Two Finished Objects or, Due Oggetti Rifiniti

Hello, friends! Here's a very carby new year's greeting for you from Siena, Italy. Yes, that's "happy 2008" written out on a pizza! Scott and I just got back from our honeymoon. It was so wonderful to be away for nearly 2 weeks. 2007--while being a great, eventful year for us (starting a biz, getting married etc.)--was also extremely trying and tiring. So, we really revelled in our time away. We spent nearly a week in Florence, then 2 days in Siena, and nearly a week in Rome. January turns out to be an excellent time to visit the normally tourist-laden Italy. We saw very few tourists (save Italian tourists), never waited in lines, enjoyed all the sights and restaurants we wanted to. I'll be posting our (hundreds!) of pix soon. We had lovely time and we're now just getting adjusted to life back on Cambridge.

On the knitting tip: I think because of the stress of the wedding/job/etc. I haven't had a good knitting spate lately. I was hoping to allow the act of knitting to distract and comfort me, but instead I found myself making error after error and frogging continuously. I found I actually had to give it up for a couple months. But in December, I took up a quick scarf knitting project for Miss Briana (she'll have to post the pic later!) in the lovely Rowan Calmer. Calmer. Total coincidence that the name of the yarn was actually the mood I was striving for in December.

Before we left for Italy I went home to Virginia to care for my mother who was recovering from (to me a scary) surgery. Thankfully, all is well. . . such a relief.
After the hectic autumn and knowing that my mom would be ok, I knit Soulemama's hat yet again. It's a quick, satisfying knit. I wanted to give my mom a little handmade gift to warm her during this winter. I shipped it off to her around Christmas and it seems to have gone the way of Stacie's lacey shawls because it has yet to arrive! I imagine some postmaster somewhere decked out in the most glorious hand-knit items prancing among the mail.


Inspired by Amy, I knit up Smariek's 3AM hat while in Italy. This isn't a very detailed photo of the FO, but I like the way it turned out (except for some whack tension issues). I'm planning to make it again in DK weight Italy-bought yarn without the rolled up brim for Scott. In this photo I'm in Siena's famous and incredibly lovely Piazza del Campo.

I'm inspired reading your stash busting resolutions. I'll also resolve to knit only from my stash. I think I'm going to have to make an appointment for a housecall with Dr. Knitting (Stacie) and all ya'll for some advice. My stash is totally out of control--I can't even remember what projects I had in mind when I bought some of the yarn!

Can't wait to see all of you again for some quality knitting and--but of course!--bitching.