Productive & Relaxing Long Weekend - Part 2

Saturday Night: After bf cleaned up from dirtbiking, we joined my mom and her beau for dinner. The remainder of the night is kind of a blur, NOT because I was drunk but because I just have a bad memory. I probably started the 2nd sock and watched TV, maybe some more Guitar Hero with roomie and our honorary roomie (hr).

Sunday: Bf had to go back to work so it was just the usual Sunday for me. Do some chores around house: laundry, bank, prep dinner. I did pull up almost all the weeds around our house, which was A LOT. We pretty much neglected yard work for a good 3 months this summer after I gave up on the veggie garden. The first 4-5 weeks, bf and roomie tried to mow the lawn everyday Friday but they got lazy and so did I. Our backyard & front was completely overgrown. I'll post the before and after pictures of just the area behind the tool shed. Yikes, scary! I also put the floorstep & seat back on the Ruck and went for a ride around the neighbourhood. I don't have a license or insurance so I can't take it on the real streets. She's doing good though! I restarted the 2nd sock several times this day because I counted my increases wrong the previous night and the toe's shape was getting all funky. I passed out while I was knitting from working the weeds in the afternoon, and napped on couch for a few hours. This night I was very happy because after roomie left for our friend's cottage in the middle of the night, and after hr left from post nightly WOW session, I woke up from my nap and bf and I had a really nice time just the two of us until the sun was rising. I really appreciate those times, no matter how insignificant what we did was, when I am reminded just how much I love him. The afterglow of it lasts for days, it's wonderful and brings me to tears just to reminisce on these times even when we are fighting hardcore.

Monday: Not much more again yesterday other than more chores around the house. Bf booked the day off and I'm happy that he actually did it with me. We bagged all the weeds I pulled together, he trimmed the hedge and mowed the lawn while I vacuumed and mopped. He and hr were supposed to take apart the swing set in the backyard to give to bf's buddy at work but as expected, as soon as hr came over, they had a long WOW session until it was dark. So of course, that didn't get done. I also forgot to move all the junk lying around upstairs to the basement which was something else on the chore-list. Oh well, he's still sore from dirtbiking anyways, I'll give him a break. He should really wait until roomie gets back and make the lazy idiot do something anyway. On the knitting forefront, I made it 1/3 of the way up the 2nd sock. Maybe 2 more days and it'll should be done. Then I really need to get back to the secret project that I've been procrastinating on because of all the slow hand sewing that is required. Oy!

On another note, thank you Kathleen for your comment about the sock-knitting class at the LYS. I thought about it a few months ago when I first heard about it and was going to bring my mom along for the class. But she seems uninterested now and after this pair of socks for bf and the secret project, I have to get started on the 2 other projects I bought yarn for during Knitter's Attic's Canada Day sale. Otherwise, I will just feel guilty, break-down and not knit anything. Can't let that happen. :P

Yarns GALORE!

I'm so excited I just want to go home and do nothing but knit, knit, knit away on the new yarns I got from the LYS. Even though it is so boring at work, I am just giddy with anticipation of getting my hands back on the new secret project, already in progress. If only I could just knit blind, under the desk and have some silly contraption involving functioning or non-functioning prosthetic arms smashing away at the keyboard as if to type as I stare blankly at the screen, silently whispering to myself, counting my stitches and rows. It'd make a hell of a comedy skit, that's for sure.

Anwyays, for just over $100 after taxes, I got 23 balls of yarn in total, enough for 3 bag projects and then some. Everything was purchased on sale. 4 balls of Sublime at only 10% off but the yarn is so soft and smooth I think it's perfect for the project at hand. 9 balls of Artico Mondial, for a cable shoulder bag pattern at Garn Studio. These and the Twilleys Freedom Cotton DK in an awesome yellow I got at an amazing 75% off. The 10 Freedom balls came out to $17.50 all together!!! Amazing! There's nothing like a good sale of anything and everything. The yarns I got for the secret project and Garn's pattern are a little less chunky than they should be but I'll just have to adjust. More details will come later on the progress of the projects and new ideas.



