gauge and handle cables and sweater construction etc.. so i just may have to plunge in and start something now in hopes that i can finish it and be able to wear it in the fall - when it will be cold again aroundabouts here in nyc.

so here's the ones i am thinking of choosing for my first AS sweater... (out of the hundred or so that i have on my wish list).


Maidenhair Cardigan


Irish Moss


Fulmar

All these designs are at VIRTUAL YARNS
NAYY - just a very appreciative customer.

i will be pondering this for a few days and will report back as to what i decide. comments, suggestions, etc welcome!

happy knitting!

war and knitting

this is a big topic - and i wont even begin to tackle it here. suffice it to say that
1) i am a news junkie
2) bbc has the best unbiased news coverage
3) knitting is great for calming one down during hours of war coverage

so what did you knit last night while watching the news?? (come on, own up, you did watch didnt you?)


Seaweed Stole

as i dozed on the sofa off and on all night long - with the BBC News on one of the local public tv stations - i worked on a stole designed by Alice Starmore
i hadnt worked on this in months and months - its out of her new yarn and in a gorgeous color -Clover

interestingly when i first got this pattern and yarn - last fall/winter - i had a really hard time working the pattern cause i wasnt used to intricate lace patterns - so it was very slow going - checking each row (there are 6 pattern rows each different with the first and last five stitches different from the repeating pattern of the row) as i went along

however! last night and early this morning i realized that i was starting to "read my knitting" and was memorizing the pattern for each row - at least for the row, if not remembering it after just doing one repeat on a row while checking against the card... woohoo! now i cant sit down right now and rewrite the pattern (probably should try that to really memorize it) but its going a bit faster than a year ago. i find it encouraging to see improvement like this in my personal life.

check out Alice's website
virtual yarns

its full of GORGEOUS patterns and yarns and stories about life in the hebrides isles... sounds like heaven to me! i am trying to justify a trip to scotland and the hebrides islands... anyone need some computer consulting work ?

keep knitting!

well its 8 pm on wednesday march 19th... are we at war yet?

this wont be a political blog entry - but please read Maureen Dowd and Tom Friedman in today's NYTIMES.

may the Lord above help us all.

ok, knitting news
its been really busy at work - i know, i am tired of writing it too. and i dont even know if this will get on the site cause blogger.com is down tonight...

got new measurements for my nephew and so can continue on with the cotton fleece aran pullover. have only the end of the first sleeve and the second sleeve to finish on the wool version of the same design.

spent a couple of nights drooling over older magazines and trying to figure out a sweater pattern for me... but i may wait til i get the new Jean Frost Jacket book and do one of them.

spent a very productive sunday two weeks ago reorganizing the bags of stash into a corner (from the end of the coffee table right in the middle of the living room)... now i am on the quest to find some pretty storage baskets with LIDS that dont cost 100.00 a piece. i keep meaning to look at work where its fast connection but i have been really busy... ok ok.

ok i need to run now... more later

i'm back...

well its snowing ... what, not cats and dogs, but something fierce... out my office window i can only see about two blocks up madison avenue... and its pretty quiet out there...perversely the days of bad weather my trains run fine - its the nice weather days they seem to loiter along.

should be quiet here today - as it is now, so a little chance to catch up...

well, that was written six hours ago - obviously not a quiet day --- and the snow is STILL falling... hmm i am NOT looking forward to the schelpp home - soon to be 50 cents more due to the wisdom of our MTA board.

the prez is speaking tonight at a press conference maybe i will update my blog during that ... ok more later

monday - catchup day

home sick today - started with an asthma attack during the wee hours of the morn and so i was going to go in late morningish but when i woke up after about 4 hours of sleep, i had a splitting headache and it didnt get better, thru hot shower, hot tea, toast - so i gave up. spent three+ hours fielding emails and cellphone calls about work. .. well its hours later and still not feeling better... am praying its not the flu - but since i am achy all over and feel slightly - well, you know, when food is something you dont want - it may be. ugh. i took advil and am pretending to feel better.

