Yarn Diet

So, got back from Maryland Sheep and Wool Fest. Bought probably about a pound of roving to spin. And five skeins of yarn and a spindle.

I was looking for Tinkerbell green for AK for a bolero and couldn't find anything spun in the right color. However, I saw the perfect shade for $7/2 oz and picked up 10 oz. And then my friend J wanted roving (big WTF) and the stand we were at would give her a free 4 oz bag if she bought two more. So of course I bought two, in this gorgeous red no less, so she could get a discount on her four bags. And of course, now that she has roving, she asks me to teach her how to spin. I took one horrible class last fall and only spun the rest of the roving I got from the NJ S&W. But J's so excited. So I buy a spindle and a IK book on spinning. And somewhere during all this I bought two skeins for $3 each. Back at the hotel, I give a quick and fumbling lesson to J while greatly improving my own technique. So ends Day 1.

We went back cuz I had to buy some more spun yarn. Got some super squishy ultra-pettable angora/merino blend that was naturally dyed in some awesome colors for a dress for DD. Got blocking wires on my way to Sanguine Gryphon. Now, I'm a serious lurker on their website. Love the patterns and Love the colorways. Well, let me tell you, the yarn is as soft and luxurious as it looks on the website. Both some Little Bugga and their new yarn, Mithril. Love, love, LOVE the colors. And Mithril is 560 yds for $20. Really great deal. Bought some bumper stickers and buttons and a MD S&W shirt before heading home.

So, back to reality. Last night, DH said I had to find some place to put all this yarn. Hence the yarn diet. I had to consolidate three stash sites down to two. So I have absolutely no space for any more yarn. And I have so many WIPs and WIMs that even I see the need to destash. Seeing as I've got a boatload of yarn (enough for my own store as my son says) I won't be buying any more yarn until at least after I get the green roving spun.

November 19, 2010

Went to The Melting Pot in Somerville last night with friends from MOMS Club. Service was ok, not bad but could have been better. Food was good. Nicely seasoned, and we were all full when we left. Of course, my share of the whole thing, plus my two AWESOME chocolate martinis, came to almost $100 including tip. Not someplace I'd go every day, but perfect for celebrating a special occasion with a small group of friends. Only four of us showed up, and I think the experience would have been worse if we had more.

Progressing nicely on my commissioned hoodie. Still stalled on the Kara cardi, but I am determined to get it done before Thanksgiving. It's not that it's a complicated pattern (I'd never design anything complicated), it's just that I can't get into it anymore. But it's been sitting on my needles since August, so I need to get my ass in gear. Also, finally got measurements from MIL so I can continue on her cardi. Mmmmm, alpaca.

Hit AC Moore two weekends back and got over $150 of yarn for $90-something. Most of it was for the commission, but I also got some nice stuff to knit up for DS and for me.

Hoping to enjoy some peace and quiet today, but DH is home sick so we'll see how that goes.

Warm and Fuzzy

Once again, I have missed a week. But I have a good excuse. I have started seaming the sweater.

As you can see, I've got one shoulder seamed as per the directions, and I've started the collar. BIL is starting to get jealous, cuz SIL has been working on his scarf  since last fall. But all my in-laws love how the sweater is coming out. I think BIL has been dropping subtle hints for a sweater of his own, but he isn't known for his subtlety, so I may be reading too much into this. But I told him I would make him a black and gold hat for his beloved Steelers. Depending on how finances and time goes, I may make him a matching sweater. His birthday is the end of November, so I have plenty of time.

Also, I've started a group on Ravelry for our local knitting group. Besides people I know personally, I've had three people join the group online. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear back from the library. Later on today, I'll give them a call and see if we can start this Sunday. Plus, I think SIL could use some socializing with others in a free setting. I know I definitely could.

It's been kinda fun reclaiming the power of motherhood. I'm not saying anything bad about any other parenting styles, but there is definitely something empowering about being a SAHM. I know my kids better than my parents knew me and my brother growing up. DH, the kids, and I went to the mall on Thursday. The mall has a setup where you can text a song and it gets played over the PA system. I picked the song and told DS I had picked his favorite song from the list and to guess which one it was. He got it on the first guess. That made me feel soooooo good as a mom. And then later on that night DS said "Mom, your knitting is magical." Tons of warm and fuzzies on that one. And instead of having DD in daycare and hearing second-hand what she did, I get to see her jabber at her toys and try to figure out how stuff works. And she is fascinated by my hands moving as I knit.
Even though I hate to clean, I love cooking and helping DS with his homework and talking with DH about his day at work and just having the time to be there for my family.

I Am Now A Real Knitter

First, I wanna apologize for missing last week's post. I was having way too much fun having DH home for a change. Now on to the rant.

Real knitters have knitting groups.
I finally heard back from my local library about having a knitting group meet there. They are totally excited about having a group, but due to library  policy we can only meet twice a month. There's a Sci-Fi thing going on every second Sunday, so I figure the first and third should work for the knitting group. I just gotta do flyers now. The library will distribute press releases for us to if we write them, and free publicity can't hurt. All we need now is a name. I'm kinda partial to Sticks -N- String. Comment and let me know what you think.

Real knitters have stashes.

Thanks to Pam, I went to a fantabulous sale at the Stitching Bee in Chatham yesterday. It was definitely worth the hour drive. I got lots of yummy yarn, all for one dollar each.

I know, it's a lot of blue. DS's school colors are blue and white, and the PTA Prez has told me if I made stuff she would buy it. So I got some Lamb's Pride and some Berocco and some sock yarn I've never heard of, and I'll be knitting up inventory for the 2010-2011 school year. I also got a baby blue cashmere that I just may keep for myself. Sometime this week I'll post my stash on Ravelry, so you'll have to check it out.
I also met some really nice people at the Stitching Bee. Caroline was knitting a sweater for her grand-niece. It was the cutest thing, off-white with brown teddy bears. We talked about knitting looms and socks, and she gave me some great tips on doing intarsia. Judy was also great. She was helping customers at the sale, looking up inventory, and helping Caroline with embroidery, all at the same time.

