Shades of Green

After long lust, I finally managed to get my hands on some Kidsilk Haze, which is the lovely spring green that is hanging out on the left. I usually go to The Village Yarn Shop, which is right next door to work, but sadly, they didn't carry it. So I had to wait until I had a chance to get myself over to Spirit Work, which wasn't until today. In the meantime, I began working up some Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair I had, which is the piece in the middle. It knits up quite beautifully:



Not exactly the best picture, but I wanted to show off the lace pattern, which was hard to capture given the "curly locks" of the brushed mohair, so I turned the flash off. Although it's hard to tell in these photos, it's a lovely, muted sage. Check out The Knitters' Review for more detail on this yarn.

At the right, and on the very bottom is Cozy, which I've finally managed to pick back up again, though it is moving slowly:



I suppose all this green is unintentionally fitting -- today was the St. Patrick's Day parade. I vaguely remembered hearing about it earlier in the week, but since I don't usually pay attention to these things, forgot about it until this morning. I haven't kept track of St. Patty's day since I was a student, and it was just another excuse for drinking! So I was a bit perplexed when I opened my blinds and saw all these cars parked up and down the street (then again, I am always perplexed in the morning, pre-coffee). Then I noticed one of the floats hanging out across the street, and I remembered. One of the downsides to living downtown is having to deal with these sorts of events. It took eons to get out of my street just so I could run errands, and then back in through the police blockades on my return home. I can't help it, but these things annoy me! Still, it was a beautiful day for a parade -- unseasonably warm for March in these parts -- and everyone looked like they were having fun, so I guess I can't begrudge them that!

My WIPs are trudging along at a snail's pace mostly because I've been reading like mad, zipping through The Two Towers and The Return of the King, finally! What makes these books so endearing to me is that every time I read them -- as well as my other regular rereads -- is that each new reading is precisely that -- new. I get so drawn in and need to know how it's going to end, as if I didn't already know. What can I say, I am a sucker for the written word. Now I can get back to real new reads!

I got some fun stuff from my secret pal earlier in the week:



Chocolate, more chocolate, note paper, a ball of Knit Picks Shadow (very generously wound up by my secret pal with her new ball winder!), and a copy of The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. I love merino so I've been eager to try this lace-weight yarn. Can't wait to have a go at it! There was also a tape measure, which I threw in my bag already -- so I can have one ready to go all the time! So, thanks, A!

Speaking of secret pals, I was busy today putting together my final package for my spoilee. One of my errands this morning included a stop to Michael's. I was admiring some beautiful stitch markers at the yarn shop the other day, but was reluctant to pay the sticker price on them. I'm always impressed by the folks out there in blogland making their own, and it occurred to me that I could too. I had some jewelry pliers and wire cutters languishing in a drawer from my law school days when a friend got into beading as a stress reliever, and got me momentarily hooked on the hobby as well. I had actually forgotten about them until I was staring at those insanely expensive markers. So I hied myself off to Michael's to get myself some beads. It took me a bit to get reacquainted with the pliers and figuring out how to manipulate the wire, but, eventually I managed and all in all, I'm pretty pleased:



Well, that's a wrap for now!