No scratching allowed :(

Finally, a new update!! I've been thinking about it for quite a while, but I'll be honest, I've been lazy about taking pictures and I just feel like I shouldn't really post without a picture. Weird, I know, but it's like, an unspoken blog etiquette/taboo kind of thing to me.

Anyways, I have not gotten a huge amount of knitting done lately. There are a few reasons. For one, I've been keeping busy!! Last weekend we went to the annual BBQ/cookout at my boss' house.

**NERD ALERT SIDENOTE**
Has anyone noticed that grammar rules are changing? I learned that to form the possessive of a word that ends in the letter "s" you just add an apostrophe.
Example: boss'
Now I see people ALL the time forming the possessive with apostrophe "s"
Example: boss's
This is just not right to me, I can't do it.
**END NERD ALERT**

So, we had to bring something for the picnic, so I made cupcakes!!



YUM! I love the funfetti sprinkle icing, but I secretly longed for pretty cupcake flag decorations like my friend Lauren sells in her Etsy shop. They would have been so cute! Next time I have to plan ahead!!


So, why did I tell you this long story in regards to my lack 0' knitting. Well, I got poison ivy at the picnic :( YIKES!! It freakin itches like MAD! I woke up Tues. morning full of what I thought was bug bites. Yea, that was pretty freaky. Come to find out later, it's poison ivy. I've been wearing long sleeves all week because it looks like I have some disease. Fortunately for me, it's been rainy/overcast in the Northeast and it's always cold at work, it hasn't been too bad. I'm now covered in Calamine lotion and I'm refraining from knitting because I don't want to get Calamine or poison ivy goo all over my sweater.

But, although I don't have a picture, I can tell you that I finished one sleeve and just started the second one, YAY! Also, a new Michaels store in my neighborhood just had a grand opening sale last weekend!! I got a coupon for 50% off one item. So, I went and got the cable needle set I've been eying for ages, but refused to pay full price for! AND, I wasn't the only thrifty knitter in the area, I got the LAST set!! I had to stand in line an hour and a half (no joke) but I was not missing out!




Lastly, my newest venture is to learn a bit of crochet. I've been wanting to do this since I bought a small set of hooks for my knitting bag, to catch all those dropped stitches! Well, I spent some time on the web and YouTube and lo and behold, I learned to make Granny Squares:

Maybe not perfect, but great to me! I've made about 10 (it goes so quick) and I'm looking forward to joining them all into an afghan throw!! I had to force myself to stop making them so I could get back to my sweater.

Now, you are all caught up, and I'm itching again, so it's time to redose the calamine before bed!

Oh my!

I have been a BAD blogger!! I am getting settled in quite nicely in Boston and now I'm getting used to my new work schedule. I have a train commute every morning and evening, which can make for a long day when the subways are backed up. But on a bright note, the trains provide me with excellent reading time, so I am burning through books!!

I have been keeping up with some knitting. First, the booty update. I finished the 2nd bootie. I held it next to the first one and realized (1) I made a mistake halfway through, opps!! (2) on the first one I interpreted the pattern differently and did the YO's with a knit stitch in between them. So, they didn't match :( SO, RIP RIP RIP it went and now it's a big pile of yarn. I did cast on again, but was a little disgruntled, so I put this project aside for a little while.

But, the cavern cardi is looking GREAT! Here are some pics of my progress!!

I just finished the main body piece of the sweater, YAY! I'm SO excited because it looks like my gauge is OK and it's going to fit, YIPPEE! Here is a closeup of the stitches. The yarn is JoJoLand 100% wool in Red-Plum:

So, tonight, while watching Harry Potter on the family channel, I'm knitting-in-the-round with DPNs for the first time. Ouch!! Quite tricky, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm 4 rounds in and it looks to be working.

Hopefully next time I check in you can see a sleeve. If you're lucky, maybe you'll see two sleeves. Or a baby booty. Until then, happy knitting ladies!