Retail Therapy

Not a lot of knitting going on lately because I've been indulging myself. Happily, I haven't found that many things I wanted, so I haven't gone too crazy. I did pick up a few blouses and some jewelry. I also bought a few small items for my Secret Pal and for RAOKs. I'm really having fun with both of those things.

Football was good this week. I always start the week well when the Vikings win on Sunday. I wish the win had been a little more convincing, but a win is a win. My fantasy football week was upside down - I won in the league I'm Commish (FINALLY) and lost in the leagues I've been doing well in. Now that the bye weeks have begun, things are getting a little trickier.

My latest eBay purchases arrived already - that shipping from England was lickity-split! The first lot was a yarn I coveted at Amazing Threads, but at $15 per skein, it was pretty pricey for a sweater in my size. I've been watching eBay and finally got 15 skeins at a fairly decent price.



I'm trying to decide what to make with it. I originally wanted to make an Einstein Coat with it, but I'm not sure how attractive that would look on me. I just bought a book of Plus Size Sweater patterns using Lion Brand yarns, and I could substitute this for one of those sweaters. Decisions, decisions.

I've been lusting after Rowan Calmer since I petted some at an AK Get Together and I finally won two auctions on eBay for my favorite color - purple! The first batch arrived today:



Of course, now it's getting cold so a cotton sweater doesn't seem all that wise. I may be aging this in the stash for a little while, but I'm THRILLED to have it!

While I taking pictures of the DB yarn, the pups were out and about with me. This is how Finbar looks most of the time he's outside:



I swear he's part bloodhound, he's so dogged about sniffing around. Fiona was just hanging around, waiting for her treat:



Looks nice and fallish around Chez Renee, doesn't it? Think I'll get around to raking those leaves?

I hate getting old

Every part of my body hurts right now. My brother moved today, so I spent the entire day packing boxes, moving boxes, unpacking boxes and cleaning. This is why I'm never moving again. I hate moving. My brother wasn't even interested in my favorite part of moving - picking out stuff like new shelf paper and a new shower curtain. Happily, I stepped in and did that for him :-)



Yesterday I had a meeting in downtown Minneapolis, so I decided to work at home in the morning and test out the new train. The parking lot for the park and ride at Fort Snelling is way, way too small. Otherwise, it's awesome. I managed to find a spot to park after trolling the parking lot for about 15 minutes and even though I was at the farthest end of the lot, it only took about 3-4 minutes to walk to the train stop. A mere $1.25 to ride the train into downtown - much cheaper than the $8-10 it would have cost to park. The ride itself was less than 30 minutes and very comfortable. Hopefully once the Mall of America park and ride opens up the Fort Snelling one will be less busy or I'll be able to drive there instead, which is only a little farther away. I may try it again tomorrow for the Vikings game, but I've heard it's the most busy for those games, so I'm not sure I'll be there early enough. Even though I'm planning to leave earlier so I can get Robert Smith to sign a book for me.



No knitting for me yesterday or today. Last night I did a little rubberstamping and made some birthday cards. Tried a couple of new techniques with mixed results. Watch this space for my latest eBay purchases. I've won two auctions for yarns I really lust after.

Progress

I'm smelling the finish line on the Cable T. Of course, it's way too cold to wear a short sleeve top today, so I'm hoping I get to wear it at least once before I pack away the summer gear. I had to pay bills last night, so I didn't have a lot of knitting time, but I did manage to finish one sleeve and sew it in:



So, now I have half a sweater:



As usual, Finbar was in the thick of things while I was photographing the sweater:



As you can see, he's got his Halloween toy out. It's weird, actually. He has a gigantic basket full of toys and yesterday he pulls out this ghostie, which is at least a year, maybe two years old. Coincidence, or is he just that smart? You decide.

I love Fall!

This morning I was sitting in the back yard with the pooches and sleeves were floating down off the trees - it was really beautiful and serene. Pretty soon those will be snowflakes floating to the ground.

Even though I love fall, I decided to celebrate summer one last time yesterday with a very summery dinner. I had an Insalata Caprese (I also use a little Balsamic Vinegar on the salad even though it's not authentic) along with some nice Italian bread. For dessert, I had a brownie with raspberries on top. It was very summery and very delicious!!

