Working for a livin'...

Sometimes, my (day) job is really fabulous.
I am insanely thrilled at the coolness of two events I engineered recently. One of these is a community support day, where we donate 5% of the day's sales to a good cause. We had one of these on Tuesday for the Minneapolis Public Schools. I don’t have final numbers yet, but turnout was pretty good.


These are pictures drawn by the students which we posted all over the store, and bookmarks with student art that helped promote this event.

Three of our local schools will be the recipients of our customers’ generosity. I can’t wait to hand out that check (go public school!).

Wednesday, on the other hand, was a really cool event of a different nature. Chris Kimball, of America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated fame, visited our store for a Q&A and book signing.

He is really something - very funny and personable. The audience loved him and the line for autographs stretched halfway across the store. (Whoo-hoo!)

In knitting news, the sleeves of the Manly Knit are still not worth blogging about. Therefore, captured below for your amusement, are some of my latest & greatest knits.

These are for a class on easy scarves... my designs.


And this lovely thing is for my wedding. It’s an adaptation of an old Vogue Knitting (henceforth referred to as VK) pattern by the awesome Lily Chin*.


Here's a close up of this beautiful fabric.

Lily’s got a great, sexy holiday tank featured in the latest VK that may also make an appearance at my wedding. Very beautiful indeed. I had a different idea for the bodice, but this top could change my mind.

I really do have to get back to the wedding knitting (less than six months!), but it's so nice to be working on something that isn't winter white...

*(Disclaimer/FYI/whatever you wanna call it: I was fortunate enough to work with Lily a few years ago as part of her book, The Urban Knitter). Fabulous lady, fabulous book, and a really fun project. )

We have met the enemy...

...and it is the blank page! Click here to join in the Mar.. er, November madness.

In knitting news... not much. Continuing to slog away at the sleeves for the Manly Knit (what kind of gorilla am I marrying, anyway? No one's arms should be that long!). Looking forward to NaNoWriMo (see the above link) as a pleasant diversion. I wonder if other people notice that they get more done when they're already busy? It seems not being over-extended has a negative effect on my creative energies.

In the meanwhile, more pics of the fam...


Napping in doggy jail. Somebody (who shall remain nameless) peed on my floor...


Sleepy fiance. Somebody get that boy a cup of Kona!


Poor Jittery Dog. He is hiding under my shiny new IKEA bookshelf, as he does every time it rains.

Manly Knits

Fact: I never follow a pattern as written. I am always trying to jazz it up.
Fact: My beloved only likes uncomplicated clothing.

This sweater is one of those rare and perfect compromises:

Melissa Leapman's sweater, from the Fall 04 Interweave Knits. Copyrights are of course the property of IK.

Boring enough for him to wear, interesting enough for me to knit. We both love it.
(Besides, if I make it, then I am of course entitled to borrow it. BWAHAHAHA.)


One of the sleeves.


I am knitting both sleeves at the same time, which I am sure gains me a place in the hereafter ... 'cause I surely ain't having fun now!

I feel as if I'm making no progress at all, though I am aware that that can't possibly be true.
It can't, right?
Right?
(For goodness' sake, if it is, I don't want to know. I demand to be lied to!)

One of my favorite blog writers likes to list things that she has learned in the making of a project. While I can't say that I've learned much thus far, I can say that I've firmed up my knowledge of my knitting habits:

1) I should not start making a textured sweater with the sleeves.
This particular sweater has a twelve row repeat. While admittedly, half on of those rows you simply maintain the pattern, that still leaves you with six rows to learn. Not to mention that you are constantly adjusting the pattern due to the increases.
(There has been public frogging. And equally public usage of language my mother Would Not Be Proud Of. I am duly ashamed.)

2) There should be no conversations/presidential debates/mildly stimulating film watching, etc. until you have memorized the pattern.
This leads, again, to Frogging and Bad Language. See above.

3) Hide the knitting from the creatures.
I can't imagine why, but both Dog & Doggette are blissfully unaware that the knitting is not for them. I am sure I sent that memo...

Welcome to the (blog) jungle...

Why am I doing this? Simple. I figure an online journal will force me to keep up with my personal projects. Guilt is a heck of a motivator.
Not to mention the joy of sharing mi vida loca with my friends and family across the online universe.
Okay, truthfully, I got a shiny new digital camera and have to learn how to use it in order to justify the purchase. ;-D

For those who don't already know and love me, a brief bio: I work in marketing for a major retailer. I'm a relatively new resident of the Twin Cities (nine months now - I still get lost regularly), a knitter of many years (presently teaching at the hippest knitting store in Minnesota), a soon-to-be married woman (April! Eek!) and proud companion to two sweet mutts.

As soon as I can figure out the photo software, I will share more of these bad babies. In the meantime, here are some basic (and very bad) digital pix of the fam.


My fiance, Ben. He's really much more focused (ahem!) than this...


Jezebel. See that mess on the floor? That's her wake of destruction.


Tommy. We love him in spite of his neuroses... and there are many.