I am devestated

Yarn was lost in the move.



Yes. Absorb that sentence, let the nausea pass by, and let the horror increase with this next sentence.

Handspun yarn from Capi. All the of gifts, cards, and yarn from my going away party have disappeared. Vanished. Evaporated.


All of my boxes have been opened and mostly unpacked. Once I realized the yarn (which I love and cherish dearly and will be heartbroken forever if it is really truly lost) was MIA, I began rummaging through the remaining unpacked boxes like a woman possessed. Nowhere. Nowhere to be found. My mom packed some of my stuff and so I called her at work and, very calmy, asked her where my !@#$ my yarn was. She has no idea. She knows it wasn't left in the hosue when we left, so she's pretty sure it has to be somewhere, but I can't find it.


Let me explain: I don't lose things. Ever. Sometimes I forget things, but I never lose things. Never. If I do, it's found within seconds. The only few, very few, things I've "lost" have been expensive (such as my phone, which would be a chunk of cash to replace, and was eventually found) or precious. If I do not find this yarn I will be devestated. So, so devestated.


Please send out yarn-finding good thoughts. (Yarn Gods, please help me out here. This is definitely not funny.)

Best Going Away Party EVER.

Yesterday was my Going Away get-together at Chi Town Pizza w/ my knitting group and it was great. Everyone came and ate and talked and I had a lot of fun.

Nobody ever told me that people brought gifts to going away parties, so I was definitely not expecting all the goodies I received. (Not pictured: A card w/ little blurbs from everyone and a promise of a gift card to my favorite yarn shop in Iowa.)



Ellie made me a spa cloth and brought me some fabulous lavender soap. (I'm all about the fancy soaps, gotta love 'em.)





And Capi brought some of her handspun and told me to pick two. Sooooooooo gorgeous I can't stand it.



I am really going to miss these guys :/

Cedar Leaf Shawlette!!

I was proud of this before I blocked it. Now, after blocking, I adore this thing. I'll wear it every stinkin' day. Love it.

Sheesh.

I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to knit night tonight at A Good Yarn. I went in with $50, and came out with 6 skeins of yarn (4 were gifts form Capi, more on that later) and Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

I started with one skein of sock yarn and the book, that was good. Then a woman came in with gorgeous hand dyed yarn, 550 yds. of deliciousness. How the hell was I to resist? (For the record, it's peach and pink and purple.. and totally girly. Love it.)


Oh, and Capi took me to her house (which is looks tiny until you walk inside and it never, ever ends. Ever.) to see her rooms upon rooms of yarn. It was great, it gives me an idea of what I aspire to have when I finally "grow up".



I'll photograph the yarn tomorrow and add it to Ravelry :) I have homework to do tonight.



P.S. TO anyone who goes to the Thursday night group at Starbucks, I won't be there tomorrow. My mama will be having some super fun procedures going on tomorrow at the hospital and needs a ride home.

I've been converted.

I like to think that, normally, I am an independent thinker. I don't let people persuade me, I don't let people get to me, and I do not let people talk me into doing or trying something. Yet, somehow, in the land in knitting, I am helpless to deny.

Alex, you should try knitting socks.
Alex, what about the Ravelympics?
Alex, knitting socks 2 at a time?

Yup. That last one is the latest and I am now knitting a pair of socks for my mama, toe up, 2 at a time on 2 circulars. Best. Thing. Ever. No sewing at the end, no running out of yarn - ever. No worrying about having to count and make sure the socks are the same size and definitely no second sock syndrome. It's (to me at least) just as quick and doing a single sock on DPNs.


Ollie (the nice woman who talked me into this) I, uhh, sort of love you. In case you were wondering.


I'll post pictures when I actually have something to show, but to tide you over until then:


Dream In Color Starry in the Some Summer Sky colorway. Super sparkly, super squishy, and pretty darn fantastic.

The DeStash Party: The Aftermath

Yeah.. I'm pretty happy with the yarn I got. The top 2 yarns, the Fearless Fibers sock yarn I bought for $15 a piece from Capi. Yeah, 550 yds. for $15 is like... I don't know, I tried to come up with some awesome description and I can't. It's just plain sweet.

It was really good and I'm definitely going to miss these guys when I move.

Dude. Babies.

I love babies. I adore babies. When there's a baby around, I have to end up putting my knitting down because I can not function properly when there is a tiny human in the room who is melting my heart.

