Stitches South

This is my second trip to Stitches South;  Hannah and I came a couple of years ago.  The hotel has redecorated its rooms, going from warm woods with real character to black and white modular which is plain tacky.

The market, which is all I came for, remains the same.  Lots of women wearing lots of handknits.  Mostly shawls.  Don't know how many were wearing handmade socks, but shawls have definitely been the project of choice for, I'd say, 85% of the attendees.

Met up with friend Mooflower once I arrived.  She and her friend Jane have been delightful company these couple of days, despite our difference in style:

The market did have a surprise or two:

This booth was empty yesterday, but there were men sitting and knitting today.  

There was also a handsome man in a kilt strolling around.  Wanted to take a picture of him, but that would have been just creepy.

Got my standard room service breakfast this morning:

Love my Eggs Benedict, and love the tiny Tabasco bottles even more.

So

Following the lead of my twinster and knitting a Color Affection shawl.  I'm always late to the game on stuff like this Hot-Pattern-of-the-Moment.  But elann.com is selling yarn packs for Color Affection, and I thought I'd dive in.  I went with Night Flower, if you're interested.

Heading off to Stitches South tomorrow.  Can't leave until after 4, which will most likely put me 1) in Atlanta 5 o'clock traffic and 2) driving into some strong thunderstorms.  But once I'm there, I'm there, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday stretch out before me.

It's possible I won't spend that much time at the actual Stitches events.  I couldn't sign up for any classes --- too expensive.  So the only place for me to go, really, is the marketplace.  Not that I'm complaining.

Hopefully, these few days away will help me mentally.  My therapist called my trip to Folly Beach last year (last YEAR?) "as good as ElectroShock."  I am in desperate need of a Reset.  Because I am perilously close to hitting the Permanently Off switch.

This Week

. . .is starting with a pulverizing headache.

. . .is the week of Stitches South in Atlanta.  I'm going --- are any of you?  Is there anything any of you need me to pick up for you while I'm there?

. . .while at Stitches, I may need to buy yarn in "my" color:

. . .has me taking one new medicine and new dosages of two of my "regulars."  My doctor is seriously considering ElectroConvulsive Therapy.  I'm just stuck.  And still can't give you a good reason for me to go on.

. . .will hopefully have Riley getting her feeding tube removed.  She is eating a good bit on her own.

Dear. . .

. . .  Every Bag I Saw at TJMaxx That Would Have Made a Great Knitting Bag: Why were you all $129.99?  I mean, every single one of you.

. . . Little Knits:  Even though I don't have a cool new bag to put any of it in, thank you for all the great yarn in my latest shipment.  I'm already working with the organic wool:

. . . Stitches South, I made my reservation for you today.  My plan for this year is to take myself on a little "vacation" each month.  Stitches fits that bill for April.  AND I get to see some friends!

. . .   Hugh Laurie, I still love you.  This was a wonderful book, and it looks like you've helped make it a wonderful movie.

. . .  Girls who were in Barnes and Noble studying for a French test: the terms are not "bone-a-partay" and "coop duh tatt."  Neither of you, I suspect, has a prayer on the exam.  And I would love to know who asked whom to help her study.

But There's Always Shopping

I do not like to shop.  Even online I'm usually not that caught up in it.  Except for one thing.

Cowboy boots.

Could look at them all day.  I openly gasp at some.  I emit "will-die-a-little-if-these-don't-become-mine" noises often.

Last week, I was down.  Hell, I've been down all year, but last week was particularly vicious and personal.  So I took some of what rather small amount of disposable income I have, and bought myself some boots.  These boots to be specific:

Right away, the photo does them no justice at all.  The leather is buttery soft and the embroidery is impeccable, and, yes, I might have rubbed them against my face.

These boots positively take my breath away.  And they're going with me to Nashville to give me something pretty to look at and contemplate on when everything else threatens to overwhelm me.

Shopping

Several weeks ago, I ordered some of Kollage Yarn's square knitting needles.  I've used them a couple of times since getting them, and there truly is a difference in how my hands feel (as advertised.)  Never good with physics, or kinesiology,  the explanation for that eludes me, but it is true nonetheless.  When I can, I plan on getting some Cubics to see how they handle.

Yesterday, and so far today, lots of my time is being spent on Patternfish.  As if I need more patterns.  With all the free ones available, no one should ever have to pay for a pattern.  But there are a couple there that I just might have to give in to.  Like this one:

Now, I am nowhere near as top heavy as our model here;  hope that won't be a problem.

There are tons of gorgeous, intricate lace shawl patterns on the site.  For some reason, I've never been inclined to knit lace.  Don't know why, exactly, unless it's that most lace patterns are charted, and I cannot follow a chart to save my life.  When I see a pattern that has any chartwork involved, I do what I do when I see that double-points are called for --- move right along to the next pattern.

(For the record, entrelac has always given me trouble, I'm uninterested in Fair Isle, and my hats never have pom-poms because I'm bad at making them.)

Thursday Pastiche

Fewer and fewer gardenias now --- they're getting scorched in the heat.

Speaking of which --- over  100 degrees here the next several days, and Briton has no air conditioning in his apartment, and the upstairs unit here has stopped blowing cold air.  Doubt there's any chance of getting a technician out here tomorrow --- I would imagine they're slammed right now.  Hannah may have to move herself downstairs for a while.

Last Friday, she and I went to The Mall of Georgia, and I bought myself something I've been wanting for years --- cowboy rainboots.  Found them on deep clearance at Charming Charlie.  So blasted happy with them!

The picture of me knitting in public was taken at MoG, as I rested while Hannah shopped and shopped. I've finished the Wingspan since:

Love, love this pattern!

Skills

Briton's girlfriend and I (she has a name --- don't know why I don't use it) had all sorts of fun at the yarn shop.   Technically, it's a yarn barn, but let's not split hairs.

I was taking her because she liked the scarf I made out of Berocco Ric-Rac while I was at the beach.  She is chiefly a crocheter, and when I told her I finished in less than an hour, she wanted to try.  Though I was tempted to buy more, this time I was drawn to Lacey. Same idea --- needle every other stitch or so, resulting in ruffles --- but there was lots (lots) more yards, and I have ended up with a scarf roughly 28 feet long.  Not really, but long.  Really long.  Deliciously so.

After the yarn shop, we ate at a pasta place we both like a lot, then came back here, where we each worked on our ruffle scarves.  She finished hers first, of course, and started crocheting a uterus for to send to her congressman.  Briton said she was pretty nervous, as this was the first time she and I had spent any time together just us, but she was delightful company, and I hope we can hang out again sometime.

'Cause the girl needs to teach me to keep up with my stitch count when I crochet.  I am hopeless.