Hi Maryland

I didn't end up buying more Silk Garden to make the Very Harlot Poncho. I put 5 skeins of Kureyon into my basket at A Good Yarn in Brookline Village (I discovered that I can go there on my lunch hour, I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing) but decided to go with Rowan Kid Classic. It's wonderfully soft and is working up beautifully. I'm into my second skein right now, and with any luck there will be significant car, airport, airplane, and car knitting done tomorrow. Yes, I still plan to wear this baby on Saturday night. No, I do not have a back-up plan. Yes, you may place your bets now.

Here is the progress on the poncho:


The color is a pale dusty rose and I just love it.

Tomorrow, Mike and I will go to Maryland for the weekend. We live outside of Boston. Our flight leaves from TF Green airport outside of Providence, RI, at 6am. I have our alarm set to go off tomorrow morning at 3am. Yep, that's right, 3am. Have you wrapped your mind around that yet? 3am? I'm also setting the alarm on my cell phone because it is quite possible that our regular alarm will go off at 3am (ungodly) and I will, in my sleepy state, think, "well, that's not right" and turn off the alarm. If you're wondering, I don't know why I'm still awake either.

I'm having a really hard time writing this entry tonight. My birthdays have been pretty rough for the past couple of years, and so maybe I'm a little worried. This morning, an email from my aunt in California informed the family that her dad, my G'pa, is failing, and will probably not be with us much longer. It was really hard for me to read that and feel so helpless. I put a little card into the mail to him today, and I am hoping it wings its way to him quickly. So, while I am excited about our trip to Maryland, I'm also sad.

There were bright spots to my day, though, and the brightest one came when I opened my birthday gift from my best friend. The gift was a silver necklace from Tiffany & Co. This is my first ever Tiffany & Co. item, and I love it. I put it on, and I am wearing it now, and I just freaking love it. The thing is - sure, it is Tiffany, and it is gorgeous, but getting this gift of a tiny perfect heart that I can wear every day means more than I can begin to articulate. I am a lucky, lucky girl. I am lucky enough to have had Kim as my best friend since I was 14 years old. I can honestly say she is the one human being who has never let me down. Not ever, not once. And her timing is always impeccable.

I'll leave you with one final image from today:



Hmmm...a mystery...

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by. I'm going to bed now. :)

If I Were Yarn, I'd Marry Some Noro Silk Garden

May I introduce you to The First Cap For Kids Hat That Makes Me Happy FO?



ROTFL like a big nosed, Noro crazed idiot...


It's really a pretty hat, and I'm very happy with it. I'll take it to work tomorrow and drop off my FIRST donation to the Caps for Kids program.

Sigh...I'm feeling the rush of satisfaction that comes with tackling and finishing smaller projects, as opposed to the sense of inadequacy that comes with trying to seam stupid sleeves into stupid armholes and knowing that there is JUST NO WAY they are going to fit. No, I'm not bitter. I am in a transcendent state of Noro bliss.

I have two, no three, goals for this week:

Buy some Noro Silk Garden to make the Very Harlot Poncho,
Make the Very Harlot Poncho by Saturday, when Mike takes me to Corks in Baltimore for my 30th birthday dinner.

Didn't I just say I liked small projects? Oh well, we all knew it wouldn't last.

Thank you very much for supporting me in embracing the mitten's semi-wonkiness. I hope you all have a terrific week!

Oh, and Amie? I'm on my way to kick AC's butt. ;)

I Am Not Cocky. Stop Looking At Me That Way...

Okay, really, I'm not cocky, but at times today, I felt really stupid, and cockiness at least feels more intentional. Why did I feel stupid today? I felt stupid because whenever I knit two of something, I think I can just eyeball the second knitted item and it will end up the identical twin of the first knitted item. I am sure that there are knitters out there that eyeball things and end up with identical knitted twins. I end up with fraternal knitted twins - they may look related, but you'd never have trouble telling them apart.

