So many balls of yarn!!! November 20, 2008

Our mini yarn hop was a huge success!  We only got lost the one time in Fergus Falls (note to self: next time write down the names of the yarn stores alongside directions); otherwise it was a breeze!  I was very pleasantly surprised to see the gorgeous yarn my MIL bought for me.  In a big bag were several skeins of bamboo yarn in a celery green and then a few skeins of corn yarn in a green/brown/cream combination.  Sofrtly after our arrival in Fargo we immediately headed out for Boucle and then Prarie Yarns.  I know I said that I wanted to buy nothing but sock yarn, but so  many other yarns were calling out my name!  At Boucle I picked up Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn in Flamingo.  It’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to knit with it!  While I was there I also got some ideas on what to knit with the bamboo and corn yarn.  They had a few examples hanging up in the front.  At Prairie Yarn I saw some new yarn that I had never seen before.  It’s Wisdom Yarn Poems.  I picked up a sky blue/green/purple blend to make a scarf out of to match my mittens.  Immediately Monday night I c/o for my scarf and am working 3 different rows of the Twisted Taffy cable from Lion Brand.  So far it’s turning out just lovely.

In Fergus Falls we swung by Crate of Yarn and spent a good chunk of time touching all the soft yarn and thinking about what we should get.  I didn’t splurge here, I picked out a skein of eco-friendly recycled yarn in a cream color to knit up another doll for my cousin.  Our last yarn stop on Tuesday was at Dream in Color in Alexandria.  I loved ALL of their yarn.  Everything was amazing and soft and I truly wanted to buy just about everything I touched.  There was some Uruguay (sp?) yarn in bright orange that caught my eye and I kept wandering back over to it.  But as much as I loved it, I just didn’t know what I would knit with it!  If I knit a sweater, would I wear it?  Am I an orange color person?  Then I saw bright blue yarn that would be lovely for a sweater for Jax, but there was only one skein and I didn’t see anything that I would like to pair it up with.  So after a long perusal, I sadly left empty handed.  😦

Due to a long day and having gotten lost a number of times in the cities, we decided to take the well worn way home.  No funny highways or stops; I think we were extremely glad to be on our way back home to where roads don’t suddenly turn into one ways and ppl are nice enough to let you in when you realize that you should have made a left 3 blocks earlier.  We made a pit stop in Albertville where sadly I didn’t see any yarn stores.  Not that I was really expecting to, but that would have been cool.  But we made it home safe & sound and I am eager to work with all the yarn I got!

I can’t end this post without talking about the play!  The play was fabulous!  We were in the second row and I couldn’t have been happier.  It was so much better than I had dreamed it would be (even w/o the original cast).  The actors/actresses were superb and their singing was dead on.  I remember thinking how in awe of them I was.  To be able to sing in a strong voice and follow the music while the person you’re singing a duet with is singing on a completely different level, it’s breathtaking.  I had tears in my eyes when they sang “Defying Gravity”.  Not only is it my favorite song of the musical, but thinking of how it relates to Elphaba breaking from the mold and going out on her own and the words…I’m a nerd, I know, but I was very giddy about it.  What was super cool is that one of the ladies who sat in front of us, whipped out her knitting during intermission!  I wished I had thought to bring mine!  I was tempted to ask her what she was working on, but I didn’t know if that would make me look like some kind of weirdo.  At the end of the night I was lucky enough to get a l/s t-shirt in my size!  This is when being small comes in handy; all they had left were xs and s, so yay for me!

I’ve taken pictures of all my yarn, I just have to get on the ball and upload them.  So as soon as I can, they’ll be posted in all their glory here!  🙂

Yellow Harvest Mittens II October 7, 2008

I finished up my second pair of Yellow Harvest mittens.  With the first pair I thought that maybe I was letting my gauge get a little too loose and resolved to knit tighter this time around.  I think it’s simply a combination of the yarn and needles and pattern than makes these little jagged ladders in various parts of the mitten.  So after working a little magic with a needle the ladders are gone and no one will be none the wiser.

As invested as I am in the flirtation socks, I feel a slight loathing to picking them back up.  The only thing that keeps me motivated is that I’m half done with the cable pattern and then it’ll be easy going from there on.  Plus it’s the second sock, so it isn’t like I’ll have a whole ‘nother one to do.

There are a handful of things in my queue on Ravelry that I really want to c/o now.  I’m planning on knitting Jax a pair of mittens with the leftover blue yarn I have (that I used on my Yellow Harvest mittens) and then there are these cute cabled slippers that I plan on using the rest of my green Peruvian wool for.  They’re toddler projects, so I don’t expect them to take that long and plus they will use up part of my yarn stash.  🙂

I’ve gotten some good recommendations on yarn stores to see along the way to Minneapolis next month.  I can’t remember the names of the stores, but they’re in Alexandria, Perham and Fergus Falls.  I absolutely cannot wait!