Weekend, Part II

I've already said there was no knitting last weekend - but did you honestly think that meant no YARN??!? Before we left on Friday, I scoped out the yarn store options in Moorhead, MN. Turns out there's this awesome store, called The Knitty Gritty Cafe. It is, in fact, a cafe as well as a yarn shop. It's BEAUTIFUL. See for yourself:



One of the store's employees is an artist, and her work is all over the walls of the shop. Plus, there's yarn everywhere (see that lamp in the far right of the picture) - including the bathroom! (don't worry it's not for sale, just decoration)

It's a pretty compact store, but don't let that fool you - there were a bunch of things in this store I've never seen before, such as: Mango Moon Mohair and something called Bali Sky, and another one that's like hand-dyed strips of t-shirt; Ironstone Yarns of many fibers and hues; patterns by Lucy Neatby; and all kinds of smaller brands whose names I can't recall (I should have taken notes!).

The store was super friendly as well - I had a nice chat with Tricia, who was working that day. I also talked to these ladies, who knit but who were actually in for a coffee! Plenty of space to sit, knit and enjoy a latte...



...so if you're ever in Moorhead, check out The Knitty Gritty Cafe! And now, for my goodies:



I knew indigirl had patterns, but this was the first yarn store where I've seen them. If you can't make it out - the bag has a houndstooth pattern on the front and back. The yarn is Ironstone Yarns Harmony - again, never seen it before, but Tricia says it's great for felting. It's reasonably priced and soft, so I got enough for the purse and some in a beautiful heathery dark teal/navy (in the foreground). I'll let you know how it works out.

So that was my weekend. Now that I'm back all I can think about is the next time I'm going away - we are going on our honeymoon a week from Saturday! I'm very excited. Anybody have any yarn store/alpaca farm-type recommendations for Seattle or Portland/Oregon Coast? Let me know! Later y'all...

Things I learned this weekend

1. Floating in a swimming pool is truly relaxing.


2. Lots of people, not just knitters, like handknit dishcloths.


3. Marriage, if done right, really does give you a second family.

I spent the weekend with my husband’s dad’s family in Minnesota. I spent two days with almost no internet, knitting, email or watching TV – that would never happen at home. Instead, I hung out with my new relatives, drank margaritas, played in the pool, and just generally relaxed. It was a wonderful and unique weekend.

Stay tuned for more about my trip.

P.S. July

Thanks, everyone, for the kind birthday wishes! They were a nice surprise and very much appreciated. It's been a busy year, what with the moving, job search and new job, wedding planning and wedding. After all that, I plan to focus on relaxing this year. :)

The Norah Gaughan lace hoodie is in time-out right now. I just don't have the heart to try the lace-flipping again for a little while! I've already ripped out my mistakes at least three times.

So I decided to work on a quicker project, and bust some stash:



The lovely Bonne Marie's Ribby Shell! And in a snappy lavender color to boot. The yarn is Classic Elite Provence, purchased from last year's Webs Anniversary Sale. If you've never knit with this yarn - run out and track some down...it is so beautiful. You know how when you use fabric softener on your clothes, and they come out of the dryer all soft and cushy feeling? That's how this yarn feels when it's knit up (although it feels pretty normal in the skein). It's multi-plied so it evens out your stitches too. The only bad thing is that it retails for $12.50 a skein - ouch! Maybe Webs will put it on discount again.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Thanks again for the good wishes - here's to another great year.

July 8

July 8 was my birthday! And it was indeed a kick-a$$ birthday.

It started on Friday with a surprise delivery of flowers, and Garrett's Caramel Crisp popcorn - my favorite treat and a Chicago tradition!


I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure on Saturday morning. So relaxing! I now have hot pink toes. Later in the day, my husband and I did something I've always wanted to do: we went to afternoon tea. Check out these treats!


They really did taste as good as they look...wow.

Lest you think the day was over, we had dinner at a great authentic Mexican restaurant called Maiz - they have been written up as having the best margaritas in the city! So being a 'rita lover, I had to check them out. See for yourself:

The food at this place is wonderful - so fresh and flavorful, as well as reasonably priced. We had chicken with mole, and lots of other things whose names escape me now.

A few months ago, I found out that my favorite musical artist was going to be in Chicago on my birthday! So naturally I had to go. Her name is Nanci Griffith - and the fact that she was headlining the Chicago Irish Fest did not stop me from seeing her! (yes, you may chuckle) Actually, the festival thing worked in our favor - the tickets were only $8 for a nearly two-hour performance. Later we waited by her tour bus, in the hopes that we could meet her and get her autograph - I did get her autograph (her manager took my liner notes - and Sharpie - to her on the bus), but didn't get to meet her. Anyway, it was still a special moment!

So that was my day. I'm 31 now! Wee.

No knitting progress, as I keep screwing up the flipping lace. (Flipping as in minor curse word, as well as the maneuver where the lace flips from one side to the other to go up the other half of the sweater's front.) Hopefully I'll get the rhythm going again soon.

Later, y'all! Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Challenge: Week 4

I missed doing a week 3 update, so it's week 4 now. I'm doing pretty well on the sweater, but it's pretty clear that the pieces won't be done in four weeks. Here's where things stand:



On the left we have the back with two sleeves on top (2nd sleeve is nearly complete), and to the right we have 50% of the front. You can see the part where I flip the lace to go the opposite direction; unfortunately, the ribbing for the other side of the front is on the wrong side, so I have to frog back. I did what I thought the directions told me, but - as Elizabeth pointed out - the RS becomes the WS, and vice versa, so I'll have to read them again in that light.

I still think that had I not had two weeks of work from H-E-doublehockeysticks, I could have at least finished the knitting in 3-4 weeks. But I'm still proud of my effort, and even more proud of my stick-to-it-iveness: this is the only thing I've knit on in the last month! I never have that kind of focus, so it's been refreshing. I should try being a 'one-project woman' more often.

Have a great weekend, everybody! I have some special activities planned for Saturday ...more on that later.

Oh, and P.S. - y'all know Webs? Well, they have launched a full line of yarns under the name Valley Yarns, and it's similar to KnitPicks in that they source them direct from the mill and sell them for low low prices. And Webs is a great company - family run, community-minded...very cool. Check it out!

Saturday

Today was all about me! I had a great day being on my own schedule, doing what I wanted to do for as long as I felt like. The best thing I did today was go to the Marimekko exhibit at Illinois Institute of Technology. There was a brief period in my life in high school when I wanted to be a textile designer – so this was a great thrill for me.

I knew a little about Marimekko, but I learned a lot at the exhibit. The vision guiding the company came from a woman, Armi Ratia. In 1949, her husband bought a company called Printex that made plain old cotton fabric. In order to help market the product, she hired young designers to design new prints for the fabric and make a small collection of clothing from them. Beginning with a 1951 fashion show of these designs, Marimekko was born.

I’m no historian – so go here to read more about Marimekko’s history. Unfortunately, the exhibit doesn’t have a catalog – so that’s the best I can do. For Chicago folks (or visitors! come visit!) - the exhibit will be open until July 28.

I've made a set on Flickr of some of my favorite images from the exhibit. Enjoy the feast of color!

Up next in 'day of me' day activities: Tivo'd episodes of Knitty Gritty.