and not a stitch was knit

I was out of town again last week for work. I've found that I just cannot knit when I'm on work trips. Even small projects like socks.
So not much progress was made on Josephine but I am almost finished with the back piece. I can't blame work trips for all my slow progress though. I have started a sewing project that has been taking away from my knitting time. Here are the beginnings of a quilt top:

I absolutely love the colors. I can't take credit for picking them out though because they were already bundled together as fat quarters in the store. My mom was big time into quilts when I was younger (she doesn't have the time these days) so I learned how to do it all from her.

Even though I'm spending half my time on sewing I still have a growing list of knits on my list that I want to start as soon as I finish Josephine. I love this Short Sleeve Blouson from the summer Knit 1 issue: What I'm really excited about is that it is knit top-down and in the round!
Next, I really like Zephyr Style's new Tree Jacket. It looks like the perfect cozy fall sweater. And I like the garter stitch and lace details.

I'd better get busy!

A little indulgence

Warning!!! Yarn Pirate Booty Club spoiler at the end of this post! :)

First of all though. Long, long ago I knit Orangina. Remember? So let's see, that was a year ago. Guess how much I've worn this knit since then. Nada. Zilch. ZERO TIMES! it's pretty sad really. The main reason for this was that it was too small. So.....

My Orangina went from this:

...to this:

You know, I didn't feel bad while ripping out all those hours of knitting one single, itty bitty bit. It was quite nice actually, knowing that I would be giving it a new life where it would have a chance of being worn. So, that beautiful Jaeger Sienna cotton will become a Josephine Top from the latest Interweave Knits issue. I was just so inspired by all the gorgeous ones everyone else was making.

Okay, onto the goodies!!

Love, love, LOVE! This is the first sock club that I have ever signed up for and I was so afraid I would be disappointed. That fear was completely unfounded!! I love everything Georgia dyes so I should have known that this would be no exception. She's got real talent. This exclusive club colorway is called Rum Runner. And she also included a small handmade bar of soap that smells wonderful.

Swallowtail Shawl

Wow, sorry to just leave y'all hanging like that! I blocked the shawl imediately after posting the unblocked picture but then got buried with work so I could go on vacation for a week. So, without further ado, here is my Swallowtail Shawl:

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark in the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits

Yarn: Hand Maiden Sea Silk in Ivory; 1 skein

Needles: US #7

Notes: I love how this turned out! My first completed lacy shawl. The size is perfect too. I'm not sure when I will wear it but it was such a fun, satisfying knit! Surprisingly, I had no trouble at all with the nupps (p5tog). I just made sure that I kept it really loose in the preceding row. The pattern was well written and the stitch patterns easy to memorize. I would highly recommend this as a first lace project!

Whew! I'm tired! we went to West Virginia to visit family and just got back this afternoon. It's a 18 hour drive but worth it. Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow. I think I'll be catching up on my blog reading this evening, y'all have been busy this past week! :)

HOT off the needles!

Swallowtail shawl:Just needs a good blocking now.

So, is anyone else getting excited about their Yarn Pirate Booty Club package!? I'm hoping she'll be sending them out soon!

Ugh!

I'm officially sick of the Crisp Rectangle Tunic (CRT) from Fitted Knits. Things just keep going wrong. You may remember that I've already had to rip and reknit the front piece because my guage was off. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm going to run out of yarn. In fact, there is no way I'm going have enough. And that's even with me modifying both the front and back by leaving out several inches to make it a smaller size. To add insult to injury, I just finished knitting the first half of a sleeve on the wrong part of the back. I've been having my doubts about if this thing is even going to fit or not. I think I'm going to have to remove it from my sight for a while and then maybe I'll be able to decide what to do. Who knows if it will ever get finished. I think I'm going to have to move onto something new and exciting.

Actually, it's not all doom and gloom around here. The nupps and I have been getting along great on the Swallowtail shawl. I'm really surprised that I've been enjoying this shawl so much.

It's definitely slowed down a bit because the rows are starting to get really long but I don't think it will be too long before it's finished.