Post 149-Land Legs

I'm not ready to blog yet, I have too much to do, mainly tag and edit 600+ pictures on Flickr from my Sea Socks trip. Lots of fun was had, Amy Singer was sighted in the wild as was Holy Brenda Mother of Pod (i.e. Brenda Dayne from Cast-on). I found my hot Lumberjack type except he was my Zipline instructor, and unlike everyone else on the cruise, I did not catch the cold. Here's a few shots to tide ya'll over for a few days.

Post 148-Bon Voyage!

I am packed and ready to go and it's not even midnight, yea! So other than some light cleaning around the house I can take a quick nap before my alarm clock wakes me up at 6:30, ugh! I think I've got everything, 2 jeans, 2 shoes, 3 shirts, 1 dress, 1 sweater, 1 pillow, 5 skeins of yarn and my toiletries, I hope I didn't forget anything. I am not bringing my hairdryer or a David McCullough book as recommended, so I'm officially done. Whew.

I think I am finally getting excited, maybe, or maybe it will come to me once we start landing in Seattle. Don't worry, I will take LOTS of pictures, the memory card I bought carries over one thousand. I'm looking forward to bunking with some new friends and act like a college student again, and of course there will Amy Singer and Saint Brenda. What I really hope to do is lay back on a lounge chair on deck all snug in a blanket and look at the stars...or maybe I'll find myself some hot lumberjack...

Wasn't Jason just the sweetest to meet up with his cousin for a drink and take this silly photo. I tried to explain what Ravelry was and just couldn't do it justice but he posed anyway and I told him that we all were voting for him. Yes, He thougt he was stupid not to use to idol too, hindsight is 20/20.



See ya'll in 10 days!

Post 147-Ca-Ra-Zy!

Things are starting to get a little crazy over here at Chateau Le Yarnsnob.

To start off with, yes, Jason was kicked off Survivor. I was bummed, Grandma was pissed, my uncle Ron, his dad, was well, kinda relieved I think. Overall it was better that he left being a nice guy and not some snarky backstabber.



At least I don't have to worry about trying to catch the finale while at sea. Hoping that Jason was going to win I was nervous about not seeing the end. I still will want to see what happens and who wins but if I can't get a signal, well at least it would be because I was cruising Alaska and that's pretty darn cool.

Sea Socks is just over a week away and I'm finally getting excited. I've been preparing for awhile and am almost done. New undies and socks along with travel sized toiletries have been procured. I've gotten some cool Threadless T-shirts to wear, a new pair of jeans, my first tennis shoes in a decade I think and I scored some Calvin Klein fitted empire waist tunic tops on sale at Nordstroms. I've started gathering items in a pile in the kitchen and really need to pull out my suitcase this weekend. All that's left to do is get my haircut and then a mani-pedi. I've been putting off the knitted slippers because I've been working on a scarf for a friend and now I need to get cracking, I'm not sure what design to go with but will have to make something cool because I love to win swag. Speaking of winning contests....I was checking out some of my favorite knitting sites and was over at knittingworkshop.com to see what they were up to and how they've adapted to the neighborhood and they had a surprise quiz. Needless to say, I was the first to answer the question of what Azores Lace is. Thanks to some swift research I now have a lovely gift certificate to the store that I will let marinate until I'm ready to make a certain sweater out of Rowan tweed.

So to round the week off, if you want your very own Survivor immunity idol, I think I know where you can pick up one if your ready to let go of some cool cash.
Also, I have a hankering for some Steak and Shake, I haven't been there in awhile and miss it, I wondering who I could go there with......

Post 146-California Dreamin'

Bad traffic, wild cougars and earthquakes, if I didn't see the Sears Tower from my El platform everyday on my way to work I would have sworn I was in California. Chicago isn't supposed to have earthquakes, I didn't feel it this morning like everyone else. Finding and shooting a cougar 1.5 miles from my house and 6 miles from downtown and Lake Michigan isn't normal. And while we have had several issues with the Ohare Blue Line lately, the commute really is getting better, I swear, downtown to my stop, walking to my house and back out to walk the dog in 30 minutes flat.