Updates
the end of last week was very busy - i was at work late both thu and fri - and didnt want to stay to update my blog. pretty much went to bed right away when i got home each night. spent sat and sun continuing the ongoing cleanup project called my apartment (i worked seven days for almost four straight months - so things were pretty much neglected around here). this is the second weekend ive had a weekend - and i am starting to feel encouraged... of course the next big project is to clean out the living room closet of all the clothes i have stored in there that i havent worn in ages (and probably wont) and then redo the closet as a "stash" closet - thus ridding the other half of the sofa of its stash and clearing the room of the numerous shopping bags in neat stacks - all filled with yarn.

on the knitting fronti
finished the little aran pullover from Nichols/Falick Heirloom Projects for baby book - ended up knitting the sleeves separately and then sewing them in - it actually looks pretty adorable - its the three month size - but the yarn i used was a little thicker so while i got the stitch gauge, my row gauge was a bit larger - its longer than it would have been - not really a bad thing i think given things like diapers. i designed a little aran hat to go with it. i just have to sew buttons on. and take a photo. and then wrap it up and take it to work to give to the colleague.

i re-examined the other almostFOs for my nephew - one i know (a best baby sweater) is definitely too small - there is another new baby boy among my colleagues - only thing is that this sweater is a pretty soft red and i dont know if i can give red to a chinese baby boy? anyone know if that's a problem? i seem to remember reading on some knit list.

the other is a little red aran cardigan - it may be too short, in which case i can rip out the bottom ribbing and add a few inches of the cables to the bottom - i will have to get updated measurements from my sister. it just needs buttons. i really need to get these things out of here.

on the aran pullover for my nephew i had the end of the first sleeve to finish and then the second sleeve to do. i am doing them by picking up the stitches from the sleeve opening and knitting down from the top (reversing the pattern increases to decreases). its pretty easy as the increases where every fourth row and i am doing a XO cable down the center of the sleeve and doing the increases on the cable rows. i love that when the second sleeve is done, i just have the buttons to sew on.

of course, now i see why someone posted that loong list of button websites on the KNITU mailing list - they are the finishing item that can really make the garment, i think and of course, it is the design decision that is easy to put off (at least for me).

ok, i need to go lie down now.

midweek - wednesday

did you hear about the dog who got caught on the ice in the river? read about it i imagine the owners are embarassed and jubilant at the same time.

not much knitting knews - after shoveling the walkway to the sidewalk on tuesday so i could get out the front door and get to work - and then schlepping in - it was a busy day so i kept falling asleep last night while knitting - only about an inch left on the second sleeve and then just sewing them on to the body and getting buttons for the top and then FO!!!!

as for the nephew sweater - i need to finish the top of the front and then do the two sleeves - i am hoping i have enough yarn left..

tonight was the Third meeting of the knitting group at my job - i was sure the snow and weather would affect the number of attendees and it did - six brave souls came - two rsvpd. i am really liking the core group of gals who are showing up - its a nice mix of expert and fairly new knitter and returning knitter. i am pushing buying knitting magazines and zimmerman books and the new melville book - you'd think i get commission - of course i started yet another version of the aran pullover for my nephew - this time in Mission Falls 1824 cotton (ebay- pale green) - i actually knit a swatch (!!) well, as moderator of the group i need to practice what i preach - at least while i am there... ;o
i am still surprised when two hours is up - i could stay longer but we all need to get home and come back to work again... sigh.

i am finishing up work and then off home to catch my weekly fix of EASTENDERS . (the station which carries it in my area is about four YEARS behind what is currently running in england - so NO HINTs about what is happening over there, right? i have been tempted to watch the weekly Ominbus on bbc america on saturdays (now that i am not working weekends) but i have resisted temptation so far... how? because the metropolitan opera is broadcasting during the same time!! but once that ends... well, we may weaken...

ok time to dash off home. happy knitting!

snow in new york

well, we got a bit of snow over the weekend - too busy at work today to catch up much right now -- more knitting knews later.

i went walking at dusk in prospect park on monday - and this is one of the scenes i saw - it was very beautiful.

