I knitted a sweater in two days. Giant yarn (Cascade's Lana Grande, in black), big needles (US 13s), no sleeves, super-easy. But still. Two days! I have a couple of ends to weave in, and it needs a light blocking, but other than that, it's a whole garment that took seemingly no time at all and I can wear it to work and everything! I made the body about four inches longer than the pattern called for, so it's a little less teenager-y and a little more jacket-y.
So, I'm boring and lazy and technologically not-very-with-it, but Jennie isn't, and she's posted pictures of our Florida trip (scroll down till you see palm trees). Yes, we really were on the Jumbotron at the Devil Rays game!
05 August 2006
02 August 2006
Disconnected
Today I'm having something of an off day. Grumpy grump grump. Maybe it was the bickering in the car as I drove my boyfriend to the airport this morning. Maybe it was the loneliness on the drive home. Maybe it's the post-vacation back-to-real-life blues. Maybe it's the impending end-of-summer back-to-work blues. Right now I just feel bleh.
BUT! A new yarn store opened up in Atlanta about two weeks ago. It's everything a yarn store should be. Beautiful layout. Great atmosphere. Friendly service. Cool owner. No snobbery. Their own custom-roasted blend of organic and socially-conscious coffee that is always freshly-brewed and all-you-can-drink. Awesome selection of really nice yarns in a variety of prices, and no novelty crap. Even sample layout copies of books that aren't yet published but for which they are already taking preorders. Seriously, I may never shop anywhere else for yarn ever again. The only bad thing about this shop is that I used to live down the street from the location, and now I don't anymore. Then again, now that I'll have to drive 20 minutes to get there, as opposed to the six-minute walk I would have if I still lived in my beautiful Blue Apartment at 780 St. Charles Ave., maybe I won't spend as much money there as I otherwise would. But since I really want this shop to do well (and goodness knows we've got a ton of yarn stores in the Atlanta area and nobody seems to understand how they can all stay in business in this market), I could see spending more than I should there anyway. And maybe if I went every day, I wouldn't feel obliged to buy something every time I go in. As it is... I'm thinking of driving to choir a little early tonight and stopping in for some superchunky something that will knit up quickly into this little number.
There are only about four more days of summer vacation. Work starts Monday. In fact, there's a meet-and-greet potluck for the new folks (that's me) this Friday, for which I haven't RSVPed but which I plan to attend anyway. That's two days away. And my knitting goal for the summer had been to learn how to do colorwork. Both intarsia and Fair Isle. I did the intarsia bit. That was way easy. I have yet to bother with the Fair Isle thing, though. I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to want to make it. I haven't done much looking, but I have done a little. I'm just a solid-color kind of gal, really. I always have been. There was a time in my life when I refused to wear any clothing that wasn't completely solid colored -- no subtle floral patterns, no polka dots, no stripes of any kind. And definitely no writing! Not even a tag that poked out from the side seam. Growing up in the label-conscious eighties (when it was the height of cool in the halls of my elementary school to wear sweatshirts with "United Colors of Bennetton" blazed across the chest), I was in trouble. Apparently, I'm still in trouble, when it comes to doing this Fair Isle thing. I want to know how to do it. Knowing that I will never bother to wear it is something of a motivation-killer, though.
