A great new pattern from Knitspot!  hmm, cant wait !

Casino Shawl

Read all about them here!

Welcome to the world Shelby!

Lots of progress over the last week !

For the KAL for ChicKnits ARIANN, found some gorgeous RIO RED Classic Elite Inca Alpaca and cast on over the weekend and am into the increases.  A bit of a momentary lull while deciding which kind of buttonhole to do – Ms. Chicknits leaves the choice to the knitter- and after much research online and – the old fashioned way – in my own books, decided to use the yarnover, K2tog one as mentioned in EZ’s Knitters Almanac (and i am sure other places as well – its a good classic buttonhole – i just started with EZ’s books).  Am pleased with how it looks (i guess i will take a photo ;o).

Here is the current progress being looked on with much interest by my “helpers” Cordelia (L) and Katie (R).

Blocked the bottom point of the Flower Basket Shawl (see previous entries).  Decided to try my new toy (well, i hadnt used it yet – bought it awhile ago) – my Sunbeam Steamer.  It worked fine and of course was of much interest to the cats. 

Monday and Tuesday had finished the Cabled Shrug.  Hadnt realized that the last step was to knit separate 5 st cable strips and then SEW them onto the short ends of the shrug – to finish off the sleeve with the same cable as the long edges – its a great idea – just surprised me when i actually read thru to the end of the pattern!  anyway, they were done.

And then I sewed up the sleeves (only about 10inches in) and blocked it with the steamer – but its pretty thick wool and since its been marinating in my WIPs pile for many months, I decided while trying to go to sleep last night that it really needs to be washed.  Luckily the weather changed from 85% humidity this morning with cloudy rainy skies and 75degrees to 55degrees and 50% humidity this afternoon and its supposed to be in the 40s tonight with 60/40 for the next few days – can it be that FALL is finally here?  no color yet on the trees in my backyard – but it should be soon !

(You will note that the sofa is not covered yet – i got an estimate of over $350 to make a slipcover and i have the fabric! So I may be branching out into upholstery soon!)

Here is the bathroom mirror shot of the completed (but not washed yet) shrug– will be posting more photos to the Finished Projects album shortly.

and here’s Katie resting amongst the day’s work.

oh and the latest on the THINK PINK Scarf.

hmm, when is Oct 15th?  yikes!

Knitting whiz dispenses purls of wisdom
The Journal News.com – Westchester,NY,USA
… An expert needlewoman, Giunta dispenses "purls" of wisdom to her customers from a tiny knitting store on Chatsworth Avenue in Larchmont. …

UK : Intricate hand knitting back in vogue
Fibre2fashion.com – India
As fashion takes a retro step, designers are snapping up home knitting women to attain crochet, appliqué, broderie anglaise, lace and chunky Aran patterns …

Nothing dyed-in-the-wool about guerrilla knitters
ChronicleHerald.ca – Halifax,Nova Scotia,Canada
… Knitting is trendy now, they say. Trendy enough to cause legions of women to form knitting clubs, take knitting lessons, patronize …

Angel from Montgomery

Ring around the rosies announces new knitter!  Congrats !

Globe-Trotter for The Times and a Journalist in Full, Dies at 71 By TODD S. PURDUM

R. W. Apple Jr., who in more than 40 years as a correspondent and editor at The New York Times wrote from more than 100 countries about war and revolution, politics and government, food and drink, and the revenge of living well, died yesterday in Washington. He was 71.

With his Dickensian byline, Churchillian brio and Falstaffian appetites, Mr. Apple, who was known as Johnny, was a singular presence at The Times almost from the moment he joined the metropolitan staff in 1963. He remained a colorful figure as new generations of journalists around him grew more pallid, and his encyclopedic knowledge, grace of expression — and above all his expense account — were the envy of his competitors, imitators and peers.

Mr. Apple enjoyed a career like no other in the modern era of The Times. He was the paper’s bureau chief in Albany, Lagos, Nairobi, Saigon, Moscow, London and Washington. He covered 10 presidential elections and more than 20 national nominating conventions. He led The Times’s coverage of the Vietnam War for two and a half years in the 1960’s and of the Persian Gulf war a generation later, chronicling the Iranian revolution in between.

Rest here

well, after about 6 or so weeks of no activity – HE’S BACK!!!!

ARGH ARGH ARGH and other non printable words! 

Photos later but he started in on the rudbeckias – stripping ALL the leaves and leaving the flowers!  and then of course his favorite my adored echinacea which had JUST about recovered and was blooming (poor THING). and then onto the BEE BALM.

AND NOW he is EATING MY HERBS. 

ok we are GOING TO WAR over this one. 

I have the trap and I will just have to FIGURE out how to bait it and USE it.  I am DETERMINED to get this critter.  Have NO idea what to do when i do get it – but I will cross that bridge when i get to it.

I am REALLY so ANGRY about this!

ugh!

last night after a day of helping mom with the movers moving her stuff into her new apt here in our little village on the hudson river, i fell sound asleep on the sofa at 9 pm (after unloading and putting up the grocery delivery)… but woke at 2 am and then started a scarf for the THINK PINK Scarf challenge (see yesterday’s entry).

its Paton’s Classic Wool in a really great PINK – My own design – seed stitch border with Cat’s Paw as the lace pattern.  Watched a great old movie with Walter Huston (father of John and grandfather of Angelica) as a DA with a family in terror to testify after their encounter with a mobster and his assassination of govt witness and police officer in front of their house. 

Also near completion of another WIP – the Cabled Shrug from last year’s Interweave Knits.  (by Shirley Paden but i redesigned the center cable panels).

Its almost done – just need to measure Mom’s wingspan for the exact length and then I can bind off and block 

Here is a close up of the patterns. The edges are curling a bit but hopefully they will block out – there is a cable RIGHT up on both edges.

ok. off to help unpack boxes and set up mom’s computer.

On to the contest. And here it is:

I am throwing down the gauntlet. Anyone who, in response to reading this post, knits (or crochets or weaves) a new scarf to contribute to this knit-along, will qualify for a drawing to win a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Socks That Rock" sock yarn, in the colorway of the winner's choice. If that particular yarn is not to the individual's liking, (you're not a sock knitter, let's say, or you don't knit with wool yarns), I'm willing to send the qualifying winner a comparably-priced yarn of their choice.

Virgin Wool.

As reported by LA CIECA

The Met will offer $20 “rush” tickets to selected Monday – Thursday performances beginning with the tomorrow’s season premiere of Faust. According to a release from the Met’s press department, 200 Orchestra seats — regularly priced at $100 — will be offered at $20 per ticket at the Met box office beginning two hours before curtain on the day of the performance. The discount ticket program is underwritten by Agnes Varis, a managing director of the Met’s Board of Directors, and her husband, Karl Leichtman, the same folks who sponsored the “Open House” two weeks ago.

Again per the Met’s website, “Purchases will be limited to two tickets per customer and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The program does not apply to performances for which $100 tickets are no longer available. Information about availability is provided online at http://www.metopera.org/ or by calling Met Ticket Service at (212) 362-2000. “

parterre box presents Unnatural Acts of Opera.