Stranded on sleeve island

But happily so. I've been able to crank out quite a bit on Sweet William this week despite having a second re-do on my altered neck. At least that's some consolation for a night or two of insomnia - bonus knitting time.

The stitch pattern on the sleeve is completely different than that on the body. At first, I wasn't digging the way it looked, but now I think it'll make quite an interesting contrast:

Here, four stitches are slipped with the yarn in the front on the RS and - with alternating these stitches - creates a basketweave look:

In honor of more spring-like weather, I broke out some suitably springy stitchmarkers (also from the delightful Jelby...creators of the felted Easter egg and sheep markers):

Yesterday marked the first Saturday in two months that I neither worked or taught. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to a real two-day weekend. Unfortunately, I woke up Saturday morning feeling entirely crapped out physically and emotionally. I'm still a bit burned out and just wanted to do something different. So, after the gym, we packed up and head to Alterra with a pit stop for me to The Loop. Normally I want to be home as much as possible when I'm not at work but I just needed to make a change in the routine. It was 50% good. I don't like Alterra - way too hipster for me, very loud, and too filled with the Cool Couples each sitting with their own laptops, PDAs, souped-up cells, and ipods madly clicking away and speaking to everyone else in the world except each other. I really wanted to just sit and knit at a cafe and recharge. I should have followed instinct #1 and gone to The Last Drop - much more relaxed and less about "being seen".

Anyway, after a few rows, I packed up and went next door to The Loop and had a much better impression than my first visit there during the winter.

I purchased a The Luxury Collection by Debbie Bliss which is going to prove superb in busting through my worsted weight stash, including the lovely on the cover plus this must-knit, "Olivia"...it is SCREAMING my name!

This week, this little guy made me happy:

I went to Goldi's on Thursday to preview the Dansko trunk show. While many pairs caught my eye, this silly thing stole my heart. What's better is that it is also a bank! How cute is that!