I did not have a great weekend. On Saturday Avery and I went into the city, with friends to go to the Museum of Television and Radio. They were running a day long Animation Workshop for kids. We got there around 1:30 and were told they had run out of materials. We had to figure out something else to do. We went to hang out at the Donnell Library which was close by. So I got to see these guys:



It's the original Winnie the Pooh toys. I had seen them years ago when they visited the Children's museum of Manhattan when Avery was a little younger than Ian. It was still cool to see them again.

We hung out reading and the kids got to hear some stories about snow including The Mitten, which is all about a pair of knitted mittens. Then they got to make snowflakes to hang up. They enjoyed it. Unfortunately on the trip down Avery lost the hat that I made him. It must have fallen out of his pocket. He was devastated. Thankfully I have plenty of the same yarn left so I can make him another (and fix the flaws I thought it had).

Then on Sunday the kitchen flooded, not once but twice. We have been having problems with the sink in the spare bath room and it got out of hand. So I spent most of the day cleaning up that mess.

Yesterday the cold I have been trying to fight off finally got the better of me. It has completely settled in my lungs so it's really killing me. Avery was sick too so we stayed home and watched movies all day until Ian got home from school. I got quite a bit done on Clapotis.

Maribel came over last night with a surprise for me:




Aren't they cute? She got herself a set too. That went a long way toward making me feel better.

I am home again today. I'm still not feeling well and I think poor Ian has an ear infection so I am taking him to the doctor. Hopefully he'll let me get some knitting done today as well.

I am feeling a bit better but I have to say I am really tired of the cold. Which is a bit unusual for me. I hate the summer because it's way too hot. I prefer winter since I figure I can always put more clothes on. Somehow this time it is just really draining me.

Working on Clapotis helps though. See how it's coming along:





The pattern is straight forward and logical so you don't have to keep checking to see where you are. It's simple enough to be fairly mindless but complicated enough to keep you interested. It really is a fun project.

I was a bad girl and bought myself this today:



I bought the first one but I have yet to make anything from it. I was really planning on passing this one up until I saw this:



I simply must have a Joan Jett doll. It's really just that simple. I have also already had requests for a Henry Rollins doll and a Joey Ramone, so it looks like I'll be making the whole set.

I also found this:



Now picture it a little longer, with no stripes and no pom pom and there you have my hat. It's exactly what I was looking for. I may yet have enough yarn from Clapotis to make it since I have yet to finish the first skein. Lucky me.

Oh well off to bed...enjoy the weekend...

I am really feeling under the weather today. Unfortunately it is the second week of classes which means that only death can get you a day off and even then you have to call in...

Clapotis (I find it very funny that Blogger spell check tries to correct this to slapdash) is coming along. I was going to take pictures last night but I was too lazy, although it was probably a precursor for the way I feel this morning. I am working on it as much as I can because I want to wear it before winter is over. Which may seem like a ways a way with the weather we've been having in NYC but frankly with the weather lately it could be next week.

I was talking a lot of knitting yesterday. We rode the train part of the way with my downstairs neighbor and when I pulled out my knitting she mentioned that she had tried to teach herself, but her hands just couldn't do it. She then said she should just give me her needles and all her yarn. Now for a moment I was quite excited by this prospect but I decided to take the high road. I offered to teach her to knit. I explained sometimes you just can't get it from a book and maybe she just needed a person to show her. I said I had taught some of my friends at which point my husband interjected something along the lines of "yeah she created her own cult" not quite a direct quote but that was the gist.

Later at work, the woman who does our displays came in. She is a knitter and has been for awhile but mostly scarves and such. She is attempting to make her boyfriend a hat in the style of the characters in The Life Aquatic. She was attempting to do a 2x2 rib and the knit and purl were getting all tangled. I had re-cast it on for her the day before and done a few stitches in the round to show her how to read it but when she brought it in she showed me my stitches and then hers which were once again tangled. I tinked it back to my stitches and worked it a bit. Then it suddenly occured to me to tell her to bring her yarn forward when purling and back when knitting. Voila problem solved.

If only all problems were that easily solved...

The snow is lovely but I can't deny having a bit of cabin fever from being inside all weekend. Ray took the boys out today and I cleaned and vacuumed the living room but that's all the housework I've done (the laundry is literally screaming, I'm sure Maribel hears it from around the block). I have been working on Clapotis all day.

