we don’t miss the cold

i’m so glad NOT to be looking out that window today, haha.
my computer thermometer tells me that it’s 20 degrees right now back home and while it’s chilly here on the west coast, it’s certainly nowhere near that cold.

we had a completely smooth, uneventful flight yesterday (it’s all about the small stuff, right). i found out when i got to the airport that the reason i couldn’t check my baggage online was that i’d been upgraded in my frequent flyer program to a level that allows me free checked luggage and stretch seating—who knew?? i never had a “level” before; it might take some getting used to.

our flight left before sunrise, but somewhere over kansas or so, it caught up with us. and as we coasted down into denver, we passed over what i think may have been a snowstorm.

we flew right over it. heh.

i intended to work on the wasp and rose lace shawl and got all set up in my window seat to go to town with it, only to discover when the cabin lights went off that i couldn’t see well enough to do it. bummer.

so, i opted instead to work on the LOVe shawlette, which is knit with bigger yarn (and it’s white . . . or nearly so)

i got quite a bit done in 5-ish hours of flying time; just a little bit further to go and i’ll begin the garter stitch section. i’ve toyed with the idea of using a different stitch pattern in the top part, but i keep going back to the idea of garter. the reason?

those little garter bumps that form the lily bells—i can just picture how well the garter texture will make them pop. the two patterns will speak to each other in a very lively way, i think. it’s knitting up exactly the way i pictured it in my head with this soft kollage creamy, colorway natural.

i’ve gotten so far along on this piece that i’m going to try to finish it tomorrow or saturday, while i’m socializing at TNNA. that way, i can block it on sunday night and photograph it on monday or tuesday. it was my intention all last month to have something to photograph on kim during our visit, as is our tradition, but in the end, i despaired of having an FO and arrived empty handed.

now we’ll be able to do a fun photo session at the beach after all, woo-hoo.
not only that, but we’ll probably have two projects for her to model

because the eliza mitts for the yarn4sock february club kit are also nearly finished—just a few more rows on top and a thumb are needed, then a nice bath to smooth out the texture.

yesterday we did not do anything terribly exciting—we really just flew here and then vegged the rest of the day away (not a bad thing at all). even though we got here early, it felt like evening and i was falling asleep by 9pm.

today, we had a more typical san diego vacation day—we went for a long walk, then ate a picnic lunch at pt loma national monument, and explored the tidepools. after which, we headed home by way of mootime creamery, where we topped up on ice cream to fortify us for an evening of cooking and eating with kim’s boys.

i have plenty of pictures to share, but they’re still in the camera, so i’ll save them for next time. however, i do have a little treat for you in the way of yarn prøn . . . something that arrived in the mail the day before i left home.

many of you know and love our friend craig at great northern yarns, and all he does to bring us luscious exotic yarns at fantastic prices.

craig has been working really hard for the last year, developing new fiber blends to add to his original mink/cashmere line. first, he added 100% mongolian cashmere yarns, then his mink/cashmere in fingering weight, along with 100% yak

and now he has two lovely additions to this luxurious collection . . .

the yak/mink/merino/soy blend in fingering weight, perfect for a little shawlette or scarf, with its relaxed twist and ever-so-slightly fuzzy halo. it is truly next-to-the-skin soft; you’ll WANT this near your neck and cheeks.

but wait—you may decide instead that the mink/milk/merino blend is even MORE to your liking. if it’s possible, this yarn may just edge out the previous blend in softness and it will probably have more of a halo once you get knitting with it (just a guess; craig’s yarns retain the coating of spinning oil they receive in the processing and only bloom once they are worked and/or washed).

those of you who are familiar with craig’s yarns will probably be rushing off now to investigate (because you already know about his fast delivery, great service, and beautiful products).

those of you who haven’t been to his site yet should really go take a look before they clean him out.
i’ll wait; i can hang out with the readers who are sworn to a yarn diet—at least till the rest of you report back . . .

and no worries, i have a treat for the dieters too.

there’s a new project bag in town. my friend michele, owner of three bags full has created a bag that is generously-sized for sweater projects, shown here in the trés chic fabric.

i’m trying it out on my pilgrim sweater project before it gets ripped—i’ve got a sweater front and three very large cakes of yarn inside, plus several sets of needles and look—it’s perfect. everything i need to keep track of in one place. if i left it untouched for a month, i’d still be all organized to continue.

these will join her regular lineup of bags very soon; she may even have had them listed, but run out already.

tomorrow, kim and i head up the coast for a visit with jocelyn and nan, then it’s on to TNNA for me where i’ll meet up with cookie, rosemary, and possibly janel for a weekend of mingling with our peeps at the trade show.

in the next post, i’ll leave you with a little something to play with til i get back.

after that, i’ll pull out all the stops with photos of our trip so far (and THEN, we’ll do a special update of kade’s menagerie, probably monday or tuesday; he has several interesting additions since our last visit)..