A New Year

It’s been a long time since I last blogged. There’s been too much going to and fro to sit down and take stock. But I should try to catch you up with all that’s going on, especially since I am going back to work on next Monday. I will be a contractor for Pfizer in their regulatory department. I will be writing submissions for re-registering the Wyeth products under the Pfizer name. I can write like a lawyer and summarize things very well. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately for you, I don’t use that skill here. Ii figure you want all the messy juicy language



I last left you with my Rhinebeck experience. I then went to Stitches East with two knitting friends, Cindy and Cheryl. They are part of the group that gets together at my LYS (well the one I frequent the most) for open knitting. We didn’t have classes together but it was nice to have someone to have meals with as we were staying in the same hotel. I then went on from Hartford to Cape Cod to see my high school boyfriend. I was nervous seeing him again after 42 years. Funny thing, I recognized him right away. I’m not sure what he thought since I’m twice the size I was in high school. But he was too much of a gentleman to say anything. He did try to start up where we had left things but I’m a bit too old for making out now. And I’m still not ready for someone to replace Robert. I’d like to have a companion for my old age, but … We did catch up and do talk every now and then. I’m glad I got back in touch with him and the old college boyfriend/fiancée. I found that one is still the nice guy I remembered and the other is still the adolescent, head turned by big boobs and accessibility. I’m no slouch in the boob area, been a D or E cup since 30. But I wasn’t always around so he went for the closest thing around. And unfortunately for him, he’s still in that mode so he’s had three wives and is probably married to #4. And he’s married the same type every time, insecure, jealous and looking for a pay day. I wanted to send a wedding gift to his fiancée and she questioned the hell out of me. I explained I had no interest other than friendship with him and that it was just a gift to wish them happiness in their life together. She turned all belle (a NC native) and turned the gift down. I’m not sure who did it, but I was un-friended on Facebook which really pissed me off. He claimed it was a problem with his computer, but Facebook doesn’t just drop one person as a friend and not everyone else. And even if it did, he didn’t do anything to remedy the problem and re-friend me. So I found out that he is still the stupid jerk he was 37 years ago when we broke up.

I have been having a hard time with transferring programs from my old computer to this new one. The one I’m really having a problem with is the Intertwined charting program. So either I am going to spend the big bucks and get Knit or Stitch Illustrator and Photoshop or re-purchase the Intertwined program. Or figure out how to make Excel work the way I want for charts. I do like charts but also want to give written directions for my stuff. And that ain’t happening with some kind of program. I hope Photoshop is somewhat intuitive and that I’ll be able to use it. I’ve heard it can be hard, but that was a while back.

I must confess I did not submit my design for the Vogue contest. I procrastinated a bit and then kept changing the design to the point that there was no time left. I am still working on it for myself and hope to have it done in February to show off.

Next time I’ll talk about Vogue Knitting Live! And all the classes I took there and the knitteratti I saw and talked to. There were some biggies. Bye and happy knitting!

Where do I begin?

I have been so busy doing things that I haven’t made the time to blog. I told you all about the retreat held by the women of The Unique Sheep in the last episode. Two weeks later was Duchess County (NY) Sheep and Wool, better known as Rhinebeck. I went to my first Rhinebeck festival last year and was somewhat overwhelmed. However, I did get to meet Leo Pola otherwise known as MMario. He was there with Auntie Nin, Rarely and a few others whose name escapes me now. I had on my Scylla that I had just finished. Leo recognized it and it did get photographed by several people. He did say the design wasn’t as “viney and tendrilly” as he imagined, but like the execution. This year I was in less awe of the place and saw more. That in turn led to me buying more. I finally got all the yarn I need to do the Civil War Shawl. I had picked up a yak and silk blend from Skaska Yarns last year, but it wasn’t enough to do the whole thing. I got more this year. Thank goodness it doesn’t have a dye lot. But I will be alternating between the three skeins I have for the project just to be safe. I found the Fiber Optic booth and bought a beautiful red fingering weight for Leo’s current mystery shawl KAL. I also picked up some pencil roving in a beautiful coppery/ green autumnal color way. I was turned onto this yarn by Bad Cat of Bad Cat Designs. I took part in her Summer Swatch Me KAL and saw their yarns there. Bad Cat had used some of their yarns to do bookmarks with the different pattern stitches. The color of the yarns were so lovely and saturated, I knew I wanted some. I picked up some Shetland 1 ply for an heirloom shawl pattern that I recently purchased. Then I hit the Sanguine Griffon booth. The line was ridiculous on Saturday, so I went back on Sunday and got some of their DK wool for a sweater. I was there early so the line to check out was a bit more manageable. I went to the Ravelry meet-ups on both days. Saturday was massive, but I did get to talk to some designers and bloggers I follow. I talked to Ysolda Teague and Amy Herzog. I looked for Anna Dalvi but couldn’t find her in her World Heritage shawl. And then I stopped at the Fold to score some Blue Moon Fibers’ Socks that Rock yarn. I found a booth that was run by the Duchess County Spinners Guild. I picked up a beautiful hand-spun, hand dyed yarn there. It was a variegated blush pink to dusty rose. Not normally my colors, but it was love at first sight. I normally like pinks in combination with creams and greens, you know, the Santa Fe color scheme. I may add a solid green to it because I may not have quite enough for a sweater. I’m on the low end of what I would normally buy on speculation, but they didn’t have any more. I do have the spinner’s contact info, but I’m not sure if she could duplicate it well enough to get another skein. I was thinking of a cardigan anyway, so all the edges can be in a contrasting or coordinating color. And if I do a lace design and continue losing weight as I have been, I may be okay with what I bought when I get around to knitting it.


