Where to begin?

Oh boy, it's been a while. Big news on the non-knitting front, but not much knitting going on. Big news #1 - I bought a house! Couldn't let myself get too far behind Aimee :) Big news #2 - Just had a big birthday, one of those "decade" birthdays. My conclusion ... "it's the new 20." I had a great day. Aimee helped me celebrate by coming back to the hood, attending my little party and then treating me (along with Sara) to a fancy drink "the burbon renewal" at a swanky eatery. But that's not all... the next day we had potato doughnuts and lattes at Hideaway and then went to the Black Sheep Gathering. As Aimee mentioned, I have be regaled with a beautiful skein of STR in a gorgeous red colorway "Mustang Sally." I love it!!! By the end of 2007 I will post a picture of these socks. You heard it here first.


As far as the house goes, the closing date is scheduled for July 8 and I'll be moving on July 20. Only 3 weeks away and I'm ready to start packing and getting my ducks in a row for the move. I love the house and can't wait to settle in and see all the ways I can make this house mine.

As for knitting, my long search for yarn for the Rowena sweater from Knit Two Together has finally come to an end. I found a 100% merino in charcol gray. I love the yarn. However... (this is where I need advice)... I've been working on my gauge swatch. I need 6.25 sts/in. On size 4 needles I'm getting 5.5 sts/in. I have very little confidence that size 3s will get me to 6.25 and I'm not sure I'd like the result. The yarn suggests size 5 and with my knitting the result with the 4s is very nice (much nicer that the 5s). Since I plan to make the smallest size sweater, I can't just go down a size or two. I really, really want to use this yarn. I really don't want to mess with resizing. I just want to make the sweater!! I think I should try another swatch on size 3s. Do you agree? Please help me!

New yarn purchases at the BSG also include some Classic Alpaca in a heather green from America's Alpaca and a superwash wool from Wolf Creek Wools in Fall Colors. I couldn't resist this one - I just love the colors. I also got a hat pattern called Mosaic Triangles. Will post pics of my yarn p0rn soon. I need to take the pic and now it's too dark.

Last but not least, I made these for my sister-in-law for her birthday. They look ok, I guess, if you don't compare them to the picture (from One Skein). She bought me the book and loved the cupcakes - well, here you have them.


Oh yeah, one more thing... if you want to buy a new copy of Knit Two Together, they're on sale at Amazon.com for only $5.50. My copy just arrived today and it looks great. I'm kicking myself for not getting a copy for Aimee -- arrgh. Oh well, next time I see a deal, I'll be thinking of y'all.

Weekend o' Yarn

I went to Eugene this past weekend to help Lorie celebrate an auspicious birthday and to go to Black Sheep Festival. Both were lots of fun. I bought Lorie her first sock yarn and obtained a mill-end from Socks that Rock at a discount price in a colorway I liked more because of the fading due to it being a mill-end! It is Titanium, but you wouldn't know it to see it! I'll take photos of all of my yarn stash soon. I'm busy cataloging it, but that's another story.

Rich and I took a drive to Mt. Hood on Sunday. It was totally fogged in and snowing, so we left and went on to Hood River via Hwy. 35. On the way there was a sign for a yarn shop and Alpacas! Without even pointing it out, Rich noticed and made the turn off the highway. We went to the Foothills Yarn and Fiber shop which was fantastic. The owner, Connie, was warm and welcoming and willing to share her immense knowledge! She showed us the shop and told us her philosophy for yarn was to only purchase the softest yarns available. She had the largest collection of alpaca (from her alpacas and many others) I have ever seen! She had tons of knitted up projects, current books I hadn't seen yet and a great atmosphere. Two cats inhabit the shop, Knit and Purl. Sweetest ca†s ever! She also has a dog named Charlie who guards the alpacas. She and her husband both spin and were happy to show off their wheels and technique. We also got to feed the alpacas. It was excellent. So excellent I walked out with four skeins of yarn for three more projects! I bought a 600 yd. skein of alpaca to make Rich a vest. I also bought a skein of the alpaca they produce. It will be a hatband on a black hat or for a stranded hat. And then I bought the softest merino to make a hat or handwarmers with.

Rich and I drove on and took the scenic waterfall route back to Portland. We climbed up a few and they were stunning. It was a great day, which we needed, since he just left for three weeks. Besides working, he will be yarn shopping for me in NZ and AUS! I can't wait to see what he buys. I'll post photos of yarn soon.

I decided to put my entire stash on a spreadsheet on Google! I've made good progress and am now daunted by the 30+ projects I have facing me. Argh. But its great to see all of the yarn layed out in an orderly fashion. Now I can add a tab for projects I want to do but don't have the yarn for! It goes to show that I truly am a librarian down to my knitting fingers.

Okay, back to my second Squatty, socks, and cashmere scarf. Will I ever finish? I'll report soon on Malabrigio vs. Manos. To me, there is no comparison.

Oh I Wish I Had TIME

Let's see. I am a little late in showing the bday present I got from Aimee. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I love it. It is a ball of Scout's Swag Sock Yarn in Snowbunny. Winding it into a ball proved to be a tough task. Let's just say with all the knots it took about 3 days! OOPS. Guess I need to invest in a swift. The yarn is slated to become a pair of Monkey's!

Today I received my birthday gift to myself/present from Steve's dad and stepmom (50/50 funding). It is a Tatami Kimono Sweater Kit from Sundara Yarn in Sangria over Garnett. Oh I can't wait. But I have bunches of other things on the needles, and I have just started a hectic week.

The List of Projects:
1. Snicket Socks in Reynolds Soft Sea Wool Pink for my Sock Pal (August 2 deadline)
2. Print o' The Wave shawl by Eunny Jang in Alpaca with a Twist (August Deadline- cuz I say so). This is the redo of the print of the wave I made last year...the one my dog got her teeth into. I want it done because it was already done once.
3. Boyfriend Socks in Trekking ProNatura in a Blue and Green colorway for Mr. Fireman (no deadline)

So, at this point, I think I can manage at least the first two projects by their deadlines. I am to the instep of the 2nd Snickett sock and use that as bus knitting. I am also 22 (out of 34) or so repeats into the center panel on the shawl. Maybe, oh maybe with some time here and there I will be able to cast on for a monkey sometime in July! That would be great! Unless school takes over too much, which it might!

Take care and Happy Knitting!