Ha! I have a post!

Dear Laura:

Yes, I know. You thought I had been given a "Beach Knitting Around the World" trip for my birthday, and would not be heard from until all the wool had been knitted into little hats with grains of sand in the brim and paper umbrellas instead of pom-poms on top. (It was what I was hoping for....)

Nope. That's not it. Just had a weirdly busy week, but that's the way it goes! (Maybe next year....)

I did take a road trip to Indianapolis last Saturday, so I guess there has been travel - and there was knitting included, so it's kind of the same. (NOT!) Lora and I drove down, and our first stop was the Mass Ave Knit Shop. This place is incredible - there is TONS of yarn there. It is actually one of the larger shops that I've been in. They have an enormous selection of yarns. Lora was looking for (and found!) some Crystal Palace Chenille yarn to make some face clothes. She also bought some lovely green Cascade 220 to make a scarf with.

This yarn store has a huge room with 4 or 5 big tables in the middle for classes. Around the perimeter of the room, there are tables full of sale yarn. Yes. Yarn Heaven. An entire sale ROOM! They had some great stuff there, I was tempted by some Rowan Denim, and several other yarns, but I was strong. (Tip: When going on a trip where there will be yarn, only bring enough money to pay for food. Then you can choose - yarn or food? And if you choose yarn, you're at least limited to your food money and can't buy 10 skeins of that $15 yarn, even if you REALLY want to!)

My goal on the shopping trip was actually house-related. I had been collecting scrip (and gift cards) and saving to buy 2 bar-stools for the counter in the kitchen. I'd gotten 2/3 of the way there, and so I started to ask for gift-cards for Christmas. Then I sat down and looked at the room. I realized that I had lived there without the bar stools for 2 years, and I really didn't want them anymore. I don't think they would really get used very often, and they would block the traffic flow there. So, I decided to stop the collection and pick up some other things that I needed.

I found these really great sheets - they have just the right color for my bedroom.
I love the color in my bedroom/bathroom, but it can be tricky to find that shade in linens. I also picked up a vegetable steamer pan - mine had fallen apart some time ago, and a few other small items. Including 2 of these dish towels.
I can't resist the cherry vintage-look!

I knitted up the scarf for the store sample using the seven-color yarn that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I really liked it - just a garter-stitch scarf with a ruffle on each end on a 7mm needle. The yarn itself is kind of a knitted tube, and I had to be careful not to snag it with the needle tip, but it went really quickly. I dropped the scarf off at Cass Street today - Sandy really liked it, so that's worked out well! Except for being a bad blogger, I forgot to get any pictures!! (Chalk it up to old age - I'm 28 now, you know!)

I did make this hat for a co-worker. Lauren knitted up a pair of Fetching, so I used some of her yarn to do a "fetching" brim, and then finished the hat in 4x1 ribbing, using the Dream Colors yarn that we got.
Angela is working on a matching scarf, then we'll give her the set.

I don't have any progress on the lady-bug sweater sleeves, and very little on the pink/brown blanket. But I have this weekend yet before the end of the month, so there is hope!

I'll try to post more this weekend, including February knitting goals. I'm going to leave you with this picture of my computer monitor at work. Cubicles get decorated for birthdays around here. They were quite creative tho (yo! Lauren!) and they HID the decorations in my drawers, under my keyboard, under my cup..... I loved the foam-flower-stickers tho, so as I discover them, I've been moving them to my monitor.

I'm told that I have not yet discovered them all!

Keep knitting!

Cynthia (aka Designated Knitter)