Recap (I know - shocker!)

I can't make promises of daily, weekly, or monthly recaps. They are empty promises at this point. So I promise to not forget I have a blog and keep updating it as much as possible.

So, here we go with the recap.

Life is good, wedding planning is (not yet) fun. There are so many details to take care of and of course we want it to be perfect. I think once we have a caterer down then I can start thinking about all the fun details that I want to incorporate. We have decided on a Spanish theme, since we were engaged in Madrid, and our families both come originally from Spain. I feel if we had an Argentinian themed wedding (from my side of the family) or a Guatemalan or Mexican themed wedding (from Tony's side) we would be excluding each other. I have so many ideas, my mind (and binder) are exploding!

I am also trying to loose a little weight. Not a lot, just a little. My workouts have become so monotonous that I have hit a physical plateau. I know I overeat (just ask my friends, I really do) so I have been really trying to watch how much I eat. So far, a little has been lost. I will let you guys know process as it happens (or not).

Now, what you all came for - the knitting.

Do you remember my Avita pattern? You can find it here on ravelry. Well, I cannot tell you how touched and flattered I am that so many people have made my little design. A wonderful knitter (and amazing photographer) even has me thinking about perhaps turning this into a little girl's dress.

Sara was even so kind as to send me pictures of her adorable pink version. Thank you so much Sara, I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to show people your adorable version. If you guys want to see more pictures of Sara's Avita, visit her ravelry site, or her blog. I am trully flattered that ONE person likes this pattern, and as of today 105 people have it in their queue on ravelry.

Speaking of queues, mine is ever growing. And I mean evah-growing. Every day I see more and more patterns that I want to make, and I even managed to get all my stash (well - MOST of it) into ravelry so that I can see if I can use any of it for my queue. As many knitters think, non-stop I am sure, I need to quit my job and learn how to burn calories while knitting so that I can do nothing but knit all day long, and not gain any weight.

I have managed to do some knitting:

Iselita vest

Named after my dear friend Isel because when I saw hers I needed to make this. She told me I could make it as long as hers was still prettier than mine, and I got really close I think, but hers is still cuter.

I actually started it in during our trip to Spain, so every time I wear it I get a flash of memories of knitting on a train on our way to Toledo. Isn't it crazy how certain garments will bring your mind back to a different place and time?

Anyhoo, I was almost to the armhole decreases when I realized that it looked really small. When I re-read the pattern I realized that I had not done the increases after the waist ribbing. oops. So I had to completely restart. It was worth the wait. I get a lot of compliments at work, which is where I usually wear it.

More details on my ravelry page here.

Vest for Papi

For all of those that don't know me, I am a MAJOR daddy's girl (shocker for those of you that do know me - I know) So before I make Tony a garment (it's in the works people) I wanted to make my dad something. I sent him a bunch of patterns and he dismissed each and every one. He explained to me what he wanted and I decided to create my own pattern. He deserves all the math that went into this one for sure.

Yes, he is doing a "body-builder" pose in that picture. He is going to kill me for posting it. :)

I think it turned out pretty good. I need to re-block the armholes so they are a little bit wider. I always have issues binding off loosely for some reason.

You can see more details for this project here.

Rayne

Another Isel copy (whaatt! The girl has good taste!)

Oh.my.gosh. I am so in love with this one. I want the fall to come because I want to wear it all over the place. I made it extra long because I am tall, and because I wanted to be able to wrap it all the way around me.

Love love love. The yarn is super soft (although it does shed, and I rayne dust bunnies still from when I was knitting it). I really want to wear it all the time.

I could not really get an excellent picture depicting how happy I am with this, but not due to lack of trying. I took quite a few. And you can see some of them, and the project details on my ravelry page here.


What I am working on now:

Valpurina

My little spring/summer project. I forgot how much I liked cables!

Ash

Such a flowy number, also perfect for spring. I am THIS close to finishing it!

So there you have it, my recap. There is so much more to come, I promise, but I cannot tell you when. :)

I know, the suspense of when I will come back is almost as strong as the suspense over the Democratic nominee!

I'm here!!! I'm here!!!

You are all thinking... "here she comes again with the 1001 excuses of why she has not posted...blah blah blah, life, work, family, reponsa...SNORE!". And I could give them all to you, and you would all ignore me. I have been busy, yes, with work, sometimes, with life, always, with wedding planning, yes, but not my own!!

Tony's little sister got hitched last week in Guadalajara, Mexico! We had a blast, but girl needs to wait until the last minute to do everything, so I have been busy for the last few months helping her get everything done. If I do say so myself, things turned out pretty darn good.

(That is of course, after... 3 weeks finding a hairdresser, 6 hours delayed in Dulles, 4 different flights for 12 different people, 30 minutes to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, 150 peso bribe to the police officer who pulled our cab driver for speeding, 4 delicious quesadillas from a garage that thank-god did not get us sick, 7 girls getting their hair and nails done in the span of 3 hours, 1 super sick bridesmaid (me - thankfully after the wedding), and too many tequila shots to count.)The wedding itself was a lot of fun. The food was fantastic, the mariachis were the perfect touch, I got a chance to see Tony's uncle and aunt that I care for very much, and I got a chance to dance with my dad, something I have never done, and am weary to do again :) I think papi and I need to take dancing lessons before my wedding.
Unfortunately that night I came down with something. All of the sudden I was shivering and had a fever. At first I thought... "how many tequila shots did we take?!" But the next day it was hard for me to eat - a sure sign something is wrong with me, and I was still feverish. Since we were leaving the next day, we took the opportunity to go to on a double decker bus ( a very touristy thing to do that we never do). My mami came with us, and she had fun posing over and over again until I got a good shot. This may not be her favorite, but I love it because she is smiling, laughing and seems to be enjoying herself.

