sequinK

chilly in chi-town

I just got back from Chicago last night (client meeting) and boy howdy was it cold!  It's amazing to me how it can be in the sixties one day, then the next drop down into the twenties AND snow -- bbbrrrr!  That's some crazy-ass weather action right there, that's for sure,...

So I'm glad to be back, and thankful not to have any major travel happenings over the next few weeks.  Now maybe we can actually GET THE NEW STOVE IN and GET OUR WEDDING PLANS FINALIZED already.  And do our taxes, of course, but that's a total other frustrating, pisser of a story I won't bore you with here.  I did have some happy mail waiting for me when I got in, though.  My Secret Pal struck not once, but twice!

Like this:

And like this:

How cute are all these goodies?  Thanks SP, you're so thoughtful!  And when I got to work today, I realized that I have the perfect place for the sheepies to live:

I think they'll be happy there, don't you?

So moving on into actual knitting news, I finished the left front of the Must Have cardi over the weekend, and cast on for the other front right before leaving for Chicago.  I went back and forth for a while, trying to decide at what point in the diamond cable pattern to start the v-neck decreases, and settled on starting them half of a pattern repeat after casting off for the armhole.  The V-neck might be a little high, but it's not like I'll ever button it up all the way (hopefully).  I also did short rows for the shoulder shaping rather than casting off stitches -- I'm going to try using the three needle bind off to join the back and fronts and see how that works.

So happy Wednesday to everyone!  Rock and roll and all that good stuff, will you?

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How sweet is my Secret Pal??  This package of goodies (with happy stickers all over the envelope, even!!)  was sitting on my doorstep last night.  I love the very cute bear, and the photo album is just luxurious in its rich, red leather goodness.  My SP also included a pink breast cancer awareness bracelet and a cute card.  Yay!  Very thoughful and sweet -- thank you!!!

I'm also trying (a-hem) to clean up my navigation bars and keep my galleries and lists current on my site.  I've added a heading on the left hand nav bar -- "Pattern Mods and Tools" -- which contains links to some pattern mods and tools (hence the name!) that I've developed over the past few months:  the Ponchofication of Charlotte, row-by-row stitch counts for Meg Swanson's Mananita poncho/shawl thing (not included in the pattern if you can believe it!), and a couple of documents relating to the Must Have cardigan.  So knock yourselves out -- or not!  At least now I know where I can always find them!

I don't talk much about wedding stuff here, but I did want to share that I **think** I've figured out where we're getting our invitations.  I originally had a fantasy that I'd make the invites myself, but since we're living in the real world, I found Plume Press in Oakland.  So if the numbers and logistics work out, I will live vicariously through them.  Gorgeous letterpress invitations!  We're getting married at a historic victorian mansion, so the look and feel of their designs are a good fit.  I sure hope these work out -- one more thing off the list is a good thing!