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April 27, 2006

No frogging for Tadpole

I decided that before I even seriously considered frogging, I should make sure the sweater was as small as I thought it was. I tried it on Tadpole.

It's plenty big. So no frogging. I'll just finish it quickly and try to take advantage of it on cool evenings and hopefully it will last her into the fall. Tadpole is a peanut, so I'm not so worried.

Posted by kate at 01:27 PM | Comments (50)

April 26, 2006

Trip wrap-up

In NYC, I went to the Yarn Connection, which is a store I really like and always used to go to when I worked nearby in Murray Hill. I used to drag Blossom there at lunchtime. I also went to the Wool Gathering (no site?) and drooled over some cashmere that was on sale, but still, sadly, way beyond what I should be spending on yarn right now - meaning it wasn't free. When I got to Purl the next day, I gave in and bought some koigu anyway. I love orange and rarely see yarns that are just the right orange. This yarn has about five just right oranges, plus pink and yellow. (innaccurate photo)

At the Point, I realized I was missing vital information I needed to work on Tadpole's sweater and I had nothing else to knit, so I succumbed to some Artyarns Ultramerino, bought some dpns and started making this sock. It was a knitting emergency. I had to buy it, right? It would have been rude of me to have the Point ball yarn bought elsewhere, no?

The stripes are turning out kind of funny. The two greens are pooling really badly, but I'm not sure it bothers me. As long as the second one is about the same... if I ever get to it. I'm pretending I don't already have a few socks on the needles elsewhere. At the Point, Regina was knitting with some Trekking XXL. I've been coveting this yarn for ages and admiring it on loads of people's blogs. I commented on it. She had an extra ball. She mailed it to me. This was in addition to the awesome toy and book she gave to Tadpole. I'm not worthy, but here's the yarn:

In Rochester, I went to the Village Yarn Shop (no site) which I just love. I can't even say exactly why. It's just one of my very favorite shops. I resisted buying about a million things and just exchanged that purple Dale Baby Ull I wasn't going to use for some circular needles I needed.

Here's the post-trip status of Tadpole's sweater:

I'm into the armhole steeks. And I'm thinking of ripping it all. My gauge isn't what I thought it would be. I'm getting more sts and fewer rows to the inch than I expected so it's skinnier and longer than I had hoped. Now that the weather is getting warm (the last couple days aside) I hesitate to finish this thing. Maybe I should just rip it all and start over bigger. Or maybe I should finish this one quickly and make a second... as if I have so much time. I hesitate to do either. What do you think?

Final trip data:
Yarn stores visited: 5
Yarn bought: 2 kinds, 2 hanks each
Miles driven: Lots
Songs sung to soothe a baby who's not used to riding in cars: countless
Fun had: loads

But that's not all - oh no. I am the blog hostess with the postess with the mostess to make up for my major lack of posting (very tired. very cheesey. very sorry.)
And because sock yarn seems to stick to me like glue lately, not to mention how lucky I am, Scout treated me to one of her hanks of handpainted, self-striping yarn. I'm going to use a solid for the toes, heels and cuffs to stretch it a bit further. I think it will be great.

And lucky you, she has opened an Etsy shop so you can get some too. Thank you to whoever bought the Targzay and Carnival yarns today. I was dying to do it. As of this post, there is just one leetle skein left.

Posted by kate at 08:46 PM | Comments (19)

April 25, 2006

By the dawn's early light

Oh say can you see? What's this pile of yarn mean? Victory. That's what. My triumph over unruly yarn, my stupid ideas and an impending deadline - and also that I have a valid excuse for not blogging recently (and neglecting housework). I know this is going to sound really weird, but I cannot wait to clean my house and do laundry tomorrow/today. Good night.

Posted by kate at 03:17 AM | Comments (9)

April 19, 2006

What I did on my spring vacation

Hey. Remember me? I'm back and I finallly got my act together to post. Here's a photo collage to show you some of the highlights of our trip.

From left to right and top to bottom: Meeting a new friend ♦ We became pros at changing diapers in the car ♦ Stylin' ♦ Hanging out with Tadpole's only "cousin" ♦ Tadpole's favorite form of transportation ♦ Evidence of spring ♦ Having lunch outside ♦ New York! ♦ Lovely yarn to match rockin' hair ♦ On the bus ♦ Shopping ♦ Knitting get together (Nipperknits Jen, Regina [very cool commenter] holding Squeeky, Blossom [bestest friend]) ♦ Meeting fellow bloggers for the first time (Mrs. Pilkington, Valentina holding Tadpole, Jackie Blue)♦ My daughter's hair matches my best friend's hair... weird. ♦ Orange boots and orange yarn - two of my purchases ♦ Snuggling with Nana. Not pictured: The lady I saw knitting in a PT Cruiser at a gas station just over the PA border, Connecticut, Schenectady, nursing stops all over the East coast.

Back to work. I'll resurface one of these days to tell you about the yarn shops I visited and the state of my projects.

Posted by kate at 01:25 AM | Comments (27)