Speaking of summery, I worked on the Florentine Flattery again - I may change the name to the sweater that will never end. This garment has taken me longer than any other thing I've knitted. It must be the cotton yarn. It's on small needles, but I've knit other sweaters on small needles too. I'm very fearful that I'll run out of yarn. I am almost done with the second front, so I'm hoping the skein I'm using will be enough for that. After that, I have two skeins left. I'm doubting one skein will be enough for a sleeve, so I may have to make an adjustment to the sleeves. This is why it's not always good to let yarn age in your stash for years.

FO!

Yes, I have an FO, but no picture. I finished the other Skully Wrister and it looks exactly like the other one, so no picture.

The game on Monday was a great disappointment. i really think they could have won that game if not for all the stupid mistakes. It's all the injuries that really has me worried. Of course, it seems like there have been more injuries in the first two weeks across the league than I've ever seen. Thanks to the dreaded high ankle sprain of Deuce McAllister, I lost the fantasy football game in my one league that matters (I did well in the other leagues again, but it's a hollow victory since I don't really know those people). Things are not looking good for my team.

I have another "FO" too. Finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was delightful and I really want to see the movie now! My next book is for book club - this one:

MNF

Very excited about Monday Night Football tonight. I think the Vikes have a great chance to win tonight and it should be an exciting game, either way.

Sundays are a great day to knit in the football season (when the Vikings aren't playing at home). I worked on my Cabled T yesterday. I'm just about done and I may still have a chance to wear it this year since it's supposed to get up to 80 degrees today. I finished up the back and joined the shoulders:



I made a mistake on the back neckband. You knit the cable for a couple of inches past the shoulders on each side. Then you join the two sides together with kitchener stitch and then stitch it to the back of the sweater. When I was stitching it down, I twisted the very back and sewed it down to the wrong edge. I just folded it in half and sewed it together and I actually think it ended up being ok.

I also started the first sleeve:



I should be able to finish up the other sleeve and sew it all together pretty quickly, so I'll send a picture into the AK soon.

I also watched the Emmy Awards last night. I was really, really ticked off when James Gandolfini didn't win Best Actor in a Drama. I love James Spader and he did a great job on The Practice, but Gandolfini was unbelievably good this year on The Sopranos. My irritation was soon erased when my favorite show won Best Comedy - Arrested Development. If you haven't seen this show, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check it out. It's so funny and the cast is just priceless. It really needs more viewers. The Sopranos won Best Drama, so I guess I was happy about that too. I'm not one who has been gaga over The Sopranos. I really like and have watched it since it started, but I always liked Oz better than The Sopranos. This year was the best so far, in my opinion, though. I also love The Wire, which started this week too. Both Oz and The Wire are extremely underrated and get overshadowed by The Sopranos, which is why I think I have some resentment toward The Sopranos.

Catch Up

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. It's been a busy week, work-wise. 3 hearings this week and several meetings. Plus a proposal someone else dropped the ball on, so I had to step in and help out.

My mind must have been elsewhere, because I took that picture of the Skull Wrister on the back porch - and forgot to bring it back inside. And it rained :-( I can't believe I was so absent-minded. Luckily, there is a big tree next to the porch, so it mostly protected the knitting from the rain.

Friday I visited a new craft store, Artsy Tartsy. I've passed it many, many times, but never stopped. I finished my last meeting around 5:00 on Friday, so I decided rather than go back to the office I'd go straight home, so I might as well check this place out on the way. It's a cute little store. They are a combo-scrapbooking and bead store. I managed to avoid buying any scrapbooking stuff, but I had wanted to get more supplies for making stitch markers, so I bought a few beads. I've decided to use the stitch markers for RAOKs and my secret pal, so no pictures of those. But, I couldn't resist making a bracelet with these great blue beads:



Since I had the beading supplies out, I also made this purple bracelet. I bought the kit at Michael's last month:



Isn't that semi-precious stone gorgeous? I love it!

Saturday was our monthly Ample Knitter get together. It was a small group, but really fun. I think sometimes a small group is better because you can talk to everyone easily. Border's was really crowded with students, so we're thinking about moving to a new site now that the weather is getting cooler and school is back in session.

Afterwards I went to Borealis Yarns to finally check out the Schaefer Anne yarn. Last month someone told me they carried Anne and I've been wanting to knit the scarf in Interweave Knits with Anne. I found a great colorway that I like - what a surprise, it's purple!



