Prediction: CORRECT

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So I'm bloggin' because The Office is a re-run. I'm still half-watching it while I type. It's a sickness and I don't know how I will survive until the new season starts.

So anyhow, my sweater IS in fact completed!!! I stayed up until 1AM last night finishing it up. It turned out pretty well. Here's some pics:

The Back:

The Front:


But...

I don't think The Sweater is looking good with The Skirt. There is something amiss. I can't quite put my finger on it. So I now have a new skirt and new sweater without anything to wear either one with. I also have new shoes I don't think I'll be wearing anywhere either. You all know what this means--tomorrow I am fighting the mean fight on the streets, looking for The Dress. And problably The Shoes. Maybe even The Jacket. More money down the drain, just what I need right now!

So I am a great fortune teller, at least. Too bad over the weekend I couldn't see a bunch of yuck heading right for me. I attended a bachelorette party Saturday and had a great time. Sunday looked a little different. My boyfriend's parents were staying with us and I was hurting. They all went shopping and I stayed home to let the Bayer do its job. It took quite a while but I felt better towards evening and even managed to eat some dinner. Then I realized I had lost my wallet!

I ended up getting the wallet back. The cab driver had it in his cab, but I had to cancel my ATM card as well as my credit card and order new ones just in case. Which have not arrived even though I was promised they would be here by now (take that National City and Chase)!

So then I go back to work and my boyfriend's parents leave and the world returns to normal. Went knitting at the Bee Hive too and had a good time and made good progress on The Sweater. Enter Tuesday. Enter the phone call from Kay. She's my mom. I usually call her Kay. Kay and I are talking and I am in a bit of a grouchy mood and am not being especially nice to Kay. Then she lets me know her cancer is back. She's been in remission for about 12 years now, fought and won the fight over breast cancer. Kay is one tough lady but no one should have cancer twice. They don't know yet if it's breast cancer come back or lung cancer yet so she needs to have a biopsy. I'm still reeling over this as I type it out here. I keep bursting into tears at odd moments. I was ironing a shirt for work yesterday and thought about how much she wants grandchildren and doesn't have any yet, and maybe I need to hurry up and get pregnant just in case, for her. That's pretty wrong, don't you think? To have a child for your parent?

So Kay and Bill (my dad) are coming Saturday and then I will drive them to the wedding. So tomorrow is all about cleaning the house, going to Whole Foods and Giant Eagle, shopping for a dress/shoes/jacket, getting a money holder for the lucky couple and finding time to cast on something new. My fingers are feeling that itch, the "I just finished the project I was focusing all energy on and now I have nothing to do" itch. I'll let you know where that takes me...in the mean time, hope you all have good health and good knitting.

Fortune Teller

I can see into the future. It's no lie. I see me searching last minute for something specific. Trailing all over town, looking in all the local stores as desperation sets in. I start considering the purchase of items I normally would pass on by. I can narrow this down even more to an exact date! What other soothseer or sage could do this? It will occur on the eve of the 27th of the merry month of May, mark my words. How do I do this? Crystal ball? Tarot cards? Tea leaves, a rubric system, scrying?

By KNITTING, my friends, by knitting. You see, I am doing what no knitter should ever attempt to do---create a sweater to wear to an important event that is less than a month away. It all started in a bookstore, which I won't name here to avoid any litigation for slander. So I'm in this large bookstore in front of the knitting books and I'm browsing. There is a group of women off to my right on some couches and such knitting who basically ignore me even though I'm purusing KNITTING books (which I thought was very rude of them). So I'm looking through all sorts of books--books on cabling, books on baby-wear, books on knitting items for the home. I then stumble on a book I had considered purchasing a while back. Alterknits by Leigh Radford.

I flip through the book again, looking to see if there is any of the initial magik, that rosy glow of loveliness about the pages that made me consider it long ago. And there it was, my source of inspiration, my muse. The Sweater.

I had just bought a $20 skirt in Target. To wear to two weddings. I originally planned to buy a proper dress, the kind that would make heads turn and people sigh as I walked, no floated, past them. The kind of dress you put on and feel happy in, just cause you're in it and know it's cute and it makes your butt look good. I tried on some dresses but none were The Dress. Some were ok, some were awful, and some did not even fit. The Dress was proving to be elusive.

Then came The Skirt. As I checked out some pants in Target, I spied a light grayish blue frock, 100% cotton and light as air. Thoughts of floating resurfaced. I tried it on and thoughts of dresses drifted away...so I left with the skirt (and the pants and some cute underwear).

So now I am in Giant Mega Bookstore Land and I decide I will make up my own pattern for the corset-style tank sweater from Alterknits. The Sweater. I study the picture, close the book and head to Michael's two stores away for yarn. I leave with 6 skeins of white Lion brand Microspun, my head swimming with visions of my wedding wear.

Not a whole lot of hope is left. Time is running out. Can this dream be saved? Has anyone else out there ever done this? Will The Sweater be completed in time? Or am I the best fortune teller this side of the Mississippi? Tune in to find out!

The Beginning

Welcome to my new blog!
I am finally catching up with the large segment of society who share their lives with complete strangers. I guess this calls for a bit of an introduction. I moved to the Pittsburgh area almost a year ago from the Outer Banks in North Carolina, specifically, the town of Kill Devil Hills. Now, the Outer Banks is a much different setting than the city I currently live in and I must say, I think I have adapted well to city life. Prior to NC, I lived in Colorado but I hail from Pennsylvania originally.

This past year has been fantastic. I have gone to Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates games, enjoyed the Carnegie Museum of Natural Science, watched the St. Patrick's Day parade and rang in the New Year with Brett Michaels in Station Square (no he was not my date, he was the entertainment). I saw Gaelic Storm at Irish Fest and some lesser known but musically gifted bands in the bars along the South Side. I have gotten lost and then found my way back to some known street or landmark. I have sat at the Point and closed my eyes and imagined all who have been there before me, the native Americans, French and British soldiers, deer and bear and racoon and owl, as two rivers joined to make a third. I have ridden the T and smiled at the colorful Pittsburgh accent of fellow passengers. I survived a winter of sliding down unplowed city streets in my car on my way to work. I have done OK in this crazy city and I think I love it more each day.

I also joined a knitting group and have started (and sometimes even finished) several projects. I hope to document my creative side in this blog. Feel free to comment on my words and my works, however, note I can be quite sensitive at times so please keep the criticism constructive. Thanks for visiting and I'll be back soon!