Monday, May 23, 2005

Weekend Yarn

I really didn’t do a great deal of knitting last week. I spent much of the week dealing with a sinus infection. The headaches I was getting were making it near impossible to concentrate on anything. I’m still not feeling right, but it’s much better then last week.

I worked on Charlotte yesterday; she’s a few rows away from being done, yippee! I can’t wait, I get so distracted by new projects, and it’s nice to finish off some stuff. I’m almost ½ ways through thing two from the mystery kit. My sister will be getting the finished things (no I’m still not telling what they are).

My mother surprised me on Saturday with a late B-Day gift. She was going to pay for a drop spindle class for me, but the woman from the store never called me with any of the information. Instead, mom went and got me a ball winder. She’s known since hubby got me my swift for Christmas that I wanted one. I’m so excited. Is it scary that a ball winder gets me excited these days?

I also had a little bit of a yarn drama on Saturday. I spent Saturday morning cleaning and straightening the apartment. I had a paper shopping bag on the floor of our office with the 3 skeins of Dale Baby Ull I bought a few weeks ago. Apparently the dog must not have liked the smell of this bag, because she marked it and ruined it. AGHHH…. I was ready to cry. Hubby calmed me down. Later in the afternoon, we went out, and I decided to go on a yarn expedition.

I drove over to Handknits in Englewood, where I never seem to have any luck. I wound up being pleasantly surprised. I was finally able to use my gift certificate from Christmas I picked up 3 new skeins of the Ull in the same color I originally bought (Yes!) and two in a baby pick color. I also picked up “Confessions of a Knitting Heretic” by Annie Modesitt. I almost picked up yarn to do the “Market Squares” bag from A knitters dozen, but I didn’t like the selection of Lamb’s pride they had. I’m almost tempted to make it out of Cascade 200, since it’s on sale this week at WEBS for $4.70 a hank. Then again, I have too many projects going on as it is.

I did start organizing some stuff per hubby’s request. Most of my stash is stored in Rubbermaid containers. I do have a tendency to keep new acquisitions and the numerous WIP’s all over the apartment. DH asked me to keep them in a neat wicker basket, so I did. Here are my yarn purchases for this year (not too bad for 5 months) I still need to put my WIP’s in here as well.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Almost 30

My 30th birthday is tomorrow.

I've spent the last few days being very introspective. Have I accomplished what I’ve wanted to accomplish? Am I satisfied? What more do I want out of life?

To make this really short, I’ve come up with is this: I am very satisfied, I have a wonderful husband, we’re relatively healthy, we have great friends, a nice roof over our heads, a steady job that I’m good at and that still finds new ways of challenging me. I’m looking forward to my next decade, to god-willing starting a family and to whatever else is on the horizon.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Things

Well, “thing one” from mystery kit 4 is done, it came out really nice. I will not give away what it is yet, so don’t ask. Other then that it’s been quiet.

I’ve been enviously reading everyone’s reports on Knitters review of Maryland Sheep & Wool. I’m hoping I’ll be able to go up to Rhinebeck this year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Finished Object

My husband got all excited this morning. I finally finished a WIP. The silk spring scarf I started before the wedding is done.
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It’s so soft, and I loved working with silk for the first time. I’m still debating on whether I’m going to keep the fringe on the ends, as I was knitting it I didn’t like it at all. It’s growing on me; my husband and a co-worker both think it’s cute.

I received my mystery kit from Inspirations yarn yesterday. I was like a little child with a new toy; I wound the skein of yarn and cast on right away. I took hubby to the doctor this morning and got another few inches done, this is cool, I’m still clueless as to what it is though. Maybe it’s just my fried brain. Here is what i've done so far:
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By the way: I had pictures of both the Scarf and the mystery item so far, but for some reason, I can’t get to photobucket’s website today.

Monday, May 02, 2005

It’s all about the yarn

I’m still aimlessly looking for yarn for the sweater for my friend’s daughter. I took Thursday off to take hubby to the doctor and mom shopping for my sisters shower gifts. While we were out, I went to a yarn shop I had never been to. I spoke to the owner of the shop about the sweater, how I’m looking for something pastel colored and washable, and I wound up buying on her suggestion Peter Pan “Velvet touch”. It was very soft nylon yarn; she said it knits well, washes well etc. I am less then happy with it.

Here is what I knit up last night.
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Now she’s right, it knits very well, I just am not happy with the stitch definition, I was looking for something cleaner, it’s my own fault though, and I should have realized it. This stuff feels and knits just like cotton chenille. So now I don’t know what to do.

The LYS around me are ridiculous and with hubby not feeling 100% I can’t get into NYC, so I may just have to give up on this sweater. I do have other things to work on.

On a personal note, I feel horrible. Maybe it’s just I’m coming down from the wedding high, and stress of hubby’s medical situation. Maybe it’s just that I had hoped that my apartment would be anything but the disaster it looks like right now, but I’m really depressed. Whenever I walk into my kitchen and see nothing on the windows and a Rubbermaid storage container blocking my cabinets I want to cry. I want my bedroom to look like a bedroom, I want to paint my bathroom and repair the wall in there. I know everything comes in time, but it doesn’t help that my sister moved out yesterday and Mom says her apartment looks great and will be set up before mine is finished.