Parade Time Warp

Right now I'm sitting on my couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But let's go back a few hours. . . .

(Picture wavy lines, fog and spooky music here.)

Hubster and I stumbled out of bed at some ridiculous hour to dress in many layers and walked up to the end of our block to take photos of some of the floats being set-up.

These horses would soon be hitched to



the Calliope Wagon.



Yes, it was just about this dark!



Before too long, "rosy-fingered Dawn" appeared, (Bonus points to anyone who knows from where I'm quoting.



and it became easier to see what we could see.
(Photos can be clicked on to view in a larger size.)









Brooklyn cousins living in faraway places, this one's for you!








Because of the barriers set-up to facilitate a smooth-running Parade, we could only walk a few blocks. So we decided to get breakfast at Lenny's.





(Here comes the wavy lines, fog and spooky music again.)

And here we are in present time. Hubster is taking a nap before we go to Thanksgiving dinner with friends later today. And I'm viewing the Parade from a front-row seat--my couch!







Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Too Cute

Want to see something cute?



How about this.



These, too.



Here's a whole bunch of cuteness.



All of these sweet sweaters were made by my friend Roz--an extraordinary knitter. What pattern does she follow? None. Nada. No pattern necessary. She's made so many baby sweaters over the years that she can sit down and start knitting in whatever stitch and style she feels like at that moment.

And each sweater turns out perfect.

All of these cuties are gifts for babies present and future. There's babies who haven't been thought of yet who'll be the lucky recipients. I tell Roz she needs to make something for herself. She says she will---right after she makes another baby sweater.

Gawking

Everywhere I looked at the Knitters Review Retreat, there was a beautiful knitted creation. I wish I had photos of all of them----but, here's just a a few.

At the Retreat

There was knitting, knitting everywhere!





Plenty of hugs!



Lots of yarn winding.



Some people had jazz hands.



We all saw an angel



and there was heavenly yarn!



Speaking of yarn. . . next entry will be photos of some of the gorgeous knitting being worn by such talented knitters.

Stash Weeding

What a weekend! More about the Knitters Review Retreat during the week. At this moment, I don't have the words to describe how wonderful it was.

But here's a little taste.

One feature of the Retreat is the stash lounge. We bring our unloved and unwanted yarn (books, patterns, magazines, needles) and leave them for anybody who wants to give them a good home.

This year I was ruthless when I went through my stash. This might be a sign of some yarn maturity. When I didn't know any better, I'd impulsively buy yarn with no thought about what I could do with it. This often resulted in odd amounts. Not enough for a sweater--but too much for a shawl. Or I'd buy yarn for a shawl or sweater and then find out the yarn was just too. . . itchy, soft, warm, fibery, slick, dull, thin, thick, twisty for me. And so it sat. Perfectly fine yarn but unloved and unwanted.

This is what I brought to the stash lounge:



Over the weekend, I kept checking the lounge to see which yarns I had brought were gone. By Sunday morning, I saw nothing of mine in the stash lounge anymore. All went to knitters who would appreciate them.

I'm also happy to report that I added very little to my yarn stash. Here's the yarn that followed me home. Of these skeins, only three were bought either at WEBS or at the Retreat's marketplace. All the others were in my Retreat goody bag. YES, you see Socks that Rock and YES that was in the goody bag!



Please don't think I'm currently yarn-deprived. I'm not. Here's the state of my stash right now. Only loved and hoped-to-be-used yarn remains.



And dare I make the promise that I'm starting a yarn diet? Only knit from the stash OR if yarn is bought, it's for a specific project. Something to think about.

On Our Way

to the Knitters Review Retreat, my friends and I have taken a detour to 2,500 square feet of knitters paradise--



I only have this one photo of WEBS interior, because I was. . . uh. . . busy.



Actually, I showed remarkable restraint. But tomorrow is another day and we'll be hitting WEBS again in the morning.

Right around the corner from WEBS yarn store is their beading store. Gorgeous things! I keep saying I'm not into using beads in my projects. However, this store might make me change my mind.

Matchy-Matchy

I'm a matchy-matchy sort of girl. Shoes and purse must be the same color. (Except in summer. . . yellow, orange or green purses are OK with black sandals.) Toenails and fingernails must be polished the same. (Um. . . summer exception again.) And undies? Yes, of course, they have to match. (However there is a dirty laundry exception.)

Seriously, though, I really, really, really am a matchy-matchy girl!

I have two pairs of green gloves that I rarely wear because none of my scarves have green in them.



So for the Knitters Review Retreat mindless knitting project, I decided to make a scarf to go with the gloves. But after a couple of false starts of both yarn and pattern,



I finally decided on the 22.5 Degrees Scarf using the recommended Wollmeise. Yes, the life-changing, magical Wollmeise is in my stash. However, it wasn't first choice because I thought it wouldn't match the gloves.

I was wrong. Horribly wrong. The rhabarber colorway matches and complements the gloves beautifully. And the feel and drape of the Wollmeise is incredibly wonderful! I knew immediately we had a match!