When Good Yarn Does Bad Things......

There I was, trying to get to the post office to send off Ms. Merino's scarflette to it's next victim....err...knitter. The envelope had been addressed, postage calculated and all that was left was to stuff it's soft yarn-y goodness into the envelope. But nooooooo, it was no where to be found. I sent out an in-house Amber alert for the missing scarflette, even offering a small reward to the first teenager to locate the missing wool, unharmed. We're about to leave for our Lake Tahoe vacation tomorrow so the house is a tad chaotic but I didn't think I'd be distracted enough to lose a WIP that didnt' even really belong to me. Then, a sparkley something attracts my attention - and there, on top of the bar, I see the scarflette. Bad, bad, bad scarflette...even my teenagers don't go near the pimp juice! The deliquent WIP doesn't have far to go to its next destination - I do hope it behaves better!
I've got Yarn Diva's scarflette in hand. It'll be keeping me company on the drive up to Lake Tahoe - in a zip loc bag - I just hope it doesn't escape when we hit the casinios!

WIP Report

Two items on the needles currently getting all of my knitting attention:

Mystery Stole 3 - the cashwool I ordered from Jimmy Beans Wool on Wednesday, arrived on Friday. Yep, that's their normal shipping. When I die, I want my ashes to be kept in an urn in that store.

I'm about row 35 - and I love the way the yarn works, the beading is way easier than I thought, and I'm pleased as punch to get rolling finally. I don't like my needles - size 4 metal circs - but can't win them all.

The 2nd item is the Booja bag - which is going to be a gift - not exciting knitting but perfect for the BART trip to work every morning. I'm thinking I'm going to line this one and probably add a little zippered pouch because I've got 4 skeins of Noro and I won't need them all.

I've been spending so much time lately on ravelry that I haven't gotten tons of knitting done. But once I get all my stash, patterns and projects on there, the organizational aspect of the site will be a huge time saver.

It's not a mystery any longer.....

So I ordered some new yarn for Mystery Stole III from Jimmy Beans Wool on Wednesday. Their store is out of state - I ordered Wednesday around 3pm. When did the yarn arrive? Friday - at noon. How freaking amazing is that? I guess it's a good thing that their store is in another state or I'd be handing them over most of my paycheck twice a month. I will be visiting one of their two stores during my vacation at the end of the month :)

Not only do they ship same day, they always enclose a little treat with their order - today it was 2 A&W root beer candies all nice and secure in a little baby ziploc bag. They know how to make knitters happy.

On to the yarn....it's beeeeeutiful - soft and springy and just the right shade of ecru. I couldn't wait to finish dinner so I could start winding it. 1400 yards of winding - by hand. I'm really wishing I'd ordered that ball winder from Joann's earlier but nope, all by hand. I got halfway through and stopped as my shoulders began cramping - I'm such a wussy. I'm finish it tomorrow and then pick up some beads with some hint of purple/pink/lavender in them because I've decided I'm going for it. First lace project - first beaded project - hoping the goddesses of knitting are on my side. Wish me luck.

Nobody does it better

Randomness Deux

I've been spending soooooooooo much time on ravelry.com organizing my stash that I haven't done much knitting. Bad knitter, bad, bad knitter.

I did, however, order new yarn for Mystery Stole 3. I'll be using Lane Borgosesia Cashwool in Ecru. I'm not 100 percent if I'll do beads or not.

Being a knitting genius, I ordered this yarn from my favorite yarn store on the planet - Jimmy Beans Wool. I ordered it at about 4pm this afternoon. They shipped it like an hour later. Freaking amazing. So I'll have my soft new yarn long before my vacation - I'll be knitting by the pool (or by the tv in the room if its too too hot) in just a few more days. I love Jimmy Beans. I wish there was actually a human (male) named Jimmy Beans who I could marry and then run his yarn empire.

btw - the pic - totally random ;)

Stitch -n- Pitch

Top Ten Things Learned on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the ballpark:

1. Blue cotton candy turns your teeth, lips and tongue a most unnatural shade of blue.

2. No matter which way you angle the camera phone, you'll never take a good picture of yourself.

3. The Dodgers suck - they don't just suck when the Giants are playing them, they suck every single day of the season and most of the winter.

4. Holding on to your crucifix and asking God for a home run doesn't work every time.

5. Buying beer for the souvenir cup is a rip-off.

6. Sometimes the umpires get it right - sometimes.

7. If you taunt the Dodger fans into doing something stupid, security will kindly escort them out of the park leaving you more room for your beer and nachos.

