NBS, or Neglectful Blogging Syndrome, is common amongst busy bloggers who struggle to find a work/life/play balance. While treatable, NBS can cause intense feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment and inadequacy. While the neglectful blogger continues to read other netizens' blogs, he/she only feels worse when he/she recognizes that his/her fellow bloggers continue to update at regular intervals. The cure for NBS is both simple and difficult. The neglectful blogger needs to bite the proverbial bullet and post a blog entry. While the first NBS treatment can be painful and may result in a post of lesser quality. This is the critical first step in treating the cyclical syndrome. *** Hello. My name is Suzanne and I have NBS. But to be fair I've been a busy gal. In the past 5 months I've started a new job, bought a new house, started the adoption process and we've been fixing up our current house for sale this summer. I've been knitting a lot though and will start posting FOs (Strawberry Hat, Lace Leaf Shawl, Clapotis II, Angel's Rest Socks etc.) after I take photos.

Back from the blogging void...also known as "real life." 'Tis the season, eh? Theoretically, the last week of work before the holiday break is supposed to be languorous and quiet. WhatEVER! We've been so busy at work. I guess it's a good thing and a bad thing. Busy means lots of revenue. But busy also means...I haven't gotten anywhere near I need to be on my Christmas knitting. I'm sad to say that I think my dad's Irish Hiking scarf will not be made in time. I'm going to be pushing it just to finish my mom's Feather and Fan scarf in time. 30 minutes a night just isn't enough time. And what's up with parties in the middle of the week? Damnit...don't you people appreciate the fact that I have knitting to do? C'mon...how many Christmas cookies do you think I need? (Ok...I need A LOT of Christmas cookies. I'll give you that.) That said, I have one old Christmas FO to share. The Christmas HiP. In Aurora Bulky. (click on the thumbnail for the whole deal.) The yarn was on super sale and they only had 3 balls of red and 2 of green. But the colors were so Christmas-y I had to get them. I quickly realized that the pretty staggered stripes of the pattern wouldn't use up all of the yarn...and I needed to use all of the yarn in order to make the scarf as looooooong as I wanted it. Hence, the funky attempt at a transition between colors. Well, it's definitely long. I actually haven't taken the time to measure...but considering the approximate length of each step gap I figure I have at least 84" of scarf there. That's a lot of scarf! And the Aurora Bulky is very warm. Thankfully it's not too heavy (considering how much yarn is there) and it's nice and soft. It actually looks quite fun and seasonal when worn. My biggest complaint is the curling. Pre-blocking, this thing was a twisty tube. Post-blocking...well...it seemed ok. But after one day of wearing...it curled right back up. Gah! Granted, I steam blocked it instead of wet blocking. (Where the hell am I going to lay out a scarf this long to wet block???) Alison warns you about the curling...but I have to say, I'm a bit dismayed that she wasn't lying. So when I get a break, I'll wet block this sucker until the curl is beaten into submission. In the meantime, I'll just walk around with the Tube O' Christmas around my neck.

Knitting time! When the view out your front window is this: how can you NOT want to knit??? It snows so rarely in the Seattle area - it's always a treat. But I must admit, the city reacts disproportionately panicky to the weather. The DEFECTIVE YETI says it better than I could. I'm a bit late on my holiday knitting...but here's my mother's scarf on the needles: It's a simple Feather and Fan pattern in Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk. It's such a ridiculously easy thing to knit up. But she's not a knitter (and she's my mom), so she'll be impressed. Ummm...and please ignore the horrible attempt at staging a picture. I so wish I could take beautiful photos. And you think this one is bad? Wait until you see the pic of the Christmas HiP scarf I just finished. But I'll protect your eyes from that until the next post.

I don't know what it is about Jess Hutch's creations...but they make me smile every time I see them. Here's my Squarey from her PATTERN BOOKLET Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted Needles: US8 Finished Dimensions: he's stuffed with a 12"x12" pillow form Jess uses "safety eyes" for her dolls but I was far too lazy to go and find some so I embroidered on the eyes. I actually like the effect...it kind of looks like he has eyelashes. But other than that...this little guy is to her pattern. I highly recommend making Squarey. Besides being a ridiculously easy and quick knit, he's really rather charming and great to snuggle with or prop up your arm whilst knitting. My one tip to you if you make Squarey: Don't forget to remove the tag from the pillow form BEFORE you seam up the doll. Not that I did that of course. Never mind that crunching noise you hear when you squeeze him.

