SFGYW@TB!

Dear M,

So last weekend was our Super Fun Girls Yarn Weekend At The Beach! Rose showed off her finished Central Park Hoodie, three hooligans chased us out of the hot tub at the Doubletree, you gave directions to the restaurant whilst inebriated, we ate cupcakes. Basically, a good time was had by all.



I also increased the stash. but I have plans for ALL of it I tell you! These are destined to become Koolhaas hats for the Professor and me (I sort of wished the colorways matched so we could be even more pathetically adorable, but alas it was not to be).












This is going to become Snicket Socks from the now defunct halls of Mag Knits. It's tough to find plain sock yarn that's not TOO plain, you know? This is a nice sort of tan/white blend.



What was this for, again? I'm such a sucker for the Debbie Bliss on sale. Maybe Sizzle or something similar... I'm sort of undecided at this point. I love the pink color though.



Haven is quietly blocking on my living room floor... I'm pretty sure it is HUGE. Oh well, seeing as how it's just going to get folded up and put in the closet until December I guess it doesn't much matter at this point. I have a lot of yarn leftover, so maybe I'll make a matching hat... something cute and beret-like, maybe. There are tons of such patterns on Ravelry, so I need to wade through them to see what will work best. Maybe something like Gretel... although really, how many cabled hats do I need to make? And why does everyone else look so cute in the berets but I just look like I'm trying way too hard? Blah. Ooh, maybe this Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Then I can buy a badass button to sew on. And since I only need ONE I could even get it from Wildfiber and be able to afford it. Woot!



Also, as it is Earth Day (well okay, it was yesterday, but let's just say it's Earth Week) I have a little factoid for you: did you know that the dude who started the whole thing went to my high school?? That's right, good ol' Camas High. Nice suit, right? He gets his own Wikipedia article so clearly he has made it in the world. Go Papermakers go!

Bobmas Eve at The Grove!

Dear Anna,

I went to my first Ravelry event/meet-up of other San Diego knitters! It was really fun and I'm glad I went, I got to meet so many people. It's kind of strange when the on-line world of Ravelry merges into "real life". I actually recognized some folks from their screen name photos. Weird but cool!

I brought my camera but left it in the car. I got permission from SmittenKnitten (Ravelry link) to post one of her great shots (thanks again Jessica!):

That's me in the tan working on my Dimple Shale Scarf. I haven't worked on it in months but I don't know why! It's a beautiful pattern and the yarn is super soft. It is definitely going into regular rotation again. There are more photos from Bobmas (including a photo of some great cupcakes with marzipan balls of yarn that some crafty knitter brought) on SmittenKnitten's Flickr.

The great San Diego Knitting Adventure and Yarn Shop Crawl is only one day away!!!! Whoot!

A Small Tragedy

Dear Margaret,

So basically, Lantern Moon rocks my socks.


While enjoying lovely Palm Springs this weekend (speaking of which, have you been up that aerial tram thing? It's pretty great) with my parents, one of my rosewood 7" size 1 dpns SNAPPED IN HALF whilst in my knitting bag. Fortunately I tend to be overprepared, so I had a 5" birch in my bag and could continue on my Thuja uninterrupted, but I was not happy. Those needles cost $24! That's like 5 bucks PER needle!! They should not snap or bend. They should carry on forever and I should be able to be cremated with them if I so choose.


Anyhoo, I emailed the company and they are sending me a new one, free, no questions asked. Hooray! Customer service!! And did you know that they are socially responsible and have a good environmental policy? I feel better about the expensiveness of their yarns now. I am okay with paying a little more if it means I'm saving the earth. And getting kickass needles. Hear that Lucy Activewear?? Why is a little hoodie $70? Am I supporting a woman's cooperative in Uganda or something else similarly worthwhile? Because if not, your prices are redonk.

But back to my LM story, since I know you're dying to know. Prior to getting smart and emailing the company, I got online in a furious rage and ordered the Knit Picks set of metal dpns. I'm assuming they cannot be broken, even when stuffed into a purse or sat upon (although that would hurt, so I won't test that theory). And you know how if you spend $50 it's free shipping? Yeah, they totally saw me coming. I ordered 8 skeins of this stuff ("asparagus") in order to make this. Why, why why?? I have no idea. I just decided that I NEED to make it. Like, soon. I also ordered a cool little pair of scissors. Again, why? It's just COOL.

Oh, and then I was still high on Knit Picks love, and ordered this freaking adorable little cupcake tape measure! I heart Etsy so much. I really want to buy every little home accessory I could ever think of from there, but fortunately my apartment is small so I can't fill it with too much crap.

On the knitting front, I'm working away on my Haven (artfully arranged on my patio furniture). I'll probably finish it in time for Summer. In Southern California. Sigh. Fortunately we'll be in Philadelphia for Christmas this year so The Professor can go to his interviews, but still. I'm making it in Rowan Cocoon, which is lovely and soft and wonderful, but rather sheddy. I've been knitting it on my lunch breaks and finally got the brill idea (check me out, I'm British) to put my pashmina (okay, just a scarf from Target) on my lap FIRST so I don't go back to the office with little white bits all over my black pants. For some reason the sheddy stuff doesn't stick to the polyester cheapness of the pashmina, so it's a win/win!

Your Wicked looks GORGEOUS, by the way. I love that heathered Cascade 220. And really, better arm holes too big than too small, am I right? I love the neckline too.



Oh and PS: how much does it suck that the Yarn Harlot is totally skipping CA on her tour? Look at the crowd! I shake my fist.