Kate Jacobs

Kate Jacobs came to my library Saturday, and I was thrilled to have her do a reading from her newest release, Knit the Season which is her third installement in the Friday Night Knitting Club series, and it is devoted to the winter holidays. She talked about how she didn't even realize that she skipped winter in the first two novels, and she really wanted to show knitting and holiday spirit in this newest novel.

I was impressed with how down-to-earth Kate Jacobs was; she was honest, funny and never snoody. She made sure she had ample time for questions, because she related to us how when she was 23, and working as a journalist, she had all sorts of questions for authors...yet it was hard to get the chance to ask them. She always wanted to write books since the 8th grade, yet was pushed into the Redbook magazine business because of her mom's "you're gonna starve if you write books" comments as an 8th grader with a writer's ambition.

The audience also learned that she grew up in a small town, approx. 5,000 persons, and was a big reader who could easily have read the entire library's collection as a kid. She didn't win writing contests, but she kept writing until she made her way in the literary world. Now she has at least 4 books out, the 5th being a stand-alone book...and Hollywood is planning on making her first novel, The Friday Night Knitting Club in to a movie! With Julia Roberts starring as Georgia Walker! Neat!

The basis of the Knitting Club books is about flawed friends who find their way in the Big City by this club that meets on Fridays in Georgia Walker's knitting shop. They bring their mistakes to the table, yet find solace in eachother and learn to make amends with their mistakes, and to move-on from inevitable things that you can't change. Unlikely friendships form in the process, and long-term relationships mend or break. The book is charming, although not fast-paced, and should make you want to join a knitting club if you haven't already.

Kate Jacobs also talked about a "Warming families" hat-drive that she is part of with Land's End, with a goal to have around 25,000 beanies knit for the homeless. But like she said, she can't knit it all up...and she needs our help! You can visit her website for more information on Vickie Howell's free beanie pattern that you can use to knit up the hats. If you're interested in the 2x2 ribbed hat pattern, you can find others knitting it on Ravelry. You can even send in a scarf if you're still a beginner knitter. If you can a spare skein of yarn and a spare day or so, please help her out. It's for a really good cause. :)

"Friday Night Knitting Club"

Just wondering if anyone else was going to Kate Jacob's reading at my library tomorrow, the 7th. If you are, you know where it is...and just holla, cause I'll be there. I'm excited!
Sorry, I'm off to try to read more of the book, since I stopped a while ago....eek!!!

Double-looped Scarf

I've been knitting a little bit on some thank you gifts for some people who really were too gracious in giving us wedding gifts the past couple of months. We appreciate their thoughtfulness, so I'd like to give them something warm and hand-knit. I'm knitting each of the three ladies my "double-looped scarf" that really is a fast and easy knit. I'll upload the pattern to it in the near future. It's a great pattern for holiday knits in a pinch!
Get the FREE pattern.

Seriously, you could knit this bad boy up in a day or two, tops.

This pattern is versatile. You not only can loop in around to make a scarf, but you can wear it down with a peacoat and still look great. If you made it wider, you would even wear it on your head to cover your ears on a real frosty day. I'm a Chicagoan, so that's definitely an option!

It was really important to me that the project was soft, chunky, and a quick-knit, and seemed to be something off of a runway, since a large looped scarf is "in." Apparently. I'm just glad that all sorts of knits are still really in, quite frankly.

It's great even without a coat.

I love the texture to it. Seed Stitch is such a wonderful pattern. You can make so many great things using it.

Something else is brewing, but...guys and gals, I'm off to Olive Garden for Joe and my 1st month anniversary as a married couple! Can you believe that it's been a whole month?

Hallow-rific 09

I hope you all had a great Halloween! I know I did! I threw a Halloween party that night!

I went as a "flapper" this year, not another corpse bride.

My pal Britney Spears also appeared at my party! Fabulous. We partied out on the terrace for a while. You might recognize her from my bridal party.

Dudes, my apartment was so decked out! I had cobwebs, lit jack-o-lanterns, posters with creepy pictures (large windows with owls or bats breaking through, dungeons, bookcases [which I covered the bathroom door with-it's a secret door!]. I even put glowsticks under the fireplace, dungeon door and under the ghost's eyes and hung fake tealights in place of my owl's eyes...it was hilarious! It was so neat with the lights off. I even had a small graveyard and lots of cool lights for ambience. There was plenty of booze in my punch couldron and junkfood to eat (with worms and gummy eyeballs in it!). Don't forget the halloween music too. You guys need to hang with me next time. We knittas have the best parties!

My hubby, "Dr. Stange Love." I begged him to be my "gansta," but he refused. Zut Alors.

Wedding Pictures Pt.1

Ok guys, I just got ahold of one source of my wedding photos:
http://www.joelalonzophotography.com/ >>password: joe and anna

P.S- If I look really chubby, I am, but I swear that the camera added 15 more pounds! (Stand up straighter, girl!) *sigh*

Waikiki Beach

Ok gang. Here is part 2 of our Honeymoon photo-capades. Waikiki Beach, which our hotel was located on:

Diamond Head. What we see from our room.

A dinner tour boat that stops in front of the sunset everyday.

The other side of the island, opposite to Diamond Head.

"Just married."

Airplane, Airport & Hotel

Sorry for the wait. I've been spending all my free time cooking, cleaning (yeah, I KNOW!), and trying to update my address and last name to gazillions of companies! Ah!

Anyways, here's the plane ride to Hawaii, the Honolulu Airport, and also the hotel that we stayed in, the Marriott Resort Hotel on Waikiki Beach. We were both sick the entire time, and also from some of the meat (won't eat meat in a tropical place again where they have to import), but we made the most of our honeymoon in the daytime.

