A Non-Ugly Baby Sweater

You may recall the hideous sweater I knit for Tomato & Train Brain's baby. That went into the charity bag. I just finished up the replacement one...now this is an acceptable baby sweater.

I really like this pattern. Lots of lovely cable details, varying textures, and a nice seed stitch shawl collar. I think this will work well for a boy or a girl. And I had enough yarn let to knock out a pair of booties as well.

The pattern is Trellis, from Knitty, my favorite knitting website, and the yarn is a nice cotton-acrylic blend from KnitPicks. It's machine washable/dryable - perfect for kids' stuff. Hope they like it!

The Best Show You're Not Watching

Season 3 of "Chuck" premieres Sunday on NBC.

You probably haven't been watching Chuck because, well, no one is really watching NBC at all these days. But trust me, it's a high quality show that deserves your attention. It's developed a small but very loyal following over its first two seasons, and I'm so excited it's returning.

Chuck Bartowski is a normal guy who has managed to fall ass-backwards into a double life as a spy when a bunch of government secrets wound up in his brain back in season one. (Just go with me on this.) He's a bit of a geek who's trying to do his duty to his government while attempting to maintain some semblance of a normal life. It's a quirky, offbeat blend of comedy, action and drama. Check it out, it's definitely worth an hour of your time.

Here's a preview of season 3:

Steelers Season Wrap Up

Well, there was no miraculous alignment of the planets on Sunday to allow the Steelers to make the postseason. And I guess that's ok - they really didn't deserve it after that ridiculous 5-game losing streak midseason. They've got no one to blame but themselves. There have already been some coaching changes - the offensive line and special teams coaches have been dismissed, and rightly so. There were a few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season - Ben Roethlisberger had a record-setting season in passing yards, and rookie Mike Wallace is a wide receiver you'll be seeing a lot of in the future.

I will hope for better things next year, when hopefully Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith will be completely healthy and ready to go. And I'll be hopping onto the Saints' bandwagon for the rest of the postseason. Gotta have someone to root for!