Changes

Short post, everyone: I'm back in Seattle after an amazing visit with Jeremy in New York. Muggy, but amazing. I've finally decided that I need to join Jeremy in Gotham. I gave my notice at work yesterday. It was so difficult to force the words out. I've never left a job that I loved and still felt I could learn and grow in. But this will be such a terrific adventure for me, and I'm looking forward to living with Jeremy again more than anything. I'm still processing my feelings about all this, but everyone's been so encouraging and understanding.

I didn't pack any knitting for my trip, but now that I'm back, I'm hoping to knock out the final bits of Forecast this week, between bouts of packing and sorting all the junk I've collected over the years.

My Boyfriend Moved to New York and All I Got Was Some Sleep

Hello from New York City. I've had a strange, mostly uneventful day. It started with me waking up at noon, and somehow taking 3 hours to get ready to go outside. I finally got out the door, walked to the pharmacy to pick up some zinc for Jeremy (he's got a cold), and then I went to buy groceries. It was gorgeous out, and I was feeling good. My first day of vacation in New York, and the whole day to explore while Jeremy was at work. I bought a small amount of things that I thought I could use during my stay- beer, eggs, a small block of sharp cheddar.... It all fit easily in three bags. Three heavy bags. Folks, I'm not used to city life. By the time I limped back into the apartment, dripping with sweat, it felt as if both my shoulders had become un-socketed. Next time, I will be sure to only buy what I immediately need. None of this thinking ahead stuff.

After filling the fridge with my well-earned booty, I immediately felt the urge to drift off to sleep. Which I did. It was the best, most coma-like sleep I've ever had. But when I woke up an hour later, all the sunshine was gone. I heard thunder and the steady pelting of raindrops on the tree leaves outside. Funny. Seattle was in the mid 80s when I left. Anyway, it's nice for me to see New York green for the first time. Here's a picture from the apartment window.

Leaving on a Jet Plane....

Vacation, here I come! I'm leaving tomorrow for 10 days in New York with my Jeremy. I haven't been there since mid-January, so it's about time I had a visit! Tonight, I'll be madly loading my entire cd collection onto iTunes and syncing with my new 60 GB iPod. I've been putting it off....

The pics above are of my mom's Mother's Day gift, made and modeled by me. It's a bow knot scarf. Super fun, quick knit! This is the second one I've made. The first was for myself, but my moms loved it so much I figured I'd better make her one. This version is lumpy, but soft. It's made out of my own handspun! The raspberry is merino/mohair from Beaverslide, the purple stripes are Sundara's dyed merino, and the greenish is also merino, gifted to me by V, the spinning extraordinaire.

Happiness comes Priority

Sorry for the lousy indoor pictures, as usual, but colors are pretty accurate, at least!

Yesterday I received a huge Priority Mail box from Beaverslide Dry Goods. I love them! Their customer service was excellent, their shipping was prompt, and their products are gorgeous. The five skeins of 90% merino/ 10% mohair are in colorway "Cutthroat Trout", a beautifully cranberry and salmon flecked yarn. It would make the perfect tweedy knitted blazer, like the one found on page 34. I spun up some of the "Thimbleberry" merino/mohair roving last night. The mohair blend is terrific for a beginner like me. The wirey mohair fibers almost spin themselves, but the resulting yarn is still soft! I need to learn to ply, pronto.

Motley crew

I've been struggling with my circular needles lately. Up until this point, I'd just buy the needles called for in whatever pattern I was about to start. It was working fine until I realized that I have like, 3 or 4 pairs of size 6 circs ranging from 24"-32". There's got to be a better way!

The solution: I decided to buy myself a set of Denise interchangables today. After reading Knitter's Review's take on the circs and discovering that some very talented knit/bloggers use them, I figured, what the hell? I'll give 'em a try. My early predictions:
eh.... They're plastic, but I'm not strictly against plastic. I like the cord join to the needles. It's smoother than on Clovers, but the method of connecting to the needle by twisting until you hear a subtle click is a bit flimsy, especially with the size 5's. Seems like they might disconnect just as easily while trying to maneuvre for a 5 stitch bobble or something. I'm not allowing myself to cast on for another project until at least one of my WIPs is finished, but I'll let you know what I think as soon as I've given them a test drive.

Surprise!

Folks, I've been holding out on you. As mentioned by Sundara and Karma, a small group of us have been getting together Wednesdays to knit. It's been especially beneficial for me, being the least experienced knitter, to be around such talent. AND, it's awesome to get a sneak peak at the latest yarn Sundara's cooking up. Perhaps best of all, the incredibly generous V caught wind of the fact that I've been interested in learning to spin. She's loaned me her Ashford Traditional, roving, spinning lit, and luxury fibers to play with. She's a fab teacher! Above are my first slubby attempts. Today, I went to my favorite Seattle LYS for a beginners' spinning class, armed with some beautiful merino roving dyed by Sundara. Pictures of those results coming soon....

To sum it up: I'm hooked!

Must. Have. Pattern!

I was a little blue this morning, thinking how few spring/summer knits I see that I would actually wear. And then I saw this: Ms. Marigold. What a lovely, simple tank! I'm a big fan of puff sleeves, flutter sleeves and cap sleeves, so this is right up my alley. I just bought the pattern. Now, what yarn shall I use...?

Golden Girls Crafts

Last Friday I drove down to Olympia to spend some time with my good old pals from college, J and Er. We'd been planning to sell our crafts at the Olympia art walk, under the collective name "Golden Girls Craft Group" because they craft every Sunday afternoon while drinking and watching episodes of the Golden Girls, and I'm always there in spirit. I'd sort of lost my crafting for profit mojo and only produced a small batch of fiber-rich brooches (crocheted, needle felted and recycled knits), but once I saw the adorable setup the ladies created in J's art studio down town, I was into it again! (The red wine provided to patrons and crafters didn't hurt, either.) It was such a good time. The pictures above show my brooches, the table setup where Er and I had our crafts displayed, and J with her "Friend or Faux" stuffed creatures with Black Sabbath-inspired names, and made of all environmentally friendly materials. We hope to have another craft sale later this spring! I'll be sure to keep the crafting spirit alive this time.