Potential

I love a good day off work--I get so much done. I cleaned a good bit, organized some old stuff, and spent lots of time and money at The Yarn Exchange. As a "yarn break" in the cleaning. Which I haven't yet resumed. What?

I went with Heather--enabler #1--and brought along my gift certificate from Anna--enabler #2--and spent [undisclosed amount of money] and drooled over the Manos del Uruguay's new colorway, "Woodland," and want to make something of it--entrelac shawl?--but can't think of anything just now, so it's good that I didn't actually purchase the Manos and only fondled it jealously for 45 minutes (I can't find a good link to the stuff, and the Manos website is weird, and I'm a little cranky about it. Snarksnarksnark. Okay, I feel a little better. I'm sorry I don't have a good link for the Manos.). Heather and I also talked the owner into looking at possibly carrying the Malabrigo Buttery Goodness Merino yarn (which I may have mentioned a time or two in passing). We have potentially helped increase the coolness factor of our favorite LYS (which is one and a half blocks from my apartment, and I dance about in glee daily over this fact), and potentially helped destroy the bank accounts of many many friends. Sorry, darlings. All's fair in love and yarn.

Anyway, this is the newest addition to my potential (click to bigginate, natch):



This delightful pile of MACHINE WASH- AND DRYABLE (very important for the new mom) cotton will be made up into a sweater or cardigan or hoodie or something for Miss Baby Maggie, the daughter of Nick's cousin (and if anyone can tell me the official name of that relationship--removed, 3rd cousin, or what--I'll be forever grateful). Hooray! I'm about to embark on my first knitted garment! And by "about to embark on" I mean of course "will get to after the wedding."

In other potential project news, I also picked up my first sets of double pointeds. They are Clover bamboo, and I love them to pieces. Not literally, though.


(Boring picture, isn't it? Makes you wonder why I'm posting it, doesn't it? Me too, my friend, me too.)
These needles will be paired with this yarn...



to make my Knitting Olympics project, a hat in the round on dpns. And can I just take this moment to say HOLY SHIT there are a lot of us doing this Olympic challenge. Click on that link and scroll all the way to the bottom and it will tell you that at last count there are 2,130 knitters who plan to cast on all at the same time (mostly) and work on a project for 16 days, leaving family, friends and pets to wonder where the heck their knitter has got to (she or he is in the knitting corner... just follow the muttering). Expect fallout on or around day 14.

Oh, and the fingerless mitts that I'm working on to keep my hands warm and stitches even? I'm half way there.



I am about 3 inches into the second mitt. I'm a bit concerned about the fact that I may not get it done by the 10th (Cast-On Day), but I think I can muddle through. As long as I don't knit in our dammed office (which we don't heat because we're cheap) (the likelihood of me knitting in our still-full-of-boxes office with the semi-comfortable chair and the guitars is dubious. I'll leave this room to the other geek in the house).

Now I'm freezing and must leave the office--wherein lies our desktop--so cheers, everyone. I'm off to sit in the oven (electric! not as dangerous as it sounds!)