Yarngirls Unite

Lucky star

My LYS had Classic Elite Star (1% lycra) in their clearance bin, so I couldn't help myself...here is the first half of my new bikini top from Stitch n Bitch! I guess that bright orange from the cardi raye stuck with me. This is a fun, very fast knit.

Also, yesterday was such a gorgeous day, I took a trip to Little Tokyo downtown (Los Angeles) in search of fun knitting books. My eye was drawn to the cute toys and dolls, which mostly turned out to be crochet. I also found a book of patterns for awesome fabric bags.

Hello Sleeveland

Here she is, sleeve numero uno of the cardi raye. I will start the mate tonight...otherwise my mind might wander to other knits. I'm sure I'm the only one who has this problem.

Roll call

Now Pia's finished, and I am giving my full attention to the cardi raye. I'm only at the sleeve cuff, but I've got big plans to move full speed ahead (now I know why Alison always has those finishing fiestas...finishing feels so great).

I agree with Alison that the sparkly yarn is for the birds. It's not very fun to knit. I never have been a sparkly girl, but I am going to give it a shot this time. I want those sparkles!!

As for the other knit-alongers...
Chandra has made big progress
Alison is probably frogging sparkles as we speak
Kristy and Stacy joined recently
Leigh is still Roguing
Kimberly is in sleeve-land

And I leave you with a glimpse into my world. I collect Dia de los Muertos art. There's my crocheted skull from getcrafty and my egg cozy sweater that snuck its way into the collection.

I give you Pia!

I am learning that it's hard to take a picture of oneself, so forget about any great clothing detail. I was too impatient to wait for anyone's help...I wanted to show you right away! The back is really great; I'll try to add a pic of that when I can.

Pia from Rowan 35
All Seasons Cotton
US 8

Something fishy

Have you ever had one of those days where you just keep getting interrupted? I can't seem to get more than a row or two knitted without the phone ringing or something annoying...

I was swamped this week, so I'm still on the bottom ribbing of Pia's front. But it's going well.

alert *crochet content below* I hope everyone can handle it.

I was thinking about something the other day. I first read about Clare Crespo ages ago. Her crocheted sushi and other food is just awesome, and I remember being so interested in it at the time that I told some of my co-workers about this lady I read about who crocheted sushi. Now, this seemed so clear to me. But after a few people's comments, I realized that they thought I meant she was crocheting items with sushi rather than with yarn. Hello out there. What is wrong with these people? Can you imagine actually crocheting with raw fish? Wow, that would really make for a great sweater. And I think you'd have to add a new "ball" of yarn/yellowtail like every, mmm, two stitches or so. Clearly these co-workers of mine are not the fiber arts-loving type. Maybe I need to switch to a new industry.

Update

The back of Pia is finished! Also, I forgot to mention that yesterday I did a very good deed. Helped out the Girl Scouts by purchasing a box of their cookies. Poor little girls needed my help -- they really twisted my arm, I tell you. My Reese's peanut-butter-cup-lovin' self went for the tagalongs. Wow, I think they're already all gone...

Pia progress

I'm almost finished with the back! The cardi raye is calling out my name like a siren, but I'm having fun on Pia, and I don't want to kill the momentum.

Thanks to all who stopped by with comments. It sounds like everyone has some fun stuff on the needles.

I had a small stitch and bitch yesterday with Jen of Jenla fame, Eva, and Katie (La was at home nursing a cough). It was a fun afternoon. I have to remember to bring something next time that doesn't require very much counting...how many times were my yarn overs not lining up? Too many to count. haha

Hopefully more pix soon.

Happy Day

Good Week! I'm looking forward to another beautiful weekend here. I've had some days off from work, which has been great. And I'll have a few more off as well. Even better.

I've finished the job application and will be mailing it off this weekend. Now time for knitting. I'll dive into Pia a little more.

Also, the Cardi Raye along starts Sunday...Kimberly will be returning from her 2 week Caribbean cruise. Chandra, Alison, and Leigh are taking part in the fun.

What have you been knitting lately?

Dreaming of Colors

I'm looking forward to kicking off the Cardi Raye knit-along this Sunday! Chandra will be joining us as well. I think spring fever must be contagious...we had a gorgeous weekend here in Southern California.

Before & After

My mom made a pair of felted slippers for my dad over the weekend! She doesn't have a blog to show them off, so I thought I would proudly display them for her. I think she did a great job.

And the winner is...

This is what happens when I am forced to use the flash on the camera...but I wanted to quickly show you which color I decided on (unanimous vote).

hmmm

I haven't felt like blogging much this week. I've been so terribly busy and overwhelmed with wedding stuff -- it's really at its height right now. Paul is busy with a fun project, and I have a secret knitting project going on. At least that's fun. Also, I have a huge, long-shot job that I'm applying for, so I'm compiling materials for that. It's just been a hard week.

Looking forward to the weekend. What color ASC should I use for Pia? I like the printed ones. Can't decide between the blue or pink.

Chowda anyone?

Hello all. What a fun weekend jaunt to Boston & New Hampshire! Kim's wedding was great. She looked so happy and beautiful. Paul and I spent Saturday afternoon in downtown Nashua. We're at the first stop light; I glance over...and see yarn. "Is that yarn?" I ask. He was hoping I wouldn't notice. So we made a stop into Ewe'll Love It. They had tons of books and every type of yarn I would ever want or need. So, check out this great find if you're ever in the area.

I'm not posting wedding pix...I'll let Kim do that. She should be first, but she's on a big cruise out in the middle o' nowhere, so it might be a while.

We made a trek to Gloucester for lobster at McT's Lobsterhouse & Tavern. My first ever steamed lobster, sitting right there in front of me. I did fine. The waitress's advice was helpful. She said, "There's no easy way. Don't worry about the mess."

Five hour flight back with a bit o' knitting. Nothing major. We missed the Oscars, but I heard it wasn't much to miss this year.

Anyone seen Unexpected Knitting yet? It's like drugs for knitters.