The Shopping Gene

So, here I am sitting at work feeling quite inadequate at being a girl. I just crammed in a bunch of knitting to a boring night of nothing. Thank goodness because my projects unfortunately won't knit themselves. I ran out of yarn (more at home) to finish the sleeve of a sweater that I have been working on for far too long. Long enough that the sweater has it's own To Do list....It's that bad. I am still hoping that I will be able to finish it and the crocheted edging (did I mention I don't really know how to crochet) before I come to Oregon, in just a couple short weeks.

I am hoping to wear it to a graduation ceremony (and that's if it fits at all....yikes!) on June 16th along with a skirt and heels that I don't own.... I am not sure when I will find the time to go shopping, but I have no choice. I am backed into a corner with no where to go. My closet holds nothing worth wearing and those things that are "wearable" I have owned since college. Considering my last birthday catapulted me into my thirties and I graduated at the 22, it's a pretty sorry state of affairs. Aimee (a born shopper) would agree with me when I say, I completely lack the shopping gene. It's as though it is passed down through generations and it completely skipped over me.

You see, my mom is quite the shopper- a Bargain shopper to be exact. Too many Christmas holidays have involved me opening a present with a crinkled up expression on my face as my mother exclaims "Isn't it great. It was only $7.00!" Finally after the 10th Christmas in a row of yet another gift not even worth returning for the dinero, I am to the point of saying "I can see why."

I can't stand it really- shopping that is. I haven't bought clothes for myself since January of 2005 (that is NOT a typo). Oh wait, I had the 10 minute "shopping spree in Old Navy in April in which I purchased 2 t-shirts for $15 because I needed something to wear while visiting friends and didn't bring along the right clothing, but I don't think that can count. I spent less than it costs to fill my econo car with a tank of gas and I literally spent less time in the store than you do standing by the pump filling said tank of gas.

Some people have a shopping addiction. Maybe some could say the shopping gene is linked to the addiction. I on the other hand, completely lack the gene, thus have no chance of being addicted. Well maybe for yarn but not for clothing for myself, unless it's clothing I have to make on my own...Sure I am addicted to sugar. I have a quadruple dose of that gene, but not the one that allows me to go out and buy clothes that I will only like for a few months, that is if I can find anything I like to fit my 5'1" frame. It would be one thing if I was a 5'1" Eva Longoria body double, but alas I come from good German peasant stock...you can make your own deduction. Tread lightly please.

I digress. Why can't clothes that work great with those you knit suddenly appear in your closet? I don't even mind paying for them, I just can't get my self together enough to go in and out of stale dressing rooms. I have too many memories of my mother attempting to get into the dressing room where I am wearing ill fitted jeans and crying my eyes out.

Please keep the pity at bay. I am sure not everyone loves shopping. I can't be the only one. Straight men don't typically like shopping for clothes, unless they are metrosexual...So maybe I am a man trapped in a woman's body who likes to knit and is in love with a wonderful manly man. Would that make me a gay man? I guess I would have to be a non-stereotypical gay man because of the whole shopping thing....Is there such a thing?

Waiting to felt

I have three bags ready to felt. Why the wait? I don't know. I just haven't gotten to it. Between work, bronchitis, and trying to find Rich a place to live in Portland, I haven't had time. Hopefully Tuesday morning will lead to felting time. Meanwhile I have decorated a few pairs of thongs. Here are two:



If you wear a size 8 and like black, let me know. A pair may be yours! Off to knit and cuddle.

Neurotic

Two weeks ago, I decided I would make a baby hat for a co-worker who is having a baby. I was convinced that a baby hat would be plenty and that it would be fine, just to give a hat. Then the day BEFORE the baby shower, I changed my mind. I became convinced that I needed to give something more. So, without any knowledge of the pattern, I pulled out a top-down baby cardigan pattern that my Aunt Sandy gave me and started knitting. It all began friday morning and was done by noon on Saturday. The buttons weren't put on until a week later because I thought the baby shower started at 4pm and it started at 1:30pm. So, it isn't perfect, but turned out pretty well. I used some left over balls of Rowan Calmer that I had for a shawl that I made.

