Plans, News, and Travels

Not in that order.

News: I got a job. Like a full-time, 5 days a week, reasonable-pay-plus-benefits job. Yaay!

Which means that a) I'll have more yarn and fiber money very soon, and b) I will have less yarn and fiber time very soon.

I am excited. I start August 18. Classes start August 25.

Plans: And the Olympics are over August 24. My summer classes are over on August 4, and the Olympics start on the 8th. I have yarn and a pattern and need to swatch for the afghan I'm crocheting as my Olympic project. I'm hoping to get the majority done the first week, but we'll see.

Nearly finished the neverending grey/black work socks. Started a cotton-blend pair for my mother-in-law, and they're more grey and less blue than I had hoped - the striping at least is amusing, though. I'm thinking they're not going to be long in the cuff.

Travels: Last Thursday I headed south for a weekend with friends and family. In my quest to hit every yarn shop along I-65 I caught two new-to-me ones, first Clementine's Dry Goods, which I had encountered at the Hoosier Hills fiber festival, but had not been to the shop proper. The shop is bright and inviting, the front is full of quilting fabrics, the back has sofas and comfy chairs, where I was invited to sit and knit before I'd even begun browsing. And the middle part is yarn. Lovely stuff, some basics and a few handpainted sock yarns that you don't often see in brick-and-mortar shops. I picked up a kit of variegated-plus-semisolid Yarn Love Elizabeth Bennet in Shipwreck. I seriously was stroking this yarn all the way to Birmingham. It will make some lovely luxurious socks for me! all mine! The group sitting knitting was friendly and inviting, I really didn't want to leave.

Next stop was Bowling Green, at Crafty Hands, where they stayed open a few minutes more so that I could browse, bless them. They are serious sock knitters there, and had a huge selection of European sock yarns. I very nearly bought another ball of Trekking in the colorway that my Stupid striped socks were made in, just because I love it so. And I have a Trekking weakness anyway. But then I wandered over to their needle selection. And they have Darn Pretty Needles. And all yarn thoughts went out the window and I have a new set of size 1 dpns. Not that I needed them, but oh, I did. So those fueled the rest of my trip home.

And the fact that I got passed by an IRL team truck on its way to the Nashville race.

My mom loves her new socks, so that's good. I met people who are important to my Dad, and that was fun. I met and worked some with old mathy friends, and that was pleasant. Knitting the mobius while working on math was good, and when old friends got me cranky in the way that new people just can't, I had the Quinn bag to keep me distracted and not killing people.

Anyway, that's the story of the past week. The camera needs recharged and flickr is being difficult, so pictures next time. I may have finished a sock or two by then!