I cannot perform at yarn sales.

So, Lori and I went to Bonnie Knits last night to check out the sale and to check out her newly arrived Lorna's Laces yarn. Despite the fact that almost everything in the damn store was on sale, I couldn't find any yarn to buy. Well, I should re-phrase that -- I could find lots of yarn to buy, but nothing that I could justify buying unless it's something I could use for the upcoming baby knitting that I have to do, or the Helen's Lace that I have been scoping for the Kiri shawl. The Helen's Lace was beauteous, but Bonnie didn't have any colors that struck my fancy for the shawl. I am a little afraid to use a variegated yarn, because I am afraid it will stripe when I am knitting the shawl, and I don't want that. Although, it's going to be tough to buy a non-variegated Lorna's Laces yarn because they're all so darn pretty. I did make a purchase though, of some Eucalan Wool Wash, which I have been meaning to get for a long time. No more harsh Woolite for me, no, siree!

After Bonnie's, we hung out and knitted for a bit at Borders, where I made some further progress on Cathy. No photos this time, because it is at the large-blob-looking stage and not too pretty to look at. Now that I have separated for the fronts, it is moving right along though. I usually get in trouble when I do this, but I am going to set a goal for myself to finish Cathy to wear for my bridal shower (planned for me by the lovely Lori) near the end of August. Now that I have set a timeframe for myself, I have surely doomed myself, but I am going to give it my best effort!

Cathy...Week three

Went to Meetup last night and had a great time. Though, it appears the group is shrinking:



Hope it's just summer vacation related shrinkage. Anyway, we had a great time. Left to Right: It was nice to see Cathy again (not to be confused with Fiery Bolero, aka Cathy), who's working on a lovely lace scarf in this photo, with a merino/cashmere blend yarn that was so, so soft. It was nice to meet Betsy, who came to meetup for the first time last night and was working on a lovely wide scarf of her own design. And, of course, it's always nice to see Patty, who was working on some entrelac in a pretty variegated yarn that reminded me a little of Noro (my first love). That's my Cathy, reclining on the table in the foreground. Here's a closeup:



Still plugging away at it, and I am less than one inch from the part where I bind off for the neck and divide for the fronts, which is great, because those long rows are killing me. It's obvious that I could never knit a blanket or an afghan or something like that.

For all of you Pittsburgh knitters who may be tuning in, you know that Bonnie Knits is having a sale, right? You all should go and buy lots of yarn, and then post photos of what you bought so that I can live vicariously through your yarn shopping experiences. I am afraid that all of my spending cash is, from now on, going to THE WEDDING. Although, I do have to buy some bamboo needles to take on the plane, right? Hmmm...

Cathy...one week later.

Here's where I am on Cathy (aka, the Fiery Bolero):



So far, it looks a little small to me, but I think it's deceiving, since it is all bunched up on the needles. I am glad to say that I have finished casting on for the sleeves and there's no turning back (ripping) now, even though I still think that my stitches look horribly uneven. I am hoping for a blocking miracle (or to become less anal by the time I have finished).

One ball of yarn took me up the the sleeve cast on and I am ready to start a new one. Here's a question for any of you out there: how should I join the new yarn? This is a cotton/silk/viscose blend with many plies, and is pretty slippery. Do I start the new ball at the beginning of the next row, or should I use a russian join? I was initially thinking russian join but wasn't sure if that worked well with slippery cotton yarn. What say you?

Turning over a new leaf

You know what this is, right?



This is, I think, about the 15th time I have re-started the fiery bolero. No joke. So here's my new mantra: Don't think, just knit. You see, in my anal obsessive-compulsiveness, every time I started this thing and got about 2-4 inches in, I would look at it and think, "it's uneven" or "the gauge is too loose" and then "the gauge is too tight" or "this is the wrong size, it's not going to fit". So this sweater, which should have been finished by now, is just barely started. From now on, I am going to not think, just knit. If it turns out to be the wrong size, I'll deal with it then. It hurts me to say that, really.

So the new Knitty is out, and it's all guy stuff. Though there is a cute bag (and I guess lots of other stuff) that could be unisex. I do like the tiny cargo pants- those are way cute- but there is nothing there that I think I'd want to knit, which is a little bit of a letdown to me, but great for all of the knitting guys out there or the knitting gals that are sweet enough to knit things for their man (mine's never getting anything bigger than socks).

I'm still experiencing inordinate amounts of wedding stress. As I type this, I am waiting for the stationary shop to call me and tell me that my proof for the invitations has (finally) come in, but so far, that call's not coming. I was on theknot.com (evil site, that is) last week and saw a message post by another October 1 bride who has her invites addressed, stamped and ready to go. I don't even have mine yet. Not that I'm panicking, you know. (send a paper bag)