That's Caroline at the table, working on the baby sweater.

If you get the chance, definitely check it out. As well as knitting, there was a lot of good stuff for needlepoint. The Stitching Bee is in a gorgeous location. The customer service is fantastic, as is the selection of yarn, books, and supplies. They also had some cool funky buttons behind the counter. It's on Main Street in Chatham, nestled between 287, 78, and the Parkway, so getting there is a breeze.

As for me and my knitting, I'm about halfway done the front of DH's sweater. I finished the back around Groundhog's Day, and I cast on the front during the snowstorm on Wednesday.  It's gonna have to be put on hold, though. My mom's sorority is having a conference the end of March and I want to make her a shawl in their colors. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Adventures

First of all,thanks to Mrs. K for telling me about JoAnn Fabric, thanks to Pam for blogging about Knit Kit, and thank God for little miracles. Now on to the rant.

Yesterday was an adventurous day for the Gregi. First, DD went off to Nana's and I headed south to check out JoAnn Fabric in Princeton on Rte 1. Google has the location wrong; it's right before the QB Mall on the southbound side.
So I walk in and the first thing I notice is the great selection of fabric. Clean and organized, no bolts falling off shelves or cloth dragging on the floor. Second thing I notice is boxes of Lion Brand Yarn. Big boxes of Homespun and Vanna White. Of course I have to go check it out.
The boxes up front had yarn cheaper than the Michael's in North Bruns (closest to my house), so I decide to check out the rest of their selection. Yarn Sale! Pound of Love was on sale. Bernat's baby stuff was on sale. Wool Ease Thick and Quick (which I'm using for DH's sweater) was on sale. They even had some delicious sock yarn marked down, but I've never made socks, and don't own needles smaller than a US7. But I was thinking about it.
I make myself step back and look at the yarn section. JoAnn's has great price, great variety, but not a lot of quantity. There were tons of different colors of Homespun, but no more than three skeins per color. They only had two skeins of the Wool Ease I'm using for the sweater. JoAnn's is now my "go to" store for scarves, but I'll have to find another store for blankets and (hopefully) future sweaters.

So I finally got my fabric, and headed north after spending WAY too much time in that store. Into the land of customer service to return some overly pink clothes I got for DD from well-meaning friends of MIL. If any of you are reading this, DO NOT take all the tags off. I went to Penney's in EB, and they refused to takes things that they obviously carried because there was no JCP tag on them. They did take a onesie and a 3pc set for almost $30 in store credit. I got a nice onesie, a feetie, and two 3pc sets. The cashiers were nice, but I was stuck with four outfits that didn't fit and I didn't like.
I then went to Kohl's where the outfit I returned was marked down to $4.20. The customer service lady laughed at me, but I found two pairs of pants for $3 each and didn't mind throwing in the extra $1.80.

Now it's DD's turn for an adventure. I head home, pick up DS from the bus stop, get DD from Nana's, and head to SB to visit DD's buddy JB, to give them the unreturnable clothes. JB was born 19 days before DD, and her grandmother lives in my development, so the two have become friends. It was their first playdate, and it was adorable. They were smiling at each other and talking baby talk and playing on the mat together. At one point, DD had her hand stretched out and JB was sucking on her fingers. Awwww!

Here they are at Christmas (DD's the tiny one on the right)

And here they are yesterday.

Huge difference, right? And JB has a big sister who is the same age as DS, and they were having so much fun DS didn't want to leave. We all had so much fun that we made tentative plans to hang out Monday.

I've got a new LYS, DD's got a playdate buddy, and I can finally finish my blanket. I'll try to post pics and pattern tomorrow, seeing as MIL's going out to see her sister this weekend so it's gotta get done soon. Also, looking for a good scarf pattern. I wanna do cables on the self-striping yarn I picked up at JoAnn's for my uncle who's birthday was yesterday. E-mail or comment, let me know what ya got.

Another UFO (Unfinished Object)

I finally finished knitting a project on needles. I was on a knitting high, until I tried to find flannel to sew to the back of the throw. Unknown to me, Rag Shop went out of business! WTF? Where am I supposed to find a decent variety of fabric?

Since I use Michael's as my LYS (the nearest good one I know of is in Bridgewater), I know they don't have any fabric beyond bandannas and felt. I drove to AC Moore in EB, got some good yarn for a sweater for DH (another rant for another day), and went looking for cloth. ACM has large squares for quilting and flannel pajama bottoms, but no bolts of anything. I almost bought the pj's with the intent of using those, but it wasn't worth the time and money.

I haven't spoken with anyone at Michael's, but according to Mary at ACM they have no plans to carry bolts of fabric at this time. She told me to try WalMart. Now, our local Wally World had a horrible selection of costumes this past Halloween. I bought a set of long underwear this past fall, got it home and realized the top was not in the bag. DH had ripped the plastic when he opened it, and Wally World refused to accept the return, claiming it had been washed and blaming me for the missing piece. You can understand my reluctance to look for fabric there, let alone buy it.

So, to ease my angst at Wally World and Rag Shop, Auntee gave me the address and number of a fabric shop in Somerset and Nana told me to try a place on 22 in Plainfield. This is way too much work for a 4ft x 2ft piece of flannel. So until I get a chance to hunt down some fabric, the throw is now a UFO. So back to the afghan and starting on my first sweater ever.

BTW - Battery in camera died, so no pics of afghan for now. Will update soon.