OLE GAUCHOS!

Tomorrow I'm heading down to good ol' Santa Barbara for a sorority sisters' wedding (for the new readers, I went to school at UCSB). I haven't been back since 2003 (which is a damn shame since it's only 250 miles away), and I think the last time I hung out with all these girls I woke up with my shoes still on (and not because I wanted them there).

Matt is getting dragged along. Oh what a trip this shall be.

Ninja Cat

In case it was keeping you awake at night, this what one ball of Gloss knits into for Thermal:



1 down, 7 to go! Also, more stuff I want to knit:


Nan, from Rowan's Big Just Got Bigger, and

Design 27-10 from Garnstudio Drops Designs.
I've got the Chunky Print for Nan but no pattern, and the pattern fot the latter and no yarn (ideas, anyone? The recommend yarn is Garnstudio Silkee Tweed & Alpaca. I'd like this to function like a fleece vest for cooler days. I'd also like to knit it by July 28th so no long waiting periods). This also puts me out somewhere into 2010 with my knitting queue over at Ravelry.com.

How about a picture of Viva to top off the randomity? You got it.


Ninja Cat - so fast, you'll never know she's there

Batter Up

I don't have much to talk about today that isn't wedding-related, and Thermal is still just a bunch of waffle stitch, so let's look at some more the 8,000 things I want to knit rightthisveryminute.

Norah Gaughan may have just made Berroco a shitload of money - her new collection is AMAZING.


What's even MORE trouble is that the yarn store that is 5 minutes from work and 5 seconds from the Bridal Shop where I am getting my dress carries all sorts of Berroco and I am sure they have this book. Must. Save. Money. For. House/Wedding!

KnitScene also did a pretty damn good job with this issue:


My life needs to slow down or my head is going to explode from the sheer number of things I want to knit.

Faith (Havadk), Hope (Hooys), Love (Ser), and Baptism (Mgrdootiun)

Last night I was baptized in the Armenian Orthodox Church.




I was raised in the Christian faith, but my parents chose not to baptize my sister or I so that we could be able to make our own decisions about our religious preferences. I started attending this parish with Matt, and I was very drawn to the symbolism and the way Christianity was celebrated. This was a step towards our marriage in the church, but the decision was mine and I am very glad I made it. Matt's brother is my god father, and a very close family friend is my godmother. Kinda neat being able to choose your own godparents!



There is a neat story behind my cross. A gift from Matt's godparents, this is the same cross he was baptized in as an infant. They then asked Matt's parents to keep it and give it to the woman he was going to marry someday.

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I've been zen knitting on Thermal and only Thermal all week. I think I am craving some simplicity in this circus that has been wedding planning. True comfort knitting, if you will.

Idle

Want to see how much knitting I've done since Thursday?



Wait for it.....





Pretty sad.

I'm Going After Knit Picks With a Camera and Proper Lighting

Two massive boxes of yarn arrived this week. One was stuffed to the brim (it literally exploded when I opened it) with Lion Jiffy, and the other was from the binger about a week ago. And of course, i've been dupped by Knit Picks AGAIN. Behold the recent purchase (a mini-version, of course):



I love the Pumpkin/Gloss and Cinnamon/Andean Silk, but that "Coal" is not as it appears on the site AT ALL (although it seems there are new pictures there today. GAH!). With the flash it looks sorta grey, like it used to online, but it is definitely jet-black in person. I'm debating sending it back for a lighter color, or holding onto it for a future project. I sort of hate the post office so the latter of the two sounds more appealing.

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I'm also harboring a mad-love for buttons these days:



The toggles are for Glee and the small irridecent ones are for jazzing up a blouse but the rest, Uh, they were purty?

Proof Positive the Needles are Still Moving

Glorious Colors ain't so glorious yet. I can work on this for exactly 1.6 minutes before my hands start to sweat. I have no one to blame but myself.

I also didn't get nearly as much done this weekend as I thought I would. Glee started like this:



and ended like this:



I'll spare you from squinting. The bottom is finished, as is one neck band, and the one sleeve is about 2 inches away. Stellar, I know.

