It's about time, I know

Yes, I know I've been MIA lately, but I really haven't had much to post. I had been staying put in Philly for 6 weeks, having no travel plans. Now, things are about to heat up again and I need to get things together.

This past weekend I was in White Haven, PA for the 1st of 3 retreats with the Environmental Leadership Program. I was selected as a fellow for their Eastern Regional Network. It was an interesting retreat, but best of all, it was an opportunity to network and meet other folks in the PA-NY area working on all sorts of environmental issues. While there, I decided to bring my needles and work on a gift for my niece's 1st birthday (Weds.). I think I started a trend, b/c by the end of the weekend, there were a good 6-7 folks knitting and/or crocheting during the retreat. Too funny!

For Leah's birthday, I'm making her a cute cardigan and hat combo that she'll be able to wear into the fall. I'm also making her Susan Anderson's Birthday Cake Hat that she can wear at her party this weekend. So cute! I'll make sure to post pictures when I get back from DC.

Since I last posted, I finished a couple projects. The first is Martha from Rowan Studio 2. The pattern calls for Rowan Felted Tweed, but I followed (actually, copied) Wendy's lead in making the sweater with Manos del Uruguay's Silk Blend. OMG, it is soooooo nice. I love this yarn. It's a 50/50 wool and silk blend. And the colors? Gorgeous. When I saw this blue, I knew I had to have it. Plus this project was my first attempt at cables. I think it turned out pretty well.

Last weekend I met up with Andrea and Lisa down on 4th Street (aka fabric row) in Philly to find some buttons for my project. Here's a close-up of what I found:

While down on fabric row, I also bought several yards of fabric for Andrea to sew up a few drawstring pouches for my larger knitting projects. I love my piddleloop bags, but the larger projects don't fit in them. So, I took a cue from a Della-Q bag I had. Andrea posted pictures of some of the bags she already sewed up for me. They look great! Thank you Andrea!!!!!

I also took a few knitting books out of the library, including one on how to do a top down raglan sweater. I hadn't really done a top down sweater, but wanted to try it since there's practically no seaming involved. I used The Fibre Company's Savannah Bulky, which I picked up at last year's MD Sheep & Wool Festival. I think I started and finished it in a week, mainly b/c it involved no shaping and I knit it on size 15 needles.

I'll have more to post next week, including pics of Leah in her cute birthday knitted items.