Adam and Emily

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that my brother is totally married. Like, MARRIED married; like a real person gets married.

I’m a little slow with changes. I still have a hard time believing I’m an adult, much less that my retarded little brother is one. I’m surprised when I’m allowed in bars, and that I have to buy myself bras. I feel like I’m going to be found out for the 12 year old I am at any moment. But if I’m 12, then Adam is 10, and he for sure shouldn’t be getting married at 10.

But he isn’t 10. He is 24 and the size of a professional wrestler.

So, Adam, congratulations. Way to be an adult. Way to get MARRIED!

Now I’ve got Barbies to go play with. And Full House is on.

1. Eat delicious waffles from The Waffle Window.

Apple Pie Waffle, Farm Fusion

Laura and the Blueberry Waffle

2. Look at mountains! MOUNTAINS!

Mount Hood

3. Eat at Burgerville when you have the tiniest amount of room for food.

PT Taking Large Bite, Take One

Lucas and Laura are PUMPED!

4. Play bocci ball in the West Hills!

Action Shot!

Lucas Wins! Kinda

5. Get two skirts, two hunks of fabric, five 7″ zippers, a bag of thread, three bags of old yarn remnants, two vintage postcards, and a super cute vintage clutch for $3.50 at an estate sale!

I Win!

6. Celebrate financial gain by buying very expensive knitting books I’ve been lusting after at Powell’s Books.

Reversable Knits, and Interweave's Stitch Guide

7. As soon as you’ve got the tiniest bit of room, get a lot of Voodoo Doughnuts.

DOUGHNUTS!

8. Eat yourself sick.

PT Taking Large Bite, Take Two

Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Yes, Please!

Laura and the Bloody Voodoo Doughnut

And remember, upon returning to Chicago, to make a meal of your native food:

Burritos!

Hipster burritos!

1. Look at lots of yarn.

Twisted - http://twistedpdx.com/

Happy Lady!

2. Shop for records.

PT in Mississippi Records

3. Cause trouble in the Portland Children’s Museum.

Lucas and PT Disregarding the Wobble Warning

4. Drink a lot of wine and eat a lot of food at the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival.

Crunk!

PT Loves the Sushi

Look at that Hot Cowl!

5. Touch a tsunami!

Oregon Coast

Lucas, PT, and Random Dog

What Tsunami Advisory?

6. See bald eagles!

Eagles We Haven't Killed!

7. Find a new place to live.

Cape Foulweather

8. Admire very large rainbows.

Whoa!

9. Finish your Dollar and a Half Cardigan!

Dollar and a Half, Pre-Block

10. Start your March Sweater, Mrs Darcy Cardigan.

Mrs Darcy!

I don’t like leaving the house when it’s cold, and if there is football on forget it. So this weekend was the perfect storm: sub 0 temps, college bowl games, and week 17 of the NFL.

I got home New Years Day at about 2am and didn’t leave again until 8 this morning. That is 78 hours! By far a new hermit record for me.

A long standing tradition in the Allyson household is ridiculous amounts of pizza eating and football watching on New Years Day. PT and I continued this tradition in style.

Caramelized Onion and Pineapple

Olives, Bacon, and Pineapple

Artichoke Hearts and White Cheddar

Caramelized Onion and Artichoke Hearts

Am I right?

And somehow Saturday night we were feeling up for more drinking so we invited some friends over for game night!

Caitlin and Keith and Mexican Train Dominoes

Frank and Dan Love Each Other

Jamie and David Love Their Iphones More Than Games

Caitlin is Harnessing the Power of the Deer Leg

PT is Too Fast for the Camera

I got a lot of work done, too. My January Sweater is coming along swimmingly! I had a lot of knitting to do in preparation for my Winter Class Schedule that will be published on Wednesday, and I had a TON of sewing to do. But more about that later.

I better go get working on that schedule. I like to tell people when I’m going to get things done in the hopes of then actually accomplishing them.

And I know the blog has been a little cat heavy lately, but I just spent 78 hours with the little guys so you can’t really blame me for taking pictures, right?

Pudge Rodriguez

Could you die? With the tongue out! Ohh she just kills me.

Party Outfit

Cute, Right?

You know how you should never look prettier than the bride on her wedding day? I also say you should never look prettier than the birthday girl, even on a day where everyone gets dressed up.

