WIPs, FOs, and the Kindness of Knitties

So, I did actually finish that crocheted scarf that I showed you, and courtesy of the crappy-ass weather we've been having, I've been wearing it quite a bit. Here 'tis: I also finished the Counterpoint scarf I've been working on as a "Congratulations" gift for my friend Hillary, who is off to NYU this fall for graduate school in the vocal performance program. (Classic Elite Lush. A new fave. It's SO SOFT!) I've got 2 WIPs I'm carrying with me at the moment. The Chevron Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, in Claudia Handpaints "Eat Your Veggies" and "Caribbean Blue" (They will be the subject of a future YPF post): and the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl from Doris Chan's Amazing Crochet Lace (FABULOUS book - beautiful patterns. You will be seeing more stuff from it here.) in King Tut Cotton. And finally, a little proof that Knitties rule. I've been working on my Simple Knitted Bodice, and the further I got, the more I worried that I was going to run short on the Berroco Denim Silk I was using for it. The biggest problem with that is that the yarn is discontinued. So, I posted on the board that I was looking for something to work with the Denim Silk to use for the lace bands and the neckline/cuffs/hemline. The wonderful, fabulous, ohsoverysweet Mary Mary came to my rescue - she had some Denim Silk in another color that would work wonderfully with my funky Absinthe green. So, we swapped for it. The package from her arrived yesterday, and in with the Denim Silk (6 of the Creme Caramel, plus one in Carob - any and all leftovers will be combined into something fun), she tucked a little surprise for me. According to her note, Texas is cracking down on license plate frames, so she thought I would be able to get some good use out of this one. I cracked up! I can't wait to put it on my van. Thank you, sweetie. You rule! And your box will be in the mail tomorrow, I promise.

DWTS Elimination and Mid-Week Yarn Pr0n

Wow. I actually called it! Leeza and Shandi in the bottom two, and Shandi sent home! I'm so glad Clyde was safe. I know the judges are pretty hard on him, and I think a lot of his problems stem from the height difference and his rotator cuff issues. His personality is really starting to show while he dances, and I like it. In other news, I found a contest on a couple of other blogs - 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away one of the new Dyson Slim vacuums. So of course, I had to enter. (And yeah, I know I'm not a mom. I have 3 dogs and 3 cats. I need good vacuum power. :D) And I've been a crocheting fiend the last couple of days. I went on a Yarn Safari (as Carrie has taken to calling them) this weekend to Cloverhill Yarn Shop with Carrie and Maryanne, and picked up a copy of the new Interweave Crochet. The Boteh Scarf called to me, as did the Cloverhill sock yarn, which is dyed for the store by Mama E of C*Eye*ber Fiber. They also carry some of her roving, and now that I've seen it in person, I understand why people love her stuff. I resisted the roving this time, but chances are good that there will be some in my future. This is Pistachio Chip: And this is the Boteh Scarf, so far: Isn't it purty? I'm almost done with the main part, and then I just need to do the border.

Haaaaave you met Morrigan?

(Anyone else a fan of "How I Met Your Mother"? Barney's game of "Haaaaaave you met Ted?" Anyone?) So, on my StitchDC trip, I finally scored a copy of the elusive No Sheep For You by the oh-so-fabulous Amy Singer. In flipping through it, I found this: (Photo ganked from here, the blog of the amazing woman who knit the original) (And by "ganked", I mean copied and uploaded to my Photobucket, not hotlinked. I know better than to steal bandwidth) Is that not one of the most beautiful sweaters you have ever seen? The cables... the neckline... Ah... I'm in lust. Did I mention it is done in Rowan Calmer, possibly one of the softest, snuggliest, bounciest cotton-blend yarns ever? Yeah. So, my search began. I was looking for a deal on Calmer. And I lucked into one. CucumberpatchUK had some, including an awesome deal on one color: That would be color #486 "Tangerine", which is now waiting patiently to become my very own Morrigan. I got it for $3.99 a ball. (Let me say that again - $3.99 a ball for Rowan Calmer. I adore CucumberpatchUK) I cannot wait. But, I will wait. I will be a good girl and finish the Fair Isle Cardigan before I start on the beauty that is Morrigan. Incidentally, Morrigan is far from the only pattern in this book that I WILL be making. In fact, I plan on doing quite a few of them. This is a superb collection of patterns, not to mention Amy's awesome work on the characteristics of all sorts of non-animal-based fibers (ok, silkworms are animals... mostly non-animal-based).

