Spoiled Rotten

I left work early yesterday to go on a mini-getaway to Monteagle. We stayed in the same place as last fall. While the trees aren't as pretty in the winter, it was still a blast and quite beautiful.

I'm teaching another sock class, so it's another excuse to make a sock. This one is out of Flat Feet, an interesting way of packaging sock yarn. The store should get a shipment in March. I'm almost done with the leg, and knitted a few inches in the car on the way.



As we were pulling up to the house, we almost ran over a deer.


His friends were not far away.


After a little hike, we ran across a waterfall and I took a bunch of pictures.



The view from the porch hasn't changed much - this was after it rained all day.


While it was pouring outside, we stayed in and watched tv. I turned the heel on the vacation socks from New Year's. The colors are matching up so well.


I feel like this post has been a really bad version of a 3rd grader's "What I did on vacation" report. I really should blog when I'm a little more awake and have a little more energy.

Snowy and Cold

It snowed!


This was the view from I-65 on my way to work this morning. Don't worry - I wasn't moving at the time. Nashville drivers (myself included) do not know how to drive in bad weather, so we slow down a lot. Apparently there was no reason why everyone was stopped on the interstate for 10 minutes, but I guess snow is enough reason here.

I finished the Uncle Argyle scarf last night and steam-blocked it. This morning I decided to bring it to work to show Dana, and realized that it could used a little Soak. Aquae is my favorite scent, and it's perfect for boys. We have a tester at work, so I washed it and laid the scarf out to dry in the corner. Yet another perk of working at a yarn store.


Although this scarf seemed to take forever and a year, it was still a whole lotta fun. The idea to make another using a different stitch pattern is creeping back into my head. It'll have to get in line behind about 10 other projects, as usual, but I'll get it eventually.

Tired Auntie

It's Monday, which is my favorite day of the week - I get to spend all day with the nephews. While it's always fun, I end up absolutely beat and the older (and bigger) they get, the more exhausted I am at the end of the day. My brother taught Hoss (the 2-year-old) to go up to pretty girls and say "What's happening hot stuff?". A friend of mine stopped by, who Hoss has a big crush on, and he didn't stop saying it. Little Buddha (who is now only 3 pounds shy of his big brother) is starting to put words together and is so excited about everything! It's great that he's talking, but he doesn't stop. It's nice to be home to peace and quiet.

Yesterday I had a wonderful adventure.


A friend took me sailing on Percy Priest. While it was frigid, it was great to be in the sun. January and February are so horrible - dark, cold, and all around dreary. It drives me crazy every year. So when I get the chance to be outside on a sunny afternoon, it is greatly appreciated.

As for knitting (and crochet) I finally picked colors for the Babette blanket.


It's all Cascade 220 - some regular, a few superwash. I love the colors. Blankets are great because you can pick colors that you don't work with much - while I can't wear that pretty gold in the top left of the basket, I can sure crochet squares with it.

I'm also working on a little weekend project that's a surprise for a couple of people. It's a bonnet from Itty Bitty Hats, pattern slightly altered (of course). I can't get enough seed stitch. It's my favorite.


It's just about knit o'clock, and my project for this evening is the Uncle Argyle Scarf from Son of Stitch 'N Bitch. It's so much fun to work on, but takes forever and ever and ever. I feel terrible that what was once a Christmas gift is now turning into a Valentine's gift. At least the recipient is patient. So far 18 pattern repeats are done, and the pattern calls for 23. If I get 3 done tonight, 2 tomorrow, then I can block it on Wednesday and give it away on Thursday. Hopefully.

It was a dark and stormy night...

It's downright nasty outside. The news is talking about gusts up to 100mph and 2" hail. The scary part is that this isn't even the big bad storm - that one will hit us in a few hours. Now they're talking about a super-cell thunderstorm that's right over us, and a house was leveled about 15 miles away.

I live in a really old house with lots of windows, so I'm now at a friend's house who has a basement. The neighbors (who are all good friends) have started to pile in and we're having a storm party - and I'm the girl blogging in the corner.

Remember Benjie, the guy who got the awesome fair isle hat? He just commented that this post could be my last communication on earth. Thanks, man.

The best part of watching storm coverage on tv is the names for storm tracking devices. Our local CBS affiliate has named their radar system "TITANscan". Nice.


Before the storm arrived, I embarked on a pretty big project. I recently inherited a very nice oriental rug. It's absolutely gorgeous, but is not my favorite colors. At the moment, it is hanging out in the hall outside my door.

A plan has been hatching in my brain. Everyone lately is obsessed with the Babette Blanket, and I am too. A few customers have brought the finished product to the store, and it is amazing. So I'm making myself a big babette - using Cascade 220 instead of Koigu, so the squares will be bigger.

So how do you match yarn colors with a huge rug? I devised a plan. It turned out to be a little harder than imagined.

First, I had to see the rug in my hall. The problem is that our light bulbs are out at the moment, so I brought in 2 lamps.


Once the rug was properly lit, I made a list of the main colors.


Second, find a way to match the yarn to the rug. I can't bring the rug into work and hold it up to our wall of 220. And I can't grab one of each of the 80-something colors we have and bring them home either. So I stole the color cards and brought them home! This is definitely one of those things that you only get to do when you work at the yarn store. (Notice my awesome doormat in the bottom of the picture?)


This process also took a lot longer than expected. Once I've figured out which colors match the rug, I'll play with the selection, add some colors that are more my style, and choose the final 17. This should be fun.

Alright I am so scattered right now - between trying (in vain) to write a coherent post, watching news coverage, and making fun of Benjie, my mind is not in the right place to post.

Now they're talking about dorms being demolished at Union University, students still trapped in storms, and a 22-semi pileup, this is scary. And to think that I turned on the tv a few hours ago to check election coverage.

There's not too much knitting going on in my little treehouse right now. It's been a calm, contemplative, and quite restful weekend.

Saturday night was Art at the Arcade, and it was a blast. I saw a bunch of good friends and even more great art. If you haven't been, you really really need to check it out. One of my favorite exhibits was by John Hung Ha, who has a really cool perspective on asian art. Another friend bought one of his pieces, and I'm jealous. Twist has a tres-Nashville exhibit that just opened, which you have to see. And of course, there's Daniel Lai, who always rocks. If I had any extra money, I would have bought one of his pieces.

Not much else going on. It looks like there's a night of good food and a good book ahead of me. Quiet is just what I needed.

Super Bowl 2008

It's that time of the year again!

I'm actually a little sad about this year's Super Bowl. I'm not rooting for the Patriots because they are cheaters. If they win, I hope there's an asterisk by their title just like there's one for Barry Bonds' records (due to his steroid scandal).

I'm not rooting for the Giants because I just don't like them. I don't like the Mannings at all. As a Titans fan, I don't like Peyton because he's in our division and the Colts are such a big rival. I'm not quite sure why I hate the Giants so much, I just do.

It almost feels like election day - I'm choosing to root for the lesser of two evils. And I still haven't figured out who that is.

The saddest part of the Super Bowl is that it marks the end of the football season. After tonight, we have to wait until August to see anymore NFL. That sucks. I'll follow the off-season, the draft, and will start to get really excited when training camp kicks in again, but what will I do on Sundays until then? The Nashville Predators rock, but the games are only on cable tv, which I refuse to get.

Although I'm not rooting for anyone, I'm predicting that the Patriots will win, 27-21.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Super Bowl.