Thursday, May 13, 2010



"Gee, someone could have had a baby since you last posted."

Mady left that comment at 10:20pm on some random day between August 25, 2009 and today, and I do appreciate the gentle kick in the pants. Plus she's right, someone did have a baby since I last posted. No no no, not me... but a friend did, and the above sweater is on its way to her now.

A lot can happen in nine months. Wars, assassinations, divorces, marriages, sex-change operations, bankruptcies... when I think about it, I realize that my own life is quite tame in comparison. I have baked an extraordinary number of cakes. I have made more caramels than is probably healthy. I have acquired yarn, oh the yarn, all in the name of scholarly pursuit.

Just around the time of my last post, I was still basking in the glow of having chatted casually with Barbara Walker about who does the dishes in her house (her husband does), sat under a shady plum tree with Meg Swansen, received an impromptu toe tutorial from Anna Zilboorg, and sipped beer with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, letting myself briefly savor that foreign, fleeting feeling of fitting in. (Which I'm not sure I did, but we'll brush over that for now.)

Then I gave birth to a beautiful book and went many places to share it with many people. I wrote countless articles, columns, and reviews. I answered emails, emails, and more emails. With about 1200 more to go. I hosted a retreat and planned another one. I swatched and swatched until my fingers were little bloody stumps. I boarded planes and trains for faraway (and not so faraway) destinations. I decided to write another book. And then I pulled out the candy thermometer and made yet more caramels.

Which pretty much brings you up to date. Life continues to be an adventure, and I am grateful that I get to be a part of it.

Anyway, the pink sweater at the very tip-top of this post is for a baby that was, indeed, quite possibly both conceived and born between my last post and this on. (My math is bad, so if I'm wrong, just pretend along with me.) It is Elizabeth Zimmermann's clever little February Baby Sweater from the Knitter's Almanac, knit in String Theory Yarn's Caper Sock with vintage mother-of-pearl buttons. The baby's name is Lydia, and from everything I've seen and heard, she is one lucky little girl who is off to a fabulous start.

As is, perchance, another season of this blog?