It's been difficult for me to sit down and write this post. I've been wanting to say something special and poignant, but I keep coming up short.

Four years ago, my good friend came to me with an idea about a knitting store with a coffee shop inside. Four years ago, I began knitting in earnest. Four years ago, I started this blog. Four years ago, my life in NYC really started. Four years ago, I helped to open The Point Knitting Cafe.

If I said that The Point changed my life I would not be exaggerating. It's where I met some of my dearest friends and some of the people dearest to me. It wasn't just the knitters, but all the people in the neighborhood that made The Point such a home for me. Bedford Street is a magical street, a city unto itself and all the people that live there made it one of my favorite places in the world. If I could name them all on this page I would. I could try.

Thank you Helane, Berhan, Sandy, Barbara, Hannah, John, Kiana, Leia, Ana, Beverly, Jill, Jill, Jennifer, Ruth, Jewel, Jessamyn, Katy, Claudine, Joelle, Carol, Carol, Carol, Frannie, Karen, Vere, Elisa, Kia, Suzie, Heidi, Enid, Linda, Peggy, Doug, Carol, Susan, Lisa, Sara, Stephanie, Robert, Michael, Jose, Alex, Terence, Jenny, Liza, Tony.
If I missed anyone, I didn't intend to. There are just so many of you!

I just don't have the words to explain how special The Point was to me. It helped me grow as a person and it introduced me to a world that I didn't really know existed. A world full of beautiful, loving, creative, inspiring people.

I'm going to miss you. Thank you.

These are two pillows that I finished well over a year ago. They were meant to go in my old apartment, which was all 70's fabulous orange, brown and avocado green.

Now they just don't fit in my new place so off to the Etsy shop they go!
(These photos were taken on my new ivory velvet love seat! I absolutely am in love with it! It fits perfectly under the window in the front of the living room. Some people {ahem} think it was a crazy choice, but I don't care).

I still owe you pictures of the Minnow Cardi, but in the meantime, I started a new project. It's the Christie Bolero that I designed for The Point, ages ago.
I always wanted one of my own, so in an attempt to plow through some of my stash, I cast on with some Harmony from Naturally Hand Knit that I've been holding onto forever.
It's a smaller gauge than the original pattern and I'm also planning on making it slightly larger so that it can crossover in the front with a button closure.
I'll keep you updated!

Look! Look! A Finished Object! I know, I can hardly believe it myself. I started this in November and just finished it last week.

It's the Patsy Swing Cardigan from The Point and I highly recommend this pattern to anyone who wants to knit a first time cable sweater. It was their pattern of the month for November and I bought the recommended yarn, as well. The pattern is a dream and super easy to knit. It's knit from the top down, though, and being a cardigan, the stockinette gets a little tedious towards the end.

I think this may be one of the first sweaters that I've made that I'll really wear. I usually end up so unhappy with the way I look in the finished product that I stuff it in a drawer.

I've been a really impatient knitter up until now, but I think I'm entering a new phase where I can knit from challenging patterns and take my time to undo mistakes and check for fit. I'm less concerned with having a finished item than having an item finished well.

Words to live by.

Friday night I shuffled off to The Point for a workshop. I say shuffled because it was bitterly cold and it was a Friday evening after a long, long week. I would have rather been tucked up on my couch with a glass of wine, watching a DVR'd episode of Ugly Betty.

But Jared was going to be there! And wasn't that enough to make the trip worth while? So, of course, I'm glad I went. I've never knit lace more complicated than some Feather & Fan, so I was taking a big step outside my comfort zone with the Hemlock Ring Blanket. But I figured that under the watchful eye of Brooklyn Tweed and the capable folks at The Point, I could get over my fear. Right?

So right!! I caught on right away to the clever cast on Jared taught us and was knitting along in no time at all! We have a two week break for Thanksgiving and we'll be back the first week in December for the second installment. I've knit quite a bit on my own, but after round 35, my eyes were starting to cross, so I put it down for a while. I'm really looking forward to the next class!!

(Had to sneak in this picture of Ms. PassionKNITly with Mr. Brooklyn Tweed. So cute!)

Leaf count: 58 (64, with these guys here).



There's still time to contribute! Take your leaves to The Point before October 1st!!!!!!

I am knitting and soliciting knit/crochet leaves for an installation I'm creating for The Point for October. I'm going to created a tree with knit/crochet leaves in their window.




I'm making as many as I possibly can and I have everyone at the store working, too. But, with a project like this, more is always better. My favorite part of the whole endeavour is having many different people contribute. It speaks to the sense of community that knitting seems to foster and which we strive for at The Point.