I have committed to doing a design for the Mohair contest being run by Vogue Knitting in conjunction with their Vogue Knitting Live event. I have finally come up with a design that I like. It is a bohemian, romantic feel with lace and ruffles. I think the haze from mohair translate well to a more romantic design. Now to write the pattern and knit it. I have the gauge swatch done and drying as I write this. Wish me luck in finishing it before the Dec 1 deadline. At least the sample can be made in a small. Less knitting than if it were for me. More to come on the NYC yarn crawl and Stitches East in the next few episodes. Bye

Fall Comings and Goings

This is a posting I started a while back.  I have written several that never got posted.  I will be posting them now.  Hopefully I will be better at blogging this year.

Late September and October have become very busy with all things fiber. I ended September by going to a retreat held by The Unique Sheep in Andrews, NC. It was two days of knitting, dyeing, spinning and all thing fiber. Laura and Kelly held the retreat at the Hawksdene House. It was situated in what appeared to be a regular neighborhood. The house had quite a bit of acreage around it so that once you were on the property, you felt quite isolated from the other houses. There were four cottages and the main house which we occupied. The cottages all had fireplaces and screened in porches. We had dinner on a covered patio which had an outdoor kitchen and a massive fireplace. There was a second area with a fire pit where we made s’mores. The two innkeepers provided us with wonderful meals, comfortable places to mingle and mix and a very relaxing atmosphere. There were several dogs and cats around along with llamas and a donkey. I wanted to take both dogs home with me and Laura wanted the donkey.

I took classes on spinning, dyeing and mosaic knitting. Laura taught the dyeing class. I had a lot of fun dyeing up several hanks of lace weight alpaca and wool. The things we did with red, blue, yellow fuchsia, brown and black was amazing. Here are some photos from my class.

Laura’s mother, Jan, taught needle felting and spinning. I had never attempted spinning before. And since I have lousy hand-eye coordination, I really didn’t think I would do well at this. But Jan got us started with a top whorl drop spindle and I got a feel for it using pencil roving. Then she taught us how to draft and park the spindle. I was able to do that and came away with some art yarn. I had never gotten the hang of drafting before. I had tried doing it to knit a mobius scarf using roving quite some time ago. I just couldn’t get the staple length right so I was always breaking the roving or having really thick areas. That made knitting quite impossible. This time, I got drafting and could actually do it without breaking the roving. Okay, I did break it once but I got it back together so I could keep on spinning. We then plied the single yarn we made. We discussed how to ply to keep long color runs in our yarn by Navajo plying. We had single color roving so we plied it by letting it spin back on itself. It was fun and I made some yarn. Yippee!

