just maryse

FO Friday

if you follow me in flickr or in ravelry, then you know this past summer wasn't all about the babette.  the babette was my stay at home project and it set up residence in my spare bedroom.  so when i wasn't home, or had finished watching "the young and the restless" for the week (the vcr is hooked up to the tv in the spare room) i needed something else to work on.

so i made scarves.  it's what i do.

so first on the list ...

fuzzy fingers (or as i call it -- creepy fingers)

i used gayle roehm's fickle fingers scarf pattern (IK winter 2005) as inspiration, knitting the scarf in garter stitch instead of seed stitch.  (details raveled).

i also made a version of helloyarn's irish hiking scarf.

my version has only 2 cables though.  again, i raveled the details. 

i'm usually a bright color type of person so i find it interesting that i toned it down a bit with these two scarves.  maybe babette was all the color i needed this summer. 

**************************
day 175 -- it's friday!  go out and have a beer.

It's the Economy Stupid

so, i really don't know anything about the economy.  which is fine in the grand scheme of things because it's not like i'm running for president or anything. but not knowing anything also makes what's going on right now kind of scary.  i don't even know if i should be outraged or not by the house's decision to reject the $700 billion bailout package. 

which is why i continue to do my part in boosting the economy.  here's my latest haul, most of which came from webs. 

well except for the STR in the foreground.  that's the latest club offering.  it could be my favorite this year.

so, we've got some lorna's laces shepherd sock in the back -- in "amy's vintage office" or something like that, and a skein of silk garden sock.  also what's not in the photo is a skein of noro taiyo in the brown, black, pink colorway.

**************************
day 164 -- based on my background -- having lived in europe and the middle east -- i do have more foreign affairs experience than a certain candidate for VP.  if i were a better dresser and could do something with my hair, i'd totally run for office.

Blatant Self-Promotion

this morning i updated my etsy shop. 

**************************
day 153  -- they're good for swap packages and such.  just sayin'.

F*ck Off!

check out my new mug.

**************************
day 127 -- if you want one of your own, you get it here.

Along 495

so as i said before, last friday J threw me out of the house.  he didn't want me underfoot while he worked on the house (or thought about working on the house).  i cramp his style it seems.  but who was i to argue, as it just meant that I DIDN'T HAVE TO HELP HIM.   (he's uncommunicative at best and gets made at me when i don't do what he asks me to.  funny how that works.  if i don't know what you want me to do, how can i be expected to do it.  right?)

so i went on my own little yarn crawl. 

first stop, Harvard MA and a great little shop called "The Fiber Loft."   i really liked this shop.  nothing fancy.  but i liked the friendly, yet discrete customer service and i thought the shop had a nice selection of a little bit of everything: various sock yarns, including some koigu, kureyon sock, and claudia handpaints (other stuff too, i just didn't take notes).  the shop also carries spinning and weaving equipment, cone yarns, fiber.  this shop isn't super close to my house, but it's easy to get to, and i'll definitely be back.

my next stop was Littleton, MA and The Woolpack.  Crochet friendly (yep, it said so in the window), this shop was considerably larger the The Fiber Loft and also carried some great yarns, like colinette jitterbug, and mission falls, etc..  and some wonderful bags, such as the latest line from Namaste and beautifully colorful bags from Atenti.  it's quite possible that i may have spent a lot of time petting an Atenti bag.  and what they didn't carry, i got the impression from eavesdropping on customer calls, that they are willing to order it. 

then i headed north on 495 to Lowell and to the Classic Elite Warehouse shop.  Finding it was a bit of a challenge, even with the garmin and once i got there i was a little surprised by how small it was.  but that didn't keep me from buying yarn.  *cough*.

finally, since i was missing the ocean, i drove east to Salem, MA.  my planned stop was Seed Stitch a very fancy "boutique" shop.  i couldn't tell you what yarns they sold here (by the time i got to Salem, i'd kind of had enough of yarn) but it's the kind of shop that when i imagine having a yarn shop that i would want to have.  you know, if i could also serve cocktails.  i didn't stay for long since i'd arrived just minutes before closing time, but if you live near there, i recommend that you stop in.

oh so you probably want to know what i bought.

first from the fiber loft:

 

a skein of araucania ranco sock yarn in a pretty purple, and two skeins of claudia handpaints in "lipstick." (i also picked up a copy of deb menz's oeuvre color in spinning.)

and from the classic elite warehouse store:

i picked up a few skeins of cotton classic (i'm hoarding skeins of cotton classic for a mitred square blanket); a skein of cherry tree hill sock yarn, a skein of noro silk garden sock yarn, and a skein of araucania ranco multi (not pictured).  i kind of went a little crazy at the classic elite store.

so that was my trip! 

