I seem to have a seriously busy life, who knew? Last week seemed to fly by. I didn't even finish Cherie which I was sure I would. I nearly finished the second sleeve on the train going and coming from Long Island on Monday only to realize that in fact I had never done the first row of increases, all the way back on row 8. So a'froggin' I went. You know how frustrated I get by things like that so no more was done on the sleeve until much later in the week. I did finish it finally and I'm now into the neckline on the body piece. I'm probably going to block the sleeve tonight. I can't deny I haven't been in too much of a rush to finish it since I realized neither Tisha nor Amanda are here this week at work so there is no one to show it off to:(

Ian's birthday festivities were a hit. We brought cupcakes to his class on Friday. It's amazing, he's in special ed this year and the teacher and the para stand around in awe because we actually do things. We go on trips, we help when we go on trips, we brought cupcakes. The para said she hasn't had a "normal parent" in so long she doesn't know how to handle it. They said they are going to be spoiled by us. It makes me sad I mean I've always been a presence in the school (Rinaldo as well) when Avery was there and now for Ian. It would seem odd to me that just because he's in special ed that I would act differently somehow.

As for this school year it's going beautifully for Ian. The teacher knows him from last year and she can't get over how much more social he is. He participates in class and does beautiful work she says. When Rinaldo mentioned recently that his teacher last year said he learned fine by rote but he didn't grasp concepts his currently teacher looked at him like he had grown two heads. She then preceded to show him all the concepts Ian not only grasps but usually grasps before anyone else in the class. He's enjoying his homework and he seems to have regained his love of learning. I'm very happy. The only problem we have is most days he cries when we leave him at school. It's not school that's the problem but the fact that his grandmother is picking him up. He doesn't want her to take care of him anymore. Since that is currently not an option we're not sure what to do. His teacher says he shakes it off when he gets to class so she's not worried about it. As I recall this was around the age when Avery wasn't fond of his grandmother either but then we had Ian so it eased up a bit. We'll just see how it plays out.

It's my favorite day of the year so as Margene said go hug a witch today...



...and get lots of candy...



Happy halloween!!

Late to the party...

So I'm a bit behind the times in posting about Rhinebeck but I blame the fact that I'm on vacation. Sunday was spent recovering, Monday was spent in LI visiting my BFF Kathleen (oh and Ann too;)). Tuesday was spend apple picking with Ian's class.

Here is my photo essay on Rhinebeck:

Favorite thing # 3 - The Fall colors:



Favorite thing # 2 - the haul

Briar Rose Fourth of July (with Shrug pattern)

Aussi Sock

Socks that Rock (yes Tisha one of them is yours...)

Fiber from Blue Moon

Merino Top from Ellen's Half Pint Farm

finally, a swift!

Favorite thing # 1 - the people
Carla

Maribel, Chante and Shameka wearing her Central Park Hoodie!

Ann, Ricki, Maribel (her again;)), Vicki

Of course I missed a ton of people. I never caught up with my favorite displaced Bronxite, Regina (sadly blogless), or Cassie and her houseguest Sigga Sif, but fun was had just the same.

A quick post over breakfast with one of my best buds Leslie (she of the cancer walk contest). Leslie is the only thing I love about these conferences.

Gina posted about her UFOs I decided to take stock myself. It's not too bad if I do say so myself:

Bob the Builder - Which will never be finished as Ian is long passed this phase.

Shapely Tank -which I really would like to finish at some point in this lifetime

Rogue - a bit of the sleeve done, that's it

Cherie Amour - we know where that is...

charade socks- that's with me on my trip.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone. Anybody going to Rhinebeck I'll see you there!

After a whirlwind weekend of shopping and spending quality time with my cousin I did actually make some progress in the knitting department. The first Charade sock she is done:

Rinaldo was tired and sick so I choose to blame him for it looking crooked in the picture. It looked fine when I finished it. He loves it so whatever.

I also made some Cherie Amour progress while Ian was at his playgroup yesterday:


I am finally at the ribbing. Honestly it went very quickly once I got into the rhythm of it but damn it took me awhile to get the hang of it for some reason.

Tomorrow I'm off to Cleveland for a conference. Tomorrow night they are taking us to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I'm actually really excited. Thursday is meetings all day, then back on a plane home on Friday. I'm going to try to do a few posts in advance to post while I'm away. I have some goodies to show. Not knitting stuff but fun nonetheless.

By the way you should all know I've been cheating on my blog. I've started doing reviews of the show Blood Ties over at Pink Raygun. Check it out if you're interested. I should have a new one up every Saturday.

The road to hell...

I had intended to show you some Cherie Amour progress. I brought my camera took some great shots and realized I didn't have the cable. So not helpful. I am nearly ready to admit defeat on having her ready to wear for Rhinebeck but I am plugging along as though there is still hope. I had to rip out the bottom 3 times because you know how I am when it comes to yarn overs. I just like to skip them whenever possible, lol. I actually have the whole damn thing marked with stitch markers for each and every repeat so I can count that I have 12 stitches when I finish each set of stitches. Now I've gotten into the rhythm though and it's going along well. This morning I realized I was further along than I thought. I kept thinking I had to do 31 repeats of the 4 rows when in actuality it's 31 rows of the pattern. Big difference. I am on row 16. The real problem is my business trip next week. I leave Wednesday and come back Friday. Even if I take it and finish it on the trip I can't exactly block it on the plane, can I?

