Ghosts of Knitting Past

But they'll never come back to haunt me since they were sent to the frog pond.

The reason why I have only two UFOs is because I usually don't let projects sit around with the hope that they'll magically turn into something they're not. If they don't work for me--rip it, rip it, rip it!

This was my Resistance is Futile Scarf aka Falling Water Lace Scarf. I was craving something blue and lacy. Then I wasn't. Rip it!



I started this scarf--the Good Old Cabled Scarf--and got bored. Rip it!



I really thought the Lady Eleanor entrelac shawl would be perfect for this Briar Rose yarn. But the colors muddied and didn't show off the gorgeous colors. Rip it!
(My current knitting project--a Clapotis--is a better use of the yarn.)



The Honeybee Stole--how I love this pattern. But the pattern didn't love distracted me. Rip it!
(The Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn became the North Sea Shawl. )



This yarn and pattern--Calla Lily--is from Sundara's very first sock club. Made one sock. Didn't love it. But I didn't rip it! Sock and yarn went it to somebody on Ravelry in the Sundara swap forum.



I started a plain vanilla sock on the Hiya Hiya needles to see if I like the teeny tiny things. I do. But the yarn calls for some sort of interesting stitch pattern. Rip it!



And this marks my 30th post in 30 days! Whew!

R is for

RIVERS. ****

Manhattan is a long, narrow island surrounded by three rivers. The East River borders the east side of the island and separates Manhattan from Brooklyn and Queens.

Separating New York City from New Jersey is the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan.

And connecting the East River and Hudson River on the northern border of Manhattan is the Harlem River. It separates Manhattan from the Bronx. (And technically it separates part of Manhattan from itself. Marble Hill--though on the mainland--is part of Manhattan.)

And since we're getting technical--here's one for you geological nitpickers. The East and Harlem Rivers are actually tidal straits. But since they're called rivers--that's what they'll be for our purposes.

I could have sworn I had photos of the Harlem River--but I can't find them! Eight miles long with fourteen bridges. The wikepedia entry has a few good photos.

East River:

Taken on the subway crossing from Brooklyn to Manhattan:



The view from hubster's hospital window. Looking over to Brooklyn.



See that structure in the lower part of the photo? That's the Water Club--one of my favorite restaurants. And here's the view from inside the Water Club.



Hudson River:

Taken in northern Manhattan. The view is looking south.



At the 79th Street Boat Basin. You can see the George Washington Bridge in the northern distance.



Taken from a water taxi pier in New Jersey looking across to Manhattan.



Looking over to New Jersey from Manhattan:



The Hudson River flows north to south for 315 miles. Albany is on the New Jersey side of the river. That's Rensselaer, NY on the other side of the river.



The Hudson River begins in the Adirondack Mountains. This is the river at Newcomb, NY. That's about ten miles from the source of the Hudson's headstream in Lake Tear of the Clouds.



There was lots of celebrating along the Hudson River in 2009 since it marked the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson discovering the river.

****Still trying to catch up with the ABC Along. My ABCs focus on NYS/NYC things.

Snoop Scarf

Meet Snoop--my stepdaughter's cat.



Meet the Snoop Scarf.



Meet my stepdaughter wearing the Snoop Scarf.



This cute scarf was made by her Mom--a very good knitter.

Q is for

Quiet places. ****

Long Lake, NY in the summer



Montauk, NY in the fall



The waterfall park behind the Loews Lincoln Square anytime



My street when it snows



My apartment at night

Thanksgiving 2009

I can't even begin to list the things I'm thankful for this year. Hubster's successful surgery and recovery are, of course, number one.

But as I enjoy my turkey dinner later today, I'll be thinking of family and friends (real life and virtual) and how much you all have enriched my life. It would have been a tough few months without you all. Many thanks!

Yarn on the Train

I travelled to the Knitters Review Retreat in Williamstown, MA with my friend Sandy. I took the NJ Transit train over to New Jersey where Sandy picked me up. We then drove north. Talked too much and got turned around in Pittsfield, MA--but we made it to Williamstown without too much fuss.

Returning, we talked too much and made a detour to Albany, NY. But we quickly righted ourselves (Thanks to a phone call to the hubster.) and headed south to New Jersey. I then took the NJ Transit train back to NYC.

For an entire weekend, I knitted, talked about knitting, fondled yarn, talked about yarn, admired the knitting that people wore/were knitting, talked about patterns. So by the time I was on the train back home, I thought I was all-knitted out and took out my Kindle to read for the hour-long trip.

But a woman got on the train. Sat across from me. She had tote bags. In one of the tote bags, I spied green yarn and a knitted afghan. I tried to ignore it. But then she began frogging something green.



I couldn't resist--I had to ask, "What's that you're frogging?"

We then spent the next hour talking about knitting, yarn stores in NYC, patterns, yarn. She was frogging one green scarf, but was knitting another one. As she pulled out yarn, I called out, "Is that Koigu?" "That looks like Shi Bui." She told me about her knitting projects--a dress for a granddaughter, the scarves, a sweater. I pulled out my knitting and told her about the Retreat.

The blanket was made years ago and she was bringing it home for some mending. The grandkids keep it in the back of the car for chilly days.



Before we knew it, we were in Penn Station and as we scrambled to put away our knitting, we quickly traded some knitting tips. I guess I really wasn't all that tired of talking about knitting!

Retreat Goodies

Thank you, everybody, for your kind remarks and support. It means a great deal to us. It was lonely in the apartment today--I kept expecting see the little Kippy face.

But onto happier things--back to the Retreat. I came home with lots of goodies. One feature of the Retreat is the swap lounge where our unwanted yarns find new homes. I went with an huge bagful and came home with just a tny bagful! YAY, me! Plus, there's a vendor market on Saturday. And in our goody bags, there's always a skein or two or three.



The yarns that followed me home:



The five balls of red yarn are Karabella Aurora bulky. This is from the swap lounge. What a great shade of red! I think it's asking to be a hat.

The teal yarn in the top center of the photo is Skacel merino lace. Also from the stash lounge.

The light blue yarn and the teal yarn on the lower right were in the goody bags. The light blue is Valley Yarns Deerfield and the teal is Berroco Pure Merino DK.

That yummy green--Sundara worsted merino in mint julep. In the goody bag. Yes, we all swooned when we saw the Sundara!

And that skein of gray with a hint of purple? I showed amazing restraint--that's the only yarn I bought! Briar Rose-- Sea Pearl 1002.

OK, so that's not really all. There's also the order I've placed with Briar Rose. But that's a story for another time.

Another Good-bye

I'm very sad to report that we had to put our Kippy cat to sleep today. She had chronic renal failure and for the past ten days, she'd been getting weaker and weaker.

She had a good, long life--18 years-- with lots of love given and received. Last year, I wrote an entry about Kip's specialness.

Kip, sweet girl, I know you're now in a place full of comfy pillows



and pink tissue.



And that you're playing with toys



and sitting on knitting.



There's plenty of sun on your face now.



And Barney has found you.

Gawking

No need to go to the Clark or MASS MoCA to see beautiful, thought-provoking art objects this past weekend.

Weekend in Williamstown

Too tired to think of words to describe the Knitters Review 2009. I'm letting the photos do the talking: