The NC experience

We're back from North Carolina. One of my college roommates got married over the weekend, and I was one of her bridesmaids -- the only one who isn't a member of the family, so that was a great honor. But between doing the bride's manicure/pedicure/make-up and getting everyone into their dresses and wrangling social situations, I didn't have much time to take pictures at the wedding.

The day before, though, hubby and I went to the Museum of Life and Science. It's so much fun! They have mist that forms a tornado, a water-filled ball that shows how the earth's atmosphere forms intricate patterns when it spins, a bunch of blocks you can use to build an arched bridge... I didn't want to leave!

Best of all, they had critters. There was a butterfly house with over 5000 butterflies, but I only got one to hold still long enough.


And, as a true knitter, I immediately zeroed in on the sheep. I was this close to asking the museum people what they do with the fleeces!


And here's a closeup of the yarny critters. Because us knitters can't get enough of looking at yarn-producing animals, right?

Spooky haul - long overdue!

My wonderful spooky SP sent me an amazing box of goodies, and I never got to blog about it until now! So, before I appear ungrateful, I better do it justice!


Bat garland. Purple. Sparkly. Need I say more? And an orange bat candle! Those are pencils with a variety of Halloween motifs and yes, bats! But that's not all. Candy! Mouth shaped, both green and fanged. Yum, fang lollipop! And loads of plastic bats, glow in the dark skulls, pumpkins, spooky Bart Simpson 'skin art' (grin!), it's great.
And look at the adorable stuffed kitty. I can't have a real kitty, but this is the next best thing. And a big, bright spider web, complete with spiders!
And... haven't I run out of ands yet? Well, no, since I haven't run out of stuff.

ROVING! Complete with orange Kool Aid for dying. I just got a spindle (which stariel helped pick out, since I know nothing about spinning). Can't wait to try this. Not that my first yarn will be perfect, but it'll be orange. Swoon!

Thank you so much, spooky SP! I'm still overwhelmed.

Setback

Yesterday, I had the best time. The knittyhead meetup was so much fun, everyone was so nice. We had a blast, and I hope we get to do this sort of thing again sometime soon. Only next time, I'm taking my camera.

In knitting news: I need to frog back the turbulence sweater because I messed up the shoulder bindoff. So I figured I'd knit the sleeves for Samantha. Well, I've ripped back over 20 rows, and I still haven't found the mistake. Why do I have one stitch too many? Seriously, if I don't find out soon, I'll just m1 and call it good. I mean, I was halfway done with this sleeve! Why, oh why?

OK, enough whining. Pictures of the bat package my spooky SP sent me coming up as soon as my camera works again. Also coming up: pictures of my WEBS haul! Purple and aqua yarn. Yum!

WIP roundup

I haven't been blogging much because I've been busy knitting. Here's a look at my works in progress.

First up: Samantha. After much finagling, I managed to get the neckline to come out right. If you want knit this pattern, do e-mail the designer. She has re-written the pattern, but not yet published the revised version. She's very, very helpful and a nice person.
So far, I've done the 3 needle bindoff on the shoulders and hemmed the neckline. It still looks a bit scruffy, but blocking should do wonders -- as should the addition of sleeves.
I love the lacy detailing in the front.


Here's a peek at Samantha from the back. I love the smocking. I hope the bottom seam doesn't flare too much even though I didn't go down a needle size. But I'll worry about that when I get to it.

Remember my sister's birthday sweater? The one I cast on on Monday? Here's the back. I've finished the armholes and am a 3/4 inch away from the back of the neck. The yarn is very shiny and I really like the way the half-twisted rib looks.


In other news: my knitty spooky SP package has arrived at the post office (am not expecting anything else). I will pick it up tomorrow. So excited, can't wait!

Friday knitting

Today, I'm tired. My commute took a good 1.5 hours, each way. The way back was particularly frustrating because an entire hour of that was spent making it the last 5 miles to my exit. On the bright side, I got to knit while waiting for traffic to move again.

When he got home, my sweetie took me out for dinner, and I had a pomegranate margarita. Yum! Really, really good. The salt rim makes it perfect. So now I'm home, ensconced in my comfy chair, and knitting my sister's birthday sweater. Try as I may, the cheapo bamboo needles with the cheapo cord just won't lie straight, which is why this picture sucks. But the color of the yarn came out exactly right. That's half-twisted rib at the bottom, and the stitches look much neater in real life.
The yarn is Berroco Softwist, and I'm loving the way the silky strand that's woven in throughout makes the yarn shimmer. It's going to be so pretty!

Also on the agenda for this weekend: finish the baby sweater. No, really, I have to. Or the baby will be starting school before I'm done!

Oldest UFO

This week's assignment for the blog stalking group is my oldest UFO. As I've been cross-stitching a lot longer than I have been knitting, my oldest UFO is a cross-stitch design -- Celtic Christmas, from Lavender and Lace. It's missing a bit of its border and all the beads. There are loads of beads. I'll get around to finishing this eventually, but not quite yet.
Must contend with the Christmas knitting first.

Reverse spoilage!

I got the most wonderful surprise when I finally opened my mail today: a package from seiding, my downstream SP from knitty SP 7! She sent me a thank you gift that simply blows my mind. Look at the batty foamies! There are three bats in those, and they say batty! Yay!
Where in the world she found the chocolate batty, I'll never know. There are so few bat-shaped things around here, yet she managed to find loads!
And look at the pretty hand-knit pouch! It had tea and a beautiful bracelet in it. The baggie itself is made of shiny, slinky, dreamy yarn in blues. Isn't it gorgeous?


Here is a closeup of the bracelet. I haven't taken it off since I put it on a while ago. It even has a little ball of yarn with knitting needles in it. Forget about corporate etiquette, I'm wearing this to work tomorrow. Nothing says "young, up-and-coming professional" like a huge flowered knitting bag and a knitting bracelet!
Seriously, though, it's so tasteful! Knitty without being tacky. I'm going to wear this a lot.

And a huge thank-you to seiding. Sue, you've really made my day. Thank you so much for your kindness. You were so much fun to spoil. Now I know that you are an excellent spoiler as well!