One last non sequitur. I've always been something of a "Mary Mary Quite Contrary." Never one to jump on the bandwagon, go along with the crowd simply for the sake of being like everybody else, etc. And so it goes with yarn. I'm a huge fiber snob. I have a very limited scope when it comes to what yarns I will use. Heck, I don't even like knitting with cotton! Or silk! So when I was talking with the owner of my new awesome LYS about possible yarns to use for a sweater I'm going to do someday, she suggested I use Cascade 220, or possibly something by Debbie Bliss, or something else, blah blah blah. "Ugh. 220 is what everyone uses. It's everywhere. Forget it." I thought. But, she handed me a skein of Cascade Pastaza, and pointed out that it's 50% llama wool. LLAMA, people! So I bought a skein to play with. And grabbed one skein of an interesting colorway of 22o while I was at it, not realizing that it was 220. Brougth them home, swatched them up... and oh my goodness, I understand now why everyone loves 220 as much as they do. Geez, it's a beautiful yarn, and so soft to touch, and so easy to work up! Love love love love! It's not my New Favorite Yarn or anything, because that's just going too far, but wow do I like this yarn. The Pastaza's great too (I like the shine it has -- without silk, even!). Never again will I turn up my nose at Cascade yarns. And after Ann Shayne's gorgeous porch chair pillows, I'm inspired to knit some like hers for our porch rocking chairs as well... which means going back to the LYS and buying some Cotton Classic. Breaking all kinds of self-imposed rules here, people! Throwing caution to the wind! Learning how to do that really cool hexagonal stitch pattern is just the bonus.
Also, I purchased two books from KnitPicks last night and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. Also also, I finally broke down and subscribed to Interweave Knits. Lots of inspiration headed my way. It's about time, since I have been feeling somewhat stagnant in terms of my knitting this past month or so.
BUT! A new yarn store opened up in Atlanta about two weeks ago. It's everything a yarn store should be. Beautiful layout. Great atmosphere. Friendly service. Cool owner. No snobbery. Their own custom-roasted blend of organic and socially-conscious coffee that is always freshly-brewed and all-you-can-drink. Awesome selection of really nice yarns in a variety of prices, and no novelty crap. Even sample layout copies of books that aren't yet published but for which they are already taking preorders. Seriously, I may never shop anywhere else for yarn ever again. The only bad thing about this shop is that I used to live down the street from the location, and now I don't anymore. Then again, now that I'll have to drive 20 minutes to get there, as opposed to the six-minute walk I would have if I still lived in my beautiful Blue Apartment at 780 St. Charles Ave., maybe I won't spend as much money there as I otherwise would. But since I really want this shop to do well (and goodness knows we've got a ton of yarn stores in the Atlanta area and nobody seems to understand how they can all stay in business in this market), I could see spending more than I should there anyway. And maybe if I went every day, I wouldn't feel obliged to buy something every time I go in. As it is... I'm thinking of driving to choir a little early tonight and stopping in for some superchunky something that will knit up quickly into this little number.
There are only about four more days of summer vacation. Work starts Monday. In fact, there's a meet-and-greet potluck for the new folks (that's me) this Friday, for which I haven't RSVPed but which I plan to attend anyway. That's two days away. And my knitting goal for the summer had been to learn how to do colorwork. Both intarsia and Fair Isle. I did the intarsia bit. That was way easy. I have yet to bother with the Fair Isle thing, though. I have yet to find a pattern I like enough to want to make it. I haven't done much looking, but I have done a little. I'm just a solid-color kind of gal, really. I always have been. There was a time in my life when I refused to wear any clothing that wasn't completely solid colored -- no subtle floral patterns, no polka dots, no stripes of any kind. And definitely no writing! Not even a tag that poked out from the side seam. Growing up in the label-conscious eighties (when it was the height of cool in the halls of my elementary school to wear sweatshirts with "United Colors of Bennetton" blazed across the chest), I was in trouble. Apparently, I'm still in trouble, when it comes to doing this Fair Isle thing. I want to know how to do it. Knowing that I will never bother to wear it is something of a motivation-killer, though.
