Spent being the operative word. As in spent money. I didn’t really plan to go to any yarn stores on vacation. I have more yarn lined up for projects than I know what to do with. And my brain is about to explode with the ideas. But the man wanted to stop at a brewery he had visited a few weeks prior to pick up some of their “hop bomb” beer. And there was a yarn store right there! Unfortunately I could not buy anything at this store. They were having a knit-in of some sort and couldn’t be bothered to greet me at all. Although I did get some dirty looks. And just to make sure they wouldn’t get any of my money, they had photocopies of knitty patterns for the taking. Which is a big knitty no-no. (Yes, I reported them).

So I thought I was safe. I didn’t need any yarn anyhow. Until I got to the hotel in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. There was a free magazine in the lobby. Do you know what was on the cover of the free mag? A yarn store! It was fate. And the store was only a few miles from the hotel. So I went there, praying for a better visit. I was not disappointed.

Klose Knit is fabulous. It’s an old converted house, and it’s beautiful and cozy and welcoming. They were having a knit-in and they invited me to sit and knit. The owner walked me around to show me things. They even offered me pastries if I didn’t have time to stay.

So I had to buy just a few things.

And then she mentioned she had Malabrigo Sock in Light of Love, which I can never get my hands on. Apparently I can’t photograph it either, but it’s going to be perfect for my 3-Day Breast Cancer Fundraising Shawlette that I’m designing.

So I was happy. The good yarn store balance had been restored. I had such a lovely time at Klose Knit. If you’re in the area – or a reasonable drive – you must go! And I was happy in my yarnie world. But then I did a little google search. And there was another yarn store in the area. This one even closer to the hotel. So I left the menfolk in the room and decided to make a quick trip over.

Needleworks has more buttons than I’ve ever seen in one place. I found the perfect buttons for a sooper seekrit project. They have a huge store. With sweater quantities and more of all sorts of gorgeous yarns. The yarn above is made for dyeing, but I thought it would be perfect undyed for a winter shawlette or capelet. Oh and did I mention it’s baby llama? It’s luscious!

Oh and they were having a knit-in too! Everyone said hi and was super friendly. They do a potluck on the day I was there and invited me to stay for lunch! I wish I could have, but I spent an hour picking out perfect buttons, so I had to run!

So now, things are even better. One very bad yarn store, two really wonderful yarn store experiences. I was good. I needed no more. But then the non-knitter we stayed with on the way home recommended a store. She doesn’t even knit and she recommended it? I had to go!

River Wools is also just fantastic. The lady at the counter was lovely and welcoming – showing me around and helping me find stuff. They had tons of gorgeous yarns. Right in downtown Terra Haute, Indiana. I had a lovely visit while the menfolk were off buying square donuts – which were pretty darn tasty by the way!

So there you go. A 75% success rate. Three really wonderful yarnstores where they knew how to treat people and had delicious and beautiful yarns. So if you’re in the midwest, all three of these are worth a road-trip and convenient to some major highways. Three thumbs up!

Vacation was NOT an epic failure. We actually had a really lovely time. I was treated to many birthday dinners  and many birthday margaritas. I might have worn the birthday sombrero more than once. This summer’s vacation was the Grandparent World Tour. The boys got to see all their grandparents, including GGMa, who is their only living great-grandparent. It was a good trip. The driving went well and the boys were welcomed and spoiled at every stop.

While on vacation, naturally I was knitting. On one of those sooper seekrit projects that I can’t show you. But I can show you this:

Do you know what that is? It is an entire skein of Malabrigo Twist yarn which has been through a hot water wash and a full dryer cycle. It kind of looks like wooly blue brains. But wait, it gets better.

I was nearly finished with said object and had two skeins of yarn left that I had brought along. I was hoping to not have to break into them, but they were insurance, you know? My dear, sweet, lovely husband was doing laundry for us at my dad’s house. I was rolling the clothes back up to be placed in suitcases. When I pulled out the monstrosity you see above.