My mom and I have a very unique relationship. We are so very different, and at times exactly the same (just ask Tony). Many times we misinterpret what the other is saying and it turns into a bigger deal than what it really should be. I will admit that I am as much to blame for that as she is, and I think that is normal when you have two different personalities interacting. But when she is happy and smiling and laughing and relaxed, and when I am the same, my mom and I have a blast together. I am sure that a lot of women out there have similar relationships with their mamis. Doesn't she look cute in that picture?

Oh, so in my not-my-wedding-induced hiatus, I have been doing alot of knitting. So do not fret, pictures and details of all my FO's will be coming to this blog in the near future. I can start with a small one today.

You likey? I really wanted some fingerless gloves for the office. I am one of the lucky ones that sit next to the window and it get so cold! All of the sudden as I am hard at work for hours at end (a little sarcasm for all of you), my fingers freeze up and it is hard for me to do anything else.

There are so many great fingerless glove patterns out there in raverly land, but none that I fell in love with for some reason. So I created my own pattern. I have it if anybody is interested. The only teenie tiny little problem I am having right now is that I cannot find the label for my yarn, so I cannot tell you what it is. I got it at Nature's Yarns in Fairfax, so I can run over there one of these days and figure it out. I bet you as soon as I do that, I will find the label in my knitting bag.

Teenie, Tiny Little Update

Believe it or not, there is a lot, a LOT of knitting going on. I have been taking my knitting to the pool on weekends and making progress. At first I was a bit weary of doing this. Tony gave me a look like I was crazy. Then last weekend I saw a lady crocheting a blanket poolside! Take THAT Tony!

I finished a little surprise pattern on our way and back from Pittsburgh. Hopefully I will have a photo shoot with the recipient in the near future and spend some time creating a pattern so all you wonderfully talented knitters out there can dedconstruct it and teach me a thing or two about pattern writing. I am expecting it, no worries! I also knit the first Secret Michi Baby Project (SMBP1). If any of you are on ravelry, you can check it out there - under lomester. I am not going to post any details until after the shower, she is so nosy my michi!

And I am today finishing my Razor Cami, AND I am swatching with my habulishoush silk for a summer tunic. See! I am knitting!

My dad's show went great and it gave me a chance to hang out with my disfuntional, crazy, but totally fab family. We really have a lot of fun together.
See how cute my brother is? I love that picture of us - and yes, that is redgina you see!
My two brothers and I. Yes, that is my camera, yes, I am nervous that he is holding it, yes, I did make him wear the neck strap.And of course, the man of the day... yes, he milked it and was a bit of a diva. But we are proud nonetheless.

You can see more pics of our little weekend trip here.

Goodies to/from Argentina

I left Argentina when I was 9. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. By far. I hated leaving my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins behind, and even begged my parents to let me stay and live with my grandparents. I have gone back three times, and leaving them does not get any easier. That is why I hate going back to Argentina.
Thankfully in the age of technology and instant everything, we are able to communicate far better than I have ever imagined. I still get veclemped when they call, or when they send me a picture, cause I miss them so much. Thes pictures of them and the handknitted gifts I sent them really choked me up.

Model: My grandmother - the cutests, bestest grandmother ever. I used to spend every weekend with her and my grandfather running around in their backyard and eating her home made meals. Man I miss her. But isn't she the CUTEST?!
Pattern: Clutch from Handknit Holidays. Yarn: left over yarn from my Somewhat Cowl. Comments: I actually really liked this pattern. I just had a hard time hand sewing the zipper in, and I wish I could use my little sewing machine to line it, but I cannot get the tension right on the thread. I want to make the bag for myself, I just need to find the time to do it.

Model: My tio Roberto. He is my dad's older brother, and one of the few men that I know that can pull off a pink vest. Pattern: my own mock stitch pattern. Yarn: Patons's Merino Wool in Gray.

Model: My Tio Mario. The youngest one of the three brothers. He is a really good photographer and I have the best pictures of him and I when I was a baby. Also super cute man. ( and not an alcoholic - he shared the beer with my dad :) ) Pattern: Coronet from Knitty Yarn: Lamb's Wool in a chocolate brown ( I don't remember the color right now). Model: Tia Gladys (tio Mario's wife) Not only does she look half my age (arghhh!) she is one the coolest ladies I know. She is always calm, patient, and just so much fun to be around. It was her birthday while my dad was there - therefore she got two gifts. Pattern: Fetching from Knitty and Calorimetry also from Knitty. Yarn: Lamb's Wool in seafoam for Fetching, and Seafoam and another color I had leftover from the robots for Colimetry. (don't judge for the lack of information - I was in a hurry to get these out the door before my dad left on his trip and I did not write anything down.)

Apparently the gifts were a huge success, and the talent appreciated. So, what did I get back from Argentina?

YARNNNN!!!

My dad brought me back this:

It is 100% wool, gorgeous and chocolaty brown lovelyness!

My tio Roberto sent this yummy goodness:

Llama (how the heck do you spell that?), in three different shades and I am in love with all of it. He even sent me the email address of the woman he bought it from in case I want to contact her.

Mario and Gladys sent me this gorgeous necklace, that is woven somehow, with the matching earrings.

I really cannot wait to see them all. I am thinking I will go and visit for my birthday next year. That just seems so far away.

Ok, as far as knitting is going. I still do it. :) I am working on that Phildar jacket, and I am completely annoyed by it. I will blog about it later this week, but I will leave you with a little teaser:

Who would have thought Paton's dye lots would be so radically different?