One last non sequitur. I've always been something of a "Mary Mary Quite Contrary." Never one to jump on the bandwagon, go along with the crowd simply for the sake of being like everybody else, etc. And so it goes with yarn. I'm a huge fiber snob. I have a very limited scope when it comes to what yarns I will use. Heck, I don't even like knitting with cotton! Or silk! So when I was talking with the owner of my new awesome LYS about possible yarns to use for a sweater I'm going to do someday, she suggested I use Cascade 220, or possibly something by Debbie Bliss, or something else, blah blah blah. "Ugh. 220 is what everyone uses. It's everywhere. Forget it." I thought. But, she handed me a skein of Cascade Pastaza, and pointed out that it's 50% llama wool. LLAMA, people! So I bought a skein to play with. And grabbed one skein of an interesting colorway of 22o while I was at it, not realizing that it was 220. Brougth them home, swatched them up... and oh my goodness, I understand now why everyone loves 220 as much as they do. Geez, it's a beautiful yarn, and so soft to touch, and so easy to work up! Love love love love! It's not my New Favorite Yarn or anything, because that's just going too far, but wow do I like this yarn. The Pastaza's great too (I like the shine it has -- without silk, even!). Never again will I turn up my nose at Cascade yarns. And after Ann Shayne's gorgeous porch chair pillows, I'm inspired to knit some like hers for our porch rocking chairs as well... which means going back to the LYS and buying some Cotton Classic. Breaking all kinds of self-imposed rules here, people! Throwing caution to the wind! Learning how to do that really cool hexagonal stitch pattern is just the bonus.
Also, I purchased two books from KnitPicks last night and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. Also also, I finally broke down and subscribed to Interweave Knits. Lots of inspiration headed my way. It's about time, since I have been feeling somewhat stagnant in terms of my knitting this past month or so.
20 July 2006
Connections
I don't remember to check Knitters Review all that often, but I was poking around there one day a couple of weeks ago and found this poll, which I loved. KR polls really only tend to scratch the surface of any issue, but I love that of the 1924 people who have taken this poll as of this moment, nearly three-quarters think that there may be something to the idea that knitting and spirituality are connected. That's 1400 people! And considering how many more knitters there are in the world who haven't taken the poll (I mean, how many thousands of people participated in the Knitting Olympics? over 4000? And how many more of us didn't participate? Like me?)... that's a lot of knitters who connect to The Great Something-Out-There (or, as I like to say, The Big Chick in the Sky). We could start a church. And if we can start a church, then we can start a REVOLUTION!
Ok, about the revolution...too much? Too much.
I think that knitters already have started churches, actually. Weekly knit-nights, S'nB groups (or whatever we're saying these days that isn't a contested trademark), whatever you call 'em. They're knitters' church. Come together, from your different worlds and busy lives, shut out the chaos and the obligations for just a moment, join each other in this space to learn and grow and share something of ourselves with another person who would otherwise be a total stranger, but who isn't because you have this common love for something that is greater than yourselves, bigger than each individual would be on his or her own. We don't always know why we do it, except that we have to -- something has called us to create, to build, to join, to love. Something bigger than we are is calling out to us, inviting us to be a part of this world that not everyone sees or appreciates or understands. And we can make the whole world a better place, simply by listening to that Something Bigger, giving ourselves to it, letting go of all that external stuff that's holding us back, and connecting -- stitch by stitch -- to this fabric that we are creating, and which in turn creates us.
And I don't just mean the physical fabric of the garment that we're making out of needles and yarn and time and effort. I mean the spiritual fabric, the metaphorical and metaphysical fabric, knitting us to one another, to the person who receives the garment we make, to the other people who share this calling to create, to the Big Chick in the Sky who breathed into us and gave us the needles and yarn and told us to be fruitful and multiply. That fabric stretches over all of us, bundling us together, blanketing us in this Something Bigger.
I am constantly amazed at the sheer size of the internet knitting community. I'm not a frequent commenter on others' blogs (and I have yet to receive any comments on mine, or even to check and see how many people read it), but I lurk on several, and I am amazed at how comfortable I feel peeking into the lives of these people I've never met, and how much I want to share myself with them. If I were to go to LA, I'd totally email Crazy Aunt Purl to see if she would drink wine with me. A friend of mine is getting married in Toronto in October, and if I go, I totally want to meet the Yarn Harlot. Et cetera. There are thousands of us out there, all lurking on each others' blogs, all wanting to meet (and occasionally doing so), all knowing that we're going to be fast friends the second we see each other -- already being fast friends, in many cases, in spite of never having been in the same time zone at the same time, even. Amazing.
