Thank you Secret Buddy

Thank you One Skein Secret Buddy. I received your package yesterday, well actually it arrived on Monday but it was at my neighbors apt and since I got home really late I had to wait to yesterday to get it.

I LOVE IT... How did you know I love Frida Kahlo. Schaefer Yarns are great and I now have 400 lovely yards to whatever I want for ME! ..... Im drooling.. the colors are amazing.



Thank you for the lovely note and I hope that all is well with your family. Have you been spoiled by your secret buddy yet?

Once again... thank you so much.

On the day in 1969

Does everyone know what day is it today?

In 1939, the final seen in Gone With the Wind was shot ( did you know it was supposed to be "frankly my dear, I don't care !")

In 1958, Truman ordered troops into Korea

In 1975, Sonny and Cher got divorced.

And for all you Tom Cruise fans, Days of Thunder was release in 1990, but the most important thing was this :

On June 27th of the year 1969 ... Nancy was born.

Nancy and I have been friends ever since Mr. Poloso sat us next to each other in the 6th grade, he had no clue what he was doing - 25 years and counting.

And if I know Nancy ... I know that someday she wouldn't mind having a gala in her honor here.

The Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Or have a private viewing of this amazing exhibit ... her alone with all these Egyptian goodies.

Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh

And if she really really pressed the issue, and if I could fit into that cat suit and sneak into the joint ( yeah right )... she would kill for this sculpture by Rodin.

But instead my friend Nancy will have to be happy with some goodies that I got her, and my undying love and adoration.

She is a beautiful woman

An amazing partner to her husband and an amazing mother.

In the good and the bad times she was a good daughter who grew into good friend to her mother in time of need. A daughter who had an great relationship with her Daddy.

The friend who knows all my secrets and still still lets me into her house.

The only one who understands the importance of chocolate babka, raisin cake, and a great pot of coffee during all those moments of spiritual unrest.

And the one who will be there when the days are long and hard or there to answer the phone when I call asking :

"YO " do you wanna go to a Crue concert next month? Who cares that will be 52 years old at the time.

Happy Birthday Nan! ... Haven't we come a long long way!

Finally ... the bikini is here

This has been the hardest blog entry since I began blogging. It seems that my computer and Blooger are having issues with eachother. Every time I tried to upload some pictures my computer was not happy and it would just stop and freeze up. Let me just say that my computer is a little older and I am looking into getting a new one ( but I have not broken the news to my machine.. but I think it senses something)

I have been working on a bikini for a co-worker for the past month, it was a "let me see if I could do this project" - project. The interesting thing about this bikini was more the fact that it would not be one solid color but six and in even stripes, it was to be the colors of the rainbow to be worn at todays Gay Pride Parade. I used the pattern from the great new book "Greetings from the Knit Cafe" and the yarn was Palette from Knit Picks. The hardest part was finding the true colors of the rainbow ... bright and vibrant. This yarn eventhough it is 100% wool, it matched the gauge and colors. So I told the young lady at work that this bikini is just for show, not to go a pool or beach water. She understood and was happy with the end results. The top did give me some problems when I realize I miscounted a whole 13 stitiches and I had to unravel the left boob, and I was not thrilled with casting on 380 stitiches at six rows each for the ties but I did it ( that was 6840 stitches on number 1's)

I don't think that I would ever make this bikini again with this yarn, the pattern was for a lycra blended yarn, but it was interesting to put together.

Yesterday was great SPIN OUT ! Now it was supposed to be held in Central Park but the pouring rain through a wrench into those plans. After much debating and some last minute luck the event was held at a recreation center on the East Side. Cara the organizer of the event is a great knitter and a spinner.

Here is Nancy taking a spin at the wheel. She wants one badly but she's not sure which is the best to get for a beginner. Ann was letting her play with her wheel for a bit and then Nancy and I tried spinning yarn from a drop spindle. Let me say that using a drop spindle is not for me.
It was amazing to see so many people spinning and knitting ... all ages helping each other and just having a great time.

This week I was on vacation, I did not have any plans except a few movies and the museum, but I ended up being sick most of the week with a horrible head cold and a nasty cough. I had no desire to knit and all I wanted to do was sleep. Guess my body was exhausted from running around my bookstore and it need to crash. Doesn't it was seem that when you have no plans your week always flies by. But I do have a commitment to finish a baby sweater and a hat or two for the Dulaan Project.
These projects didn't take much time and they used up some stash which I have no plans for. I love the fact that my simple items can help some needy kids so far away from me.

So its back to work tomorrow and my knitting group meets on Tuesday evening at my store. Hopefully some of the members of my group have a few knitted objects for me to send out to Arizona for the project.

Guess who I met today ?

Today was one of those days when a knitter goes ...Oh my GOD ! That's Debbie Bliss.

