Shamrock Knits

New York in a day

Robin mentioned that she was going to New York and back in a day for a fabric-filled day. Basically a fabric crawl (think pub crawl with fabric). I was able to use my miles so I tagged along. We had an awesome day! We started out at Starbucks, shopped at two fabric stores, had lunch, shopped at two or three more places with another Starbucks break in the afternoon. Here a couple of pics from the day.

This is a charmuese fabric and a shell top pattern. I got this fabric for 50% off at Paron's. I also bought a cream 4ply silk for a similar top. That fabric was pretty pricey, so maybe I'll try it first on muslin and then this fabric.

 These are knits that I got at Spandex House. Our trip was in the garment district. It was so cool walking down the street and seeing so many different fabric stores, notion/trim stores, etc. At one of the places we went to, a prior season Project Runway designer was working there and helping Robin with her fabric choices. I also bought some knits from Metro that will be shipped to my house in a few days. It was starting to get too heavy carrying around all this fabric.

It was so great listening to all the women talking about their sewing projects, lives, offering tips and advice. Some of the great people I had the chance to talk with are Carolyn, Andrea, Sheila, Elizabeth, Jen, and Rachel. There were so many more, but I'm so bad with names and didn't write them down. :)

I'm working on getting my spare room more organized. So far, I put in these drawers from Ikea in my closet. I love them. They're filled with fabric so hopefully, I'll be inspired and organized enough to start working on some projects! I have so many on my to-do list right now. The sad thing is that the shelves are pretty filled up. We'll see if I can squeeze in my recent purchases.

Catchin' Up

I've got alot of catching up to do. First off - fun stuff. I received another Secret Pal gift.

Inside the purple gift box were the knitting tools. I seem to misplace those all the time, so it's always great to get more.  My secret pal, Jo, made a pair of hand knit socks and put the foot lotion inside. At the back right is a package of beach themed beads. Thanks alot Jo! Of course, I'm not organized, so I'll put the link to her blog next time.

I also finished another log cabin blanket. I love this pattern. It has texture, yet it's not all garter stitch. The yarn is acrylic for durability (and for the non-knitters). The colors are a more muted than in the picure. I had the vivid color setting on my camera. That feature appears to be working just fine!

I went on a trip to Cancun through work. It was mainly for sales winners, but a few support people got to go as well. I'm one of those lucky ones. We stayed at a resort that had dolphins. We passed by them back and forth from our rooms. Here's a picture of one of the dolphins that kept hopping out of the water. It was like he wanted to scratch his back.

This picture is at the Mayan ruins in Tulum. The corner of this building is the face of a man. It's a profile shot if you look from each of the sides. If you look right at the corner, you see the whole face. See it?