Happy Halloween

Five Little Pumpkins
by Charles Winter

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said "Oh my it's getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
The fifth one said "I'm ready for some fun."
OOOOOOOO went the wind,
and out went the light,
and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Disappointment

I am disappointed to report that although I was near 2 excellent yarn stores, I did not purchase anything on my west coast tour. In Portland, I was never there while Knit/Purl was open (arrived at 7 pm, busy from 10 until flight out at 5 pm the next day). Boohoo! I did take a walk by the store and pressed my nose against the window, it looks awesome, next time I'm in Portland I will definitely stop by, plus no sales tax in Portland! I should have bought all my kids ipods for Christmas. Then, in San Fran I did manage to go into Art Fibers, but I have to say, nothing really tempted me there, I know it sounds insane, but it was all really arty & different & nothing was calling my name. If I had to get something, it would be between the Kurasawa (silk & merino), and the Tesla (stainless steel & cotton). So the minute I was home, in order to offset my remarkable restraint, I ordered a couple skeins when I got home, Malabrigo in Frank Ochre with which I will knit the Irish Hiking Scarf, and Socks that Rock in Jingle Bell Rock and Henpecked, did you guys see the fabulous new colors at Blue Moon Fiber Arts? I want it all!!

Jetsetta!

I am a jetsetta! Just came back from a biz trip to the West Coast, and boy are my arms (and everything else) tired! We flew to Portland Tuesday night (lowlight of the trip, stuck in seat 13E, next to a guy with Tourette's, no offense to people w/ Tourette's, but he moaned every 30 seconds, patted his tummy, and said really inappropriate things to me) plus his fingers were either in his nose or mouth for the entire 4 1/2 hours, gross! Highlight of the trip, ate dinner at Chez Panisse on Wednesday night in Berkeley, here was the menu, we also did the cheese course and wine pairing, it was the best meal I have had in years, no lie! Another lowlight, we stayed in a different hotel room every night & I forgot something in each room! What is wrong with me? I left my phone charger in Portland, my glasses in Berkeley, and my book, Knitting Rules in San Francisco. I'm trying to get the former 2 back, but the latter is a gift to whomever finds it. I didn't knit at all on my trip! Couldn't bring myself to knit next to the crazy guy on the way out, and read on the way back (All the King's Men) and watched the movie, The Devil Wears Prada. In knitting news, I finished the scarf before I left, pictured above. I'm still working on Miss Marigold, casting on for a baby sweater for my neighbor (she had a baby last week), and dying to knit thrummed mittens using my thrummed mitten kit from Spunky Eclectic.

Totally getting the Harlot

I've read about the comings and goings of the Yarn Harlot for months now, not really understanding why everyone was so mad for her, then I bought her book, "Knitting Rules" yesterday, and now, I totally get it! She is so funny, her open letter to the inventor of Ziploc bags, her chapter on not feeling guilty about owning too much yarn, her chart to determine what type of knitter you are (I'm a scientist), I feel like I was stranded on planet Earth & now the mother ship found me. True Story: I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom with my yarn spread out ALL OVER, a scary pile of yarn that even I was intimidated by, updating my spreadsheet and my husband walked in. I thought, oh, no BUSTED! but my husband glanced around casuallyat the ginormous pile of yarn and said "Don't feel bad, I've got more guns than that." I know, it's super scary, but kind of sweet! So I've been knitting the simple scarf pattern that the Harlot posted a couple of days ago, k, k, knit into back of loop, purl, in multiples of 4, then ending with knit knit. It's simple and mindless, and I love how it's coming out; I was planning on wearing it with my cream colored winter coat, but my six year old has claimed it for herself. P.S. I do believe the Harlot is mistaken on one tiny point, she claims that this person is the fastest knitter in North America, when we all know it's really Alyssa.

Random Stuff

Random Stuff
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/68299643@N00/.

We went apple picking this weekend, the last beautiful weekend in Chicago! (It was 72 degrees on Sunday, it's supposed to snow tomorrow) The kids picked 38 pounds of apples, I've got a lot of baking, applesauce making, etc. to do in the upcoming days. In other news, I PASSED MY TEST!!! I found out yesterday, hooray for me, now I just have to take Level II in March. I've set aside Sizzle for now, I don't like how it's knitting up, very uneven. I'm working on Miss Marigold, I'm down to the endless rounds of stockinette.


We had a contest when we got home, for best apple; judges (DH & me) considered color, shape, size, and overall shininess, of course daughter number 2 won, she is sooooooo competitive!

Amy's Hat

yp 003
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/68299643@N00/.

I finished Amy's hat, in fall colors per her request, it was simple & only took me a night to knit. That's my kind of project! I had knitting group last night, it was so great, the people in my group are such great knitters, and always teach me something new. Lynae was knitting mittens for her daughter out of STR, so cute. She looked at my Sizzle and agreed it looked pretty hopeless. Adrienne was knitting a beautiful shawl with thick cables & pockets. She showed me how to knit cables without a cable needle, and how to drop down & fix "mistake" stitches. Like I said, they are the BEST!

Yarn Purchases

yp 002
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/68299643@N00/.

Even though I have NO business buying more yarn, I did! I went to 3 Bags Full in Northbrook & purchased some bulky yarns for hats (Hip, knit hats to be specific!) I figure I can get at least 6 hats out of what you see pictured here, but since I want to set goals like Alyssa, my plan is to knit at least one hat (the one on the cover of the book, but in turquoise & cream instead of brown and black), a pair of mittens, the Norah Gaughan ones that were in IK fall issue, and finish Sizzle in October. That should keep me busy! Also I cast on for Ms. Marigold yesterday, so I'll probably work on that. I'm knitting it in KnitPicks Elegance in a soft grey(Ash), I love this yarn, it's so nice to knit with, especially compared to that silk yarn I mentioned earlier.