A felicitous discovery August 1, 2012

I don’t think I mentioned this, but I am vacationing at the Chautauqua Institution in New York for two weeks (well, a week and a half at this point).  We are staying with some family friends, who have bravely invited us back this year.  Imagine my surprise when one of our hosts told me that Chautauqua now has a yarn shop!

I made a trip down to St. Elmo Fiber, expecting… I don’t know.  A few skeins of Plymouth Encore, maybe.  After all, Chautauqua is fairly small, and only gets substantial shopping traffic in the summers.  Instead, I found a wide range of beautiful, striking yarns, from Cascade to Noro.  Oh joy!  Oh rapture! 

I have yet to buy anything, though, as I left my wallet at the house on purpose.  I intend to buy a cast-iron teapot and warmer for my dorm room when I return home, so I’m trying to limit my purchases between then and now. 

Make sure to drop by if you are in Chautauqua – it’s located in the basement of the St. Elmo building.  Just follow the pretty colors and the sheen of sari ribbon.

 

Ravellenics 2012 July 21, 2012

It’s official!  I’ve created my project page, joined a team, wound my yarn, and RSVPed to the cast-on party.  Ravellenics 2012, here I come.

I’ve chosen to attempt the Boyfriend Jacket from the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Debbie Bliss magazine.  The Ravelry page for this project can be found at http://www.ravelry.com/projects/truthinjest/boyfriend-jacket.  

This is my first ever project with a Rowan yarn.  I’ve been telling myself for years that I will not knit with Rowan until I can afford it.  I have a summer job, and will be twenty miles from the nearest yarn store in college, so I felt that I could buy some yarn (this once!) that is a tad outside my budget.  I like to think of projects like this as “investments” in stylish warmth.  And a reason to love cedar-lined chests.  

Two weeks of sweater madness, here I come.