What I'm really trying to say is that the second mitten ended up about 1 1/2" shorter than the first one, and I realy believed that I was on track to identical twins*. I ended up frogging (or as Knittens' DH would say "Rabbiting") about 2 1/2", back to the initial set of decreases and from measuring often (read compulsively) from that point on.

The result?

Mike's Mostly Identical Twin Mittens

They're pretty fancy, and they worked hard to get that way, so they wanted their picture taken with the martini glasses. Who can blame them?

Lauren and my Secret Pal both asked what, if any, pattern I used for the mittens. I found this great pattern on Alison's blog, and really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a quick and easy mitten pattern, this is a good one.

You may remember that I started knitting for a Caps for Kids program a few weeks ago. I ended up getting rid of some really bad yarn that was depressing me, and buying some really stupid Muppet yarn (is it just me, or does most novelty yarn have something in common with Muppets?) that depressed me, and I started to get really depressed about not having anything to donate to Caps for Kids yet. This afternoon, after I finished weaving in the ends of the second mitten, I started on the First Cap for Kids Hat That Makes Me Happy:


Not wanting to be left out, the hat had its picture taken with the silver wine goblets.

What I've learned is that there is no more Muppet yarn in my future, and Noro makes me, and hopefully a local Boston kid, very happy...

Have a terrific week all - and happy knitting!

*There are many other things that went wonky with these mittens, but they look really nice, Mike likes them, and the same wonkiness exists on both mittens, so we're just going to pretend it was all intentional from the start. I am not cocky. ;)

This Good Mood Sponsored by...

Lovely weather,
Star Wars movies on DVD,
Shopping for my Secret Pals,
My very OWN Secret Pal gift,
My lovely boyfriend,
And One Finished Mitten!

If those things above aren't enough to be happy about, then I don't know what is. My Secret Pal left me a comment telling me to expect something in the mail on or around Saturday. Well, I checked the mail three times before 11am, and no dice. Finally, remembering the old watched pot saying, I decided I'd go do a little shopping for my secret pals and get outside and enjoy the great weather.

Off I went, hither and yon, and when I came back, there was a little surprise waiting for me in the mailbox!



See, I don't know what my SP looks like, but I'll bet she's really cute. Only someone really cute would wrap a gift in a pattern! I could hardly stand to open it, but once I did, I was greeted by this:



Some terrific Ghirardelli chocolate (some of my favorite) and a chocolate ERASER! So very, very cute...In addition to the chocolately cuteness, there was a great little note. So, thank you Secret Pal...You're the best!

About 15 minutes ago, I finished weaving the ends of Mike's first mitten. I present to you:


Mike's First Mitten!

I'm really pleased by the way the mitten turned out. I learned new things in the process of knitting this mitten, like using dpns, picking up stitches, and the casting on using the backwards loop methods. I'm looking forward to Mike's Second Mitten, because I'm sure that things will go even smoother.

While I was out and about today, I went to Staples to pick up a binder, dividers, sheet protectors, and stickers. Who can guess what I'm planning?

Go on, I'm waiting...

If you guessed that I'm planning a knitting pattern binder, you'd be right. I have loose bits of paper all over the place, and I want to start keeping better track of them...I also think it will be a great place for me to go for ideas when I am in need of a new project. I'll post a pic once it is organized and has some content.

So, exactly one week from today, on October 2nd, I will turn 30. I'm thinking about it a lot, but I'm not really bothered by it. I think my 30s will be great, and why shouldn't they be? Thanks for the early birthday wishes, too - I LOVE me some birthdays.

In my last post, I said I'd tell you about Caroline and palm trees, so here goes:

I hate palm trees.