I didn't really get much of it done yesterday, both boys wanted all of my attention. I've done a lot today but it seems Desperate Housewives was just a little too good. I was on my last repeat in section 2 and I have either too many stitches on one side or too few on the other. I am tinking back to figure out which.

Of course the real reason you're reading this is to find out who won the contest. Well first a little disclosure. It's a good thing that I was picking a winner at random since the question was a bit tricky. I do live closest to the 4, but it's only 1 or 2 blocks closer than the D. So really A or C could have been correct.

Avery pulled a name out of a hat and the winner is...Colette. Congrats to her and thank you to everyone for de-lurking to participate. Try not to be strangers.

Have a good Monday...

It is 8 degrees outside...

there is a blizzard warning in effect...

my poor husband had to go to work...

it seems to me like it's the perfect day to start...

Clapotis!

My yarn arrived yesterday:



See how beautiful it is:



It turns out Brooks Farm didn't have a match for my yarn so they simply offered to dye 3 skeins for me in a similar color so they would all match. Aren't they sweet? I actually love this color more. It has far more blue than the skein I bought.

I'm so excited.

I'm was actually supposed to work for a few hours today and Ray and I were going to go to dinner and a movie after work, but I don't want my mother in law coming out in this weather. There was nothing seriously pressing on my desk and if the storm turns out to not be as bad as expected I can go in tomorrow instead.

I realized I forgot to show you the lovely gifts I won from Chris:



Here's a close up of the luscious yarn:



I should have quite a bit left over from Clapotis so I think I will make a hat from that. I am going to do something else with this yarn, I'm just not sure what yet.

We will be picking the contest winner tomorrow. I will post who it is on Monday morning. Good luck to everyone!

Have a great weekend...

Just a short post because work is really busy, classes started yesterday and the first week is the worst.

I cast on for the Sockapalooza socks on Monday but I haven't worked on them at all. The person I am making them for has a fondness for blacks, blues and purples. This worked out for me because I had a purple and black varigated sock yarn that I had bought to make the Broad Street mittens in Knitty for a Christmas gift. Since I decided to not really make any gifts it has just been sitting in my stash.

I finished the reverse bloom washcloth. I screwed up a few rounds in the middle and my gauge was definitely way too tight. I kept breaking the stitches, cotton chenille has absolutely no forgiveness in it. I like the pattern overall though and I will make another soon to try to get it right.

I signed up for a Drop Spindle Workshop at Downtown Yarns with just a little enabling from Susie. Let's see how I take to spinning.


I've decided to make a hat for me from the yarn that I won in Chris' contest. I have been inspired by the freezing cold of the past few days and how warm my husband and sons look in their hats. I am having trouble finding a pattern. Certainly I can do a basic hat without much thought, but I wanted something that will show off this lovely yarn. I was thinking cables but the only pattern I found was a bit more complex than I was looking for right now. So any ideas on a nice hat for me? Do you have any favorite patterns that you think will work?


Remember the contest runs through Friday you can still send in an entry. Read the post below for details.

Finally Friday

It has been a very long week and it's not over yet. I still have to come in to work tomorrow, but I am dragging Avery with me and we will duck out early to go catch Racing Stripes. I suppose I should ask for some sympathy but I had a thing for zebras when I was a kid so I'm secretly looking forward to it myself. January is always difficult for him. He has the whole family home for a week and a half during the holidays and then it's back to school and Rinaldo and I are both working more than usual. I thought a special outing this year might help.

I decided when in doubt go back to basics, so I am knitting a washcloth. I may give it to my father in law to bring home to his wife if I finish it before he leaves on Saturday. I'm not crazy about her but I know it is difficult for her when he is away so what the hell I can be generous. I am doing the reverse bloom washcloth that was so popular a few months back. It's kind of fun and definitely easy.

So on to the contest. Over the holidays I ended up getting a second Charlotte's Web kit, exactly the same as the one I have so I have decided to give it away. Remember even if you don't want to do Charlotte it is 5 lovely skeins of Koigu KPPPM. See:



Here' s the deal- Send me an answer to the following question (it doesn't have to be the right answer I'm doing a random drawing). Next weekend I will have my son draw a name from a hat (or bowl or some other roundish thing) and I will announce the winner that Monday. Tisha informed me that the question should be something about the Bronx so here it is:

I live on Mosholu Parkway that means I live near what subway line?

