Well, the leaves are done and installed at The Point. I think it came out pretty cute, so you should go check it out. If it inspires you to make a leaf or two, I'd love to keep adding to the tree.



This is a peek at my finished quilt top. The color in the photo is really close to how it actually is. All cool blues and teals and browns.



This is a detail of the patchwork portion. I'm really, really excited to finish it, but a little nervous as well. This is a queen sized quilt and the process of putting it together just seems so daunting!

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

Yes, I really have been doing activities other than eating at lots of great NYC restaurants (and sometimes on the street) and sleeping in other people's apartments.

No, really, I have! Here's the evidence!

This is a "I moved home with my parents and need something to keep me busy" project. It's a very simple quilt that I started in the beginning of July and I that is very nearly complete. The patchwork topper was done this past Monday. I'm going to make some binding tape, or whatever you call it, this weekend and hopefully have a new quilt by the time the cool weather sets it!

I'm *SO* excited! The quilt is another personal goal that I set for myself. I think I started collecting fabric for it almost 2 years ago, but was unsure of how to proceed and a little scared. Now here I am, nearly finished!

Oh, I also have my Olympian Sweater, a.k.a. The Owl Cardi, which is also very nearly finished (I just need a zipper!), but at work*, cause that's where I've been working on it. Pictures soon!

*Yes, I knit at work. I have the best job!

My month of crashing at various pads around NYC ended with an action packed Labor Day weekend. Courtesy of CityMinx, who was kind enough to go away for an entire week and let me feed her cat.

Here's a recap*:

Rooftop at The Met - Jeff Koons exhibit.

A multi-ethnic eating tour of the LES, organized by Big Onion. Definitely check them out.

Lunch at Bread, with Sandy.

A view from the lower end of 5th Aveue. I was really sad for it to end!!

*Not pictured, but equally fun: dinner and a movie with The Rainbow Gentleman, lunch at Cafe Gitane with Jess, dinner at Village Yokocho.

(Phew! That's a lotta links!)

Your result for The Director Who Films Your Life Test...

Woody Allen

Your film will be 63% romantic, 42% comedy, 24% complex plot, and a $ 27 million budget.

Thanks, Michelle! This made me smile. (But the Annie Hall*, not Scoop, Woody Allen!)

* Which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in the year of my birth.

On Sunday I headed to Philly to participate in the 2008 LiveStrong Challenge.



I was a little intimidated by all the people, but it was inspiring at the same time.



Yes, Lance Armstrong was actually there.



Not the most flattering picture of myself, but I do seem to be glowing with a certain sense of accomplishment, no? In the photo with me are my cousins: Justin, on the left, cancer survivor and his brother, Jon, on the right. I must say, we do look rather pleased with ourselves. It was an incredible day.

I was on Wall Street this week, enjoying the seemingly, never-ending hospitality of friends.

I can't believe I've never been here.

My neighbors.

A very good read.

I spent last week in Astoria, Queens, with a side trip to Coney Island.


Sparrow, Astoria



Coney Island


Keyspan Park

The Olympics are half way over today and I'm about half way from finishing my Ravelympics entry. According to my records, which are vague, at best, I started it in January of 2006. I am, obviously, participating in WIP Wrestling. I can hardly believe that I've managed to finish so much of it in so little time. When I started the chart (2 years ago!) it seemed like such an insurmountable task. And now the chart is finished and I only have to knit the waistband, sleeves and collar. Amazing.

This is a new concept for me. Setting a goal and acheiving it. It's something, well, Olympian. I've always been a good one for excuses. Excuses not to try something. Excuses not to go somewhere. Excuses not to call someone. I've finally (FINALLY) learned that if you never try, you can never succeed. Such a simple idea.

I ran my first 5K last weekend and I finished it. That was my only goal - just finish. Now I'm in another race next weekend. It seems to get easier and easier to set goals for myself. Knit this sweater. Run this race. Live my life.

I'm learning some really tough lessons this summer. About how easy it is to take life for granted. How easy it is for the people in it to suddenly disappear. A long time love gone. A dear friend dead. An old friend moved away.

I said goodbye to yet another special person in my life last night. Lindsay was my roommate the semester I spent in Paris in 1998. It was the year I discovered that I had been hiding who I was for a long time and these 5 brilliant, hillarious, beautiful girls (ahem, women) made me their friend and showed me a life I could have. Lindsay, Carrie, Lynn, Molly and Anja. Thank you.

By some gift of Fate, three of them ended up in NYC with me. (I spent 9/11 on Lindsay's couch, stranded in the city that awful day.) We've had dinners and brunches and birthdays, but not enough. You're always busy, in love, tired, full of excuses and there's always next time. But then one day, there is no next time.

Last night, standing in the wet night, sharing one last ciagrette, Lindsay and I reminisced and said goodbye. 1998 was also the year that I met Peter. Now, 10 years later, a very large chapter of my life comes to an end. Peter is gone, Lindsay is gone, Carrie is soon to be gone (to NJ, so not to far). And my life is changed. And a great is lesson learned.