I also wanted to pick up some Cascade 220. I've never used this yarn before, and so I wanted to try it out. I've decided to join the Yarn Harlot thrummed mittens knitalong. I bought some blue Tibetan Cashmere fleece from Woolen Meadow Farm at the Minnesota Sheep and Wool Festival with the idea of making thrummed mitts. I thought yellow would look nice with the blue:



I have to direct you all to the "W is for Women" website. I was just talking to my friend Jackie about how annoying I find those "W Stands for Women" bumper stickers are. His policies have been so destructive to women and children. I should have trusted my fellow knitters to call him on it. Check out their Cafe Press store - I'll be stocking up on some of those items for sure!

9/14/04

A fairly good week in the fantasy football world. I won my game in all my leagues except one. Unfortunately, the one game I lost is in the league where I'm commmish and know everyone else in the league and REALLY want to win. :-( I blame Trent Green.

Fall television season has started. So far, nothing has really knocked me out. LAX is somewhat interesting and worth another look, I guess. I'm very excited about Survivor starting this week, because I'm a Survivor junkie. I totally mocked and ridiculed it when it first came on the air, but after a couple of weeks, I started watching it and I've been hooked ever since.

I did get some knitting done last night:



This is the skully wrister that I designed for Stitch N Bitch Nation. My friend Alissa really liked them, so I decided to knit a pair for her. Before you know it, it'll be cool enough to actually wear wristers.

The V is for Victory!

So much fun yesterday! We got to the game just before kick off, so we decided to see what kind of deal we could do with a scalper. Our seats are in the upper deck, which isn't as much fun. We were able to give a guy our tickets plus $75 and get a pair of seats in the 5th row. It was awesome! I little hard to see when the game was at the other end of the field because we were at the end zone line, but awesome when the Vikings scored in "our" end zone. Here's a play I loved:



This is always my favorite sight at games, now that Robert Smith has retired:



On the knitting front, no pictures. I FINALLY found the missing spool of wire and finished my wire knitting. I'm going to send it to my Secret Pal, so I best not post here, in case she's peaking. Otherwise, no knitting this weekend. The game took pretty much all Sunday and I spent most of Saturday working.

September 11

First of all, a moment to remember the victims of 9/11.



I have sort of an FO. On Thursday, I spent the day volunteering for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. (Please consider donating to the Susan G. Kommen Breast Cancer Foundation).

I worked on the Donations Quality Control. There was a long period of time between when they finished training us on our task and when the first walkers arrived to turn in donations. Luckily, I was prepared! I decided to knit all (or almost all) of the socks in the Socks, Socks, Socks book. So, I keep a pair of socks in the car at all times. Then, when I'm stuck somewhere, I have a project going and it's a very small project that I can just throw in my purse. I got about halfway through the toe at the Walk, so I decided to finish it Thursday night so I could cast on and be ready to start the second sock next time I need my "car knitting."




Here's a close up of the heel. It's the first time I've put a pattern on a heel. I like how it looks, but I don't like how it fits - it's not very close-fitting.



I took these pictures out on the porch to get some natural light, and my furry shadows followed me out there. Fiona was supervising:



and Finbar was sniffing the air, perhaps trying to find a squirrel or rabbit in the yard. Of course, he was also keeping an eye on me:



Yes, the floor of the porch looks awful. It's been painted gray since I moved in and I've always wanted to paint it something a little nicer. Last summer I picked out a lovely dark blue floor paint and painted the whole porch. I think it wasn't clean enough when I painted though, because as you can see, the blue started wearing off in the traffic path, almost immediately. It was an incredibly hot weekend when I did the painting, so I feel like all that work was for nothing. All well. Most of the porch is covered in stuff anyway, since when we moved into a smaller office, a lot of the stuff from the old office was "temporarily" stored on my porch - almost a year later, and half of it is still there.

After I finished up the sock, I decided to make this watch. I bought this kit when I went to Crafts Direct in St. Cloud a few weeks ago:



Here's a closeup of the bead pattern:



I made a blue beaded watch last year, but I think now that I have this purple one, I'll probably wear that a lot more.

While I had the beads out, I decided to try my hand at making beaded stitch markers. It was really easy and really fun! A great way to use up left over beads. I was going to take snaps for y'all, but I decided they'd be a great gift for my Secret Pal, so they'll remain cloaked in mystery for now.

I've been ROAK'ed!