Stitch DC Pr0n!

Some of the goodies from my trip to Stitch DC last weekend. Some Hemp for Knitting Allhemp6 in "Lilac", which will be combined with the same in "Deep Sea" (a nice deep blue) to make "The Bag" from No Sheep for You. And finally, some Hemp for Knitting Allhemp3 in "Sprout", which will be combined with the same in "Foggy" (a light silvery-gray) for I have no idea what. :D And if you are wondering why I have so much of the Allhemp... I bought the Deep Sea at Stitch DC's Super Bowl Sunday sale last year, with no real plan for it. The more I thought about it, I decided I needed more to do something other than a scarf. So, I picked up the "Foggy" on another trip to Stitch DC. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and bought the other weight. Hence picking up some of each weight this time to actually DO something with it. And bless Zib (who has been internetless for FAR too long, we miss her!), she has a beautiful bag pattern in NSFY that calls for the Allhemp6! So, one question answered, anyway. Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, the new Spring Knitty is up! I've only briefly peeked at it (busy couple of days around here), but there is some great stuff. I already know I'll be making the bmp socks for Kris at some point. All his coworkers will be jealous. :D

Random Stuff and Nonsense

I had the loveliest Saturday this weekend. I met up with my friends Maryanne and Carrie (mother-daughter duo from my knitting group) and we went in to StitchDC. Not only did we have fun fondling all the new yarns (some of which, erm, may have come home with me and will be featured in future YPF's), but we got to meet Marie's (the owner) too-cute baby boy Cole, we got to check out the new Addi Lace needles (very nice - the tips are comparable to the KP Options in terms of pointiness, from what I could see), AND I finally found a copy of the incredibly fabulous No Sheep for You!!! Seriously - I am in love with this book. I have a hunch I will be making quite a few of the patterns in it. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. And really, really good information about all the different types of non-animal fibers, how they behave, and how to substitute them in a pattern that calls for a sheepy yarn. Public service announcement: Heather over at All Things Heather is doing some fundraising for her daughter's school and their sister school in South Africa. She's also giving away her hand dyed yarns as a thank-you for those who contribute. Go, take a look, and see if you can spare a couple of bucks to help buy books for some kids! And some knitting news: I finally got a progress shot of the Palette Cardigan! This is where it has been for a while - I haven't actually worked on it for probably two weeks now. I'm in the midst of stripe #14 of the 18 for the body, and then I will cut the sleeve steeks, pick up and knit the sleeves, steek the front, and do the button bands and collar. I should be done right about when the weather hits 100 and a wool sweater is truly ridiculous. :D In other knitting news, I was reading the Purling Sprite's blog last week, and saw her announcement of her new endeavor - Loom Knitter's Circle magazine! I've seen the Knifty Knitter looms at my local AC Moore a few times, and thought about picking some up to play with them. Well, I looked at the magazine, and I thought about it, and then when Kris and I were at AC Moore on Sunday (he was picking up stuff to make a light diffuser and a reflector for his photography), I took the plunge. This is just the first thing I was playing with, getting an idea of how to use the loom and whatnot. I plan to keep playing with it. I don't think I'm going to be replacing my needles with looms permanently, but it's a different technique, and I'm glad to have it in my repetoire, along with crochet as an alternative for when I get bored with knitting.

I should say something profound...

