love to love

There's a reason behind my silence, it's not you, I swear! 
We are in the midst of a cross-country move (leaving for the airport in a couple hours!)...but I just had to pop in and thank ALMA for my Liebster award! 

"Liebster" means "dearest" in German and the award is given to up-and coming, read-worthy blogs with less than 200 followers. What a cool idea, right! 

Alma is the talented creative force behind the lovely blog "Alma Boheme" which is full of pretty photos and inspirations. Thanks again Alma!


Teilen der liebe (sharing the love):
1. Rebecca
2. Hannah
3. Sandra
4. Melissa
5. Margo


We are supposed to share five things about ourselves.
5 things about me:
1. My favorite food is fried chicken, any way I can get it.
2. Tulips are my favorite flower. 
3. I'd rather knit or crochet than sleep. 
4. Second, third helping > dessert
5. If you cut open my figurative heart, you would find my dear ones, yarn and coffee.  
See you on the other side!

WIP Wednesday

Zero progress to report for my KAL top. Absolutely zero.

We are moving on Monday/Tuesday so all energy is being focused on getting this place ready for its new inhabitants! I'm afraid I won't be making the deadline. :o( 

I have, however, made good progress on this:

 
Noro Kerchief Project Page

I love the rustic feel of the wool and the artistry of Noro colorway is undeniable. I really hope to finish it in time for Daniel's farewell work party to gift to his boss's wife. She is a sweet lady and an artist so I know she'll appreciate the colors. 

I'd love a virtual hug from ya'll telling me it's okay that I'm not going to finish my top in time. Thanks! xo

Flowers and buds

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Where would I be, who would I be without you? Thank you for all you have done and are doing. I love you.

In other news, Happy Mother's Day to me! haha. Yesterday was a very fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kind of day. Daniel had to give a farewell message at church in Flushing and Manhattan, so we knew it was going to be a long day. The Manhattan chapter is close to my sister's apt. so we decided last minute to drop by and ended up making a night of it! It was great to spend more time with them because the move is SO CLOSE.

Tulips! My favorite!

Although the day was very long, it was so fun and awesome! Thank God for giving me my two little reasons to celebrate it with joy in my heart! 

Oh, I also had time to knit this:

Dogwood Cowl, pattern by Jane Richmond for Spud & Chloe

As soon as I saw this pattern I knew it was something I would want to knit and wear, and I was right! I knit it a little bit snugger than the pattern as I prefer my cowls to fit closely. It is so very warm and I'm happy to have yet another great looking cowl in my repertoire for possible gift giving. It's no surprise that Jane Richmond designed it. Haha. 

Slow and Steady - WIP Wednesday

With all the other stuff going on in our lives right now progress has been slow on my KAL project. While is is a relief on the mommybrain to reach the "knit even" part of the body, the seemingly endless rows of stockinette were starting to wear on me. 

But I'll tell you this...trying on your garment is certainly a great way to revitalize your interest in a project! I put it on waste yarn this morning and the fit is great. I was planning to snap a pic of myself in it but I haven't reached far enough for the picture to be...hrrrrm....decent. Haha. 

Knowing it fits makes me excited to finish and wear it! Hopefully I can wear it for Noelle's birthday. 

Gemini Top project page

There are a few gifts that I have planning to knit and the first one up is this kerchief for my hubby's boss's wife:

The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower

 After all the garter stitch and stockinette-in-the round (i.e., garter stitch) I am loving working on this stockinette pattern! I don't detest purling like some people I know (ahem, Shannon). It's so well-written and the garter stitch eyelet is such a clean-looking and effective touch. The yarn is Noro Kureyon Sock. While the texture is definitely not the softest, the colors are just amazing and add so much interest to an otherwise simple project. LOVE.

HUG ATTACK!!!

Rasta-Marian

My Gemini self needed a break from my Gemini (tiny needles and tiny yarn)...so I made a Marian cowl (pattern by Jane Richmond) with lofty, softy, delicious Malabrigo Rasta yarn. 

All I have to say is that this pattern and this yarn are a match made in heaven. Seriously.

 Attitude!

i love how she looks like she's being swallowed up by the scarf.

happy yarny babies!

Playing It Cool

That was the plan.
Of course the weather forecast was wrong and it was raining all day. Exactly the wrong type of weather for yarn shopping.
I forgot my camera. Duh. Sarah was gracious enough to snap pics on her phone.
Also, my sister took the wrong train (uptown instead of downtown). In her own words "HOW long have I lived here?!" Seriously. We both just had to laugh.

mayo.cheese.butter. - corn heaven! 

Not the most elegant shot but oh man was it delicious!

As if that wasn't enough, I also hoovered a plate of fish tacos.

So being a little bedraggled from the rain and after a little misguidance from Sarah's phone (thanks alot g-gle maps!) we finally made it to PURL SOHO. le sigh. 

me at the entrance trying to ignore the "ohmagah look at that tourist" glares from all the hipsters.

the bunny.

the best shot Sarah got of the whole store.

cute neckwarmer display by the entrance.

 um hello yarn candy!

 My "greedy little yarn piggy" photo. (my sister's words). 

 Huge display of KPPM minis. Koigu Pure Premium. Amazing color and display idea. 

 

 A little more yarn fondling. 

I was so excited to finally experience in person so many of the yarns I have only heard about and also the projects featured in the blog that were displayed around the store. The people working there were sweet and just as enthusiastic as could be. You could tell they all love their jobs! 

It's definitely an overwhelming experience in a great way. I had so much trouble deciding but I was "good", stuck to my budget and here's what I finally decided on:

 Tosh Merino Light in Citrus and Robin's Egg Colorways and Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Thistle.

Thank You Purl Soho! I had the best time!

looks like a top!

I've reached the sleeve separation point on the Gemini top which is the point in the top-down knitting process where the work actually starts to look like, well, a top!

Leave it to me to be nowhere near done and dreaming of my next project...Castle Pullover by Cecily Glowik McDonald...isn't it gorge?? I totally blame the KAL!

I'm thinking either of these yarns would work pretty well...
lovely Malabrigo Worsted from my Christmas yarn stash.

Which color should I go with?