Anyone who would like to contribute can knit from one of the patterns linked below and drop the leaf(ves) off at The Point. If you're not local, put them in the mail! Our deadline is Octber 1st!!

merino stripes leaf pullover

a tree undone

Aw, man. You guys have been great! I mean, just wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your kind words and encouragement. I never thought, two years ago, when I started this blog, that I would make so many friends through it. I think that's what everyone says at one point or another on their blog, but it's true! How is it possible that there are so many amazing people out there doing this? This, being blogging or knitting or whatever. How have you all found me?

Well, thank you. I'm blushing. I cannot believe that there are so many people out there that are so kind to me. I'm still feeling kind of sad and alone and lost, but I have you all to hoist me up and remind me that I have a very full and wonderful life that is very much my own.

So, here is the knitting I promised you.

The Fiona Wrap Jacket, a.k.a The Point's August Pattern of the Month.

I could hardly believe, during the oppressive heat of July, that I was knitting such a garment. But the last couple of days, with the hint of a chill in the air during the late evenings, Fall doesn't seem so far away, and the thought of getting started on some cooler weather knits isn't so ludicrous.

You can get all of the details for this on Ravelry. I will tell you, however, that this is ridiulously easy to knit. It's one piece, starting from the back edge and separating for the two fronts to be worked, well, separately. I held two strands of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette together to get a very pleasing tweed effect and a knitted gauge of about 4 stitches to one inch.

I was really sad to send this one off to The Point, but I'm considering knitting another one for myself out of some mohair that I've been holding onto for some time. That would be really warm and super lightweight. It would be equally lovely knit out of a single strand of some bulky Malabrigo or Manos, so that the stockinette can show off the lovely hand-dyed yarn. But I do go on....

P.S. The 5K is this weekend!!! Wish me luck!!! And a super big THANK YOU to those of you who donated (you know who you are) and everyone who offerred words of encourgament! Thanks again. (Can I say thank you enough? Nope.)

P.P.S. I even signed up for another run in two weeks. The Livestrong Challenge in Philly which I'll be running with my cousin.

The dress that I so triumphantly finished this weekend does. not. fit. I should have tried it on as I went. I should have known that I might have this problem. My top half is pretty much a full size smaller than my bottom half (which causes much confusion when buying patterns), so of course the bodice is all loose and gap-py and the bottom is perfect.

So while I'm working out a way to take in the darts some more, I'll leave you with this:

I'm done with the back portion of the August pattern of the month for The Point. I'm really surprised how fast this went. I'm holding two different color strands of yarn together and I *love* the tweed effect that I'm getting.

I may have a photo shoot this weekend of the disastrous dress. Adjusted or otherwise.

What a magical weekend!! I finished the dress and found an amazing source to explain easing in the sleeves. Thanks to all of you who left a comment, but the good ol' World Wide Web saved the day. Again.

I spent Saturday with my favorite customers from The Point, who have adopted me as one of their own. A sweeter, more loving , surrogate family I could not as for.

The hostess extraordinaire was the fabulous (blog-less, and, alas, photo-less) Vere, who invited us to her new home in Jersey City. She has an amazing, charming house. With a garden. How jealous am I? Patty even managed to join us after her machine knitting class at FIT!!

It was a nostalgic Point weekend all around, while today I hosted lunch Chez Needleworks for two former co- workers. Knit Boy and blog-less, but fabulous, Sandy came over and feasted on food that I did not photograph. Sad.

Then, after they left, I stepped out on my balcony (fire escape) and saw this: A rainbow. Can you see it? It was really hard to photograph, but it was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

Do you think there's a pot of gold in that warehouse?

We finally got an air conditioner! Doesn't this little guy just look like he's fearing for his life? That's kind of how I feel about our ConEd bill.

I've got so many things on the burners right now! Should I space them out and make many blog posts? I think I shall.

For now I will share this with you. Some really amazing yarn that I swiped from The Point for August's Pattern/Yarn of the Month.

It's alpaca. And merino. And silk. 'Nuf said.

It's going to become this:

This is just a mock up that I did at work (Of course during my lunch hour! Um, yeah.) and of course the finished product will be a hand-knit. My favorite thing about the design? It's one knitted piece. Well, two, if you count the belt.

Stay tuned!!!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. I can honestly say, that I am exactly where I want to be in my life. A year ago, I was about as far away from that as I could get. A lot can change in a year.

This is me with two of my dearest friends: Kevin, who a one of the first real friends that I've made in my adult life and, Sabrina, who I've know for over 15 years. The other two cuties you might recognize from The Point.

We had a big ol' party on Saturday and yesterday Master P and I went to Marlow & Sons and other various points in Williamsburg. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.