This is mostly about knitting.

But can I just say what a travesty the eliminations for American Idol have been? I mean, this is my first season watching (thanks to the writers' strike), and already my two favorites - MJ and CS - have been eliminated. Tonight was just wrong. JC not being eliminated even though he totally blew last night? Wrong wrong wrong.

Okay, back to knitting.

I'm totally powering through the alphabet baby blanket. I feel a sense of urgency here. Firstly, the mom-to-be had her baby shower three weeks ago and is due like yesterday. Second, I'm knitting at a pretty good clip and it's a fun pattern. Third, I've been putting off other things like, oh, household paperwork, to knit, because y'know, things like bills and filing are so much more fun than knitting - and knitting instead. Can you blame me?

I still have the baby cabled v-neck in pieces and ready to seam. I need to complete the back for the wildflower sweater - but I'm dreading the intarsia. (And weaving in all those loose ends!) I want to start Honeysuckle by Rowan instead! I have all the beads and everything.

I think I will have to make another Honeysuckle for the original recipient of the cabled v-neck because the original recipient is likely to outgrow it before I finish it. I'll just redirect it to one of the other many, many babies on my knit-for list.

My sister asked me this past weekend why I've only knit two sweaters for myself thus far. It's because I just love giving people knitted items. I love being a "giver." I'm actually quite a bad "givee," though. I don't know why...

Yes, my sis came to visit this past weekend! We had a great time. We spent Saturday morning at Common Threads and The Black Sheep. She admitted to me that she had never knit with silk before, so my mission was to get her some silk yarn for her birthday. She picked a beautiful cardigan out of Louisa Harding's Summer Classics - the Minnie cabled cardigan. I would have loved to have given her some Artyarns, but The Black Sheep didn't carry Artyarns, so we settled for Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. The gauge is slightly smaller than the pattern, so hopefully my sis knits loose enough that she can manage it. Or else I guess she could just make the next size up?

I am literally counting the days to Maryland Sheep & Wool! Not only is it my annual pilgrimage with knittish and other friends, it is my very first solo trip away from BL, and JH's first weekend alone taking care of him. I hope they manage all right. My only expectation is that they are both in one piece, with no broken bones or open gashes - JH can feed BL Fruit Loops and chocolate milk all weekend for all I care.