My Apologies

Good morning, everyone!  If you are wondering why I have been so distant this week (and, judging by the scores of you who care, you haven't been), the answer is that I have shipped my husband off to Chicago with our three pets and all of our stuff.  It was, as it turns out, not a fifteen-minute job.  I kept behind the following:
1.  One set of kitchen-stuff for one person
2.  A couch that will be left behind
3.  Clothes
4.  Laptop
5.  Printer
6.  Yarn

I feel like I'm squatting.  The good news is that I can be gone from five in the morning until midnight if I would like, and I don't have to worry about walking the dogs, waking the husband, or telling Bluto that my face is NOT a pillow for his waggy pit bull butt.  The bad news, of course, is that I can't relocate yet.

So I'll knit.  A lot.

And write!  I have decided that in addition to my weekly local articles about knitting on examiner.com, I'm going to start Knit Tips Tuesday.  Here is the first article, regarding the importance of knitting a gauge swatch:

http://www.examiner.com/knitting-in-chicago/knit-tips-tuesday-the-gauge-swatch

Then, I finally figured out what to do with my single ball of Noro Taiyo.  I'm making this chunky-lace cowl that will probably look better on someone other than me, since I don't think I have the neck for a good cowl, let alone an average one.  I'll post a picture when I'm finished, and if you want it, it's yours.  If more than one of you wants it, then the first person to answer a trivia question of my choice will get it.

It's time to start making the prototypes for the Scarf Pattern of the Month Series...I just finished the free pattern (if you have already purchased the series, you will get it in the next couple of days), and it's a good indicator of what details will be included in the other patterns.  If you like what you see, then buy the series!  If you don't, that's okay because at least you got a free pattern out of it!  See?  I'm all about the win-win.

I also would like to make a hat for a friend's sister who has cancer, so I was thinking a top-down roll-brim cotton hat.  The wool would irritate her, and there's this great cotton yarn by Universal that I've been dying to try.  Match made in heaven, I tell you!

And finally, I should have exciting news about something I may be doing to help regarding a knitting charity.  It was right up there with getting the email that Malabrigo Yarns is now following ME on twitter, only this time, it was a celebrity human instead of a celebrity yarn company!  More on that later...I will be screaming whatever details I can from the rooftops as soon as I can, since it's a charity thing.

Okay...if you look for me, I'll probably be knitting at Starbucks, or on the couch, or...