On Friday, we went to Philadelphia to see Andrew race.  This was the first time we’ve been able to go to one of his races, so we were pretty excited.   We got there around 1:30 - his race was at 3:30.  And we sat in the rain, cold, wind.  It was pretty miserable - poor Cieara was shivering the whole time (and now has a cold).  We finally found seats in the grandstand section with a roof, but it was the last row, so we kept on getting rained on.  But that was ok - what’s a little cold/wet?  That’s Andrew’s boat in the top picture during his race - and he is the first one on the right.    They didn’t win their race, but it was exciting, and great to watch.    And afterwards we found him and I got a picture of Cieara and Andrew - very rare that Andrew will allow a picture, so he must have been in a good mood!  He had his head shaved as crew novice initiation thing and it was the first time we had seen him since they did it - it was startling!  (And its actually grown out a bit already!)

We took Andrew out to dinner and had a great time with him and Cieara.  It was so nice to see him, and I’m glad that we took the day off to go to his race.  

Before we left on Friday, I sat at the spinning wheel for the first time in a long time - and I finished spinning up some roving that I have been spinning forever.  And yesterday, I plied it. 

I can’t say that this is the best yarn I’ve ever done - I think its pretty obvious that I haven’t spun in some time.    I spun this from Corriedale roving that I bought from an Etsy store last year (looks like she switched to selling hand knits now).  I thought that Corriedale was supposed to be pretty soft (or is that Cormo?), but this is pretty scratchy/wooly feeling. 

The colors are beautiful though - purples, white, blues…very nice.  But I’m not too happy with how this came out - do you see the blurby parts in the picture above?  Sigh.  I really need to start spinning again a little more regularly.    I was spinning a more consistent yarn when I was spinning every week - I think I’m going to start putting one day aside a week to spin.  I forgot how much I enjoy it, and how relaxing it is.  I wish there was a spinning group or guild in the area that I could join - there is a guild, actually, but they meet on a weekday during the day, so I can’t go.   It would be great, though, to have some spinners to spin with. 

I’m fighting the urge to ball this up, though, and make a scarf.  I’m on the last repeat of the boring stockinette section of Icarus, and I’ve been told, and have read, that this is the hardest part to get through - and I can believe it.  I’m so freaking bored with this that I’m starting to look through my Ravelry queue for a small project.  But I’m trying really hard not to - I really want to finish the projects I have going before I start more  - and I do have a scarf going already.  But wouldn’t it be nice to make something with my handspun? 

Today I’m going to be lazy and knit this morning and let Larry and Cieara make me breakfast.  Then we are golfing this afternoon.  And I think I may spin a little.  And knit.  Andrew gave me presents for mother’s day when I saw him on Friday - thanks Andrew!  And Dan called me this morning - he is in West Virginia at his girlfriend’s graduation.  It was nice to hear from him - thanks Dan! 

I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day, and that you get some time to enjoy the things and people you love! 

I worked from home today - I started at 6:00 this morning and finally logged off at 5:40.  I work at my kitchen table, and all day I found myself looking at the fruit bowl.  I’d be on a call, look up - and look at the 4 bananas there that were just too ripe.  I’d look up from the document I was writing - and those stupid bananas were there .  So at 5:45, I took care of it…

Banana cupcakes - the recipe was from Fannie Farmer Baking and it is a really good banana cupcake recipe.  I’ve had this cookbook for years and years, and I’ve never made anything that wasn’t great.  I wasn’t quite sure on the frosting - I had planned on cream cheese - and then realized that we didn’t have any.  I thought about chocolate but Cieara doesn’t like chocolate.  I finally found the perfect frosting - Honey Cinnamon from Serious Eats.  These are so good - the frosting really compliments the banana.    If you’d like the cupcake recipe, let me know - I’ll email it (or post it).

