Happy New Year!

I hope all out there survived the holidays. The last month for the Husbeast, Peanut and I has been wonderful, joy-filled, adventuresome, and more than a little bit harrowing. Gratefully, we are all ok. On the evening of December 21st, The Husbeast I out headed out into Fort Greene to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement, and the start of our vacation. We never made it to dinner because mere yards from the restaurant we were hit by a car while walking across the street. We were in the crosswalk. With the light. And we were hit by a car making a left turn. An unmarked police car driven by the commanding officer of our precinct. The Husbeast and I were both knocked down onto the street. I freaked and became hysterical. Many, many police cars showed up, as well as an ambulance and we were taken to the closest hospital, which I won't name but will tell you was a filthy, scary public hospital. We were there for 5 or 6 hours with a coterie of 6 police officers making sure we received the best possible care. They checked me out, gave me an ultrasound and kept and eye on Peanut's heart rate. The Husbeast needed his knee x-rayed. Fortunately, we were fine, and Peanut was fine. The officer who hit us came by and apologized - he seemed as genuinely traumatized as we were. We were bruised and sore for a few days, but relatively unscathed. I am still very shaken up, and definitely less trusting of my safety in crosswalks. I consider it a miracle that we escaped disaster.

Unsurprisingly, after that experience, we really NEEDED a vacation. The Husbeast and I had decided a month or so earlier that we would treat ourselves to some spa services and natural wonder in Arizona for the holidays. How prescient was that? A few days after Christmas, we hopped on a plane for Sedona! When we arrived we were greated by such loveliness!

I had never been to the desert before, and was completely awestruck at the scale and glory of it all. While it was just as cold in Sedona as it was in NYC, the towers and canyons of the high desert were an inspiration!

We even made it to the Grand Canyon! Being pregnant, the altitude really hit me. Here in the Big Apple we are essentially at sea level. The Grand Canyon is closer to 7200 feet. We walked around the South Rim all day. Boy was I winded!



They're awfully proud of their javelinas in the Southwest. I loved these two. All in all this was a perfect vacation. We indulged in a couple of massages, were surrounded by natural beauty, ate nothing but delicious food, and stopped for lots of naps.

In knitting news, I've directed my efforts towards making things for Peanut. The first picture is of an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket. I call this my manifest destiny sweater. I started making it when we started trying to get pregnant. I tried to pick gender non-specific colors. The yarn is Lorna's Laces, although I don't remember the color name. I still have to find some buttons for this.

This little lovely is my new subway knitting. It's another EZ pattern. I think it's called the Baby Sweater on Two Needles. I can't remember the name of the yarn I'm using. I bought the day I found out Peanut is a girl. I wanted to make her something lovely.

Also on the needles for Peanut is a blankie. I'm using more Lorna's Laces - it's a superwash merino in a color called Rainbow. I am using a domino, or modular knitting technique but I don't have a specific pattern. I think this blanket is super happy looking, and the yarn is really soft. I'm looking forward to wrapping up my little one in it!

Besides getting hit by a car, my pregnancy is otherwise unremarkable. I thank my lucky stars for this every day. I'm a little more than four months along, and just starting to grow a belly. I haven't had any morning sickness to speak of, and am up about 2 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight. We had an early anatomy scan this week. Peanut is currently 6 inches long and weighs about 6 ounces. I still haven't felt her kick, but I know it can't be too far away. I'll keep you posted!

There's something I've been meaning to tell you...

I'm pregnant! With this little one! We're due on June 16th, 2008.

I'm early into my second trimester, so there's still no bump to speak of, although the mammaries have damn near doubled in size. This photo was taken at 13 weeks.

Some delights have been knitted for the Peanut, as I'm calling the baby, but preggers-induced fatigue makes it impossible to accomplish minor tasks like photographing. Or blogging regularly for that matter.

I'm off to grow a baby.

Re-Cap, or where the heck has Sweetgirl been?

Well, a whole lotta life has been going on, and very little knitting. That's the way it goes sometimes. Here's a bit of a re-cap of the highlights:

1. Took my students to a reading by J.K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall - she really is a lovely woman!

2. Went to Rhinebeck with the gals

3. Bought some lovelies at Rhinebeck, including some hand dyed merino from Brooks Farm Fiber and some lovely laceweight cashmere from Jojoland Cashmere



4. Met my gorgeous new nephew, Henry

5. Have been knitting very slowly and sporadically on my Juliet from Zephyr Style


6. Used my Superpowers and Superfriends to defend the world from non-standard English - Grammar Girl, Contraction Action, and the Punctuation Princess to the rescue!



There is a more exciting and current update pending!

I'm not dead yet.

Just buried under home improvement projects, the start of a new school year, and other miscellanea. Will be back with a real post right quick!

Bring on the wool!

Josephine is consuming an absurd amount of my summer knitting! I have finally reached the v-neck split, and am itching to get this one off the needles. While I am really enjoying this project, the cotton yarn is really hurting my hands. The stitch definition is great, and the sheen is lovely. It still hurts. I am definitely out of love with cotton. Bring on the wool!