... since I'm now a blogger with 200+ posts, but, yeah. Profound is not so much "me". Silly, yes. Full of ridiculously bad jokes, absolutely. But profound, nah. Aaaaaaanyway. I'm participating in the Sock Swap over on the Knittyboards, and the yarn I ordered for my swap pal Jenneke arrived yesterday. One of the advantages to getting (luckily) paired with someone who likes the same kinds of colors you do? You can order more than one and know that the one she doesn't pick, you will like! Case in point: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in "Steelhead" on the left, and "Juniper" on the right. Both great colors, and I think Jenneke will like them, but I wasn't sure from looking online which she would like better. So... I got both. And since I like them both, I'll happily add whichever she doesn't choose to the, um, kind of large (although not as large as some people's) sock yarn stash. So, Jenneke, what do you think? Steelhead, which has some bits of nice sagey green mixed with blues and greys, or Juniper, which is more aggresively green with dashes of blue and purple? The next question of course - which pattern do I make? Off to think about that! And Jenneke has spoken - the Juniper is hers!

I am so glad...

... that so many of you are amused by my father. I told you he was nuts. :D And yes, I've been working on the hat, but no, there will not be pictures until he gets it. I want him to be surprised. In other news, I promised pictures of the RAK that Ali sent me, and I finally have one for you. As you can see, the woman went crazy sending goodies to me! There is a pair of candles in "Asian Musk", which smells absolutely lovely, a box of Hazelnut Praline Godiva biscuit, a Godiva chocolate bar (72% EXTRA Dark with Almonds - woman knows me well!), a pair of Swarovski sheep magnets, which are too cute to be believed, a bar of Coconut soap (yummy!), a magnet that says "Ever notice how 'What the hell' is always the right decision?", and two hanks of Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton, in pale blue and a raspberry pink. Thank you, Ali!!! You are too sweet, and I meant what I said about hoping to meet you one of these days! I owe you a huge hug for this!! In other mail news, Mary, Mary had a little destashing goodie bag giveaway a couple of weeks ago. I joked with her that I thought about throwing my hat in the ring, but thought that I had plenty already. She told me to go for it, and tempted me with sari silk. Being the strong-willed type that I am, I completely caved. *blush* This arrived the other day: The aforementioned sari silk (10 hanks!) and a cloud of undyed mohair, which she thought would make a nifty throw dyed to coordinate with the sari silk and alternating the two. I am seriously considering that idea. Thank you Mary!!! Finally, yesterday's mail brought me the last package from the BMFA Rockin' Sock Club 2006. On the left, the December yarn - STR Lightweight in "Mustang Sally" - and on the right, my bonus skein for doing the full-year club - a hank of mediumweight "Rare Gems", what they call mistakes that they overdye to come up with something unique. I got a perfect skein for me - lots of greens with some blues and golds mixed in. I've really enjoyed the club, and I'm looking forward to next year! And I realized something today. Tomorrow is my two-year blogiversary. I started out over on LiveJournal on Dec. 18 2004, and moved to Blogger on October 10, 2005 so that I could play with the layout and stuff a bit more. (And no, I didn't move the first couple of posts over from LJ. They were completely lame.). It seems weird that I've been doing this for 2 years already!

Ketchup!

