So Very Much

In the last post, I had dropped off my sewing machine for repairs. Well, that didn't go so great. The repair guy wanted $150 to fix it (understandable seeing as how he'd need to completely disassemble the machine), and that was a bit much for me. I said "Thanks, but no thanks," let him keep it, and bought a new one- for almost exactly $150. Practicality beats sentimentality every time at our house.

I bought a Brother CS6000i from Amazon, and finally tried it out today. I loves it. It features 60 stitches, a drop-in bobbin, and automatic buttonholes; and it came with almost every available accessory. This afternoon I pulled out some junk fabric and thread, and played around a bit. It was ridiculously easy to use. Apologies for the lack of contrast- I just grabbed the first thread I saw, and didn't think about photo quality. The sketchy bit in the center is a buttonhole.

Two knit-nights ago, I learned about the Shalimar Yarns mystery knit-a-long... with mystery yarn! Naturally, I signed up and bought my mystery yarn kit. It arrived yesterday, and it is very lovely- I will refrain from saying anything else about it, to protect those who haven't seen it yet. Mystery!

Yesterday, my friend Maria and I had an awesome mini yarn crawl in Virginia. We first stopped at Needles in the Haymarket. It's a nice store, with a table to sit and knit at, and the ladies there were super friendly. Next we swung by Hunt Country Yarns in The Plains, where it took every ounce of self-restraint to not buy the qiviut or cashmere. Another nice store with a nice selection, and Maria and I agreed the The Plains is a super cute little town. Then it was back in the Jeep for a two hour trek to the next store on our list: the Massanutten Hookery.

Admittedly, we felt we had to visit the Massanutten Hookery mostly because it is called the Massanutten Hookery. I think we were both picturing a much larger shop, but the owner was nice and they had a decent selection for the space. It's part of Skyline Cafe and Art, so you can also browse jewelery, pottery, candles, and other things that may or may not have the Confederate flag emblazoned on them. The coffee at the cafe is awesome. At the Hookery, I got some hemp yarn from Plymouth Yarn called Grass. I really wish I had a shirt that said, "I bought Grass at the Massanutten Hookery."

Later, back in Frederick, I went solo to the big sale at Eleganza. I picked up some Shalimar Zoe Sock in two colors that seemed Christmasy to me. Maybe I'll stripe them together and make Christmas socks or a stocking.

And these four colors are going to become my new lunch bag. I'm thinking I'll do wide stripes with the yellow, blue and pink; then thin stripes of the green in between. I bought some bright green Pleather to line it with, and I think it'll be awesome.

Now the fun weekend is over, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I hate work more and more with each day. I liked it better when I just did the same stupid thing every day, and the boss asked and answered all the questions. Now I have to think and do stuff and be challenged and it sucks. My hand and brain hurt from straining to figure out new patterns, people are always in the lab messing stuff up, and it keeps getting worse. I think I found that point where money ceases to buy happiness. Blargh. I keep wondering when we'll be able to move to Virginia so that I can quit my job to become a crazy survivalist housewife.