This weekend I am going to Florida for a girls' weekend with two of my best girlfriends from college. Jennie is the one who encouraged me to get back into knitting, after having laid aside the needles when I was young. Ali is the one who sat next to me in our painful Senior Seminar, knitting away furiously on our sweaters and trying not to scream our heads off. And both of them are trying to figure out things to do while we're together for two days: there's been lots of emailing back-and-forth, what about amusement parks in the area, what about a baseball game, what about this, what about that??? And all that's well and good. I'm all for the Axis of Diva going to see a Devil Rays game. But what I really want to do is sit around with two of my best girlfriends and knit. Knit on the beach, knit on the dock, knit by the pool, knit inside where it's air conditioned and simply look out the window... whatever. I'm just happy to have knitters' church and connect with my girls.
Ok, about the revolution...too much? Too much.
I think that knitters already have started churches, actually. Weekly knit-nights, S'nB groups (or whatever we're saying these days that isn't a contested trademark), whatever you call 'em. They're knitters' church. Come together, from your different worlds and busy lives, shut out the chaos and the obligations for just a moment, join each other in this space to learn and grow and share something of ourselves with another person who would otherwise be a total stranger, but who isn't because you have this common love for something that is greater than yourselves, bigger than each individual would be on his or her own. We don't always know why we do it, except that we have to -- something has called us to create, to build, to join, to love. Something bigger than we are is calling out to us, inviting us to be a part of this world that not everyone sees or appreciates or understands. And we can make the whole world a better place, simply by listening to that Something Bigger, giving ourselves to it, letting go of all that external stuff that's holding us back, and connecting -- stitch by stitch -- to this fabric that we are creating, and which in turn creates us.
And I don't just mean the physical fabric of the garment that we're making out of needles and yarn and time and effort. I mean the spiritual fabric, the metaphorical and metaphysical fabric, knitting us to one another, to the person who receives the garment we make, to the other people who share this calling to create, to the Big Chick in the Sky who breathed into us and gave us the needles and yarn and told us to be fruitful and multiply. That fabric stretches over all of us, bundling us together, blanketing us in this Something Bigger.
I am constantly amazed at the sheer size of the internet knitting community. I'm not a frequent commenter on others' blogs (and I have yet to receive any comments on mine, or even to check and see how many people read it), but I lurk on several, and I am amazed at how comfortable I feel peeking into the lives of these people I've never met, and how much I want to share myself with them. If I were to go to LA, I'd totally email Crazy Aunt Purl to see if she would drink wine with me. A friend of mine is getting married in Toronto in October, and if I go, I totally want to meet the Yarn Harlot. Et cetera. There are thousands of us out there, all lurking on each others' blogs, all wanting to meet (and occasionally doing so), all knowing that we're going to be fast friends the second we see each other -- already being fast friends, in many cases, in spite of never having been in the same time zone at the same time, even. Amazing.
This weekend I am going to Florida for a girls' weekend with two of my best girlfriends from college. Jennie is the one who encouraged me to get back into knitting, after having laid aside the needles when I was young. Ali is the one who sat next to me in our painful Senior Seminar, knitting away furiously on our sweaters and trying not to scream our heads off. And both of them are trying to figure out things to do while we're together for two days: there's been lots of emailing back-and-forth, what about amusement parks in the area, what about a baseball game, what about this, what about that??? And all that's well and good. I'm all for the Axis of Diva going to see a Devil Rays game. But what I really want to do is sit around with two of my best girlfriends and knit. Knit on the beach, knit on the dock, knit by the pool, knit inside where it's air conditioned and simply look out the window... whatever. I'm just happy to have knitters' church and connect with my girls.