Or, if you prefer, "Catsup". :D Yeah, it's another catch-up post. And there are a LOT of pictures. If you're on dialup, you might want to go get some tea. Or possibly lunch. :D First, my overdue Fiber Stash Flash: Across the top, three silk hankies from MD Sheep and Wool. Below that, some lovely roving from my Knittyboard SP6 bylt, and some merino/tencel roving from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (also from MDS&W). The two giant balls of roving are ones I picked up at Springwater Fiber Workshop, and the little bundle in the corner is some Gypsy Girl silk I got at (all together now) MDS&W. So, yes. That's my pitiful fiber stash. ;) ETA: The "beach balls", as Avrienne so accurately described them, are 13 oz (orange) and 16 oz (purple) of fiber. I've got lots to spin there. :D Next, I want to show off the AWESOME handspun that Morgsarah sent me. This was my prize for winning her "Guess The Mystery Fiber" contest. Isn't it beautiful? (And how thankful am I that she didn't spin the actual mystery fiber - it was horse poo) I have to find something really awesome to make for myself from it - per Sarah's blog it's about 490 yards of sport/fingering weight yarn. I'm open to pattern suggestions! Courtesy of Nimrodel's blog post on her Patons SWS Fuzzy Feet, I was doubly inspired. I've wanted to check out that yarn for a while now, and I think I'm the last knitter alive who hadn't made Fuzzy Feet. Besides, Kris is jealous of the ones Turtlegirl sent me (Ack! I don't have a picture of them! Must remedy that!). So, Betsy and I picked up some SWS and knit ourselves silly while the boys watched football on Saturday. The result, post-felting: Fabulously mis-matched stripes and all! There's only one small problem. This stuff felts like a mofo, and these barely fit MY feet, let alone Kris's. So... back to Michael's I went. On the left, the new pair, which actually FIT him. I had to make them almost 20" long before felting them. They looked really, really silly. But they fit now, and he likes them a lot. It's hard to see in this picture, but the stripes actually matched on the second pair - completely by chance! Incidentally, I love the yarn, and I am going to use it again for sure. Possibly for more Fuzzy Feet for the family. And finally, what y'all have been waiting for - Stitches loot! Betsy and I had a complete blast. I had two great classes - The Joy of Steeks with Maureen Mason-Jamieson (LOVED her, LOVED the class, and no longer do I fear the big bad steek!) and Dive Into Design with the divine Fiona Ellis. And yes, I took my copy of Inspired Cable Knits and asked her to sign it, which she did. Yay! Seriously, though, if you have a chance to take a class with either of them, I highly recommend it. They were both lovely, and genuine, and REALLY good teachers. I can't wait to take more classes next year! We spent plenty of time at the Market (duh), both Thursday evening and Friday morning (having met up with Alice and Roxy and Lisa, who doesn't have a blog). We originally debated heading home after our classes on Thursday, but decided to stick around for the Victorian Lace Today fashion show and the Market preview, and I am really glad we did. Not long into the fashion show, we both looked at each other and said, "We are SO getting that book". We also got them signed by the very sweet Jane Sowerby, who was too funny talking to Betsy about the yarn she had picked up. (She was apparently slightly horrified that such a gorgeous green yarn would be called "Pond Scum". :D ) We checked out the Lisa Souza booth (Met her, loved her. She's really cool.), and the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth (Met Kaci - really fun), where we chatted in line with the two women in front of us, who were absolutely hilarious. So, you wanna see what I got? :D First - books (and patterns). Lucy Neatby's Sea Lettuce Scarf (we saw a woman working on one Thursday morning, and it's way cuter than the picture on the pattern shows), the Top-Down Sweater Unpattern (Recommended by a random knitter Betsy was chatting with while she ran to the Market to get a copy of Inspired Cable Knits to have Fiona sign it. I was looking for a good top-down idea for something for Kris), the aforementioned Victorian Lace Today, Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top (again, planning the project for Kris) and Cat Bordhi's Treasury of Magical Knitting and Second Treasury of Magical Knitting (I've wanted to check them out for ages, but can never find them locally. So, when I saw them and flipped through them, they came home with me.) The Lisa Souza stuff. Now, I see why people rave about her colors. Left to right, fingering weight in "Blue Spruce", Sock! Merino in "South Pacific", and laceweight in "Emerald City". I blame Betsy for that last one - she spotted it, and you knew I wasn't going to leave it there with that name! I did pick up one other thing there, but it's on its way to Turtlegirl at the moment. Hopefully, it will appear on her blog soon. Blue Moon Fiber Arts! Socks That Rock in "Fire on the Mountain", Seduction (merino/tencel) in "Puck's Mischief", and Sock Candy in "Prickly Pear". I was looking for STR in "Ruby Slippers" or "Emerald City", but no luck. Someday, they will be mine! Interestingly, when I talked to Alice Friday morning as we were heading in, she had just picked up some STR. In "Fire on the Mountain". Great minds think alike, I guess! Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk in 14 (the deep rusty orange) and 53 (the yummy tweedy purple). Inspired by a couple of patterns in Victorian Lace Today, Betsy and I both picked up some of this. It's really beautiful stuff. OK, this is a story. We left Habu and walked over to the Tess' Designer Yarns booth, where Alice was looking at a tag hanging next to some nondescript gray yarn. When we got closer, she asked us if we thought the tag said "Undyed alpaca, 50 yards, $3" or "Undyed alpaca, 150 yards, $3". We thought it looked like 150, but decided to check. We were right. That's right - 150 yards of DK-ish soft grey alpaca for $3!!! I bought 10. It's going to be something fabbo for me. More undyed alpaca, this from the Yarn Barn of Kansas, in a lovely malt color. It will be something for Kris (hence the looking for a top-down pattern). It's gorgeous, and so very, very soft. Also from the Yarn Barn, their Moriah laceweight. That, folks, is 2520 yards of undyed laceweight wool for me to play with. Hee. And finally, I found this silk scarf kit at the Fiberworks booth. The silver/turquoise combo just grabbed me. So, I grabbed it. :D And never fear, pr0n fans. Kris and I will be working this evening, and you'll get pr0n shots of all of this for the next couple of weeks, I promise.

