brainylady

I'm in Vancouver now. I have so much to catch up on! For now, just some quick bits, since time is flying and I'm going out to see a friend in a few hours.

1. Vogue Knitting Quick Reference. The big Vogue Knitting book is pretty expensive, so I bought the mini version. I'm happy to report that I'm set for knitting books now (but my suitcase is really heavy).

2. Knitting needles. My brother was helping at a big garage sale and was told to help himself to whatever was left over. He brought me a small box full of double-pointed sock needles (mostly). Seriously, there are about fifty needles. Some are bent, but there are definitely a few complete sets in there.

3. Thrifting. Only time for a few quick thrifts, but I've still got the touch: a bunch of vintage knitting patterns and booklets in good condition; a still-in-the-package 3mm circ (have I mentioned I want to knit more socks?); and three basic cardigans -- one black, one beige, and one light blue with a big flower embroidered on one side (because there's no such thing as too many cardigans). So far.

4. Regia raglan. Remember a while back when I finished a little top-down sweater only to find that the neck opening was too small? Well, I fixed it yesterday morning (by pulling out five or six rows at the neck, picking up the live stitches, knitting up a 2-by-2 ribbed neck, and binding off with a bigger needle) and presented it last night to the recipient. OK, Noah was kind of busy eating blueberries and tossing bits of cucumber onto the floor, but his parents were suitably impressed! What's better than finally giving a knitted gift? Well, giving two!

5. Haiku. Last week I gave the Haiku cardigan to eleven-month-old Quinlan's mom, and she was also properly happy with it. It thrills me to give people things that I've made. Plus, both sweaters are a little too big for the kids, which is what I wanted. It's a relief, since I'd guessed at the sizes.

6. Confetti yarn. Just this morning, I had another opportunity to buy yarn that I've heard of but never actually seen. I'm staying in Burnaby with my friend Allison (a.k.a. 2L, to my 1L), and it turns out that she's two blocks from a yarn store! I went in this morning and was confronted with at least ten different Confetti colourways -- ack! I settled on two balls of #168 (brown and blue).

7. New links page. You may have noticed that my pink links page is terribly outdated. Just before I left, I made a new links page; it's not totally complete, but it's an improvement. A few important links are missing, because I couldn't remember if the proper address was .com or .net, or was blogspot or prettyposies. (Long story; I made the page at home, where I have no Internet connection, so I had to rely on memory.) So don't feel dissed! This means you, Cari. And Rene, and Lisa…

I've got to run. I know, I know, I haven't even really told you anything about my holiday! I'm having a great time. I don't know when I'll blog again. I fly out of Vancouver tomorrow morning, and by Saturday, I'll be at the Crotch! Whoa! Whoa-oa, Holiday! Slow down, girl!