asshats, ratbastards, Earls, and so on...

So, the following is a public service announcement of sorts: The asshats are everywhere, you just never know where until it's too late. The lovely, talented and creative Miss Violet has made a tragic discovery. Not only has her husband been revealed as a cheating, lying, and adulterous miscreant, he has also Taken All The Money. In order to rescue Miss V from the toxic hell she's stuck in, several of her closest and most loyal friends have put fourth effort to help their friend. I'm passing this on, with the hopes that in some small way we can put things right--at least a little.
Help Miss Violet Escape!
Wollmeise Raffle
So many of us have been there; sad and scared and broke and betrayed. If you can, give a little love.
If you're going through this yourself, here are some resources for you too.
Surviving Infidelity
Ravelry Group, Casting-Off for support and people who have been there (and who also like to knit :)
That is all.

Arrrggh!

This blog post brought to you in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yeah, I know it's not until tomorrow but we like to get our swash buckled early around here :)
In case you want to know, here's where you find out your pirate name...
(that site brought to me by the lovely ArtemisOrange)
Aaaannd, speaking of hooks--(hahahahahaha)---

I joined my first mystery Crochet A Long and have been having fun. The above is one motif of 24 to crochet before we hook 'em all together. The pattern is called Peacock Track Scarf and the yarn is Dream in Color Starry in the color Gothic Rose. It was an interesting thing altogether in that the instructions were provided via audio file by Stitch Stud with a supporting chart given as we have all caught up together. I admit to being a poor auditory processor but with concentration and the keeping of the Cheese at legs length, I managed :)


I've also cast on this lovely bit here...

It is going to be an Ishbel (pronounced sha-bel, boy was I off!!) I'm just starting the lace portion now. The yarn is called Buxkranzel (loosely translated means box wreath) and it came from the Wollmeise sock club.
So, there you have it. Don't forget to talk like a pirate tomorrow. I think there's even the option to add that as your language in Facebook, although I haven't checked. It's also Spin in Public day so extra bonus points for spinning in public dressed like Jack Sparrow!!

"Yarn p0rn" or "How vacation yarn doesn't count."

Hello all, shocked that I've blogged twice this month? Well, don't get excited, it's just p0rn (lol)
As you may or may not know, I've been on vacation out East, and my mother-in-law knows of my penchant for fiber so we bookmarked several stops along the way of our mainstream vacation visitations :)
Our fist stop was The Yarn Garden--always a lovely stop. The selection is great, the sales are awesome and the ladies are very welcoming!
Stop number two was Labadie Looms in Bird in Hand, PA. There was a nice variety of things for a small shop, she had looms up, was spinning when we came in and also had rug hooking things as well as a tidy selection of yarn.
Finally, we stopped at Stitches in Time. Also awesome and at the same time, huge! I'll touch on a subject here that's sensitive for me--kid friendly places (not just kid tolerant). Essentially, I bring my daughter with me wherever I go and that means that she goes yarn shopping. Now, I keep a razor sharp eye on her because I know what small children can do in a very short period of time. Once, she has "gotten away from me" (read: I was petting the pretties and was distracted just for a tiny moment) and she pulled apart a skein of that crazy puff ball yarn...it was at my LYS and they were very understanding and I offered to pay for it but they assured me that it was ok. They are very kid tolerant and are lovely people, they have a bucket of giant lego-type things that they'll go get if I'm going to hang out. The owner even plays with DD when I'm doing something (like knitting, for example!) So, there is no dig in here at all, I wouldn't bite the hand that "feeds" me (lol). However, there is a difference between kid tolerant and kid friendly. Stitches in Time is kid friendly and I appreciate that quite a bit. There is a small area for children to play in that I could see from anywhere in the store. DD is old enough to sit engaged in something for at least 60-seconds and that was all I needed to monitor her while I spent hoards of money on all the pretties browsed. Yeah, I know I'm a breeder and I'm stinking up the planet and blahblahblah but as a breeding, planet-stinker-upper and a consumer it makes a difference on how long I stay and play. OK, backing away from the soap box...
And now it's time for a break down:

Below, are the yarns-for-making-presents :)

The Cha-cha and trendsetter will become a scarf for above mentioned mother-in-law (birthday) and the pale blue, white and green will be a shawlette. The Zaurball will become a scarf for the brother-in-law.
Now, this little sparkler will become either an Ishbel or another Damson. I couldn't help myself, it's blue and purle and sparkly--what more can I say?

This was a little lone skein that needed rescuing (see how that sounds better than, "I have a yarn problem?") so it'll become some felted things, coasters and cozys...

And this little lovely is a skein of Noro Silk Sock yarn in a color way that I'm clearly leaning into with all my might. Do I sense a trend? It'll probably sit quietly in the yarn closet (soon to be the yarn room) but I'm going to say that it will be a scarf!

And there you have it. And, now I'll leave you with a question. If it's vacation yarn and it doesn't count, how come it takes up so much room in my luggage?!?!?!?