Baby!


Super cute sleepy baby wearing a super cute sweater made by me! The matching blanket was made by his aunt. It's a complete coincidence that it matches the sweater so well!

I'm so happy it actually fits. He's a big 9 lb boy!

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated

Yes, I am still alive. I haven't posted in forever and I'm completely behind on my blog reading and commenting. I have survived yet another tech week and "Little Shop of Horrors" is happily open. Tech wasn't too hateful. It could have been worse! I don't really feel like the show is tight yet, but it's getting there and I think it has the potential to be good. On the plus side, it's funny and peppy and SHORT. And it's not a five month long run! HURRAY!

Since I haven't posted in forever, I do have a fair amount of knitting to show you. I finished up my stripey Trekking socks.


I didn't use any specific pattern. I just knit them toe up, magic loop, two at the same time. They are a little too 'roomy' but I like them anyways. I knit a heel flap on them - my first toe up heel flap. I basically did exactly what I would have done had I knit them cuff down.


Not the best picture, but hopefully, you get the idea. I am proud to say that these are the first pair of socks I have ever knit completely without a pattern or having to look up any instructions. I've done other socks without a pattern before, but I have always had to look up cast-ons or heel-turning instructions. I finally have the idea in my head!

After I finished the socks, I cast on for the Spring Blossoms Shawl pattern that I got at the Mannings.

The beginning of this shawl was a BITCH. I am not exaggerating when I say that it took me about three hours to get this started. You start the shawl with 8 stitches devided over four size 4 dpns. I kept losing track of which needle to knit next. I finally used colored markers to color code my dpns. That helped considerably, but I still had huge issues. Twisted stitches, dropped stitches, you name it - I messed it up. In my last post, I said I was hoping to use the brown tencel from the Mannings to knit this. I tried... really I did (many, many times), but it was too damn slippery. So I switched to the Jaggerspun 2/18 and I think it's going to be really pretty. I'm really excited about this project. Despite the rough start, it's been a lot of fun to knit. The only problem is finding time where I'm not distracted by other things to knit on it!

Since the shawl requires undivided attention, I needed another mindless sock pattern to knit. I started knitting the Go With the Flow socks from Favorite Socks, but I started them in a seriously multicolored Koigu and it just wasn't working out. So they have been ripped. Yesterday, I started the Embossed Leaves socks from the same book. I already knit a pair of these last spring, but I love this pattern so I'm making another pair.

I'm using Tess Supersocks and Baby that I got at MDS&W. I'm obsessed with knitting these. I started them yesterday and I've already turned the heel. Hopefully I will be done the first sock tomorrow.

I had one more FO to show you, but I can't find it at the moment. I finally made the bee! It's super cute. As soon as I manage to locate it, I will post pictures.

On a side note.... I just wanted to say hi to Trish. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to you! I miss you much! Also hi to Antonio! Thanks for commenting and checking out my blog!

And to Chuck... nope, not my birthday. My birthday is in December. I just got lots of presents because I have amazingly generous friends who actually seem to like me! (Despite anything you might say!)

One Fine Day

Another gorgeous day spent hanging out with friends, drooling over yarn and fiber - what could be better? Yesterday morning, a small caravan from MD drove through the countryside and crossed the border into PA to go to The Mannings for their 39th Annual Spinning Seminar.


It may not look like much in this picture, but trust me... The Mannings is sooo worth the trip. This was my second trip there, and I still love it. Room after room after room chock full of yarn, fiber, weaving equipment, spinning wheels, books, patterns,... pretty much any fiber related item you might ever need. This place is HUGE. There were lots of demonstrations going on including sheep shearing, spinning, natural dying, weaving and this guy was preparing flax for spinning.



But, I think my favorite part was all the animals they had there.


The picture in the center of the mosaic is my favorite.

It's a smiling alpaca!

We were all trying to figure out how we could fit a llama, a sheep, a few alpaca and that teeny kitten into the back seat of my car. SOOO cute!

Of course, a trip to a place like The Mannings had to include some serious stash enhancements. My first score for the day was this book.


