"Where Ya' Been?"

I'm kind of slow with posts lately because of life, but here is one thing I'm almost finished with - a new "cardi shrug" I found on Ravelry. This is a short-sleeved shrug to wear to work. "But you just knit a new shrug, why would you need another one? And you always wear scrubs to work because you hate ironing, right?


Well, right, but stuff like this has been going on:


See, that's a new picture for the newspaper ads that will go out soon, because I'm branching out into a new adventure! I'm leaving the safety and subordination of private practice and jumping into academic medicine, where I will be Director of the Division...which means I'll be in charge of myself, since I'm the only one in the Division for now. Ooh, no more scrubs - I'll have to dress for work every day! Thus the shopping spree at the local outlet for work pants and new shirts to wear under shrugs and cardigans. Sheila did this post on camis made very quickly with fold-over elastic that I can then pair with my work pants and shrugs - see? It'll be my new uniform. (Well, they actually have awards at the end of the year from the residents, and I'm coveting the Best Dressed Attending award - does that mean I'm shallow?) And I actually pulled out a pants pattern from the stash to see if I can whip up some new work pants....and I use the term whip very loosely, since the pinned tissue has been waiting to be tried on for the past 2 weeks.

Anyway, it's been a wee bit stressful, as you know if you've ever changed jobs and had to think about a completely new wardrobe, so I may be spotty here for another month or so while I get myself together. The good news? My new office is about 200 square feet with a kitchen counter, cabinets, and a table that seats four. I'm thinking it'll be a great new sewing space....till business picks up, of course!

The Love-Hate Shrug

Here it is laid out flat.


Fold in half at the stitch markers and sew arm/side seams - did those on the machine with a narrow zigzag in exactly 5 minutes.


Love it - the style is almost exactly what I wanted...almost.


It was a quick knit, and I LOVE the yarn - my first experience with lace, and it was good. You can stretch lace as much as you like, to a point, but you still can't make this long-sleeved.


The seams will look better after I block it, but I always have to wear it before I block it - I'm lazy that way.


So here's the problem - see those little holes by my neck right at the top of the shoulder? Those are supposed to be buttonholes! The pattern implies you should put them 1/2" and 1-1/2" below the stitch marker, but what they really meant was go "midway" down and put them - ARGH!


So I found a gap where I increased a stitch, and will call that a buttonhole, but I really need another one to make it secure.


Oh well, guess I'll email the company to let them know they have an error, and the sleeves are really NOT long-sleeved. On the other hand, I have a whole 'nother skein of the same yarn in a different colorway, so perhaps I'll do this again the correct way with extra length for sleeves....hmmmm....

Some Items Regarding Knitting

So this is the lacy shrug I'm knitting that I found on Ravelry:


It's knit as one piece from the back bottom up over the shoulder continuing with just the right front, then you go back and do the left front. SO....imagine the sleeve extending out to your left will be folded in half with the top part being the front and the bottom piece being the back.


Do we believe this to be long-sleeved? We do not, but the company insists it is, so I'm eager to finish and see how long I can stretch that sucker.

In other knitty news, my MIL gave me an early birthday present of these 2 frilly scarves! She came over to be interviewed by Lucas for his WWII project, then we took them to lunch at Felix's on the Causeway, where she showed me how to start one of these scarves myself. (Yes, we had knitting out at the table briefly - I am not the only one obsessed with knitting, am I?)


Don't worry - we put it away before the oysters came!

Pure Barre Shirt - Done!

But first, a couple of leftover Mardi Gras pics. This is a bunch of strangers doing The Wobble in front of Lafitte's.


And here's a pretty pic of the Superdome.


Now to the shirt. I took 3 XXL T-shirts I found at an outlet joint and cut them up for this.


Used the same pattern as my Mardi Gras dress - the fitted top/tunic/dress.


I wanted to play with open-felling seams, but those aren't too stable, so I did this parallel whipstitch down them, and loved how the knots looked on the outside.


I only had enough red thread for one seam and the bindings, but this is a workout top, so who the heck cares?


Oh, and my spur of the moment purchase - 2 pairs of leggings at Walgreen's for $10 apiece - fun!


Don't worry, I won't wear them in public...wait, is Pure Barre public?

To Ease the Depression

You know how let-down you feel after the holidays or a big vacation is over and it's back to the real world? That's how I feel now. I thought it was just post-New Orleans blues, but Jim nailed it when he said, "This is the first time you haven't said you need to go work on your dress." I feel lost with a week off work and not much to do....soooo, I picked up my knitting needles for the first time in 3 months! I really thought I forgot how to cast on, but it came back to me. This will be a lacy shrug with long sleeves that I found on Ravelry. Can't remember where I bought the yarn - Birmingham, I think.

The Wobble, Apparently

This was at Mardi Gras. I have a photo of about 30 Wobblers in front of Lafitte's, but nobody was this good!

HK Reincarnated

It is such a shame that I have my father's and brother's exact face, differing only by my hair color.

Dressy Family

That's my brother and SIL, all ready to head to Endymion.

Police Start Parade

Little blurry, but you get the idea - very dramatic!

Boots

This is how the dress would've been styled by AC anyway, so I had no problem losing the heels at the party.

No Idea

Nice Boots

Makes Me Itch

Mario Antoinette

So Many Freaks in Quarter!

Live Art

Traveling Grand

Bouncing through the Quarter - amazing.