While summer lingers on, I have been continuing my home improvement efforts. This latest round involved the outside of my house.

Here's the before: (please note: the numbers on the door are actually printed out on an envelope and taped to the door - thanks previous owner.)

Here's the after: I painted the door and frame (benjamin moore's classic burgundy) - it took 4 coats! I coerced the Husbeast to hang the new number sign, which I had custom made at Home Depot.

In a week or so the construction of our roof deck will begin - it was supposed to go up a couple of weeks ago but the foreman broke his leg. We're also getting estimates to put in an iron fence with a gate, a pretty iron fence! I want to get some wooden lattice to cover the not-so-pretty-stoop and train something pretty to grow up it.

The home improvement continues with the purchase of some lovely fabrics to make drapes for the living room. The pictures don't do any justice to their loveliness. The stripey fabric will be the main panels and the yummy embroidered fabric will be the valance/swag. I purchased some red and gold tassel trim to edge the valance/swag bits. Lush and lovely!

Tomorrow the Husbeast and I are off to Key West, Florida to celebrate my birthday. Don't worry, I'll have some key lime pie for you! Y'all have a slice of birthday cake for me on Monday!

Bbbbbbbootie, that's what it is!

Apparently everyone in the Husbeast's office is procreating - NOW! I've been commissioned to make baby gifts for them, and I figured booties were a pretty easy, quick gift to whip up. The Husbeast paged through my copy of 50 Baby Booties to Knit by Zoe Mellor and picked out these:

I used some Louet Gems Opal that I picked up at the Point the other day. I modified the pattern slightly by including a contrast roll cuff instead of just a cast on edge, and by opting for a 2 by 2 rib instead of 1 by 1. I actually made another pair in the same colors, reversed, but I forgot to snap a photo before the Husbeast absconded with them. Use your imagination.


I'm making slow, steady progress on the knitting projects I'm working on for myself. The body of the Assymetric Cardi is nearly complete. I think I will knit the button bands before I work the sleeves because I am concerned about having enough yarn. I'd rather have button bands and 3/4 length sleeves than have to fudge some sort of contrast color.

I bought some shank-style buttons which I plan on knitting directly into the band. I read about doing this somewhere, I think it's a Lily Chin thing. I have trepidation about buttons falling off and the sweater unravelling with this technique, but I think my fear is unfounded. I've never lost a button off any of my sweaters. Have you ever tried this?


May the wind be in your sails, Miss Susi!
Our dear friend and longtime SnB-er is headed off for a new life on the other side of the continent. Of course, we had to send her off with a communal afghan.

I made the Empire State Building in the center. May it keep her warm and cozy!

Minor leagues = major fun!

This past Saturday, we brought Stitch n Pitch to the minor leagues! Thanks to blogless Ruyth, a whole bunch of the Point's Tuesday night regulars enjoyed a trip to Keyspan Park at Coney Island! We watched the Coney Island Cyclones tromp the Vermont Lake Monsters in extra innings. In attendance were Katy, Ravi, blogless Ruth, Jenn, blogless Susi, blogless Kara, Mary, and assorted menfolk.

Much fun was had by all. In fact, the fun was nearly doubled by a lucky coincidence: it was Sylvester Stallone tribute night! This seemed like a good excuse to play lots of Rocky music and encourage the masses to armwrestle. Sadly, the Sly guy did not show up for the hijinks.

Fortunately, my urge to consume massive quantities of non-nutritious foodstuffs and purchase silly souvenirs was not dampened one little bit.

In knitterly news, I finished the back of Josephine! Huzzah! I'm about 1 1/2 repeats into the front. Things are knitting up slowly these days. Sigh.

My Assymetric Cardi is also moving along at a glacial pace. I'm having a hard time getting the colors right with this one. My camera is old. I need a new camera. Replacing it is on the Stuff-I've-Broken-Recently-And-Need-To-Replace list which includes: blender, food processor, paper shredder, the Husbeast's X-Box, my fancy watch, all the fancy glassware and crystal that shattered when the cabinet shelf broke, and my cell phone. What can I say, I'm an expensive habit.

AT least I'm making some progress around the house. This week I've been installing ceiling medallions and chandeliers. I love my fancy chandeliers! I had to learn how to countersink screws to put up the medallions - very handy!

Here's another one. As an aside, if you're ever looking for crystal chandeliers and don't want to pay a ton of money for them, Ebay is an excellent source. Over the past couple of years, I've bought 5 fancy crystal light fixtures for way less money than the wholesalers on the Bowery sell them.

Singlehandedly, I got this ceiling fan up! It weighs 50 pounds! Who needs a gym?

I might....mmmmmmmmm.......COOKIES!

Jam Thumprints, recipe from Ina Garten. I made the preserves myself - the pink ones are rhubarb, the purple-y ones are sweet, dark cherry. Yummy!