Take nothing for granted. Don't make excuses. Love everyone the best you possibly can. Don't depend on there being a next time. Don't make excuses. Don't be afraid.

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.

Boy, I have some nerve.

Here I am, digging out after a month of chaos. I was lucky that you didn't desert me completely and, in return, I promised you some knitting.

Instead....
Instead, I'm coming to you with my hand out. That's right. I'm gonna ask for a favor.

When I moved back to NJ, one month ago, my family was in the midst of dealing with their own troubles. A very dear friend had been fighting a losing battle against pancreatic cancer. At a loss for a way to help, my mother organized a team to participate in the Purple Stride Island Run. It's organized by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which you can read about here.

I, in an attempt to keep busy, decided to run the 5K portion of the race. Those of you who know me well enough, know that this was quite a decision. I'm not exactly a runner. Or a jogger, for that matter.

And in the month that I've been home, we've lost our friend. He had an amazing life that ended too soon and an amazing family that didn't deserve to have him taken away so early.

The people that have agreed to participate in the run/walk and the money that we've raised to far are both testaments to how much he was loved. I've decided (another decision!) to step up my game and not only run the race, but to try to raise a bit of money as well.

I don't expect much. I'm just asking for support. Now that support can come in the form of a "Way to go!" in my comment section, or in the form of $1 added to my team. I just kind of wanted to put it out there in the blogisphere that I was doing this thing and who it was for and to ask for your collective good thoughts for myself (during the run) and for his family (who need it more than I do.)

That's all. Thanks.

Oh, hi. You're still here? Thanks for hanging in there.

There have been a lot of changes chez Needleworks in the last month: I've moved to NJ (suddenly), a very long (10 year) relationship ended, and my life, in general is in a state of upheaval.

I'm trudging along, but there's not much crafting being done in these parts. All of my things are in boxes, which makes it difficult. I'm not quite ready to unearth everything yet.

I am doing quite a bit of knitting on my (2 hours each way) commute, so I'll have something to share very quickly.

Be patient with me while I figure things out. I'm still trying to decide how this blog will be a part of my new life. It seems so ingrained in the old one in so many ways, that I was tempted to stop it all together. A part of me, though, really wants to keep it.

So, here we are.

Stay tuned.

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?

Last night I baked these Oatmeal Raisin Bars from Everyday Food and finished up the oxford shirt napkins. I'm a little Martha Stewart-ed out.



I packed the bars up for some co-workers who had helped me with a really big project. I really liked this receipe, because I only had to dirty one bowl. I didn't even pull out the Cuisinart! I doubled the receipe and baked them in a 9 x 13 pan and they came out great. Oh, and I substituted one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the raisins, so there were raisins and chocolate chips!



While the bars were baking I started work on the first of a couple of summer dresses that I have planned. I am really pleased with how the bodice turned out, but when it came time to put in the sleeves, I was stumped. It asked that I ease stitch the shoulders into place. There was a little definition in the pattern of ease, but if anyone out there has any tips for me, I'd appreciate it! Or a really great tutorial online somewhere? Anywhere? Help!

In the meantime, I'm going to work on the rest of the dress and leave the sleeves for last. If it comes to it, It'll be sleeveless!

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!!!

On Saturday, while the mercury soared to astronomical heights, I was enjoying my first weekend alone, and at home. I know that sounds like a lame Saturday night to some, but for me it was heaven.

I had these guys to keep me company.


I spent the entire night watching TCM and cutting 6 inch squares out the fabric that I've been collecting for over a year.

I was planning a more complicated quilt, but after seeing another version that I really loved, I decided to just go square. It's going to be a summer weight quilt, so no batting. and I may forgo actually quilting and make ties with yarn every couple of squares.

I'm so excited about this!!! I totally have a sewing mojo going and a quilt is just the thing!!!!!

I've seen this meme all over, but most recently in Tres Chic Veronique's flickr photo stream. Here's my version:

Flickr game:
the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

the questions:
1. What is your first name? (rebecca)
2. What is your favorite food? (tomato)
3. What high school did you go to? (nottingham h.s.)
4. What is your favorite color? (green)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (harrison ford (as indiana jones))
6. Favorite drink? (gin martini)
7. Dream vacation? (calabria, italy)
8. Favorite dessert? (chocolate cake)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (happy)
10. What do you love most in life? (family)
11. One Word to describe you. (vinatge)
12. Your flickr name. (needleworks)

Actual knitting content!



This tank felt like it took forever to make, but, in actuality, it only took 3 weeks.

This is the Pattern of the Month for The Point, for June. They wanted a really simple shell for, oh, say, an advanced beginner. I though that was a brilliant idea because I can't tell you how many times I had a request for one when I worked there!

This was made from -4 skeins of Classic Elite Cotton Bam Boo. Though the yarn was really lovely, it was torture for me. I ended up knitting it on size #1 needles to get 6 stitches to the inch!!! The fabric that was the result of this labor of love was drape-y, with a slight sheen. I can't say it was totally worth it for me, but for those who don't have the crazy tension issues that I do, you should give it a try.

Go to The Point's blog or Ravelry for more info! And, of course, The Point for the pattern!