I received this delightful gift in the mail yesterday:



Isn't that awesome? I got it from Susan. As I mentioned to her, the timing couldn't have been better. When we went to the fair two weeks ago, Red couldn't wait to get some Taffy. So, when I went back again without him last week, I picked up some more pieces. Unfortunately, I picked some flavors that he didn't like very much, so it wasn't quite as exciting as I thought it would be. I made note to pick up some more taffy next time I see a good supplier. Next day, this comes in the mail! Red will be so excited!!

The ROAK group is so great. It's nice to get the little cards and a surprise like this is just great when you walk into your office and see the box sitting on your desk, waiting!

Carol's Afghan

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a picture of my contribution to Carol's afghan. The afghan has been completed and sent to Carol. Check it out - it's gorgeous! I love the diamond pattern - I never would have thought of that. And the edging really pulls the whole thing together. Julie did an awesome job on the assembly!

Happy Labor Day

Labor Day is over. Summer is unofficially over. Fall is my favorite season, so I'm pretty excited. But I could have enjoyed another day of "long weekend".

I had to work on Friday night, so I didn't get to kick off the weekend early. However, since I was in the neighborhood, I called my brother and his kids and we went out of dinner I was done. We went to Ikasu Sushi Bar in Edina. They have sharply reduced the menu from the last time I was there, so there wasn't that much for the kids to eat, but Greg and I quite enjoyed the sushi and cocktails.

Saturday morning was the draft for the fantasy football league that I'm in with my brother, one of my best friends, his brother, one of my brother's friends, etc. etc. Greg and I joined the league in 1999 I believe. I've won the last two years, which really irritates some of the boys, I think. I also took over as Commish two years ago. So, although I have several other leagues, this is the one that matters the most to me. The draft went well - it went really fast. I felt a little worried about my roster, but then when I looked at everyone else's roster, I felt a bit better. We have 12 teams this year, which makes it more competitive than the 10 teams we had last year. After the draft, Greg and I took my nephew to the zoo and then we saw Spiderman 2 at the Imax Theater. It's the first time I've seen a theatrical release in Imax. For the most part, I really liked it. Images that large do make it easier to spot CGI, however.

Sunday I spent at home, alone, so I managed to get some work around the house done. It was a complete pig-sty, so I'm happy to have gotten at least half of the place clean - now I just have to work on the other half. Monday I had brunch as usual and did a little work. In the early evening I went to a movie with a friend. We saw this:



Loved it! I'm a huge fan of the original, "Before Sunrise". If you haven't seen either, I highly recommend them both. The dialog is so realistic and the actors totally have you engaged and believing you're really watching two people having a conversation. I'm close to the characters ages, so I really connected with them both times. I'm hoping they'll make it a series and every 5-10 years make another one, showing how the characters have changed over the years.

I also wanted to refer any Twin Cities knitters to the new Twin Cities Stitch n Bitch Forums. It's a great resource for getting info on knitting in the Twin Cities and getting to know other local knitters.

Secret Pal 3

I've gotten an email from my Secret Pal saying that s/he would like me to answer the SP Questionnaire, so here goes:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I have yarn snob tendencies, but I've used Lion Brand yarns quite a bit. I don't really like something that feels really plasticky, which most of the Red Heart yarns do, but I'm knitting a Cabled-T out of Lion Brand Micro-Spun right now.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

Neither. I have very basic crochet skills, so I've occasionally added crochet trim to a knitted piece, but I don't regularly crochet.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

I have seasonal allergies which drive me crazy, so I'm on allergy medication a lot, which takes care of any other allergies. I am allergic to pets, but I have two dogs, so it's all under control.

4. How long have you been knitting?
8 years

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Not really. I have a wishlist on half.com, but I don't think anyone but me can view it. If you want me to set one up, I can probably do that.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Lilac is my favorite. I also like rose, peony, gardenia and hydrangea. I tend toward florals (obviously) and try to stay away from food scents because they just make me hungry :-)


7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Yeah. I LOVE anything sweet. Like most girls, I'm addicted to chocolate, but really, anything sweet is right up my ally. I'm like an 8 year old when it comes to junk food.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

As you can see from this blog, I like crafty things in general. I do a lot of paper crafts (scrapbooking, card making, rubberstamping, etc.), which is how I got into the quilling that I just did. I also do a lot of beading. I love to cook. I used to do a lot of cake decorating, but there are so many local bakeries that I want to support, I've sort of stopped doing that much. I have done some quilting, but I'm not that good at it. I did a lot of counted cross stitch before I started knitting. I like to do glass etching for gifts. Get me into a craft store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby and I can be happy for hours.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD)

Yes, my computer plays MP3s. I'm all over the place when it comes to music - I have very eclectic tastes. I'd say my favorites are modern rock, 80s new wave, 70s soul, classic rock. However, I really listen to most anything. Right now in the CD player: REM, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Connick, Jr., The Smithereens and Bill Withers.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?

