VIP...Vacation in Progress

No WIP today...just some Vacation in Progress pictures as I transition from my business/a little bit of fun New Orleans trip to vacation New York City!!! Just home in time to unpack, throw in a load of laundry, give Snowboarder a hug, say hi to the doggies, post some pics, pack, sleep for a few hours (I hope!) and then get on a plane to yarn and musical and lots of other things heaven with Rowan for a few days of fun!!!













Jackson's Square
























Commandor's Palace Restaurant

delicious!

Lafayette Cemetary













Garden District homes





Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?


xoxox Irishgirlieknits

Booties that Rock!

Pattern: Stay-On Baby Booties from Knitting for Baby

Yarn: Socks that Rock, lightweight

Colorway: Spot Rock One
Suprisingly, another colorway that wasn't quite me, but that I knew would be perfect for a baby whose mom is a little bit goth, little bit punk. I wish I had taken a picture of the skein before I wound it because I thought it would be much "brighter" with the purples and yellow. Instead, the green seems to balance out the brights. It was definately a hard color to capture, but I love it! So glad that there is plenty left over for mini-Monkeys!



One more day of work, then on to Bourbon Street I go!!! Thank you all for the wonderful compliments about the dream swatch!! It must be that humid, southern weather that made me glow :)


Happy Beignets!! xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Dream Swatch

Finally completed. In Artyarns Regal Silk. Introducing the Dream Swatch (finally!).

The end of the directions read:

"Weave in ends.

Steam lightly to block.

Be fabulous (because you know you are)."

What do you think? I think if you're a Bay Area girl and just came back from a "work" dinner at Commander's Palace, you certainly feel fabulous!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

WIP: The New Orleans Edition

I leave Thursday morning for my work trip to New Orleans (my fourth trip since Katrina, I'd been three times before that). And I have some packing done. The important part of course.

Its a mini-yarn-mardi gras! Doesn't that just make you want to party! It seems like a lot, I'm actually hoping I'll finish four of those six (yikes!) projects. The new cast ons include Monica for a nine-month old, so I'm hoping that will be a quick knit and that's STR Spot Rock One for Baby Booties that Rowan "commissioned." I figured I can eek out a pair of booties, and a pair of mini-monkeys :)

I usually get lots of knitting done on the long plane rides and the first few nights that I'm not staying actually in the French Quarter (e.g., I'll be working Friday-Monday). I'm also hoping to finally finish the dream swatch (I think that poor thing was cursed by being cast on at the emergency room back in May on the day from hell, but I shall persevere! its a scarf?!) and the practically matching, fabulously cute mini-monkeys! And I just have to bring Tuscany and Tomato because, well, that's what I really want to be working on! Tomato has made no progress and I probably shouldn't bring it because I have so much already, but I'm worried it will become a UFO if I'm not careful. And yes, I realize I have WAY overthought my knitting packing. That's why its my passion :)

And speaking of Mardi Gras, as I was taking pictures, I realized my prize from Turtlegirl's Fabulous Contest just screams "I want to be a Mardi Gras Jaywalker Scarf!" Those colors are perfect! It might be a perfect scarf for one of my colleagues in New Orleans :) Thank you Cristi! I love it!

MMMMM....can't wait to have a praline and some sweet tea and yummy southern cookin' (okay, and the drive-thru daiquiri shop isn't a bad idea either!)!

Happy Travels! xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Sockapalooza Socks that Really Rock!!

I am the happiest girl in town tonight!! Look at these gorgeous socks that Reggie, my Sockapalooza Pal, made for me!! Say it with me everyone, these socks ROCK!! She really overwhelmed me with how perfect these are for me! And, after reading her blog, she put so much thoughtfulness into deciding what pattern, yarn, etc., for my socks that I just don't have words to express my thanks!! They fit perfectly too!The pattern is Waving Lace from the Favorite Socks book, and the yarn is STR Midsummer's Night (one of my favorite colorways!). I used it in my Blanket that Rocks and was recently thinking of ordering some to make socks. Not necessary now.