I always joked that if I wanted fire, flood and famine I would move to California, I'm getting nervous sitting here in my apartment in the formerly safe Midwest....I think I'll just put on some Kenny G, have a drink and chill.

Post 145-New Perspective

Kudos to cousin Jason, he's made it to the top 8 now on Survivor. Overall I say he's been playing nice but also kinda stupid. I can't believe he thought the fake idol that Ozzie crudely carved to replace the real one was, well real, and second, why in the world was he stupid enough to believe any of the other contestants wouldn't vote for him if he gave up immunity for a platter of food to share. Somehow it turned out right in the end and completely changed the game, pretending to vote him off gave the girls a chance to turn around and get Ozzie and the unplayed immunity idol off, what a coup.



The boys and grandma.

Really though, this whole thing has taught me something, I would never want to be famous, even being related to semi-famous people sucks. It's really hard hearing and reading people bash your relatives for no reason other than their own amusement and to entertain others. This whole experience for me has turned me off of celebrity gossip shows, wanting to know about the private lives of others, news programs and tv in general. What's being produced, written and shown is bias and skewed by someone's perspective, we always knew that but I really don't like it anymore. Add in this constant crap about the election and I trust now one to tell me the truth or be fair without some hidden agenda.
If you don't like cousin Adam's band The Academy Is, don't listen, but to get vicious and personal eh? If you don't like the way Jason has played the game on TV, vote and support someone else but don't make a YouTube video about him calling him a douche bag, where do these people get off?

I've said what I needed to so now down to some cool stuff. Three weeks until Seasocks, I guess I better start on the felted slippers for the contest. My mind is racing with designs, I'm thinking felted intarsia design with embroidery and bead work...to ambitious? Oh, my temp contract with the law firm was extended to the end of May, I told them I was cool with that but I would be gone for 7 days on a trip, I hope that's ok.

Post 144-A Very Good Day

Saturday was the best all over day I have had in a long time, cheap yarn, friends, commraderie, good food, drinks and two celebrity sightings, wow right?

The day started early, really, REALLY, like 7 in the morning early. We in the Windy City Knitting Guild take our yarn serious and when Beth at Lorna's Laces opens the doors to us for a mill end sale and dye tutorial we jump at the chance. The thing is, the doors open at 10 a.m. and she has only enough room for 20 people at a time to come in go through the seconds and purchase, as each person leaves the workshop one more can come it. You don't want to be the last person, not if you're looking for something in particular and you never know what maybe be available. So, if you have a shopping list you want to get in early, hence Rachael and I arriving at 7:30, in time to be numbers 6 and 7 in line with Linda and Adrienne meeting us and getting numbers 8 and 9. For the next two hours we drank desperately needed coffee (I'm not liking Metropolis' French Roast, it was very charred tasting and not at all good and I was very hangry) and bagels at the local coffee shop biding our time and chatting with other knitters with the same game plan. At 10 a.m.-ish we were in and it was fun. Like last year there were a couple of tables piled high with sock yarn.



I knew there was going to be plenty of sock yarn to go around so I bypassed the table for the moment to see what else was available. I did snag a bag of 12 skeins of the Green Line first production yarn (before the line was revamped), which was organic yarn AND organic dye in a lovely red color. I carried it around for awhile then admitted, I did not need it, I have plenty of sweater's worth of yarn from the Knitting Workshop sale and NO! I needed to save as much as possible for Sea Socks and purchases on that trip. So I handed it over to someone else who will give it a good home and walked back to the sock table. Beth was very nice and generous and I asked if she had any of the Grumperina color way mill ends available, and the nice person that she is, found two skeins in sport weight. While not as fine as the shepherd sock it's still perfect for socks and I can't wait to play with it. My haul from the sale:



2 Skeins of Shepherd's Sport in Grumperina~For Sock Consumption



2 Skeins of Shepherd's Sock in One of a Kind, in my mind I call it Bloody Sundae but that sounds bad so how about Mint Chocolate Chip with Cherry Sauce~For Sock Consumption



4 Skeins of Shepherd's Sport in Black Purl, (black being more brown and prettier I think)~Project yarn required for class on Sea Socks Cruise.