I Blame the Knittyboards

For what, you ask? This: Seriously - if it weren't for the Knittyboard, I would not have known that Smiley's had discontinued Cotton-Ease for $1.99 a skein. OK, I guess I also have to blame Kris, because when I said something to him about a discontinued yarn that I like being available for about 60% off what it went for retail, he told me that I should stock up. So I did. Hee. That would be 20 skeins each of the 7 colors that Smiley's has. Yes - 140 skeins of Cotton-Ease. That should last me for a while. I figure once I decide what I am doing with all of it, I'll eventually swap some of what I am not going to use. In other news, I totally missed last week's "Does It Float" assignment for Blogstalking. The week just sort of got away from me. So, I am being better this week. Bezzie's son Chunky declared that this week, we should take pictures of our feet. So, here are mine, complete with fresh polish! Feet are strange. I find that people have very unique relationships with their feet. I've spent most of my life wearing cheap shoes from Payless et. al, and not thinking twice about it. I have a friend who has problems with her feet, so she tries to be careful about what shoes she wears (not that she doesn't wear cute shoes - she just buys ones that are better-constructed as a rule). Lately, I have become addicted to my Birkenstocks. I have three pair (brown Bostons, taupe Arizonas, and black Rios), and I have worn them almost exclusively since I got them. When I was born, my feet were misshapen. They turned in. I don't mean they turned at the heel and I was pigeon-toed, I mean that my feet actually bent about halfway between my heels and toes. So, for a while, I wore a brace on them. I don't remember it, obviously, but I think that there have been some long-term consquences from the brace. Most people, when they stand, put their weight on the pads of their toes. My big toes curl upward, so I actually stand on the knuckles of my toes. You can see what I mean in the picture to the right - I am not curling my toes. They just do that. Almost every pair of shoes I have has a little spot above the toes where my big toenail rubs against it. Plus, it is murder on pantyhose. (Yet another excuse not to wear them. Hee.) I have noticed, though, that the way my Birks fit seems to have lessened how much they curl. I'll be interested to see if that continues as I keep wearing them. Random thing from last weekend that has been bugging me. Thursday night, we went to see our friend Hillary in a dinner-theatre show. She is understudying at a production of "Beehive" at the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre south of DC, and she was guaranteed a certain number of performances. Thursday was her first, so we of course wanted to be there. If you aren't familiar with "Beehive", it is a revue-type show that focuses on female singers and groups from the 1960's. Through the show, each of the women in the cast takes on a variety of different roles. Toward the very end of the show, Hillary does a bit as Janis Joplin. Not an easy person to replicate, realistically, and Hill did a great job. After the show, we waited to say hello to her, and right before she got over to us, two women stopped her and said something. She looked a little puzzled, and when she told us what one of the women had said, we knew why. This woman (who didn't know Hillary from Adam), took the time to stop her to compliment her on the show, and then felt the need to add "Janis wasn't my favorite, though." WTF?!?! If you want to deliberately stop a performer to compliment them on a show, why the hell would you feel the need to criticize a portion of it? Honestly, I did community theatre for years, so I know that not everyone is going to enjoy every show. I'm ok with that. But really, unless you are an actual critic, why the hell would you feel it necessary to say something like that to someone who has just worked her tail off to entertain you? Grr. Other than that, still making progress on the Christmas knitting, along with a project for my CASP. None of which I can show here, of course. *Sigh*

Yorkie Day!

