the first day

i’ve knit him 2 scarves and a pair of fingerless mitts.

the first scarf i knit him was with yarn of his choosing and he loves, loves, loves it. it’s okay. i would have NEVER picked that yarn and never have picked it for him. the 2nd scarf i knit him he likes and i LOVE. the fingerless mitts i knit him because he hardly ever wears gloves or mittens and i thought they would be very practical for him. and they are. he likes them. wears them a lot. has had them i think two seasons now and i can hardly believe he hasn’t lost one of them yet.

he’s been with me to knitting shops countless times.

sometimes he looks around at the yarns on the shelves. sometimes he observes the shoppers and store owners and then gives me a report about the “feel” of the place when we get back in the car. sometimes he follows me around and looks at what i’m looking at. sometimes he brings a book. sometimes he sits and sends text-messages back and forth to our son. (“yeah, I’m at the knitting store with Mom…”) sometimes he finds an interesting store a few doors down and comes back to meet me.

all depend on where-in-the-world we are.

this saturday i needed to go to the LYS. had to pick up some “washable wool” for this little secret project. a favorite Mexican joint of ours is on the way so i asked him if he wanted to make a little trip of it.

i had a great promo coupon from the store and a bit of an exchange also, soooo just like some $ in my pocket. found my needed items and then was doing some browsing. i don’t know where he was, i had lost track of him. pretty soon he came up behind me to point out the man’s knitted sample sweater in the window. said he like the yarn it was made out of, but maybe not in that color. i looked over at him and asked, would you be interested in me knitting you that sweater? and he turned to me and said, “well actually, if you were going to knit me a sweater i found a pattern over here that i like” (pointing to a turn-style filled with patterns) “and i don’t really like that color but i do like that yarn”. “could it be knit those yarns over there”? (pointing to a wall of yarns that would be great, and in all amazing, tweed colors).

that guy had been SHOPPING!!!!!

we left with a pattern and yarn for a sweater. oh, and i like it too! thank God….because knitting a scarf that’s not your 1st choice is one thing, but a whole sweater…………..

one of my favorite places to visit on my trips to New York and one of my favorite places to visit on the internet.

www.purlbee.com

you must stop by their site today.

i’ve knit with a lot of different yarns. i have a lot of favs. but if i had to choose just one, just one to knit with for the rest of my life. if i was going to be stranded on a desert island. if i needed to produce a knitted item i could be sure of…proud of and love forever.

it would be knit with Manos del Uruguay Yarn!!!!!!!!!

and

i have 2 large baskets, filled to the top, sitting at my feet as i write this, with new skeins priced and ready to go tonight to Art 4 Soul.

it’s the #1 best seller at my little yarn shop.

sometimes for knitting inspiration you just need more yarn. a trip to the yarn shop. touching, feeling, smelling that wool. dreaming of all the things you can knit. looking at all the beautiful colors. simply owning more yarn is all you want sometimes. 

it can be very satisfying. ask a knitter, they’ll tell you.

but sometimes you need not to fill those nooks and crannies with more fluffy balls. you need to line those shelves with more books about knitting.

because….when you are not knitting….what are you doing???? you are reading about knitting. ask a knitter, they’ll know.

i bought 3 new knitting books this week. let’s talk about them.

Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman  yeah…that tracey ullman. she knits!  she was on Martha Stewart to promote her book, i would say she was on the show knitting, but poor martha couldn’t get her to settle down. it was a bit like when Robin Williams was on the show.  in the book there are some funny stories, great pixs and ideas and surprisingly there are some really great patterns. if i had to pick 3 fav patterns they would be: the House Slippers, the Witches Britches, the Mouse Family, and the Pimlico Shrug.  oh..that’s 4, well this is a really great book!

next up….Yarnplay by Lisa Shobhanna Mason (she’s a blogger http://wild_deer.typepad.com) this book is all about yarn and color and lisa says don’t be afraid of mixing the two.  her patterns are basic and simple but her yarn choices are what really make this book different. if i was choosing favs here they would be based on the yarns and the 3 favs would be: the Clutched Handbag with Peace Fleece Yarn, the Lorelei Tank Top with 2 different Noro Yarns, and the Edie Asymmetrical Cardigan with 2 different Lorna’s Laces Yarns.  check out the book and Lisa’s site, Eye Candy!

finally…Greetings from Knit Cafe’ by Suzan Mischer. that girl is living my dream!!! she chucked it all, never looked back and opened a yarn shop…and on Sunset Blvd. if nothing else, stop by the bookstore and read the forward someday! the book cover is yummy, tasty. the pixs inside, fun and hip. and the patterns are by staff and knitters from the shop. (a few of them are bloggers i’ve followed). again, if i had to pick 3 favs they would be: the Canyon Hiking Socks, the Lala Scarf, and the Pom Pom Awning (it could be a curtain, okay i’ve really lost it, who has time to knit a curtain).

