before i launch into the 'what i'm knitting right now' spiel (why does spiel sound so good but lose all it's chutzpah when it's spelled? maybe that is why yiddish is written with hebrew characters ... it's semiotic.) i have applied to join ravelry. i'm telling you this so maybe you'll join and there will be someone behind me on the massive waiting list. i am number 22398 on the list, there are 14514 people are ahead of me in line and 188 people are behind me in line (which really isn't bad since there were 146 people behind me this morning).

yesterday i also finally figured out how to insert a button into my blog! now i can join blog rings, i think 4 is a good number to start with. I was motivated by the need to post a Stitch 'N Pitch button. here is how it is done in blogger:

1. save the above picture to your computer.
2. upload the picture to your web address or a picture hosting service like PhotoBucket or Flickr
3. go to "Dashboard", then to "Template". Skim through the HTML code and find the place where you see the sidebar content. Choose where you want to put your picture.
4. insert the following code:

<left>
<a href="http://stitchnpitchtoronto.blogspot.com/"><IMG src="URL OF YOUR PHOTO" ><br />

5. Find the URL of your photo and put in in the code where it says URL OF YOUR PHOTO
6. Save. If you want your button centered then replace <left> with <center>, if you want it right then replace it with <right>

And that's about the size of where you put your eyes!

By the way, if you want your Stitch 'N Pitch freebies get your ticket now! They can only make freebies for the tickets they know have been sold!

last night i got to work on my henceforth to be known as "kitsch shell stitch jacket" or "memories of fort lauderdale" from Summer 2006 Vogue Knitting. i do not plan on accessorizing with underpants (unless the heat doesn't break).

I'm using the Jo Sharp Desert Graden Aran Cotton (colour 240 Tibet) and the yarn is knitting beautifully! It's going fast and easy and looks great! The only gripe is that the suggested gauge on the ball band is not accurate. they say it is 18 sts & 24 rows on 5mm needles, but my swatch was 16 sts on 5mm needles. Jo must be really tense. Anyway, it's perfect for the project and i'm working on 4.5mm needles.

It's going so fast that I knit the above at Stitch N Bitch last night, and that was including birthday related activities like preparing the fruit and eating (marla made some gorgeous yogurt cheese and now all i'm fantasizing about cheese cloth and low fat yogurt).