I forgot!

Maybe it was all the sun. Maybe it was the calm ocean breeze. Or maybe it was the bits of cork in the wine after I had to open a bottle without a cork screw once again.

But somehow I simply forgot to visit the yarn shop in Rockport! It's apparently closing and was only open for a few hours on Friday. And during those few hours, my mind drifted elsewhere, probably to an indulgent episode of "Oprah" or a nap inside here.



I did, though, spend lots of quality time with my already-purchased yarn. There was serious progress on mom's French Bistro Top, but barring a black hole or other wrinkle in the universe, it won't be finished for her birthday last Saturday. (Oops.) And later this week, when I'm a little further along, I'll show off the beginnings of my Diamonique.

Despite rising at 6:15 a.m. Saturday, I didn't make it back to New York in time for the Spin Off, and I nearly missed meeting Yahaira at long last. After taking the train from Massachusetts, I grabbed a cab driven by a buffoon, so I bailed out and took the muggy, muggy subway to my car, then experienced a minor parking miracle in front of the Point.



It was such a treat to chat and crochet with Marie and Yahaira. I don't get to see Marie nearly enough because of my loopy schedule, and somehow Yahaira and I haven't met even though she's one of my knitting crutches. We spent an hour or so with the loveliest trio of ladies at the Point, who I hope will start commenting!

Yahaira was sweet enough to bring me two presents from her shop,
Pure Knits. Here's some luscious Fable alpaca and
Bamboo.




And in an attempt to distract myself from my long-term project, I used the Bamboo to start a dream swatch head wrap. No, I'm really not trying to knit all of her patterns.

Getaway (and Renegade!)

This week, Every Word's a Purl is coming to you live from Rockport, Massachusetts. I'm staying in a quaint little vacation home with my folks and also visiting Jon's parents, who live nearby. It's so peculiar to blog in a spacious, beautifully appointed kitchen that is literally the size of my whole apartment.

And only a city dweller would feel compelled to post pictures of a backyard. Look! Space! Greenery! This is where I sat crocheting in the sun today, and it felt terribly novel:



Right now, I'm mainly chipping away at my mother's
French Bistro Top, but my eagle-eyed father spotted a yarn store downtown. Eek! This is the top so far. I think it will need some serious blocking for the stitches to pop, and for it not to resemble a circus tent:



As you've surely read elsewhere, the Renegade Craft Fair rolled into Williamsburg again this weekend. It was way overstimulating, between all of the crafters and crafty hipsters and Spiders, and seemed to fly by. Being a notorious cheapskate, I made my purchase judiciously.

A special little necklace from Art School Dropout.



I also bought some whimsies from fine folk at Craftster.



Here's the tunic I purchased from Super Maggie, modeled by the water after dinner tonight. I bought one of her tees last year, too. (I'm sorry this is left aligned, but I am having issues uploading photos tonight and refuse to be a perfectionist on vacation.)



I really wish I'd taken more photos of the folks I browsed around with. I met Jess and Nancy, who is crocheting the Prepster Jacket and, to my relief, also struggling with seaming the arms. And I also finally got to meet Megan at long last!

Since I rarely get to come to the Point on Fridays, I was happy to see Lisa, Stephanie, Sandra, Virginia, E and Marie, Katie, Veronique and most especially Kaitlyn and her baby MJ (who I was so excited to meet, I burst out "Happy Birthday!" I'm not sure why.)

Michelle is definitely among the 2 percent of the population that can still pull off a bonnet. Tres Laura Ingalls Wilder!



And here are your friendly neighborhood Spiders at rest, which I plan to do in large amounts this week.

Marigold in bloom

It just doesn't seem right to unveil Ms. Petunia -- my humble take on Ms. Marigold -- on such an overcast day. But it also doesn't seem right to leave a finished object un-photographed for so long. So here she is!



This is a darling pattern and a fun, quick project. And highly wearable -- I sported it to work on Friday. Knitting from the top down takes so much drama out of knitting. I just tried it on and tried it on again to make sure the fit was right. (But in the future, I will try not to do this when my super is at my front door.)

Even though I knit the small, I still needed four full skeins of Misti Alpaca, which is the same yardage as the recommended yarn, Knit Picks Elegance. (Kinda wish that I used the Elegance, since it has more silk than the Misti.) My only modification was that I crocheted a few extra rounds around the armholes because, well, I didn't think anyone needed to see that much of my underarm.

Here's a close-up of the dainty ruffle.



Lastly, a gratuitous shot.



And just because I feel like sharing --

My coaster enthusiast brother attended this wedding over the weekend. He's in the last car of the coaster pictured. I'm rendered speechless.

Anybody remember this exceptional article about knit graffiti in New York's hometown paper? Well, I was listening to Cast-On this weekend, and that group seems to have inspired a rap song. (Scroll down and you'll see "Knitta Please" available for download on the right.) My fave lyric? "If there's a pattern, yo I'll knit it. Check out the sweater, hope my DJ will fit it."

And Big Ben -- what were you thinking?

Oh, oh! I almost forgot! Who else is going to the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend?

Baby carrots

I'm just naming this post baby carrots because that's what I'm eating. It's 2:30 a.m. and I just spent the better part of my adult life looking for a parking space. Why did I work so late? I try not to get into that stuff here, but let me just say it involved a porn star, a sarong, a subway and a crime victim's boyfriend trying to extort me. That's all.

So tonight I shall be short in the verbiage department and long in photos.

A gratuitous shot of Ms. Petunia (aka Ms. Marigold) blocking. You can even see the wet spots! I fiddled with the ruffles all weekend, and hope to take some respectable photos soon.



Now how intimidating is this?


It's the Coats Opera 5 for my mom's French bistro top. Damn, that is a lot of really teeny, tiny thin yarn. I tried out the stitch pattern:



Now I know that the jury is still out on Blueprint, the new Martha magazine. But I did like it -- pages and pages of eye candy and cute design ideas. And I did make their ridiculously simple scarf handbag. Really, it was so quick that I don't think it qualifies as a craft.



And just for kicks, here is the best apartment listing ever.