knitting group and other miscellany

last night was the second meeting of the new knitting group at my workplace.
some from the first meeting didnt come back, one has conflicts and wont be joining us now. several emailed about missing. didnt hear from two others - emailed them today. but had three new people come - one newbie and one returning and one expert. the returning knitter had not brought any yarn or needles and we had a lively discussion of the yarn shop closest to our midtown office and what to expect when she goes there - and then about what kind of yarn to buy - with all of us encouraging her to get some lovely gorgeous yarn instead of something sensible and to try to let herself spend a bit of money on what she wants... i offered to go with her - remembering how intimidating some of the salespeople at this particular shop were to me when i was coming back to knitting - i only use them if i am in an ABSOLUTE emergency in terms of accessories and yarn (although i find their selection not very deep). anyway - our group member was little surprised that we were encouraging her to spend good money on good yarn instead of something "to practice" on. we all talked about how you can just rip it out - but that she deserved to create something gorgeous and wonderful for herself. it was amazing to see her realize this could be something she could really enjoy creating!

the expert knitter was a total surprise - a woman who retired from the firm but who keeps an office and comes and goes on her own...the surprise was that she showed up! i hadnt heard from her from any of the announcements i had sent out. she was a wonderful addition - a sharp intelligent presence who enlivened our conversation. i hope she comes again.

these first two meetings have been heartening to me - i was unsure what was going to happen and who would show up and how it was going to go but based on the delights of these two meetings, i am glad that it is taking off so well and look forward to the next one.

as to my projects. .. my order of 12 in circs from Halycon Yarns was delivered in two days (even tho it was ups three day!) so that was good for yesterday. i tried to work on the sleeves for the 3month version of the aran pullover but was tired by the time i got home -(there were some work things i had to attend to after the knitting group broke up).

i did manage to finish the little hat which i created to go with the pullover - i do need to measure and see if it is tall enough - not having a baby around, i have a good diagram for the width of the hat but not for the height - i guess i can check some hats in my baby books and see what - i made it about 6 inches tall - but it knit up so quickly that i can redo it if it seems too small - of course the baby is only two months at this point.... i did the same cable patterns as on the front of the sweater but added a few extra cables to make the pattern continuous around the hat and without the broad side bands of seed stitch that the sweater has.

(ok i am looking for a digital camera and hope to get one soon - like maybe this weekend - so just imagine a little aran hat ;o )

so today i will start the sleeves with the 12in circs and work them - first i have to write out the pattern in reverse (they are written to knit separately and sew in - i will do anything to avoid sewing seams....!!)

looking forward to this three day holiday - although we have our network downtime on saturday morning so that means its really only two and a half days.... BUT they are predicting SNOW sunday and monday - so perfect chance to stay in and KNIT and maybe finish up some of my UFOs that are accumulating - hmm, think i will dedicate this weekend and make it my "finish the UFOs" weekend - it would be great - since i have a bunch of little sweaters that just need seams and buttons and a lap afghan which i need to sew and cut the steek for and then finish the edges. i have some british mystery series i have been saving up - could be just the thing. and i really should do a sweep thru my accumulated stash and record what i have especially with the acquisition of new needles - it always reminds me, i need to update my needle inventory database. ok thats enough things to do!

happy knitting!

as long as i am waiting around - any one have any suggestions for a good reasonable digital camera? i guess i need one to document my FOs and enliven this blog with images that are of my creations... please write and let me know - or put it in the tag board.

not a good ending

today started out fine - even ran errands at lunchtime - and worked away all afternoon very productively- and was getting myself together to leave around 630 pm and then THE CALL - a problem with emails, other offices calling.... argggh.

suffice it to say that it is now 938 pm and i am waiting for the taxi desk to call with my car number so i can go home - and i wanted to knit and watch judging amy tonight! bawawa - this is a special one - where sharon gless comes back in a guest role with tyne daly --- pooh and other bad words... (i dont watch that many tv shows - just a few well chosen ones - and if i had thought i was going to be late i wouldve taped it).


one of my lunchtime finds... maybe i need to read it on the way home to calm me down... i hate stressful situations and i have a job where they are frequent due to... well, best not to say what in a public forum. ok where is that car?

