Lots'a Yarn

Last weekend Mom and I stopped at Yarn Diva in Hillsdale while out. She wound up buying me a Knit Kit. I think Pat said someone had asked her if it was a birth control kit.:)

Pat got her one and she was looking to spread the addiction. As she said on her blog, Mom added a needle to the kit. I'll be doing that too. Above the Knit is pictures from the front with some really vibrant Jitterbug yarn that I picked up at Yarn Diva. Below I'm posting a shot of the back of the Knit with some Aussi sock. That is the same yarn (different colorway) as the yarn I used for the Mary Thank You Socks.

I still have the Lapis Hederas on the needles here next to me. I'm thinking I may give those to Mary as well.

I've made a lot of progress on the BSJ for Mrs. B's new grandbaby.

I think I'm going to make something for the big brother of the new baby, Alex, but I'd want it to be crochet. I've been missing crochet so much. I also sleep with a crochet blanket every night and it's just as snuggly as any knitting! So I'm considering making this Spiderman blanket (Ravelry Link). I'd make one for Griff too, and I'd hope to make one for my other co-worker's son. We will see...that is a buttload of blanket!

Still working on my Clapotis.

It's taking much longer than I'd thought, but then again it is sockish yarn. And it does feel really nice. It's for me, so I'm in no rush.

I've done NOTHING to get ready for school. A little web design on my class site, but it sux so I'll need to re do it. The company that we teachers have our sites through makes good design difficult. Tomorrow (gulp) I'm planning to go in.

Mom, Pepper, and I were supposed to see Julie and Julia today but Pep got sick. Mom and I hadn't been to Stix-n-Stitches in a gillion years so we drove up to Montclair. I miss going there b/c the staff is great. They are so helpful and make everyone feel at home. They truly are a bunch of wonderful broads.

So I'd seen online that another store that had once been in Montclair had relocated. Mom and I decided to drive by and found that they'd moved down the block from Stix. I found this very puzzling. I wish them the best with their venture, and I know Stix will support a fellow yarn store in any appropriate way, but why would you open up a store down the block from another that sells the exact same merch? I also doesn't feel the same as Stix. If I need Rowan and don't want to drive into Hoboken to Patricia's I guess I'd go there, but otherwise I don't think I will. And I think I'd feel totally uncomfortable asking for help there.

While at Stix I finally got to spend the rest of my gift cert from Mom and Dad from December...yes, December! I was really looking for Flat Feet but I couldn't find any. Here's the loot I did get...

Although I love blues I'd never purchased an all blue sock yarn so there it is and it feels great.

I saw that they had all this Araucania Patagonia on sale so I went nuts with that.

I really love this yarn. A few years back I made one of my first sweaters out of it. I don't think I ever posted the final result...I know it's not on my Ravelry, so here's that...

I made it with a huge hood modeled after my favorite sweater ever, some cheep, fuzzy, black cardigan I got for $5 or so at some discount store when I was in college. Both the Patagonia one and the original are very warm, only good for late fall or winter. I knitted on a smaller needle with the cotton to make it heavy and very insulating. I wear it and the original one every day under my coat in the winter.

While at Stix I picked up some yarn to make a fair isle hat with Mom from Brooklyn Tweed's new book (Mom's a Jared Flood fan). Here's the Ravelry link.

The yarn is Fresco from Classic Elite. I eliminated the white from the pattern and changed it to black (I do white as little as humanly possible; my day glow 'how is she a Latin lady' skin it pale enough for any outfit I may wear). There's a pic from Ravelry of the finished fair isle along with a pic of the crochet hat I'm working on now, Raspberry Beret, from the most recent Crochet Today magazine.

Here's what my Raspberry Beret (love that name:) looks like so far...

A bit blurry, but you can see mine it far more grapie. I was originally working on it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca and just b/c I tend to crochet and knit like I'm strangling someone I didn't like the way it was coming out. This is Cascade 220, and the feel is much softer and is better for the pattern.

