:(

My little counter map thingy crapped out today so I replaced it with a numeric counter. Woo hoo!

Denied!

Our first attempt at visiting a Florida knitting store was less than successful. This store was CLOSED! Sigh.

Luckily just a few days later Lilly and I hit up a fabulous knitting store in Maitland, FL, Sip and Knit. Being a warm climate knitting store they had the most wonderful selection of cottons, silks, and bamboos I have ever seen! Knowing this would probably be my last knitting store splurge for a while I went a little nuts and added 3 projects worth of yarn to my stash ...

On the left is Hempathy, which I plan to make either into an empire waist camisole tank or maybe a lacy skirt. In the center is Sidar Baby Bamboo, and oh my goodness is it soft and wonderfully drapey! I am thinking this will probably be a summery baby dress for the new niece I mentioned yesterday. Sort of graduated colors, light grey to green to putty, with the pink for some accents ... Last is some Rowan wool cotton, which I plan to make into a striped baby sweater for yet another new arrival expected in the fall by some good friends in Buffalo. Babies babies babies!!! Freaks me out! I guess it's all part of being nearly thirty.

Speaking of babies, on the Florida trip I got to meet my fabulous BF's nephew, who is the CUTEST 14 MONTH OLD EVER!! He was totally my buddy. Which is saying something because I haven't always had a track record of being a "kid person".

The BF is out of town this weekend so I'm enjoying a much needed day of lounging in my pajamas (and knitting, of course). I may finally get around to photographing my stash for Ravelry.

Coming up on knitjenious: photos of the Kathmandu DK shrug and a preview of my Montego Bay scarf.

Good news to add!

Late this afternoon my third niece was born! Emma Leigh, 6lbs, 1oz (not Katalina as they previously planned to name her). Good thing I finally got the sweater in the mail yesterday ...

Okay, okay ...

I have been holding out on you with the Orlando visit details, I know, but there's a very good reason. As soon as I got back from my trip things starting going downhill (even more) rapidly at my job. As of today I am no longer employed by my former employer as I, as well as everyone else, have been laid off. My company had been having massive financial trouble for some time and the end seems to have finally come. I was planning to leave at the end of May anyway so I guess my job search plans are simply accelerated.

More time to knit, I suppose?? Looking for the bright side here ...

Where has Jen been?

Hello dear readers! Since last we met I opened To Kill A Mockingbird, took a trip to Florida, and finished 2 projects!

First, I polished off the Kathmandu DK shrug I started before Christmas. (Photo pending). My fabulous BF's family had given me a gift certificate to Embraceable Ewe for my birthday in August and here are the results! 85% merino wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere, very lofty and cozy. Because of it's loftiness, however, be gentle when you give it a tug (ie. preventing ladders on double pointed needles), I actually broke the yarn once or twice before I got used to it.

Side note, this is my first garment of my own design! If you can call it a design ... It's really just a rectangle, joined in to a tube, arms picked up and knit in the round and then a picked up ribbing border around the neck/armholes/back. Tres simple but fun none the less.

Next, I finished the 2nd Wabenshal. Hooray! Okay, I actually still need to weave in the ends and block it. Still, soon I can hand it over to my co-worker and collect my first knitting-based earnings. Maybe this is the start of something ...

Next time on knitjenious: tales of my travels, a review of a great Orlando-area yarn store, and a sneak peak of the knitting near-future!

Reliving Childhood Memories

Omg, I just discovered you can play Oregon Trail on Facebook! Yes, I realize that statement (and the fact that I'm playing a game on Facebook) makes me sound about 13.

My earliest memory of using a computer was playing Oregon Trail at the town library. So many hours spent staring at that green, pixelated screen trying to ford rivers and shoot deer. In the Facebook version you can choose to eat members of you travel party, a feature which I definitely don't remember from the game I played in 3rd grade.

Good times, good times ...

Another thing to love about my boyfriend

So, the other night I was browsing on Ravely and my BF, who witnesses more clearly than anyone my obsession with yarn, remarks isn't it funny how so many yarn shops have sheep-based puns as part of their names. Then he starts laughing uncontrollably and says, hey someday you could have your own yarn shop with a red and white stripe knitted cozy on a pole in front and call it the Baabaa shop ... like barber shop ... only baa baa ... sigh. He's the best!