A- The number 4.
B- The D
C- Both of the above
D- How should I know I've never set foot in the city!

Send your answer to bronxgirlknits at gmail dot com.
And yes this is really just a shameless way of finding out who those 70 people are who visit my blog everyday. I only know about 6 of you!

Good luck and have a great weekend...

Charlotte has kicked my ass. Ok, there I've said it. I have knit and ripped it out so many times this week I have lost count. I am constantly forgetting yarnovers. Maybe I'm not ready for lace knitting or maybe it's the wrong time of year for it (we are 1 week away from classes starting so work is at it's most intense). I took it with me to my knitting group last night and I finally got to row 17. I was very happy. Then I counted my stitches, the requisite 19 on one side and 18 on the other. I tinked back and still couldn't find what went wrong. Then a large hole mysteriously appeared. I ripped it out and started again. I was at row 11, the beginning of the lace pattern when I got home. I sat down to work on it and I couldn't make it work at all. Mind you I've never had problems with that row before. I ripped it out in disgust and went to bed.

I think I will put Charlotte aside for now. Today I won't bring any knitting with me to work. I am frustrated with Bob because I ran out of yarn in the middle of his overall bib. The kit didn't include full balls of yarn. They measured out what they thought it would take and in this case the blue wasn't enough. That means I have to find a blue to match. I am so not happy.

On a happier note. I've decided that having won a contest, I am going to run a contest. Check back Friday for details.

It's been a weekend of frogging. I ripped out Clapotis, until I find out if I will be able to get more of my yarn. I decided to cast on for Charlotte's Web. I knit until row 15, then the math stopped working so I ripped it out. So far I have only re-knit 4 rows, but we are watching the DVD of Arrested Development now so I might get back up to 15. I actually was watching Igby Goes Down earlier when I first started it and I think it demanded too much of my attention. It was really good, dark but funny.

Bob is going well. I got his legs and his body done, but the yarn is a bit hard to work with. It's a heavy duty acrylic so my hands get tired easily. I figure Charlotte is the perfect counterpoint to him.

The weekend went well. I had to work Saturday but I had today off and I had the joy of watching my father in law going around fixing things in my apartment. He re-did the sink in my second bathroom, yes, I live in an apartment in the Bronx and I have a second bathroom. It's really too small to use for it's intended purpose so we use it as kind of a garage of sorts. I also attach the washing machine to the sink in it. He also fixed some electrical sockets and my shower head, I had no idea he was this handy!

So far no word on whether Tashie will be here this week or not. I was really happy she was back last week. I've really gotten use to having her around and I miss her now that she's not here. We'll see what the week brings.

I have my knitting group this Tuesday at Barnes and Noble on 86th and Second. If you're in the neighborhood come on down. We meet at 7. I'm really looking forward to it. I missed the last one and then we skipped a month because of Christmas.

I just found out the best news., I actually won a contest! Chris was having a drawing for a this book and this yarn. She just e-mailed me that I won. I'm very happy. I so rarely win stuff that I really get a kick out of it when I do. By the way it's her birthday so go leave a comment for her with birthday wishes. She's really cool people.

Good luck with Monday everyone!

Man it's been a crazy week.

My mother in law was extremely dizzy on Wednesday and also felt awful so she decided to go to the emergency room. This threw us into a bit of an uproar because she is the person who takes care of my kids after school. So Rinaldo left work early that day. They couldn't find anything wrong with her, but they kept her, still in the ER. On Thursday a different doctor saw her (the third I think) and said that she may have had a small stroke. .. what!?! Yesterday afternoon they did an MRI and finally got her a bed by last night. We've been going nuts, my husband is worried of course, but we also have to deal with getting the kids and it's Rush at work (Ray works for the University also). Then Ian's school sent home a notice last night saying that there was no school today because of District Mandated Staff Development. How do they do that? People can't necessarily take off work on such short notice. I don't blame the school, I'm sure it was the District office's fault but damn. Rinaldo and I had to split shift the day again. The good news is he just called to say they are releasing his mother today so the MRI must have been ok.

