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.

Spring Break

So DS is home for spring break. DD is ecstatic to have her big brother home during the day, and DS is having fun playing with her and getting more computer time.

Yesterday, Auntie took him to see Hop. He says it was great. I think his favorite part was going to McDonald's after. Later today I'm going to show him how to use the potholder loom, and we're just gonna hang out here and watch movies. Tomorrow it's an afternoon at Nana's while I go and get my first mammogram.

In a little less than 2 weeks I'll be heading to Maryland for the Sheep and Wool Festival. REally looking forward to it and spending time with my friend J. And ogling some yummy yarn.

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.

New Year's Resolutions

2010 is finally here. I've been waiting for tis year all my life, as I hit the next big milestone of turning thirty. But for now I'm still 29.95

I've started blogs before, but never got past the second or third post. So first resolution: Post to my blog at least once a week. Between managing the lives of DH, DS, and DD, as well as trying to keep my own sanity intact, I can't commit to any more than that.

Second resolution: be a good housewife. Yes, I know it's unusual, but let me give you a little background. My mother and her mother (Nana) (who both live in NJ) worked outside of the home, and both were surprised with my decision to quit my job the summer of 2006 and become a SAHM. My dad's mother stayed home to raise her four kids, but she lives in VA and only has happy things to say to me. But that's another rant for another day.

Anywho... my mother not being domestically inclined and me not having a lot of SAHM role models growing up or now, being a housewife is a trial by fire. Trying to keep on top of laundry, cleaning, homework, appointments, cooking, and taking care of myself is very overwhelming, even at the best of times. DH, who's mom stayed home with him til 3rd grade, is appreciative, helpful, and uncomplaining as long as he has clean underwear.

Third resolution: get out more. I am what my Nana calls a Social Butterfly. I love meeting new people and doing new things and just being social. I just can't seem to find the time to do that anymore. I used to sing karaoke every Friday night with the guys from Mobile Music, but besides being tired as hell when 9pm rolls around, it's just not as fun as it used to be. So I need new stuff to do. When the weather's warm I want to take DD for walks in her stroller. I want to start a knitting group here in Deer Brook, or at least at the local library. And I need to spend more time with DD's godparents, who are wonderful people who put up with me taking forever to return phone calls.

Final resolution: keep up the good work. I quit smoking for DD, I've lost forty pounds over the last two years, and I finally got the filing under some semblance of control. I can't let things go back the way they were. I just gotta put one foot in front of the other, and hope that I don't wobble too much.