Isn't it great that briefly before my office has the big move to Northglenn, that I can run off at lunch get to Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins shop for about 30 minutes 45 if I don't mind a hour and a half lunch, (which I don't) and get back to work. I do usually feel rushed but that is OK. I can also do this with The Stitchen' Den. Yesterday, I only went to Shuttles. I had a plan, I knew what I wanted what I needed, and from some act of God that is all I did. I bought 1 pattern and 6 skeins of yarn, to make my two nieces poncho's for Christmas. Now me, I am not much of a poncho girl, I am of the belief that just because something is in (if it even still is) doesn't mean it looks great on me. I do admit one caught my eye in the new Wrap Style book. One of my niece's is loving ponchos, so I figured I would buy some yarn find a pattern and make her one. Well, I have 2 niece's so I can't just make one right? Hence the 6 skeins instead of 3. I think I will go with the unhooded version we shall see, maybe to make theirs a bit different other than color I will add a hood to one.

Speaking of niece's and things I have made for them, I finally got a picture of my neiceice and I and the quilt I made for her. This quilt was the death of me, by this time I had started knitting and not so much of the quilting, my machine was having issues, so I was having issues. But I think it turned out good. Isn't she cute?

I am slowly making progress on my Ribby, it is not all that fun anymore since I have a few other projects going. I have to admit that I stress with too many projects, like who to spend the most time with and such things. I feel now that I just need to get a couple done and go from there. I hate having unfinished things, like the Hoody that needs to be finished up, and Ribby. But of course I started the Wrap I listed below from Wrap Style, I need to finish the Michigan scarf (which I spent all lunch today on) and do another damn bag for my sister in law. My efficiency gene is getting me too, I think I need to get them all done NOW.

I am making a lot of progress on the Hoody from VK. Amazingly enough I think I may even wear it one day. I always worry that I do not like my tension it always looks too "homemade" will I actually wear this, but I think I will. Is it possible for certain yarns to knit faster? I think this Cascade 220 knits so much faster than the yarn I am using for the Ribby. I have just finished the back of the hoody, I think it looks great. I started on one sleeve, somehow I forgot to do both sleeves at the same time I usually do, but well not this time. That is Navy and light Grey in case you can not see it so well.

I some other good news, it didn't take Elann long to get the yarn I need in the right color in to finish up Ribby. I am excited to have that on the way to me now. I hate unfinished projects. I hate leaving books unread. I am stressed out by the number of projects I want to make and the lack of time to make them. Anyway I should be able to finish up Ribby soon.

I received the Yarn to make the VK single cable sweater. Also last week I received Wrap Style which I really like, I was going to make something similar to Twisty Turns and had the yarn waiting, and waiting. But in black. I am hoping it will be an easy quick knit. I never thought I would like ponchos, they just don't seem to be me but I like how some of them in this book look.

Starting on Monday I will be spending a ton of time at the Pepsi Center watching these sexy boys. I am excited to have hockey back and have season tickets back. Well even if they are my boyfriends tickets, who else can he take. Here is the dilemma, can I knit at a hockey game? I tried while watching on TV last night and I miss so much. I can't imagine skipping 2-3 nights a week of knitting all together, so I think I must take the knitting and knit in both intermissions. What else is a girl to do?

While on vacation I only took 2 projects and that was a difficult choice. I hated to leave Ribby behind but I knew I was too far along to make it a trip project, and I thought I might need something easy but yet not utterly boring. I choose to make another Klaralund because of the issues with the first one, being 6 bazillion sizes to big. When I got home I only had about 10 inches left on the second sleeve to finish and it would be done. I have a pre seaming picture.....

I am quite pleased with this one. It may be a touch small but I have yet to block it and hope to get a little there, and well if I ever lose that planned weight loss it would help as well.

I wanted to leave for vacation at a good stopping point on Ribby. So I stayed up late the night before liftoff, I needed to complete the 2 front panels of Ribby before I left. I needed to have just the sleeves to finish when I got back. I was successful. I am still not thrilled with how the stockinette looks on this project. I feel amateur (I am I know) that my stockinette is bumpy, loose then tight just not smooth and flowing. I started to wonder if it was just the yarn, or partially the yarn since the stockinette on my Klaralund looked so nice. I have started to wrap the string around my pinky and I think it helps but I am not convinced I will truly wear this sweater when it is complete, because well it looks handmade in the beginner variety. which makes me wonder why I bought so much more Peruvian Wool to make yet another Ribby one day....

The bag I made for my grandmother which I thought would be a big success, deemed this response in a thank you letter from her: "Thanks for my bag Jeni. I sure like the bag you made for your mother, maybe one day you will make me one like it." The only difference between her bag and my mother's bag are color. One navy and Grey, one maroon an charcoal. Go figure.

This weekend I get to start Ribby's sleeves and hopefully start a Christmas blanket for my father, I would really like to use some of my other wonderful yarn just waiting to be made into a sweater.

I spent the weekend knitting, reading, officiating tennis, knitting and reading. Exciting huh? If only it was not the truth.

I managed to finish up the back of the Ribbi and the beginning of the left side. The farther I get along the more I feel inclined to rip the whole thing and start over. That would give me something to do on the way to NY and such. Hopefully I will be done with round one before we leave, and can decide if it is too small, yet another reason to rip it and start over other than the uneven stitches and horrible looking decreases around the armholes. Here is where I am at.

I had some time to work on my grandmothers felted bag, (I will remember to look up the book and pattern on that one) while at the movies last week. I saw The Island, even though it was entertaining it had a crappy plot. This has turned into my non-distracting project that I can do in the dark or at work during lunch. It is getting close and with my brother heading off for a visit to Grandma soon I have a deadline. I believe I am about 10 or so rows from starting on the base of this one.

I have also decided to make a second Klaralund on our trip. My first turned out huge, really really big. I think some of it was stretching during blocking, it also had some mistakes I would like to fix, so I will most likely go with smaller needles and a smaller size. This also gives me the chance to get a new color since I was not thrilled with the first colorway. I bought Noro Silk Garden in #88 for this. Lighter colors with not so many dark striping. I really did like the colors of my first Klara but there were these large brown/'blackish stripes I did not like so much. And well it being my first sweater I didn't worry as much about the coloring as I did the look and when I started looking at the coloring more I realized it was just odd looking to me. So hopefully the lessons learned the new color will make for a happy second round, even if expensive.

The Michigan scarf has received no attention, and it does have a deadline but it could be fudgeable since the deadline is while I am in NY and I can't very well give it to the person while we are in different states. Nor is it all that much fun, once the bag is done it will be come my distractable project.