Hey guys! I'm BAAAAACK! What's making me so chipper today, you ask? A combination of piles of yarn, semi working internet, and the joys of being home again:
1. Woke up super early, cursed time difference and jet lag, went back to sleep.
2. Woke up again, decided not to fight, fetched laptop and IMed friends until felt jet lagged again and unceremoniously went back to sleep.
3. Woke up yet again, muttered at it still being before 9 am, fetched sock in progress and knit for a while. Happily and peacefully.
4. Cat wandered in, disrupted happy peace by gazing at my ball of sock yarn in a hungry way and complaining at me for going on vacation. That simply won't do as this is a fancy sock yarn that can't take cat attacks the way acrylic yarn can.
5. Sock? Sock yarn? Did I not tell you I was making socks? Well I am. I am making socks and they are addictive. They're my first pair and make me feel really clever even though they're plain socks and thousands of people have done them before. I think it has something to do with using double-pointed needles.
6. While we're on this knitting track, I can exclusively reveal that the East Coast has some excellent yarn shops (shocker, right?) and I managed to somehow acquire....
-5 balls of silky bamboo yarn purchased at local Joann's Fabrics to make a gorgeous LBD found in a book of vintage knitting patterns, recklessly abandoned by me halfway through for socks. It is now languishing in my suitcase atop a pile of clothes I need to wash (TMI?)
-1 single, glorious skein of handspun alpaca purchased at local farmer's market. The little tag has a picture of the alpaca it came from. It is gorgeous.
-3 skeins of emerald green DK weight merino blend, purchased from a booth at town celebration, also gorgeous.
-8 skeins of durable acrylic yarn purchased from local flea market for a whopping $4 total (four skeins of which we shall not speak; I re-gifted them to someone who appreciates them better)
-1 perfect, amazing hank of yarn made from the hair of a baby llama (don't laugh, it's softer than a baby's tender buttocks) in the most glorious shade of blue you can imagine.
-1 alpaca/merino/nylon blend sock yarn currently on needles. I was gloating all the way up to the cash register about getting such a big skein for a mere $12....until the yarn shop lady rung it up and I realized it was $21
7. Went into freshly painted yarn room (supposedly the place where I do my homework.....really the place where I keep my craft supplies) oohed and ahhed at beautiful color and excellent organizing job on various possessions my mother did--she really does spoil me--to put away said yarns and pet the rest of stash.
8. A HORRIBLE REALIZATION OCCURRED. I have unknowingly received, on the duration of my vacation, an extensive yarn education. This is mostly a good thing as before this trip I thought alpaca was a character in Dr. Seuss and merino was a brand they sold at target. However, before I knew the joys of luxury yarn I was perfectly happy getting (let's be honest here) acrylic yarn of shall we say lesser quality from Joann's. I reached out to pet the happy softness I already owned and realized it wasn't really so soft after all, it kinda sucked really and exfoliated the tender skin of my palms. Am I turning into a fiber snob or is this just the result of being in the presence of hand-dyed hanks of cashmere?
9. Could not answer these questions so went downstairs to make tea. After an extended period of time took a bath and got up properly. Then did the same things I did when my hair was greasy and I was in pjs. Finished a book I needed to read for school, switched to some blogs I hadn't read for a while, which reminded me to post on this one.
It's nice to be back. I missed you guys.
<3 Maggie
P.S. Sock pictures soon. Really all it is are 3 emotionally demoralizing inches of ribbing on needles. I've knit and knit and knit and still it's only 3 inches long. WHERE DID MY 4TH INCH GO?
P.P.S. In case you haven't noticed, (and I probably mentioned this before) I'm sort of cultivating a full-blown obsession with knitting. :D
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