well, back they go to my bedside table. i need them there at night, when my head hits the pillow and my hands are too tired to knit but my brain is not ready to stop. it’s sort of like knitting in my head….getting ready for that next project and next project and next project and nex………..

treated myself to a Sparkling Izze at Starbuck’s today! yummy….

put out the scarecrow and the fall flag and brought in some geraniums, rosemary and ivy today….

found objects at the back of the closet during cleaning this week: 1st born’s jazz, dance shoes, shin guards, soccer socks and pom-poms….(yeah, it’s been awhile since i’ve been all the way to the back of that closet)

finished knitting ANOTHER pair of socks…

hubby brought me 6 amazing pieces of sea glass from his work trip this week to San Juan….(yeah, he gets to travel there to paint in a Gap store, weird huh?)

snowed here this week for 5 minutes! but i guess that’s no big deal. friends and family had inches!

speaking of Gap…maybe we should all go out this week and help Bono and Friends and buy “something RED”.

have a good weekend.

don’t get me wrong, i love shoes but i have the most difficult time finding the right ones.

really, i just hate to shop…..

i do…i hate shopping….but i love finding stuff.

send me out for anything, anything and i can pretty much bet you that i will not be able to find the NEEDED item.

but take me shopping for nothing, just shopping for the fun of it….watch out…i will FIND more stuff i need, tons of stuff in my size, great deals, things that will match other things, gifts for other people, you name it.

i’ve been looking for the perfect pair of brown boots for the fall season. i had not seen them anywhere but in my head (that was probably the 1st problem). you know the ones…they had low heels, if any, they’re not tight, i could wear them with skirts, maybe some handknits leg-warmers or “toppers” poking out.

just when i had given up i saw them!!! in the J.Jill catalog—-well, all was not good. they were on back order, then back order again and yet again. the people from J.Jill kept emailing me with a new, later date. Sundance catalog has some boots that fit the bill but i don’t want to pay, i think it was $230.00. finally i decided, I NEED SOME BOOTS—TODAY! so i did not allow myself to leave DSW without boots.

i love DSW because you can scan that place in 2 seconds, which i did, and declared that there were no boots for me. but i NEEDED boots today so i decided to have a further look. i tried on 3 pair that could work and did come home with a pair that i must say, will work. but they are not the boots that were in my head and because i’m not a footwear designer and i can’t knit boots……..booties but not boots, these will have to do.

it’s officially cold here tonight, i think i will wear my new boots with a jean skirt to work tomorrow.  oh…i did FIND a few other things at the mall too  :)   well, what were you expecting?

things i’m lovin’ right now….

wearing scarves almost everyday, i think i might enjoy them more than sweaters and i have more handmade scarves than sweaters.

Pom iced tea in the very cool re-usable tall glasses. i now have a set of six.

my longer hair. scrunchies, headbands and ponytails. not having to wash my hair everyday. (did you see Friends with Money?!?! i’m way over 40 and what is it about the hair thing?)

knitting socks….go figure….i can’t get enough.

honey-crisp apples.

nesting at work. i’ve been there a month now and just this week it hit me…i’m ready to move it. bought office organizers, supplies, rearranged things, brought in picture frames for family pixs, a plant. is it because i’m finally feeling like i’m getting my skin there a bit? maybe the cardboard box smell is wearing off. things are “winding up” a bit and getting a tad bit stressful, again, you know, that honeymoon, newness….gone. guess i have to find my comfy couch space.

long, hot, baths.

the slow, changing colors of fall. i’m forced to notice them a bit more as i walk the dog across the street, along the fenceline of the golfcourse with the many beautiful trees. it’s enjoyable to slow down a bit.

climbing out of my warm bed in the mornings to the cool, crisp house. some people don’t like that. but i do. must be that Norweigen Blood. i just grab my socks, which are usually on the floor. it wakes me up and gets me going.

what else…hummm? that’s all for today…….

missed junk drawer on saturday….i was too busy….here’s a bit of what i was up to.

snuggling in bed first thing in the morning with cartoons and a favorite blanket, a quick, simple breakfast, digging thru the toybox, getting settled into the new trailer for a first-time bike ride with Grandpa to the bakery.

riding on toys, playing with firetrucks, diggers, playhouses, blocks, and cars. 

chasing the cat and being “in charge” of the dog.

a nice, long nap and then off to the mall. choices to make at Build-A-Bear!!!

and date night, just the three of us, Grandma and Grandpa and little Grandson. at Champp’s. where he ate all 3 food courses: appetizer, favored Grandma’s chicken over his Mac ‘n Cheese and polished off the Kiddie Sundae, cherry and all. (as he was hitting the bottom of the bowl we heard him say “more?”…..but we cut him off).

sunday was a bit of a slower start and somewhat a relaxing day around the house and then they all headed home to Michigan.

so fun to have family visit!!!!!