Headband Bow: Knit myself, naturally, pattern (and class!) coming soon

Black Sweater: Kohl’s, bought a million years ago

Sequin Tunic: H&M I think, also bought a million years ago

Belt: Target

Bubble Skirt: Old Navy, $7 on the clearance rack over Thanksgiving

Plaid Tights: Meijer, if you can believe it, also over Thanksgiving

Shoes: Ann Marino, also on clearance, and currently my favorite possession

The evening started at my house for some birthday pre-gaming and cake eating, then moved to Jamie (also Jamie) and Diana’s loft in Pilsen.

With Rachel, and Beers

And Rachel Hating Some PT

And Marissa and Mark Loving on Lucy

And Diana and Lucy

And Me and Lucy

And Lucy

And Rachael and Brian

And Jamie

And Me and PT

It was a lot of fun. I still can’t feel my feet. NOT blaming the shoes. NOT BLAMING THE SHOES. I love the shoes. I blame standing. And moving around while standing rhythmically.

Ok, I’ve got to make pizzas for every bowl game before football starts. That is a lot of pizzas to make in one hour. ‘GOD SPEED!’ yell the masses!

Last night was A Sweatshop Holiday Party and we had a blast!

Lori, Ana, Laura, and Lucinda

I’m always so torn about using a flash. I hate the flash, but clearly everyone’s blurry heads should have indicated that I need to use the flash while in the bar. Ohh, Allyson.

Cayo's New Hat!

Cayo is much more handsome than this blurry picture indicates. He is showing off the hat Lucinda made him!

Lots of Yarn and Presents!

The party was part yarn swap, part secret Santa knitting gift exchange, and mostly a bunch of people causing a ruckus at Streetside.

Lucinda and Brijeet

Yarn is hilarious!

Gil Grabbing Swap Yarn

Gil with her fast hands!

Tara Rockin her Bib

Look familiar? Tara wore the crocheted bib necklace for the rest of the night so I’m taking that as a good sign! And it’s official: I seriously need one of my own.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night and made A Sweatshop Holiday Party a huge success.

Live in the Chicago area and want to get in on the fun? Be sure to email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com to get on my mailing list.

Thanks to the amazing photo skillz of Tara Shade, here are some shots of The Sweatshop of Love’s Yarn Crawl!

Check out Tara’s Flickr Page for all of her fun pictures from the Yarn Crawl!

Once Thanksgiving hits the rest of 2009 is a wash. All I can think about is Santa and family and cookies and cuddling up in my house with my knitting needles while the snow falls outside. And parties!

The Sweatshop of Love’s Holiday Party is Sunday, December 20th at 7pm at Street Side in Logan Square.

Order some drinks, complain to fellow knitters about how your coworkers didn’t fully appreciate their Cabled Change Purses, get some knitting done, AND bring left over yarn to swap! That is right, our holiday party is going to be The Sweatshop of Love’s first ever Yarn Swap! So if you’ve got yarn you’ve lose interest in, entire skeins from finished projects, or yarn you tried and hated, bring it to the Holiday Party and trade it for something you love.

So mark your busy holiday calendars for The Sweatshop of Love’s Holiday Party, start collecting swappable yarn, and get ready to party!

There are only a few classes left on our 2009 schedule, but don’t miss out on these fun classes! Email me with questions and to sign up. And, as always, to see what I’ve got on my needles check out The Sweatshop of Lover’s Blog.

Don’t forget that I offer Class Vouchers you can give your friends and family as holiday gifts!

See you soon,

Allyson

Fall Classes:

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Cowl If you hate knitting scarves as much as I do, this season is for us because scarves are out, cowls are in! They are cute, easy, and knit up fast which make them even better. And cables fun them up even more! Big needles make them a breeze to knit in just a few hours. Tuesday December 1^st, 7-9pm. $25

Happy/Sad Poos

Knitted Happy/Sad Poos Have a friend with the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy? Then this is the perfect gift for her! Based on the amigurumi pattern, this knitted version is a perfect last minute gift. Class includes stuffing and the yarn to make the face. Wednesday December 2^nd, 7-9pm. $25

