Yarn from Philly

Of course, I couldn't visit a new city without going to at least one yarn store. It's Rosie's Yarn Cellar, and it was very nice. Lots and lots of yarn, a friendly salesclerk (who even called to find out if a lunch place was open for us two vegetarians), but a bit small. I took the plunge and bought this:

My first foray into Koigu. It's going to be socks for oldest daughter, who picked out the colorway. I've read so much on blogs about this yarn, and have wanted to try it out. The label says 7 sts to the inch on size 3 needles, so that's how I'll start out.

I also bought some boring ring markers, for the Wool Peddler's Shawl (I'm up to the lace), and some reinforcement yarn for socks. They had a wonderful selection of buttons and some lovely shawl pins, but as I blew my budget at the Tut Exhibit, I ignored them. *sigh*

Well it's off to fight for truth, justice and the Family Court way today. Thursdays are intake days, and I have 5 cases on this morning, 2 in the afternoon. Usually the sort of day I call home and say, "pour the wine, I'm approaching the driveway."

ps Sabres beat the Devils last night, but by the skin of their (mostly non-existent) teeth. I, for one, am ready for the play-offs.

Tut Mania!

What an exhibit! What fun! I loved every part of the exhibit -- especially when our "VIP" tickets (part of the hotel package) got us past the loooooong line of timed ticket holders and into the private lounge, then right into the first gallery. It was very well done, with a few rooms of artifacts from Tut's parents and grandparents, then those from the tomb itself.

It was amazing to see in real life what I've seen photos of in so many Egyptology books and magazines -- the crown, the dagger found on his mummy, a coffinette made of gold that contained his liver ... and lots lots more, including wonderful jewelry. Hard to believe, but I resisted buying a $5000 replica of the chest pectoral with a jeweled scarab in the center ... but I also resisted the Tut bobblehead, which, when my daughter saw that, she said ..."He gave his life, for bobbleheads."

Well, we're off to have more Philadelphia fun ... including yarn store visits! More later.

What I Have Learned ...

or observed, I should say, in the 8 days that I've been spouse-less.

1. The house stays cleaner. Big surprise, eh? Maybe it's that I feel less inclined to put my "stuff" away when his is laying around, or because he's generally working at home all day, and I'm not there to add to the clutter. Or -- because he's messier than me. Let's face. That's why I've really concluded!

2. I liked the peace and quiet for the first feew days. Then, not so much. When I started talking to the birds at the feeder, I knew I'd gone to far.

3. I don't drink coffee if Jack doesn't make it. What's that about? I'll just make tea instead.

4. Even though I'm alone, I stay on my side of the bed. And I leave his pillow alone. When we're together -- it's a different story. I steal the covers and his pillow.

5. The dog misses him. Not that she doesn't love it that I'm the one taking her for walks, or giving her treats, she's been mopey the last few days.

6. The cats couldn't care less. Big surprise there too, eh?

7. I don't cook. Dinners have been popcorn, peanut butter on crackers and cereal. I usually eat lunch out, and that's a decent meal. Or so I justify. So if he's messy, maybe I'm lazy!

8. It's not as much fun watching the Sabres on television if he's not there to see me yell at the screen. Besides, it scares Alice the dog when, out of total silence, I leap to my feet and whoop.

So he comes back Saturday afternoon, and I'll be gone, so he'll have a few days alone. I wonder if he'll have any of the same observations about me ....

Anyway, this is a long-planned weekend away with my oldest daughter, in Philadelphia to see the King Tut exhibit. I can't wait -- I've never been to that city, have already "googled" for yarn stores, and am looking forward to a 3 day respite from what seems like a flood of cranky clients. It also gives me a chance to stand before the exhibit and say .....

He gave his life, for tourism!!!
(credit to Steve Martin)

Wool Peddler Shawl and more!

Here it is -- The Wool Peddler Shawl in progress. I'm not sure the color came out right -- it's a dark red that I simply love, and a bit brighter than shown here. My only problem so far is that I tried to "spit splice" (say that 5 times fast) when joining a new skein, and it must be that my spit isn't sticky enough, because it came undone. I've carefully tied the ends into a square knot, and will try to split the strand and weave the plys in with a needle.

Almost done is what I'm calling Baby Sarah's sweater. My friend is due in mid-April, and she's already named the bambino. She picked the colors and I made up the design.

And, in honor of the first day of Spring, here is Elvis, trying to get the birds feeding on the deck.

Dream on, feline!

Why ....

... do cats always use the litterbox after you clean it?

(thanks to my little buddy Amanda for posing with Miss Kitty)

I'll Live ...

Finally, I'm feeling somewhat normal. I guess it took a few days for the antibiotics to kick in, but man o man, was this a nasty bug. I absolutely hate not having any energy. Today, I actually took a walk with Alice. Black dog, white snow. It was a picture.

Speaking of pictures, I left my camera at the office, so I can't show you the wonderful yarn a friend of mine brought me back from Peru! She took an empty suitcase, and promised several fellow knitters to bring back goodies. I got 10 skeins of a dark red baby alpaca, DK weight. I love it and immediately brought out Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle and turned to the "Wool Peddler's Shawl", and cast on. It's just the thing for when you're couch-bound. I'm still on the rows of garter stitch (with increases) and it's knitting up fast (size 8s -- KP Options). I'll bring it to work tomorrow, and post my progress.

