twenty-five

I'm home... again.

I'm back from my second work trip since the beginning of this month, but I'm not complaining at all. I love visiting our other offices and having the opportunity to work face-to-face with colleagues that are usually just on the phone.

I was in North Carolina for work this week, and I got home on Friday afternoon. As it turns out, I didn't really get much knitting time, since the flight is less than an hour. It was a wonderful trip, though. For your benefit, I won't get into any boring details, but let me just say, it was a great week to be at work. Great job, great people, great time. Okay, that's enough shop talk.

Now for the knitting...

I'm working on an infinity scarf for my youngest sister, Jennifer. I was wearing this one over the holidays, and she really loved it. Well, you know me... any excuse to get some madelinetosh and I'm on board. I started the Summer Wind Scarf just before I went to North Carolina, and I've almost reached the halfway point. I chose this pattern because my sister lives in Mississippi, and it's HOT down there. The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, and is a little bit lacy. She'll be wearing it more for color than warmth. I totally LOVE the color, and it's something I'd never use for myself. This colorway is a mix of coral and pink called "espadrilles," and it's fabulous. The details are on my ravelry project page, and here's a picture showing my progress so far.

Is anyone else planning on going to the Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival? It's the weekend of May 18-19, and it seems like a good time. Waynesburg is a little over an hour away, but I've taken much longer trips for yarn. I've never been to this festival before, but I think I might go, and even bring James! I was planning on going last year, but it just didn't happen. There is one major difference between the last two festivals and this one that will really help me sell this to my husband... beer. Also, there's going to be livestock! It's looking like we'll go, but I haven't confirmed it for sure. 

twenty-four

This morning, the house smells like chocolate.

I love it.

Earlier today, I was busy making brownies. Now the brownies are on the counter cooling, but they won't be ready to eat until tomorrow at the earliest. Not only is this an exercise in will power, but it's totally part of the brownie ritual in our house. When I make brownies, they need to cool to room temperature after they come out of the oven, then they get refrigerated overnight before I cut them. This makes for a nice clean edge, and a much tidier brownie. Thanks, Ina. You're a diva.

I know it's been a few weeks since my last post, but I didn't have too much knitting to show until today. I was in Arizona (for business) last week, so I didn't get much knitting done (with the exception of my mile-high knitting). This past week at work has been a bit busy, and also, I've been totally exhausted. Not sure why, maybe I'm just a little dramatic. Probably. Maybe...

In any event, I have finished a couple items in the past few days. The Piewhacket Shawl was what I knit during my cross-country flights on my Arizona trip. It's a shawl done entirely in garter (I know, I know, when's the last time I knit a shawl that wasn't completely garter??) with lots of short rows, which I really love. The short rows are used to create three triangles, that are then bordered by a little more garter stitch. I used one of my favorite yarns for this shawl, Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in the Peashoot colorway. Sweet Georgia really has the most amazing colorways. You should go check them out. Sadly, I don't have any left in my stash... at the moment. This shawl won't be blocked for a while, as I'm going out of town (again) next week. Here's a quick (unblocked, unwoven, and quite sassy) photo of the shawl, and the project details are raveled here. I'll post a photo on the project page once it's blocked, because the shape is really going to change once I get it pinned out. My goal is to make the triangles a bit pointier with blocking, so we'll see...

Also, I finished a hat for James. It was a quick knit (as most hats are) that started with ribbing and ended with broken ribbing; the pattern is "Graham." I used Berroco Vintage, which I think is a great, affordable wool/acrylic blend. James may or may not be crocheting an afghan out of Vintage in the near (or not so near) future. The hat is green, as are most items that I knit for James, but it's a really great shade. The colorway is "Fennel," if you're wondering. My husband was gracious enough to model the hat for about 18 seconds while I scrambled to snap a picture last night. If you'd like the details and pattern info, it's over on my public project page.

That's all I have for now, but hopefully it won't be so long before I post again. On Monday, I'm headed to North Carolina (for work again) for a week, which is where the brownies will be as well. I'm planning on bringing brownies into the office, but there's always a chance (slim as it may be) that they'll never leave my hotel room. Here's hoping I have enough will power to share them...