8. If you eat your hot dog without a bun, not only do you save 150 calories ,the guy sitting in the next row across will buy you beers all afternoon.

9. Did I mention the Dodgers suck?

10. July is not too soon to say "wait until next year".

Back to knitting since this is mostly, a knitting blog.

I pretty much H A T E the kid merino I bought for Mystery Stole 3 so I think I'll be ordering something from KnitPicks and waiting patiently to start over. I'm not sure what I'll do with the Kid Merino I bought.

I have gained ground in diminshing the stash. I started stitching together the Rose Trellis Afghan I stated crocheting some 25 or 30 years ago - seriously - I didn't have the 30 required squares so it's going to be smaller - more like a lap blanket - and it so needs to be washed. But it's going to get finished!

I also came across about 100 mini-granny squares in my favorite colors - hues of blues and purples with white trim - I'm thinking of turning those into purses. So I'm making progress.

I still have my Noni bag to start, my aunt's Booja bag, one Jayne hat, 3 purses to line and write up patterns for and, of course, Mystery Stole 3. I'm going to practice the stitches with some baby yarn while I wait patiently for my Knit Picks to arrive.

Go Giants

One of the best moments of this week was the homage paid to Willie Mays at tonight's All Star game. It was touching to see the love and respect given by the players, the fans and MLB. And it was fun all week watching the real world focus its attention here for the game I love so much. Aside from the hundreds and hundreds of fans I saw walking to the park, it was great to see guys with World Series rings in line in front of me at Quizno's on Monday, or a Giants VP walk into Moscone Center behind me & my family and knowing that we once had the same boss. I hope it doesn't take another 20+ years for MLB to bring the All-Star game back to the bay - I'm not sure I can wait that long.
A sportscaster once said something to the effect -" The other sports are just sports, but baseball is a love."

ETA: knitting back tomorrow - I've cast on for Mystery Stole 3 and I'm in the midst of my 2nd Booja Bag, a pair of simple socks using some killer Lorna's Laces I got on vacation a year ago and I'm working on a new purse. And Scarf Circle III.
On second thought - maybe less time blogging - more time knitting! :)

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070706&content_id=2071201&vkey=allstar2007&fext=.jsp

That's where I'll be today - and maybe I'll hit the lotto tonight so I can buy one of the tickets to the actual game!

ETA: Fan Fest Pics!!!!!! So much fun - so many things to see - I'd definately do it again!

Ravelry R O C K S

Any knitter who hasn't been comatose for the last 3 months has heard of Ravelry - an internet organization tool for those of us with more than one pair of needles and more than one bag of yarn.
From the website: Ravelry is a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration.
It's still in Beta testing and invites have been coveted. The stars aligned over my head this week and I got my invite. So what did I do on the 4th of July? I cleaned my craft room . 10 big ass 66 quart sized plastic bins in my stash - and here I am - an hour before I'm supposed to be in my office - inputting stash yarn into Ravelry.

We the people....

Independence Day has always had a special meaning for those in my family - aside from being a holiday - it's a day when we're allowed to brag a bit about our ancestors. One of whom had a hand in this country's independence as a Revolutionary War general and who was one of the signers of the Constitution. My mother's family, being Mormons originally, have volumes of geneology books tracing our roots back to Thomas Mifflin (and Jesus H. Christ himself if one of my aunts is too be believed). Funny story about Mifflin - I had just started a brand new job at a brand new tv network and was on my first ever business trip - to NYC - meeting with big wigs at ABC. As I'm having my meeting with the biggest of the wigs, he gets a call he has to take - someone at the History Channel about a project - he tells me to stay put - finishes his call - and apologizes mentioning something about George Washington. I jokingly say, "It's ok, one of my ancestors worked for him." He asks who and I tell him, surprised at the instant recogization. He goes on to tell me one element of the project which happens to involve my dearly beloved ancestor who, turns out, conspired with the French to replace the father of our country. All I could manage to mutter was "I hope you don't hold that against me." I suppose he didn't as he was one to offer me a position when my network was disbanded seven years later.
I never remember exactly who I'm decended from, only that it wasn't old Tom as he had no heirs. I'm assuming it was one of his brothers or uncles as we carry the Mifflin name.
So what am I going to do to honor my country and my French-loving ancestor? I'm thinking some Hershey chocolate, a little BBQ and a ton of knitting.

BTW - if you haven't seen Die Hard III - see it, great way to spend a couple of hours :)

P-freakin-G

Mingle²

My blog's rated PG because, apparently, I used the words "pain" and "ass" in a post. Good thing I didn't tell anyone to fuck off :)