Wednesday, September 10, 2008

He says his name is Oreson (spelling intended)

Today I went to the sink and found a reddish brown rock about the size of two fists, sitting in side. My first reaction was to say "What is this"? No response from DH, so after putting the coffee on I went to the Living room to find out. I said " He says his name is Oreson and he wants to know why he is not in his natural habitat". DH grinned and said, "your not following the drug policy". No other explanation.

He collects rocks, but up to this point they have been small rocks, about the size of your pinkie nail, found in the washer, on the dryer, in pockets and on the counter. He used to talk about getting field boulders, I thought he was kidding, now I think it could be possible. I could come home and find huge boulders in the yard, it won't end, but how is this going to go? I know its just one rock, still I worry on a deep level about stone fences and the lawn becoming a rock garden. We could name our house like they do in England, we live on a corner so it could be called Corner Stone Cottage. There could be rock garden lawn with a stone fence and rock siding. OK, my sometimes overactive imagination has gotten ahead of things, but will there be more rocks like Oreson showing up? Where did he find it?

Yeah, Oreson doesn't really talk to me, I was bringing up the subject and hoping he would then be moved. Nope, Oreson is still in the sink, I guess I will have to move him/her, it? I know, I will knit the rock a cozy with a face and put it on the couch with a sign that calls for freedom for enslaved rocks.
yes, he may quote the drug policy again, but it really is my drug free imagination.

I turned the heel and picked up the gusset of my sock I began Saturday, so I should get back to it.

Happy Stitches.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sock Club, After sock club excursion etc.

Sock Club

It was nice to be back at the keewaydin park building for sock club and we had fun, talking and sharing. It was a nice group showing, taking pictures of finished socks, playing with yarn, catching up, just a good time.

Our pattern for this month is from SWTC, by Deby Lake and is called Toe Jam. The sock is cuff down, has an 8 stitch, four row repeat, twisted stitch pattern with a separated big toe.

I swatched during sock club and then started the cuff, I am about an inch into the pattern going down the leg and I have to say the pattern goes quickly; it gets in your head fast and you don't have to pay it much attention until you get to the heel. the patter can be repeated down the top of the foot, to the toes.

D. brought yarn from the March Hair Etsy shop she runs. the yarn is dyed by a friend of hers in Idaho and comes balled into 455 yd cakes.; the yarn is composed of 75% Superwash wool and 25% nylon, in fabulous colors.

My knitting friend J. W. gifted me with a cake of the yarn for my birthday, in a lovely soft seafoam. J. is so sweet and wonderful, and what a surprise, she is always doing sweet things for people.

After Sock Club Excursion

After sock club a few of us have been making it a yarn excursion day. On this fun outing we went into White Bear and visited the Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, where I found some smaller chibi needles for socks, these will be great for grafting toes of socks. We felt very welcome in the shop, the people were quite helpful and seemed to engage easily in conversation. The Sheepy yarn Shoppe is well lit, has a table and chairs near the back, which was convenient for looking through books and patterns before making a decision on which to buy. The variety of yarn is good and there is seating near the front that looked like a welcoming spot to sit, knit and maybe chat for a bit.

We had lunch near by at a bar and grill, the food was fabulous and about average for price.

Borealis yarns was our nest destination stop and again the people were lovely, asked if you needed anything and backed off. very accommodating if you did want help, which I was happy for, I wanted to try the HiyaHiya needles and specifically wanted a size 0 circular in a 36 to 40 inch length for making socks. It can be a bit daunting sometimes to search through all the needles for the ones you want and having someone more familiar with the stock help you, is well appreciated.
Lovely yarns, lovely selections, large store, a couple of cramped spots near the front but the experience overall was quite wonderful.
Borealis had two table with chairs for sitting to look through books or knitting, one up front and one in the back room where I found a skein of hemp on sale, in a teal green to make soap covers with.
I found a section of Louisa Harding yarn which drew my attention for a bit, there is a large selection of needles and notions, Lucy Neatby DVDs, and they are conveniently located next to a coffee shop for a bit a caffeine or something decaf and a treat.

It was the last day to use the coupons we had for the shops we went to.

Next month we are headed south of the cities to a cottage industry farm where we will see either Alpacas or Llamas, I do not remember which. There is a shop as well, I will let you know what is there. I know there is spinning and fiber so it must be good.

I should take pictures next time, I had my camera with me, I don't know why I did not think of it. I really need to remember, perhaps someone will remind me.

Oh, the forms are completed and I have everything together to send in my socks for the contest. I need to do that after my meeting tomorrow morning, I am so excited I can't stand myself at times, I am sometimes amazed that I thought of the pattern. I may try to do another one, but I have so many things started and cued up to make already, I won't rule it out if an idea strikes me though.

I have been up since about 5 and busy, busy, some house work, some knitting and of course ravelry and blogging, now it's time for lunch.

Happy Stitches!