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January 31, 2007
Posted by shannon at 4:13 PM | Comments (0) | For related posts: Finished Projects
January 22, 2007
Feel-Good Kniting
I don't know if it's the fact that winter weather is finally here, but there's been some interest in my Very Necessary Sweater pattern of late. I've heard from a few people who were planning to knit or in the midst of knitting the sweater, but just after I got back from London, I got a lovely e-mail from Enid with this picture attached:
Isn't it awesome? She made some adjustments to the pattern, and I'm hoping that she'll pass on her numbers to me so that I can see if I can use them to add another size to the pattern.
When I was up in Boston, Colleen mentioned that she was planning to start her very own necessary sweater. She also reminded me of a part of the pattern that I'd been meaning to clarify, which I finally did on the version that's posted on this page. Colleen's now well into her sweater, which she's knitting in a lovely orange color. (While you're over there, give a few dollars to Rosie's Place, will ya?)
Anybody else out there working on it?
PS - Speaking of charity, if you're a DC-area knitter, check out this awesome opportunity to use up some stash and do an awful lot of good for the chronically ill... and DCist has posted some scarf patterns to get you started. Get your knits in by February 6!
Posted by shannon at 9:31 PM | Comments (4) | For related posts:
January 17, 2007
Surprise!
Really, what's more fun than planning a fun party for a good friend? Nothin', I tell ya.
I was in Boston last weekend for Alison's baby shower, which was an utterly knit-astic event (she wrote about it here). Everybody who could do so knit booties; my contribution to the booty (ha!) were these little numbers, knit up in Dani's sock yarn in the Taos coloway.
I also used the Taos to make a matching baby bonnet and a flower for baby's bolero. A little side story: I bought the pattern for the bolero (which I can't find online) and the yarn in Edinburgh in January at a terribly British department store called Jenner's. Both are from Sirdar, and I was super excited because -- despite my current inability to find it again (ETA: Found it!) -- I'd seen the pattern online and loved it, but couldn't find it anywhere in the US. Well, apparently I was so excited to find the pattern that I got the yarn in the wrong weight. By the time I realized my error, I was Stateside again and couldn't find a single place that would sell me the color in the correct weight. Good thing I'm pretty good at math!
I was so happy that we were able to surprise Alison, and celebrate her and the new baby as they so richly deserve. It was even worth going to Boston in January!
Posted by shannon at 10:40 AM | Comments (7) | For related posts:
January 9, 2007
Expect the Unexpected
When Jason's sister moved to London last spring with her husband and their two kids, we were excited to have a reason to visit such a wonderful city. We were even more excited when they suggested we spend the holidays with them. We had visions of London's multitude of museums and thriving nightlife. We considered day trips and overnight trips outside of the city. We reveled at the idea of spending time with our niece and nephew, and to be there on Christmas morning to see them behold the glorious pile of presents waiting for them to annihilate open.
Here's the single biggest (littlest?) reason that things did not go according to plan:
He wasn't supposed to come until after we'd left London, but he clearly wanted to meet the Christmas visitors! Cal's arrival led to a total reshuffle at the house, which now had four houseguests and a newborn in addition to its normal complement of four. Everybody tried to help out as much as they could. For my part, I "helped" by facilitating the baby's naps.
With Cal's arrival, everybody stuck close to home for the first part of our stay. That meant when Henry (the oldest of the kids) started up with the stomach flu on Christmas Eve, it turned into the Christmas Day Massacre. Though nobody was sick for more than 24 hours (and don't worry, Henry was back at 100% on Christmas morning!), the kid took down both of his parents, his Uncle Jason, and his grandpa for part or all of Christmas Day. I took the opportunity to come down with a terrible sore throat and cold that lasted a few days as well.
Eventually, we recuperated enough to make a quick two day trip to Edinburgh and a to visit number of museums and tourist haunts in London. We rolled around on floor with the kids a lot, I facilitated more of Cal's naps, and like Kay Ann, we spent New Year's Eve watching the World Dart Championships. And of course, I found some time for this:
Post-Christmas sales are really great over there, and that includes yarn! I got the yarn that's in my hands above -- six balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay in bright purple -- for under $20! I did a fair amount of knitting on this trip as well, but those updates will have to wait until next time. I'm still recovering, and we're off to Boston this weekend so I've got to get caught up on sleep, laundry, and sanity.
(For more pictures of our trip, click here!)
Posted by shannon at 12:00 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
January 4, 2007
Favorite News Story
(via Craft Magazine blog)
ETA (1/11/07): I just put it all together -- this is the same guy who took the "Statue of Liberty" handoff and ran the ball in to win what was easily one of the greatest college football games in the last decade. Seriously, even if you totally hate football, read that story.
Posted by shannon at 8:52 PM | Comments (2) | For related posts: