Blah, blah, blah...

Warning, this post contains less knitting, more whining.

I have been traveling like a crazy person these last few weeks and I am exhausted. Today was only my second day in the office since the second-to-last week of June and last week's travel was particularly grueling. I was in London on Monday, Manchester on Tuesday, Berlin on Wednesday, Munich on Friday, and back to Boston on Saturday. I barely had time to do anything but work, sleep, read, and do a little plane knitting.

I did have a small amount of time to see the sights of Berlin. I find that I generally enjoy my time in Germany (much of my honeymoon was spent there) but Berlin just was not all that exciting. I am sure there are cool places to see and fun things to do, but I didn't find them. I think the most interesting thing about Berlin is its post-WWII history. Unfortunately, on a city bus tour, there isn't much of that to be seen. I did see the Brandenburg Gate, the remainder of the Berlin Wall, and Check Point Charley. I also found a little time to do some yarn shopping! Most major department stores have a yarn and fabric section (a fabulous idea department stores in the US should copy) and the yarn is very reasonably priced. I got a bunch of different yarn but I am not going to tell you what it is until I take a picture of it.

I finished my husband's socks (I think I mentioned this before) but it is too hot to get him to put them on so I can take a picture. Next post will contain pictures, I promise.

My husband and I took a couple of days to visit some of my family in Maine (all the way up on Green Lake, past Bangor). It was a lovely time.. full of sun, swimming, and an insane number of seriously itchy bug bites.

This is a picture of a little red squirrel that my husband took. It was cute to see him crawling all over the ground trying to get the perfect shot (my husband was crawling on the ground, not the squirrel).

The other good parts about Maine - Super fresh steamers and lobsters and local handspun merino/silk/angora blend yarn (yes, I am as bad at yarn dieting as I am at food dieting). I am using this soft and luscious yarn to knit up a triangle scarf with ties from a Fibertrends pattern.

Okay, off to pack for Houston tomorrow. Thankfully, after tomorrow's trip I am done with travel for a while.

Has anyone else finished the 6th Harry Potter yet? I read it twice last week, it was very sad. As much as I like the more grown up subject matter, I kind of miss the lighthearted Harry of books 1-4.

Cheers!

Going on vacation...

Well, I haven't blogged in a while now. I would not blame you if you thought I have been on vacation all this time. In reality, I was on the road for work (again). This time in Mexico City, Guadalajara (where I got food poisoning), and Chicago. Ugh, the travel is starting to wear me down. Now, however, I have four whole days in a row where I don't have to get on a plane. Hooray!! Instead, my husband and I are going to Maine for the weekend. Tomorrow is his 32nd birthday (Happy Birthday honey) so we are going to Portland to do some beer drinking. Then we head to Belfast where we spend the night with the in-laws, and finally on to Green Lake (near Bangor) to see some of my family. Friday night's dinner is already planned... lobsters and steamers. Now that is a meal fit for the gods!

Pictures galore upon my return.

Cheers!

Blanket for the beach house...

So here is my (most recent) dilemma...
I am crocheting an afghan for my grandmother's condo in St. Augustine, FL. She gave me a piece of fabric from the couch and I found the most perfect yarn. It is Red Heart super saver in Summer Breeze and it matches nearly every color in the fabric sample (and I can get it for $2 a skein). The pattern I am using calls for 30 oz. or 1500 yards of yarn. When I purchased the yarn, I bought 15 oz. Yes, instead of 30 oz. or 1500 yards, I flaked and bought 15 oz. Three days later, when I realized what I had done, I went back to the AC Moore where I originally purchased the yarn. Guess what happened then... that's right, they were sold out. I put in a special order request and just got the call that Red Heart is discontinuing this color so the store cannot get anymore. Sigh. Here is a picture of the afghan in its current, two-skeins-done, state.

Grandma's Afghan
Now I have to troll the Internet and all my local yarn stores to see if I can find enough to finish the afghan. Did I mention that the variegated yarn from Red Heart is dylotted?

In other news, the Husband's second sock cuff is almost completed. I am off to Mexico on Sunday (yes, I get to spend the 4th of July in Mexico City doing work) so that means lots more plane knitting time. I decided that while I don't do much KIP, I do A LOT of KOP (knitting on planes). Hopefully I will get to do some blogging later this week.

Cheers.

At last, my blog has come along...

At long last, I have a few minutes to update my blog and share with you all the things I have been working on lately. For starters, I have been on the road for work pretty much constantly. Sometimes I get to go to interesting places, mostly I spend my time between hotels, dark focus group rooms, and airports.

However, on a recent trip I got to go to Gothenburg, Sweden. Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden and in June, it is daylight for over 20 hours a day. I actually had a little time to check out the city center and stumbled across a charming little yarn store called Strikk where I found this:

Handspun Linen from Sweden
Pure linen, handspun for this store and only available in Sweden. It is a creamy white color and has a very crispy feeling. I think I am going to make a light spring/fall scarf with it.

Next up, I have been knitting away on Kirsi. This past weekend I finished all of the knitting. Presented for your perusal, pictures of the knitted and (sort of) blocked sleeves, back, and front.
The back and sleeves...

Kirsi's Back and Sleeves
And the fronts...

Kirsi's Fronts
I have really enjoyed knitting her. The yarn is soft and has great stitch definition. Plus, it was easy enough to knit quickly but interesting enough to, well, keep me interested. Next up, the dreaded finishing. I am not really that experienced with finishing so if anyone has good finishing tips, please pass them along. I have never finished any kind of garment with set in sleeves but I am well armed with Nancy Wiseman's Finishing Techniques, so hopefully things will go smoothly. Once the finishing is done, I get to do some crochet edging... something to look forward to. Unfortunately, I am not going to get to it until this weekend. I am spending another week on the road, this time in Philadelphia, PA and Charlotte, NC. At least I finally get a little time to blog.

For all of my travels, I have equipped myself with the necessary means to make a pair of socks for my husband. For some reason, he has no interest in me knitting anything for him. Socks are the only thing he seems to respond to, so socks he will get. As a bonus, they are super portable and great for plane knitting (unless I accidentally drop a dpn). So far I have one sock completed and the second sock cuff started. Check out the completed sock, knit with Schoeller Stahl Limbo Mexiko:

Husband's Sock #1
I hope to have the second sock finished by the end of the week. No second sock syndrome here, travel is the best motivator ever!

That's all for now. I have a few more pictures to show but I figured I would wait until later... not unload all of my goods at once.

Have a great night all!
Cheers

Coming soon to a blog near you...

A new entry, one replete with pictures and tales of all of my recent travels. As soon as I am home for more than 24 hours I will update with what has been going on. There is lots to tell including a nearly finished (with the knitting anyway) Kirsi, a few rows of a crocheted afghan, a newly started sock, and tales of a yarn store in Sweden where hand spun 100% Swedish linen yarn was purchased!

Cheers from Chicago

I need to share...

This morning, as I was counting stitches on Kirsi, I realized I had too many. After all of my decreases around the armhole were completed, I still had 7 extra stitches. After a bit of searching, I finally figured out the problem. I casted on 89 stitches instead of the requisite 82. Yes, the problem was over 12 inches away in the cast on row. That sound you hear is the combination of crying and ripping as I take the whole sweater back down to nothing. I hope this is not indicative of the kind of day I am going to have.
The silver lining, I have a 6 hour car ride today. At least the back is all counted out in terms of decrease and increase rows and row counts for certain measurement points. That means it will be easy to work on in the car.
Cheers!

Pictures I Promised

Here are a couple pictures of the bags I wrote about yesterday. This pink and black striped one is going to my sister.


Pink and Black Stripe Felted Bag

The purple bag, with removable flower pin, is going to my mother as a belated Mother's Day present (shawl, what shawl?).


Purple Felted Bag and Flower

I am headed home to NY this weekend for my mother's college graduation and then off to Sweden next week for a business trip. Most likely, there won't be much time for blogging so I will talk to you all next week.

Cheers!

Bonus

Froggy on the Fence

This is just a little something that made me smile. This frog looked like a stone sitting on the fence around my yard. His colors were perfectly matched to the fence post!