At Seaport Yarns this morning I had the pleasure of meeting two of my favorite knitting gurus....Debbie Bliss and Nicky Epstein. Debbie Bliss was in the US for a few trade shows and then she was going to several stores in NYC and NJ before heading back to London. It seems that she and Andrea - the owner of Seaport Yarns have become friends over the years and she had this morning to come by the shop. Me like the geek that I am got up bright and early eventhough I got home late from my store last night and headed to Fulton Street downtown. I was the first one there, it was only from 9:30 to 1pm.
I must say that she is the loveliest person and so grateful to hear feedback and talk to those people who spend time with her books, yarns and designs. While helping her uppack some of the knitted pieces from her suitcases, Ms. Bliss was hilarious and showing me the new cashmere yarns and the proofs of her new book Simply Baby which was supposed to be at the event but instead was stuck in customs. The book is going to be beautiful and the projects are so adorable. There were so many finished items to try on and this most amazing jacket that starts out with five stitches and is almost like a spider web.

So about half and hour later Nicky Epstein walked in. She and Debbie have been friends for years and they immediately started chatting away. I love her Over the Edge and Knitted Flowers book.
We were treated a discusssion on how she goes by designing her lines and the whole process from stetches to book. She has a unending deadline and there a lot more to come for us who love her books.


After I got one of my books signed, I decided to head down to the Seaport and hang out and do some knitting. Today's weather was lovely and the tourist were out in full force. I didn't realize at first that the bench I chose to sit on and have my lunch was the most popular one there, or at least the area of the Seaport. It hit me a second later... dah .. you are facing this :


The Brooklyn Bridge

So...I have been working an this bikini for over two weeks, and its due next week. Then I realize today that one of the cups of the bra is smaller than the other. Somehow I miscounted and I had to take the who cup apart. I cannot look at it today again, but it will be my buddy for the next couple of days. I will work on adding the elastic to the bottom for a bit tonight and finish that part at least.

I hope that everyone who lives in NYC and is free on 6/24/06 can come the the SPIN OUT in Central Park that day. It should be great day and a lot of fun. I will be tagging along with Nancy that day and I finally get to meet Cara.

The Bronx is up and the Battery's down.

So this past week our friends from Iceland came to visit our fantastic city. They arrived late Saturday night and left way too fast. On Sunday there was a BBQ at Nancy's house. We had a great time, with the great food and the nice weather. It was great seeing Ingileif and Linda again so soon and Asthildur- the cutiest 9 month old in Iceland.
On Monday I made dinner for our travellers. I had promised them a true Puerto Rican dinner. Using Nancy's kitchen and some cooking goodies the we use, I made arroz blanco, pollo guisado con papas, ensalda con aguacate y habicuelas rositas (translation ... white rice, stewed chicken with potatoes, salad with avocado and pink beans). There was a lot of food and it was a big hit. I really don't have the chance to cook big meals like that. I love too cook for friends and make a big presentation when I have the chance.



On Tuesday I met up with the ladies for some more sightseeing around the city. Linda really wanted to see the
Statue of Liberty and I could not let her leave our fair city without at least going by it. So we took the train down to the South Ferry station and there you can catch the Staten Island Ferry ( for free) and it goes right by the Statue of Liberty and then you land on Staten Island. Many tourist do this ever since 9/11 and the ferry runs all times a day. It was great seeing Linda's face when the ferry was going by Lady Liberty.

I was able to get some pictures of the beautiful family together on the ferry and on the Subway. Asthildur had everyone on the train totally in love with her, she made friends everywhere she went. If anyone goes into Toys r Us this week and notices the empty shelves, well that was because Ingileif and Linda bought it out and took it all back to Iceland with them. We had a great dinner at Planet Hollywood and then I left the exhausted ladies to go back to their hotel to pack and get some rest.

They arrived home safely and I think they have finally caught up on their sleep. It was great seeing them again and taking them around.

As for my knitting.... well I have to make some serious progress on the PRIDE bikini this week. The bottom is almost there and the top wont take too long. I just have had no time to work on it at all, and since there are so many colors involved I cannot carry it around in my bag.

Hope everyone is doing better on their projects.

No knitting today

Hello all.

Sorry to say that there has been no knitting today.
"No knitting...but why...what's wrong ? "

Simple... I am so tired !!!

The past week has been hectic at work and it started off with having to work on Memorial Day while everyone else was at the park or at some bbq. Being yelled at by nasty customers who wanted to spend there entire day making a mess in my store. GO OUT TO THE PARK .. SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOUR KIDS OUTSIDE.

Then there was the overflowing sinks in my kitchen for two days and having to bail out the water into a bucket and dumping it into the toilet. Finally the cause was found. My downstairs neighbor had her washing machine on for two damn days, not realizing that the water was backing up into the pipes and onto my kitchen floor.

So I was late for work, on the day of a major book signing of over 150 people and then all this rain. So my head hurts, my arms are sore from hauling buckets of water and to top it off, every screaming kid on the Upper East Side was at my register today at work.

So am I am bitter.. and venting to you all and I am heading straight to bed because I have to get up early tomorrow again.

So no knitting today, it has been in my bag all day... I looked at it and smiled but even the pleasure of the knit and purl couldn't help me today.