08 July 2006
Callous
Hooray for the new Knitty! I am particularly enamored of the lilies -- but I'm having needle issues. I only have two plastic size-one dpns, and two metal size-two dpns plus a really long size-two circular. This makes knitting in the round very difficult. I generally prefer knitting with larger needles (size 5 is on the small end), and after doing 12 inches of i-cord on my size-ones, my fingers hurt! A lot! I'm afraid that I'm going to develop a callous on the tip of my left finger.
In other news, I'm stalling on the SCJ. I have no desire to sew the hem flat. I still can't decide if I'm going to felt it or not. I don't quite like the way it hangs on me, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Meow, meow, meow.
Been catching up on lots of KnitCast listening this afternoon. And I found my Weekend Knitting (it was on the floor next to the bed, of all places!). And I'm trying really hard not to purchase any new yarn in order to save money for upcoming travels. Really, I just want to be on the beach in Florida with my girls, sipping fuzzy drinks and knitting fuzzy goodness. Not getting callouses.
In other news, I'm stalling on the SCJ. I have no desire to sew the hem flat. I still can't decide if I'm going to felt it or not. I don't quite like the way it hangs on me, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Meow, meow, meow.
Been catching up on lots of KnitCast listening this afternoon. And I found my Weekend Knitting (it was on the floor next to the bed, of all places!). And I'm trying really hard not to purchase any new yarn in order to save money for upcoming travels. Really, I just want to be on the beach in Florida with my girls, sipping fuzzy drinks and knitting fuzzy goodness. Not getting callouses.
07 July 2006
Where does the time go?
I cannot believe that it's July. I only get two months of summer this year (I'd gotten used to a cushy three-and-a-half. Ah, grad school, I do miss some things about you). Still, I have one more big trip coming up: a girlfriends weekend in Florida, followed by a week in New York City with Joel. There is much knitting yet to be accomplished before elementary school hell begins again! Oh, and I'm running vacation Bible school all next week. Man, I wish I could just sit there and teach the kids to knit. Knit for Jesus, kids!
And by the way, I totally didn't write that song I posted for the Fourth of July. L. Stone did (no, I don't know his first name), to the tune of Finlandia (by J. Sibelius)(and his first name was Johann). But I did grow up singing it in church. Maybe I should teach the kids this song.
And by the way, I totally didn't write that song I posted for the Fourth of July. L. Stone did (no, I don't know his first name), to the tune of Finlandia (by J. Sibelius)(and his first name was Johann). But I did grow up singing it in church. Maybe I should teach the kids this song.
04 July 2006
Because Loving Your Country Doesn't Have to Mean Hating Others'
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine,
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine,
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, O God of every nation,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine,
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine,
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, O God of every nation,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
30 June 2006
Little Lost Lamb
I cannot for the life of me find my copy of Weekend Knitting. Where did it go? It's not on the coffee table in the stack of knitting books. It's not on the shelf where the knitting books actually belong. It's not on the floor of the basement where the knitting books eventually wind up. Where is it?? Where???
In other news, I have finished the knitting of the SCJ. Now I just have to sew it all together. I have never actually had to sew giant pieces of knitting together before: every other sweater I've ever made (all two of them), I've knit as one piece so that I wouldn't have to sew them together later. So I really don't know how to do it. Also, I think I'm going to felt the jacket slightly, if I don't like the final fit (I haven't liked the way it looks on actual women in actual photos on their actual blogs, but it may be the women and not the jacket, you know?) and as a way to help firm up a few of the thin spots that resulted from using a thick-and-thin yarn (does that work?). What does all this mean? It means that I'm venturing into uncharted "I'm confused about how to proceed" territory, and I may have to call in the big guns. After all, what are girlfriends for?
