Baked Expectations, Artorama, and a really great dinner

Dear Knittah,

I'm sorry I haven't written much lately, there just hasn't been all that much happening in the way of exciting travel... and I admit, I've been a bit lazy. Sorry! The good news is that I'll be making a trip to Fredericton, NB, this spring, and will be stopping in Toronto on my way there. (I'll be sure to check out Lettuce Knit! Oooo... they're open late Wednesday nights... I wonder if that's when the SNB meets? I'd love to hang out with a Toronto SNB! And, of course, if I happen to meet the Yarn Harlot, I'll be *sure* to get my picture taken with her! Noricum has met her a few times now, but I haven't gotten to meet her yet. *sigh*)

Anyway, here's the small bits of excitement we had in March:

Noricum and I and Noricum's friend (HJ) and Noricum's friend's husband went to Baked Expectations early in March. Noricum hadn't seen her friend in quite a while, and HJ is *pregnant*! (Baby knitting! Noricum had some fun with baby knitting back in February.) Anyway, the cake was soooooo good, that we didn't manage to get a photo of it before it disappeared. Whoops!

However, HJ helped take this photo where Noricum is pointing to the cake she had a slice of:

It was *yummy*! It was chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate cheesecake and another of chocolate mousse, all coated with chocolate ganache. (Can you tell Noricum likes chocolate? Or that she couldn't decide between cake, cheesecake, or mousse? And that in a state of chocolate-indecision, this cake was perfect? If she goes back again, though, she plans on having a slice of "plain old" chocolate cheesecake. Not that anything is "plain old" there!)

Then nothing much happened for *ages*... Noricum worked on her dissertation, and I hung out in her pocket, waiting for interesting opportunities.

Today, something interesting finally happened! We went to Artarama, an art show of local artists put on by the Knights of Columbus. (Noricum's dad is in the Knights, and her mom is having lots of fun doing art... so she had two invitations to go.) here's some of the art we saw:






(Did you notice I actually met one of the artists in that last photo!?! I gave her a postcard.)


After a fun afternoon looking at art, we had a *yummy* dinner at Masa, a Japanese restaurant:

Mmmmm! This time I managed to get a photo before all the food was gone... although there was already a big dent in the edamame, and Noricum had eaten two of her pieces of sashimi. For dessert, we had puffed rice cake at home that Noricum's mom had made. Mmmmmm!

Well, it's getting past my bedtime now, so I guess I should go to bed.

Love,
Swatchy

Introducing Swatchy McPhee

Do you remember when I posted a couple weeks ago asking for someone to carry a Swatchy to the Represent Event in New York City? No one volunteered in time, and I was bummed. I am a huge fan of the Yarn Harlot, and CFS prevented me from going to the event myself. It was yet another cruel disappointment at the hands of this illness.

Rebecca has come to the rescue!!!!!! It turns out that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka Yarn Harlot, is making an appearance in Rebecca's home town next week. Rebecca emailed me and offered to carry a Swatchy to the event. Hurray!!!!!! I am so grateful, and the Swatchy Factory™ ramped up:



I am please to introduce Swatchy McPhee. First, a disclaimer: this Swatchy is not meant to be a representation of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I know that Stephanie is not shaped like a shoebox, nor do I think she has (or needs) purple hair. I hope she won't mind that I borrowed part of her name for this special Swatchy.

Swatchy McPhee was knit from a variety of stash yarns that my mom had on hand. Her hands and face are Scottish wool, her pants are silk, her hair is Manos. She was knit very tightly on US1 and US2 needles.



Do you see that she is holding something in her right hand? Yes, she has knitting. What else does a knitter do while waiting to see the Yarn Harlot herself? Swatchy McPhee is bringing her knitting along to the event. Let me give you a sense of scale.


That's garter stitch on straight pins with laceweight yarn.

Swatchy McPhee is now on her way to Rebecca, and should arrive with plenty of time before the event. I can't wait to see pictures! Maybe Swatchy McPhee will even get to meet her namesake!

Introducing Swatchy Bean™

Meet Swatchy Bean! He was designed by and made for my husband. David chose Artyarns Supermerino in color 138 for Bean's body. The eyes, heart and hair are similar to the other Swatchys.

Swatchy Bean is currently in Las Vegas with David for a professional conference. Hopefully Bean will behave himself, but bring back some good pictures!

Off to Africa

SwatchGrrl is off to Africa! She will be living with our friend Njuru in Lilongwe, Malawi. Njuru is from Kenya, but he and his family are in Lilongwe, where Njuru works on a public health program. I hope that we'll see pictures and hear stories about this far off place, so different from home!

Harloty Request

Knittah here. I have a request to make of any and all knitters who read this blog:

Is there anyone who plans to attend the Represent Event with the Yarn Harlot in NYC?

I cannot go. I desperately WANT to go, but I cannot go. Believe me, if I could convince someone to come along, I would hop a train and go to this event because I think it will be awesome. But I have a doctor's appointment the next day, and there is no way on this earth that I could go to the event in New York and then make it to the doctor's appointment on Friday. And since my doctor is out of the country five months a year, and I have had this appointment for three months, there is no way I can cancel this appointment.

So . . . the Represent Event is Thursday, March 22nd at 6 pm at The Fashion Institute of Technology in the Haft Auditorium, which is in the C building on 27th street just off of 7th avenue. Most current details are in this post, and the blog may have more details in the next few days.

If anyone reading this is able to attend, please contact me. I will find a way to get you a Swatchy in time for the party.

Day at the Beach

Dear Swatchy,

Nori and I went to the beach (with the help of Celeste and Knittah)!!! We had so much fun. First we checked out this cool statue by the town library.


Then the girls took us to the ocean!!! As you can see, it was a beautiful day. There was only a little breeze, and it was over 50 degrees Farenheit.


Even so, the girls got a little cold. Here's Knittah, who says she doesn't mind the cold at all.


We all sat on the beach for almost three hours. We were the only people there, at least who were sitting. There was a steady stream of people walking along the water, and some had dogs. But no one else was just sitting and relaxing. Celeste and Knittah talked and talked. Man, those two can talk! Nori and I got bored, so we played in the sand.


And I just couldn't resist. I buried Nori!


Hee hee hee! That was fun. Celeste got some strange looks from passersby when she took our picture. I don't know why. Doesn't everybody bury each other in the sand?


But don't worry, Swatchy. I didn't leave Norl there. Knittah made sure I dug him out and helped him clean off all the sand. Then it was back to the house for a yummy dinner, lots of knitting and a Battlestar Galactica marathon.

We had a great time! Wish you could have been with us!

Love, Swatchy Hugz

Sick Nicky

Swatchy and Unhappy Nicky

Dear Nori,

Did you know Nicky? Well, he's Noricum's dad's dog, and Noricum is taking care of him while her dad is away. Unfortunately, Nicky hurt himself somehow. We don't know what's wrong yet. (We're waiting to hear from the vet.) I'll keep you posted.

You'll be happy to know I helped to keep him company at the vet's this morning. (From a safe distance... Nicky is rough with chew-toys, and he thinks anything that'll fit in his mouth is a chew toy. I wouldn't last long as Nicky's chew toy!!!)

I hear you get to go to the beach this weekend with Knittah, Celeste, and Swatchy Hugz... I hope you have fun!

Love,
Swatchy