S C O R E ! ! !

This yarn has become almost as hard to get as Wollmeise or non-sexist Disney movie. But there it was, newly arrived, when I stopped in to Knit Purl for the first time in months. We're having a bit of a rough day here at Chez Dils, what with my husband's job ending out of the blue and all, so a little retail therapy was in order. Ill advised, maybe. Good for the soul, definitely.



My plan for the yarn is the obvious: the Kauni cardigan of Yarn Harlot fame. Although I really like how all the geometric versions have turned out, and with Ravelry perusing the permutations is quite educational, I am not squarishly inclined. The Damask is more up my alley, and knowing this I long ago went about charting the design. Check out this photo from a fellow Raveler - she's my inspiration.



That very small part of me that isn't very good and sometimes does twisted and uncool things has contemplated posting a Microsoft Excel file of the Damask chart I made. I wonder how fast Dale of Norway could get a Cease and Desist letter into my mailbox? But that is just evil of me, isn't it.

At Least The Tracker Knows

'Cause the USPS just flubbed my latest yarn order.

Most of the time, I buy yarn two places: my LYS when I really need a fix or want to get larger quantities of something basic, and a variety of online sources. Whatever the varietal, the majority of online yarn stores (OYS's?) have the ability to let me see where my package is after the conduit has picked up the actual box. I find this a great source of comfort because I can watch as my package gets closer and closer, know all the time that a yarn fix is coming my way. There hasn't been a single hiccup thus far.

Today, my latest order went to Oregon City from Seattle. For those of you not familiar with Oregon geography, that package whizzed past my exit and headed about thirty miles further south. For the first time ever, the USPS tracker says "mis-shipped". Oi. Is it possible to give a big whistle and get those folks turned back around and headed out here with my yarn? We'll see what happens next.

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In just over a week, my son and I board an airplane for the East Coast, with hub following a few days behind. Agenda: hang with BF and her munchkins, visit in-laws and various relatives, get a tan. April is another one of those months that always seems to pack in the to-do's and this year is the epitome of that rule. I have a new volunteer group to train for all month long, we spend a week and a half on vacation, then we move house on the final weekend. Did I mention the Harlot is coming to town on the 22nd and I've been putting together a group from the Bee?

So I'll see you all more in May, is what I think I'm saying.

Battle-weary

Whe-yal. Wollmeise stalking at The Loopy Ewe was a total bust. All that perfectly good computer time wasted on hitting refresh every five minutes or so. Last time, I was bugged because the servers were too slow. This time, I'm bugged because the new dedicated server worked so well that even though I checked for the Sneak Up at 7:30 am to find nothing, I had totally missed out by 7:40 am. Arg. Maybe I should try stalking Blue Moon instead.

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Morrigan, my obsession. (Do N.O.T. google "Morrigan", you will not find a knitting pattern.) You're driving me bats. I want very badly to knit you up, but your requested yarn it just not my cuppa. Rowan Calmer? My skin may not enjoy a direct association with wool, but my pocketbook has a much more powerful aversion to bankruptcy. (Go do the math - the smallest size of this pattern calls for 2000 yds of Calmer. That small a sweater wouldn't fit my right thigh.) Even in Cotton Fleece, you're still a tad painful.

But wait, there might be an answer.

Morrigan, will you let me try a smaller yarn? A lighter, though less skin-friendly, (and much cheaper) yarn? Delphinium, perhaps. Or Lazurite. The bounce and bloom of a tightly wound sport weight wool might just do the trick.

Hey, is that a leftover ball of Telemark in Delphinium loitering in my stash waiting to be swatched?

petme, smellme, loveme

My lazy arse can't think of a good reason to post, and now that Ravelry keeps track of my stash and projects, my blog has lost it's form and function. However, as this week there is a new Sneak Up of Wollmeise happening, maybe it's time to get my little problem out in the open. You see, I have joined the bandwagon.

If you dumped my whole stash in the middle of the living room floor for a good look, you would notice several things:

1. That is a LOT of sock yarn.
2. Do you like bright colors, or what?
3. Hey, what's this...

"This" would be 4 skeins of Wollmeise's hand-dyed loveliness. I don't have more than two skeins of any other dyer (that's a lie, she has 4+ full skeins of DIC Smooshy). More than quantity, though (which isn't totally out of control. Y.e.t.) the glorious colors of this highly popular yarn peek right out of the mess in the middle of the room to say "hiya, petme, smellme, loveme". Srsly, I've heard them do it.

Sheri, the most benevolent enabler ever, has done us all a favor and fed the obsession with a little light perspective (Ego, knockitoff) in her latest Loopy Limelight, seen here.

I, for one, will be doing a lot of laptop time this week scouting for that new shipment of Wollmeise. It will go very, very fast. Not that I need more. But hey, what's an addiction without a little irrationality?

Grape Gonzo

Whah! Done. Finito. Yay!

I finally finished the Pi Are Square shawl I started last year in February. Now I know the true meaning of boredom AND biting off more than I can chew.

For my next feat I will post with actual knitting, and actual pictures. There might even be an Amy Butler Sweet Life bag lurking in the background.

*Big Fat Grin*

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. I've only got two hibernating single socks in my WIP bin. I'm feeling very proud of my own self-control.

I Can Haz A Very Good Laugh

Nuff said.

Still With The Not Knitting

Last year, BF and I set ourselves up on Etsy and promptly did nada with our storefront. Okay, so she was busy having a new baby and I was at work all the bloody time. We posted 3 items, and didn't really check back. Until now.

I had forgotten how hard it is to design jewelry! Satisfying work, but much more about the aesthetic than knitting socks usually is. As my primary material of choice are Delica Seed beads, and I have no real training, I probably have more trouble because of my lack of experience than because of anything else.

The above photo was taken toward the end of attempting to get flattering photos that showcased the color and also the sparkle of the beads. Arg. I think I took in the neighborhood of 50 photos with a wide variety of arrangements and came up with five or six usable shots. I think I've heard that this is par for the course. Drat.

So, I may or may not be putting up new items in our humble little shop. I am trying, and I have some apparrel ready to be photographed and posted, but I think the jewelry end will be slow going. I love making shiny things, but I just don't think I'm very adept as of yet.

Oh yeah, and the DIC Shrug is blocking and waiting for seaming and edging. Woot! Photos to come. Of me. Wearing something I made. That isn't a sock. Woot?