Susan Pandolf taught mosaic knitting. Some of us made eyeglass cases or small envelope purses while others worked on swatches to learn the technique. The more ambitious ones started on the Bag’s End Bag that Susan has designed as part of her Lord of the Rings series. The bag was just released for purchase on her website/blog, A Few Stitches Short, http://www.afewstitchesshort.blogspot.com/. Laura and Kelly have worked up some kits for the bag as well. You can find them on their website, http://www.theuniquesheep.com/.  You'll see some eye candy for knitters at both sites.  There has been a buzz on Ravelry on Susan's Even Star shawl.  You can see the finished product and get the pattern on her site.  And Laura and Kelly  colorways are gorgeous.  Their gradient colorways are so much fun to work with.  They gave a class on working with gradient yarns which I did not take.  I figured that since I've done a pair of socks and the Moon Fleet shawl with their gradient yarns and I had to choose only three classes, I could skip that one.  Plus, I really wanted to try the three techniques I chose.

I'll give you a preview of the next few postings continuing the season of fiber.  New York City held their second annual  yarn crawl over Columbus Day weekend which I attended. The Duchess County Sheep and Wool, better known as Rhinebeck (after the town where it's held), is the weekend of Oct 16.  Stitches East is at the end of the month in Hartford , CT.  That all for now. Bye.

A New Chapter

Today I did one of the things I never thought I would do.  I decided a few days ago that I would sign up to sell Avon.  I was contacted by one of the district leaders and met with her today.  At the end of the meeting, I had signed on.  I had known some women who worked for Avon when I was a member of Women in Flavors and Fragrance Commerce (WFFC) back in the early 80's.  I was impressed with the company then although I was a cosmetics snob.  I had interned for Eli Lilly Co in 1978 when I was going to pharmacy school.  I was assigned to work with the men who developed color products for Elizabeth Arden which was owned by Eli Lilly at the time.  I worked on replacing delisted color in lipsticks, gloss and blushers at first.  The only other women in the group was a Czech woman who developed the lipsticks.  The men developed and tested the powdered blushers, eye shadows, the cream blushers, lipsticks, bath products and perfumes.  They wore eye shadow, liner and mascara in the office to test how it wore in real life situations.  This sometimes brought about weird stares from the people who worked in the drug division when they forgot to take the make-up off when they went to lunch or meetings with corporate.  But I had associated Avon with less than high quality goods.  After all, how could it be that good if it was that inexpensive? I learned better during that summer at Lilly..  The researchers at Avon know more about skin than many working at the high priced cosmetic companies.  In fact the high priced companies are following what Avon has been doing in the past years.  I know we copied the colors that Avon, Lancome, Revlon and Maybelline had put out the season before.  And since I am really into taking care of my skin and think all women should do that,  but maybe can't afford a regimen that costs over $100 when it's all put together.  I will sheepishly admit that I've paid that much just for a jar of moisturizer in my search for products that won't irritate my skin.  Somehow, I became allergic to some of the ingredients used in products for sensitive skin.  I've tied Elizabeth Arden, Lancome, Clinique, Revlon, Bobbie Brown, Victoria Jackson and Erbe Dermocosmetica.  Within two months of use, they have all left my skin burning and red to the point I'm at the doctor getting topical steroids for my skin.  I talk to the person who sold me the products or contact the company but basically get no where because of the time span it takes for the symptoms to develop.  I can't (and won't) even  tally up the money I've spent on all of them.  Now I'm going to try Avon and see how they do.  Honestly, they can't do any worse than the others.  So I'm asking you if I can be your Avon Lady.  Leave me a comment and I'll get you access to the site where you can see the products, process your order and provide little goodies for you.

Here are some pictures of my latest creation.  It is the Yleonore's Sampler from MMario KKnits.  I made it in a 70% silk/ 30% cashmere lace weight yarn from China I got on eBay.  I am really impressed with the quality of the yarn.  It blocked well and feels wonderful.  The yellow is very rich as you can tell from this photo.   This one will be going on my website where it will be available for sale.  More on that later.

And here it is modeled by my friend Angela.  I hope to have my first pattern ready to publish in my next edition.  It's for a cowl I designed for
Team ColourMart during Ravelympics 2010.  The first post will be for the lace wight original.  That will be followed by a version in sock weight yarn.  Bye.