Where I grew up in Northern California, they were not indigenous, and yet they were everywhere. Considering that they are ridiculously expensive, the sight of palm trees started to make me a little crazy in the head. So, every time I see a palm tree, or something with palm trees on it, I mutter "F*cking palm trees". Enter Caroline. Care is one of my best friends, and she and I have spent A LOT of time shopping together. We shop like pros. When Care and her awesome husband John were visiting me in Boston about three years ago, we decided that the true test of how well you know your friend is not knowing what to buy for them that they would like (that really should be easy), but knowing what to buy for them that they would hate. We laughed so hard over that that we decided that from then on that whenever we sent gifts we'd always send at least one that the other person would hate. I've gotten a foil palm tree with a suction cup base, she's gotten a ceramic cow painted red, white, and blue wearing a little gold crown - you see where this is going?

Three days ago, Care called me to make sure she had my correct address, and laughingly told me that she was sending me one real gift, but she was also sending something that was much better than the palm tree. In short, whatever it is, talks. Oh boy.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me. I hope you have a great weekend.

Secret Pal - thank you SO much for the thoughtful note and chocolates, I already feel very lucky to have you as my Secret Pal!

This May Be The Start of Something

Or, I like mittens!

I've been ridiculously inspired by my fellow knitbloggers, and I don't think I'm the only one. If you go to Lauren's blog today, aside from her usual fabulousness, you can check out links to a bunch of great FOs; if you go to Boogie's blog, aside from her usual fabulousness, you can link to a post from Norma which I think all knitbloggers, oh hell, all bloggers, should read.

That being said - have you met Stitchy McYarnpants? If you haven't, go. Now. I mean it. Please. Oh lord, I'm begging you...And, if you don't want to let me down so close to my birthday, you WILL click on the picture of dear old Santa.

Are you back? Don't you feel better? If you were already feeling good, don't you feel terrific now? Mmm...I thought so.

I was going to talk about my mittens, though. Okay, my mitten:


(Mike's mitten with my grandparents smooching in the background)

I'm using US 8 bamboo dpns for this, and...it's fun! Woot! The Rowan Plaid is really lovely to work with. I am glad I am using the bamboo for my first adventure in dpns, though. I think it is making the whole process much less slippery.

A girlfriend of mine, who was at the same wedding as me and Mike sent some digital pictures today, and I thought I'd share a couple with you...


The engagement picture of the newlyweds, framed by the best wishes of those who love them.


Your own extra fancy dirty girl, and her very cute boyfriend.

Happy Knitting!

Countdown to *30th* birthday: 10 days!!!

Um, remind me to tell you about Caroline and the palm trees, okay? It's relevant to my birthday, if not to anything else...

And I want to say that the daily inspiration I receive from my fellow knitbloggers is awesome. Not only are you tremendously talented people, but you are kind as well. The kindness and thoughtfulness that people show online inspires me to be kinder and more thoughtful both online and off. So...thank you.

Mmm...my kind of evening

Or, trying to do five things at once.

What am I trying to do?

Eat a sandwich,
write a blog entry,
plan a stash organization,
plan a stash database,
and drink a beer.

And I have to tell you that I am VERY happy doing these things.

Do you know what happens when I pull out all my stash and my organizational tubbies and containers and sit in my sweat bottoms and pink Bonnie Prince Billy t-shirt while Mike is in Frederick, MD, on a business trip?

I sing.

I make up songs about stash and organization.

I look in the mirror, I think about the skein of Rowan Plaid I just bought to make Mike mittens, and I get a big, stupid grin on my face, wave my hands in the air, and exclaim "MITTENS!!!".

This morning I read Heather's blog, and she talked about her recent experience at AC Moore. So, this evening I went to my local AC Moore (I didn't know I had a local AC Moore), and I bought this:



Included in this wonderful haul were two pairs of circular needles, three pairs of dpns, and five skeins of this great cashmere/merino wool blend (ROTFL like a crazy, stash-addled lunatic).

If you thought my adventures ended there, well, you'd be a teensy-weensy bit premature...I started off my evening at Circles, A Knitting Salon in Jamaica Plain, Ma.