Lots of yarn drying and wanting to be adopted by a knitter.

People in line with their haul waiting to pay.



I skipped the dye tutorial, I've already seen it several times, I was tired so I volunteer to watch purses, bags and yarn and take a little nap on the bench in the hallway. If I did see the dyeing it would use these items:



By 11 we were done and very hungry for real food and off we went to Cafe 28? A nice Cuban/Mexican food restaurant in the neighborhood. I ate sorta light, bowl of fruit, bacon and a bit of potatos because Rachael was taking me to Frontera Grill for a belated birthday gift. There was a group of people at a table behind us that I paid no attention to and when they left someone said they though one of the guys was Harold Ramis, yea, from the Ghostbusters a movie I saw when I was 8, he's a local here.



Yup, it was him.

I got a good look at him as they were getting into the car they parked in front and yea, I think it was him, kewl, a celebrity sighting in the wild! The plan was that after the sale to go and hang out with the chickens at Linda's place, but I was tired and needed a nap.

After a little R&R Rachael and I were ready to go. We arrived at Frontera around 6:45-7ish and were told there was a 2 1/2 hour wait, um okay I guess, the food is supposed to be really good so why not, it's Saturday night right? I had a gift certificate to Lettuce Entertain You that was set to expire in a few days so I figured we should go over to Maggiano's and hang out at the bar and have a drink or two. We both had a cocktail and the waiter, knowing it was my b-day gave us both a snifter of GlenLivet because I've never had good whiskey before, apparently my splurge on a bottle of Bushmills was just barely an accept brand. So the drinks were good, I was buzzed, which was good because after waiting forever we finally got a seat at Frontera, at the bar, so we had an appetizer to hold us over.



Art hanging above me at the bar, kinda freaky to look at when you've had a few.

We met some nice people, Rachael talked Motorola, I was buzzed and we were both happy to finally spot Rick Bayless.



I'm a big fan, being a very picky eater, but also a cook, I love to watch his show and how he explains things, he makes me want to try new food, slowly. I have one of his cookbooks that I got signed when he did a visit to Marshall Fields a couple of years ago, I used to work for a coffee company that specially roasts coffee for him, and a neighbor on the other side of the alley does his graphic designs.
The meal was yummy perfection (we got seated at 9:45-yes 3 hours later from when we arrived and it took less than 10 minutes for our food to come, actually, it felt like 5 minutes really), I had chicken in tortillas with mole, which ties roasted chicken ravioli w/pink sauce as my most favorite dish in the world. When we were seated it was at a 4 seater bar by the kitchen, good for people watching and such, not the best was waiter attentiveness. The people sitting next to us left and then the a seating for two was laid out, with wine and a dish that had ribs, and it sat there for awhile, until Rick Bayless himself and his wife sat down to eat.



What Rick Bayless ate for dinner.

I really wanted my picture with him but there was no good time and I'm not about to interrupt his meal, how rude. So, I can't wait to go back, but will either arrive earlier or have reservations.

So, yes it was a very good day

Post 143-On My Mind

Well I must be excited about the up coming Sea Socks cruise because I've been having some interesting dreams lately. Dream 1, all I remember is that I'm on the cruise, outside on the boat taking pictures only to realize I forgot my memory card for the camera, I guess that would count as a nightmare right? Dream 2, actually takes place in Greece,(haven't been there so go figure) and all I remember is standing outside the boat one again and I'm looking at all the islands and shoreline and the water was really REALLY blue. Strange.

Post 142-Ritual

Solitude is a good thing as is creating simple rituals. One of my favorite is the observation of my b-day. I do not look to my friends to make is special, it really is a day that is only special to me. Given my tragic family history, I realized this year that is better that I accept the occasion for what it is, face it myself and create my own ritual.

I admit at first I was supposed to go out to eat with some neighbor friends but they could not make it at the last minute and given that all my friends where out of town at the same time (freakish occurrence) I faced the music and celebrated with myself. After work I went over to the Merz's Appothocary in Field's, um, Macy's, and picked up some rose scented bath beads. Later in the evening after getting over a little I feel sorry for myself depression, I got off my ass and decided I should buy my own birthday cake like I did last year and went over to Whole Foods to pick one out.