He's reading Dan Brown's newest release, "the Lost Symbol."

And surprise! I was knitting on the plane! I just didn't get anything else done when I got sick the whole week...

Walking to the baggage claim.


Wouldn't O'hare Airport be so much nicer if it had palm trees?

The view of Marriott's balconies.

Part one of our bedroom view: Diamond Head (which we climbed, more pics to come)

Part two of our view: the city and ocean.

Joe chillaxin in the beginning.

Our Seattle's Best breakfast nearly every day!! Splurge!



One of the many luscious flora in the hotel.

And more.

Upcoming: Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Beach, more flora, Diamond Head, farmers market, etc!!!

Parade of photos coming...

Hey Gang. Due to the fact that I have 900 pictures just on the honeymoon alone, I've decided to break of the next posts with a bunch of pictures from various topics of the wedding and honeymoon so I don't overwhelm you with just one post with a gazillion of photos. I'm also in the process of creating a photo-movie, and I'll upload it to youtube when I'm finished so my family and friends can view it as well. Please be patient with me, as there is a lot of editing to do, but my goal is to post each day with something new from our wedding/honeymoon. I'll probably have to start with the honeymoon first, as I still don't have the files to the photos yet. Whaa! (I do have a good portion of the hard copies that I've been showing everyone at work,...and they are fabulous!!)

I've been knitting a little bit to, believe it or not (I bearly believe it), and casted on for my Halloween Stockings that I plan on using as part of a costume, so a post on our Fall/Halloween festivities will appear in the shuffle of posts. Something (or "things") might be felted too...

p.s- the flower above is one of the many, many tropical flora I took pictures of during the honeymoon in Hawaii.

Back!

I'm Mrs. Anna Maliszewski now! We had such an amazing wedding...omg...and the reception was nothing less than superb. I've had nothing but "this was the most beautiful wedding ever" comments since the wedding. I'm soo glad everything turned out as dreamed. We are back from beautiful Oahu, and I have soo many stories (funny, cool, and of course the bad ones) and pictures to share with you all. But until then, I'm still trying to open up the rest of the gifts that's been waiting for us...
(Thanks for the wedding wishes. *kisses*)

I'm getting married!!!!!

Just got back from the rehersal dinner...it was amazing (the priest made us say our entire vows...umm, we might be married already!)...and I just popped in to say that we get married tomorrow!!! Whoot Whoot!!!
Check back with you knitta-s when I get back from Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

BSJ & Wedding Shower, the sequels

It's been wedding central around here, so I'd like to start this post off with some knitting action. I hope you don't mind. ;)

Project: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman, the genius
Start: July 12, 2009 Finished: September 7, 2009 (worked real diligently, didn't I?)
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards in "I'm a Big Boy"
Needles: Size US 7 circulars
Recipient: a co-worker's grandson

This BSJ is made for a co-worker's grandson that was born at the end of July. I figured that by the time the little tike needed to wear it, he would fit perfectly into it. The grandma, who is still in her youthful 40's may I add, was thrilled with it and mentioned how "fancy" the stripes looked. (score one for EZ AND the yarn's striping colorway that takes all the work out for me!)

The baby bootie above is a mock-up of a pattern design that I was fiddling around with. The yarn is much to thick, of course, but the colors matched. I would use sport-weight yarn, and I still have to work out the kinks...but it is the start of a baby mochasin pattern.

I have also casted on for Gudrun Johnston's beautiful "Aestlight Shawl." I'm using my fabulous Schaefer yarn in "Anne" that has been saved up for a worthy project for a few years. I casted-on during Labor day and knit during the few spare seconds I had while watching some TV series (Bones & Charmed, mostly). I can't wait to get back some real spare time, after all of the craziness has died down. I was just thinking about my "glory" knitting days, back in college, when school was my only work...and mucha knitting actually got done. *SIGH* Real world. Real pain.

Drum-roll please.....

Wedding Shower, part II. (I'm really getting spoiled, and I'll be rotten after my MIL's "card shower" that she and Joe's Aunt are throwing me this Saturday.) This shower was held by the amazing library staff that I work with! They pitched in for food & oodles of presents! Boy-O-Boy my kitchen is stocked! We are truly blessed that we have such amazing people that have been soo generous to us while we are starting our lives out from scratch.

I was thinking there would mostly be cards and a few gifts, but I was SHOCKED by the magnitude of showering of gifts by my workplace! Holy Chileetos. I got soo many kitchen supplies (mostly baking) now between the two showers, and I can't wait to use them all, because I love to cook. Joe and I really look forward to cooking & hosting parties for the future holidays coming up! Apple & pumpkin pies, pot roast, succulent turkey, casseroles, ah!

This photo above only shows a 1/3 of the peeps who actually attended. Someone had to tend to the patrons!! lol. "Hey guys, the party's here!"

On another note, I've been as busy as a squirrel collecting for the winter. I've chosen my cake options, I've officially got everything important into place, bought my wedding party their gifts, gone to my final dress fitting, worked on RSVP responses, etc, while the guest favors and wedding program is still getting worked on this week. Crazy stuff. This is also happening while Joe and I work on packing up our things because we move out in a week! I'll be moving in on the week that I pull double-shifts at work, while still teaching 14 students. That should be fun, shan't it? By the end of this, I might have more fiber to spin because my hair will be falling out in clumps. At least it will be eco-friendly.(Too far? Yeah, probably.)

22 days.