Long Beach, CA

While Steve attended the World Congress of NCMA (April 5 - 8, 2009), I explored Long Beach! I walked all around the town. I shopped in the little village across the street, buying a turquoise ring, a pink straw bag, an enamel tile wall hanging and some candy at a bulk candy store. I walked uptown to buy some shoes for our evening banquet and found them and a used bookstore. I also treated myself to a manicure.

Dinner that first night was a banquet at the Aquarium. Since evenings could still run to the chilly side, I knitted myself a rectangular shawl. I went to All About Yarn and asked them what pattern and yarn I could use to make a quick shawl. They suggested this lovely. thin yarn in black with a silver thread running through it. I knit it on big needles. I was almost finished with it. A morning's concerted effort of knitting in the room completed the project in the nick of time. With the black Barbie shoes I bought, I matched Steve's elegance in his long-sleeved shirt, dress slacks, jacket and tie. We started out near the sting ray tank with a cocktail party and then were escorted into the first floor of the aquarium. The food was pretty good, and all the contract people at the table were anticipating the speaker. Unfortunately, the acoustics in the room did not lend themselves to public speaking, and his words were distorted and unintelligible by the time they reached us in the back. We cut out to the awaiting buses while the party leaders were patting themselves on the back for a good year.

It wasn't all me by myself exploring though. Steve and I walked around together in the evenings and shared dinner with a couple of MD NCMA'ers at Gladstones a local seafood restaurant with a beautiful waterfront view. Before heading to Anaheim, we also ate with his co-workers from APL at Famous Dave's. Typical food but good fun seeing what everyone else was doing with the rest of their week's vacation.

Knit a Pumpkin

It started out as a hat, honest.

I found the pattern on Ravelry . We needed costumes for the front office for Halloween. This seemed the perfect thing to top off our orange shirts and jeans. It was written for kids sizes but no problem, I'd just use bigger needles. Right? I cast on for the XL. Just like the Great Pumpkin, it kept growing and growing and growing! Pretty soon it was obvious that I was not going to be able to finish 3 more hats by Halloween, not to mention that this hat was taking on gargantuan proportions.

When I finally bound off the last stitch, I tried it on my husband's head. With his hair in its current manifestation, it's bigger than most heads, but the hat slipped so far over his ears even his beard was dwarfed by it. He looked like a sultan in Aladdin. Not a look to which he aspired. Probably just as well because I was getting the vibe that he wasn't about to wear a pumpkin hat anyway.

I wasn't about to waste the knitting time however. I decided to pick up stitches from the brim of the hat with a circular needle and knit the durn thing closed. I continued in seed stitch until the pattern was suffering due to being decreased, then I went to stockingette stitch until I had about 9 stitches left. I cut the yarn, threaded the remaining stitches on the cut yarn and pulled the opening closed. Ta dah! A pumpkin bottom. I stuffed it and stitched it shut, stitched on the leaf and ta dah again! A fat pumpkin!

Dizzy Baby Sweater

There once was a sheep named Dizzy,
His hair was white and frizzy,
He loved to give deals,
That were almost steals,
And that make my heart warm and fizzy!

If your a knitter and you've never checked out www.dizzysheep.com, you are missing out! It's like Woot for knitters. Every day they have a new deal on a different kind of yarn or needles or spinning wheel with one dollar shipping!

On May 1st, I checked out the Daily Dizzy Deal and found Plymouth Cotton Kisses Baby Sweater Knit Kit. It consisted of Cotton Kisses, a multicolored, multi-thickness cotton yarn, 3 duckie buttons and 2 patterns, in 3 sizes. My husband's office mate had just had a new baby added to his family, so I bought one in blue and green. Straight blue had already sold out! Both patterns are knit in pieces and then put together. Then the button band is picked up and knitted for the cardigan and the placket and neck picked up and knitted for the pullover. I made the cardigan. It turned out bigger than I expected but then I didn't swatch (gasp) and I never gave it to the family until September so the boy needed the extra size. It all worked out. I think I'll swatch next time though. It was a quick knit and very satifying.