No-Ideas Friday

I got nothing today. I am about to leave for a week in Austin, TX. It will be mostly business, but I hope to catch up with some friends as well. If you are reading this, and you know where the Austin SnBers meet, leave me a comment! I would love to drop in.

My SP3 sent me a wonderful email wherein she told me that my life seemed glamorous with all of the traveling, and big city living...

Thank you SP, for reminding me to appreciate my life these days.

Too often, I focus on the negatives (like traffic, too much work, not enough time to knit, no best friends for thousands of miles...) instead of being grateful for the amenities of a big city (why don't I go to museums more often?), new friends (I hope to make October's meetup, and an Arlington SnB at the end of the month), a job that makes me think and lets me travel (ok, airports aren't the most fun, but you can't beat the great knitting time in-flight and on the train!) not to mention it brings me into contact with great consultants who bring me amazing hauls of yarn from across the pond (possibly one more batch next month, we at small hands have ALL of our fingers crossed!)... I am going to work on a little appreciation for the next couple weeks.

Believe me, I am going to need it. Next weekend will be very difficult, as I will be dealing with an awkward visit from a rarely-seen relative. I am trying to stay positive about this as well, but it is very hard. I will likely arrange a spa-day and a shopping spree at the end of it, just to dissipate the bad mojo. I know that my attitude is everything, so I really need to turn it around or it will be a miserable coupla days.

The posts may be thin next week, since the hotel internet connection can never be guaranteed... I am hoping to work on a pair of socks and a new something on my trip (not sure what yet... I have a little scarf to finish, and about a million things in the queue... I think I want to surprise myself). There is a black sweater in my future, but it won't be blog worthy (on account of not being very photogenic) so I need some bright somethings for my three regular readers. (You know who you are.) :)

I am also trying to think of a good blog contest ('cause I will never use up all of this stash). I hope to have an idea (and a prize) up this weekend... Stay tuned.

In the meantime, here is a wonderfully altered pic of my other FO from the Princeton trip (Jessie, thank for the LYS recommendation, I was only in town for a couple of hours this trip, but I have one more planned and will try to hit that shop.)

My Sweetest Baboo has artfully removed me from the pic (as I looked much too old and haggard). And he added the lovely inset so you could see the stitch pattern. The pattern is a large loop that can be worn as a neck-wrap (looped twice), or as a hood with one of the loops pulled up.



Stats:
Pattern: Esperanza Knitted Loop-thing from Little Box of Scarves
Yarn: Schaefer's Esperanza in Edith Piaf on size 11s - approx 2.5st/in.
Mods: I added 12 stitches to the loop, and as a result had to cut out one repeat of the pattern.
Start/Finish: Not sure, I had one row of knit done when I got on the train on Sunday, and finished the last when I got off the train on Monday. It was a very quick knit!