Sex on Toast (aka the U2 Concert)

Tiffany, this title's for you!

Last Thursday I had the extreme pleasure of attending the U2 concert in Boston. In late January, I managed, by some miracle, to score four tickets off the Ticketmaster website to this most amazing concert. For those of you not in Boston, tickets for three shows sold out in under 10 minutes. This highlights the extent of the miracle that was me getting tickets! After months of anxious waiting, I finally got my nirvana (the spiritual place, not the Kurt Cobain band).

The concert was outstanding. U2 is fantastic live and there is nothing more exciting than seeing 20,000 people all hanging on every word of this man called Bono. They played lots of good stuff... Sunday Bloody Sunday, One, The Fly, Love and Peace, Where the Streets Have No Name, and the list goes on. They played for two hours and did to encores (7 songs). At one point, Bono pulled a young woman up on stage, hugged her for at least 2 minutes, and then took off his sunglasses, looked into her eyes, and danced with her. Melting... my girlfriend and I were melting (and supremely jealous). I don't care how old, married, sweaty, or short Bono is, to me all he has to do is sing and he is sex on toast. Fabulous. Anyone have tickets to the October show that I can buy??

Now for a little knitting talk...
I was a busy knitting bee this Memorial weekend. My husband had a lot of work to do so we spent most of the weekend hanging around the house. After the crazy past couple of weeks, it was exactly what I wanted! I (finally) felted a bag that had been knitted over 3 months ago. I crocheted and hand felted a couple of flowers that I am going to pin to said bag. I knit and felted a second bag (pink and black stripes) and finished the shrug from the free Interweave pattern.

Finally, on Monday I started the cute short sleeve wrap-like shirt from the Cinnabar & Spice section of the Spring/Summer 2005 issue of VK. I avoided swatching (bad girl) and started with the sleeves. Got it right on the first try baby... both stitch and row count. That never happens to me. Even when I swatch properly, which I do most of the time, my row count is almost never right. Needless to say, I was very pleased. Thus far it is a quick and enjoyable knit. In a few days I have completed both sleeves and the back up to the armhole shaping. I have some work travel on the schedule for next week and I am looking forward to taking the fronts along for the ride. I am knitting the whole thing in some old stash Caron Simply Soft Brites. Normally, this is not something I would pick for a garment but it is very pleasing to touch, the stitch definition is really lovely, and it is a fabulous shade of bright salmon pink. Perfect for summer. For the purpose of giving my sweater a life (because things can't exist without a name), I am going to christen her Kirsi (a Hindi name meaning amaranth blossoms).

That's about all for today. Pictures of said knitting items to come (as soon as my lazy camera spits them out).

Cheers

For your viewing pleasure

I finally present pictures of the fabulous yarn I scored at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. First up, a whopping 650 yard skein of 100% alpaca in a lovely charcoal gray color. It is beautifully soft and has lovely flecks of white and grey that make the color come alive. This is directly from the alpaca, folks, no dying done here. Just the beauty of nature.


Alpaca Yarn
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Next up, some hand-dyed, superwash merino wool. It is very soft and a pretty periwinkle blue-purple color. I am thinking I will use this to make a simple and elegant shell to wear for work. Any good pattern recommendations from the folks out there? Let me know!


Merino Yarn
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

My final yarn purchase is ~1000 yards of hand-dyed rayon in a light sport weight. I am not sure what I am going to do with it just yet but it was so bee-yoo-tee-ful that I HAD to buy it. The picture does not do all the pretty colors their full justice. I think it would make a lovely shawl but really, I hate making shawls (have you seen any posted progress on the "mother's day" shawl... I didn't think so). Maybe it will become a fun tank or t-shirt-type garment. Who knows, it is so exciting, waiting for inspiration to strike!

Rayon Yarn
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Finally, a little something for the young at heart. My husband surprised me with this after we got home from the festival...

Jerry the Llama
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Isn't he freakin' adorable?! I named his Jerry (nope, no idea why) and he sits on my nightstand giving me knitting inspiration as I sleep.