So I’m off tomorrow, and just in time.  What a crazy week!  My organization is re-organizing, and we’ve been waiting for a while to hear the announcement.  Rumors are getting out of hand (rumor has given me at least 100 new managers in the last few months), and people are just getting more and more worried about their jobs.  That kind of thing just doesn’t make the best working environment.  The word finally came down this afternoon that they would be making the announcements tomorrow.  So I guess I’ll find out on Monday - I think I’ll be ok, but its just hard to have to deal with all this.  On top of that - it was the week for all my clients to be crazy.  Simply crazy.  So it was good to shut the laptop off, put it in my briefcase and hide it in the closet until Monday. 

I bought a little yarn last night…not saying what, but I may have bought some laceweight that I’ve been looking at for a while.  And I know there is no way that it could be in my mailbox today - but I have to admit I was a tiny bit disappointed it wasn’t. 

I have also managed to make suggestions for three totally different plans next weekend - I have knitting group on Saturday.  But I also suggested to some friends that we should go to the Webs tent sale.  And that we should go see the Yarn Harlot in Philadelphia on Sunday (side trip to Loop?).    It may sound like all three things are possible - but Webs is 220 miles from here - 4 hours each way.  I don’t think I’d want to then drive another 75 miles (each way) the next day.  I hate when too many things happen on the same weekend, don’t you?  And I also realize that I have stated over and over that I’m not buying yarn right now - that I’m knitting out of the stash.  Sigh.

OK, off to knit Icarus - hoping to get to the lace part this weekend - and I need to look up how to put in a lifeline. 

Have a great Friday! 

 

I finished the lunch bag last night, and this morning I felted it.  Thanks to everyone for the great advice, especially Josiane, who sent me a separate email with directions.  I followed all the directions, I put the bag in a pillowcase, tied it with twine and threw it in the washer with a pair of jeans and a beach towel.   It took two times through - I may have been able to do it once more, but I didn’t want to shrink it too much!  I think its perfect for my breakfast and lunch during the week!

Pattern:  Brown Bag
Yarn:  Crystal Palace Iceland, Straw into Gold colorway (just a little over 2 skeins)
Started:  May 2, 2008
Finished:  May 4, 2008

I bought a button for this, and some big snaps, but I haven’t sewn them onto it yet (and knowing how much I hate sewing, I’d saw there is a good chance that they will never get put on!)  I put this outside on the deck today, and its pretty much all dry, so I think I’ll be able to use it tomorrow.  I was a little worried because there were several bags on Ravelry with the comment that they had felted too small, but this bag is big - which is great since I take my breakfast, lunch and snack every day.  I think I’ll be able to fit in my frozen ice-thing and it will keep everything very cool.  And it fits perfectly into my briefcase - I really couldn’t be any happier with it.   

This is a great pattern, and I can see making a few more of these as gifts - doesn’t everyone need their own brown bag?  I think it would be great with a handle as well…maybe next one…I really do love these little projects!

So I didn’t clean out the garage yesterday - we decided to hold until it was a little warmer to do it since yesterday was grey, chilly and misty.  In fact, we had a fire last night!  Today - gorgeous day here in NJ, and Larry and I played golf all afternoon.   It was so pretty out, and we had a great time.    It totally took my mind off of Maryland, and I didn’t mind not going at all today (but I am looking forward to reading about everyone else’s adventures!)

This is a short week for me at work - we are taking Friday off to see Andrew race in Philadelphia.  I’m looking forward to seeing him, and we are hoping to be able to take him to dinner (and I’m sure he’d enjoy a side trip to Loop, right?).   

Enjoy the week!

 

 

 

l woke up this morning at 6:45 and my first thought was that if I was going to Maryland, I’d be on the road already.  And then I went back to sleep until 8:00 - so I guess there is a silver lining to not going!  It is sort of a grey, misty day here - so its easier to think of not going than had it been a beautiful day.

