Gratuitous kitty shot.

Eva loves fresh laundry! And she always looks annoyed. It's part of her charm.

Seriously?

Who needs 4 (yes- 4) new skeins of yarntini sock yarn? Apparently, I do. As Carrie Bradshaw yelled to the man in LA harassing her for smoking..."I have an addiction, Sir!"

And never more obvious was my addiction than today. I was at work at 11am frantically refreshing my browser to be sure I snagged a skein of the pure knits colorway that went on sale at that appointed hour. My skein is so lovely. Pretty pink, chocolate brown, and pure white to balance it all out. I'll post pics once I receive my packages...

You'd think that would be enough. But you would be wrong. Oh so wrong! Then, I hit the source... Yarntini's Etsy Shop. There, I picked up one skein each of gimlet, appletini, and vintage. So many socks to knit. And I'm so lucky to have such beautiful yarn to work with.

I also finished some of my baby knitting. Sorry for the slightly dark pictures.

Baby Bolero for One Skein and Baby Hat from LMKG
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots in Sweet Cream
Needles: Clover Bamboo Circulars in size 9


Here's the back with the eyelet detail. And now for the most important question.... I need to finish the hat with ribbon. So pink or green?


The pink has little dashes along the edge. And the green has polka dots. Whaddya think?

Back in Business

I'm back knitting again. Every once in a while I over do it and burn out for a couple of weeks. I had a weekend of Pomatomus and cable booties which got me ahead of my Christmas knitting. But after 3 straight days of knitting, casting on a new project sounded like torture. I'm ready to start back up again. And just in time too..... I'm knee deep in baby knitting.

3 women at work are expecting and all around the same time. It's going to be an exciting month. I'm a firm believer in the baby sweater/hat combination. As of tonight, I have 2 hats and 1 1/2 sweaters done. If I have time, there will be bibs too. But I'm not promising anything.

Finally, a group of us got together and we're doing a log cabin blanket for a baby shower gift. And somehow, I got 2 of the biggest pieces. It's garter stitch because a couple of the women who are contributing are beginners. It'll be adorable. A 7" x 28" of garter stitching on size 7 needles is a little tedious. Good for TV watching; but not so good for quick results.

It's going to be so cute when it's all done.

Sad Day

It's been a really sad evening for me. I've learned of two deaths in my college family. And I can hardly believe that one is real.

I received my copy of the Amherst notes and learned of the death of my friend Kristin's father. Having lost my mother about 3 years ago, I can relate to what she's going through. Of course, no one's grief is the same but I think you are a little more able to relate if you've had the same experience. But knowing that someone is feeling the same pain I've felt makes me very sad. No one so young should have to go through the loss of a parent. Parents are supposed to embarrass you at your wedding and dote on your children. They are supposed to live to 100 and quietly pass in their sleep. I know that's unlikely for most people. But I really wish that's what Donald, Kristin, Stacey, Kristin, and I had. (Kristin is only the most recent friend of mine to join this dubious club.) I miss my mom terribly. Just the way my friends miss their parents. I wish she would have been at my wedding. And, a few years from now, I'll wish she'd seen the births of my children. That they would know I am who I am because of her. And that she was amazing. (even when I was mad at her)

The second piece of bad news comes from New York. Donald was on the track team with me at Amherst. His beautiful and brilliant wife Caroline was diagnosed with brain cancer in March of 2005. She passed away this past Thursday. In college, Donald love for Caroline was always clear. He adored her completely. They had to live apart after college to attend their respective medical schools. Even though Don was in Columbus and Caroline was in NYC, he never stopped thinking about her. Before he proposed, he showed me her engagement ring and asked if it was OK. Of course, it was lovely. They graduated Amherst 2 years before me. That makes them 31 or 32. It's really not fair that their love affair should end so soon. I can't imagine the pain of losing your spouse when it seems your whole life lies in front of you. Brian looked at me and said, "I don't know what I would do." I would surely be destroyed. Donald, I'm thinking about you. Right now, I fear, that's the best I can do.

8 miles of pain and some booties

Saturday's run was 8 miles. It was fine for the first 6. I felt strong and my legs felt good. But the last 2 were pretty rough. I made it though. So that rocks! I know I say this all the time but this much farther than I've ever run before and I'm really proud of myself for sticking it out.

I finished the cable booties from One Skein. No pictures though because the recipient might read this. But they're very cute and they knit up quite quickly. I used Lorna's Laces Shepard's Worsted in China Blue. They're pretty cuddly and comfy. I just hope they fit.

Now I have to study.

BTW, I'm originally from Michigan. Yarn Harlot wrote about Ann Arbor this week. And I had NO idea that there were fairy doors. It's adorable. I really want to bring them to San Francisco. Hmmm....

This week

has been tough. There have been bright spots and decidedly tough moments. Let me give you a recap...

Monday- Work was normal. Dinner with my friend Taylor and her mom at Michael Mina. Dinner was amazing. 3 courses where they prepare the dish 3 ways. I can't really explain it but, trust me, the sashimi is to die for. Great company. I remember how much I love SF. I'm so glad Taylor emailed me.

Tuesday- Stitch and Bitch at Katy's house. It turned out to only be 4 of us. Lots of people on vacay this summer. (I wish I was on vacay.) I'm to the heel on my second cable bootie for Brian's mom. It's just nice to feel like I have girlfriends again.

Wednesday- All the systems were down at work. They blamed it on the power outage last week but who knows. I went home around 5 and went straight to bed. Project Runway at 10 and then back to bed. I know, I'm lame but sometimes you have to listen to how sleepy you are. I've been so sleepy Brian asked me if I had mono.

Thursday- Work was normal. As you can see, there hasn't been much running this week. And I only turned in 3 miles. It's disappointing as I was supposed to do 5.

Friday- Seriously, TGIF!!! Today was chaos at work. An exam for my online class. Just general chasing my tail all day.

So I'm settling in with a bottle of sake and Dateline NBC. Even though I have to work tomorrow, tonight I know I can have a couple of drinks, sleep late, and not worry for a while.

BTW, did you see purlsoho.com. It's a whole new world of fabric and wallet draining loveliness. I might just have to splurge on that sewing machine.

Time for the sleepy.