Happy New Year!

Here's hoping your 2009 will be a

Random Saturday

The hubster and I and were uptown, dowtown all around the town on a foggy Saturday. Some random NYC shots of the day:

Wooly Christmas!

Wishing everybody a warm, wooly Christmas!



And hoping that Santa had yarn in his bag for you also!

Z is for

I saw this sign from across the street



and got a bit closer



And though it's not, I was hoping it would be a store selling nothing but this:



It's strange how the two have the exact same typeface. And totally confusing to this knitter!

When I returned to knitting a few years ago, I went to a yarn store and bought some Zara. I don't remember why I chose that yarn--but something about it called to me.

I began by making swatches of all different stitch patterns. Garter, ribbing, seed, moss, basketweave, stockinette. Not huge squares--three or four inches.



I just wanted to see how I liked it.

I liked it!

Zara is wonderful to the touch and gives great stitch definition. Knitting with it is totally enjoyable! I'm sure that if I had used some other yarn, I wouldn't have picked up the needles again.

Big Bad Cat Blanket

The Big Bad Cat Blanket is finished and on its way to my feline great-nephew. YAY!

Since the yarn used is Plymouth Encore (80% acrylic/20% wool), I read up on how to block acrylic.

Among the suggestions are:
wash and dry according to label instructions
soak and pin and let dry
spritz and steam.

However, I didn't read anywhere of the Let A Cat Sit On It method

A Pleasant Day

It was 30 degrees outside and I didn't have to go outside.

I had the Revontuli Shawl to knit



and Christmas cards to write.



And, best of all, the hubster made a yummy cold-weather dinner!



Nope, nothing to snit about here!

Y is for

Yuletide knitting!



I don't like the pressure of having to make gifts during this time of the year--and have never done so.

But, this year, there was a collision of circumstances.

I needed something easy-peasy with big yarn and big needles to make to/from/at the Retreat AND my niece has been adopted by a new kitten.

Of course! My feline great-nephew needs a blanket for Christmas!

The pattern is the Big, Bad Baby Blanket. The yarn is Plymouth Encore--picked up at last year's Retreat swap table.

Kippy has declared the blanket suitable for cat-sitting.



It's a nice quick, boring knit and I might actually finish it in time--if Barney lets me have the needles back.

Another Surprise!

Another stunning Sundara surprise in this afternoon's mail:



Single skeins from the cool selection:
Winter Skies, Marina over Icicles, Grape over Gray Violet.

I'm still swooning over this morning's surprise.
I feel like such a glutton!

Surprise!

What seems like an eternity ago, I signed up for a couple of Sundara sock collections.

And then forgot about them.

8:45 this morning, the doorbell rings. The mailman with a package.

Surprise!



This seems to be Sundara's Surprise--the artist's choice mixed palette. As Sundara says of artist's choice, "Colors within these color families will be developed by Sundara and in the spirit of creativity, surprise and spontaneity, subscribers will not chose specific colors."


And to make it even more surprising, I chose the "all colors possible" mixed palette.

The colors are from the top:
the breezy, sunny South Pacific, the mysterious, sultry Fragrant Night and the yummy Chocolate Raspberry.

What's even more surprising is that I bought two skeins of each. That totals 700 yards of each color.

What was I thinking? Shawls? Huge socks?

I love, love, love this yarn! But I see a yarn diet in the near future. Well, after I receive my second mailing from Sundara. (I checked my email and saw I signed up for another collection.) And in a day or so, I'll be receiving a most gorgeous surprise from Briar Rose Fibers.

X is for

is xeroxing charts.

This is a necessity for me when I knit lace.

I've seen people knitting off of teeny tiny charts. I don't know how they do it. I need to xerox 'em as large as I can make them. Plus, I need to mark up charts. Don't want to do that on the original pattern--especially if it's too small to begin with.

Cold Outside? Who Cares?

It was cold, cold, cold in Williamstown, MA this past weekend for the Knitters Review Retreat. It even snowed!



But, who cares about the cold when you have a handknit sweater to wear?









Or a nice comfy shawl to wrap around yourself.









And then there's the person who wrapped herself and her knitting around a cosmo (BTW, it was two of the best cosmos I've ever had!)



I had such a wonderful time! Knitting, chatting, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, putting faces to KR names, gawking at all the gorgeous knits, taking notes for future projects, fondling yarn.

Many thanks to Queen Clara.

W is for

WOOL!

Be it on the hoof



fleece



skeins



tidy wound balls



on the needles



or off the needles.



I love the stuff!

V is for

Vases.



So many of you post pictures of your gorgeous gardens. I live in an apartment. Up high. In a city. No digging in soil for me. But I do love beautiful flowers and almost always have them around the place.

Over the years, I've amassed quite a collection. The photo above shows only a small portion.

The vases are more than practical containers for me. Each also tells a story.

The chrome Chase vase on the left. Bought thirty years ago for $20. It took me forever to decide to buy it since that was a huge hunk of money for me then.

The amethyst vast was a gift from a long-time friend. Our best times and worst moments--we've been through them all together.

The large Waterford in the back. A wedding gift from former co-workers. We were married two months after 9/11 and that kind act brought happiness during a time of incomprehensible horror.

The large vase with flowers and the little pink one in front. They had been my dear mother-in-law's. She grew the most splendid flowers and she lived a loving and gracious life. When I use one of her vases, I know she's near.

My parents grew red roses and my Mom's bud vase is up there. The house, my parents, the roses are long-gone. But when I put a rose in the vase, I'm a kid in Albany again.

More than flowers fill those vases.

Why I Love NYC

Another reason why I love NYC--

So here I am watching last night's episode that I taped.



While right outside--a new episode is being set up for shooting tonight:

Outfit of the Day

My neighborhood was very crowded today



and the thermal cape was all the rage: