Small Sights

I don't need the big sights in this city to make my Christmas spirit soar.





What I see in my neighborhood is enough.

A wreath or


six!




A bagel under an outdoor Christmas tree.



A lemon in a restaurant's wreath.


Some pretty red bows








and poinsettia plants under a scaffold at an outdoor cafe.


A second hand store's festive display




and chalky Christmas greetings outside the liquor store--

that's all I need!

Another Year, Another Tree

Last year, since our elevator was being repaired, we didn't have a Christmas tree. Instead we brought home a rosemary bush and called it our Christmas tree.

This year, though, hubster and I pulled out our red SUV (Sidewalk Utility Vehicle) and off to Zingone's we went for our tree.

Then walked home

and into the working elevator

and found a spot in this teeny-tiny cluttered apartment.

YAY! Lights and decorations tomorrow!

Seen in NYC

At the Holiday Market in Columbus Circle--a knitter!


This knitter was manning (womanning?) the booth that sells coasters and mousepads that feature scenes of old New York. The scarf is a gift for a friend. The photo doesn't do justice to the color--it was a gorgeous rose shade.

Keeping the Feeling

In our Knitters Review Retreat generous goody bag, there were several skeins of yarn. One of them was Classic Elite's Majestic Tweed. (wool, angora, silk, nylon.) 110 yards.

What to make with it?

Fingerless gloves, of course!

I have this fantasy that all my new knitting will be Retreat-related. Yarns will be from the goody bag, stash lounge or yarn purchased there.  Or I'll knit patterns of knitwear I saw. Or I'll use new techniques learned over the weekend.

Maybe this will make all the good feelings from the Retreat last until next year!

What We Wore

My favorite blog entry to write and post!  What did the knitters wear at the Knitters Review Retreat?

There were sweaters: This knitter made her terrific-looking sweater from scraps from another project.

Look at all the gorgeous work on this sweater! It's work of art.

This pretty sweater has such interesting textures.

A sweet lacy orange sweater:

I saw at least one vest. Here's a fun colorful one:

There were plenty of knit socks, but I didn't take any photos this year. But I made up for this by taking pictures of the gorgeous shawls and shawlettes. A lacy baktus:

Popular garter stitch stripe shawls:

Delicate lace shawls:

Because of superstorm Sandy, this knitter didn't have electricity for at least a week -- but that didn't stop her! She knit the stockinette section in the dark.

We had designers modeling their work:

The talented new designer Jayme Stahl's Solar Flare:

and Pavone:

The sweet and creative Sivia Harding wearing one of her stunning beaded shawls: )

I don't know who the designer is or what the name of the shawlette is, but it wins the prize for being the most fun to look at:

And, every year, there always one shawl that I just love, love, love. This year it's Dawn from The Fine Line ebook:

Should I even dare to dream about knitting this fabulous shawl one day?

All of the above represent only a teeny bit of the beautiful knits I saw over the weekend. I was constantly gawking. So many talented people in one place!

Retreat Sights

Some random sights from the Knitters Review Retreat:

Busy hands

making cowls and sweaters:

Totes full of yarn and ipads:

Queen Bee Clara Parkes hosting, entertaining, leading, sharing:

A table full of sweet preemie hats for the charity project:

A peek into one of the classes:

Teacher Amy Herzog and her sweaters. (One of the best classes--Knit to Flatter-- I've ever taken!)

Yummy chocolate made by Clara's brother just for us! 

I'm really not allowed to talk about this. . . but I do like this shot of lemon slices. . .

Next post will be all the gorgeous handknits that were worn.