I might have cried a little bit, I might have screamed. I will not admit to threatening my husband’s life. Not yet. I was comfortable in the knowledge that I had a second backup skein. So I finished rolling up my half of the laundry and went back to doing some slicing for dinner.

That’s when he found the second skein – in the same state. And then I very calmly told my sister to take the knife away from me through gritted teeth. There is no photographic evidence that I pointed the knife at him all “Psycho” like. No one recorded the threats on his life and appendages. So as far as I’m concerned it didn’t really happen. And luckily for him I was able to finish the object without the 2 backup skeins. Very, very lucky for him.

Sometimes it all just comes together. I had a good idea, and Petite Purls had an upcoming submission deadline. And just to make it sweeter, a photographer friend of mine has the cutest little girl ever.  It was meant to be. See how cute?

Wait. She gets cuter. Look at those adorable little toes!

And just in case you have not yet succumbed to the cuteness…

What? You say that’s not cute. You don’t have a heart. Well even if you are heartless and the word “awww” never passes over your lips… this one will get you.

If you don’t think that’s cute, you might be dead. Have someone check your pulse.

Want to hear the best part of the cuteness parade? The kid is not for sale, but the pattern is FREE! Yes, free! So head on over to Petite Purls and make a Sourpatch top for your own cutie!

And if you’re local, and you need an amazing photographer you should check out Cayden Lane Photography. Lori Robinson is nothing short of fabulous!

I wish I could express how much fun I had. Or how fabulous my traveling companions were. Or how every knitter I met and talked to was gracious and kind and hilarious and fun. Really. It was like being in some sort of fabulous knitting commune where there is every color wool and cute waiters to bring you very expensive drinks and fabulous food and….

But I can’t do it justice in a blog post so I won’t try. I will say that the last time I left my boys for more than one overnight that did not involve work for me was approximately ten years ago. So it was long overdue.

Friday we left at 5am. Why 5am? Because that’s when the Starbucks by my house opens. We arrived at the hotel around 11 or so, got an early check-in and headed to market. Market is completely overwhelming. It’s like 100 local yarn stores crammed into one big space. So many choices. Hence over the course of three days I bought too much!

From the top row by row:
Row 1: Bag from Sweet Shrub Designs, and minis from Miss Babs
Row 2: KnitWitch sock yarn, and raffle prize from Miss Babs
Row 3: Bugga & Little Traveler from Sanguine Gryphon
Row 4: Laceweight from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks, and an Ashford Competition Lazy Kate from Carolina Homespun

Friday night was a Ravelry pajama party in the lobby. Snacks and drinks and knitting and contests. It was fabulous fun. Saturday night was dinner at Scalini’s – a wonderful Italian restaurant owned by KnitWitch’s dad.

The beds were comfortable, the hotel was gorgeous, the company was sublime. And I got to knit as much as I wanted and spend time with friends new and old. I can promise you I will go back next year. And if you weren’t sure about going, you should go. Definitely.

So I’m super excited – I’m going to Stitches South. Just for the weekend to visit the market and to hang out and have a girls’ weekend. I can’t remember the last time I’ve done this. Shoot, I think the last time I went out of town for the weekend without the boys was when they were babies. So I’m getting prepared.

Today I have a very long list of things to do. Cover up very grey roots, catch up on laundry, make sure house is tidy, pack all my stuff… We’re leaving at O’dark-thirty tomorrow morning. That way the man only has to take one day off of work to take care of the boys. I’m pretty sure what knitting I will be bringing. I also think I will bring my swift and winder, just in case I buy something that I cannot wait to play with.

Do you not *love* the cute Della Q pouch? It goes with my brand-new Della Q tote that I got to carry around at Stitches. I figured I needed something more tote-like and less purse-like. And the little pouch will hold my business cards and the cards for the LYS where I work.