My favorite color by far is purple. I'm crazy about purple and wear purple probably 4-5 days per week. I also am crazy about lime green right now. I tend to like bright, jewel colors and stay away from pastels, although I love lavendar.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Single gal. I have two doggies, which are prominently featured on the blog.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

That's way too deep for me to answer here. I've got the big dreams - world peace, elimination of poverty, protect children from abuse neglect, etc.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I'm really a slut when it comes to yarn - as long as it's not too plasticky or too scratchy, I'll knit with it. My all time favorite yarn to knit with was a cashmere I knit a scarf and gloves with - man was that soft! I tend to be attracted to soft yarns and bright colors. I really love 1824 Wool, most of the Berroco yarns, Noro, K1C2. I like cottons because they are so pretty and feel so nice. I like the fluffy/eyelashy type of yarns. Yarns without give don't bother me the way they do some people - I even knit with wire.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

The only thing I don't like is the plasticky acrylic types.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Knitting with beads, probably. I tend to be influenced by the trends in the knitting world, so I'm still felting, knitting scarves and loving Noro Kureyon. More on that later.

I also love ebony knitting needles, so I guess you could call that an obsession. Oh, and beaded stitch markers. Love them! Any kind of little knitting tool makes me happy!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I guess sweaters, since that's what I knit the most of. I'd try most anything, though.

17. What are you knitting right now?

I always keep 3 things going at once so I can switch between them and not get bored. So, my current three:

1. Cabled T from the Ample Knitters Knitalong
2. Florentine Flattery from Knitters Magazine. It's a cabled cotton sweater.
3. Trick question - I just finished something so I don't have a 3rd project. Although I technically haven't finished the wire knitting because I've misplaced the rest of my wire in that color. And I've been working on the Knitters Magazine Great American Aran Afghan off and on for a couple of years now. I may work another square, so perhaps that's my third project.

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)

This goes back to the earlier question where I referred to the "hot" knitting objects. Ponchos are super hot right now and I love them and reallly want to make one. However, I tried on a bunch of ponchos at Nordstrom and they didn't look good on me because I'm so big - it's just a big expanse of fabric. However, I'm thinking perhaps a striped one to break up the fabric might work, but I want to try one like that on before I cast on. I don't want to spend that much time and money knitting a poncho that I never wear because I look like a small sports car under a cover in it.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circular, by far.

20. How did you learn to knit?

A Community Ed class.

21. How old is your oldest UFO?

I guess that GAAA would be it, but I don't really consider a UFO because I'm still working on it periodically. I also have a scarf made of unspun silk which is very time consuming, so I've been working on that for a couple of years too, but again, I'm not sure it qualifies as a UFO, because I only work on it periodically on purpose. I consider a UFO a project that gets set aside so you can work on something else - I never intended to make this as a regular project.

22. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Wallace & Gromit:



I'm also a huge Vikings fan, so I like most anything with the logo on it:



My favorite animal is obviously the Shetland Sheepdog, since I have two of them!

23. What is your favorite holiday?

I like them all. I don't really have a favorite. The best, I guess is Christmas because of all the good will, the great food, getting together with friends and family and keeping in touch with cards, and of course buying and receiving gifts! I also love Valentine's Day because I love candy and there's lots of stuff with hearts on it and I love hearts. I love St. Patrick's Day because I'm Irish and love to celebrate it. 4th of July is great because I love fireworks and summer is a very precious commodity in Minnesota. I love Halloween because I love candy (again) and I like the images - witches, ghosts, black cats, etc.

