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August 15, 2006

Busy, Busy, Busy

Gosh, it's been a crazy and fun week since my last post! Thursday night was Stitch 'n Bitch and it was so. much. fun. What a crazy bunch of girls! Add alcohol and knitting and watch out!

And that was also the beginning of my weekend because my mysterious husband told me to take Friday off. Uhhh, ok! Twist my arm! I had no idea what he had planned for Friday but I was excited! Well, it turns out he was planning something for Thursday night while I was at Stitch 'n Bitch. I got home that night and the house was filled with candles. There were rose petals, chocolates, flowers and two wine glasses waiting for some vino. I have to admit I had a bit of a panic moment when I saw all of this, thinking that I had forgotten some important anniversary or something. But there was no special occasion, just out-of-the-blue romance. What a sweetie!

And then we had the entire day Friday to do what we wanted. We went to Best Buy to look at tvs and dvd players for the office and walked out with a new tv and dvd player. Geoff took me to lunch at DiPrato's where I had a scrumptious proscuitto panini. I can never get enough proscuitto. After lunch we went to a local furniture store to (again) look at chairs. Um... yeah... we ended up buying not one but two of them for our living room. Our teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy living room. What could we do? They were on close-out and were sooooo pretty. Thank goodness for 12-month, 0% financing (we'll have them paid off long before that ends) and we got our sales tax waived and finagled free delivery. They'll be arriving on Friday. If they don't both fit, one will go to my parents' house until we get a bigger house (but I hope we have room for it because it's my favorite!).

And of course there was knitting! I've been knitting and knitting on my nephew's blanket. I haven't gotten a pic because I'm knitting it in strips and the strips curl up on themselves and make it almost impossible to lay flat and get a good pic. But, you can see here the shaded portion is what I've finished...

And I have to come clean. I started another project. I actually started this several weeks ago but have only been working on it in tiny spurts because of my first priority, the above blanket. It's Orangina from Glampyre.

I'm knitting it with this lovely stuff...

It's Karabella Vintage Cotton in color 301 (gold) from KPixie. When I think of Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into gold, I imagine him creating this. It's got such a wonderful sheen and it will create a top that I can dress up with a nice skirt or dress down with a pair of dark jeans. Lovely!

Things are busy for me at work the next couple of weeks. I'm the "PI" on a grant proposal that's due the 25th! Ack! Oh, and my 3rd year tenure review is coming up and my tenure file needs to be complete by Sept. 5. Double Ack! (have I mentioned my disdain for the tenure process?)

So anyway, if you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry. I'm probably just crouched in a corner somewhere, rocking back and forth, muttering expletives to myself.

Now where did I put my flask...

Posted by allison at 07:53 PM | Comments (6)

August 09, 2006

A Bloggy Birthday!

Well, it was one year ago today that I created my first post on this here blog. I wasn't necessarily new to blogging. I had a Blogger blog before this one but I had started it during Geoff and I's engagement and well, it got a little neglected. So when things began to calm down after the wedding I decided to go whole hog and get Movable Type to start (or restart) my knitting blog.

I began reading knitting blogs almost immediately after learning to knit. I couldn't help it! I craved information, instruction and inspiration and a Google search of anything knitting-related will undoubtedly lead you to someone's knitting blog. And of course that blog will lead you to other blogs and so on and so on.

I was hooked.

One of the first blogs I started reading (and still one of my favorites) is Carrieoke (and she just celebrated a Bloggy Birthday - number 3! - so go and thank her for being so cool). It was through Carrie that I found High Energy Jenny and Anne Marie. I've never met any of them face-to-face but I know them better than I know my own neighbor! I remember when Carrie and the Pants got engaged (Wahoo!) and when High Energy Jenny announced the creation of High Energy Fetus after struggling with infertility (Double-Wahoo!). And Anne Marie cracks me up with her stories of various men and her dating adventures. She makes me remember fondly (and sometimes not-so-fondly) my single days. She has my sense of humor and a kick-ass, purse-eating dog named Petey and the two of them keep me quite entertained.

It was fun, inspiring blogs like those that made me want to get in on the action. I wanted to be a part of the knitblog family. And that's just what it is! A family! I've never met a kinder, more inviting group of people in my life.

And it's through this blog that I've met so many knitters in my area. I never expected that to happen and it was a wonderful "side-effect" that has given me life-long friends.

And THANK YOU to all of my "virtual friends" for checking in on my blog and leaving comments of support and encouragement, both for my knitting and for events in my life.

If you're a lurker, de-lurk and say hi! And if you haven't already, stick a pin in my Frappr Map in the sidebar so I know where you're visiting from!

Thanks again for a fun year!!

Knitting content will come in the next few days! I'm making good progress on Caleb's blanket!

Posted by allison at 08:52 AM | Comments (9)

August 02, 2006

Oh, the Humidity!

It's. So. Hot. I know that most of the US is saying the same thing. Holy crap! This weekend we may see the low 90s and I'm thinking "Wahoo! A cold front!" Oh how I long for cooler temperatures...

Anyway, a lot has happened since last we spoke. I picked up my beloved from the airport on Friday after missing him all week. He said Chicago was fun but he wished I was there. Awwwwww... And he brought me yummy goodness! That man sure does know what I love!

We left for Durham/Chapel Hill Friday afternoon and had the best weekend! We slept late, relaxed, ate (and drank) well and just plain goofed off all weekend. Iris Dement put on a great show (she always does) and we're already making plans to see her again in Asheville in November.

And good news about little Caleb! He came home from the hospital on Friday and got a clean bill of health on Monday at his check-up! Geoff and I still haven't been able to see the little guy (without a piece of glass separating us from him) so we'll be heading out to visit Friday evening. There will be lots of pictures I'm sure!

Speaking of Caleb, I've decided on the blanket I'll be knitting him. Here's a (not so good) picture of the blanket and a diagram of the layout.

  

It's called Tall Tales and is from the book Creature Comforts: Cozy Knits for Wee Ones by Amy Bahrt. Now if you've been paying attention in blogland you will remember a similar blanket made by Miss Grumperina. The blanket is indeed supposed to be knit in one piece using intarsia. Well, I thought that would be great! No seaming! But then I started it yesterday and got about 2.5 rows into the colored blocks before ripping the whole thing out. Keeping all of the yarn separate was a nightmare. So I've decided to knit it in strips like Grumperina did and then I'll knit the border onto it. I think I may end up lining it with fabric, too. I'm afraid the back of it will look too "unfinished" without it. Grumperina didn't think the giraffe looked like a giraffe but I think it does so I'm going to give it (and the other animals) a try. I'm using good, cheap, machine-washable TLC Cotton Plus. I can make the whole blanket for around $30. Not bad at all!

And I got my new Interweave Knits in the mail! I haven't read the whole thing but I like what I've seen so far! I'm excited about reading Eunny's article about shaping lace. And the pattern that jumped out at me from the beginning? The one on the cover...

Isn't that a gorgeous sweater?! I think that would be a great project for this winter. I have a feeling that lots of people will be knitting it so I hope to learn from their experiences before tackling it myself!

Ack! Look at the time! Better get ready for bed... I'm still up before the sun these days!

Have a great rest of the week!

Posted by allison at 10:34 PM | Comments (2)