Frog Pond

Remember this?

It's the I (heart) Gansey sock, from the Six Sox Knitalong, in Hand Jive Knits Nature's Palette Fingering weight yarn in Indian Paintbrush, a gorgeous pinky red. I love this yarn. I love this pattern. However....

This project was hanging over my head. The pattern is fairly complex and I can only deal with one complex project at a time. Right now, that would be the Honeybee Stole. I wanted to knit socks, with this yarn, but I can't deal with the pattern right now. I don't know what I'll do with it, but it will be socks.

The second Bus Stop mitten is about half done. I worked on it tonight while my brother and I waited for our meal at Steak'n'Shake (really, one of the reasons I moved back to the Midwest). However, I managed to leave the restaurant without it. When I went back to to look for it -- after driving all the way home and back, of course -- the manager told me that they were going to see if they could learn to knit, so they could finish it! I got the feeling that bags of yarn are not frequently found at Steak'n'Shake.

Yarny and Soupy Goodness

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to introduce a knitting co-worker to Elann (site not working at the moment). She was looking for alpaca, and, when Elann's selection is good, it's definitely the place to go! She succumbed, and I decided to order some Baby Silk to use for my Endpaper Mitts. But now I can't get into Elann! Oh, no! What if our colors are gone?!?!?

When not knitting lately, I seem to be eating grilled cheese and/or soup (what? that's not an inspired segue?) Yesterday for lunch I ran to the EMRB Cafe', where they have great grilled cheese. You get to choose your bread (whole wheat, of course) and cheese (1 slice provolone, 1 slice cheddar). Yum! And today I lunched with co-workers at The Summit where I had grilled cheese (cheddar) and a great creamy tomato/mushroom/spinach soup.

Tonight I made potato soup from a bag (I don't remember the brand name -- you just mix it into boiling water and let it simmer for 15 minutes). I fancied it up by throwing in some frozen corn to cook with it and, at the end, some diced up bacon (already fried, of course). Really yummy and really easy!

To make up for the lack of pictures (and knitting), here's one of my favorite soup recipes. It's not as easy as soup-from-a-bag, but it's not too much more trouble! It's best to make it one evening after work, to eat the next day.

Pasta e Fagioli
1 c dried white or red kidney, pinto, cranberry, or cannellini beans (I've also used the bagged "soup mix" beans)
2 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz can peeled, chopped tomatoes
1 T fresh sage (or about a teaspoon of dried sage)
pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, pepper
4 cups broth (3 13¾ oz cans) -- I usually use low sodium chicken, although veggie is also good)
1 or 2 carrots, julienned (optional, but yummy and pretty)
3/4 c dried small shell pasta
grated parmesan

Rinse beans, then soak in water to cover for about three hours.

Drain, then place in saucepan with water to cover by about two inches. Bring to boil, boil for 2 min, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until skins begin to crack and beans are tender (45-60 min). Drain.

In the meantime, in soup pot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft (10 min). Add tomatoes, sage, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 min. Add beans and stock (and carrots if desired) and simmer for 30 min more. Add pasta and simmer until tender, 12-15 min.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

38 Answers

I stole this meme from Helen. I promise there will be knitting content soon!

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? My brother. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I’m sure he made me laugh!

2. What were you doing at 0800? Putting on my coat to head out the door to catch my bus.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Reading blogs

4. What happened to you in 2006? I realized I needed a new job…

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? Silly kitty!

6. How many beverages did you have today? Lots of caffeine – two cups of coffee and two Diet Cokes.

7. What color is your hairbrush? Beige-ish

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Lunch (grilled provolone-and-cheddar on whole wheat, Sunchips, one of the Diet Cokes).

9. Where were you last night? At home, doing laundry.

10. What color is your front door? Very ordinary white.

11. Where do you keep your change? In my wallet. I spend my change.

12. What’s the weather like today? About 50 and very windy.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Coffee (with chocolate sauce)

14. What excites you? Rooms full of yarn!

15. Do you want to cut your hair? No. I’m actually trying to decide if I want to grow it out.

16. Are you over the age of 25? Times two!

17. Do you talk a lot? Yes (although probably not as much as the 20 year olds this quiz is aimed at!)

18. Do you watch the O.C.? No

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Several. In fact, I was in two committee meetings with one (the same one) today. And my ex-husband is Stephen – does that count?

20. Do you make up your own words? Oh, yeah. This is practically a genetic trait in my family.

21. Are you a jealous person? Not really.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Adam

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kathy



24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? My brother.

