Vintage Sock Press

I am a total sucker for/collector of vintage knitting items, and I saw this really cool one on eBay a few weeks ago.




It's a pressing board, to use for knitted socks/stockings. Here's a detail shot:



Isn't it cool? I bid for it and won, and am now awaiting delivery.

Caps to the Capitol

Save the Children, an excellent not-for-profit organization, has organized an advocacy campaign called "Caps to the Capitol" to focus attention -- and hopefully government funding -- on programs and simple, low-cost practices (such as putting a hat on a baby) that could save newborn lives. According to Save the Children's website, "Four million newborns die each year within the first month of life — half within the first 24 hours of life. The United States can lead the way in saving these young lives by increasing funding for critical health programs for mothers and newborns."

Save the Children volunteers were all over the NYC Knit Out on Sunday, passing out action kits and encouraging knitters to participate in the program.


I was a little concerned that the caps were going to be sent to President Bush, and end up being thrown away, but I was assured that only petitions were being sent to POTUS, and that the caps themselves were to be mailed to Save the Children's offices and distributed from there.

So, I'll be knitting some newborn hats this month. Won't you join me?

NYC Knit Out

NYC knitters were out in force yesterday in Union Square for the Knit Out. The weather was glorious -- sunny and warm but not too hot (a good thing when one is modeling knitwear), with nary a cloud in the blue, blue sky. I got lots of smiles and nods for the skull-and-crossed-knitting-needles T!

The highlight of my day? I MET THE YARN HARLOT!!!!! Not only did I meet her, I got my picture taken with her, and the sock! She was even kind enough to try and block the sun from my eyes.

Barnes & Noble even got into the Knit Out spirit, with an entire front window dedicated to knitting books, as well as a table of knitting books right inside the door.

I was seduced by volume 1 of Vogue's Stitchionary (loved the bamboo stitch), as well as Tracey Ullman's new book (the herringbone handbag is fab). Now I just need to finish my project backlog so that I can get started on some new things!

P.S. I had lots of photos to post, but Blogger is not cooperating and won't upload anymore, despite nearly a dozen attempts. I'll try again tomorrow.

Wastin' away again in Margaritaville

In my ongoing effort to hold on to summer for as long as I possibly can, I went to see Jimmy Buffett in concert tonight. What a fun show!!! They were even selling frozen margaritas at the concession stand. Those Parrotheads sure know how to party! I regret to say that I was one of the few people in attendance not wearing a Hawaiian shirt/lei /parrothead hat/cheeseburger hat/shark hat or some combination thereof.

I decided after the second song that I definitely want Jimmy Buffett's job. He came on stage barefoot, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and played and sang to a completely sold-out Madison Square Garden, to an audience that sang all the words to every song and were loudly and happily sharing their love of the music. Beats sitting at a desk all day, that's for sure!

Souls on Fire

Someone once gave me a book titled "Souls on Fire" and that's all I could think about tonight as I stood out by the river and looked at the Tribute in Light as it disappeared into the clouds above Manhattan -- the souls of the 2749 people who were killed on September 11th at the World Trade Center, traveling along those beams of light and burning into, then through, the clouds.

I also thought of all the innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq who have been killed in the name of those 2749 people, as well as the 184 who were killed at the Pentagon and the 40 on Flight 93 in Shanksville. I can't believe the victims of one horribly violent act would want others to be senselessly killed in their memory. Please pray for peace.

Bootie call

The charming Colton isn't the only baby to receive booties and a hat from me this summer. Meet the lovely Paige, pictured here at just 4 weeks.

Three of my colleagues have had babies this year, and a 4th just entered her third trimester, so I've been in baby clothes production mode. It's actually been great summer knitting -- lovely, cool cotton in a summery pale green, and small projects that I can tuck into any bag and take with me on my various travels.

These are from a Debbie Bliss baby book, using a Jaeger DK weight cotton (of which I have two full bags!). The cotton has a lovely sheen, which doesn't really come across in these photos.

My only complaint is that the Debbie Bliss pattern really falls down when it comes to finishing the booties -- as written, the rear seaming is totally ugly/unworkable, which has led to some experimentation on my part. I'm still not completely satisfied with the results, but it's better than the original pattern IMHO.

A letter from a very articulate nine-month-old

Dear Ms. Carolyn,

Thank you very much for my hat and booties - I LOVE them. My mom took the first few of these pictures to show you how good they look on me, and then I added a couple more so that you could see I wore the hat and booties a lot! I've also worn them fly fishing and on my first camping trip! (Mom can't get those photos from where we are on vacation right now...) I hope you like these photos and I can't wait to thank you in person for the hat and booties with a baci and wave - two of my newest tricks!

lots of love,
Colton