Stash enhancement is the best medicine

I love my LYS 

The LYS was having a big pre-Thanksgiving store, so Alicia and I made an afternoon of it. I took Alicia on her first trip to Taco Bell, and then we hit the LYS. Man, I'm gonna miss that place! No one has sales like they do! I bought four skeins of Weekend Cotton (for instant hats, one of which is for Alicia -- I made it while watching The Apprentice last night) for $2.80 each, three cones of something for a nice scarf for $1 each, and three skeins of what I discovered later is Isabella for $1 each. And, as an added bonus, I pulled a Jo Sharp book out of the free bin -- it's got some great, easy-looking patterns in it.

I told Paul that when we come back to Massachusetts, I'll have to bring an extra suitcase and make a stop at the LYS.

After our yarn store trip, Alicia and I hit AC Moore for some new needles for Alicia. She bought some Lamb's Pride in turquoise and black to make a felted purse, so she needed some new needles for tackling the project.

What a great afternoon! There's really nothing like Taco Bell and yarn shopping to bring a smile back to your face...

Remedy for a nervous breakdown

We've started packing boxes and saying our good-byes. We leave Massachusetts in just 12 days. So to calm myself down, I've been knitting like a madwoman. Really. Over the weekend, I finished Amy's poncho. I made a dishcloth and another scrubbie for Mom. And I started a new bag from the Bags book that XRX Books sent me to review (check for that one and a few other knitting book reviews soon on NightsAndWeekends.com. I'm having a blast with that book -- despite the fact that the wool I'm using is a bit waxy, and it sticks to the needles more than I'd like. I'm sure the bag will be finished in no time -- and I'll have to start another one.

I've been contemplating starting to pack my stash, but you never know when I'll need something...

Grrr... fringes!

I just finished my long patchwork-y scarf, and, after much deliberation, I decided to add a fringe. It was tons of work -- I hate adding fringes -- but I did it. And yesterday I trimmed the edges a bit to make everything even, and I tried the thing on, and I hated the fringe. It's much too short. I didn't want to add a long fringe, since I'm not a huge fan of fringes in general, but I thought it would add something to tie the whole scarf together -- little fringes of all of the colors in the scarf -- but I should have made it longer.

Crap. Now what? After all that work, I hate to take everything out, but I don't want to keep it on, either.

Grrr...!

19 days and counting...

Nineteen days from right now, Paul and I will be sitting in our new home (on the floor, because there won't be any furniture until at least Tuesday or Wednesday). It can't come soon enough. We're both totally exhausted from spending our days (and nights) trying to get everything ready. But now we've got all of our utilities set up, and we've hired a mover, so we're on our way. Yesterday, I spent the entire day poring over paint samples, trying to choose a color palette for our living room. The winners: terra cotta and shades of blue (with some tan and perhaps a greenish-khaki thrown in).

To treat myself in the midst of house-planning insanity, I treated myself to a trip to A.C. Moore, where the yarn was 25% off. I didn't buy nearly as much as I wanted to (have you seen the new Lion Brand Festive Fur? I totally want to make myself a tinsel scarf for Christmas!) because it's just more stuff to move, but I did get myself some cotton for dishcloths for my new kitchen. They have some great new colors of Sugar 'n Cream, and my bathroom is in Hot Orange, Hot Green, and Yellow (or, if you ask me, citrus colors) -- so I got a skein of each, even though I don't know what to do with them yet.

In other project news, I finished that hush-hush gift last weekend. It's felted, though, so I'm going to wait until we get our very own washer to felt it. I've also been working on a poncho for Amy -- one that's just like mine. And I'm finishing up a patchwork-y scarf for myself (made out of free sample yarns from my LYS). Oh, yeah, and I made some baby booties for our friends' new little boy.

Though all the craziness, I just keep knitting. It makes me feel better.