Can I see that for a minute?

What to say about the Philly knitty fest. Really, there are no words. I laughed all weekend, bought too much yarn, and solidified some friendships. I keep typing out a running commentary, but honestly it's just too much and it won't be as funny the second time around. Instead I'll just post some of my favorite photos with captions.


My roomie and partner in crime Erica. I met her in NYC back in March and had a blast. We complained Friday night when everyone didn't leave our room til 2am, but then we stayed up til 3 talking. Saturday night...it was 4am. I was truly exhausted, but it was so worth it. Best roomie ever.


Pam in the back of the London taxi we had at our disposal all weekend (thanks to Sharon; she's the shortest in the ad up there). Pam is awesome, even more so cause she let me stay at her house a couple of nights. I got to see the stash in person. It is amazing and inspiring, and just absolutely drool-worthy. She is so much fun, and if you ever have the chance to meet her you better do it cause you'll be missing out otherwise.



The hotel group (2nd night) including myself (woo self-timer) in front of Gwendelene (that would be the taxi). Lots of craziness in this group. We had knitties from all over. Ontario, Seattle, Albuquerque, Jersey City, Boston, MD, and of course the local Phillites. I was amazed at how far knitties came from, but am so glad they did!


Saturday morning, taken outside of Rosie's Yarn Cellar. Unfortunately not everyone (I should have made them all come out) but pretty darn close.


Mostly this pic is just for Annmarie and Ariel. What? Did you think you were going to escape *all* the group photos? I think not! Although I did get really good at taking photos when everyone was looking at a different camera.


What we did at Loop. Sit with Amy, talk, and knit. It was fun. We got there before Amy and I was perusing the clearance yarn when she walked in (this is where I scored the Great Adirondack silk/cotton blend). People began to get a little aflutter (and rightly so) when I turned to Erica and said 'even Amy can't distract me from clearance yarn." At least Amy thought it was funny. Erica and I did sit away from the group as there weren't chairs around the table, but I got to sit directly across from Amy at dinner where she gave me some great advice on yarn choices for a Clap and Tuscany (based on my purchases).


Yes, that is the haul. There's some Alchemy bamboo, Great Adirondack silk and cotton, Be Sweet bamboo, Euroflax linen cones, Koigu mill ends, and some other stuff I can't think of the name of. I did well.


I started a lacy scarf out of the silk/cotton blend. Mostly out of sheer boredom with my socks. I just couldn't get the heel right; I don't know what's going on. So, I had the nice lady at Loop wind a skein, bought some Lantern Moon needles (my first pair) and perused a Barbara Walker treasury til I found something I liked. It's turning out really cute.


This is my swatch for Eunny's endpaper mitts. I'm using the Alchemy bamboo that I got at Loop. I'm starting a KAL on Ravelry Sept 1st, so I figured a swatch was in order. I wasn't sure which color I wanted in the background, but after this I'm thinking the green, what do you think?

It's going well...I think.

Well, first I have to tell you they totaled the truck. Fixing it would mean replacing the entire bed, and apparently it's just not worth that. We'll get the value on Tuesday, so we can start hunting around for another vehicle. Ugh. Totally not looking forward to shopping for a used car. I barely wanted to go shopping for my new car, and we had all the money for it.

My turning over a new leaf mantra has been going alright. I have read two books since last week. Debbie Macomber's Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn. The knitting fiction is sorely unrepresentative of good writers. Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs was like a bad Lifetime movie. Overly sad for no good reason, and really predictable. I've read the first three in the Maggie Sefton series, and tried to read the fourth,but my brain just wouldn't take it anymore. The characters are horribly two dimensional and the mysteries are completely out in left field. Not to mention the books are written so that they can be read independently, and I hate reading the same things over and over. It's one thing to catch a reader up on back story, but to be reminded that Kelly only just moved to CO, and she just decided to stay, and she used to be a corporate lackey...well, I can't take it every chapter. Anyway, the point I'm getting to is Debbie Macomber is actually a good writer. She's not going to win any literature awards, but she knows how to build characters and tell a story. A Good Yarn did suffer from the main character going on and on about her bouts with cancer a little much, but she got the majority of the catching up over with in the first chapter, and moved on. I actually finished the second one within 24 hours; it's been a while since I've done that.

I have been knitting more. I'm a good ways into my second River Rapids socks but no pictures of that. I do have a picture of some pretty yarn I picked up at the new yarn store. I know, I know. I said I was cutting down. The colors just spoke to me. I can't walk away from a green/pink (or green/purple) combination. Unless they're pastels. It's Nashua Hand Knits Wooly Stripes, and the color is Vine and Berry. 88 yds a ball, and I got 2 balls. Maybe something felted? Or a cute hat? We'll see.



The vegan eating isn't going so hot either. I ate cheesecake, ice cream, cheese (lots of cheese in various things) and various other baked goods. I've been vegetarian for over a year. I've stopped drinking milk, and eating eggs by themselves. The only thing left is cheese and baked goods. I just am having a really hard time with it. This makes me wonder if my heart is really in it. I don't know. I'll need to think about it some more, and maybe read up on the subject some more.

I spent some time outside this weekend. We went to the farmer's market and got some peaches, potatoes, sweet corn, october beans, and blackberry jam. Ohhh...blackberry jam. It doesn't get any better than a hot biscuit smothered in blackberry jam. Ok, sorry. Didn't mean to drool all over the keyboard there. Crystal (my bff4eva) brought her puppy over (we have a fenced in yard...she doesn't) to play for a bit. She's so adorable. I mean, look at this face. That's my flip flop she's trying to make off with. With such a cute puppy face I almost let her, but then Crystal yelled at me for teaching her puppy that it's ok to make off with shoes.



Here's hoping the insurance people will give us lots of money for the truck, I finish my socks, and maybe read another book or two this week. Oh yeah! This weekend is the Knitty meetup in Philly. Well, I should definitely get lots of knitting done... :-)

What a beautiful Sunday morning.

Let me set the scene. It's about 11am and DH and I are cuddling in bed. We're talking about breakfast, maybe going to a movie, then

BAM!!!

Apparently a guy was driving down the street, and dropped his cigarette in the floorboard. He bent down to pick it up and swerved into DH's truck. Fun huh? He had to be going at least 40-45 mph. I mean, there's no way he did this kind of damage going 25.



No one was hurt, and honestly I think his blazer was more messed up than the truck. But, damn we didn't need this, you know?