Oh and I’m trying something new. I’ve been wearing makeup for nearly 25 years. And I’ve worn the same mascara the entire time. So when I hit the Publix yesterday and they had a sale on Great Lash I got very excited! But then I thought, I might branch out a bit, be adventurous, you know? So I got the Great Lash BIG. I imagine my eyelashes will look exactly the same as they have for the past 25 years, but I still feel very spontaneous.

If you’re gonna be at stitches, come say hey! I’ll be mooshing around wearing one of my shawlettes and carrying a big ole pink striped Della Q bag. Ooh, that reminds me, need to add finding my Ravelry name pin to my list of things to do today… Hope to see you there!

How many baths can a girl take in one day? I think this will be number four. Although I’m contemplating taking a shower, just so I can wash my hair. But then going to bed with wet hair seems like asking for trouble. But the baths are the only thing that soothe the coughing. For awhile after a bath, the coughing goes away, and I feel warm and toasty. And not like I’m going to expel my left lung at any given moment.

In other news I have a finished object to show from the other day. It’s too big to take a picture of in the lightbox, so I need to wait for sunlight. And today, with the sick, the sunlight just wasn’t happening. It’s a ruffly edged wrap done up in the gorgeous thick & thin cotton yarn – Maya by Takhi.  I will try to get a better picture tomorrow, but with the sudden sick the blog fodder is low, so there you go.

Oh and for those of you who asked, I’m 99.99% sure it isn’t the swine flu. When the boys got sick on Tuesday we went to the doctor and they tested them for flu. So I’m thinking it’s whatever they had. Not fun though. Too much coughing. I hope my version doesn’t last 4 whole days (and counting!). Yuck!

So I have been doing some stash enhancing lately. Working at a yarn store always helps with that. I basically have my pick of all the beautiful yarns there. So nice. And yes, I am spoiled, why do you ask?

But I have to space out the stash acquisitions, I need them as back-up for when I run out of blog fodder. Although I do have a plan for that. I’m gonna make myself do more swatching and show y’all more pictures of upcoming design work. I have goals y’all. Real goals. But onto the yarn!

First up, acquired through one of the swap boards. My good friends have been enabling me in that regard. “You have good stash”, they say. And I think, yes, yes I do. And then I offer up my stash and it’s gone! But I’ve gotten some awesome stuff in return.

This is Dream In Color Starry in the colorway In Vino Veritas. In Wine Truth. Don’t I know it. It’s a gorgeously twisted fingering weight with real silver flecks in it. It would be perfect for a Gaenor or an Argante. But I don’t knit things twice, so it will be for something new I design. Because it’s just that beautiful.

This was the very last skein of Plymouth Ecco Cashmere in the shop. Such a beautiful undyed color. And I already have another skein of it. I’m thinking it might be fingerless mitts and a matching cowl. It’s so soft and lovely, and it just screams lace to me.

And finally the piece de resistance – Wollmeise. There’s a reason this is as crazy popular as it is. My dear friend ContinentalKim has made a career of obtaining Wollmeise – and has decided that sleep is unnecessary. Her crazy lack of sleep is my Wollmeise gain. Let’s just say this Barist O is not the only Wollmeise colorway I’ve obtained from her.

And while we are speaking of dear friends… it’s been one of those days. My boys are sick with some mystery ailment that is not the flu. They are on antibiotics and an obscene amount of ibuprofen & acetaminophen to control their fevers. I’ve been so stressed lately that my jaw is in a constant state of clench. But my friends are my saving graces. Always there to talk to me, to listen to me ramble, to have discussions with me when I’m losing my mind. To send me flickr pool links of the White House because they know my boys will love them, even though they themselves don’t love the Prez in rez. It’s the little things and the big things. And every single one of my dearest friends was brought to me through knitting. Every single one.

(Wow. The sappy introspective nonsense is starting early this NaBloPoMo. Sorry about that!)

