3:22:50

Believe it or not, I actually finished the half marathon! I even did a lot better than I thought I would- 3 hours, 22 minutes, 50 seconds- 4th in my age group for walkers!

We went downtown Saturday night to pick up my number at Cobo, then stayed at the Ren Cen for the night to avoid an extra early wake up and drive in that we wanted to avoid, especially with Emma in tow. I had a nice short walk to the start from the hotel. Hubbo took this picture, which shows a good portion of the course (including the Ambassador Bridge, which I got to walk over). I also got to walk back from Canada through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and run out on to Ford Field like one of the Lions (except I actually felt like a winner). At the start it was in the mid 30s with high winds, which of course were in my face more than it seemed they should be! The sun really helped though.

Hubbo also got a shot of me wandering around cluelessly after finishing- I felt kind of delirious (that's me in the pink tiara, of course!)

Emma and I at home (she made a tiara too) afterwards, and getting ready to eat a lot of lunch (I was soooo hungry).

Last but not least, the medal!

Yes, you can make yarn with crab shells, baby

Cool surprises from SWTC today in the mail. First, a nice present of Pure (what will I make??) in a pretty deep teal-y color. The main event, however-- samples of their upcoming yarns Tofutsies and Inspiration! Tofutsies (the variegated one) is a sock yarn with a nice feel- it's a wool/Soysilk/cotton/and CRAB & SHRIMP SHELLS blend. I'm dying for them to get more in so I can see more than just a little piece. You know how much I love to knit socks! The other new one (the natural colored one) is Inspiration, a Soysilk/alpaca blend- seems to be about a DK weight or so. I'm also looking forward to seeing samples of their new Vickie Howell collection yarns, one of which is made (no lie) of milk protein.

In other news, I've finally decided what to do with my stash of Touch Me- the Vintage Velvet scarf from Scarf Style. I've never done a reversable cable before- it's pretty neat. I don't have enough to make the whole scarf right now- so I'll probably have to suck it up and buy another ball or two (when it comes to Touch Me, that's quite an investment!)

Finally, my latest purchase of Socks That Rock- it's my first foray into mediumweight. The color is Sherbet, and while it is pretty bright I just couldn't resist it.

Socktoberfestiness

Finishing the pair is more likely to be a "Sockvember" activity though- we'll see.

Last chance!

The marathon is in a few days, and I'm only $86 short of my fundraising goal. I've got yarn and other goodies for anyone who helps me make it to $500- click here to donate before Sunday. THANKS!!

Top Secret Project #2 is done, at last

Being top secret, I can't tell you much, but it's done. It's in the new SWTC Pure yarn, which really puts the silk in Soysilk. Really. It's spun like "regular" yarn, not a tape, and is really hard to distinguish from silk, except for the fact that it has a wooly warmness to it that real silk does not. It has a lovely sheen, drapes beautifully, and has nice yardage per ball. I love it.

Look!

What I "borrowed"- the SWTC ad featuring my sweater!

10 days to go, plus part of a sock

And I'm feeling a little nervous. Injury + Back to School Stress (MUCH worse than normal this year) + 4 Weeks of Nasty Cold, Ear Infection, etc. = One Girl Who Has Slacked Off and Gotten Soft (put a few pounds on too, unfortunately!)

The Marathon is in 10 days, and I think I have done about 2 weeks of workouts in the past 2 months. One thing after another, lame excuses I know, but here we are.

I did go out this evening though (I'm shooting for daily workouts until then, nothing too strenuous)- I can still maintain a decent pace, I'm just hoping I can last the whole 13.1 miles and not be so slow as to get picked up by the slacker bus. The timeframe for getting to back to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel is not exactly generous! I'm sure it will be fun, no matter what-- I just really want that finisher's medal. Wearing my sparkly tiara. We'll see. Wish me luck.

In other news, I have been working on my Socktoberfest Socks:

Yes, Socks That Rock again. I think the color is Lapis- I started these a while back and forgot about them. I even ordered some more- I'm going to try the medium weight next time.

Just a bit more to go on Top Secret Project #2- hard to get in the mood to finish though, isn't it?

Super Quick FO

Lace Up Fingerless Gloves from Alterknits, less than one skein of Malabrigo in #226 Melilla (that I got in June when we went to Traverse City) and Hanah Silk Ribbon in Briar Rose (that I bought at Have You Any Wool with no particular reason in mind at the time.)

Cranked these out yesterday- the color is a bit off (the green is not as hideous as it may seem!) Guess the SNOW the other day made me do it.

Lady E Hits the Town

I used Noro Silk Garden color #205, 11 balls, and size 9 needles. I worked 43 tiers instead of 35 since the yarn was finer than that called for in the pattern. It ended up (I blocked it FLAT) being 24" wide and 73" long not including the fringe- slightly longer than the original. It was about 65" long before I blocked it, and about 21" wide. Pattern in Scarf Style (duh!)


Last night (after a lot of frantic last-minute fringe tying) Lady Eleanor made her debut at Knitter's Night Out at Have You Any Wool in Berkley (followed by a round or two of fancy martinis)with Dana, Beth, Sonya, and Amanda. I got to see the teddy bear kits that I designed for SWTC in the flesh (I am posing with it), which was nice, and also a trunk show from the One Skein book. The most amazing part? I didn't buy any yarn, though I was REALLY tempted to get some of that new Regia Silk sock yarn. I've never been in a yarn store before without buying something so this was quite a feat.

In design-y news, tomorrow I just might finish that second top secret project for SWTC. I also did a submission, something I haven't done for a while. Soon I'll have lots of fun seeing my work in print though- Quick to Knit Gifts should be out soon, and I have items in the next issues of Creative Knitting and Knit n' Style- whooo!

Block well, fair Lady

She's almost done- just needs the fringe.

Yay!

Go Tigers (way to paddle the Yankees behinds) and go Lady Eleanor- only 6 inches to go!!