sigh

another snowy day in nyc

so we are getting MORE snow today - it started a bit in the mid morning - then has been alternating between light and then heavy clumps and now is back to a fairly steady heavy falling - i AM grateful to have a window of which i can see out and although the view is mainly of the surrounding office buildings, if i lean way over i can see the spires of the dakota over at the edge of Central Park West thru a gap made by the Sherry Netherlands Hotel and the Pierre Hotel buildings. right now i cant see anything thru that gap except the white of the snowfall; the prediction is 3-5 inches by nightfall and the heaviest snowfall between now and 8 pm. the evening commute will be fun (ha).

oh well, i still dont care about the mess cause i do love the whiteness enveloping all and "cleaning" up the flotsam and debris that accumulates on the city streets - at least for awhile after the snow falls, the cityscape feels close to perfect...

the snow leopards at the Central Park Zoo are happy

on the knitting front
finishing up the Aran Pullover from the Heirloom Projects for Baby book (nichols/falick) which has so many wonderful classic patterns. this one is the three month size for a colleague's new baby boy (father is irish) of course, never one to do things straight, i knit the front and back as one piece on circs and then split off at the point where i determined the armhole would be and finished the front and back separately. i also redesigned theback to mimic the front a bit more - to form the shoulder tops (this pattern buttons at the top - the only way i could see having a pullover for a baby and it makes sense) for the buttons and buttonhole overlap.

picked up the stitches for one sleeve last night (or really early this am... i get so possessed when knitting something new i stay up til all hours even tho i have to get to a 930 am job)...and knitting the sleeves with the addition of the front cable panel along the center of the sleeve - am using 16 circs but they arent going to work for long as i am now knitting the sleeve in reverse (the pattern starts at the bottom and knits up to the top of the sleeve increases along the way = i will have to rewrite and decrease as i go down and change to dps which i am not very good at - but decided i needed to get some more practice at anyway). anyway, the cable may be too much for the sleeve - its three LC and then two RC and very lovely but may be too much cable on that little sleeve - so i may have to go to a few single cables or horreurs - the entire sleeve in seed stitch (sigh). but fun in figuring out .

so just now ordered a whole bunch of 12 circulars from Halycon Yarns (lovely service ) they should be here on thurs - i can struggle thru on the 16 and the DPs until the 12s get here. in the meantime i will knit a little aran hat to go with the sweater.

and then repeat the same process with the same sweater but in 18mos for my one year old nephew. (two weeks ago). even though he lives in New Orleans - it does get below 50 SOMETIMES in the winter and he could wear the pullover instead of a coat.... or to play outside where his dad has his studio (in a converted carport.)

ok back to work. happy monday everyone

snowy day in nyc

growing up in the south (louisiana) i dreamed of snowy days in the winter time - however the view as an adult who has to go to work during a heavy snow storm is another story - as i discovered this morning - a 50 minute commute stretched to two hours... but the snow looks pretty out the window.

well i dont actually have THAT view but my office building is one block from this walk - its very pretty now right? one thing i have learned is that after the pretty snow comes the slush. well there's a price to pay for beauty, i guess.

yesterday read thru the new Melville book at lunchtime - its really a grand book - very well put together with lots of good notes on techniques and tips and very clear photos and illustrations. have another list of projects to add to my future projects list. and am already thinking of some stash yarn for either the Einstein Coat or the Best Friend Jacket. i really love her inventiveness and the flexibility of the patterns. found a grand quote sally uses from Churchill = a new fav for me and sitting here on my desk to inspire me.

"Creativity is the ability
to move from one failure to another
with no loss of enthusiasm." --Churchill


last night i was pretty tired - but was able to start the larger size of the little aran pullover - decided to make the 18 month size since it goes so quickly can make a bigger one next year - got the bottom band done and then fell asleep on the couch - this morning in the rush to get the snow boots and wrap up to sludge thru the snow to the subway i forgot to get the larger needles i needed to change to for the sweater body - so i got on the subway and got my knitting out for what turned out to be a long commute and then realized . oh s$#t. well i needed to knit and so i just knit in the smaller size and i will rip it back tonight - that knitting this morning was more about mental calmness than anything else - as i HATE to be late due to transportation problems or weather stuff and get really anxious - if i am running late thats another story... ah well.

