i've got a yarn jones and i've got it bad!

so...i'm heading off to a conference in l.a. on thursday and am i getting my things together for the trip? ohhhhhh, nooooooo - i'm way too busy trying to figure out what knitting projects to take with me!! i've got it bad! instead of centering on my sessions, i'm thinking (constantly, i might add) about what i can knit during the sessions that won't take a lot of concentration!! yikes!
the only saving grace to attending this conference is that i won't be able to get to a yarn shop!!which brings up another issue regarding yarn - i am a sinner! for lent i thought i would give up yarn shopping! it was a good thought and last year it worked for me. this year - not a chance! i made it all of a week and then i became weak and had, absolutely had to get some needles in sizes that i didn't have which led to fondly yarn which led to purchasing yarn to add to my stash. it is definitely a wicked web we weave (or knit as the case may be!). mea culpa, mea culpa!

sunshine!

this week we've been seeing a strange yellow orb floating through a brilliant blue background - someone told me it was the sun!! gosh, the sun in western washington in february - a strange sight indeed! it has actually been in the mid 50's each afternoon which almost makes one want to get out and dig in the garden beds. pulling weeds would be the major objective - for some reason they never seem to take a nap but grow year round!! i was giving myself a break until march to begin the yearly clean up of the gardens but perhaps if the weather holds i can get an early jump on it!
but first, this afternoon i am meeting with my friend judy to begin knitting a lace scarf from a pattern that her niece, the knitist, had published on knitty.com.
also on my needles are my second rsc 'serendipity' sock (i've finished the heel and am heading for home!!) and a japanese vine scarf from a pattern i picked up at twisted in portland. i think that i'll also start another pair of socks so i have something portable to take with me in my travels because you know 'idle hands ARE the devil's workshop'!
carpe diem! i'm out to get a little free vitamin D.

another hat!

here's a 'koolhaas' hat by brooklyn tweed (jered flood) who hails from the great northwest. it is knit out of tahki yarns 'shannon'. what a great pattern - hats off to jered!! i knit this for my nieces for xmas in artful yarns merino - they turned out beautifully! according to 'the girls' they are getting lots of compliments on campus at wsu where it is really cold!!

what is 'dark cream'?

my nephew, erik, asked me at christmas to knit him a hat! wow, i was excited - someone was actually asking me to knit something for them - i wasn't having to foist my goodies on others disguised as gifts!!
anyhoo, he asked that the hat be "dark cream". all right then, i thought, that will be easy until i really began to think about the color dark cream - what exactly would be a dark cream? a coffee with lots of cream? i knit the first hat in what i felt was the darkest cream that i could find at my lys, a wonderful dk australian yarn, cleckheaton 'county'. just yummy to knit up! as i was knitting i started wondering if this really was what one would call "dark cream" - maybe it was just too light so onto hat #2 - knit with patons 'classic wool' in natural. now i'm wondering if it isn't too dark!
oh well, i'm shipping these off to erik today and he can make the call!! i don't want to have to make such heady decisions - i just want to knit!!

one done

ta da! here it is! i have completed the first sock from my first bmf 'rockin sock club' yarn! yahoo!now, the big question looms - "will i complete the second sock in a timely manner or will this sock join the growing pile of onezies?" this has been an issue with me - knit one sock, get bored, move on to something new for the challenge and somehow forget to return to the other sock.
this issue came to a head several months ago when i went on vacation and decided to take along several 'onezies' and the appropriate yarn to finish their partners. i forbid myself from starting anything new until i had completed the 'partners'. all went well until i couldn't exactly remember what size needle i had used on the previous sock! argh!!! so...lesson learned: make notes! and finish what you start in a timely manner!! my mother would be so proud!

newbie!

well, i've finally done it! with a wee bit of trepidation, i have jumped in, with both feet, to the "blogosphere"! yikes! at this point i don't have much else to add (many of my friends, actually, most of my friends would find this very hard to believe!!!) because i really need to get busy and clean my house which i am skillfully avoiding by writing this blog!

here is a quote i discovered on another blog - st. frannie hit it right on the head!

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and head and heart is an artist.

St. Francis of Assisi