And of course, I decided that the pattern wasn't quite what I wanted, so I changed a few things. The original pattern had a 1x1 rib on the bottom and a hoody. But I really wanted it to be with a rolled edge on the bottom, so I followed that through with the rest of it. I actually like the results and so does the recipient. YAY! A success.

Hope all is well and your needles are happy!

The Lamb Shoppe Denver CO

Yesterday was a lovely day in the Denver Metro area. After some morning studying, my friend Jinger and I chose to venture out into the great unknown....After hearing rumors of a fabulous new yarn store opening, we decided we had to see for ourselves what The Lamb Shoppe was all about. Just as a little background Jinger and I met at another to be nameless yarn shop where she is still employed and I am not (for various personal reasons).

In The Lamb Shoppe (www.thelambshoppe.com), we found a haven. It is situated on a quite street in a residential neighborhood in downtown Denver near the University of Colorado Health Sciences University. Dangerous territory for me as I will soon be a student at that very school in the near future.

Once inside the store, we laughed at ourselves when we walked in to see 5 people knitting. We both exclaimed in loud voices "there are people knitting here!" You see, where we worked together, it wasn't exactly encouraged to linger and knit. I don't know why, I never understood it. It just wasn't the most gracious environment, for lack of a better way of saying it. Further, unlike the other yarn store, food and drink are encouraged in this one, especially since it is also a coffee shop. They sell all kinds of coffee drinks of your liking, all in "sken" and "hank" sizes. Also, in a week or so, they will have their permit to sell food.

And the yarns is wonderful. They have a great selection of Debbie Bliss, Noro, Alpaca with a Twist (new to me), Cherry Hills sock yarn which rival Koigu, Mountain Colors sock yarn, Lambs Pride, and I am forgetting many others. If this place had a bookstore attached it would be what I pictured as Aimee's dream business. When you come to visit you can tell me if I am close at all. The hours are fantastic-open until 9pm many days as well as open on Sundays.

The trip would not be complete without my spending money. I found a great spring sock yarn from Cherry hills that I will make the Pomatomus socks from Knitty.com and two skeins of Alpaca with a Twist Fino (lace weight yarn), that is on display in the store as the most beautiful shawl. I have to return sometime in the next week or so to get the pattern from Alpaca with a Twist. Oh darn, I have to go back!

I will post more photos later, of the actual yarn I purchased. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well.

Yarn shops in Seattle

Last weekend (Easter), Lorie and I trekked up to Seattle to play and shop. For what? Yarn of course! We went to many yarn shops. I lost count. But I fell in love with two. Hilltop Yarn (http://www.hilltopyarn.com/) is a gem of a shop on top of Queen Anne Hill. They also have Hilltop East, which used to be Skeins by Bellevue Square. Both shops are a delight of yarn. I fell in love with a scarf and finally had to buy the yarn in order to make it myself. Well, they didn't have the yarn I wanted at the original store, so that provided us an excuse to go to the new East store. The staff were super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They had a fantastic supply of yarns, used in new and innovative ways and exciting colorways. If you are ever in Seattle, these stores are a must.

My other favorite store is So Much Yarn (http://www.somuchyarn.com/) in Belltown. For my tactile self, this was a yarn shop of addiction! The lines were luxurious and the prices were average. They had a great selection of books and patterns, buttons and yarn, and more. We liked it so much we went back. My delight was finding out the carried Mountain Colors, a Montana line of yarn that is stunningly beautiful. I bought a sweater pattern to knit any sweater from the neckdown. I haven't tried it yet, but the people who worked there raved about it. Another must visit.