I'm Back

This was a tough month for me.  A week after the July 4th holidays, I came down with a miserable sinus infection.  It was viral so there really wasn't any need to go to the doctor because they can't do much for viral infections.  So I was miserable for about a week and a half.  Just vegged out, coughing, sniffling and sleeping.  Once I started to feel better, I got to trying to clean up around the house.  I really have no motivation to keep the house spotless.  Well, not the motivation I used to have.  It's funny, I'm a better housekeeper when I'm working even though I have less time to do it.  I procrastinate now.  No, I've always procrastinated in my life.  Not to the very last minute, but close.  I blame it on having to take care of the house when I was a kid.  Mom worked and I cleaned the house to help out and earn my allowance.  I started helping out when I was in third grade by starting dinner when I came home from school.  Yes, I was a latchkey kid back in the 60's.  Funny, I didn't think much of lighting a gas oven back then, but now I think who would let their eight year old do that now.  I was sort of like an only child since there is a 10 year difference in ages between me and my older brother.  Looking back, I was a very responsible child, more like a miniature adult.  I never had a set bedtime.  I just decided when I would go.  It was later than most of my friends' but not unreasonable and earlier than I see a lot of my friends have for their children now.  When I was 15, Mom bought a little store/deli on Ocean Ave in Point Pleasant Beach about a block from where Jenkinson has its aquarium.  I was down there yesterday looking for something unique to New Jersey to bring as a hostess gift to a knitting retreat at the end of the month.  The store is now split into a bagel shop and laundromat.  I spent 2 summers working there with Mom.  It's where I learned how to run a slicer, cut up chickens and cut up meat.  Spent the mornings getting the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia papers together for sale at 7 AM, ran the cash register most of the day and help Mom close the store around 9 PM.  I got one afternoon off to go to the beach.  I came back from the shore almost as white as when I went down.  I worked for two summers and did not get paid.  I did get a used '66 Mustang coupe when I was 16 1/2 and had my learner's permit.  I had that car for a year and a half until I went to college.  Then Mom and Dad sold it while I was away.  They said they really didn't need three cars with me away in school.  I could use one of theirs when I was home for vacations.  That meant I used Mom's car, a 1968 Mercury station wagon.  I took my driver's exam with that car or should I say boat.  Needless to say, it was a great comedown from my '66 Mustang.  I didn't have a car of my own again until my last year of college.  I got Mom's '72 Maverick.  It was a fast car, had the same V-8 engine that powered the '68 station wagon and maybe weighed 2/3 the weight of the station wagon.  I had the car on campus and could go where ever I wanted.  And since I had a very light schedule for my last year (more about that in another posting to come), I did enjoy the car.  On a trip to see my boyfriend (more about him to come too), I had the car doing 110 mph on the I-77 going from Marietta to Canton.  I blew past a state trooper and luckily he didn't stop me.  I was about the only car on the road but I guess he didn't want to chase me down.

Boy, did I take a turn down memory lane there.  So once I recovered, I took a trip to Delaware to see my brother and sister-in-law.  He finally retired from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield this summer, about 6 years after he really wanted.  But he's now starting up a consulting business for insurance brokers.  I think my sister-in-law is relieved.  I love my brother but he can be a pain and is somewhat spoiled.  Since Linda (my sister-in-law) was a stay at home mom, she waited on my brother.  So now that he's home, he still expects it.  He's not real bad, but will ask her for a cup of tea and dessert at night rather than getting it himself.  He just generally disrupts her day, expecting meals at certain times etc.  She had her routines down and maybe not eat lunch or have a really small one.  At least he hasn't started going with her to the store and such.  That used to drive my mother crazy when Dad did that.  He wanted out of the house and she wanted the time alone. Hopefully working 20 hours a week will get him out of her hair long enough.  Linda isn't a knitter as such.  She can knit but it isn't her thing.  She is into needlework, mainly crewel and needlepoint. She's joined the Needlework Guild in Delaware.  During my visit, she took me to a store in Bethany Beach, Sea Needles, which caters to both needlework and knitters.  They even carried homespun from local spinners on the Delmarva peninsula.  I was pretty good and only got some Kolliage sock needles (square 5" double points) and two ball of Mini Mochi.  I haven't found any Mini Mochi in my local stores so I was really interested in trying it.  It feels wonderfully soft and the color is remarkable.  I got a colorway that goes from purple to blue to green, a favorite colorway of mine.  I started a pair of fingerless mitts on the Kolliage needles and that was a mistake.  The yarn is too soft an slippery for metal needles.  I had needles sliding out at least expected times.  Luckily, I had brought some bamboo double points so I transferred the mitts to those and it was much better.  I had been using the bamboos to experiment with the one stitch below technique.  I had some Dale Heilo from another project so decided to do the mitts in the book.  I planned to use them as a nurses' gift for Caring for Cooper.  I switched needles (both a 2.25 mm or US2) and was much happier on both projects.  The Mini Mochi didn't slide off the needles and the Kolliage needles didn't split the  Heilo like the bamboos did.  The metals were a bit sharper so it made going into the row below a lot easier.  A little thing, needle composition, can make knitting so much better or so frustrating.  Slippery yarn and slippery needles can make any project a disaster.  Changing to a more grabby needle can make all the difference.  And the choice of needles is so random among knitters.  A lot of times, it's based on what needles are available or your LYS carries.  But try to take a few minutes and really look at your needles, yarn and project before starting.  Are you going to be digging into stitches, as in the knit one below patterns or lace with it's double decreases?  Is the yarn smooth or fuzzy?  Is it grabby like some wools or slick like bamboo or silk?  Is the pattern mainly stockinette or garter or is it all cables or bobbles?  Are the points of the needles pointy or dull?  The answers to these questions will effect the choice of needle material, manufacturer and even length.  So take a moment and think before you grab a set of needles for your next project.  If you do, it can make a big difference in your enjoyment of the project.  Bye.  

