'Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time; plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines'

Many apologies for the time lapse between posts. It has been a whirlwind three weeks of frantically seaming the lacy dress, entertaining travelers to this Subtropical ‘Paradise’ I call home, traveling to exotic temperate climes (right), and celebrating my golden birthday! The lacy dress is still not finished. It’s about halfway seamed, and the rest is held together by safety pins. But my visiting friend saw it and loved it. She saw it without the seams attached and liked it better sleeveless than with the pattern’s bell sleeves. I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing, but I have decided to put this project on hold for now. There’s no chance I’ll wear it before next May, and I have dozens of cooler-weather projects I’m itching to start.

First up is a super secret gift project that can’t be discussed on here for fear that the recipient will catch wind. But also on the books is the Tilted Duster from the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits. I ordered my Berocco Peruvia in Tabaco (brown), and it arrived last week. I can’t wait to start! And I’m also planning to make a few more of Cheryl Niamath’s Fetching fingerless gloves. (Aside: this was the first pattern I tackled after knitting many long rectangles, which I taught myself to do while living in A Very Cold Place back in 2004. I took a break from knitting while I went to grad school in the Cusp of Subtropical Paradise and picked it back up about this time last year when I lived in Glorious Seasonal Bliss. The pattern makes for great public transportation knitting, so I made four pair last fall. The pair I kept for myself are beginning to look a little ratty, thus the need for some new ones. Not that I’ll really need them here in ‘Paradise’—maybe my office will get cold or something.) But really, the renewed Fetching interest is due to my discovery of a SubPar LYS that sells Debbie Bliss!

So that is what’s on slate for the next month or so. In other exciting knitting news, I met the Yarn Harlot a couple weeks ago! She was amazing—just as funny and entertaining in real life as in her blog and books. Check out her post on New Orleans. She gets it.

And let's not forget my glorious knitting-filled birthday. OK, I didn't actually have any time on my birthday to knit, but I got lots of knitting-related presents, including Vogue Knitting, Maryjane's Stitching Room, and some great DVDs for watching while knitting: Planet Earth and Breakfast at Tiffany's!