I'm also in day 3 of spouse-less living. It's the annual go to South Carolina with a bunch of buddies and hunt wild boar week for Jack. He's also tacking on a few days to spend with his mother in Florida, so it's part-ee time for me and the pets! Big doin's -- popcorn for dinner, cats on the couch all the time, lots of knitting ... but I do miss the man.*

So it's back to the grind tomorrow, and I'm trying not to think about how much last week's sick time has set me back. One phone message at a time ...

* I had to share this story about the man. In the flurry of activity involved in getting ready for his trip, he was, of course, washing all his clothes in scent-free detergent, and packing all the special scent-block gear. As a joke, he said, "Why don't they make scent-block underwear?" I bit my tongue, thinking of all the possible uses (it's never wise to joke with a man packing camo-gear). So, they arrive in South Carolina, and head for the nearest Wal-Mart. Why, you ask? To see if they have any hunting gear not at the Wal-Mart up here. You guessed it -- scent-block underwear. And of course, he bought a pair. My comment (now that I'm safely out of range) was, "Well, now you boys can fart in the woods with wild abandon!" Can you believe it? I'm still laughing, and thinking of all the people and places that could benefit from these. Who knew?

Betrayed a Second Time

Yes, the virus morphed into a sinus/ear/chest infection. Complete with colorful snot. I know, TMI, but true.

I finally dragged myself to the doctor's and am on Day 2 of antibiotics. She also told me to take a few days off from work, but the boss (meaning me) won't let me. Too many court appearances; to many hassles to get adjournments.

I've been knitting on my friend's baby sweater and it's coming along. Picture next post, I promise!

... drowning in Kleenexes ....

I Have Arrived!

My own parking space. How cool is that?

Boogie Time!

It's the Boogie vest from knitty.com.

















Here's how it looks on:


I blocked it, but need to press out the armholes a bit. As I altered the pattern by adding ribbing on the neck and armholes, I probably should have made the shoulders narrower, but it doesn't bug me enough to frog.














Close up of neck and cool cabling:

Yarn: Purchased in Ireland in 2005, with no labels whatsoever. It was a quite a feat to find wool there, in spite of the thousands of sheep I saw grazing. I found this in a clothing store, by asking the salesclerk if she knew where I could buy some wool (when I said "yarn", she had no clue). She dug around in the back and came up with two hanks of this -- charcoal/brown, a tad scratchy, and heavy worsted weight. It knit up at 4 sts to 1" on size 10s.

Pattern: Boogie Vest, knitty archives.

Modifications: Ribbing on neck and armholes; knit on circulars in the round until armhole length -- then back and forth. For the first time I used EZ's "phoney seams" -- dropping a stitch down to the ribbing, gooking up 2 of every 3 stitches. I like it -- not just they way it looks, but it helps the vest fold.

Finishing: Because of the scratch factor, I soaked it for a bit in warm water with hair conditioner. Softened it up just fine.

And more ... This is a baby hat, from Cascade Superwash 220. My own pattern, and the precurser to a sweater. A lawyer-pal is having a girl in April, so the needles starting talkin'.













But, this is what is interesting: See the top section of yellow? I was knitting in the round, and decided to alternate colors, and purl all the yellow stitches. I kept the yarn in front (yellow in the right hand, pinkish in the left with that yarn in back) and got this cool pattern! Don't really know what it is, but I like it! I'm going to do a few rows on the body of the sweater. If anyone has a name for this, please let me know.








On another note -- just got a new desktop for work, which came with Windows Vista. Does it drive anyone else crazy? Why can't things that work perfectly well just stay the same? I don't want to have to learn something new each time I upgrade. Maybe it's a sign of aging, but it makes me mad. Arghh -- I guess that's my bitch for the day. Well, maybe the first bitching -- it's only 10:30. :)

E-Bay Goodness!

I love this yarn. This discontinued yarn. When my local LYS went out of business, I bought as much as I could afford. It's soft, non-pilling, and works up great for shawls and sweaters.

So I occasionally cruise ebay to see if there is any available and .... lo and behold ... a seller had 10 green skeins which I snagged for $35!

Plans are for a cardigan -- kelly green is TwinB's favorite color.


Here's a close-up:




It'd be great for St. Patrick's Day, but unless I give up sleep ... there's no way it will be finished.


But one sock is done! I finished this yesterday, in between sneezing fits. Stayed in my jammies all day, slugged down NyQuill, and feel marginally better today. And thanks to all those well-wishers who recommended soup ... and rum! I can deal with sore throat and cough, but that woozy feeling in your head is something else. So it's back at the desk today, with cups of tea loaded with honey and lemon, wishing I could add some rum!



This, by the way, is from Knitpicks Memories -- handpainted merino -- which works up extra soft. It's for one of my friends who insists she can't wear wool socks. I've been knitting it at lunch, telling her it's for me and she's been oohing and ahhing over the feel of the yarn. I'll show her!

Sock#2 has been started ... I've learned to cast on right away or the project sits and sits.

Who says old lawyers can't learn new tricks!