Thanks for all the nice comments on the bolero - I think she likes it - she wore it to school the next day.  Didn’t come home wearing it, and said it was in her backback (she had switched to a sweatshirt because she was cold - I don’t know where she gets all these clothes at school!).  I think I’ll try that pattern again - it was fun and quick.  I may even try to make one for me.

I’m still working on Icarus - on the fourth repeat of the first chart, so I’m hoping to get to chart two sometime next week.  I’ve been primarily knitting it on the train, so probably not going as fast as I could if I also knit it at home.  I got an invite to a Icarus KAL on Ravelry - I joined, but haven’t looked at the discussion boards yet.    It will be fun to read about what other people are doing with the pattern - for example - Lorraine’s version is gorgeous and uses beads.

I take my lunch to work most days - and I usually just throw everything into my briefcase.  I’ve been looking for a lunch bag, but they are either too weird looking, too big, too just not what I want.  I want something that can still fit in my briefcase - I have that and a purse and don’t want something else to carry.    I didn’t want one of those plastic, insulated bags (I just hate the way they smell after a while), so I’ve been looking on Etsy - something like this or this.  I mentioned it to Larry and he suggested that I make my own.  I thought he was insane - I don’t sew and I can’t imagine making anything like that.  Then I remember - I knit!

So I did a google search for “knitting pattern lunch bag” - and guess what I found?  A Knitty pattern for a lunch bag!  Although I think it is really cute in the brown, I wanted to use stash yarn, so I found some nice bulky wool and started….

 

This is one ball of Crystal Palace Iceland.  I bought this years ago at Tangled Yarns in Bethlehem - I forget what I was going to use it for, but it was something felted so this works out well!  I should have this done by tomorrow (if not today) and then I’ll have to figure out how to felt it in a front loader.  I’ve read that you can felt in them - and that you can’t.  So we’ll see.  But I’m hoping that next week I can take my lunch in my new bag.  Maybe then I won’t get smooshed bananas!

One of the reasons that I’m not going to Marylnad is that I am trying to knit from the stash and not buy more - however, I also think that I’m going to buy myself a present and just buy one skein of yarn.    The problem is I can’t decide what to buy - I’ve been looking all week, and I’m very torn - so many pretty yarns out there.  I can’t even decide between lace or sock weight - so I thought I’d ask you - any suggestions?  If you could only buy one skein of yarn, what would it be?

OK, I’m off - that garage isn’t going to clean itself!  Have a great day!

 

OK, I really should have had this done yesterday - but I just couldn’t stay up long enough to sew it up.  So when I got home tonight, I grabbed the needle, and then grabbed Cieara and the camera.

Pattern:  Ribbed Lace Bolero
Started:  April 26, 2008
Finished:  April 29, 2008
Yarn:  Cotton-Ease

Great pattern - but I think I should have either made this a litle smaller.  Or checked gauge.  Probably just made it smaller (I mean, really - guage for something like this? It would take me as long to do a gauge swatch as it did to knit it - and no, I don’t exaggerate at all!).  It fits her, but it is just a little loose - and I think she would prefer it a little tighter. 

I think it looks very cute on her - and I think it will be very nice this summer with her tanks or sundresses.    And it was a perfect break from the shawl.  I think I like doing these small patterns in between larger ones (or during) - keeps me excited and yet doesn’t get me too bogged down in a new project.

Again, great pattern - very easy, but interesting and just too clever.  I can totally see making more of these, and think they would make great Christmas gifts.  I would love to make one for me, but I bet it wouldn’t look as cute!

 

I’m behind on my blog reading - and I’m sort of avoiding them as well.  I’m not going to Maryland this year, and although I’m ok with my decision - I’m still sort of sad about it. So its hard to read blogs that are talking about going.  I have gone the last 3 years, so its sort of weird to think of not going - not buying all that great yarn….fleece….roving….maybe a rabbit.  Sigh.  But the good news is that we are cleaning out the garage.  Isn’t that just as good as going?  Sigh.  Anyway, I’ll get over it, right? 

OK, off to knit - have a great rest of the week!