Bad Blogger

That's what I am.  I guess it's because I don't think that I'm very interesting.  And lately I've been feeling very scattered. I have a bad case of startitis.  That's not my usual.  I usually finish what I start before going on to the next.  Or at least, I have only one type of project going at a time.  Like I have only one lace project, one mindless knitting, one heavily patterned, you get my drift.  Right now I have at least 5 lace projects, a pair of socks, the gift for my nephew and at least one charity knitting project.  And I got another charity project off the needles last night.  Then there are at least 5 other projects that need to be blocked and finished.  Only one of the lace projects has any business being on the needles, well maybe two.  I'm doing Bad Cat Designs' Summer Swatch Me Knit Along. It's still in progress since summer isn't over.  I'm up to date with the clues despite starting late.  We have 4 or 5 swatches left to finish the sampler shawl, just the edgings.  The second lace project that has some rights to be on my needles is the MMario design, Ylenore.  I would have finished this, but ran out of yarn.  I thought the 1000 m I had of a lace weight 70% silk/ 30% cashmere blend I had would be enough.  I need at least 500 m more. So I went back to the seller on eBay and got 1000 m more (2 balls).  Now I'm waiting for it to come from China.  They said it could be here in as little as 7 days or as many as 21.  I've been really surprised by this yarn.  I haven't had a knot in either ball, it feels wonderful in my hand, and it was really inexpensive.  I got it for $0.99 and $8.95 shipping for the 2 balls.  A silk/cashmere blend for less than $5 bucks a ball is pretty good.   I know telling you about this bargain might not be wise as I may not get this yarn for the minimum bid any longer, but they have quite a few listings, so I'm not  overly worried.  And I want to share with my friends.

