Blue Sky Alpaca – mud&string

YIPPEE!

Thanks Mollie aka deepbluerenegade for making me the winner of your 100 Blog Posts contest. I opted for a $10.00 gift card from Mr. Yarn and plan to use this to feed my Shibui Sock addiction. I’ll make my final decision sometime today and get it posted to share the yarny love. I love me some contests!

THE GRANDS

I found this cute pic when I ~~hacked into~~ visited Mr. Iknead’s Shutterfly stuff. I’m a Flickr-phile myself so every so often I check out his Shutterfly to see if I’ve missed something. Here’s this week’s fave –

I love the way the Papoose has her chin in her hand, it seems to be such a “big girl” attitude and the way Babydiva is looking at her, little girl learning from big girl. So cute!

WARNING! STASH DIVING CAN BE HAZARDOUS!

Earlier this week, I got it into my head that I’d misplaced a skein of really expensive (for me) sock yarn and since I didn’t have any socks on the needles, decided I couldn’t go one more minute without getting a pair started and absolutely, positively couldn’t use anything but the misplaced yarn. Naturally, this meant turning my yarn stash upside down, digging feverishly, just knowing it had to be in the next box or bin or bag. Didn’t find it. Looked under furniture. Didn’t find it. Looked in the stash overflow area. Didn’t find it. Instead, this is what I did find – balls and skeins and hanks of yarn that I, either intentionally or unintentionally, had forgotten and this is why organizing/reorganizing your stash can be hazardous – you get caught up in one of two reactions or at least, I did. The “what was I thinking??” reaction or the “OMG, I love this stuff! How could it have been languishing all this time??” When this happens, all work comes to a screeching halt and for the next little while, I’m looking, remembering, fondling and running to Mr. Iknead repeatedly showing him the treasures I’ve found. Mr. Iknead’s enthusiasm for this is so low as to be nonexistent, by the way.

OK, back on track. Anyhow, last night I figured out why, after multiple searches, this yarn is still MIA. It’s because it’s been wound already and I’ve been looking for a hank. I even remember winding it. Today I’m going to search again, but for the correct shape and I bet I find it right away. This yarn has nearly reached “Holy Grail” status in my single minded obsession to find it. Is that odd?

ON THE NEEDLES

Here’s what I’ve accomplished on the Etched Rio Wrap so far, when I wasn’t turning my stash upside down (see above).

I love the color of this Metalico yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, a pinky-gold.

BY THE BOOK

I’m currenting listening to A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Strangely enough, I learned about this book while watching one of those sort of embarrassing shows on the I.D. channel. You know the ones, with bad reenactments and strange voice overs. The author committed suicide back in the early 1970s and after his death, his family found this unpublished novel hidden away, sent it to a publisher and, bang, a bestseller. Interesting book, interesting back story.

Don’t forget to visit Tami Amis blog and Small Things Yarn Along for more WIPW goodness!

Man’s mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes

TRENDING NOW (what’s that mean anyway?)

Any time one of us had the droops or doldrums, especially in winter, my grandmother always said we needed a tonic. She never gave us a tonic, just said one was needed, which was probably a good thing since when I hear the word tonic, I think of cod liver or castor oil, both of which are off the scale on the official Disgust-O-Meter. My own personal winter tonic is this:

Take one cold and cloudy day

Add a nice fire and some knitting

Mix in a couple of grands, chocolate milk and cookies

Monitor closely as not to miss anything

and

Watch your contentment rise

Repeat as often as necessary

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

The Papoose Gives the Sprout a Clean Bill of Health

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve done very little knitting the last day or so, still working on the second Phloem Sock; I did remember that I promised a quick show and tell of the Metalico yarn that The Yarn Mart ordered for me and it’s more beautiful than I remembered –

Here are the stats:

Metalico

Blue Sky Alpaca

50% baby Alpaca and 50% raw silk

All natural/No dyes

Gold Dust

This is going to transform into Sarah Smuland’s Etched Rio Wrap and I can’t wait to get started. The softness and shimmer of this yarn is amazing. Check out the Blue Sky Alpaca website for a look at the pattern.

POP THE QUESTION

What’s your favorite winter tonic?

The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment. Tony Robbins