it was fairly busy today at work - you would have thought half the office would have stayed home with their children but the law marches forward. i am just now finishing up some things and will be heading out. ironically around 3 pm the storm ended and the snow came out for a couple of hours!! the inconstancy of the weather.

so time to head on out - this weekend lots of clean up to do in the apt - and maybe some knitting project organization - also want to research a digital camera so i can put some of my work on here. any suggestions are appreciated. i may go into the office sat afternoon for a little more catchup... will see.

updated my blog - changed my comments to another one that seems a bit faster than the yaacs. and added a tag board (inspired by wendyknits' blog)
onward

so last night was the first meeting of the new knitting group at my workplace! (a nyc midtown law firm - thats the GM (TRUMP) Building next to the Sherry Netherlands Hotel)

eight brave souls showed up and we had lively conversation about knitting - there was one accomplished knitter and several who wanted to revive their knitting and then several newbies. only three of us brought our knitting (one returning newbie) and so after about an hour, the others left, seemingly excited about coming back next week with yarn in hand to start or renew their skills.

the remaining hour was spent helping a former knitter (she said 30 years) with relearning. fortunately the other accomplished knitter knits english (i knit continental) so we were able to show her both methods - she decided that continental was what she learned. i did the cast on and first row and then she knit away for the next hour - only getting messed up when she stopped and tried to analyze what she was doing. as long as she was talking away, she was fine. so we had about 45 minutes of knitting time and chat.

this morning i received a lovely note from the other "knitter" thanking me for starting the group. i am glad that there are others who are interested - and there were four who couldnt make it last night who will be coming next week - so we will be a group of about 12 - a good size i think.

anyway - i didnt get much done on my knitting until the end - being the spearhead of the group. but i am thrilled to be sharing my knitting love with others... i hope that at some point we may do some charity knitting.

i was able to get home in time to catch west wing and my britcom EastEnders and do some more work on the little aran pullover.



however, i LEFT my new MELVILLE book AT WORK boohoo - i guess i was psyched about the new group and knitters, etc - as i was leaving my office i kept thinking i had forgotten something but had the usual things, cell phone, keys, money, etc... only after i had been home for awhile did i realize that i had left it under some papers on my desk... quelle dommage ;(

so today i have something to look forward to after work... or maybe during lunch again - although i need to go buy some of the tea i love (fauchons for those who love french tea). i am addicted to several of their teas and am almost out! so a little shoppoing spree is warranted (i try not to drink coffee as it dehydrates me and my office is very dehydrated.) and as the weatherguys are forecasting up to four inches of snow by noon friday - i should go today.



on the train this morning, i started the bigger size of the aran pullover for my nephew - he is one years old (jan 20) and lives in Louisiana but i think i will make the two year old size so he can wear it next year too. last night, finished the back of the smaller size pullover and started the front. read thru the end of the pattern - its pretty ingenious with the shoulder replaced by buttons - i think it would be easily adaptable to other kinds of cable patterns - i may do the one for my nephew with the heart pattern coming up the front panel (its an 18stitch repeat) and change the outside O cables to XO cables (since its a burgundy yarn)... hmmm. i just cant do a pattern straight (well, sometimes i can but not very often ;o)

quick update
sick yesterday with a migraine - slept most of the day due to the medicine's affects. ripped out the aran sweater and restarted (third time is the charm?) - in the round for first 5 inches then split for the front and back - the steeks didnt work due to the way the front neck and shoulders are designed - didnt feel like doing a total redesign. got almost all of back done - ready for the finishing inches.

will also make the larger size for my nephew - this one is for a colleague's new baby boy (father is irish)

tonight is first meeting of a knitting group i am starting at my workplace - about 12-15 people expressed interest - it will be interesting to see who shows up - and what they want to do.... more later tonight or tomorrow.