It’s a local yokel sort of day. We’ll be meeting at the Riverside Arts Market around 11am for lunch, knitting, spinning, goofing, shopping, and whatever else you want to do. If you’ve not been to the RAM, you’re missing out. They have arts, crafts, produce, fresh baked bread, fresh pastas, all manner of delicious lunch food and interesting products from tons of indie proprietors. It’s a can’t miss!

So come and meet-up with your fellow fiber fiends and have a good day. I know it’s gonna be hot, but it’s cooler under the bridge and we will be down by the river where it’s the coolest.  Cool river breezes and plenty of good company and good food. The storms won’t be coming in until tonight, so we’ll be safe! Also we might be field-tripping over to A Stitch In Time afterwards to see what kind of new stuff is out on the shelves!

Tired. So tired. So ready to sell the dog. Anybody want a quiet lazy beagle? Because oh my sweet cheesy pete. I don’t want to scar my children by killing the dog, but I am not loving the dog right now. Last night he was up all dang night long. Running back and forth up and down the hallway. Whining to get out of my bedroom, whining to get in. Scratching at the windowsills. Running around in circles. Licking his you know what really loudly. I did not get more than 30 minutes of consecutive sleep all night. It was bad. And tonight when I got home from work my husband was cleaning up dog doo. Again. What is with this psychotic dog?

So I basically did some sort of chipper sleep-walk through my day working at the LYS. Fortunately I really love it and the people I work with and for. So it wasn’t bad. But I did some pretty ugly yawning. You know the kind where your entire face stretches out and your chin is the size of Jay Leno’s and you realize too late that you forgot to cover your gaping piehole… Yeah. That kind of yawning.

But it’s ok. Because soon I am going to bed and I swear on all that is holy that if the dog acts up tonight I will lock him in the bedroom with the man, don earplugs and sleep on the couch. And although I love, love, love working at the LYS and helping people, I’m also kind of partial to this stuff…

Three skeins of Dream In Color Baby in the Spring Tickle colorway. I see a sheer cardigan in my future. Oh yes I do. (It kind of matches my peppers from yesterday, no?)

And this just screams shawlette to me. Something interesting, maybe with bronze and/or hematite beads. Ooh, maybe I’ll go crazy and add both!

But like I said, sleep-walking through a day at a yarnstore isn’t all bad. And hey, if I yawned in your face, I’m so sorry! I am normally much more polite. But I really was that kind of tired. And on that note, I’m hitting the hay.

I’m turning into a curmudgeon. (And a non-blogger, but I’m trying to remedy that.) I’m getting older. I  try to listen to current music and very rarely do I find any of it worth my time. And I find myself thinking (or worse saying) things about “back in the day”. It’s pathetic. And when I’m honest about it, I don’t really love the music of my day. I love the music of my father’s day. Of my grandparents’ days. I love 70′s rock, and 60′s motown. I love the standards and Peggy Lee and Tony Bennett. My young adult days produced such classics as Whoomp -There It Is, and Rico Suave’, and OPP.  Yeah. But today we are actually talking about OPP.

Other People’s Patterns.

I’ve been designing for a good chunk of time now, and it seems I’m always working on my own stuff. Never anyone else’s. Sure I buy the mags, and even the pdf downloads, but I never seem to actually knit them. My designing mojo has been missing lately, so I started off by picking back up this – Elsewhere by Amy Swenson. It’s coming along. I’m nearly done with the back of it, and then I will add the side panels and the sleeves.

And then I fell in love with the Heather Hoodie Vest from the most recent Knitscene. And I realized of course that I would get way more wear out of it as a sweater, so I grabbed two more skeins of yarn and I’m rocking and rolling on it. And I love it!

So of course since I am actually doing well working on some patterns that aren’t mine, my mojo has returned. Bringing with it two tight deadlines that I really want to meet. So I need to put the sweaters aside and focus. But I think I’ve figured out how to reclaim my mojo should it hide again.