Cry Me a River

After all the fuss about Kidsilk Haze, when I finally got my hands on it, I was having a bit of trouble getting used to the yarn. That, coupled with some careless counting, had me frogging and re-casting several times for River. I was pleasantly surprised though with how strong this delicate-looking yarn really is, as it managed to last through all those froggings. The pattern itself is fairly easy in terms of technique and skill, but requires more dilligent counting than I'm used to giving my knitting, since I usually do it while watching TV. I was also having some problems with the texture of the yarn, and was losing and adding stitches in the wrong places. Apparently, I wasn't always careful enough to make sure I was knitting through the right loop, or losing a yarn over when not looking. So I took a couple hours today to sit with it with my full attention, and managed to get it going:



Now that I've got it flowing (couldn't resist the pun), I can't wait to finish it and get it all blocked to see the lace pattern in all its open beauty. Who knows when that will be though, given its need for my undivided attention, and this yarn's rumoured quality of being the loaves and fishes of yarn! At least it's something to look forward to ...

Saturday, I had the delightful experience of meeting some wonderful fellow knitters. Our Chicks with Sticks -- my local knitting group -- joined up with the Knitwits, a knitting group at a seniors home that makes, among other things, lap blankets for various charities. Kate, of knitlit and fakeagamo fame orchestrated the whole thing to get the CWS involved, and how delightful it was! Knitting really has no generation boundaries, because the dialogue is universal:

Ooh, I love that color!
What are you working on?!
What kind of yarn is that?
How do I ...
Help!

It was a grand way to spend a Saturday morning, and I hope to do it again. Only next time, I plan on getting a little more sleep, and imbibing a little less wine the night before, so that I can add more to the conversation than, "More coffee please..." Somehow, I did manage to get a significant amount of knitting done though. No peeksies on what I was working on, in case its recipient is lurking around.

Friday night was poker night, and a good poker night at that. Fellow CWS-er Kelly joined my friends and me to play some cards, and we cleaned the others out, no sweat. Funny, despite modern times and the insane popularity of poker these days across gender lines, boys will always be boys. We had an even co-ed gathering -- 3 gals, 3 guys -- but in the end, it was her and I in the money, and they were not happy. With wounded pride, the boys dealt another game, which I confess I was playing rather loosely (did I mention the wine?), and seemed only slightly assuaged when I was out early. Still, I lost nothing but my buy-in, which I more than made up for in my first game winnings, and ultimately turned a nice little Friday night profit (I see s.e.x. in my near future -- that's [yarn] stash enhancement expedition for you folks with those guttered minds). Props to Kelly too, for playing a good game. More to come, I hope!

All in all, a rather fun weekend, despite springing forward and losing that extra hour ...