This is the sweet little bag that came home with me


This is what was IN the sweet little bag

But, do you think that's all I did today? Oh no. I bought a copy of Debbie Bliss' "Baby Knits for Beginners" and for my wonderful, lovely, terrific boyfriend, I bought the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. And I'm talking about the good trilogy - not the crappy new movies.

If you are wondering what I am planning to do with my newly acquired little skeins of fabulousness, I am planning a few baby hats, a pair of mittens, the French Market Bag from Knitty, and a hat for Mike. Oh boy - I've got to get organizing so I can get swatching!

Countdown to 30th birthday: 11 days!

I hope you are having a terrific week!

Short and Sweet

I feel like I had quite a busy weekend, unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of knitting time. Or, if I am being completely honest, I didn't make a lot of time for knitting.

I'm just not thrilled about any of the projects I have going on. I need to get working on my caps for kids, but I had to give up on the Spinnerin Wool. It was SO scratchy, it felt like knitting with cotton candy that has gotten warm and sticky. Not fun at all. I kept thinking that I would NEVER use that yarn for a gift for someone I knew, how could I possibly give it to a child knowing that it might be their ONLY hat??? The answer - I couldn't. So, I'll move on to the Noro, and hope that helps.

It sounds like everyone had a good time at the DC Knit Out - the weather was certainly gorgeous for it. I'm glad that you had terrific weather, and of course, fabulous company (I am linking to one Lauren's post from yesterday with a great group pic)!

Mike and I went to a wedding for a friend of ours on Saturday, and even though the rain kept the wedding indoors rather than in the rose garden where it was originally supposed to be, it was just a beautiful day. I told Jess she looked like an advertisement for EVERYTHING, she was so gorgeous. The groom wasn't half bad himself, of course...

Just a couple of pictures for you:


This picture was taken while Jess and Chris were exchanging their vows


This was taken right before their first dance.

The wedding and reception was at The Commons, in Topsfield, Ma., and it was absolutely stunning.

Thank you as always for your wonderful comments - I am always SO excited to hear from you!

Have a great week!

You Know You're Knit Obsessed When...

You see a sign that says:

Postdocs: Improve Your World

and you really, really think it says:

Ponchos: Improve Your World

That said, I am glad that it is Wednesday. Keiko and her husband Tim are coming to our house for dinner tomorrow night, and then Mike and I are going to a wedding on Saturday. It'll be great.

I've been feeling like a bitter person the last week or so, and although I think I've mentioned that work is not terrific right now, I think I've also mentioned that I'll be 30 very soon. Mike and I are going to stay here for my birthday: The Crazy Swede. Initially we were going to stay in Washington DC (because I have never been there), but circumstances have made it a better idea to go stay in Maryland instead. This is a good thing, people, I promise, but I don't want to talk too much about it right now. There is an LYS in Havre de Grace, MD, though - and with any luck I'll get to go there. :)

Okay, to the knitting and the bitterness and how they relate...

I work for a cancer hospital, and last week, Keiko forwarded me an email about a program called "Caps for Kids". Last year, my hospital donated over 1,000 knit and crocheted caps to local elementary schools, day care centers, and homeless shelters. My hospital is participating again this year, and Keiko, Nao and I are going to knit caps. Yesterday, Keiko and I went to pick out some of the donated yarn, and I got this:



Yep, that's right...I'll be knitting my first Noro into a hat for a lucky Boston kid! I'm really excited about it.

I also picked up these items:



This is a cap I'm knitting from some Spinnerin wool. It's a little scratchy, and I hope it doesn't end up TOO scratchy:



Oh, that's right - I was talking about my bitterness. Well, it's hard to be bitter for very long when you work at a cancer hospital. I needed the reminder that there are other, much worse, much more devastating things than what I am currently dealing with, and when it comes right down to it, I am lucky that I only have the issues I have. Things could always be worse. I see parents who are my age with kids that have cancer, and I am always in awe of their (both the parents and the children's) strength and courage. I might have a bad day, but it doesn't begin to compare. I'm lucky. I'm very, very lucky. So, enough of the bitterness for me. I'll knit my caps, and be glad that I am able to do it.

