Back to the prompts

It's February already!  Friday evening we went over to the folks from whom we bought our sofa, loveseat, & end tables (about 3 weeks ago!).  I'd had a change of heart about a) the dark wood of the end tables, and b) the funky fabric of the sofa & loveseat.  We found another seating set that is in stock, and some lighter pine tables (they have drawers! tiny ones, but big enough for the remotes).  All should be delivered within the week.  Then we went over to the Roomy place where we'd bought our bedroom, 'coz the Plaidman had found out that the order was actually written up wrong!  The salesman had ordered us the queen frame & headboard & footboard, but wrote up the mattress as a king.  That put an extra $353.00 on our account, for no good reason.  So we thought, heck -- we've got a credit, and need some lamps; why not apply the credit to a pair of table lamps and a floor lamp?  And that is what we did.  The table lamps were floor sample sales, two alike for the same price as one not on sale.  Plaidman was an electrician (in another life...), and is quite sure that he can resolve any issues with the sockets if there are any.  He's even offered to change both sockets to three-ways if that's what I'd like.  Hey, knitter here!  Of course I'd like both to be three way sockets!  (Is it me, or does that sound vaguely dirty?  Old ladies = potty minds, I guess.)
In knitting news, I kept looking at the edge of my Honey Color Affection -- it seemed awfully hard and inelastic.  I was about half-way into the second section, and looked at a reference about the M1 increase.  Sure enough, I was putting them on incorrectly -- I was putting M1r where I needed M1l, and vice versa.  The whole thing had to be frogged.  Now I have seven of the 4-row repeats of the first section done, with the correct M1's, and the edge is neat but not so hard as it was. 
On to the Year of Handmade prompts:

3. Favourite craft products that you often use. (I copied & pasted this from Rebecca's list, can you tell she's Canadian?)     The craft tools I use most often are my Knit Picks nickel interchangeable circular needles.  I knit mostly on circs, and this is a nice set.  A corollary to these is another favorite (American spelling!) product: Bass Pro Shops handy keeper for all your fishing flies & lures!  It has lots of zipped clear pockets that are held in place by a ring binder, it's divided in the center so I can put wooden & bamboo circs on one side, and metal circs on the other.  The Knit Picks envelope fits in very well.  Of course, I did get myself some acrylic interchangeables, but they have their own zippered case (very pink....not my favorite color) so they're fine. 

4. Dream craft products to use.   Good work requires good tools.  I would love to have a complete set of Signature Needle Arts Stiletto needles, both interchangeable circs and straights.  I used to think it would be lovely to have a spinning wheel, but I got over it.  Lace calls to me, and very pointy needles are super useful for lace.  I still want a small flock of Alpacas, but that's a dream I need to let go -- we're on a zero-lot line property here.  They'd have to be about cat-sized, and I doubt I'd get much fiber from animals that size.   

Twice in one week

Gotta be a record for me posting, lately.  The Plaidman has his marching orders, to get in touch with some structural repair companies & have them give us estimates on the floor joist repair.  We'll just hold our breath until that's done...or maybe NOT.  But summer is now officially upon us here, and this is the time to get home repairs done  with minimal weather delays.  I don't know if anyone's interested in the process, but I think I'll be documenting it all -- just to show what I survived (if that actually is the outcome; otherwise, it'll show just where the final straw was laid on my back!).  To that end, I want to create another page here.  That would be the fourth page, although there are currently only two: I've promised DiscoDame her own page on my blog, to showcase her jewelry & stitchmarkers.  I'll need to take some more pictures!  She's really been busy since she took a class in jewelry making.  I gave her some strands & other bits that I don't wear much anymore, and she's cannabilizing them for other jewelry.  She's hoping to be able to sell some items; we'll have to set her up a PayPal account & figure out how (& how far!) she'll ship her goods.  So, I'll probably be back here this weekend to get all that set up. 
And I hope to have a Finished Object to show -- a lace scarf that I finished on Saturday.  I still need to wash & block it, but I'll get before & after pics.  Honestly, right now it looks like someone spilled Easter egg dye all over a huge vat of Ramen noodles. 
In other knitting, I finally swatched with the Knitter's Pride Trendz acrylic needles, for the Gramps Cardi.  Guess what?  I got soooo close to the stockinette gauge!  I'm so glad I forked over the $ for the Trendz interchangeable set.  I've already ordered more of the DK yarn from Knit Picks (and it's already been shipped!  yippee!), so I'll make the next larger size with the Trendz, getting a gauge just a smidgen smaller than the pattern calls for.  I'm sure I'll have to swap back & forth between the yarn I got earlier and the new yarn, as KPicks was actually completely out of the Tahitian Pearl colorway -- sure to be different dye lots.  Of course, I always order enough from KPicks to get the free shipping, so there are 6 skeins of the Coastal colorway coming along as well.  Plus some lace weight...for which there is no excuse. 

Blogger fail

Well, I've searched & dug through all the photos I've taken lately -- without finding any of the lovely fingerless mitts I made for Miss A.  But it's not all bad news: courtesy of a fellow Raveler, I have 3 more skeins of the Stitch Nation Alpaca Love in Dusk colorway!  Two are one dye lot, and the third is another.  I figure about I can get legwarmers from the matching two, and at least 3 more pairs of mitts from the other. 
I have gone crazy for new yarn; could it be due to Spring finally starting to show up here?  I bought some yarn to make Betty A a scarf, but then decided it was too heavy for her.  So I've ordered from Colourmart, a lovely lace weight silk noil that looks tweedy(!) medium brown.  The flecks are NOT neutral, but all kinds of color.  Can't wait to see it!

I was re-reading the latest post on The Panopticon, and thought about part of my recent trip to Texas.  While in The Yarnivore in San Antonio, I got to see some remarkable artifacts.  The store owner had a silk (?we think) camisole, possibly cut down from a slip, that had some fabulous lace trim & lace straps -- and it looked to be from the early 20th century, likely 90 years old.  Then she reached under the counter and pulled out three darling little caps, one done in tatting, one in bobbin lace, and the third looked to be crocheted.  All very old & somewhat yellowed, and showing some minor damage -- but what lovely work!  I sure do wish the camera hadn't done a big fail that day. 

I bought some more yarn from Knit Picks, and just got an email letting me know it'd been shipped.  So now I've got yarn coming in the mail from three sources -- I really gotta get a grip on the stash acquisition.  I don't know what made me think I could knit the Plaidman a sweater with 10 balls of aran weight yarn; I'll soon have another 10 of the same stuff (different dye lots, I'm sure -- not a prob, I'll alternate rows between the two dye lots).  As to the third source:  I won a giveaway on Yarn On The House!  I'm so tickled!  FREE yarn, what could be better.