In other news, I have finished the knitting of the SCJ. Now I just have to sew it all together. I have never actually had to sew giant pieces of knitting together before: every other sweater I've ever made (all two of them), I've knit as one piece so that I wouldn't have to sew them together later. So I really don't know how to do it. Also, I think I'm going to felt the jacket slightly, if I don't like the final fit (I haven't liked the way it looks on actual women in actual photos on their actual blogs, but it may be the women and not the jacket, you know?) and as a way to help firm up a few of the thin spots that resulted from using a thick-and-thin yarn (does that work?). What does all this mean? It means that I'm venturing into uncharted "I'm confused about how to proceed" territory, and I may have to call in the big guns. After all, what are girlfriends for?
27 June 2006
You Can Go Home Again
...you are just older when you get there.
I am happy to report that I have been home, visiting my parents, and that (a) I accomplished a lot of behind-the-scenes career stuff, (b) I still like my folks and they like me, and (c) I did a lot of knitting. Oh, and I got to watch a baseball game with my girlfriend Jennifer and watch twin baby deer(s) frolic in the back yard. And pluck cabbage worms off the Brussels sprouts in the garden.
But back to the knitting. And the relaxing. And the church. And the new yarn store.
My home church has a new minister (new since the last time I was home long enough to go to church, anyway -- he's actually been there for a while now), and he's the guy who oversees the bunch of programs that includes the Shawl Knitting Ministry. So I'm trying to convince him to learn to knit. He actually seemed pretty cool with the idea, what with the good-deed-doing and the fun and fellowship and the earning-points-with-the-church-ladies, and the fact that most of the time he sits there and hangs out with the knitters anyway. So that's a project. Convince the man my mom calls "our new whippersnapper preacher" to learn to knit. Who's with me?!?!!? If I still actually lived there, I'd totally sit down with him for twenty minutes and have him knitting before he even realizes it. But I don't live there, so I guess that's not going to happen.
NEW (to me) YARN STORE in my hometown. Within walking distance of my house. Across the street from my elementary school. In the shopping center where my first coffee shop job was. Amazing selection. Totally friendly owner. Did I mention the great selection, and how it's all good stuff and no crap? And I found good things in the 20% off bin. Bought a singleton blue Reynold's Lopi, so knitted a hat for Joel while in a meeting that weekend. Nice way to connect to him from a distance of 1000 miles. And the hat is beautiful -- I'm totally going to steal it if he doesn't wear it this winter. Or even if he does. Or at least, I'll insist that he shares it. I'll wear it inside, even. Great hat. If I even knew where I could buy Reynold's Lopi in Atlanta, I'd buy another skein and knit a second hat so I wouldn't be forced to arm wrestle my boyfriend for the good one that, um, I made for him. So yay for that new yarn store.
So every morning I woke up ridiculously early (sometimes I went back to bed, but not every time) and tromped downstairs to watch the baby deer frolic in the backyard. Yes. Baby deer. Since deer is a tricky singular/plural word, let me clarify: there were two. Twins. Little white spots, too young to jump over the fence. Lots of frolicking. Lots. And then the nursing. The cuteness-o-meter really couldn't go much higher. Then we'd eat breakfast. Then I'd curl up in a chair and knit for a while and talk with my mom. Lots of knitting. Lots of talking. Lots.
I've been working on the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I started with the left arm/front, rather than the back, and did the whole left side during my spring break, way back in early March or whenever. Started the right side, got through the arm and up to the increase-y part, and had to stop. Had to. The eight-or-so days of nonstop knitting was too intense, and I had to work on smaller stuff for a while (finished a pair of socks that I started last August, tho', so that was a good thing). Picked up the SCJ again for this trip home (airplane knitting! car knitting!), and breezed through the right front and most of the back in the ten days I was there. And! knitting the hat in there provided a good break, so I didn't get SCJ burnout. I'm still finishing out the raglan on the back, but I still like it. Months later. So that's good.
Meanwhile, I had good meetings with important people (important in that world), and I'm hoping that it means I actually get to get a job soon. Better than that, though, I reconnected with a bunch of old friends. I didn't see everyone I was hoping to see, but close. And I saw the people who are most important. Both of my brothers! My "adopted sister" and her new-to-me boyfriend! Jennifer-who-lives-in-Chicago! Mom! Dad! Neighbors! Church people! Oh, it was good to be home.