The first day we were in Seattle, we visited Store X. I fell in love with this rich red scarf made out of Karabella Boise, a blend of Cashmere and Merino. It was luscious and soft. It was stunning. I wanted it. But how much? Store X, also friendly and helpful, found the yarn for me and said, "You only need four skeins!" Four skeins at $32.00 a piece! I can buy a premade cashmere scarf for $128.00 (or less) or I can buy Mountain Colors Cashmere and make it myself. I kept a straight face and we soon left. I had noticed earlier that all of Store X's yarns were at least $3.00 higher per skein than what I was used to seeing, so I wondered if that was going to be the Seattle experience. Happily not! We found most stores to be on par with what we are used to in Oregon. Anyway, we were at So Much Yarn and I found the Karabella Boise there for $17.25 a skein!!! Now this is still pricey and out of my price range, but I did consider purchasing it, just because it seemed positively cheap in comparison. I've seen it now online for around $25.00 a skein. So Much Yarn could charge so much more....If you have money to spend on yarn, this is a great yarn to do it with!

Below is a photo of our last breakfast with my friends, and future knitters, Kristi and Kathleen. It was great to have time with good friends, relax, eat well, and see new yarns. Who knew Cascade has superwash wool? Not Lorie and I, since our stores don't carry it. Seattle was a great time and I can't wait to go back.


P.S. I just priced Mountain Colors cashmere online and compared it to the Karabella Boise. I'm calling So Much Yarn and ordering two skeins. Their price is by far the best! At 160 yards in DK weight, I think I can make a beautiful cabled scarf with two skeins double-stranded and still have luxury around my neck. Four skeins my ass! Now I just have to buy the new Vogue Stitchionary on cables. Argh.

Mason-Dixon Thumbs Up

I just read Mason-Dixon Knitting and loved it. I'm talking about the book, not the blog (although I like that too). This book is my kind of book. It's a knitting book you can read cover to cover. The design, photos, asides, patterns, anecdotes and stories make for a lovely hodge podge of entertainment, like sitting down with a friend for a nice chat. I applaude the designers, photographers, font picker-outers and layout people for the colorful photos and text. They give the book a blog-like feel while showing off all that books can offer that blogs can't.

I'm the type that enjoys reading cookbooks cover to cover, including the recipes, even though I probably will never make the dish. With Mason-Dixon, I'll probably never make the lace curtain or the many log cabin blankets, but I liked seeing them and learning how they are made. More than anything, however, this book make me think that someday I might be a creative knitter experimenting with my own patterns, yarns, or being surprised by inspiration where I least expect it. This book is a keeper. Enjoy!

Projects Abound

Hey there,

Here are a few photos two of the things I have been working on lately. The pink sweater is from Knitting for Two. Even though I have no need to be knitting for "two", I just liked the pattern and thought it would be cute on anyone, and I got the yarn for 65% off at the shop I work at! Yay for Bag Sales!

The small swatch of light pink and olive green is for a cardigan from the Spring/Summer 06 Vogue Knitting International. There are three girls at the yarn shop knitting the same cardigan in all different colors. It should be fun to see how they all turn out! It calls for a Classic Elite yarn but we have substituted Butterfly Cotton Super 10 for it. I will hopefully add more photos as it grows!

Hope you all have a great weekend.

A Challenge

Hey Girls,

Since I will be headed your direction in June, I thought it would be a good idea to start our knitting challenge in mid-May to start of June, so that we can all felt our newly made purses together when I am there. Does that sound like a plan? We have a couple options:

1) all knit the Garden Party bag as originally thought, each coming up with our own ideas/plans.
2) knit any noni bag we want, with the idea that we could all get a better view of how the bags turn out and then exchange the patterns. I already sent the Carpet Bag pattern and Garden Party pattern to Aimee for us all to use.
3) If we find one of the spring patterns that we like better (due out in May) then we could all do that one. I volunteer purchasing the patterns due to my discuenta at work. And I can photocopy and send anything to you all. I will even break down and find a place that does color copies (if I can).

What'cha all think? Let me know what concept works best for you all.

