it has its benefits

well, i don't know if i'm going to make it. the complete redesign of that tank into, well, an entirely different tank with kind of the same neckline is behind. i was pulling all sorts of crazy hours at work during the week - leaving at seven, getting home at nine - which just didn't leave time - much less energy - for knitting. or math. because, you know: complete redesign.

and it doesn't help that tomorrow morning i'm headed to vegas for work for three days. time for knitting will be minimal at best.

so, dears, i just don't know. you tell me:






the front is done, but i want to make up the back completely from scratch and my head is reeling a bit when i think about exactly what i want to do. then i need to knit the collar. and block, because this yarn really should see some blocking (it lays so much prettier blocked!). i suppose i can always take 'er on the plane and block in london, praying for dry days so she's not damp when we get on the boat for greece. thoughts?

also! i did attempt to shrink my viennese shrug. and... it did shrink a bit! i'm letting it fully dry before i try it on. i think it will still be a bit big but may be okay. or may be a present. here are some photos pre-shrinking for posterity (just in case the dryer ate it, you know?):




that's a lot of cream-colored knitting! summer's here and the bunnies are sleepy!

another one for the books

so. before i cast on for my next project, will someone remind me to look at the measurements and think? please?


although i'm on gauge and knitting the smallest size, this thing is huge and shapeless. it's serving us better as a cat blanket. *sigh*

depressed and disillusioned, i fortified myself:


peanut butter & honey & banana & veggie bacon sandwich. yumm!


more new shoes.* yumm!


the yarn is lovely, so let's try some ripping and modifying, shall we?


*also, ladies, there's a FANTASTIC sale going on at victoria's secret in the US this weekend. if your knitting is fighting with you too, you know what to do!

little luxuries

oh my, what do we have here?


the shoes have arrived, and with them, a new handbag! if only there was yarn in that picture, life would be complete!


*gasp!*

okay, seriously though. wallis has been shucked aside for the moment because i just don't feel like fiddling. i received a lovely comment from a gal who'd knit it in the same size i'm working up, and she revealed that no, i'm not crazy and yes, you have to fudge. i am not in the mood to fudge.

and then this morning a new berroco knitbits arrived in my inbox. with a link to layout, and i knew i just had to have it for greece. and also a promotion at work = new yarn, especially yarn i'm going to knit up right away and will never see the drawers of my stash, right?

this stuff's rowan lenpur linen. the fiber is novel and natural - 25% linen, 75% lenpur. what is this lenpur, you ask? wood pulp from the branches of trees - harvested in a way that is supposedly highly renewable. well. i'll take that with a grain of salt until an impartial expert convinces me but in the meantime, i'll give it a shot knit-wise!

i'm foregoing the stripes for a simple off-white "natural" top. how fast can i knit? keep me honest, gals. keep me honest.

one and two

1. none of our shelves fell during the earthquake last night, although poor maeve flew under the bed and refused to come out. the bunnies? totally flopped on the living room floor without a care in the world.

2. lil was featured today in disapproving rabbits. what a ham!

yeah

okay, so here's the report: the pattern i posted about on friday is wallis (rav link), and it's already a pain. mr puffy is right; it's a rowan pattern, from book #38. i knit several garments from this book when i first got back into the whole knit scene in 2005, with no snags at all. this one, well. let's just say i'm knitting the xs and it's asking me to decrease where there are no stitches available to do so. *sigh*

but it's a GOOD weekend because on friday evening i was promoted at work! so i've put down the needles and spent some time outside in the early june gloom with my new camera. one of the things i love about venice is that one minute it looks like this:


and the next like this:


let's see what else i've got for 'ya...








yes, venice is a strange, strange place. i think we fit in well.


don't you?

well well well; what do we have here?

i love my old sony digital camera, a wonderful surprise gift from my parents a few years back. she's done well by me and i'd no cause for complaint - except for her weight. i am not normally one to judge about such things - bodies come in many different sizes and shapes, and each can be beautiful. but if i'm lugging her around with me everywhere? if i have to literally carry her? honestly, she was starting to strain my neck, which is not very strong as it is.


enter the beautiful canon powershot sd780 is. smaller than my ipod and blackberry, and just as slim, she's quite the tiny thing. and oh can she shoot:


that was taken in extremely low light and is not retouched one bit. cole still blends a little into the litter box but - no grainy noise, beautiful white balance. i can't wait to take her to europe with me. i think i'm in love.

also? new knitting.


more to come on this front shortly!

(hey there - if you have a few bucks to spare, would you consider donating to mindy's AIDS walk efforts? as much as i'm sitting here trying to write something important, provocative, and moving, well. just go and read mindy's post. it's really more moving than anything i could ever say on the matter.)

much too much

lookin' good, right?


yeah, notsomuch. man, this shrug is large. i should have known - "one size fits all" generally doesn't fit me. this wasn't so much a gauge issue (i'm on gauge, 'yall) - this is a "marri has no shoulders and also is a petite thing" issue. *sigh*

i'm thinking about throwing it, wet, into a pillowcase and sticking it in the dryer. dangerous, i know. will i be that ballsy? stay tuned...


***please excuse the crappy mirror photos - b is writing a paper and i can't tear him away!

not much to say, really

ummm... this week i worked, and knit, and slept, and then got up and did it all over again. there were many work things that were interesting and that's where i'll leave that.


knitting during lunch break was necessary. so was gazing out my window:


not bad, eh? new office, new view of my old workplace!

okay, on to bigger and better things. i need your help: which shoes should i buy for walking in london and santorini?

merrell san remo


merrell sundial cross
they are both so cute and get great reviews for comfort! what do you think? i can't decide!

this just in!

evil mr squirrel is here to tell you that cole has suddenly decided to eat, and eat a LOT! no surgery for now...

and it just keeps comin'

maeve wonders: what is it now?


coley boy is hungry, but he won't eat. tooth spurs? FANTASTIC. surgery/tooth filing day is monday. someone give us a break, already!


ahh, that's better.