Saturday, June 7, 2008

Steamy Saturday

It is positively dreadful here today. Walking outside is like walking into a bowl of cream of soggy soup. Bleah. I do detest summer.

But we managed to have a nice day. We got up and got to the PO and I mailed back the defective Signature Needle. (One of the pair that I bought at the MD Sheep and Wool Show (only eleven more months!) had a wonky tip...as though it wasn't completely finished. So I contacted them yesterday and they told me to send it back and they would replace it. And offered me a deal on another pair but I think I'll hold off on that. They were an indulgence...I think I'd rather spend the money on yarn.)

Then we went to Lowes and I made decisions on medicine cabinet, toilet, vanity, faucets (both sink and shower), and shower doors. I've emailed our contractor with what I've chosen and he can look the list over and let me know if everything is okay. I am worried now that the sink I chose will be too deep. I took pictures of everything but I won't throw them in here...I'll unveil the completed bathroom when it's all done. Or perhaps document the process. But I will say that Lowes is a very happy place.


Then (cover your eyes, Rachel) we went to Bluestone for lunch. They have incredible sandwiches and wraps...I had the Ahi tuna wrap. Yum. Actually, I had half of it...the other half was dinner this evening.

Then a quick run into Michaels to get some size five needles. (I'm doing gauge swatches for the little girl's cardigan and I know I got gauge with 6s but the fabric just seemed sort of loose. I really liked the fabric the 4s made, but I was way off gauge. I'm going to try 5's in the hope that I'll be close enough on gauge and the fabric will be nice. I mean, it's a sweater for a toddler. If it comes out a little smaller than an actual size 2, for example, it'll still be wearable sometime, right?)

Then into Border's, where I indulged in some books. And a couple little things to send to Rachel, even if getting packages from the PO is such a pain. One of the things I picked up for me was Lisa Lloyd's A Fine Fleece. What a nice book! There are gorgeous patterns for sweaters and scarves. I don't think there's a stinker in the bunch. And, while the patterns were designed for hand-spun yarn, each one is shown knit in hand-spun and in a commercial yarn. Seriously good-looking patterns here. I'm so glad I pulled this one from the shelf to look at. It's a little pricey at $30 but with a 30 percent off coupon and $5 in Borders bucks, I couldn't resist. If you like hearty, cozy, cabley, tweedy sweaters, go check this one out. (Edited to add that, after another close read of the book, I love it even more but I do wish that there had been more close-ups of the handspun yarns...a lot of the close=ups seems to be of the mill-spun yarns. But that's a small quibble. And I think I want every single one of the sweaters in this book.)

2 comments:

Rose said...

Is that the color scheme of your new bathroom? Looks restful, spa-like. Do you like Knit Picks yarn? I get the catalog and am tempted, but have never tried them.

Rooie said...

Rose - What's funny is that that laughing toothbrush holder is really close to the color of the bathroom. I really just took the picture because it looked so happy. (My husband thinks it looks scared...) But the colors are soft blue-y greens and white. I am hoping for a restful, beachy sort of feeling, though the room is the size of a phone booth so it's not like one would be doing a lot of lounging there!

This is my first try of Knit-Picks yarn. I've only done the two gauge swatches so far, so the verdict is still out. It's a gorgeous color, though...very vibrant.