Because my G'pa is such a role model for me, and because I'm thinking about how lucky we really are to have each and every day, I just wanted to leave you with a picture of us, taken in Columbia, Ca., at the City Hotel Restaurant. This is one of my all-time favorite restaurants (check out their wine list), and my G'pa is one of my favorite people.



Thanks for all of your terrific comments (I've responded in the comments section)and I hope you have a great week!

Sunday Evening Blues

And one FO.

Well, it is Sunday evening once more, and I'll be honest, I'm really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. There's a lot more that I could say about that, but since this is supposed to be my knitting blog, I'll restrain myself, and just say that I really wish tomorrow was Friday. Or at least Wednesday...

I did finish the wedding afghan, and thought I'd share a couple of pictures of it with you.

This is a fairly clear photo of the afghan:



This photo is a better representation of the colors (of the afghan, my couch, and my wall!):



I have to admit that somehow I managed to be surprised by this afghan when it was off the needles. I mean, it's really wide. Like crazy wide - but it is soft and pretty, and in the end, I just hope the bride and groom like it.

I joined the shoulder seams on the Cowl Sweater this morning, but now it must be blocked before anything else can be done. Without some serious blocking, there's just no way that the sleeves will fit in the armholes. I hope to get to this soon, but I've reached the point in my relationship with the sweater where being with it just makes me a little sad. I'm past blaming it, I've accepted my culpability for all of its boo-boos, I know it's me, not the sweater, but for right now, well, I'd just like to knit a pair of socks, okay?

I've watched a fair amount of football today (woot!) and drank a fair amount of beer (woot! woot!) and Mike and I made a great dinner - scallops, crab meat, artichoke hearts, freshly grated parmesan, and breadcrumbs, baked in a casserole dish and then put in tortillas with some lettuce, tomato, and red onion, so I have to say it's been a pretty good day. Minus the Cowl Sweater sadness. Plus the Wedding Afghan FO happiness.

It's all a balancing act, isn't it?

Have I mentioned I'll be 30 in less than 3 weeks? Do you think this could have anything to do with my general funk?

Thanks, as always, for the great comments - Christina, thanks for the compliment on my table - I LOVE it, and don't have nearly enough reasons to show it to people. If ever you're in Boston, you should come for dinner. :)

Lauren, I think you're right, a little time apart from the sweater is probably in order. ;)

And Hi Secret Pal *waves* - I didn't think you'd forgotten about me, but your comment really made me laugh. See's has an online store - but I think their physical stores are all West Coast. Mike and I have made some wonderful Japanese friends who have introduced us to about EVERY kind of Pocky there is. There's a TON in my fridge right now (thanks Nao!)

And no worries about misspelling my name. With a name like Elisa, I'll pretty much answer to anything at this point. I don't take it personally!

I hope you all have a terrific week - happy knitting all!

The Really, Really, Really Bad Sweater

First of all, I should tell you that in fact I did not have cake for dinner on Thursday night. I had a bagel for dinner. And then I thought about the fact that I had not yet had dessert (presuming that dessert comes after dinner), so I had another piece of cake. Then I tossed the rest of the cake because my relationship with it was getting a little too intense.

That said - let me tell you about the Really, Really, Really Bad Sweater...

I knew I had done the BO of the front of the sweater wrong, especially considering that the back of the sweater was a good 1 1/2" longer than the front (wrong, wrong, wrong). So, I thought that I would redo the BO of the front and frog back a bit of the back. Easy enough? Except you remember that I really didn't want to work on the sweater. Then I realized that between leaving for work Thursday morning, and getting ready to work on the Bad Sweater Thursday night, I had lost my 90" measuring tape. How? you ask? Who knows. But I did. So, Thursday night, in the heat, I worked on the crazy wedding afghan.