I have wanted this book for a long time. My parents ordered it for me for Christmas and it is still on back order. So, when I saw it on the shelf, I pounced on it. There are so many gorgeous patterns in here. I am going to try to hold off until mitten season before I start casting on for anything. (I still have an anemoi to finish first!) But, I love the book and I'm so happy I found it!

To continue in my brown and blue faze, I also got some beautiful lace yarn.

First, I found this

The flash on my camera kind of washed out the color in this picture. The blue is much richer. It's Jaggerspun 2/18 wool in color Admiral.


This is some tencel that really, I HAD to have. It is so beautiful. The color is Acorn. I cannot wait to knit with this.

I've been itching to knit a lace shawl. I'm going to try to finish up my orange Trekking socks today and then maybe cast on for a shawl. I bought a Fiber Trends lace shawl pattern at the Mannings too, but I think I will be looking through all my lace books before I make a decision. But the tencel will definitely be my yarn of choice. We won't talk about the Seasilk scarf that I haven't finished yet.....

Thanks to Jody, Sarah, Cheryl, Jolene and Amie for a fabulous day! Again next year!

And it's not even my birthday..

In addition to a great trip, I have also been the recipient of a few fabulous gifts lately. I have been coveting one of Sarah's amazing box bags for a while and now I am a lucky owner.



It is so cute! I love it. It's a perfect sized project bag. And the fabric is this really great vintage-y looking beach print. And she made it just for me! Thank you Sarah!!!

Then.... I saw Jody's new bag (which Sarah helped her make!) and I loved that too. I kept trying to steal it from Jody. Well, she went and made me my own! I couldn't believe it.


How cute is that?? And Jody knows I kinda have a thing for chickens, so check out the inside of the bag....

Isn't it awesome? I love this bag! Thank you Jody!!!

And then, not to be outdone, Cheryl presented me with this lovely laceweight yarn. There's plenty there to make a shawl. It's a really pretty berry color. And guess what, I love it too! Thank you Cheryl!!!


I am so lucky to have such generous and talented friends! Thank you thank you thank you! I really am crazy about all these great gifts.

The winner is....

Diane!!! Yaaaaaaay!!!! Diane you are the lucky winner of Debbie Macomber's latest book Back on Blossom Street!

Thanks for playing everyone!

The End Is Near!!!

I am getting very excited because I only have FIVE more performances of George M! to do!!! YAY!!! Seriously people, I have been working on the same show since February 22. Enough already! I can't wait for it to be OVER.

Thanks for all the comments last post. I'm so excited to see new people comment. I hope you will comment again even when there isn't a contest! I will be drawing names Monday night for a winner, so you still have time to comment today!

So, I had a great Saturday. Jody and I traveled to DC and went to the Textile Museum for their Celebration of Textiles festival. We had a blast. They had all kinds of crafty, hands-on activities for us to play with.

We made random felty things:


We stamped red paint onto white fabric...


Jody's red stamped fabric was so cool that someone STOLE it! (The one above is mine - not worthy of theft!)

We even did a little needlepoint:


There was sheep shearing, dances from different countries with these really elaborate costumes, weaving and spinning demonstrations, I got to play with this weird strap making loom, oh... and check this out...



That is a teeny little doll house rug. It's about 3 or 4" in diameter. It's hand embroidered and the entire thing is made up of thousands of tiny little french knots. It is exquisite. We met the woman who made it. She said it took her over a year to complete it. My picture doesn't do it justice. The detail is amazing.

The whole day was good fun. (Except that it was HOT out!) Thanks Jody!!!

On the subway ride, I cast on for yet another new pair of socks.


Some simple toe up socks in Trekking XXL 124. I am loving the stripes. I've had this yarn in my stash for over a year, so it was about time I actually got it on the needles.

So, to answer Sarah's question.... No, my Jaywalker did not fit.

I hated to do it, but they had to be frogged. I couldn't get the cuff past my heel. I was so sure they were going to fit fine, but nooooo.

Stupid size 0's.