I knew a certain someone (an adult, not one of my student-friends) was going to quit her job to be a stay at home mama as soon as the opportunity arose.

Guess who announced that this would be her last year working?! I am thrilled. Thrilled to the brim. As soon as I found out and the room cleared of anyone else who wasn't smart enough to guess, we started screaming and jumping and hugging and squealing and talking baby-talk.

And I, Alexandra Martin, and going to be personally responsible for covering this nice lady's baby in wool and all sorts of squishy, beautiful, machine-washable, neutral-sex colored wool.


The projects above are some of the items I'm considering. (Top to bottom: Mary Jane Booties, Seed Stitch Jacket, Baby Yours, and Tiny Shoes.) It's possible that I might be equally/more excited about this baby than the mother-to-be... but that's doubtful. Oh, and this kid is going to have a wicked shoe collection before he/she is even born, there's no doubt in that at all.

This is starting a bad case of startitis...

I spent Spring Break in Iowa. Iowa has some really great yarn shops, I should know. It's all I did all week: yarn hunting.


Manos Del Uruguay Silk Blend, Raveled here. Words cannot describe how soft and silky and smooth this yarn is. I love it, and I can't wait to start knitting with it. (I just need to fins the perfect project first..)

Cascade Ultra Pima, Raveled here. The color is soooo deep and rich and gorgeous. I need to be buying more cotton because summer is almost here and wool doesn't go well with hot summers.

Zwerger Garn Opal Handpainted (I think..), Raveled here. The label is in German or Dutch or something, so I honestly have no idea what this is. I do know that it is very pretty sock yarn and will make a fantastic pair of socks someday.

Zwerger Garn Opal Rendez-Vous, Raveled here. It's pink and purple and self patterning (all things that amuse my mother), so this is for her. I'm pretty excited to get started working with this yarn.

Ella Rae Lace Merino, Raveled here. This is sock yarn, not lace.. I don't get it. Anyways, this yarn was a colossal pain in the ass to wind. It made a cake so tight I could barely get it off of the ball winder. I had to rewind it carefully (after detangling it) to get it how I wanted it. It's too pretty to ignore.

The gang's all here. Sooooo pretty, I'm excited. Unfortunately, having all of this new yarn is making me want to start on a hundred new projects. I REFUSE. I will finish something before I start something new if it kills me, I swear.

I'm going to spin!

The past 2 consecutive Saturdays, women have come with their drop spindles and spun. I was so ridiculously entertained, I can not even begin to explain.

So.. Here it is: I'm going to teach myself how to spin yarn on a drop spindle. I went to Etsy and bought a drop spindle (that comes with roving and a "teach yourself how to spin" guide) and some silk roving.

This is the spinning kit I got from Wind Rose on Etsy. I'm pretty excited.


This would be the Tussah Silk Roving I bought (also from Wind Rose). Is it gorgeous or what?
"Tussah silk is gathered from wild silk worms after the moth emerges and is often referred to as "Peace Silk". It's stronger than cultivated silk and has more than a 3" staple length. It's loved by both spinners and needle felters for its softness and luster."

Sock yarn is definitely not stash.

I'm following the Stephanie Pearl-McPhee approach: sock yarn is not stash. (If I don't have at least a little loophole, my yarn diet will never survive. This is an excellent option.)

Today while at knit night (today's was located at the yarn shop) and I could not resist buying just a little bit of yarn to take the edge off. At first I got a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids and a skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (which was only $11 for a whole skein with plenty to knit a pair of socks. $11 for quality sock yarn, you wouldn't be able to resist either). Then I went back and picked up the gorgeous skein of hand painted teal sock yarn I had found earlier. It was the last one available, it was a limited edition, and it was hand painted. Really, it was irresistible.

Emily was laughing at me pretty hard. I don't blame her, 20 minutes before my purchases I had been talking about my newly organized stash and my also-new yarn diet. I'm pretty hopeless. Then Carolyn (the school nurse at PHS) chimed in that according to the Yarn Harlot: sock yarn is not stash. I agreed.


So, new philosophy. I'm feeling pretty good about this. And a new relization: I think I am subconciously attracted to green sock yarn and blue worsted weight for hats. I'm going to be a ripe old age someday with 40 million blue hats and another 40 million pairs of green socks. Yup. green socks.