Yesterday I bought myself a new tape measure, and last night I proceeded with the Bad Sweater Frog and Redo Plan (fortified with a skein of Plymouth Yarn Sockatta, and a set of US2 dpns from my LYS - The Snow Goose in East Milton, Ma.). I frogged back some of the back, frogged back some of the front, and started to redo the BO of the front. Ended up with the wrong number of stitches, a seriously wonky looking BO (again), and then *finally* realized what I was doing wrong. Which, of course, involved an additional 4 rows, and thus meant that the front of the sweater was going to end up being the same length as the original length of the back of the sweater. Are you laughing yet? I hope you are. It was at that point last night that I decided I should stop, and just look for sock patterns online.

This is what was on my dining room table this morning:



You know about my linen closet right? My fanatically, ruthlessly organized linen closet? I've mentioned (haven't I?) that I hang all of my clothes organized by type of garment, weight, and then color? That my purses are organized similarly (with a little extra category for "fancy" and "vintage" thrown in)? You know then, how frustrated I must have been last night.

Well, I began the Bad Sweater Frog and Redo Plan, v. 2, this morning, and halfway through, it looked like this:



Now it looks like this, and I feel a little less insane. I can now put the sweater down, and go back to the crazy wedding afghan.



hope you all have a terrific weekend!

I May Have Just Had Cake For Dinner

But, I'll let you know. Maybe I haven't had dinner yet at all. Maybe cake was a late lunch. Maybe cake was not really eaten by yours truly at all. Maybe I ate carrot sticks instead. Um, right.

Thanks for the lovely comments about the afghan and the not-so-bad sweater. Nancy - it's probably a good thing I don't live in near proximity to a See's store anymore (well, the See's does open up a little center-of the mall kiosks at the Natick Mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas) because otherwise, the title of this post might be "I just ate a pound of bordeaux for dinner, and now I'm a rolly poly fatty pants". Sigh. Reason #2 why living in Boston is good.

You see, I'm feeling a little under the weather, I have to frog some of the front and back of the cowl sweater (you do notice that I am not cursing the sweater, right? Right?), and I really, really, really need to work on the wedding afghan. But, in case you don't know, it's terribly hot and humid in Boston, and my wedding dog, I mean, afghan, is really hot, and oh crap - Elisa, stop whining! Jeez. Sometimes I am such a baby-pants. Okay. I'm done. Everything is lovely, really.

I do need to do some frogging on the cowl sweater, and I will need your advice. When I figure out what questions I need to ask, I'll be back.

Happy Thursday all...

Oh, and dear Lauren - I feel mighty honored that someone who got such primo blog attention by the Yarn Harlot leaves comments for me here...I feel fabulous by association! :) Take lots of pictures of that yarn when you get it!

My Fancy Afghan and the Not So Bad Sweater

Well, the afghan isn't really that fancy, but it is pretty neat. I'm further along that I thought I would be at this point, and the crazy idea I had that I could finish this afghan before September 18th (and my girlfriend's wedding) now seems like a not-so-crazy idea. Of course, you can imagine that I feel like I'm knitting up a big fluffy dog:



I also wanted to mention that I am no longer on bad terms with the cowl sweater. It seems that spending my time elsewhere has cowed the cowl sweater into behaving better. I present to you the first complete sleeve:



And the two sleeves, together, resting merrily on my quilt:



Interestingly enough, lowering the resolution of the photo quality seems to result in truer colors - you can actually tell that this is a RED sweater!

My Secret Pal asked me if I had a preference for chocolate - and just contemplating chocolate seriously was enough to get me thinking about a quick trip to the store...I would have to say that since I grew up in California, See's Candy is probably my favorite, but any chocolate, the darker the better, is just A-OK with me.