24. Is there anything that you collect?

The biggest thing I collect these days is Yarn. Although it's not really a collection since I'm not trying to fulfill certain categories or anything - I just get what I like. I have a little collection of Wallace & Gromit stuff. I have a lot of stuff with Vikings logo on it. I have quite a few bobbleheads, but I don't really consider it a collection. I like hedgehogs a lot, so I have a few of those. I used to work with hedgehogs at the zoo, so I sort of collected them at that point. At various times I've collected gorillas, pigs and penguins. Collections are really big in my family, so I've dabbled in collecting.

Oh, I used to collect stuff with Mickey Mouse on it too, so I've got some Mickey Mouse stuff. I have a lot of posters for "The Godfather". I have a pretty good collection of action figures - most of them from The X Files, but other various movies I like too. I have a lot of wreaths around the house, so I guess that's sort of a collection too. Gosh, I think I have a sickness! I had to move into a much smaller office last year, so a lot of my "collections" got boxed up.

Anyway, that's me. Generally, I like most anything girly. Love anything sparkly, shiny, beaded, etc. Love candy, candles, soaps. I have an obsession with office supplies, so cool pens or paper or stuff is great. And, of course, I'm a dedicated knitter. Anything that is from your particular part of the country would be cool. Thanks for being my secret pal!!!

Volunteer as a Pollwatcher

In the last presidential election, millions of votes were never counted.
Voters in minority communities were disproportionately disenfranchised
through illegal disqualification, intimidation, and faulty voting machines.
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rights on November 2.

Find out how you can be a pollwatcher in key states by going to
http://www.ElectionProtectionVolunteer.org.

Warning: Rant Ahead

I made more bugs on Wednesday night. I think it's really fun, but it's so futzy that it takes a long time and I end up getting glue all over. Plus, the bugs with explicit patterns turned out much better than the ones that I had to guess what size paper to use, but over all, I think they're very cute.



I was extremely cranky on Wednesday, so it was good to do some crafty stuff that would hold my interest. I was dealing with a lot of BS on the work-front. Just a tip - it's much more professional to be up front and talk to someone if you don't like the job they are doing rather than playing games. ARGH! After that meeting I get in the car and hear the charges against Kobe Bryant have been dropped. I can't help but feel that he was able to buy his freedom - both through hiring attack-dog lawyers and PR spinners to destroy the victim and probably by offering a monetary settlement to the victim. This is especially true after hearing the apology letter signed by Mr. Bryant. Then when I get home, the Republic National Convention is on, which really makes me crabby. I love how the Republican platform is about as right-wing as you can get, and yet they bring in all the most liberal Republicans to give speeches - you can't tell me most of those delegates would vote for John McCain, Rudy Guiliani or Arnold Schwarzenegger. And the speech of Sen. Zell Miller, a man I used to respect, was just unbelievable and over the top.

On a more positive note, I took the morning off work and went to the fair with my friend Kathy. She liked the bugs a lot and will be using them in a display. We got a chance to look at the crafts building at more length and as Susan mentioned, the judging at the fair is notoriously odd. The one that most floored me was a white ribbon and a special yarn shop award for a scarf that was simply garter stitch. The knitter had use 3-4 different novelty yarns and it was knit the long way, but it was still just garter stitch. Very nice and lovely, but not really any great showcase of skill. That's why I don't enter anything in the fair. There was a beautiful lacy scarf with a beaded fringe, which did get a blue ribbon, but no special yarn shop prize. If I were that person, I of course would be happy about the blue ribbon, but very sad about losing out on the yarn shop prize to a garter stitch scarf. There is a yarn shop booth at the Fair, and I didn't buy any yarn, but I did buy these:



They are so soft and comfy, I had to put them on as soon as I got back to the office in the afternoon - my feet were killing me from all the walking around we did.

As I watched the Vikings lose another meaningless game (I can't wait until REAL football starts next week!), I knit up my Elann Samples. I loved the Classic Elite Attitude, a cotton, silk blend that is going on the site on 9/7. I may have to pick some of that stuff up.

And to close on a friendly, furry note, here's some pictures of my pups:



As you can see, the leaves have already started to change colors and fall off the trees, although it was over 90 degrees yesterday. And I thought I'd take one of Finbar on the picnic table. I have a very old, rickity picnic table in the back yard, and if I sit at the picnic table, Finbar likes to jump up on top of it and sit next to me.

Knitting in the News

The Washington Post ran a story today about the popularity of knitting. It includes the draw of the Internet community, which is really prelevant among bloggers. There's a quote in there from Wendy Johnson, too.