25. What does the last text message you received say? It was an update from my friend who is moving to Denver.

26. Do you chew on your straw? No. In fact, I don’t use straws very often.

27. Do you have curly hair? No, but I wish I did!

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Probably to work.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? I’m not going to answer this one…

30. What was the last thing you ate? Potato soup.

31. Will you get married in the future? Maybe….

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Oh, this is hard, because I went to the movies and saw Michael Clayton and I watched Lost in Translation on DVD. Lost in Translation is maybe my all-time favorite movie, but Michael Clayton was also really good.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? I’m a friendly person, and like lots of people.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Last night.

35. Are you currently depressed? No.

36. Did you cry today? Yes, when I read this post.

37. Why did you answer and post this? Because finding something interesting to post everyday is HARD!!!!

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. If you want to do this – consider yourself tagged!

This is weird....

I saved a draft on November 1. I finished it tonight and tried to post it. After several attempts, it was posted with a November 1 dates. So, if you want to see tonight's post, go here.

New Obsession

First it was cables, then it was lace, and now it's colorwork. Working with yarn in each hand is so much fun, even if my right-hand tension is all wonky!

Don't get me wrong -- I still love cables and lace, but for some reason colorwork has always intimidated me. And, in fact, I don't know what made me decide to even attempt that mitten. But I'm glad I did!

So, next in the queue (after I've finished the mate to the above AND after I've made significant progress on the Honeybee Stole) will be Eunny's Endpaper Mitts. And I also want to make her Anemoi Mittens. I haven't thought about colors for the mitts yet -- I'm hoping to find something appropriate in the sockyarn stash -- but I'm thinking orange and blue for the Anemois. I'm quite taken with the idea of bright Illini colors with that elegant stitch pattern!

Harley's Project

Some cats seem to be fairly dexterous with their "hands," to the extent that you wonder if maybe they could knit, if they just had thumbs. Simon and Charlotte were both like this. Harley, though, doesn't have this talent. However, she has recently discovered that she can open the accordion door into the laundry room

It takes her so long, though, I always want to help! Note that in the picture above she's gotten the door open; all it would take would be one good pull...

What? You think I'm almost done with this project?

I was more successful in finishing my project. Or maybe half-finishing it, since I just have one mitten completed.

I'm thrilled with it! (In the picture, my hand is bent back -- that's what's causing the bagginess above the wrist.) When I have it off, you can see the the stranded pattern pulls in, but, on my hand, it looks fine. Part of the beauty is the way the Poems yarn very slowly moved from pink to lavender, but I think my little bit of colorwork is nice, too.

I'll cast on for the second one tonight, but first I need to work on Honeybee.

And now I'll step up on my soapbox for a moment:
Twig mentioned how some Ravelry forum posters get ugly when talking about designers and publications. Like her, I think this is really unnecessary and wonder why people do it. Are they really this unpleasant in real life? Or are they naive enough to think that they're anonymous or that no one will see their post? If that's how you feel, check out the comments on this post of mine from just a few days ago. A Google search led this guy to my account of how I got the mini-CD out of my iBook. I'm happy I could help him, but this experience really reminded me that even my little blog isn't invisible and even non-knitters might find it. Remember -- don't post anything you wouldn't want to appear on the front page of your favorite newspaper!

Oskee Wow Wow!*

If you don't care about football, skip down to the picture of my hand....

I'm not much of a football fan. My high school didn't have a football team, although our basketball team was good. I went to the University of Illinois during the 1970s, when the football team there wasn't very good. I went to a lot of football games, but they were social events -- I sat with a group of about 30 friends and rarely knew what was happening on the field.

So, I don't take it personally when the football team isn't so great, although it's nice when they do well. This has been a good year -- the Illini have won more games this year than in the three previous seasons combined. It didn't upset me at all when they lost to Iowa a few weeks ago.

But this afternoon -- well, this afternoon they BEAT the number 1 ranked team in the country (and perpetual Big Ten powerhouse) Ohio State! The fact that this win also messed the post-season plans of tOSU -- they insist on being called THE Ohio State University -- makes it all the more sweet. I'm wearing my orange and blue tonight!

Since the score was 7-7 within the first two minutes of the game, I decided that it wasn't the time to work on the Honeybee Stole (although I did work on it a bit last night). Instead, I cast on for these:

I'm calling these the Bus Stop Mittens, because the pattern is based on the Subway Mittens in the Winter 2007 IK. I'm making a fair number of changes to the pattern. The big adventure thus far was the corrugated rib cuff, which went very nicely. It was the first time I ever actually held yarn in both hands while knitting, and now I'm excited to do more. I'm thinking about the Kilm Gloves, also in the Winter IK, although perhaps it would be smarter to begin with something with fewer colors and fewer fingers. Maybe Eunny's Endpaper Mitts. Suggestions?