That is the whirlwind tour of my trip to the wool festival. Tune in later this week for updates on all my WIPs and maybe, a finished item for your viewing pleasure. Also, a review of the second Boston show by U2 (Thursday night baby!!!).
Cheers

All work and no play makes Kelly a dull blogger...

The headline says it all, this is going to be a dull post. Consider yourself warned.
Recent business travel means I haven't had time to blog or take pictures. It does mean, however, I had lots of time for plane knitting. Even better, I flew Jet Blue (www.jetblue.com) so I got to watch TV and knit for the entire three hour flight. I am a big fan of the free Direct TV available on Jet Blue. If you have never flown them, I would recommend giving it a try.

In other news, the NH Sheep and Wool festival was a blast. Even my non-fiber-loving husband enjoyed looking at all the sheep, lambs, goats, alpacas, and llamas. The alpacas were a special favorite of mine and to honor them, I purchased 1200 yards of some incredibly soft, DK weight 100% alpaca yarn. It is a lovely charcoal grey color and it will eventually be turned into either a cardigan or a simple sweater designed using the techniques from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. I also purchased ~1000 yards of superwash merino wool hand dyed a lovely periwinkle/blue/purple color and ~1000 yards of nylon yarn in an incredible hand dyed colorway containing reds, pinks, yellows, creams, and tans. I will post pictures soon because the beautiful yarn has to be seen to be appreciated.

That's all for now. I am meeting with my Sudbury SnB ladies tonight and we are going to do a little crochet tutorial. Should be fun!

Cheers

Ribby tank close up

Ribby tank close up
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Bonus shot: Here is a close-up of the ribbing... only 9 more inches to go until I can start sleeve shaping!

Ribby tank in-progress

Here is a picture of my Ribby tank progress... lots and lots of rounds of ribbing, and still many inches remain until fun shaping starts. So far I am liking the results. The cotton has a nice sheen and is a very soothing color. It will make for some quality plane knitting when I travel to FL for work on Sunday.


Ribby tank in-progress
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Before Sunday, though, I get to go to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival! My DH (who will now be known as "The Best Husband in the World" or "TBHW") offered to drive me up there (yay car knitting) and take pictures of all the cute sheep while I shop. What a deal! I promise to post pictures of the event and all the stash I buy. I hope to find yarn to make a shrug and to make my latest pattern obsession, Lelah. If you haven't seen this pattern, it is graciously offered free of charge from Knitting for Boozehags. It is super cute and just right for the Avril Lavigne concert I am going to in August (yeah, I like teenybopper music, you gotta problem with that??). I am hoping to find some cool yarn to use for Lelah and a matching shrug (see my previous post about the Interweave shrug pattern I love).

That's all I have for now. Tune in next week for "The Trip to NH Sheep and Wool", progress on the shell, and the book review I mentioned in my previous post.
Cheers!

Casting on and cruising along

Proudly, I did not procrastinate this weekend. Not only did I work on my mother's shawl, I also cast on and knitted a few inches of my Ribby Shell. The shell is an interesting combination of K2P2 and K3P1 ribbing that I am knitting in cool sage green Endless Summer cotton from Elann. DK weight cotton on size 7 round needles is very nice indeed. It is moving along at a good pace despite the constant ribbing. When I actually have enough done to make it recognizable, I will post a picture.

The shawl on the other hand, is definitely moving at a snails pace. Lace weight yarn with size 8's is a bit of a drag. I have to be careful with every movement not to lose a stitch off the end of my needles. I had set myself a goal of completeing two pattern repeats per night (a total of 16 rows). While this may not sound like much, I am so slow with this that it takes me a couple hours. Sadly, I realized the other night that two pattern repeats equals approximately 2 inches of shawl length. To quote Homer Simpson, "Doh!". I am never going to have this finished by the time I see my mom in June.

This setback does not stop me from thinking about new projects however! I think next I would like to make a shrug. While I am not sure how or when I will wear something like that, they are just so darn cute. Particularly the pink 3/4 sleeve free pattern from Interweave. I had to physicially restrain myself from grabbing some stash and starting it last night. I would like to make the shrug out of some Debbie Bliss cashmerino that I have sitting around but I would need to adapt the pattern to aran weight yarn. Maybe that would be a good exercise for me... when the shawl is finished!