So now onto the other UFOs that shouldn't be hanging around.  I have the Moonfleet shawl Knit Along still hanging around.  And two Goddess Knits Knit Along shawls languishing, one since the Fall of 2008 or 2009.  And MMario's Mystery Knit Along from earlier in the year is sitting waiting to be finished.  Then there are the socks for my friend Angela.  Part of it is the pattern, it's a bit fiddly. The ribbon and hearts pattern is different than any other I've done.  I have maybe 2 more repeats to finish the leg on the first sock.  I think it's just a tight knit for some of the stitch manipulations needed for the pattern.  But it's what I need to make sure the sock will fit.  My nephew's throw is big now and hot to have on my lap, so I'm not inclined to work on it. I should get it out and measure it.  I have 5 or 6 balls left so not too much left.  I guess I should do one big push and get it done.  The charity knitting deadline is in mid-October.  So I have some time for that.  But I would like to get a few more pieces done for the hospital.  We'll see, but at least I have 6 things to donate already done.  Maybe one more.  Then there are the 3 sweaters for me that need to be blocked and finished.  That's all they need, seaming and blocking.   Not a lot, but I'm not in the mood.  And I could use 2 of the sweaters now.  They are summer weights, one I designed for myself using a ramie/silk blend from ColourMart.  The other is a bamboo tape yarn made using a sideways pattern off Ravelry.  It really can go 3 seasons so it would be useful too.  I won't use the tape to seam it.  I think it might add bulk to the seam.  I'll use some embroidery floss that matches the main color of the yarn.  Not that it matters that much since I use mattress stitch for these seams and it's invisible.  The third sweater is a vest I made last Feb but haven't seamed up or blocked yet.  It's out of Debbie Bliss Chunky Donegal Luxury Tweed, a winter vest.  I'm in no hurry to do that.  But should get it done and out of the way.  Then I can take stock of what I have for me and plan my knitting accordingly.  I do have yarn to do another Vine Yolk Sweater from the Fall 09 Twist Collection.  I made it in Whisper, an alpaca blend (now discontinued) for winter use.  I want one in a cotton blend for the rest of the year.  I got some Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a dark olive green for it.  Then I have some hot pink Gedifra Top Soft for  Lorelei from that same issue of the Twist Collection.  There are about 3 or 4 sweaters I want to make in the current issue and have the yarn in my stash.  But I won't start anything else until I get this UFO list down.  I promise.  I have a big lace project planned.  I'm going to tackle the Queen Susan Shawl.  I have ordered some hand dyed yarn from Knitivity in Pearl for this.  This pattern is available on Ravelry.  It's an old Shetland shawl that a museum in the UK had published.  A group on Ravelry was interested and made some inquiries.  They wound up working out the pattern and published it with the museum's blessing.  Last time I checked, no one had completed knitting it but quite a few had started.  I haven't gotten the 10 skeins of Dura-Lace from Ray yet.  The shawl is quite big.  I figured out I would need 9 for the estimated amount given in the pattern, but chose to get 10 just in case and since it hasn't been completely knitted.  Queen Susan will be a massive knit on fairly small needles so I need to clear the decks.  So I'm off to knit.  Bye.

Baseball, Butt Cracks and Slow Progress

Today I experienced the phenomenon that is Red Sox vs Yankee baseball.  If you've been reading this blog, you know I am a Yankee fan.  However, I do not hate the Red Sox.  I actually feel bad for them this year.  Given all the injuries they've had this year, it's pretty remarkable that they're in third place.  But there are some fans, both Yankee and Red Sox, that become really obnoxious at the game.  I'm not sure if it's just their personality or the amount of alcohol they've imbibed.  The obnoxious Red Sox fans quieted down when the Yankees tied the game in the bottom half of the inning where the Red Sox went out to a 2-0 lead.  And then some obnoxious Yankee fans gave it to the Red Sox fans when the Yankees took the lead and held it to the end of the game.  Some people do need to learn how to be gracious winners.    Oh, Mr. Buttcrack was back again.  Luckily, this time he had a shirt on that was untucked.  I did catch a glimpse of his red briefs when he reached up, pulling the shirt up a bit.  Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with low riding pants.  It really isn't a pretty fashion statement and it really looks funny when the pants' crotch is halfway to the knees.  I guess this too shall pass, but not fast enough for my tastes.

I'm making slow progress on the Teal (Pink) Ribbon socks I'm making for Angela.  The pattern is a little tricky especially making the ribbon part.  It is also slow going because I started the sock on size 0 needles.  That was the size I needed to make the gauge that was given in stockinette stitch.  I got about 4 inches up from the toe and thought the sock looked too narrow.  I checked my gauge on the bottom of the foot and found that my gauge was off.  So I went up to a size 1 needle and it is at gauge and the circumference of the foot is correct.  I don't know why my first gauge swatch was off.  I did it in the round and stockinette, so it should have been okay.  The only thing I can think that made the gauge off was that I tightened up while doing all the cableling and pattern stitchwork on the top of the foot.  But it should go a bit better now that I'm off the 0's.  At least there will be a few less rows to the inch now.  I have another pair of socks from the Knitters Brewing Co for me waiting.  They are fishnet socks with a flower applique.  I'm not sure I'll put the applique on the socks or use them as a pin or hair clip.  I should get back to working on the shawls for the store I want to start.   I will be selling on Etsy and a stand alone website.  Right now I have only 3 shawls completed and think that I need more inventory than that.  Then I have a bunch of things I want to make for myself.  The latest Twist Collection has come out and there are at least three sweaters I want to make there.  Then there's the 40+ things in my Ravelry queue and the charity knitting I want to do and, well you get the picture.  There are just not enough hours in the day to get all that I want to do done.  I guess I'll either have to grow two more hands, clone myself or prioritize things.  I guess since the first two alternatives aren't going to happen, it will have to be the third.  So I'm off to do just that.  Bye.