And I'm not just saying that because my mom now knows about my blog.
I am happy to report that I have been home, visiting my parents, and that (a) I accomplished a lot of behind-the-scenes career stuff, (b) I still like my folks and they like me, and (c) I did a lot of knitting. Oh, and I got to watch a baseball game with my girlfriend Jennifer and watch twin baby deer(s) frolic in the back yard. And pluck cabbage worms off the Brussels sprouts in the garden.
But back to the knitting. And the relaxing. And the church. And the new yarn store.
My home church has a new minister (new since the last time I was home long enough to go to church, anyway -- he's actually been there for a while now), and he's the guy who oversees the bunch of programs that includes the Shawl Knitting Ministry. So I'm trying to convince him to learn to knit. He actually seemed pretty cool with the idea, what with the good-deed-doing and the fun and fellowship and the earning-points-with-the-church-ladies, and the fact that most of the time he sits there and hangs out with the knitters anyway. So that's a project. Convince the man my mom calls "our new whippersnapper preacher" to learn to knit. Who's with me?!?!!? If I still actually lived there, I'd totally sit down with him for twenty minutes and have him knitting before he even realizes it. But I don't live there, so I guess that's not going to happen.
NEW (to me) YARN STORE in my hometown. Within walking distance of my house. Across the street from my elementary school. In the shopping center where my first coffee shop job was. Amazing selection. Totally friendly owner. Did I mention the great selection, and how it's all good stuff and no crap? And I found good things in the 20% off bin. Bought a singleton blue Reynold's Lopi, so knitted a hat for Joel while in a meeting that weekend. Nice way to connect to him from a distance of 1000 miles. And the hat is beautiful -- I'm totally going to steal it if he doesn't wear it this winter. Or even if he does. Or at least, I'll insist that he shares it. I'll wear it inside, even. Great hat. If I even knew where I could buy Reynold's Lopi in Atlanta, I'd buy another skein and knit a second hat so I wouldn't be forced to arm wrestle my boyfriend for the good one that, um, I made for him. So yay for that new yarn store.
So every morning I woke up ridiculously early (sometimes I went back to bed, but not every time) and tromped downstairs to watch the baby deer frolic in the backyard. Yes. Baby deer. Since deer is a tricky singular/plural word, let me clarify: there were two. Twins. Little white spots, too young to jump over the fence. Lots of frolicking. Lots. And then the nursing. The cuteness-o-meter really couldn't go much higher. Then we'd eat breakfast. Then I'd curl up in a chair and knit for a while and talk with my mom. Lots of knitting. Lots of talking. Lots.
I've been working on the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I started with the left arm/front, rather than the back, and did the whole left side during my spring break, way back in early March or whenever. Started the right side, got through the arm and up to the increase-y part, and had to stop. Had to. The eight-or-so days of nonstop knitting was too intense, and I had to work on smaller stuff for a while (finished a pair of socks that I started last August, tho', so that was a good thing). Picked up the SCJ again for this trip home (airplane knitting! car knitting!), and breezed through the right front and most of the back in the ten days I was there. And! knitting the hat in there provided a good break, so I didn't get SCJ burnout. I'm still finishing out the raglan on the back, but I still like it. Months later. So that's good.
Meanwhile, I had good meetings with important people (important in that world), and I'm hoping that it means I actually get to get a job soon. Better than that, though, I reconnected with a bunch of old friends. I didn't see everyone I was hoping to see, but close. And I saw the people who are most important. Both of my brothers! My "adopted sister" and her new-to-me boyfriend! Jennifer-who-lives-in-Chicago! Mom! Dad! Neighbors! Church people! Oh, it was good to be home.
And I'm not just saying that because my mom now knows about my blog.
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