I was lucky that they had my favorite little vanilla cake still available in the bakery late in the evening, so with that I splurged and bought a rose scented soy candle candle (I love the rose scent, it's perfect when your melancholy). After getting the cake and candle I realized I was hungry and should probably eat dinner. I like to play these little mind games with myself, and I said if I drive by my favorite restaurant and can find meter parking then it's meant to be that I eat there, and it was! How lucky was I to find an empty meter right in front of my most favorite restaurant in Chicago on a Friday night on the corner of Halsted and Armitage, my luck was changing and my evening was getting better. Even better was that the pasta place had for their special Roasted Chicken Ravioli in a Gorgonzola pink sauce, absolute yumminess, it really made my evening.

Afterward I went home, had a nice hot bath (I forgot how good they are and wow, bath beads make your skin feel so soft!), put on my favorite nightgown and robe, lit my candle, had a slice of cake and a tumbler of Bailey's, popped in Pride and Prejudice and knitted on the Rusted Root before falling to sleep.



It turned out a nice evening after all and I am very happy to celebrate this stupid day by myself. Now, should any friends reading this wish to celebrate it belatedly, I would have no problem accept felicitations and gifts in that regard. :)

P.S. My sister Kim's gift card to Lush was used to buy henna hair dye, also part of the new ritual, an effort to disguise my age. And grandma's gift certificate online to Barnes and Nobel was returned (I refuse to buy a book from them online when I can get it cheaper at Amazon, no, seriously, the three knitting books I was going to buy were 20 bucks cheaper on amazon.com, I swear. Grandma was more than happy that I returned it and complimented me for not wanting to waste the money) So now I have a check from her and she insists I use in on the Sea Socks cruise and buy myself something special.

Oh, also, I got several birthday wishes from people on Ravelry and noticed that they put a little cake icon on your ravetar.

Post 141-Time

Time is a flying, though I think Mother Nature forgot it was officially spring in Chicago, she gave us snow last week and again this week. I think now, it's over and according to the Farmer's Almanac we will be having a wet spring.



I finally got my knitting mojo back and in a big way. I've been cranking out hats galore and to prepare for the cold wet spring I made myself a tam. It took a lot of looking on ravelry to find a tam that wasn't heavy looking, more winter than spring. I just wanted something light that would keep my head warmish when the rain and wind is a blowing. I'm very happy with the finished product, it's exactly what I wanted, it makes me feel very english!



The oiled mystery yarn cake.



As any Jane Austen character would say "It's very fine indeed!"

I made a lemon pie, it was good but weepy, going to have to work on that, I did everything it asked for, even squeezed fresh lemons. huh.



That evil time of the year is fast approaching, and so celebrate, I bought myself a gift. I've been listening to the Diana Gabaldon books on tape, Outlande for those in the know, and it made me want to get the ring that was made from the description in the book, I know, what a nerd. I love it and am happy to report I guessed the right size for my middle finger and it fits perfectly!



My sister Kim wins this year for the first gift received! Congrats to her for being the first, from her I received a gift certificate to Lush. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I think she really liked the soap from there that I got her for her birthday, and at least I can get my henna to dye my hair. I think my grandmother almost forgot so as a last ditch effort not to be late she and my aunt got me a on-line gift card to Barnes and Noble. Don't get me wrong, it was very nice and I will use it(though all the knitting books are sooo much cheaper on knitpicks), but if given the choice I would have liked something more thoughtful and not a last minute oops gift, plus, Amazon would have been sooooo much better, I could have gotten the copper tea kettle or Le Crueset skillet I really want. So I thinks that's it. What do I hate most about the b-day, generic gift cards, friends picking up the dinner tab when they realize it's your birthday and they forgot, having to henna your hair to cover that your getting old and not getting a birthday cake and having to buy your own. Yea, I'm a little depressed and it's still a week away! Don't worry though, once the day passes and I start lying about my age I will go back to normal depression for the other 51 weeks of the year.