Something Blue

Thank you ALL for the congrats. It's still not real - he surprised the freaking hell out of me. Wedding mania has gone into full swing because we are insane and going to try and plan a 350+ person wedding in 6 months (We are Armenian and Italian, so the guest list gets long, FAST). My previously-married friends have shared a wealth of knowledge (and books! My lord there are a lot of wedding publications out there!), so away we go. All we know so far is 1) it is going to be a traditional Armenian ceremony, 2) it will be in February.



I promise not to inudate this blog with wedding stuff but it is pretty darn exciting for the moment. Does anyone have a suggestion of "something blue" to knit? I was thinking a dainty little hanky knit w/ Alpaca Cloud on size 0 needles, that I can tuck into the dress and use during the day. Any others?

To distract myself, I started the Glorious Colors Afghan because it is huge and mindless. I also picked up the Summer version of Knit.1 @ Joanns after passing over it a few times, and I noticed some designs that I hadn't before (you have to keep refreshing the page to see new designs). The knit dress would ROCK in wool/alpaca for late fall, the little yellow cami is perfect for the beach this summer, and the short-sleeve blouson is just plain Kay-UTE!

Now I have to get into work mode. So hard right now!!!!

I Said YES

DUDE you guys.....



He did it at the new house.





I'm still in total disbelief and haven't regained full use of my brain!

"One-Projectitis"

Something is amiss in the Land of Wine and Needles. It's seems that I have developed a wonderfully efficient case of "one-projectitis". Yup, I've been a one project woman the last few weeks and the progress shows*.

Also, I am developing a strong, somewhat unhealthy love for tweed (thanks to the above referenced project). Which makes perfect sense, since nothing says Summer!!! like Tweed. Seriously. I just spent like $100 on yarn and I am now debating a bag of Rowan Felted Tweed on eBay. Issues, I tell you.

Finally, my "Knit Queue" on Ravelry is up to 22 items. About 3/4 of those are sweaters (located here, if you are a Beta Tester).

* All of a suddent, Glee only has one neckband and a few inches of sleeve to go. I anticipate FO status after a quick trip to San Fran this weekend.

The Tango Merino*

* Inspired by Tango Maureen

I spent a ridiculous amount of time this weekend debating what to buy (and tallying the results to the informal poll, which Grace won). This is my problem: I'm so old-Armenian lady sometimes!!! Spending money is super-hard for me to do (hel-lo! I think 40$ is expensive for a pair of pants!), even when I have it (lets put it this way - I probably could have bought a used car with the money I got back).

So here I sat, all weekend, with my shopping cart loaded up over at Knit Picks. It's this same tango I dance with every potential online purchase: This or that, that or this. I put you in, I take you out. I go back and the end of the day and do it again.

So I compromised.

I just bought it all.

8 skeins Gloss in Pumkin for Thermal
16 skeins Wool of the Andes in Coal for Street Smart Cabled Hoodie
12 skeins Andean Silk in Cinnamon for Ariann

Grace isn't on that list because I realized with everything else I have planned, a sweater of that heft would never make it into queue this year. Also, I have 9 balls of Andean Silk in Cream packed away, and I'm thinking I might use that if it goes well with Ariann, so I need to wait until I am reunited with it in October.

For extra kicks I addressed it to Matt. Can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets to go to the office at his apartment complex to pick up a giant box of yarn.

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On another note, I finished the V-Neck Shell last night.



V-Neck Shell from Plymouth Design Studio
3 balls Cotton Ease, Taupe (like exactly 3. I have about 4 feet of yarn left)
Size 6 and 8 Needles
Mods: None, except I knit the small size to make up for Gauge.

You don't get the larger view of the front because I don't want my chest taking up your entire screen. Sigh.

This needs about 3-5 inches of legnth to make into daily rotation. That or the girls need to suddenly shrink to a size B. I'm not sure what to do because I DEFINITELY dont want to take it apart on the top, but dont know if I can do it at the bottom because of the seams. Help. Anyone. Buller? Buller?

I picked up Glee again. I am reunited with my love of Silky Tweed

*Note the yarn take-over of Matt's kitchen table.

Rhetorical Questions

1) Can someone, anyone, familiar with the Boston Area recommend a) a good oyster bar and/or seafood restaurant and b) a Yarn store near the Boston Park Plaza?

2) If you had $$ from a long-overdue tax return burning a hole in your pocket, would you buy yarn for this, this or this?

3) Is is possible to knit a 20x22 inch square on size 8 needles by tomorrow night?