My cousin arrives tonight, yay! Lots of shopping and fun this weekend. Then next week will be a bit crazed. Ingileif leaves on Monday so I am taking a half day then I work Tuesday but then Wednesday is my trip, Friday I'm back and Saturday Rhinebeck baby! Thankfully the week after will be vacation so I can recover.

Since I am cable-less I will share this picture that Rinaldo took on the train. He got the biggest kick out of it:



Have a great weekend everyone!

I was very productive this weekend but not really with the knitting. I cleaned my house from top to bottom since I was having company on Sunday but the cleaning continued on Monday since my cousin is coming to stay with us next weekend.

I did at least get the first sleeve for Cherie Amour blocked:



Size-wise it blocked perfectly but lengthwise is a bit of a problem. They're about 2 inches longer but I'm not too concerned since I thought the length was a bit short anyway.

In the cleaning frenzy I decided to ball up some of my sock yarn to make it easier to store. Like my homemade swift:



I got a few done but I left the ball winder attached so I can do more, tonight.

I am nearly finished with the first Charade sock. I'm at the toe. It's odd that I didn't finish it last night since I usually can polish off a toe in an hour or so of tv watching but I was a bit out of it. Maribel's cousin died this weekend. The wake is tonight and the mass tomorrow. This was a very cool guy who was one of the first of the extended family to make me feel like I belonged. I already miss him...

I still don't really have any progress to show. I'm about to give up on my missing 9 point. I'll cast on tonight with my needlemaster 9s and switch to knitpicks when the cuff is done. I realized that time is short so my pride had to go out the window. Damned if I know what happened to it. I suspect it rolled off my desk into the garbage so that's that. I'm sure if it is still around I won't find it until I've finished the sweater so I might as well get on with it.

I am almost done with the first charade sock. I feel like I've been knitting it forever! Cara pointed out that it's taking so long because I'm not loving the pattern and she's right. I can't say why. It's a simple pattern. I like the way it's coming out. Although the yarn is quite dark so maybe it's just too boring. Who knows.

When there's nothing else to show, there's always a meme. I stole this one from Susan, because that's what she and I do, exchange memes, all the time.

Copy this list; leave in the bands you’ve seen perform live; delete the ones you haven’t, and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list. Two asterisks means the last two people who did this before you had that band on their list. Three asterisks, etc.

I added plus signs for artists/groups I have seen multiple times.

1- Public Image Limited*
2- Motley Crue +
3- Kenny Loggins (judge not lest ye be judged it was my first concert ever)
4- Stevie Nicks +
5- Fleetwood Mac +
6- U2 +
7- Twisted Sister
8- Kiss +
9- Ratt +
10- Lita Ford
11- Poison
12- Menudo (see Kenny Loggins, Menudo was really the first, Kenny second but I don't admit that in mixed company)
13- Duran Duran +
14- Mandy Patinkin
15- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts +
16- David Lee Roth
17- Rod Stewart
18- Take 6
19- Melissa Etheridge
20- INXS +
21- Bangles
21- Ozzy Osbourne
22- Black Eyed Peas +
23- Maroon 5
24- Liz Phair
25- Whitesnake

Oddly enough I had a problem coming up with 25. The thing is I've been to a lot of concerts but I've seen my favorites over and over. There are tons of people I wished I'd seen but my tastes have always run a bit astray from my friends' so I didn't always have people to go with.

If you steal this meme, please leave a comment and let me know so I can go visit and see what you put for your 25 bands.

Have a great weekend all!

I end my contest as I began it. Dani has bestowed on me the title of:



Which I had just received from Carla back in August when I started my contest for my friend Leslie's 3 Day Walk. So here we are and I get the joy of bestowing it on 5 more people which is fantastic since it was so hard to limit it to 5 the first time around. Thanks Dani!

Being that this week was the Spin Out I think the first one is quite easy:

Cara - For spreading her enthusiasm and joy for things she loves like other people spread the common cold;) There's been Socks that Rock, Jaywalkers, miters and now she brought people together in their love of spinning. It was a fantastic event and I had a fantastic time.

Chante - I threaten to cut off our friendship constantly because I can't keep up with her creativity and productivity. Whether it's knitting two socks at once, spinning, dyeing or making stitch markers, she is a one woman creativity machine.

Risa - My co-moderator on the Knitting Blogs ring. She's also a dynamo who knocks out socks like there's no tomorrow (granted small feet help;) ). She's a great mom, talented web developer and spinner. Of course we all love lawyers who leave the dark side;)

Lisa - One of my first blog buddies. Another far more prolific knitter than I. She's a great mom and I always love the projects she makes and the colors she uses. Besides I have to love someone who has a hockey rink in her backyard in the winter. It doesn't get any better than that.

Saving the best for last because she thrives on that kind of attention:

Ann - One of the first bloggers I ever met in person and one of my dearest friends. She's raunchy and speaks her mind, obviously a kindred spirit. She also lets me hang out with the "cool kids", which is different for me! Pigs everywhere worship her as the goddess she is.

Now for the contest winner:

Amy! (who is sadly blogless)

Here is a horribly bad camera phone picture of my co-worker Andrew as he pulled her name from the bowl:

Obviously I do things in a strictly scientific fashion.

I forgot my camera on Saturday so I have to wait for Maribel to upload the pictures from her camera to get the ones I took. Hopefully I'll have them by Wednesday.

Have a great Monday everyone!