Knitting Goes On

Today was my friend's funeral. What a surreal experience that was. For starters, her husband and her daughter seem to be in some sort of stoic, robotic state of denial. Not one tear or even the threat of a tear. Her daughter wore a lavender T-shirt, low slung jeans and stiletto sandals?? Her mother never would have let her wear that. I know she is only 16, and was dressed like a 16 year old likes to dress, but couldn't anyone else in the family have taken her to the mall for something, I don't know, a little less cheerful? A little more appropriate for her mother's funeral? Everyone else in the family was attired in the correct way...black, navy, dark brown. Whether it was some sort of rebelliousness on her part or what...I don't know. She can be willful and headstrong...kind of like her mom. I was shocked though, and not just over that. Her friends were there and in the church vestibule afterwards, while we were all choking down cookies and pretending that everything was going to be normal and okay, she was standing in a corner, laughing giddily with her girlfriends like she was at a school dance.

????

I'm trying very hard to remind myself that she is only 16 and her mother wouldn't have wanted her to be throwing herself on the funeral pyre and all...but still. It just was freakin' odd. I have to believe it is some sort of weird denial or total cluelessness or I'll get pissed. It just was sad to me, it was clear she needed her mother to help her dress appropriately and act accordingly for the funeral, and there, tragically, is the irony. This, apparently, is her new reality without her mother's guidance.

Anyways...with the public grieving over for now (there will be more in two weeks or so when school opens and we have to have some sort of memorial for the students), I am back to knitting.

In Ohio, I began the Besotted Scarf. Poor thing...it is bearing the brunt of my grief in its very intricate little cables. I seriously need to learn how to cable without a third needle. Seriously...

It is hard to see the cabling here from my picture due to the evening lighting. The link shows it better. It is Xs and Os...hugs and kisses...besotted...get it?

This is the Araucania Nature Wool in shade #10 that I was going to use for a felted purse. It really does have those subtle variegations in the coloring, it isn't just the weird lighting. It is nice to knit with, doesn't split much at all and isn't too too scratchy, although I definitely need lotion afterwards.



When we were in Cleveland, I went to a craft store just to see what type of yarn they might have since I didn't have the energy to drive into the city to one of the "real" yarn shops there. [I am a total loser, I know...but it is an 8 hour drive and I was tired, okay?] I went to Pat Catan's and left with this...

It is 10 skeins of Bernat Softee Chunky in navy blue. I have been wanting a washable cardigan sweater for myself in a basic color for months now and I think I will just knit myself up one. I had to buy this yarn...it was only $1.47/skein. And it is softer than most acrylics. Acrylic is important when I know it will get covered in chalk at work. Since the yarn was so ridiculously cheap and I have more Feather and Fan scarves to knit for the holidays...

I also bought two skeins of variegated blue [BB#1 wants a scarf in shades of blue for winter], two skeins of dark brown [the new black says all the fashion mags, and I thought I'd like a scarf in brown...just to be hip, you know], and two skeins of rosey pink [because I am addicted to pink, probably as a result of being the mother of three little boys...God help my next child if it is a girl...she'll look like a Pepto Bismol bottle exploded in her vicinity at all times, I just know it!]



Then, I noticed that they also had Bernat Satin yarn...which I love. It has a pretty pearly sheen to it. And so, look what just jumped into my basket:




Two skeins of camel colored Satin for yet, another scarf for some lucky friend. I am a scarf addict. I need a 12 step program.









And then, ["No more 'and then'!"]then I saw this:

This is a wool/hemp blend. I have wanted to try hemp yarn for awhile now, because I've heard that it gets softer and softer and has a nice drape. I actually bought 9 skeins of this, but I gave some to my friend Amy who taught me to knit again last year. It is a pretty natural color and I think I will attempt some sort of a lace shawl out of it as it is a nice sport weight.






Someday, when I have sold a book or two, I will only buy expensive, snobby yarn, I promise, Yarn Goddesses, but for now, my loved ones will have to settle for average yarn with a lot of love knitted in. Somehow, I don't think they mind.

But...we are headed back to Ohio next week...I may just make it to here, or here,yet. So much for stash-busting, huh?

Now that my husband has his new job, we are planning on moving into a bigger, better house. Is it totally wrong that my first thought when he mentioned a finished basement and a fourth bedroom was--MORE STASH ROOM??