Vaca

Does not mean cow in my household. It means "vacation" and "joy" and "not work"- all wonderful things, of course.

On this vaca I have been pretty productive. Mom and I made little bird ornaments from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts- and they are fiddly but adorable. It took us 3 or 4 hours to make three birds, but it was definitely entertaining.

I also finished two more repeats of the basketweave section of Hanami- only four more to go!

I gave my father the Manly socks, which he appreciated, and hopefully he'll find a use for them in his new home here in Raleigh. It's a bit toasty here compared to DC, but everyone can use a pair of wool socks sometime. I hope.

I still have a bit of work to do for our corporate office- hopefully only an hour or two, while my mother and sister are off seeing a movie, and then I can get back to Hanami.

In the meantime, have you seen the new Knitty? It's lovely! And most lovely of all is Jeanie. It's like Clapotis, all growed up. I do not mean that it is derivative- in fact, it's wholly unique. But I loved Clapotis. I still wear my hot pink Clapotis just about every day, from September to April. But I've been thinking it is time for a change- a new look. And possibly something a bit warmer than my cotton and silk blend. And here comes Jeanie- pretty and lovely and drop stitch-y and perfect for wearing with my new much more mature black wool coat. So of course I chose bright red- it's a step away from pink at least- and the yarn is already ordered.

I also need to work up a quick something to go with an outfit for my work holiday party. The outfit is slightly more casual than my usual choice for a fancy-shmancy holiday party. The top is a strapless raspberry silk, over pants that look vaguely tuxedo-like. They're shiny enough to be formal, but admittedly... pants. They are perfect for me and my recent foot problems, though, since I can wear flats I already own and be just fine. In order to pull the outfit together, however, I really need something over the top.

It could be Wisp, a little lacy buttoned capelet.
Or maybe Shimmer, a lace-backed shrug,
Or Jellyfish, another shrug in Kidsilk Haze perhaps.
Oooor... I could just get some fuzzy black yarn and knit a very open shawl with huge needles. What do you think?