I think next week I will take myself out to eat to the Frontera Grill, maybe I will invite my friend John, we always have such good conversation.

Post-140 Where Do They Get This?

So you are supposed to do this thing with your name and I always imagined that there's some great big book out there that is a compilation of names and their meanings. Come on now, after I typed in yarnsnob it should have said something like, that's a weird name for a child, why did you choose that, stupid yuppies.

What Yarnsnob Means

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Post 139-No Yarn Please, But....

I really REALLY like these things:



http://www.southerngoose.com/store/p-270-yarnbuddies-yarn-ball-bag.aspx



http://www.amazon.com/Old-Dutch-Hammered-Copper-Teakettle/dp
/B000I1ZET8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1205201815&sr=8-1


In Green

http://www.jenniethepotter.com/products/1_yarn_ball.htm#

Hint, hint, hint!

Post 138-I'll Miss Ya

Good-by Little Jo and Hoss, Mr. Tibbs and Chief Galespie, I'll miss ya Martha. Yarnsnob will be gone for awhile, she got a 1 1/2 month temp job downtown. It'll be tedious, lots of data entry for a law firm with a big case, but she won't be alone, she'll be part of an an army of 15 but it's all cool, it's a jeans wearing iPod listening place.

John and I went to the Knitting Workshop. He got lots of Noro Silk Garden, a couple balls for me to make him a hat and the rest for him to learn to knit on, finally, oh and some bamboo needles too! I am not allowed in that store again, ever....I will not buy anymore yarn, no no no! (in my defense, I still didn't spend as much in 3 visits that Chicken Linda did in 1, she's my hero)

Post 137-So

That went by fast, 6 weeks of teaching at NW is done. It was a great class, we covered lots of stuff from casting-on to 3 ways to decrease, plus they saw a little symbolcraft, got to feel up my ball of Qiviut and can read knit. Best part of teaching this session was that our checks were available for pick-up that night!

So, Knitting Workshop is having a HUGE moving sale, if you haven't heard....which I doubt. I was happy to hear that but even happier to hear that they were moving to my neighborhood, really, just down the street not even a half mile, I walk my dog past that building all the time, YEA! The word went out like wildfire on Ravelry and when the sale started on Saturday, I was there. I did a little damage on my yarncard (my debit card account were my teaching, jewelry making and babysitting money go) and bumped into Megan. On that visit I came away with some white cotton blended Regia sock yarn 75% off, 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden at 40% off and 16 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in creamy white at 35% off, damn. The next day after babysitting when Rachael was feeling better I got her to come out to the sale and ran into Chicken Linda. I am such a great friend and enabler!



Noro Silk Garden




Regia Cotton Blend Sock Yarn



Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, no scratchy Irish sweater for me!



Anny Blatt, the second best deal of the century after the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk I scored at Mosaic.

I just went the second time to go over the leftovers and was seriously going to get six balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in white which was the largest quantity of a single color left, but decided to take a look at Anny Blatt. I've never worked with Anny Blatt, heck I haven't even felt it up. It's on this shelf behind a table on a little stage that made it hard to get too, plus I never see any patterns written for it. Big mistake, such wonderful stuff. I ended up not getting the kidsilk and instead found 16 balls of Anny Blatt Casimir, which is 85% Wool and 15% cashmere. This stuff normally goes for over $16.50 a ball and because Knitting Workshop is no longer going to be carrying it, they put it up for sale at 75% off, holy-fuckin-shit I saw. I got $200 of yarn for $50, need I saw more, oh the color is a soft lavendar that's not too bright, just perfect for me. My neighbor John came over tonight because he needed me to do some digital photography for an ebay auction of his and saw the Beehive Hat I made with the Noro I bought at the sale and promptly put in an order for one. So it looks like tomorrow in the afternoon I will be going again to the sale but this time with John so he can pick out the yarn himself. I have no idea what to expect, I wouldn't think there would too much left of any color to make a full sweater, I'm thinking more one ball wonders will be on the shelves.