Yes, that's right - you need to be jealous - I got to spend yesterday with the Siress herself, knittyboard's own Yorkshire Gal. Which makes this the third week in a row I've spent hanging with a non-local Knittyhead, now that I think about it. Hee! I picked her up yesterday and we headed over to Capitol Hill, where we had a faboo lunch at Banana Cafe. It's just up the street from Stitch DC - if you haven't tried it, you must. I am forever grateful to stitchcounter for introducing me to it (and for several other things, but she knows what they are, and they don't need to be made public. *hug*). I had my favorite Ropa Viejas, and Yorkie had the Puerto Rican Piononos (I think I spelled those right, but if not, cut me a break - I took 6 years of French). After we ate, I ordered a Cuban Sandwich to take home for hubby's dinner because he LOVES them, and Yorkie and I each enjoyed a caipirinha while we waited. Yum! After lunch, we of course headed to Stitch DC, where we had a great time chatting with the always lovely owner, Marie, who was nice enough to take a picture for us. Yorkie picked up some gorgeous deep pink Jaeger Siena for a sleeveless cardi, and I found 9 balls of Rowan Linen Print in a color called "Cocktail". I have no idea what this yarn will be, but it was 40% off, and the color just called to me. I'm guessing tank of some sort. I'd almost consider another Ribbon X-Back, or something similar. (Oh, and yes, that is finally mine being modeled a little better than the Annapolis WWKIPD pic) Yorkie, sweetheart that she is, brought me a present - a bar of Green and Black's Maya Gold (YUM!) and a hilarious postcard that she picked up on her recent trip to Norway. It will have a place of honor by my computer. (Not the chocolate - that's getting eaten. Please - who are you kidding?) After I dropped her off, I came home just before the skies opened up once again and found TWO packages by my door. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw one sitting there (the other was inside the storm door), and I thought it might have been my KnitPicks needles. (Um... yeah... I finally ordered them) But when I looked closer, the side of the box said "Perishable". What on earth could it be? I looked at the label - the return address was Vosges Chocolates. Curiouser and curiouser! So, I opened the box, and the inner styrofoam to find two incredible-looking chocolate bars, and a note that read "Hi Pamela! Just wanting to share my favorite chocolate with you. - Your Summer Fling Pal". Wow! I couldn't believe it! On the left is a Black Pearl Bar (which of course made me smile just from the name, what with the POTC love in this house. You remember the socks, of course.) It is dark chocolate with ginger, wasabi, and black sesame seeds. On the right is a Oaxaca Bar (And something about saying "Oaxaca Bar" makes me think "Wonka Bar". I'm a dork.). This one is bittersweet chocolate with guajillo and pasilla chiles in it! Holy smokes! I cannot wait to try these! Thank you so much, Don'tPanicTrillian!!!! And the other box was my elann.com order! Some Connemara in "Cocoa", which will become the new Sizzle pattern from The Garter Belt, and some Esprit in Jade, which will be Mon Petit Chou from Knitty (once I size the pattern up a smidgen). You want pics? OK, here you go (click 'em if you want to see them bigger). Also, the Linen Print. Tell me that's not an awesome color. And for 40% off? It appears that most of the reason it was on sale (aside from being discontinued, I think) was that these balls were no longer neat and tidy, so people wouldn't buy them. The yarn isn't mangled at all, but there are some loose loops of the yarn on the outside. In actual knitting progress news, the Bombshell Tee has once again made it to the waist ribbing section. I think skipping the short rows was definitely the way to go, although I did tweak the front darts a little, because they were puckering and I wanted some extra length before the waist. So, I did them every other row, alternating with plain knit rows, but finishing with the same number of stitches. I am also doing some extra rounds of ribbing. I'll decide exactly how many once I try it on again. I reeeeally hope this is it for this top. I know I'm going to love it, but damn is it taking forever. And the Pomatomus socks are pretty much where they have been for a while now. Past the heel, one repeat done on the feet. If I get inspired, I could finish them fairly quickly, but the inspiration part is the problem. =) Hopefully, the postal gods will smile on me, and when I get back from the B&N SnB today my KnitPicks needles will be here. If they are, I'll brag about them here.

