I think someone up there is a little perturbed with me… whose wrath have I incited? Must be the knitting goddess of finishing…

See how close I am? See how desperately she wants to be an FO?
Only 2.5 more inches of the neck… and no more yarn…

I called up FAS, and they are long sold out… which I figured, I bought it back in January… so, I got another ball winging its way to me now (hopefully) but I pretty much give up hope that it will be done by Saturday for the super secret special event. I am not entirely sure how this happened… I think my gauge may have loosened up as I knit along, and then I added a little length to the sleeves, and voila, this is all that was left… not even enough to get around all of the yoke.

…I felt like having this lovely FO was one thing going for me in this crappy week, and now, not even that! I sure hope things start looking up from here… without getting too down in the dumps (hey, everyone’s got problems, right?) I was wrongfully terminated from a small part-time position this week. Why? I have no idea. I wish someone would tell me instead of just saying "you don’t work here anymore…" This is not my real job, mind you, but it was yarn money…

But someone said "Always look on the bright side of life…" so, here is the finished paper, the cursed document that kept me away from the knitting and blogging that I love so dearly. I hand it over to Dr. W at 4:10 today. So glad to be done. Only a few more things to finish up, and Spring 2005 semester is done done done.

Naturally, I wanted to have a little celebration when I did the final CTRL-S to save this sucker… so, Kris and I had a fun little evening…

A few drinks and some laughs with my boyfriend (yeah, he is my husband too)

This was the real treat, however! We went to our local nursery and picked up some great little plants for the front yard bed. In the next few weeks, we will be starting our gardens too–can’t wait to get some fresh veggies and herbs in the house. That is my favorite thing about this time of year. This greenhouse visit was a breath of fresh air… just what I needed after being cooped up in the house all day finishing my school work!

Since Tempting is at a standstill, I picked up a quickie project…

This Dolcino has a great feel–kind of like knitting with paper, and it is working up nicely in this drop stitch pattern.

Lucky Clover has a few more inches on the back, but nothing worth showing… however, there are some awesome girls over on the knitalong blog who finished their cardigans! They are giving me inspiration to keep on keeping on… go see Dee, Winnie and Malgosia have finished theirs–and they are beautiful! There are several other knitters who are so close to finishing–keep an eye on the blog for their progress. It is never too late to join! Email me!

Don’t forget that this Saturday is Secret Pal 4 Reveal Day! Can’t wait to find out who mine is–and to make the big reveal to my girl!

… and in closing, because dogs are the greatest, here is a picture of my girls, Jen and Bella…

The Tempting mystery was quickly solved when I actually sat down with two finished sleeves and the body… and honestly, I feel pretty silly for not figuring it out on my own. However, a big thank you to you all for your encouraging emails and comments; and to those that have their completed Temptings, thanks so much for your advice! The sleeves are successfully attached, and I am working up the inches toward the eyelet. Before I know it, Tempting will be a mere memory! I plan to wear her to an event next Saturday, so I will definitely be done by then…

In anticipation of her completion, I ordered some ribbons today… I hope they will arrive in time to wear Saturday afternoon.

Come on, a girl needs some variety, right? They all reflective the many moods of Tempting… you never know what will come next! Heather and Carolyn tipped me off on this great supplier: JCaroline Creative. Not only are there great ribbons (so many to choose from!) there are supplies for making purses, accessory hardware (belt buckles and watch faces), and so many fabulous fabrics!

Last week, I was emailing back and forth with the very talented Jacqueline of Serendipity fame. We worked out a lovely little trade, and lo and behold a few days later a great package is on my door step from AUSTRALIA! That sure was fast… Yours will be on the way soon, J! Her lovely Jo Sharp tank really appealed to me, and she sent the new pattern book my way, along with some other amazing goodies! The little knitting mini book is full of great knitty quotes and pics, and the chocolates are delicious. Each of the bars has a cute Australian animal on it. So cute!

