Yarn Festival!

I went to a local yarn festival with the Husband, OP, and our cousin Teach! Like me, Teach was there for the yarn and to spend time together. The Husband and OP were there for the cider donuts (and spend time together). Well, OP was there for the yarn, too. She LOVES touching the yarn and finding the beautiful colors. I can only imagine how awesome each year will be as she gets older. Assuming she still enjoys yarn.

Originally, I was not going to buy yarn. I’m not knitting so there really is no point, but OP wanted an infinity scarf. I thought rather than have her go through my stash, I’ll have her pick new yarn. My hope is this will prevent her from stealing the scarf I’m finishing up. I know it won’t, but I hope it will. I also want to get back into sweaters so I decided I’d be on the lookout for good sweater yarn for both the Husband and I.

I bought yarn for two scarves for the child. She picked the two Periwinkle Sheep skeins (pink and dark pink) which will look lovely for her scarf. This selection shocked me because she was ogling the sparkly yarns at every booth and I thought for sure I’d be knitting a sparkling scarf. Then, because I felt bad she didn’t go with sparkly yarn, I decided to buy purple and black sparkly yarn from Mother Frogging Yarns. I mean, I loved the yarn (it feels so soft!) and wanted to try a new brand. It wasn’t just a weird guilt. I mean it was weird guilt, just not only weird guilt. She was happy without the sparkly yarn, but I apparently wasn’t. I have issues. The other yarn is from Ensign Brook Farm. It’s a Merino-Romney yarn to be used in a sweater for the Husband. Hopefully, I have enough.

I didn’t find any sweater yarn that spoke to me, but that’s okay. I’ll pick something up at a local yarn store in a few months. In the meantime, I should probably try to start OP’s scarf so she has something for the winter which is fast approaching. But first, back to homework. *sigh*
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“I never let my schooling get in the way of my education.” — Mark Twain

I started writing a post all about my knee, and then deleted it. I’m done focusing on the negative. Instead, I want to focus on the positive.

I now have a graduate assistantship in the nutrition department in my school. I get to work for a professor doing grunt work, but I think it will be a good opportunity. Plus it will help pay for school.

I’ve had a lot of opportunities this summer. They are not paid, but they are great experiences and will be good on the resume. I’ve been able to do grunt work in a research project, write for a nutrition blog, and work at a farmers’ market. Although, I had to drop my farmers’ market gig, because of my knee. BUT I’M BEING POSITIVE.

My daughter is entering kindergarten in September, and is excited to ride the bus.

I’m off for the rest of the summer. I’ve cleaned some of my desk, some of the refridgerator, and most of the house.

I’m working on a hand warmer pattern that, if I get the courage, I will try to sell. And, I have beautiful yarn.

Life is beautiful.

The two most amazing people I know.

Rhinebeck 2012

**warning: boring post**

As we all know, the world stood still about a month ago when I did not buy yarn when surrounded at a yarn festival. With the Rhinebeck Wool and Sheep Festival last weekend, I stepped up to the plate and hit a triple. That’s a horrible analogy, but basically, I bought yarn. Not too much, but enough. I’m back baby!

I drove down with the Sister (left) and  Yarnkettle (her posts here and here).

We left super early in the morning and stopped at every rest stop on the way because we have tiny bladders and one of us (*ahem*) is addicted to wanted Starbucks. Even with our repeated stops, we made it about 15 minutes early. Sadly, it was WARM. No sweater for me.

While we waited in line, I played with my camera’s panorama setting.

Once they opened the doors we plowed over ever last person ahead of us in line. It was horrific. Elbows, feet, I even saw some needles flashed at people to get them out of the way. Well, not really. Everyone was patient and nice and orderly. Quite dull.

Dull, until we saw the bunny with breasts! It was odd. I didn’t get them in the picture. You’re welcome.

I started off slow, afraid to buy anything for fear of finding the PERFECT skein after buying dozens, but then there were yarn fumes and I went crazy!!!! Okay, 6 skeins of yarn is not crazy. All but one was planned, and that one was because I couldn’t decide on yarn for a hat. I also bought 1 shawl pin. I don’t know if I’m a shawl pin kind of gal, but I’m going to find out. Of course, I forgot to get a picture of that, but I have yarn pics.

