So Tatjana over at Crafty Fox is having a contest called "Remember When I Loved _________?" The gist of it is to post a funny, embarassing, or just hot celebrity crush you've had in your past. And while I've had plenty of embarassing crushes (ahem...Corey Haim AND Corey Feldman...ahem), I decided to go for one that is not too bad (I hope): Mr. River Phoenix, oh yeah. I think my best friend in elementary school actually had this poster on her wall and we would fight over who got to be his "girlfriend", bwa ha ha. I particularly love this tres sexy armpit shot:But can anyone deny his complete adorable-ness in Stand By Me?
Man, how awesome is that movie? It had the cutest cast ever (especially if you are like 12 years old) and the best scene ever...remember, the "total barf-o-rama"? My dad and I STILL love to joke about that scene. I think I need to get this on DVD. Well this was a fun post, hopefully I can live it down eventually ;-b
Have a great weekend everyone!

Fall is definitely here. Whether creeping slowly in...Or in full bloom...Knitting has been kinda put on the back burner for the last week or so. I'm still trying to slog my way through the ruffles, which are yearning to break free in all their ruffled glory. But alas, they are still stuck on the needles, all squished together:
It is taking me close to two hours per row now. I think I have about 12 rows left, so I may be able to get it done by next weekend if I can keep my nose to the grindstone. I'm starting to think about how I'm going to block this thing...scary!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Thanks everyone for your very kind comments on the Trellis cardigan! Tonight was the birthday boy's party and the parents (and all the guests) were very impressed! Dontcha love impressing people with your knitting? (Especially when you know it was pretty easy to do, ha ha).

Well, we still haven't gotten a frost here but most of the trees here have at least a quarter of their leaves changed! And the maples are pretty much completely changed already. The cold weather we've been having the last few weeks has really pushed things along.

I'm very excited to announce that I've started the ruffles on my shawl:
I was trying to figure out how many stitches are on my needles, 'cause it sure seems like a lot. If I calculated correctly, the last row before the ruffles was about 430 stitches. For the ruffles, I will be increasing 152 stitches on each of the first six rows and then knitting straight for the last six rows. Which I think means that at the end of the increases, I should have something like 1,300 stitches on the needles! Yikes...that's gonna be a fun cast-off! I've already done the first two increase rows and it's taking me over an hour to do a row now.

I also started yet another new project...convertible mittens for G. He has a store-bought pair that he frequently uses in the spring and fall for work (he has an outdoor job but he still needs to be able to write and stuff), but they are full of holes and falling apart. Here is the start of the first one:
I am basing these on the Broad Street pattern from Knitty, but with one significant difference:
If you can see here, the inside is the right side of stockinette too, because I'm double knitting them. I wanted to try to make them thicker since single-knit sport weight yarn doesn't seem all that warm to me. I'm not sure how it will come out, but they're moving along pretty quickly so I should know soon. And the fabric definitely feels really warm. The yarn I'm using is Gems Quartz merino in color "Finch" (now discontinued). It is a three-ply yarn with black, red, and gray, and I really like the way it knits up. The only annoying thing is this yarn likes to twist, but I'm dealing with it.

As promised, here are some photos of my finished Trellis baby cardigan:
Sorry about the mediocre pictures. My camera decided to go on the fritz this week (mind you, I've only had it for a little over 6 months) and had to be sent back for service. Under warranty, thank goodness. As a result I'm trying to use my crummy work camera, which isn't nearly as nice. Though at least it doesn't break for no good reason!

Here is the back view:
And a close up of the cable pattern:
Pattern notes:
Trellis published by Knitty
Yarn: Rowan All-Seasons Cotton in Color #191, knit on US size 5 needles (I think)

I'm very happy with how this cardigan turned out. I think it's adorable, hopefully the recipients will think so too! The pattern was perfect, very easy to follow with no errors that I saw. The only thing I might change would be to use a more bright, fun color (since it's for a baby), but at least this will go with lots of different outfits. Plus it used up some stash yarn which is always a good thing!

Ohhh...my aching legs! The reason?
Mt. Katahdin...5,200 feet of steep, rocky goodness, as you can see in my photo of the trail, below:
The famous sign at the top, northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail:
We hiked this on Friday and I am still SO sore today (Sunday)! I wanted to go hiking again today, but I really don't think I would get very far! Plus G. is coming down with one of those infamous summer/fall colds that everyone seems to be getting, so he is out of commission today. Oh well, I guess that means I'll have to sit on the porch and knit all day! Boo hoo :b
I am almost done my Trellis cardigan, I just need to sew the buttons on. So stay tuned for the final photo within the next couple days.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!