The Bedroom Debacle

Unfortunately, the weekend wasn't as tawdry as the title may imply. Let's talk about goodness first though.

Here is me wearing my mini-cardi out (it's not the greatest picture of me):

LOVE IT! I got tons of compliments on it, I totally want to make another for me, and it's a pretty quick knit (sewing the frogs was a pain, but that doesn't count. . . .) so I think this might be a gift project, too.

And here is a picture of Jake wearing the pajama pants I sewed.

These are the project I sewed in my 'learn to sew' class. I was so incredibly excited they (a) looked like pants and (b) actually fit!! I believe my next sewing venture is going to be a case to hold my DPNs.

OK, enough of that!

Saturday I stopped by one of the LYS'. . . calling it local is a bit of a stretch, it's like 40 minutes, but whatever! I was going to find bulky, not itchy yarn for Jake's Valery hat. I found two tones of green right away, but there was no Charcoal Grey in the same yarn (Classic Elite Two Two). So I SCOURED the rest of the store looking for grey, to not much avail. I asked Sheri if I missed any and she talked me into buying Lopi. I drove home and was excited to get started. I cast on and realized what a bad decision I made! I've used Lopi for felting projects before, I forgot how rough it is. No way this is going to work for a hat that I actually want someone to wear! No biggie, I think, I'll just grab some Two Two online, there are probably more colors than she had in the store. I google it. . . .results make me cranky! Classic Elite discontinued the Two Two in 2005!! Seems like something pertinent the store would have noted and I start to wonder if some of the rants on one of the local SnB groups about this particular shop have some truth to them. (That story is a post all to itself one of these days!).

So now I can't start the hat, so I decide I can start the hat I am making for me, 'Clara'. I decide that is what I'll use my alpaca from NY for, I certainly remember it being bulky in the hank. WRONG! I opened the hank to wind a ball and calling it worsted weight is possibly being generous. .. . it may be more like DK. Certainly not suitable for my hat, and now, having ~9g which I estimate at about 350 yds, I now have no idea what it will be used for. The signs for starting a new project this weekend are not looking good. I decide I can use the lopi combined with all my leftover wool scraps to make a new felted bag, but I'm not in the mood for mindless stockinette!!

We have plenty of unfinished projects at the house, so I figure this is the universes way of telling me not to pick up the needles and pick up a paint brush or broom or lawnmower. . . . I decide we should finish our headboard. It has been upholstered for quite a while, just sitting in my sewing room taunting me:

The trim has been stained since the end of April. . . . . but we haven't put it all together. Should be quick. . .cut the trim, attach it, then attach the support legs. Jake gets the trim on. . half way home! Then everything goes down the toilet. I won't get into the whole story, frankly it's too exhausting, but the short version is after ~ 7 hours and 50 miles of driving to stores & friends houses, the table saw is broken, one of the two support legs is ruined from trying to use a friends table saw, and my headboard remains unfinished. We wasted another 40 minutes at Lowe's trying to pick out a new table saw, but the thought of spending $300+ on a new one was not so well received. It was not a productive weekend!!! I hope this is not an omen for the whole month of July.

To finish on some better news, I cast on (4 times!) for my halter top. I'm beginning to think this may be too ambitious as a first try at designing, but I've already begun, so we'll see how it turns out. Even though I am an engineer, somehow the math of converting stitches to inches and determining where to place decreases is quite taxing! I am knitting from the bottom up. . . here is my progress. . . 1" of rib for the bottom hem.

That's all for now. . . I have to run outside to cut the lawn before the trash men come!