My Crayola Chevron scarf is finished! I wore it out when I had dinner with some old co-workers and promptly was requested to make one for them. Mary said right away that it looked like a designer piece and is busy going over all the possible Koigu colors and is choosing her own color design. My old boss Eileen is expecting her first grandbaby and is very excited. I had just enough time before we meet for dinner to make her a pair of baby booties from recycled angora and cashmere yarn.



I went through my stash and put some of it up as sell or trade. Out went two skeins of Socks that Rock Pebble Beach and in came Socks that Rock Lenore from the Raven series and a new yarn I haven't heard of from J-Knits.



I wonder what I will find at Knitting Workshop tomorrow.....

Post 136-Handy Ma'm

So last week I picked my car up from the shop, she was overheating and it turned out the wires to the engine fan had to be replaced. Fine, great, it took over a week for the mechanic to figure that out, but in the end the cost for this trip to Mr. Mechanic was not too bad and still beats the cost of a new car. My baby is old, she turns 14 this summer and later on that day after going to Loopy for the Chevron scarf Koigu and will visiting a cute bakery someone hit my driver's side rear light when I was parked. I'm too bummed, shit happens, could have been worse, could have happened to a new car, but I don't have a new car, I have a city car now.



Broken light held together with packing tape.

Stranger who hit me left no note but I was lucky that my car had a smallish dent by the light but it broke the light itself. I can fix this, yea, really. I went online, looked around for a new light (don't want to be overcharged by a mechanic), new NEW lights are 50-70 bucks, but a gently used light was on e-bay for 15!!



New Light, I love you eBay!

Today I got the light in the mail, unscrewed the bulbs, popped out the unit and popped in the new, almost.



Voila!

Little dent by the light is making it slightly difficult but I'm taking my car to another repair person that will change the oil, check the transmission fluid and secure the light better, face it I'm handy as a man just not as strong!

I've got Cotton Fleece on the brain. I really really like the yarn, always had, knitted a great baby Surplice for neighbor baby with it last year. Lately as I've been looking around on Ravelry I've come across several cute short sleeve sweaters that use the yarn, especially Rusted Root, and I want to make one but with longer sleeves.



I'm obsessed with finding the yarn for it now, it's all about the hunt and it's not like I don't have enough yarn and projects in my queue. The thing is, the yarn is 80% cotton and only 20% wool which means it would be perfect for say, a cruise? I have lots of things knitter, but no sweaters really, other than the alpaca one made with one faded ball that I'm still very pissed about. I should just face the fact that I'm a chunky monkey and make a sweater dammit! Best part about the pattern, you can try it on as you knit it, so clever me can add extra stitches if I need to hide my girth and longer to hide my hips. I'm thinking pale green, reminds me of spring and life and there is a lot on ebay that are mill ends with uneven dying which might be very pretty if the unevenness is, well, even.

Post 135-I'm Not a Complainer

Everyone is doing it, but not me, I love winter and am NOT complaining! It snowed again yesterday and was so lovely. I remember the winters of only a couple of years ago where it barely snowed and everything was barren and brown, ugh, instead I have nice white brightness.
Work on the Chevron scarf is coming along, I think it's time to put the pattern up in my projects area in Ravelry. One more class and after next week I can go back to my posse, I miss my girls so much! A couple of days ago I was looking at my stash online and decided to put some of it up in trade/sell. Why not I say, I have yarns that I'm not happy with and some that I probably won't use and if that one ball is all that another knitter needs to finish a project then that would be fantastic. One of the things I put up were the two balls of Socks That Rock Pebble Beach, yea the stuff I was playing with when swatching the Chevron Scarf. Well, someone contacted me and asked for a trade, yea I say, for the low cost of priority shipping I will get rid of stuff I don't like and get some new yarn for my stash, it's like free shopping! When I get the yarn I will post, one of the skeins is STR's Lenore, every since I saw it online I've wanted it and I heard that The Fold doesn't have it in stock right now.

Post 134-Knitting Goodness

The chevron scarf's a go! It's going fast, I think I have 16 inches done and I'm not even knitting on it constantly. I decided to use the two skeins of Koigu I got at Loopy in the end, I did try it with one of the other balls from NYC but it didn't make much of a change in the overall look so I decided to save it for later in case I want to make another with the two NYC koigu balls and the STR Pebblebeach like I sampled.





