A sunny day in Seattle…

…is a great time to visit the Japanese Gardens, eat Dim Sum, meet a talkative two-year-old on a bus, and share wine, seaweed and red bean paste with a new friend.

Orange and Maroon at UVA…

For those who didn’t know…I went to the University of Virginia…the rival school to Virginia Tech.  I’ve spent some great times at SUUSI while it’s been held for one week each summer at VT. 

 

The picture above is of one side of Beta Bridge.  It’s about 1 block from my old sorority house.  I painted it a few times while I was in school at UVA.  Each side gets painted several times a week with various messages.  I hope that side is left untouched for a long time, not that the emotions of many have been granted that privilege this week.

It’s the end of the…

…Local Yarn Shop as we know it…and I don’t feel fine.  In the midst of the second horrible cold I’ve had this year, I “celebrated” the end of Sweet Stitch with many local knitters (and spinners).

That Saturday (4/1/07) was spent working on the CTH Brights socks (done as of Monday morning, with a shortened toe since I was so antsy).  

 

That Sunday, I spun 2 oz of merino/mohair/tussah silk (70/20/10) blend for the “turquoise project”. 

 

I did finish spinning all 2 ounces, and plied…note the (probably) overspun single.  Hopefully it’ll all be okay when it’s set!

I started on some merino roving I bought from Heidi at The Artful Ewe, but didn’t finish the first third.  I think I’m going to ply it with some Socka reinforcing thread so I can get a pair of socks from it…why does roving never go as far as I think it will?  I think I need to learn to spin a lace-weight thread like Spring…

With the closure of Sweet Stitch, I’m going to miss a lot of things…things I probably don’t even realize right now.  Here are a few I’ve thought of, though:

• I’m going to be out-of-the-loop for all the new yarns (especially Rowan) and am going to feel yarn identifier stupid (when you look at someone’s project and ID the yarn maker and sometimes the colorway). 
• I’m going to have to go to Spring’s house to eat awesome cupcakes.
• I’m going to miss being amazed by how fast Terry can finish her projects.  (I have Japanese class during the Thursday night knitting gathering at Ceasar’s).
• I’m going to have to drive more than 3 miles to buy yarn.
• I think most of all, I’ll miss being able to stop by the shop to chat with Julie any time the ”Open” sign is lit. 

…and as for all that eyelash yarn I bought as the last ever sale at Sweet Stitch?  Lots of skein mixes…wanna help, Julie?