FINALLLLLLLy got my MELVILLE book - yahoo! was going to look at it at lunch but a friend sat down and so will have it to savor tonight .... at first glance it looks great... something to look forward to.

well off to get ready for the meeting!

last night was an exercise in frustration - yet a learning experience too. i am working on the little aran from the Heirloom baby book by Falick and Nichols



anyway, i am changing the pattern (of course) and making it in the round - but for some reason - probably too overloaded with Shuttle coverage - i just kept blithely knitting away and as i was nearing the part where the shaping for the neck begins, i realized i had forgotten to either 1) split the front and back for the armholes and finish separately or 2) make steeks for the armholes. so after i had 10 inches, i had to frog back to five inches and the make the steeks and reknit - and of course this is at 1 in the morning and of course i couldnt go to sleep until i had a few inches with the steeks.

well thats done. so tonight i should be able to get the body done and maybe pick up stitches for one of the sleeves. i think the book has the sleeves in seed stitch but i may add one or two cables to keep it interesting .... will see. (have to review the pattern again).

surprise at work today - my mom sent me a lovely bouquet of sweet peas and hyacinths for moving from the weekend position to the mon-fri day position. (a sideways promotion for now - supposedly a raise in june) the perfect size to sit between my three monitors and two keyboards (dont ask) and a great little vase to inspire me to keep it filled with flowers... i love having fresh flowers on a desk full of office stuff and computers... except that you have to be pretty careful too (small price).

ok now to figure out why the knitblog ring code isnt working... and to do some work. but one more thing - still waiting for my order from schoolhousepress - i am dying to get my hands on that melville book...

weekend and well not much knitting to speak of - was totally exhausted from last week and slept most of sat - didnt plan on it - was going to go in to the office around 1 pm - hopefully this is the last weekend officially in - instead finally got up around 430 when i turned on the radio and found out about the shuttle explosion.. yikes. watched cnn for awhile and then went to the office around 8 pm... worked awhile and tried setting up stuff on my laptop but it blew up and then i was stuck with no programs and the xp cd at home..argh. so i copied some patterns and left.

got home to find masterpiece theatre repeat of a silly patische called Me and Mrs Jones - watched it while knitting on the little aran sweater - managed to add an extra row in the pattern and had to rip out one and half pattern repeats .. double argh. not a good day all around although looking at robson green for two hours helped a little bit.

today has been spent fielding phone calls and requests from the weekend temp replacement and fixing the laptop - reinstalled xp pro and it seems to be behaving. of course then i had to reinstall every program - no data lost just program files needed to be reinstalled so that the registry would be updated... but instead of cleaning and washing clothes i spent the afternoon and now early evening performing computer maintenance... sigh..

ok so now i am going to do some hand wash and settle down to watch the first episode of Masterpiece Theatre's new series FOYLE'S WAR with Michael Kitchen as a detective in south coastal england during wwii - a reluctant one apparently - good cast and clip sees typical good brit fare... just perfect for some knitting and relaxing- as i bring my first real sunday at home in eight years to a close.



hope my books from Schoolhousepress are in on monday - dying to see the einstein coat and other items in sallys new book and of course, interweave knits is nowhere to be seen - as others are already talking about it on the knit u list... i seem to get my magazines later and later here in brooklyn.

whew end of day on friday and ready to go home.
i forgot to mention that i sent an email to my work's CLASSIFIED ads last week seeking other interested knitters at the workplace to start an after-work knitting group. i got some good responses and enough (about a dozen) interested that i am going to hold a first meeting next week! i am excited... we can meet in our company's huge cafeteria which is open 24/7 and the kitchen is open til 9 pm so folks can get whatever they want to munch on.

i had tried to start a group in park slope a couple of years ago and it didnt work out. so i am glad that this may - it seems as if there are a lot of newbies but thats fine - i would like to spend some time doing charity knitting and others are interested too. we'll see how it goes.

finished the cowl on wednesday night - after hair appt and getting home at an unbelievably early hour for me - 630 pm! then after that i worked on that best baby sweater and didnt like it so frogged it and then gave up for the night - thursday i had some stomach something (probably food poisoning) so after sleeping most of the morning - while recupping on the sofa, started a little aran cardigan i had designed for my nephew but in wool for the colleague's baby - but the red wool i had is too bulky and i needed something red as its a heart design - so frogged that after an hour of work - it was way too big for a new baby- and then got out the Falick/Nichols baby book and fllipping thru - found the baby aran sweater - funny how i hadnt remembered seeing it before... anyway its perfect and i have some patons wool that is a decent weight for it - am doing it in the round - its basically ft and bk with open shoulders with buttons. cast on and got about 5 inches done while watching FARMERS DAUGHTER (a fav) and a spencer tracy film - THE LAST HURRAH which i had never seen - very interesting John Ford film about tracy as an irish mayor who loses his last reelection and - good acting and dialogue and of course great depth of casting. a good evening.

