Double Book Meme!!

I was tagged by Mary Beth with a meme.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 or more pages.
"The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People" by Carol Eikleberry, PhD

2. Open the book to page 123 and find the 5th sentence.
What lies ahead of you?

3. Post the next 3 sentences.
An adventure that is both scary and fun. As you pursue your unconventional career goals, you become a hero on a journey - meeting challenges, suffering through adversity, and growing as a person. My friend Laurel Gray (the ethno-choreologist featured in chapter 4) compared her journey to Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz.

4. Then tag 4 people.
Chante , Stacey , Tawana , NessaRenee


I also got tagged by Deborah

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 or more pages.
"The pH Miracle - Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health" by Robert O. Young, Ph.D and Shelley Redford Young

2. Open the book to page 123 and find the 5th sentence.
If you are one of those people who wouldn't know what to have for lunch if it didn't involve a sandwich, or breakfast if it didn't include toast, this may actually be the biggest challenge for you.

3. Post the next 3 sentences.
Focus on what you can have, what is good for you, rather than what you can't have. The Recipes section gives plenty of meal ideas, along with the recipes, to help you on your way. Get rid of mushrooms too - they are fungi, just like yeast.

4. Then tag 4 people.
Saunielle , Carolyn , CarrieM , Nashe'

Whew!! It's tough finding 8 blog friends who haven't been tagged already!!!

More knitting updates tomorrow.

New Logo

So, I got absolutely no knitting done today. But... check out my new logo. The idea has been brewing in my head for a while, and I decided to teach myself some fundamentals in Adobe Illustrator. I am happy with my results. I will be happy for any feedback that you would like to give.

More Cotton Candy!!!

I recently looked at the stash that is taking up space on my clothes closet, and it is overflowing. I can't even contain all of the yarn in the cubbyholes that I built. Yes, the yarn from my last yarn crawl does not have a real home.... sad to say. So, I decided to do some projects to de-stash. I started with this A-line dress for a baby girl. The yarn is Jaeger Baby Merino DK in the color "Yoyo". So, far it looks like 2 skeins will complete the 12-month size of the dress. The pattern is from "Knits, Knots, Buttons and Bows: Projects for Babies", by Lynda Schar. I got the book from www.wowio.com . The site is sponsored by different companies who pay for publishing rights, so you can download the books to PDF free of charge. However, please remember that unauthorized duplication of the PDF is illegal.

Anyways... back to the knitty gritty... Here is the dress with the front complete. I was supposed to do a scalloped edge on the bottom of the dress, but I didn't so of course it started to roll. I plan to do an I-cord edging to get it to lay flat. Although it is tedius, the results are gorgeous, as you can see in my vest from the previous post.
I also made some progress on a crochet project for Deborah. At this point, I have 1 more row of increases to do before working the length of the hat from the crown. It is coming along very nicely, and quickly. My only slight problem is the fact that the yarn is a bit more slippery that I am used to, since it is fingering weight alpaca. But, I have managed to figure out how to crochet without having the yarn split on me. Cherry Tree Hill Glitter Alpaca still gets brownie points in my book. It is super-duper soft.

Cotton Candy...and Some Glitter Cakes

My vest is finally finished. Someone mentioned to me that it looks like Cotton Candy. Well, I am really glad that I finally completed it. It is my first FO for the year that I can say is all MINE!!! How sweet it is!!!

Check it out!!! I like the way it fits. It is a little roomy in the waist, because I did not do any waist shaping, but that is just fine. Just in case an after-dinner belly pouch develops, I have some knitted insurance. LOL!!


So, I am on to my next project. A very sweet and loving friend of mine was looking for someone to crochet a hat and scarf set for her. The catch is, she wants to wear it before it gets too hot to wear it. This woman, as sweet as she is, has put me up to a Crochet challenge that I gladly accepted. She really is a good friend and deserves to get what she wants, so I can see her smile more. The pattern is from a Vogue Knitting magazine from Winter 2004/2005. Thank goodness for the holiday weekend. I am trying to at least complete the hat by Easter Sunday. We will see how I do. I have to use a size 3/D (3.25mm) crochet hook. Wish me luck!!

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill's Glitter Alpaca in the Old Rose colorway. It feels soooooo soft, and the color is gogeous. These pictures really do it no justice at all. So, here are two Glitter cakes!!

I'm Almost There!!

I am so intrigued that everyone wants to know the status of my vest. It is almost finished. I set out to finish it tonight, so that I could wear it tomorrow, but my eyes are starting to burn. Here is what happened.

I did a three-needle bindoff, to save myself from having to kitchener the shoulders.

I picked up stitches around the neckline, then did an I-Cord bindoff to make the neckline look more finished.

This is my stopping point for tonight. These I-Cord bindoff's take FOREVER. I keep telling myself "Knitting makes me have more patience". Well, once that's done, it will be done once and for all. Just one and a half more armholes to go. Yippee!! More pictures of me actually wearing it soon. I did try it on after I did the 3 needle bindoff on the shoulders, and it fits this time!!!

Yarn Crawl!!!

This past weekend, I went to Montclair with my knitting buddy Deborah to meet up with Kim for a long overdue yarn crawl adventure. Usually, we meet once a week if our schedules allow it, and we get to sit down for 30 minutes during our lunch breaks to talk, eat, and knit. Every day we leave, we are saying that we need to spend some time together that is not controlled by Corporate America. So, this past Saturday was that time. We ate at Raymonds, then went to Modern Yarn and Stix N Stitches.