I did get one more thing at Stix. I saw this woman lugging tons of bags into the store. I didn't know why she was there, but I felt bad she had to do all that on her own. I wish my knee wasn't so screwed up 'cause I would have preferred to help her bring the bags down the steps into Stix, but the least I could do and did was to hold the door so she could just breeze in once she got her shit down stairs. When she was finally done Mom joked that she now needs to pay me in yarn b/c I was such and excellent door lady. She then proceeded to ask me if I like cool or warm colors and handed me a kid socks size piece of Flat Feet.

Turns out she was a yarn company rep and was there to show Sheila (Stix owner) new Fiesta and Flat Feet (really stunning new Fiesta!). I don't ever do shit expecting things back or b/c I'm thinking of the 3 fold law, although I do believe doing good always brings you good in return simply by just feeling good. I just do whatever little shit I do for others b/c that's what every one should do. And really, holding the door? That's just a little bullshit thing. That was really nice that she gave me yarn and I was touched.

In non knitting news...I'm silly often and one silly thing I do every year is watch the tv show Big Brother. This season I've chosen to cheer for Kevin Campell to win.

He was smart to lay low most of the game and although I guess his house mates would disagree he was as loyal as he could be to his allies while still taking part in the game play and not forgetting that he's playing for money. I think this loyalty mixed with reasonable self preservation will come to be the argument for him to win a freakin buttload of cash if he makes it to the end. Go Kevin!!

And don't forget...PROJECT RUNWAY IS BACK!!!!!! More on that next post.

I want to go here

Yarntopia

Updates to Come

Monica of Stix-n-Stitches encouraged me to join their Ravelry group. I did so, and it kinda made me sort of interested in updating this site.

Ever since school started I've been spending most of my time away from the net. I took my first Library Science class (yes, I want to be a knitting librarian - but please banish all stereotypes from your mind). The class was stressful and confusing, but it seems that may have been more the professor and less the subject, so I've registered for two more this spring. The more I look into it the more I realize that's really what I want to do with my life.

I have been knitting, but haven't taken any pics. I will, though. I finished the sweater with the patagonia. I also began a black sweater for myself out of Cotton Ease, tore it out, and am going to make a baby sweater with the yarn. I started a shawl for my mother with some Wool in the Woods (it's listed as a Cherry Tree Hill yarn at BarganYARNS.com but I heard CTH bought Wool in the Woods anyway). I'm waiting for the rest of my yarn and then I'll finish that up.

I used some lace weight Online mohair yarn I found in the discount pile at Stix-n-Stitches to start a really easy, lovely shawl from elann.comfor my mother in law, but am going to rip that up and make something for myself. She's been behaving like a lunatic and has ripped my heart out and pounced on it about ten times since the start of the school year. She's not at all elderly (only 67) but her lifestyle has aged her beyond her years. She calls constantly, mostly after 9 at night, when all good little teachers are in bed, and has been very manipulative and hurtful. The whole thing has been very stressful for my husband and myself.

Right now I'm also working on an EZ Tomten. My husband and I are planning to have a little one soon, so I figure I need to get rolling.

Pics to come.

My mother, sister, Pepper, and I were driving home from lunch out with friends when Pepper spotted a yarn store on the way home. A yarn store in northeastern NJ that we don't know about??? It can't be!! But it was. I'd be supplying you with the link, but there is none.

After a quick pit stop, mom and I went to Expressions Yarn Studio in Englewood, New Jersey. The small store front was decorated with plants, lined with shelves of yarn, and everything stood surrounding a homey knitting table complete with two customers hard at work.

All the yarn is hand dyed and appeared to be hand spun, although we're not sure. The dye jobs alone were entrancing. I was spellbound and suggested she make a web site for herself. The salt and pepper haired store owner and yarn artist was a bit shy about it, said she wouldn't know how, and I volunteered my services (not that I'm that good at it either, but I can get the job done.)