I'm Growing Gills

I swear it - if it doesn't stop raining around here soon, I'm going to sprout freaking gills. So far, we've been lucky and not had any actual damage (an advantage of not having a basement), but I'm just so very, very sick of rain and gray skies, and getting soaked every time I run an errand. Plus, the lack of decent light is kind of messing with the yarnography. On to happier things... a few weeks ago, Bryghtrose posted on the Knittyboards that she was going to be in the DC area, and wanted to know if any local folk wanted to meet up. I of course said yes, because I love to meet Knitty people. So, we made plans to meet for lunch and shopping at Stitch DC Georgetown. Then, while hitting the Woolwinder's 4th of July sale on Saturday, I got an email from Turtlegirl76. She was ALSO going to be in DC on Monday. So, the three of us met up and wandered around Georgetown looking for an open restaurant for lunch. Apparently, nothing in Georgetown opens until 11:30. Happily, there was a place called the Alamo Grille that was willing to let us come into the a/c (It was HOT) and sit until they were officially open. Our very friendly Russian waiter spent most of his time with us teasing us in one way or another (bringing us what we ordered, but saying the wrong this to mess with us, etc.). And then he issued us a challenge. I'll send you over to Turtle's blog for that story, since she's already got it up, and (unlike me) she remembered her camera. Post-lunch, we headed over to Stitch DC, where we all fondled much yarn and picked up some great stuff (pics in a moment). It was such a bummer saying goodbye to both of them - what awesome people! I really hope to get to hang out with both of them again soon! (Turtle is already threatening to snag Stephy and road trip up, to which I say, "HELL yeah!") And now for the pictures. I've had less than fabulous success getting good macro shots with my old digital camera (Kodak DC3400). It's a good overall camera, but just not that great at the macros. Well, when Kris's Dad passed away, his Mom gave Kris his Dad's Nikon Coolpix 5700. The flash doesn't work (which is apparently a common problem with them), so Kris was going to see about fixing it. Once he got his Digital SLR, though, he decided that he really didn't want to run the risk of totally breaking his Dad's camera. So, he decided that, since I don't want to use a flash for yarn pr0n anyway, the Nikon was perfect for me. I finally got to play with it a little this weekend, and oh. My. God. What a great camera. I'm now ashamed of what I used to consider a good yarn pic. I mean, who wouldn't be, when I can now take stuff like this (click 'em if you want 'em bigger): Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in "Maple Leaf" (left) and Dale Stork in #6 (right) - from the Woolwinder's sale, for socks (possibly something from the new Summer Knitty) and Orangina, respectively. Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille in "Bougainvillea" and "Mango" (left) and Artful Yarns Olympic in "Tokyo" (right) - from the Stitch DC visit, for some Weekend Knitting Reverse Bloom washcloths, and probably Pullover Flair from IK Spring 06. And some surprises: Turtlegirl brought me some AWESOME Kool-Aid Dyed KP Color Your Own sock yarn (GREEN!!!) and a cone of olive green and white cotton sock yarn from her score at the big mill sale she went to. And tucked in with them? A new friend! He's now hanging happily on my Sharpie mug, where he makes me smile every time I see him. Thanks, Cristi!!! And to prove I've actually been knitting - my Hush Hush is at about 20% complete - I'm past the bottom lace and the eyelet row, and am about 2 rows away from beginning the decreases. I love the way it is working up, and I think it is going to be really, really pretty when it is done. Of course, with 400 stitches per row on US1 needles, that might be a ways off just yet. Here's a closeup of the lace. Oh, and courtesy of Mintyfresh, who sent me a link to a free .pdf converter, my patterns are now available in an easy-to-print .pdf format! (links have been updated in the sidebar) Yay! Thanks, Minty!