I pried myself away from the computer desk for a few hours this weekend to go and hear my sister perform. She is studying vocal performance at university, and every time I hear her, it brings tears to my eyes. My little Mimi is a beautiful songbird. I can’t believe that she is my sister when she is up there on that stage–it is so surreal, and so amazing.

It started raining after the show, but I had to get over to see a very special craft fair on the University of Maryland campus…. and meet some fellow bloggers!

I finally got to meet Kate and Paula! They spin and dye their yarns for their business, Woolarina.com. They also sell some awesome felted totes, stitch markers, felted sachets, notion tins, and magnets. These girls are so crafty and cool! It was a real pleasure to meet both of you… and I love your yarns!

Of course, I did not go home empty-handed. I was really loving their hand-dyed yarns (their handspuns are amazing as well!) and picked up these 5 skeins and a lavender sachet: 2 superwash sock yarns, 1 merino fingering weight, 1 merino worsted, and 1 merino/mohair blend. A closeup (and another, and another) are in order! Make sure to check out their site… 2 good 2 miss

This is my last week of classes, and the paper is due on Wednesday. After its completion, there are some other assignments and a final, but after that, I will be sailing smoothly into summer… until the next session’s classes start! (I am SO jealous of Nancy and Jessica graduating from library school this semester!)

Stay tuned for a finished Tempting… very very soon… (yeah, I said that last week, but this time I mean it!)

Reminder: Go let Cara know if you are coming to Maryland Sheep & Wool! She is compiling a list of the attendees on her sidebar for the knitblogger meetup on Saturday, May 7th.

…and in your copious free time, check out my new Links page (on my sidebar too). I plan to add some DIY/crafty sites as I find them, but in the meantime, check out the blogs–there are some great ones on my roll that really should not be missed. Go meet some new people today, I dare you

Well, I heard you all saying "keep on keeping on", and I listened… I have made some nice headway with my Tempting. Very mindless knit (well, sometimes so mindless that I have to go back and fix my mismatched rib… I have said it before, and I will say it again… ribbing is not always for her pleasure!) but great for the train, and for some TV knitting.

In the Pink Cathi and Almost Felted Lauren used cotton for their Temptings… I like this idea, and if the pattern goes well here on out, I might give that a try. However, I know that more DB Cashmerino Aran is in my future–I really like this yarn. I have had to frog several rows, and each time, it stays in tact and does not split. Grade A. Top Choice.

I completed another Dulaan Project scarf, so I have five now, with three others that I work on at various places in the house and in my purse. The numbers are really piling up–check out Ryan’s blog for the most up-to-date totals–they definitely underestimated the knitters!

Three big THANK YOUs going out to Suzanne, Kathy, and LeAnne! These lovely ladies have fabulous blogs that need to be checked out right this minute (GO!). Check out the mail I got from them! Thank you thank you thank you!

Suzanne sent me a pattern for an adorable felted purse, Kathy sent some AWESOME vintage pins from her collection, and LeAnne sent two balls of Rowan Calmer and a felt needle case… Thanks so much, ladies!

We had a nice Easter holiday with our families. Unfortunately, the weather outside was quite bad, so we had to move the niece’s Easter egg hunt indoors–they did not seem to mind.

Krista and McKayla with Easter baskets

We managed to get the girls to sit still long enough to snap some shots with their Uncle Kris and Auntie Lauren… they were off again after the pics

I am being forced to take a short knitblogging sabbatical… I have this hugenormous paper to work on for my Archives class, and I spend WAY too much time in front of the computer blogging and looking at blogs. So, after I finish this paper (or at least make a large dent in it) I will be back… hopefully no more than 7 to 14 days… I am going to keep on knitting (I truly would go insane without that) but this is something that I really have to do… I hate to say it. The Lucky Clover knitalong admin will still be happening, so you can still email me if you want in!

