I Crawl Because I Like Being Close to the Ground

It really bites that I can't blog at work. That's code for: brace yourself, this is gonna be a long one. This daylight savings time and work takes a lot out of me. Don't get me wrong. I love the extra hour in the mornings but it really messes me up at night and the flourescent lights at work don't make it any better. They and the flickering (useless) computer that I sit in front of all day really saps my energy. The computer at work is useless because I can't BLOG! But the moolah is nice!!

Let's jump right in, shall we.

I've been spending a lot of time with ST (Surly Teenager). She's been attached to my hip and all things auntie for a few weeks now. It's no problem though. She's a really cool kid. So cool that she's picked up crochet! FIYAH! Thats her below at another yarn spot I wanted to hit called the Knit Cafe. It's a cozy little store in Beverly Hills. You may have heard of the book Greetings from the Knit Cafe. Well this is that author's store. Nice folks with no boug at all.

Houston, I think we have a convert. She was so overwhelmed when she stepped into the store. She never knew there was such a thing as a "Yarn Store" that carried only yarn and didn't have a big box chain name *cough* *cough* Michael's/Jo-Anns *cough* *cough*. Here's ST picking out some Cascade 220 in a rich purple variegated.

And here she is practicing on some scrap yarn I had. No sense in wasting the new yarn on test work.

And here she is trying to crochet in peace but unable to hold back a laugh at her corny auntie trying to snap flicks for her blog.

I ended up not buying any yarn but instead picking up this French Girl Knits pattern called Isobel. I later picked up some Cosetta yarn from Jo-Anns. I'm doubling up.

For the last couple of weeks I have been smitten with the Cycling Aran by Hello yarn. It's been in my Ravelry cue for a few months but I've been feeingl the need to make it in earnest. Two weeks ago I swung by another LYS in Santa Monica called Wild Fiber. Before I say anything negative about them, I will give them one more opportunity to redeem themselves.

I picked up a ball of Elisabeth Lavold Silky Flamme to swatch with and fell in love almost 90%. I just couldn't do it. I decided that in order to get the proper gauge I would have to go from a 9 to a 10.5 needle which would IMO make the sweater too airy. I didn't give up though and kept looking for a good replacement. The only problem I had was finding the right yarn in the same rich gunmetal color and reasonably priced. After searching hard and not settling I finally found it!

So this weekend I decided to do my own little yarn crawl. Just like in my mall hop days, I decided to hit a few shops I had never been to before to say I went. I started out in Santa Monica at A Manos Yarn Center. I've heard a lot about this shop and wasn't disappointed. The ladies in there were having a good ole time when I walked in. They had the music going and about 8 of them around the table just yakking it up and knitting. I jumped right into the conversation. I couldn't find my elusive Cycling Aran yarn there but I did pick up a pair of size #19 needles, and some pretty Rowan Calmer and Berroco Bonsai in reds to start scrumbling for a shawl I'm making for a new friend. Annette and Shenita (the owners) were wonderful. Would you believe I had been talking to Shenita off and on on Ravelry and never even knew she was the owner of A Manos? Well here's your plug girl!.


After leaving A Manos, I drove on over to Compatto also in Santa Monica. Early last week I had gotten an invite to be in the Compatto group on Ravelry and decided I should go check out the spot. This store is niiice! Well decorated and well stocked. It's a small spot but nicely organized. Nancy, Bonnie and Grace are the bomb! They carry lots of Blue Sky Alpacas, Rio de la Plata, and Malabrigo. Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton is what I chose for my Cycling Aran. Check it out! I hope he loves it!

A few more things. Picked up this cute pattern called Instant Oatmeal by Monkey Suits. I think Mercy will look cute in this for the winter. Finally something to use that RYC I bought a while ago. BTW, I don't think I ever showed you all the yarn I got for Arrica's Boobholder. I need to get it popping cause I missed her birthday. I've had this yarn for nearly 3 months now and haven't started yet.

I promise I'll be back this week (Lw). I got some great events going on this weekend to hip you to.


Kamika