Take care and happy knitting. At some point I will get some of my recent project pictures up.
Dani

Yarn stash

Lorie and I went yarn shopping. My intention was to purchase yarn for the Lucy bag and the garden party noni bag. I bought yarn for the Lucy bag. I didn't find the yarn for the garden party bag. And then I saw the sale sign! Squiggle on sale! I've never knit with squiggle. But I love it. I had to have it. And then I saw Noro Kureyon on sale! I had to have that too. Argh. $80.00 and more projects than I have time for. And still no yarn for the garden party bag. Triple argh. I need to find a job I can knit at like Dani has.

Lorie bought yarn for the small booga bag. but she got sidetracked too. I'm glad to be a good influence on friends!

My yarn stash is out of control. I have enough yarn to knit projects for at least one year, maybe two! I need help. Between yarn and books, my house is overflowing. I'm off to knit and catch up on dvds.

aimee

Save the blog

Since no one has written an entry in a month, I guess my role today is to save the blog! I haven't been knitting much, but I have been reading a ton. Allow me to share a few books with you.

Marley & Me by John Groban: a touching memoir of a man and his dog. Whether you have a dog in your life now or grew up with dogs, this book is laugh out loud funny, touching, and in the end, sad. Marley is a crazy golden lab who is untrainable. He is loyal, devoted, and loving to make up for his loopiness. This story of a dog and his family is charming and I thoroughly enjoyed it--even if it made me cry.

Hungry Planet: What the world eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio: This book looks at different families across the world and looks at what they eat in a week. In a word: fascinating. There are photos of each family surrounded by the food they eat. There are discussions of countries, culture, and social life. It will make you hungry to read. I loved the statistics comparing each country to our life in the US so you could get a real sense of what food costs, as well as life there in general. My only complaint was that it didn't cover more countries. I hope for a sequel.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore: another funny book in the world of Christopher Moore. If you need a laugh and don't mind crude humor, this is the book for you. Due to a major earthquake, an ancient being is rudely awakened from the ocean depths and starts to terrorize the town of Pine Cove, CA. Meanwhile, the local psychiatrist has given all of her depressed patients fake antidepressants. The two events cause major ripple effects in the community and the results are hilarious. If the winter blahs are holding on and you need some lightness before spring, give it a shot.

Back with knitting soon,
aimee

Felted Bags part two

Here are the photos of the finally finished booga bag. I'm now happy with the results. Eight feet of i-cord is a lot!


I also felted my buttonhole bag. Here are the before and after shots. I love this bag. I'm going to make one more (at least) with the purple on bottom and green on top as a surprise for a friend of mine at work who loved the bag too.


I haven't knit at all this week. I had a plumbing emergency on Tuesday and fell on concrete on Wednesday. Today is the first day I've been able to type without pain. I'll start knitting again today or tomorrow. Right now I'm glad nothing was broken!

Rich and I are headed to Bangkok on March 5th. I can't wait to see the sights. Dani, you haven't gotten me your shopping list yet! He gets home tonight from Caracas Venezuala. Check out his blog for stories of men with guns.

That's all for now. Maybe humor will happen when the pain pills wear off!

I'm in LOVE

Okay, I know that we all know that the sexy man I go home to is the love of my life, but when it comes to my knitting life, I fall prey to lust and love in the needle and yarn world. It truly is a separate world, with different wishes (time alone with only yarn and needles and chocolate) and desires (unlimited supplies of beautiful breathtaking FREE yarn). But right now, I feel on many levels that my yarn world is complete...for the moment. I have found Noni bags. Oh the joy, oh the spirit, oh the love of felting. Check them out. They are wild, whimsical and wonderful, while still maintaining a tailored demure that is so classic. Tell me what you think. I hope you all are as giddy as I am after viewing the site.

The Olympics and Knitting

Welcome, Dani! Aimee, I think there is hope for the hat.

So for some reason, I thought my addiction to the Olympic Games would be beneficial to my knitting. You look up now and then and it's a good way to get through the commercials. However, lately I've been spending my evenings elsewhere and taping the games. So instead of knitting, I watch the events and fast forward through the commercials. Good thing I didn't enter myself in the Olympic Games of Knitting. Oh well, as long as I get the baby blanket done by mid-April...but there's also my dad's hat in there too.