On Wednesday Tashie called to say she had to come over. Her mom had decided that after the holidays she should start communting from home to get to school instead of staying with us. Wednsday afternoon on the way to pick up Tashie (she picks her up on her way home from work) her car died. Really died. So Tashie stayed with us Wednesday and Thursday.

Then I hadn't mentioned that my father in law was coming for a visit. He arrived yesterday afternoon (and don't think we haven't all thought about his visit's effect on my mother in law's health, they do have a bit of a tempestuous relationship, it can be somewhat entertaining if you're in the right mood). He is quite a character so that also makes everything run at a slightly higher pitch.

Oh yeah and my friend's father died last week, so I had to go to his memorial last night.

I gotta tell you I'm beat...

Meanwhile down at Brooks Farm in Texas, they have dug out all the Four Play they have left and are anxiously awaiting the sample I am sending of my yarn to see if they have a match. Randall Brooks is my new best friend. They are amazingly kind people.

That means that Clapotis is on hold. The IPOD cozy is done. I started Bob the Builder yesterday. He's kind of a fun thing to knit so I may not have to work on him sporadically. I'll at least keep going until I feel I'm losing interest. I have his legs done and I am up to his body.

I wish I could look forward to getting rest this weekend but I have to work tomorrow. No rest for the weary.

Have a great weekend...

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Ok, I am going to do this backwards. First I give you the ecstasy, the beginning of Clapotis:



and a close up of my luscious Four Play yarn from Brooks Farm:



After some intial brain freeze with decyphering the pattern (I can't really explain why but PFB had me hung up for at least 30 minutes), I am in love with this pattern.Really, and truly. It's fun and easy but challenging enough to hold your attention. It is also kind of exciting to anticipate the dropping of the stitches. Frankly I was enjoying knitting this far too much today. Ian was home sick with a nasty cough, so I was able to work on it quite a bit, since I stayed with him for the morning (Ray came home to stay with him in the afternoon so I could get a few hours in at work too).

So where's the agony you ask? What the hell was I thinking when I decided to use this yarn for the scarf. I mean it's a 50/50 blend of wool and silk like the yarn it was designed for and the gauge is just about perfect, but I should really have checked how much I would need for it. Three skeins...three people. How much do I have? One, that's right just one. To top it off I got this yarn at Rhinebeck and although Brooks Farms now has a website, this is not listed on it. I could have cried. I did e-mail them though to see if maybe they have it and just don't list it online. Cross your fingers for me.

In the meantime I gave in and bought a new set of #2 dpns and got back to work on the IPOD sock. It's keeping my mind of the Clapotis debacle.

You may notice some changes around the old blog. I've been wanting to change the look of the place for awhile but I decided it would be cool to wait for the new year. So here it is. What do you think?

I have been thinking about new year's resolutions and realized I don't really have any. I mean there are the usual, lose some weight, get to the gym more regularly. Maybe get back to meditating. But honestly I decide to do those things every few months. I don't know that the fact that it is a new year is going to make any of them stick any better.

New Year's eve was spent at home as usual. I have never liked to go out for this particular holiday. I frankly have never really been excited by it as a rule and hell this year I didn't even have Dick Clark to help me count down, there really was something anticlimactic about the whole thing.

I haven't started anything new and exciting, yet. Ray really wanted a sock cozy for his IPOD so I am working on that. Although I just bent one of my #2 dpns. It was really weird, I was getting up to go to the kitchen, I put the loose needle in the ball of yarn and set it down on the couch. I turned around to get something and when I turned back and took a step, I landed right on the needle. I am just thankful that it ended up impaled in the rug and not in my foot! It feels a little odd to work with though and so far I haven't been able to bend it back.

I want to start Clapotis tonight as part of my plan to knit more for myself, but I'd like to finish the cozy first. I have also decided to work on the Bob the Builder doll kit that I bought to make for Ian. I will make it a piece at a time in between other projects. This way it will keep me interested.


Please excuse the odd post put in earlier by Haloscan. When I switched my template I had the comments install automatically and it created the post. Kinda freaky if you ask me...

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Well I'm a few minutes late with my post, but it was done by 11:53 (as long as you don't count the buttons!).




Happy New Year!!!