I was super-excited to FINALLY go to Modern Yarn. Walking in there was so serene, calm, and beautiful. The people were very friendly, and the atmosphere was just warm and inviting. Kind of like a knitting spa.. LOL!!
I was looking at the website and drooling at the iKnit T-Shirt. They had it in light pink, but when I asked for it I was told that my size only came in Fuschia. Yippee!!! That was even better. Also, I saw the yarn that I was longing for. Manos in Mulled Wine (#118). I had bought the last skein at Brooklyn General a few months ago, then I decided that I wanted to make a raglan Cardigan out of it after I saw how beautful Mary Beth's was. However, I did decide to make the whole pattern with Manos, instead of just the yoke. Hence, the need for more yarn. I also bought some sock yarn for a swap gift that I am knitting. Lorna's Laces in Bittersweet. I think that colorway is gorgeous. Hmmm... I may have to get another pair just for myself. The best part is that the impending sweater will match my T-shirt that I love so much. Woohoo!!

So, as I was calmly knitting my vest, I hear someone say "Shameka, you don't know me but I love your blog". I am like "me???". I was taken aback, and delighted at the same time. I didn't know that I had fans out there. So, I finally got to meet Blog-Free Kelly, from Kim's blog. It was such a pleasure. She made me laugh so hard, and had such wonderful stories. Here is a picture of her and Kim Together. Gabriel is there in the corner, refusing to have her picture taken.

However, Deborah "accidently" caught her in the background of this pic. Honestly, I don't know if it was intentional, but she still got the shot. Great job, Deb!! Here I am in the picture, holding my vest. I had just finished putting the neckline on waste yarn, so that I could work the last section before seaming.

Here is a picture of Kim working on a sock for a little girl that is gonna be so happy. The girl's favorite color is orange, so she should be very delighted.

Here are the three knitting Divas of the financial district!!! Oh, yeah... I am responsible for the cookies on the table. I can't help it if I have a sweet tooth. We also split a Red Velvet cupcake, and it was sooooooo good.

So, our second stop was Stix N Stitches. I had to pry myself away from the sock yarn. I was so tempted to buy some Austermann Step. I thought that this store was bigger and a lot roomier than a lot of other stores that I have seen, so I decided to capture the moment. Yes, I think I have finally mastered the Self-portrait. LOL!!!

So, here are my spoils. I have wanted to make the Gathered Pullover since this magazine came out. I have a pair of boots, and a bag to match already. The Berrocco Ultra Alpaca is just soooo soft. I cannot wait to dig into it. More on the actual knitting progress tomorrow. I also have plans for an A-line baby dress for a long-time friend. She is having her first baby girl, and I need to get rid of some of my stash. The vest did not use as much yarn as I originally calculated. So, I will be making it with the same Jaeger Baby Merino DK yarn. I will be using a pattern from "Knits, Knots, Buttons and Bows.. Projects for Babies" by Lynda Schar.

Meka got a Haircut!!!

Just wanted to inform you, especially Deborah (who gave me her honest opinion of the dislike of the color of the sunbleached, post-carnival dried and fried hair). I got my hair done!! I relaxed it, cut off about 4 inches, and toned it down a bit, so it doesn't look so brassy. See.. blondes don't ALWAYS have fun. We sometimes have to put in hard work. LOL!!

BEFORE - at a Party Thursday night.

AFTER - today at 3 PM - My face isn't usually that BIG, but this was the self portrait, and you know how tricky those can be. Well, those curls were actually made with a 1 inch ceramic flat iron, some pins, and some holding spray. No more spending an hour under the hair dryer. Woohoo!!
With a hat on - got someone else to take it this time. And yes, that is the Chunky Cable Hat that I designed. I know, I know, I am working on making the pattern look very presentable before I post it. I don't mean to keep you waiting, but I want it to look nice before I distribute it all over the internet. How does this look for the profile picture????

So, basically in about 2 months my hair will revert back to its curly wash-and-go state because it does not like to behave.

It already flopped, because of the Monsoon that I had to travel through today. But, I still like it. The style was done by a cut and color specialist who graduated from Dudley's University. She goes back to take seminars, and they usually ask her to teach and demonstrate. How cool is that???

Knitting News......

I completed the armhole shaping in the front of my Vest, but nothing that is notable of a photo. More knitting updates to come!!

More Progress!!!

I completed the back of my vest. I left the stitches live, so that I can do a three needle bindoff for the shoulders. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, it is time to finish the front. I tried it on, and it fits... but I couldn't get mommy to take a photograph. Maybe tomorrow. We will see how far I get.
Aside from that, I have decided to commit myself to the Sit N Knit sock exchange. I am not sure what sock I will be making just yet, though. Any suggestions???

4 Days Later.. Making Progress!!

I have made some progress on my vest. The current total length is about 12 inches. I am going to add an extra inch to the length, then proceed to split the front and back, and do the armhole shaping. So, I am almost back to the point where I originally frogged it. Here are some pictures comparing it to the sweater that fits really well. It is about 1 inch wider, but I can live with that. It leaves room for a button-down shirt to be worn below the vest.



Taking control of your knitting is very liberating!!!! I am smiling for real now.