A couple of shots to show how the colors on the two balls look knitted up. One is brighter and more colorful with an occasional mute pale streak and the other is richer in reds with muted yellow, green and dark charcoal tones. I am very satisfied in the way the colors are knitting up, it's very bright, colorful and just perfect for the gray rainy days of Spring looming ahead. I can't wait to steam it flat and start wearing it, I keep looking at it and think it reminds me of my childhood in Germany.



I went out with a couple of friends on Saturday for a girl's night out, we had LOTS of fun, we were sooo naughty. Just imagine what kind of place we went. I of course had my knitting with me, I did NOT knit during the show but did ask our waiter to model with it, I was to shy to ask one of the other performers. Isn't our waiter jsut the cutest gay boy, what eyes! Unfortunately he dropped one of the balls (insert giggle here!)

Post 134-Variations on a Theme

I knit socks when I need a quick knit fix in the middle of a boring sweater. Apparently I knit scarves when I need a quick knit fix in the middle of a boring sock.

The pattern swatching with the boucle cashmere has come to an end. After about 5 did pattern samples I gave up, nothing was working and I don't want to force the knitting, this yarn just doesn't want to be knitted right now.



In this last sample I tried a feather and fan pattern. Like my friend Valerie said, feather and fan is to knitting what the pineapple is to crochet, a good ole standby. Some day the perfect pattern will come along.

Last year I pick up two skeins of Koigu at Purl Soho after Linda told me about the Chevron pattern in the Last Minute Knitted Gifts book. The idea is to pick two opposite colorways and they will somehow blend and make a great scarf.



It's funny that I bought the yarn at the store of the person who wrote the book, I thought it was cool. Later after I bought the book and read the pattern I realized I needed two skeins of two colors! Rachael and I went to Loopy just after Thanksgiving last year when I heard they had finally gotten in Koigu. I think they are the only store in the Chicagoland area that carries it.



I knew it would be impossible to match the colors so I thought I would get something that would sorta match and sorta contrast and just use all four!



I think the colors look great together. But, thanks to the wonderfulness that is Ravelry, I looked at all the other versions of the Chevron scarf that other people have done. For the most part, I think a lot of people did not use four skeins, it makes a really long scarf, and I just don't want that. So I started to play around with which two of the four skeins would make it into the scarf.






Nope, I didn't like any of the combos above and decided to try the original two skeins I bought. So I started to knit the pattern.



I like it, but I'm not loving it. It's not what I envision and sometimes you don't know how the yarn will knit up until you knit it. If I were in a psychedelic/gypsy phase it would be great. I was thinking the funky yellowy green color that looks like the liquid you find in the little vial in a level has to go. Trying to follow the spirit of the pattern and only use contrasting colors, I pulled out from my stash a skein of Socks That Rock colorway called Pebble Beach.



I bought this yarn several years at Stitches, it looks lovely in the skein but when knitted into a sock, ick, I hated it.



This is better, sorta. The colors definately pop better and aren't so stripy as the original sampler, but I'm not in a blue mood right now. I do know I'm on the right road.



So what better than to add another yarn! So back in goes the funky yellow/green Koigu again. The way the pattern is knitted it was easily adaptable for three yarns. This would work if it was all the yarn I had to choose from, but I haven't balled up or even touched the skeins I bought last year at Loopy. Thanks to Ravelry and a quick post to the Loopy group I found out I was able to exchange the yarn. Today after picking up my car from the mechanic (long story but not as expensive as I thought it might be) I drove over to exchange the yarn.




Now this is loveliness! I knew right away that the multicolored skein was destined to be in this scarf, but it took awhile to and a lot of playing around to settle on the red colorway. I really would have liked a predominantly green yarn but there wasn't a lot to choose from that fit that bill. I'm much happier with these colors and will frog the sampler.
Come to think of, I wonder how the multicolored skein I bought in NYC would look with the multicolored yarn I bought today....

Last night we had a total lunar eclipse and I remembered to photography it.