still waiting for my package from schoolhouse press with the new Sally Melville book - sigh i had hoped it would come today - but i will have to make do this weekend with out it... anticipation especially to see and read about the Einstein coat everyone is talking about on the knit lists.

ok im off home now - to watch britcoms and knit and take out some of the newspapers in the five foot high stack... yikes.
e

argh
i had a nice long post written out and then got a phone call so finished it and when i went to post and publish - ti was gone!!!! ugh

so a shorter version herewith
work on the cowl progressed last night - while watching the fantasy but fun show Gilmore Girls (luke the diner guy has some serious competition!) and then reality doses with the prez. thank goodness the camera pool showed the dems sitting thru many of the reps standing ovations. where is the money going to come from for all of those programs and the tax refunds? can you say deficit spending? yikes.

finished one ball and started another and got half way thru - cowl is reaching almost the ending length - and then need to decide what to do for the edge to make it the top (since the lace has a definite top to the pattern). have a hair appt (first in a year) today and needed to bring something not as bulky so am starting an EZ best baby sweater for a colleague's new baby boy (jan 1). from my stash (!) in Classic Elite inca alpaca , a pretty dark blue heather. need to choose a more manly pattern than the lacey ones i normally use but the beginning is the yoke in garter so i can find a pattern tonight.

its been snowing off and on all day since i was walking to the subway - as a southern gal i still marvel and delight at snow falling - hopefully with the cold spells of the last few weeks, the ground is solidly frozen and it will stay on for awhile - would love to walk around prospect park and get shots.

ok off to do some work before i have to leave -
e

long time no post

well... since may i have knitted but obviously not posted.

gosh - where did the year go... summer was hot and long - to be honest i dont remember what i was doing that i couldnt post but i know i worked a lot and stayed in the ac a lot during one of the hottest summers in nyc...

i was working on many little sweaters for my new nephew - and struggling with the powers that be at my "job" to convert from part time to full time - THAT did finally happen at the end of september and i started working four days- friday-monday with sat and sun 12 hour days. then the first week of october two day guys were fired and i started working seven days and did that thru christmas (with only three days off - how crazy was i ? dont ask) and then i applied for one of the day spots and got it and started that last week - however i am training the temp consultant who is replacing me - so worked last weekend and will for at least two more... however not long hours. slept in for the first time in years on sunday morning and went in mid afternoon.

boy am i looking forward to having weekends off along with the rest of the world... its been eight long years on the weekends... the reasons why i took it involved pursuit of a music career which didnt work out. (NOT more about that as it is too depressing)

anyway - back to the present. while i was working nonstop from oct thru dec, the closest i got to knitting was carrying a project back and forth in the cab to the office and home at night - however i did start a shawl of my own design out of classic elite inca alpaca using cat's paw pattern (one of the old shetland patterns from one of the Barbara Walker books probably book one, will have to look it up..) anyway it was a simple pattern with garter stitch edge and increases every other row... i have no idea how many skeins i used, i just keep knitting and knitting - its very big - probably five feet from the tip of the triangle to the center of the top. i pushed to finish it two weeks ago - i took three days off !!!! and slept and knit and that was it... well, by the third day, i couldnt stand it and actually cleaned some of the apt and put away some things (however, the five foot high stack of newspapers is still there... later). anyway, i finished it just in time for the artic freeze which hit nyc last week - boy was i glad to have it. incredibly warm and very light!

but the artic freeze out continues, so sunday i cast on for a cowl in the same yarn and the same pattern to match - just a tube to fit over my head to keep it warm (since i hate hat hair) almost finished with this - just a few more inches - knit a lot during my first pedicure in about a year last night... and then while watching two british mysteries last night (yeah) - midsomer murders and waking the dead (love that trevor eve!)

well thats it for now... back to work. hopefully i will be posting more frequently - inspired by wendy and others whom i visit daily.
e