Reggie also included lots of other goodies! After I called Rowan and told her all about the socks (I love sisters, but sometimes I wonder if she just tunes out now that I talk about knitting...she said Sockapalooza Pal? What's that? Seriously!! Doesn't she remember me being a bit sad sending off my socks?!), I opened up the box to discover the cutest notepads (that's David from No David! One of my favorite kid books- its a staple at work for social groups!), a shawl pin, nylon for reinforcing dad's socks, a postcard from her town that's already on the fridge, and...that's right...I see you drooling over it...her own HANDSPUN ANGORA!!! How cool is my pal!!

Here's a close up of her handspun. It is soooooooo soft!! Thank you thank you Reggie!!

To be honest, as excited as I was to be part of the 1000 paloozers, I am still new to the sock knitting love and was a bit sad to send away my socks to my pal (thank goodness she loves them!). It made me wonder if I would do it again next year (is that selfish??). But I take it all back now! Having someone knit socks for me is so worth it!!!! Okay, enough exclamation points...you all get it. I'm a happy girl.

Oops. I almost forgot. Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my Embossed Leaves socks and my cute new shoes. Maybe another reason why I love my sockapalooza socks is that they match the other pair of Mary Janes I got (sale!).

And its still a bit chilly here in Northern California, so I still haven't taken my socks off!

Happy Sockapalooza!! xoxoxo Irishgirlieknits

Maybe It Was the Shoes?

That motivated me to finish these socks so quickly. Or maybe it was the cloudy 68 degree weather today that enticed me to finish so that I could wear them today. Or maybe it was the addicting Embossed Leaves pattern. Could it have been the squishy Koigu that Disco sent me for my first pair of Koigu socks? Or the excitement of mailing off my Sockapalooza Pal socks and reading that she loves them. All I know is that in just EIGHT days these baby are done and I love them!

Its official. I am a sock knitter. I bought these Born Mary Janes partly due to the fact that my handknit socks would look cute peeking out while wearing them. Hurry, on sale until tonight online at Nordstrom.
Learned lots of new things with this pattern. For example, the star toe. Love love love. Maybe one of my favorite. The garter stitch border edge for the heel was also new. I thought it worked perfectly with this pattern.

Now off to start packing for my upcoming trips later this week! I leave for New Orleans for work on Thursday and get back the following Wednesday. Only to turn around and leave the next day for New York with Rowan!! First on the agenda for packing...what projects to bring?

Happy Knitting! xoxo Irishgirlieknits

YPF: The Bubbly Edition

Cheers to Woolgirl!! It felt a bit like Christmas today when my nicely wrapped presents of Yarntini from Woolgirl arrived (just two days after the frenzied early morning ordering!). I realized we don't have Martini glasses in our house since I'm more of a pink champagne kind of girl (that's right!). We've got plenty of champagne glasses!

Introducing....Yarntini's Woolgirl colorway (in sportweight)! My favorite!

I was probably most surprised at how much I also loved the Vintage colorway. Online it appears to have more red in it (partly why I wasn't sure I would love it), but I loved it when I unwrapped it! The supposed "red" is really a deep bright pink. Gorgeous!

Yarntini Vintage, fingering weight

A very happy Irishgirlie here!! xoxoxo

WIP: The Fall Edition

Based on my current knitting projects, I think I'm ready for fall. I cast on the Embossed Leaves socks last Saturday in anticipation for Sock-A-Month 4 KAL that starts today. This pattern is so addicting that I'm ready to turn the heel. I'm using the Koigu that Disco sent me and I absolutely love how squishy it is.

I didn't realize that Tuscany also involves some gorgeous leaves too until class on Sunday. I love this pattern already! I'm using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Posh in the Lunasea colorway that I bought from Purlescence a few weeks ago.

And of course while I was there this weekend for Amy's class, I couldn't resist purchasing STR Harlotty! Doesn't this colorway just scream FALL!

This is probably one of my favorite colors! Hurry up fall and get here.

And I just couldn't resist this picture of Bailey that I took on our walk tonight. She just stopped and stared away. Contemplating life? Or was it a bug she saw? Who knows.

Happy Knitting! xoxo Irishgirlieknits