Lovely boyfriend and I had a great weekend. We had dinner with friends at their new house (beautiful) on Saturday and went to a cookout at lovely boyfriend's sister's house up in New Hampshire yesterday. I *might* have done a little shopping for my Secret Pal on Sunday, but maybe I didn't. Who knows. ;)

Terrific week to you all!

Secret Pal III Answers

I got a great ecard from my Secret Pal today, and she asked me to answer the SP III questions, so here they are. I've got a wonky head this morning due to the vestiges of a nasty headache, so I apologize if my answers aren't as witty as I'd like. :)

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)?
Not really. I am obsessed with how things feel – so if it feels like it will be nice next to my skin, then I’ll use it.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I’m interested in both, but I haven’t done either. Crocheting patterns make me a little afraid.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Smoke bothers me, but I’m not allergic to anything else that I know of.

4. How long have you been knitting?
I’ve been knitting fanatically since May 2004, although I did start a scarf when I was 15. It was for my boyfriend, and my step-mom’s mother taught me how to cast on and do the knit stitch. Of course, she left before she could show me how to bind off…and so the scarf ended up a length that would have made Dr. Who proud. Finally, the boyfriend and I broke up, and I was able to give up the scarf.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do – but it hasn’t been updated. I’ll put up a link to it when I get off my lazy butt and update it.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Right now I am obsessed with orange/citrusy fragrances. I wear Jo Malone’s Orange Blossom Cologne. Absolutely heavenly.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Give me the dark chocolate and no one gets hurt. No, I mean it - hand it over.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Oh boy – I make picture frames, photo albums, I sew, do cross-stitch, make beaded jewelry (using silk cord and pearl knotting, plus I do a little bit of metal work), I paint glass (plates, wineglasses), and of course I KNIT!!!

Also, I write poetry, and I have had a few features in the area. I'd say my biggest influences are probably Leonard Cohen, ee cummings, TS Eliot, William Carlos Williams, and Erica Jong.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
I love Will Oldham (in all his many endeavors), the Cure, Beth Orton, Modest Mouse, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Fleetwood Mac, Tori Amos, and yep – my computer and my car play MP3s.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
Black is probably my favorite color based upon the sheer amount of it in my wardrobe – but I LOVE color – pinks, reds, greens, browns. I'm a mad accessorizer!

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my lovely boyfriend. We don’t have any pets because he is terribly allergic to cats and we don’t have the space for a dog yet. There is a pug or Boston terrier in my future. His name will be Henry Augustus. Or her name will be Esther.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
To be happy and healthy. If I could get a book of poetry published, that’d be pretty awesome, too.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Anything that feels wonderful. I really do love the Brown Sheep Company Lamb’s Pride Worsted.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Whatever I wouldn’t like to have next to my skin.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Bags, bags, bags. I made the Zeebys Bag, and I can’t wait to do the French Market Bag.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Bags, bags, bags!

17. What are you knitting right now?
I am knitting a sweater for my girlfriend, a pinkerchief from the SnB book, two throws, and a dishcloth.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
I like the idea of a square rather than pointy poncho. I really want to do a shawl though.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circs. Did you see my picture of my 20mm Addi Turbos! They are ginormous! LOL.

20. How did you learn to knit?
This last time? From the internet. Thank god for the internet!

21. How old is your oldest UFO?
Probably about 6 weeks. Not too bad, hmm?

Oh, and something else about me that is good to know - I am crazy for organization and anything that helps me organize. When I get stressed, I organize. My linen closet is a haven of serentiy, my closet organized by item, weight, and then color. :)

In knitting news - I decided to knit a throw for my girlfriend's wedding. This isn't a bad idea, it's just that the wedding is in two weeks. So, I'll post pictures of the WIP later today or tomorrow, but I will be captive to my insanity for the next couple of weeks, I think.

Happy Long Weekend Everyone!

Thanks again for the ecard, Secret Pal!!!