I was a kid in a yarn candy shop! So many colors, so many textures, so much on sale, it was wonderful to touch, feel and dream about. It was difficult to hold myself back but it had to be done. Otherwise I would have about 50 balls of yarn in my house right now. For now, the addiction is sated.

Dreaming of Loopy-Loops

It's a slow day at work. Month-end madness is over, it's a lazy (though gray) mid-summer Wednesday. Everything's grinding to a halt. It'll be the perfect day to skip out early. The boss and men with offices are all out, and with 5 full hours to go, I pretty much have nothing to do. How is this possible? Well, I won't get into that on this blog, but all this boredom leads me to think about possible knitting projects.

Actually, I already have 3 bags lined up for knitting, but the possibilities are just endless. I've been meaning to make my way down to the LYS to take adavantage of their sale and just to get a better feel of yarn textures out there. The first time I stopped in, I was still "tied down" to a project. I am practically free now. The half-made afghan is just to tide me over until the next fix, it's my knitting rations. Knitters Attic is actually having a sale until this Friday and I tried to get in Sunday but they closed earlier than I expected. I figured on the weekend I would have all the time in the world to pick out what I wanted. Now I'm left with tomorrow only with a measly half to one hour after work if I make it there in time. It's probably for the best. This way I don't have a chance to overspend.

While I dream of the wonderful possibilities, it leads me to reading and research on new techniques far ahead of my skill level but it is just so gosh darn interesting. There are some great pictures and instructions on double-knitting at Stitch Diva and a nice toque pattern on Knitty. Aside from creating a thicker fabric and a positive/negative effect in color, there doesn't seem to be much more use for the technique. Since I don't really like knitted materials that are too hot, it doesn't sound like there is anything I want to try and make. Although in the back of my mind I am convinced there is more to be discovered in it. I'm even reading about crochet but I find diagrams for that to be much more confusing somehow. Maybe I'm tackling too much at the same time, juggling while running before learning to walk kind of thing.

On another note, I noticed today the owner of Knitters Attic had left me a comment on my post about the shop. I have to say I am a little embarrassed because first: I didn't think anybody would ever read my blog but I guess she saw a track back somehow because of the link to their site; second: I am embarassed because I said she was too nice for my taste and I wanted to be a loner. While that is who I am, I hope she isn't offended by my remark. I'm just shy and weird sometimes (most of the time). I meant no harm at all.

I submitted my derivative Barcelona Bag pattern to Knitting Pattern Central over a week ago, hoping to get some people to read this blog, or at least enjoy the feeling that possibly other people in the world are making "my" bag. When I submitted I got a reply from the site owner but it's still not up. Maybe they thought it was a rip-off of the original pattern. It is and it isn't you know? Anyways, I'm a little bummed because I felt so good about it before, oh well.

The Very Local Yarn Shop

Having known of this LYS for almost 2 months now, I finally stopped in after work yesterday. The saleslady was very nice and helpful, almost too much for my taste as I was hoping to be a loner and browse the different types of yarn to inspire myself on the next project. The store is very small so that wouldn't have been possible anyways. The selection of yarn is impressive for an operation of such a small size. You can see everything in the store as soon as you walk in but the stacked cubby hole shelving and neatly packed in yarn balls allow for plenty of variety in colors and types. It has a small number of knitting tools and notions for sale as well as a decent selection of pattern books. My only gripe is that prices are not displayed transparently and it forces me to go through the embarassing motions of asking for a price, ultimately feeling cheap in the process. Then again, I have never been to a real yarn store aside from the big chain craft stores so maybe no independently owned yarn store shows their prices.

Anyways, I hope Knitters Attic does well for themselves as it is really the only yarn store north of Toronto before Aurora, except the Chinese ones at Pacific Mall in Markham. I hear the prices there are expensive. It can service a wide area of knitting fanatics if they exist here. With the proper promotion and word of mouth, they should be around for quite some time. Best of luck to them! The best part is, it's less than 5 minutes walk from our house if I just wanted to go!