Aimee, thanks for coming to the dance show. Maybe knitted legwarmers should be on my project list!

Lorie

Yay Dani's here! Now the party is started

I'm so happy that you're here Dani. Now we can get down and knit. I love the lucy bag. I want the pattern. I still need the clogs pattern. Rich has decided he could use a pair if I make them out of Alpaca!

My brother sent me photos of the chewed up hat. Repairable or not? You vote. They are sending it to me and I'll let you know. Here's some pics.





This is what happens when bad dogs happen to good hats.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to felt my buttonhole bag and some coasters. Must finish mom's project. Must finish mom's project. Must finish....

Aimee

finally

After some technical difficulties and some blogger issues, finally a post! Yay! Quite the accomplishment at the moment. Love the booga bags. Here are a few pics of what I have been working on, including my Lucy Bag made with my wonderful Christmas present from Aimee (on the far right). Also included is a morning market bag from Fabulous Felted Handknits made with yarn that did not work with one of my christmas presents - see what I mean about the green Aimee? (left). And finally a gorgeous teal shawl (if I do say so myself) that is very much still in progress from Vogue Knitting magazing Fall 05 (middle). I got the yarn on a uber super deal and have become a huge fan of Rowen Calmer. Rumor has it that it's been discontinued...so I am quite sad. Hope you girls are doing great, much love, Dani.

hats, dogs, and nieces

Ashlynn and Brynn's hats

I made these cute earflap hats for my nieces who live in Montana. Considering they were my third and fourth attempts at colorwork, they turned out surprisingly well. They are made out of Knitpicks Andean Silk, which is a dream to knit with. Very fun patterns to knit and I got to practice my pompom making skills. Alas, the purple one (Ashlynn's) has been eaten by a dog. Super aunt to the rescue. I will knit another soooooooooon (and watch my list of projects grow longer and longer). But for Ashlynn, anything. I hope she keeps the next one out of the reach of the dogs.

And now a photo of the cats, as requested by a reader. In this photo, Spike is sitting on top of Lola trying to force her off the perch, but she's not going anywhere!


Update on Dani. She's alive and well, but has had email issues. She should be joining us shortly and showing us pics of her great knitting. She's super-knitter!

aimee

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My sweetie sent me beautiful flowers and chocolates to celebrate the day. He's in Indianapolis freezing his tuckus off, but he remembered romance! I hope he likes his wee giftie.

The bags are felted, dried, and put together. One small problem. This yarn felted well. Extremely well. Better than any yarn I've felted before (not that I have much experience--this is my fourth project). And the strap felted down too short. So now I have to find a contrasting yarn to knit into super long i-cord and try again. I'll post a photo later. But check out the current finished projects.

Lorie's Bag (beautiful colors)

My bag (nice colors, crappy strap)

I have Olympic fever. I'm sad for Michelle Kwan. On NBC, they said, "When did she get old?" Old? She's 25. She's been in the sport longer than the majority of athletes. I want to learn Snowboarding slang and apply it to knitting. Doing a 1080 fakey will have a whole new meaning. work with me here.

I've started another bag. Which means I'm ignoring my mother's Christmas present, my socks (over a year now) and various other projects. This bag is the buttonhole bag from masondixonknitting.com. What a fun project. Then back to the Christmas present and socks. Argh.

Dani, where are you?

Aimee

Where's Dani?

Hey Dani, you were there when I started out on the baby blue yarn and you were knitting the beautiful green cabled sweater. I can't say I've mastered, or even attempted anything complicated like fair isle (Aimee you have to post pics of your hats), but I've knitted quite a few things since that summer. Aimee should be putting up pics of the finished felted bags any day now. We're waiting to see your felted creations from the gorgeous New Zealand yarn. Ok, gotta get out my knitting...

Drying

They have been in front of the heater all day. Lorie's is almost dry. Mine is still damp. By tomorrow night? we hope to sew the pockets and place the straps. I think its a go.

How's the drying going?

Do you think the bags will be dry by tomorrow eve and ready for the strap placement?