All the way from the UK...see all those stamps!? You can only imagine my delight when I realized I had just received a Barbie Sea Rescue set! Finally, my plastic sea animals are safe from the terrors of the bathtub thanks to Barbie and her porpotionally small speed boat. Alas, my dear SP decided to go the more traditional route with a dizzying array of goodies. Each was individually wrapped in colorful tissue and was accompanied by a little note. Really, the attention to detail was just lovely. Here's the breakdown: - A skein of local wool for dying! I've never done any dying...and I'm so excited to try. - Two skeins of Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed. According to my SP it will felt beautifully. Little winter bag...here I come. - A cute trinket bag of gadgets for my desk. - More LUSH goodies. Can you tell why I love my SP? - The cutest little sheep ornament. - A pencil made from a twig from my SP's home area. It's actually a bored out twig with pencil lead. How cool is that? - TWO bars or Green and Black chocolate. I've been DYING to try some since I've heard so many great things about it. My hubby declared it "really good" and I didn't declare it anything as I was too busy stuffing it in my mouth before he could get anymore of it. - And finally a little bottle of a restorative. I wasn't quite sure what it was. The note said it was to help relax during stressful times. I read the bottle and it said to put a few drops in some water and drink or to drop a few drops directly on the tongue. Oooooo-kay. And then I look at the ingredients. The primary ingredient was BRANDY! WAHOOO! I just love this little bottle. It's going to travel in my purse all day. And when people see me dropping this stuff and they ask "what's that" I can tell them "it's my medicine." Sure, they may wonder why I act all tipsy after I take my medicine... Thank you dear SP. So many delights in one box! I can't believe I still have another package coming. I know it's better to give than to receive (and I've had a ton of fun giving.) But I must say...the receiving part is pretty darn fun too. Hmmm...I think I feel a bit of stress coming on. I'm off to take my medicine!

At long last...a few lessons learned on seaming (and blocking.) Most of you probably know all of these tips. But I, for one, sure learned a couple of good ones! Sizing: For sweaters, knit the back first to the desired LENGTH. Mark every 10 or 20 rows with a little split ring marker to make counting rows easier. Then, knit the front piece(s)to the same row count as the back. This will keep you from having to stop and measure all of the time. And you're be assured of having an even stitch count to seam together. Seaming sides: Place decreases at least 1 stitch in from the edge. Place increases at least 2 stitches in from the edge. This ensures you have a clean line of stitches to follow when you seam. Blocking Boards: Make your own blocking board from a stiff surface (thick cardboard) covered with some quilt batting and then gingham fabric. The gingham forms a natural grid for you to use as blocking guides. Blocking sweaters: Block the back of the sweater first. Then, lay the front piece(s) of the sweater over the back and pin down. This prevents you having to measure twice. Just keep a fan running to keep the drying time down. Blocking sweaters: For a sweater than hangs straight at the bottom, don't pin the outer inch or two of the bottom corners. Allow these corners to "pull in" a bit. This will prevent the bottoms from flaring when it's all pieced together and worn. Weaving in bulky ends: If you're using a bulky yarn, split the yarn in two and weave in those ends separately (in opposite directions.) This is a very secure way to weave in ends without adding bulk. Seaming order: 1) Shoulder seams (If it's a raglan sleeve, do the bar to bar first) 2) Neck edging and front bands 3) Attach sleeves (for set in sleeves, baste first) 4) Sleeve underarms (from armpit out to wrist) Tomorrow...a new friend to introduce. Here's a hint...it's from THIS FABULOUS BOOKLET.

The WINTER INTERWEAVE KNITS PREVIEW is up. Overall, I'm looking forward to it. There are a few sweaters and a scarf that look like fun. My breakdown... The HIGH: Bi-color cables. Of course, it's by Annie Modesitt, so you can't go wrong. But is anyone else just LOVING how this looks? I want to see more! Damn the small preview pics! Damn them! and The LOW: Mowat Mukluks. Mukluks. Ok, I get that Kate Hudson and Pam Anderson love their Ugg boots. And oh...look, knitted BOOTies are so cute. But Mukluks? And in a hot pink no less. Talk about "Ugh". To be fair, I think the furry wrap around section is what really puts it over the "fugly" edge. But really, I could never see these things again and be happy. Thank goodness for small preview pics! Thank goodness!