I have booked my flight to Boston for May 12 through 16.
I have rounded up my posse, Huw, Erick, Lisa.
We are going to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival.
Can I run around and scream like a five year old now?

Yeah, I guess I am that knitter: I'm planning a trip back to Boston to visit friends around a Sheep and Wool festival. Of course, I do want to get together with some friends, visit my favourite Chinese restaurant that I missed before I moved (Mary Chung in Cambridge: get the Swan Low Chow Show, even though I've never had it because it contains pork). I really do enjoy these festivals so very much, and they don't have them around here in Louisiana. Two of the ladies at the knitting group have been to Maryland's S&WF, and I think they've been to Rhinebeck, too. New Hampshire's is small, but so much fun! And I'm hoping A Hundred Ravens will be there, because I want to get these mini sets:

Hecate Mini Set

Mermaid's Tail Mini Set

Because reasons. OK, yeah, there's a pattern I want to try with these colourways. Right now the Mermaid's Tail is out of stock, but I remain hopeful that by May they'll have it again.

I am promising myself that I will not go overboard this year, and am not bringing all that much money with me for yarn. But I do want to visit The Periwinkle Sheep, because of more reasons. Their fingering weight yarn is out of this world!

May can't get here fast enough!

Back on the Needles

OHAI! Thanks for joining me. The good news is that I've started knitting again, in a serious-let's-have-some-fun kind of way. I knocked off a cowl that I'd been working on that was probably one of the most boring things I've ever knit in my life. 206 knit stitches, 206 purl stitches, change yarn, repeat. It's done now, the loose ends need to be sewn in, and it can be sent to its recipient. I wanted to continue the Death of the Moon (pattern by Josh Rykes) shawl I'm making for myself but I can't find it. I know it made it down to New Orleans and I am sure I've seen it, but it is in hiding right now. No problem! I knew exactly where some Baah! La Jolla yarn was stashed, Fog and Emerald Isle. I got some US size 4 needles from Miss Bette down the street, and cast on. I've done 19 rows so far, and this time, the pattern is a lot easier. I'm still not a fan of M1R and M1L, but I've gotten really good at executing these increases. Go me!

Since there is a yarn shop exactly one block down the street from my house, I've been dropping in every now and then. There's a knitting group that meets there on Wednesday afternoons from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and since I'm only working part time and can set my own hours, I've been dropping in each week. It feels like I'm the youngest person there, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are a couple of men who show up, one is definitely gay, the other is ambiguous. And then there are the ladies. Mostly southern, some with thick accents. I've learned the proper way to pronounce cher the Cajun way: shay. It sounds different from the Quebecoise way, which is what I'm used to. And one of the ladies, whom I believe is Cajun, calls everyone cher: "Oh, cher, what are you working on this week?" Or "Cher, what sock pattern is that, and what kind of heel?" You get the idea. It's a bit odd to my New England ears, but I'm rather enjoying the cadences I hear down here.

That said, southern living is very different from New England. I refer to the shop owner as Miss Bette. If I did that in Boston, I think both Annissa and Cheryl Lynn (Stitch House and Mind's Eye, respectively) would look at me like I'm nuts. But they're both unrepentant Yankees. Southern speech is slower, more measured than what I'm used to. Odd, but talking about Yankees and Southerners and speech and accents reminds me I want to get a Red Sox Nation flag to hang outside on our yet-to-be-acquired flag pole in time for Spring Training.

I have to admit, it feels good to be knitting again. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it when I wasn't doing it, but it is really a part of me. When I've added some Emerald Isle to the Fog that is taking shape in my hands, I'll post some pictures.