Anyone care for some....

Pea Soup???

Yup... I bought me the green! I am waiting (im)patiently for it to arrive. On top of that, I have a gorgeous sock on the needles (helloyarn, fat sock: tapestry... to.die.for.) that are mine-all-mine, the lace shawl (it's in a time-out, for no other reason than it got warm and my tension changed due to sticky fingers), a sweater for PC's mom (secret design project) and a project I can't talk about here b/c she reads this blog (ahem: that's you Mel!).

On top of everything else, there might be a mighty shake-up here at Casa de Mini y PC. Some of you who know me in-real-life know that the past two years I have been questioning my life and my career and where to go with it. Nothing definite, but perhaps an opportunity to see the other side of the fence. More on that later (oh, I said "moron"-- ha ha ha). But, there are some internal conflicts with who I am and how I define myself ("scientist" is a term used to describe me... what will I be without it??). PC mentioned last night that when he met me, I loved my job (I was making NO money and working LONG hours) and now, I make MORE money and work LESS hours and he says I am not happy... I think the phrase was "not excited" anymore. As always, I will keep you posted.

No knitting photos today. Instead, I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

I'm going to RHINEBECK

Knitting progress continues:

the wedding shawl looks great. the bride saw a preview this weekend and was just about in tears (good job, Anne.. great design!).

a super-secret design project is in the works. :)

And, I am GOING TO RHINEBECK. I am SO excited, I can't even tell you. So, if you were heading to your first Rhinebeck, tell me what you would do!You may win a prize... (hint, hint).

Also, let's have some serious discussion on the "rhinebeck sweater":

Donna:

In either : Pea Soup Mix

Or... Spiceberry Mix (please remember my Dark hair, my blue eyes and pink-y skin)

What do you guys think???

:) MINI

Anniversary

So, PC and I hit a date of significance last week that I never mentioned. I am mentioning it today b/c a friend emailed me to say “congrats!” and it dawned on me that you all never knew what was happening.

PC and I celebrated our 5^th anniversary together. Yes, I’ve been told “it’s only a dating anniversary”, but when I consider that PC and I have been together longer than some of our friends who are married… I think it’s of significance. An example, a couple that got married when PC and I started dating is now divorced.

The amazing PC… how do I tell you the reasons I love him? He’s a pretty cool guy who knows almost all the words to every song on his MP3 player… all 4000. He squishes bugs, laughs at bad jokes (mine), and will eat anything (no matter how burnt) I put in front of him. I catch him staring at me when I am just sitting and he has always told me I am pretty, especially when I smile. He has suffered through some strange times with me and has never once made mention of things “not being his problem” or wanting to leave.

PC gave me a huge gift this summer: he learned to drive. Not a small achievement when you are beyond that “nothing can kill me I’m invincible” stage of life (now I know why teenagers learn to drive… it’s frightening to learn as an adult.. you know too much). We have always planned everything around me driving and being near the T. Now, we don’t have to. Thank you, PC.

5 years is a big deal. I have been overwhelmed the past week thinking about all that has happened to us in that time.

• My Nana died.
• His nana died.
• My Grampy died.
• I met his sister (so happy I met her… love you Mel!!)
• I was hit by a car.
• I started a blog.
• I met all of “you”. (hi everyone!)
• I changed jobs. 7 times. (didn’t know that one did you??)
• My mom got sick.
• My dad got sick.
• We moved in together.
• Pumpkin adopted us.
• I gained weight.
• I lost weight.
• I gained it back.
• He learned to drive.
• I learned to play tennis.
• He learned to cook.
• We paid off debts (all of them!).
• We stuck it out. We did it together. And he still laughs at my really really bad jokes.

Love you, honey. More each day.

I need your help

Goodness... this was quite the unexpected blog break, huh? Not intended, I assure you! It's been a busy few weeks and this weekend in Boston was just too pretty and the perfect weekend to sit down and blog. :) Today is going to be in the 60s. Now, where was I on that new sweater?? :)

For real, I have been a shawl knitting fool. It took me 17 attempts to cast on for the Bee Stole, but I did it. It wasn't a pattern problem, it was a Mini issue. Now that's over with, I am cruising through the first pattern set and will hopefully be into the bee swarm section by knit-night this week.

Tennis is over for the summer... but it's starting up for the fall! I am still going to play. I am down over 15lbs since I started WW and tennis is definitely helping me ... my jeans today are loose. :)

Now, where i need your help:

Do you know what pattern these socks are?? I knit the 1st one a long time ago and I am trying to make #2 (need to clean up some WIPs)...