Progress reports and book reviews to come later this week. Plus, a sneak peak at this weekend's entry, I am heading to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival on Saturday. Ohhh the stash... it is so good it almost hurts.

Cheers!

Crochet "Procrastination" Scarf

Last night I sat down to knit for the first time since Monday. I can hear voices from the crowds asking, "Kelly, Kelly, what did you knit?" Did I cast on for my chicknits Ribby Shell as my last blog suggested I might? No, I did not. Did I work on the shawl I am knitting for my mother for mother's day (to be given in June)? No, I did not. Instead, I grabbed a ball of yarn left over from Joey's Sweater, a size J crochet hook, and starting crocheting this lacy, very soft, blue scarf. I dub this scarf my "Procrastination Scarf" because I whiled away the evening hours in front of the TV working on this, rather than addressing the other projects on my list. Do I feel bad about this, you ask? No! I do not. I justified all of my procrastination by deciding that this will go to my grandmother when it is finished. She has not been feeling well lately and has been in and out of the hospital. Hopefully this scarf will be like a warm hug from me to her. As a bonus, it is light enough to wear during the summer, particularly if you are in a place with the air conditioner blowing sub-zero.
There, the justification process is complete. This scarf is no longer about procrastination but is now about making something comforting for my grandmother. Suddenly, I feel a little like Mother Theresa (except without the life devoted to doing good for others).
Maybe tonight I will cast on for the Ribby Shell... or maybe I will just keep working on the scarf.


Crochet "Procrastination" Scarf
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Baby Joey's Sweater

Baby Joey's Sweater
Originally uploaded by kellymarino.

Look at the fantastic buttons and cute rolled edges!

Sweater Finishing - 1, Procrastination - 0

That's right, with the help of American Idol cheering me along I finished the baby sweater for Joey (the cutest baby I know). I did all the seaming, sewed in the ends, and sewed on the buttons (I am really not into sewing). The finished sweater looks pretty good (if I do say so myself). I just hope that it fits little Joey.
The sweater details:

• Pattern is from Creative Knitting, May 2005 issue
• I used TLC Cara Mia yarn (50% acrylic, 19% nylon, 18% rayon, 13% angora), one skein of each color
• Needles sizes 7 and 9
• Buttons from Joann Fabrics, purchased by my knitting friend Tiffany because she knew they would be perfect for the sweater (and how right she was)

As soon as my blogerbot is working, I will post a picture of the finished sweater. Keep your eye out for it! I think my firewall at work is preventing me from posting pictures. Boo for the firewall.

Next up, I am going to cast on for the Chicknits Ribby Shell. I am using Elan Endless Summer 100% cotton in a nice sage-green color. This will make a good plane project (it is knit in the round) and since I have a couple of trips coming up, I figure I should get started. Unfortunately, the shell requires a lot of casting on (some 200 plus stitches) so I will need a quite room and some serious counting time.

Cozies

Instead of finishing the seaming of the adorable (I mean seriously cute) baby sweater I am nearly done with, I spent last night creating and knitting a cozie for my friend's IPod Mini. It was a pretty simplistic design but it turned out pretty cute (if I do say so myself). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her so I can only describe it here. I knitted the main body in two pieces (a front and a back) using a cream colored acrylic / wool blend yarn. Then I used backstitch to sew it together on three sides (two sides and the bottom). I left the top open but knitted a small flap that comes over the top and attaches to a button I sewed on the back. Then I grabbed some left over Lion Brand Fun Fur in bright red and crocheted around the top opening for some excitement. Like I said, simplistic but cute and very quick to knit (it only took me two hours from IPod measuring to completed item).

That just leaves the baby sweater. I already have one side and sleeve seam completed which means I am only a side seam, a sleeve seam, and four buttons away from a finished sweater. Sigh... I hope the sweater still fits the baby by the time I get off my lazy finishing bum! Pictures to come (once I complete the sweater tonight... come hell or high water!)

My newly completed ribbon tank
Knitted with Lion Brand Incredible, pattern from Creative Knitting (May 2005)

Mom's Shawl - in progress