Group Class and Emergency Knitting Time! We’ve got a December full of Group Classes scheduled before Christmas to help you finish those last minute projects! Get help with pattern reading, learning new stitches, or use this time to make up a project class. Knitting or crocheting. $15

Thursday, December 3rd, 7-9pm

Tuesday, December 8th, 7-9pm

Thursday, December 10th, 7-9pm

Tuesday, December 15^th, 7-9pm

Wednesday, December 16^th, 7-9pm

Thursday, December 17^th, 7-9pm

Knitting Book Club Our next book club meet up is December 7th! We are reading Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting by Michael Perry. Sound good? Email me to get on our book club mailing list. Please don’t come with knitting questions as I won’t be teaching anything (so the book club can be free of course), just come to knit and chat about our book!

The Yarn Crawl could not have been any more fun!

Excited!

I was so excited this morning before leaving the house! Excited, and overdressed. It was so warm! By the end we were all carrying our jackets, and many many bags.

Waiting in Line at Nina

... the Very Long Line!

Tara and Ron Weasly Have a Moment in Knitting Workshop

Should Have Gotten Baskets at JoAnn!

Making Decisions!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out with us! And special thanks to the DIY Trunk Show for starting us off on the best foot possible, Nina and Knitting Workshop for hosting, and New Wave for feeding us.

I’ve got to pack! I’ve been concentrating so much on the Yarn Crawl that I haven’t even thought about how I’m leaving for Michigan tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon!

*yawn!* Maybe I’ll just take a little nap first. Y’all wore me out!

There has been an overwhelming response to

The Sweatshop of Love’s Yarn Crawl

and we couldn’t be more excited about it!

This Saturday, November 21st is going to be a blast! Keep your eyes peeled for Sweatshop shout outs today in

DailyCandy and on Chicago Tonight!

Can’t make it to the whole Crawl? You’ve got the schedule! Feel free to meet up with us at any point.

But if you are planning on Crawling with us to the end, I’ll see you outside the Pulaski Park Field House at 11am!

Yarn Crawl Schedule

10:00-11:00 – DIY Trunk Show
Pulaski Park Field House, 1419 W Blackhawk in Wicker Park

11:15-12:00 – nina: a well-knit shop
1655 W Division St in Wicker Park

12:30-1:15 – Knitting Workshop
2115 N Damen Ave in Bucktown

1:30-2:15 – JoAnn
2639 N Elston Ave in Logan Square

2:30+ – New Wave Coffee
3103 W Logan/2557 N Miwalukee in Logan Square

DIY Trunk Show – The DIY Trunk Show is a diverse gathering of creative talent to showcase, sell, and promote handmade arts, crafts, goods and endeavors of all kinds. Free admission! So support local handmade right when the Trunk Show opens!

We will be meeting outside the Fieldhouse at 11 to walk over to -

nina: a well-knit shop – nina is a contemporary knitting shop in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. The sleek, calm space has been described as a Zen temple to fiber. Beautiful yarns include angora, alpaca, silk, cashmere, cotton, bamboo, hemp, merino wool, and hand-dyed ribbon. Exquisite texture and colors, stylish pattern magazines and books, exotic wood needles – all are artfully arranged. The inviting atmosphere is sure to inspire your creativity.

Nina is offering a 10% discount on all yarn, a special sale section of products reduced to 50% off, and prizes for Crawl participants!

At noon we will board buses or hop on bikes over to -

Knitting Workshop – Knitting Workshop is an urban and sophisticated yarn shop located in Bucktown. With tons of yarn options and advice for any project, they have something to offer for both the new and experienced knitter.

Knitting Workshop is offering a 10% discount on all yarn, free patterns perfect for holiday present knitters, and they will be raffling off a Knit Kit, a fun knitting tool case!

At 1:15 we are going to start walking over to -

JoAnn – There are lots of projects out there that you don’t need nice yarn for. Like cat toys! And mittens for your brother that you know he is just going to lose. Or maybe you need zippers for your cabled change purses! JoAnn is the place for all your odds and ends.

Then, if your legs can make it, at 2:15 we are going to head to our last destination -

New Wave Coffee – We burned off enough calories during this Crawl to treat ourselves to a cupcake and a coffee! Relax, show off what you picked up on the Crawl, and get started on your next project!

If you’ve got questions let me know, otherwise I look forward to seeing you on Saturday!