CO: 60 st in the round. It looks like a 4 row repeat:

R1: k3,p3

R2: k3,p3

R3: k3,p3

R4: sl1, yo, k2, p3

It makes a little "mock cable". If you know, please email/comment.

Thanks!

Buzzzzzzz.........Winner!

I am in SHOCK. No-one picked the winning shawl! Instead of sending that person some yarn, here at Chez Mini y PC, we used our own random number generator.

Have you used one of these? I tallied up all the comments/emails regarding shawls and then yelled to PC... "pick a number between 1 and X". He yelled back "15!" and that was Beth. (PSsttt... Beth, email me with your addy and I will drop it off next weekend.)


I have most recently had the pleasure of meeting Beth and being able to tell her something about where she lives: it's my hometown!! Yup, the place where my family has lived for 9 generations... it's someplace I will always call home. Now, if you haven't clicked on the link for Beth, you really ought to. She's a wonderful knitter and very funny. She's just finished a Hyrna shawl that makes me drool....

So, what yarn did we pick for the mystery shawl? Not laceweight. Nope. I found a nice soft baby merino fingering weight in WHITE...

And the shawl is>>>>>>

STUNG! By Anne at Knitspot. :) Love Anne, Love her patterns... she's a great travel companion (hopefully we can get her to come out for SPA again this winter) and just a lovely human.

Off to swatch....

:) Mini

Yet Another FO

First, there are quite a few shawl recommendations, huh? Well, the bride is still keeping watch, but appears to have chosen one. And NONE of you have chosen the pattern! How did this happen? Well, the bride followed a link, saw a bunch of patterns in one spot and she fell hard. Yup, a non-knitter fell in love with a shawl pattern...
So, the contest is still on until Friday. And if you can guess which shawl it is, you will win the prize. A few hints:
It's rectangular
It's not-winter-y

FO alert!!!

Yarn: RY Cashsoft (wool/microfiber/cashmere) Aran

Color:SH005, 2.5 balls

Needles: Bamboo US 10 1/2

Pattern: something I saw somewhere in a book or blog. Very simple lace repeat.

That's all for now... off to wind some cotton for a new bag for another kiddo. :)

More tomorrow when I have more time.

_Mini

Cats, Puppets and Cute.

Just when I start to think: damn, baby sweaters can't get any cuter, something new comes along. Some of you may know, I am not usually a fan of knitted "things" (like knitted flowers, knitted teacups, etc...) , they are just not my bag, if you know what I mean. But, this project from Anny at AnnyPurls blew me away. Immediate thought: perfect little presents for wee people who are not babies but currently difficult to size: the toddler.

I present: Buddy Bag in Purple, for Abby
















Starring: Bunny, "Abby" and the Bee















Shown at the Jelly Bean theater!
















Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic (1 skein of each purple, a little yellow and leftovers)
Needles: US 6
New Skills: Picot hem
Time: 7 hours total.
Cuteness factor: 12!!!

And b/c I was at the Harlot signing in Burlington last night and was telling Lucia about my nutso cat, here are more photos. (more about the signing tomorrow).
















Being cute and begging to learn to knit














Attacking PC b/c he said she couldn't have her own yarn stash....

Lace-Shawl Knitters....I need you!

So, I might have mentioned that my two best friends are getting married? Not to each other, about a year apart. One of them is getting married this winter. She has purchased a gorgeous dress... white with pink crystal flowers... very elegant, very ... her. Y'know? Since she is to be a December bride, she's going to be cold. She and I were talking about fur wraps, etc... and I thought: white cashmere shawl with pale pink Swarovski beads. Now, here's what i need from YOU:

1) favorite lace pattern (triangle or rectangle)
2) favorite lace yarn
3) best advice for starting a lace shawl.

I'll be adding beads to the shawl as I knit...probably along the border, so if you have a lace shawl pattern with that: bonus points.

Oh... did I mention?? Whichever pattern the bride chooses, you will win a PRIZE. Your own skein of laceweight yarn. (multiple comments on the same pattern: Pumpkin will draw a name). Enter by the end of next week, August 10th by leaving a comment on this post.

May the best shawl win!

:) Mini
PS- off to see the harlot tonight! oh, and the CUTEST knitting project ever will be posted here tomorrow.