Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Groundhog Weekend 2007





Hi there blog world,
I made it back from Pittsburgh safe and sound with a complete glut of fantastic yarn and my husband is worried that my lil hobby has become an obsession. He is rightfully worried......tho I do wonder why it took him this long?

The drive was easy peasy enough direction wise, going down the weather was absolutely dreadful. Apparently there were zillions of accidents, praise the Lord I was okay! Cold cold COLD! It got down to 20 below zero, bitter stuff.
Jessie is a dreamy hostess with a knitting focus that is stunning. Chubby decided I was okay, but was highly suspicious of me at first. "Who is this lady and WHY is she on my couch?" By the end of my visit she was happily playing with first my yarn and then some from her mums stash, and some circ needles she lifted off me. Very cute. That kid is one of the nicest little critters I've ever met. She sings quite well and made me miss my lil butternut at home. Dan was a trooper braving out into the cold to get us all take out, very very brave considering the insane temperatures. Finally met Jess's Big Daddy who she is always talking about with goosy lovin tones. I am constantly waremed by how she talks about her dad. Don't here that often you know? Her apertment was flipping cool!Seriously, that place had some space and all the architecture I saw while driving around had me in envy. Detroit let its cool homes get turned into slums, Pittsburgh kept so much class, even IN the crummier areas. Very impressed.
There is this one blanket Jess had me snozzled in on the couch that has literally invaded my dreams. Its this creamy Aran sampler blanket that a co-worker of Mr. Messie made when she heard they were getting married. 6 months that thing took! It's beautiful, its warm, its heavy......I need a twin of it. I am seriously dreaming about that creamy goodness.
However, my debit card needs a break as taxes hit this month and you can't rush the PERFECT yarn can you? When its time for me to make that bad boy, the wool will be found.
In the meantime, I have been diverted by the Mason-Dixon log cabin blanket pattern that has invaded the blog-o-shperes. Its hypnotic. First off, when Jess took me to the yarn barn I saw the Mason Dixon knitting book I'd been eyeing for awhile and decided that a vacation is a perfect time to buy said book. Well what good is a knitting book if you don't actually try a pattern?
So I flipped through unil that log blankie lookied up and me, and still being in the throws of the creamy blankie of goodness, I thought starting a blanket was an EXCELLENT idea. The below freezing weather may have played a part in this decision as well. So we went about promptly looking for 9 colors, one for the center and edging, and 4 cool an 4 warm tones. Mmmmmmm its really satisfying to get to change the colors every 9 rows.
My tote bag for the international tote exchange went swimmingly as well. The first night I got there I knit on that sucker for HOURS round and round and round. I absolutely love it. The striping, the subtle colors all through it. PHOAR. I'm putting bamboo handles on it and will honestly be heart wrenched to see it go. Apparently I'm a selfish knitter. Who knew? But I know it will be going to a knitterly home that will love it and care for it and recognize that it took about 20,000 stitches when all is said and done. Thats right, twenty thousand stitches done one at a time by my little hands. Eep!

So yus, Thank you Jessie, it was a brilliant weekend, incredibly satisfying and I would so totally do it again.



When its warmer heh heh heh

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