The first 3 items were before lunch

Gray, a green, and gray-ish green. Morning theme, I guess. By this point, we were tired and hungry, and had people to meet! So we found Ezra711 and A Book Chick from our knitting group and had lunch.

I apologize to everyone for our loud, crazy table. Wait, no I don’t.

Looking innocent.

We had felafel from Aba’s Felafel and it was the best felafel I ever had. I plan to eat there next year, but none of you can. I don’t want to wait in a long line.

Yummy!

The afternoon brought blue yarn and exhaustion. I was seriously ready to pass out. Perhaps the 4 hours of sleep the night before was a problem.

Of course, now that I have all this yarny goodness, I can’t knit. My wrist is acting up. I think Karma is toying with me. Karma is mean.

“A date which will live in infamy”

On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his Infamy speech that birthed the quote I used for my title. It was the day after Pearl Harbor and Roosevelt was referring to a momentous event that subsequently launched the US into the second War to End All Wars. (Well, okay, the War to End All Wars was WWI, but it didn’t work, now did it?)

So my little day of infamy has nothing on the terror and the death toll of Pearl Harbor, but in my own little corner in my own little chair? It’s momentous. I went to a yarn festival and didn’t buy yarn. Not. One. Single. Skein.

I’ll wait while you let that sink in.

Ready?

No yarn!?! You are dead to me, Momma!

I KNOW! I’m just as shocked as you. I had plans to buy yarn. I was looking for some lightly variegated or non-variegated sock yarn and yarn specific to two projects. But, nothing really called out to me. Wait, that’s not true. I found some sparkly purple yarn that my daughter (and I) LOVED and as I reached down to buy it for a shawl for OP, I thought about all the horror that poor little skein would go through at the hands of a 2 1/2 year old and put it back for its own safety. It would find a better forever home than mine.

That’s not to say, I didn’t get anything. I picked up a needle bag from JessaLu that fits perfectly in the medium sized project bags. Except, um, I bought it for a purse to store change and pens. And OP, who loves the yarn fest because she gets to eat a cider donut AND cider, got a sheep! She named her Lammy.

Lammy and the Daleck

I know many of my fellow yarn addicts are shocked I left without yarn, and while I’m just as shocked as you, I’m actually proud that I didn’t wantonly buy yarn I wasn’t going to use any time soon. I’m slowly going through my stash and I feel better as I use it up. That, or Rhinebeck’s in a month and I’m holding out.

If I can get Lammy in there, then it’s being used for knitting. Right?

In Which I Talk About Knitting (again)

If you heard a scream of joy on Wednesday night, that was me casting off on the scarf. For my new readers, it’s this scarf:

Well, not this, but a longer version of this with many repeats.

I started it way back in December and had to put it aside a few times. Not because it was hard, but because it, like all scarves, got boring. Now I need to block it so the sides are crisp and add fringe. The Husband may get to wear it in time for winter. If there is a winter.

I also ripped out the base of the Doctor Who bag. The purpose of the bag is to use up all the leftover yarn from the Doctor Who scarf, and when I originally started the base lo these four months ago (ouch! It was in time out for  awhile), I wanted to make the base out of a color that I had a lot of yarn for. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it. So frogged it goes. I hope this gamble pays off, because I don’t want to prematurely run out of purple which is the new base color.

I’m getting antsy with projects. I want to finish them Right! Now! AND I want to start 20 more! I had four on the needles, while dreaming about and planning the next four. I’m obsessing over Ravelry, my stash, and patterns. I may drive myself insane. Well, more insane. I suspect it’s because two fiber festivals are coming up and I’m letting myself buy yarn (Squee! [Yes, I squeed]). Although it is possible it’s because I have time again since I’m not taking a class. Either way, the Husband may come home to find his wife buried under a pile of projects laughing about just one more hat I need to start.

Mommy, look. You put me to sleep with your yarn talk.