Don’t you forget about me… don’t don’t don’t …

Okay, okay, you talked me in to it! I will make the Flower Basket Shawl (I don’t think it is an accident that every single time I type the name of this shawl, I spell it Flower CASKET Shawl… Dr. Freud?) You all clearly have more confidence in me than I do myself, but like I said before, I will give it a go, and hopefully my results will be as good as the various ones I have seen on the blogs. Thanks for the tips… I will make sure to pass these on to my partners in FBS: Froggy, and Eilene. So I will cast on before too long… maybe early April (oh yeah, that is next week…)

Did anyone see Jenna Adorno on Knitty Gritty last week? It was a good episode, and I really like her designs… however, some comments she said made me think–

…"I design with the petite frame in mind"…

Okay, I have been many things in my life, however, petite has NEVER been one of them. Am I kidding myself that the Tempting sweater will look good on me? I started this about 4 weeks ago, and then frogged because I was a "twisted sister" and my ribbing was very bad. So, take two:

I started it again, and so far so good, considering I am only 2 rows in. I still love this yarn (DB Cashmerino Aran) but I think I will need to extend the sweater for several inches to fit my "not petite" torso. I am not going to give up on this, because it is so pretty… and I have seen some really pretty models out there… (Tara, Amy, and Loz Lauren–check out theirs!)

I had a by-week from my Thursday class, and got to hang out with my girls. We had a very nice time!

Donna, me, Heather, and Eilene. Special thanks to Wendy, the lady at Starbucks who snapped this pic for us! She wants to learn how to knit too… it is a pandemic!

We went to Cheeseburgers in Paradise, a Jimmy Buffet dinner place in Pasadena, and had some yummy drinks, and some amazing food. Chocolate nachos! and here is dear Heather with our cute drinks! Mine was this blue thing… forgot the name, and H got a Rum Runner. We got to keep those little sunglasses pins

Eilene pulled out her highly-coveted pink Chibi for a special picture. You know you want it!

I am feeling the need for more summer scarves, so I picked up this little ball of Trendsetter Dolcino… any particular stitch pattern suggestions?

I put some more interviews up for some very special girls: Mandy at Yarnageddon,
Nancy at Got Ewe in Stitches, Kimberli of Kimberli New York,Mia at Knit & Play with Fire… looking forward to your answers! I hope I did not miss anyone who wanted to be interviewed… but I am done thinking up questions… it is harder than you think!

Off for a whirlwind early Easter day with the in-laws… and tomorrow we are at my parents. I get to take pictures of my darling nieces! Have a happy weekend, all!

I had a nice long online conversation with my dearies, Heather and Eilene, and we discussed resolutions… and I realized that I am really bad at keeping them… for instance… I wanted to do some stash-busting, so I produced another pair of 90-minute mittens with this Trendsetter Genie in my stash.

… but the parents gave me a gift certificate to my favorite yarn store EVER, Folk Art Studio, and as they say, it was burning a hole in my pocket… and I had great lust in my heart for yarn to make a lovely sweater…

…this one in particular… …and with this yarn…

I gave in… and I fell victim to the heaven that is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran…

…and guess who was there to help me through this decision process?

Eating yum cake!

Knitting scarf!

This was Heather’s first trip to FASC, and I think she loves it as much as I do!!

Kathy, the owner of the illustrious LYS, had a chance to pose for a pic with me!

A lovely afternoon was had by all… and I came home with a lot of yarn and a lot less money in my wallet… but I think it just might be worth it. I actually bought an extra ball of yarn because I am thinking of extending the sleeves a little bit. We shall see how that turns out. I probably will not be knitting this until spring, mainly cause it is short-sleeved and cannot be worn right away!

Wanna have some FUN? I found these:

Click on the images and make your own! Have fun

Secret Pal 4 is starting soon… and I signed up. I really had a lot of fun last time, and I hope this time is another success!

Planning a nice knitting day tomorrow… I want to work on Kris’s sweater, which is working up pretty well. I am a few inches away from completing the front… and then onto the sleeves. *sigh*

One more thing… I think this is the link that you need to resubscribe to my blog on Bloglines: http://www.bloglines.com/blog/lolly   For those of you who do try this link, please let me know if it works! Thanks!

z Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! z