**************************
day 123 -- my timing was a bit off because i really didn't feel like buying anything at the fiber revival so soon after such a binge.

"Candy" Friday

i got kicked out of my own house today.  several weeks ago i planned on taking today off.  both bosses would be away.  meetings were canceled.  seemed like a good idea.  but j also wanted to take today off to work on the house and he wanted me gone. 

who am i to argue.

so i went yarn shopping.  heh heh.  i might have brought some home.

tomorrow i'm going to the fiber revival.

**************************
day 119 -- the photo has nothing to do with the post.  but i couldn't leave the post photo-less.

Saturday Sky

today's sky is grumble-y and dark and ominous.  it's been pouring off and on for about an hour and a huge gust of wind came through earlier and knocked my tomatoes over. 

i spent a large chuck of today (i kid you not) putting some stamping items up on ebay.  a few years ago, i gave stamping a try but i didn't really take to to it.  so now i've got tons of rubber stamping stuff that i still need to get rid of.  you know, the stuff left over after giving some away to my nieces.  you can click here if you'd like to see what i have listed. i just can't bear to just throw it all away.

anyway, i have to go out and buy some stuff for a salad.  we're invited to friends tonight for dinner.  i leave you with this picture i took last weekend while driving home from my inlaws. 

**************************
day 106 -- don't forget.  stamping crap listed on ebay.  get it now!

B is for ....

of course, it's only B and i'm already behind.  *sigh*  oh well, i guess i've been too busy yarn shopping because ....

B is for Binge!

you know, because i didn't already have a large enough stash. 

so yeah, i've been a little out of control.  since christmas, i've done some damage and i'm afraid that i'm having a hard time stopping.

i'm going to blame this crazy shopping frenzy on the fact that i'm hungry most of the time with the weight loss plan and everything and the depression of being stuck on a weight loss plateau while the rest of you all eat yummy snacks that i can only dream about like a child and sugar plums.  see, i'm delirious with the hunger.

or i'm doing my part to help the US economy get back on it's feet.  yeah that's it. 

or maybe because all of this yarn is just so damn pretty. 

 

ooh pretty lorna's laces bullfrogs and butterflies for a clapotis (my third.  but this one is for me)

or some baby ull for adrian's snail  mittens in The Book of Yarn.

or ......   

some green alpaca for another gathered scarf . 

and then there's the sock yarn .  i kind of fell head first into a giant bowl of sock yarn.  but sock yarn is like vegetables .. NO POINTS!  so i can binge all i want on sock yarn, right?  RIGHT?!

A Break

christmas has  come and gone and this year unlike previous years, i'm a little disappointed that the christmas carols are over.  i know!  they've been on since halloween and yet it feels like i barely got a chance to get sick of them!  we never even put up a tree.  although i did have the inflatable snow globe up.  i love that thing. (although clearly not enough to actually have a close-up of it).

i partly blame that on being back in school.  it was only one class but between lab and lecture, i barely had a week without an exam or project due.   kind of sucks any joy out of the holiday season.

my birthday and christmas were relaxing.  j surprised me with a fancy schmancy wide-angle lens for my birthday.   we're still getting acquainted. (me and the lens.  not me and j.) and the girls pitched in a got me a gift card to lush.  i have high hopes for the beautification.

for christmas, j got us a network storage type device thing.  overkill of course, as all i wanted was an external hard drive to back up my laptop.  but that's j for you. you send him out for  a shovel, he comes home with a backhoe.

what's been great is that i've had the past week off from work.  there was time for last minute shopping and meeting up with stitchy.  and thursday, i introduced caro to WEBS.  despite the weather i think we both enjoyed ourselves.  it's possible that i may have bought some noro sock yarn and some kidsilk haze.  and a namaste needle binder. 

there was some knitting too, but i'll save that for tomorrow.

 

My Etsy Shop is Open

i had tons of cards left over from rhinebeck so i opened up an etsy shop.  check it out.