One of the two other customers said she thought a web site was unnessesary and would cheepen the shop owners work and yarn. Ehhh. I didn't get into it, but an artists web site doesn't just have to be about selling stuff. She can keep her minions informed (I say minions and not patrons purposely), attract new business to the store itself, and keep track of everything she's made, etc.

It seems she's very possesive of her yarn. Rather than allowing customers to come and go and pick and choose, she likes to have a heavy hand in any project that involves her yarn, and wants you to march along behind her.

Mom and I warmed up to a few skeins and asked her about them. She said she handles all business in one of two ways. You have an idea, she picks the yarn, or you like some yarn, she dreams up an idea. SHe said the way she likes to do it is to plan for you and lead you through your knitting. The rebel in me was immediately turned off by the thought of someone else telling me what to knit and how. I'd been looking at her pre made stuff - her designes, and while very beautiful, they were simple rectangular designs, kinda like the stuff I can do all by my lonesome. They're pieces to showcase the fabulous yarn.

When she gave us an estimate for the three skeins of gorgious turquoise cotton boucle we'd drooled over I nearly pissed myself. It was the most expensive yarn my newbie hands had ever caressed. I love Michaels', but I've been to Majestic Yarns in Ridgewood owned by the queen of Karabella, author of Runway Knits, Berta Karapetyan. (I have my autographed copy, do you??:)




Her yarn is stunning, but pricy - this Expressions stuff was on another planet. And then she insists that she wants to basically control what I'm going to knit with it a jillion dollars later, I think not.

If you love yarn, and are stomping through the northern region of the Garden State, stop by Expressions Yarn. Just know you'll either leave empty handed, or empty walleted.

School Daze

Today Mom, Pepper, and myself went to Teaneck to The Skein Attraction on Cedar Lane. Mom was all excited to get some circular Turbos. Working on these Surprise Baby Sweaters, we've all been using circulars and she hates the constant coiling up even after they've been steamed. I really like circulars any old way.
We went in, stumbled around a bit, admired the lovely Schaefer I have no money to buy, and Mom bought some size 7 circulars. We hobbled back to the car (my ankle is still swollen) and drove away only to realize some blocks later that they were 24in circulars when Mom had wanted something longer. Pepper offered to drive back but Mom was not having it. We decided to go to Pat's Yarn Boutique in Fort Lee - we've driven by a thousand times but only been there once. We found the place closed.
Mom was bummed, and I had to pee. We then resolved to go on an adventure to find a yarn store we'd heard about in Hoboken - not our usual stomping grounds.

On the way we passed through the town where we all teach, and the fact that summer in draining away really hit me. I'm not ready to go back yet. I was looking around to see if I could see any of "my kids" on the street. Any of "my kids" is an ever increasing group that consists of any child that has been in the 5th grade while I was teaching at my school. I do miss them. They're people who I spend most of most every day with - how could I not miss them when we're not in school.

I guess most teachers will understand missing the kids, your co-workers, but not being ready to give up the stay-at-home-ness. Soon enough I'll be getting up at 5 am and getting home at 4:30 only to have 1 to 3 hours of planning, paperwork, or grading to do once I get home.

The mad dash to make dinner, release Smudge, take a shower, kinda put some laundry away a little bit maybe (forget about dusting!) and hope that I can fit in some knitting/crochetting/writing/reading before I go to bed at around 9 so I can start over the next day. Only two hours a day with the husband. How would I do this with a baby? People do it, so I guess it gets done, but thinking about it just then was a little overwhelminig, like anticipating the plunge in the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disney when you were like, five. You know it's coming. You don't wanna do it, but that's the only way to go. I would never give up teaching, and I would never give up my plans to be a mom...somethings gonna have to give.

Anyway, we finally got to Hoboken - the ride was easy. The place was Patricia's Yarns. Cute place, very small, and Mom found her Turbos, 8s and 40 in. to boot!

I have to finish up the EZ Surprise Baby Sweater, and Pepper's going to start a reglan for herself (I'm very excited!!)...That is all:)