*Oskee Wow Wow is a turn-of-the-20th-century phrase/cheer found in both Illinois fight songs.

Done and done!

I'm chugging right through the WIPs. I'm ignoring the Honeybee Stole -- I think I'm coming down with a cold or something, and Honeybee demands all my attention.

So here's Calorimetry. Well -- half of her. There's been lots written about the sizing issues with this pattern. It's not too long for me, but it's pretty wide. However, it will definitely keep my head warm (once I find a button and sew it on, that is).

I almost called this post "Knots." Here are just some of the knots I cut out of my skein of Poems yarn I used for Calorimetry. I really like the yarn -- it's squooshy, with a thick and thin texture. But the skein was FULL of knots! Luckily, it spit splices quite nicely....

And here's a whole pair of Serpentine Mitts. It's hard to take a picture of both of your hands...

These are knit from J. Knits Superwash Me Sock Yarn in the colorway called Los Angeles. It's really a nice yarn. I have quite a bit left over from the skein. Maybe I'll make Harley a hat.....

Try to put a hat on me, and I will smite you with my laser eyes!

Let 'er rip!

Last night, I was whipping along through Calorimetry - I was around 1/3 done with it. I know other people can knit one of these in an evening, but I am a slow, easily distracted knitter, so I was happy with 1/3!

The one thing I wasn't happy with was the number of knots in the yarn. I had found 5 in the first 1/3 of the skein! I cut three of them out and spit-spliced the yarn. I left the other two, figuring I would poke them through to the back side when I was done.

Then I dropped a stitch marker that was marking where the short rows began. No big deal -- I compared the markerless end to the other one, to locate the place where the marker should go. That's when I noticed that I had really messed up the short rows on the other end. Instead of slipping one and knitting three, I had occasionally slipped one and knit two. Great. I spent a few minutes wondered how to fix this. Then I thought about those knots and how I was pretty sure that poking them to the back side probably wasn't a great idea. And I began to rip. I ripped the whole thing out, and cast back on. Then I went to bed. Somewhere along the line, I realized I should have taken some pictures, but, no.....

Speaking of casting on for things that I don't have time to knit - have you seen the Knitty surprises? I love Juno Regina, by the amazing Mim. It's definitely in my queue -- after I finish Hidcote, that is, also by Mim. I also really like the over-sized sweater, Oblique. Of course, I need to finish Arwen first, but I can imagine making Oblique (which isn't true of most sweaters!).

And finally -- thanks to Amy for pointing out that Starbucks is now offering the seasonal Cranberry Bliss Bars. Yum!!!! (Interestingly, Starbucks doesn't have a picture of Cranberry Bliss Bars on their website, but if you Google for it, you get lots of recipes. Maybe I need to make my own....)

Sorry for being so parenthetical and elliptical tonight!

Too Many (blurry) WIPs

Warning: Blurry pictures tonight!

Y'all know that I hope to have the Honeybee Stole done by Christmas.

That's the first 37 rows -- not a whole lot more than last time you saw it. There are 200 rows in this section. And 200 more at the other end. And a whole lot more in between. I should be knitting right now.

So, what did I do this evening? Due to the bad influence of Bezzie, I cast on for a Calorimetry. I'm using Poems by Wisdom Yarns (color number 549), a yarn I had never seen before I bought it at Nanncy's in Springfield, IL.

The color is bad -- it's actually pink and purple (surprise!). Really, though, my ears got cold this morning, but it's not quite cold enough for the "Nanook of the North" look. I have several more skeins of this -- I'm thinking mittens, too.

And if that weren't enough, I'm still working on Mim's Serpentine Mitts

and the plain vanilla, stockinette Illini socks.

These were supposed to be bus knitting, but the bus ride is bumpy and crowded and, in the evening, dark, none of which is conducive to my knitting.

I've also got the Gansey socks on the needles, but it's gone into hibernation for now.

Apparently, I am not knit-monogamous.

TA DA!!!

Look! It's a mini-CD, no longer trapped in my iBook! I have no idea what's on it, but I'll bet it's not important.

My brother dug around on some message boards and found two messages suggesting the use of cardstock to retrieve mini-CDs from full-size slot-loading drives. One said that you could slide a card in the drive and trip the eject mechanism, while another said to fold the card and use it to snag the CD and pull it out.

So, I ripped a reply card out of the latest IK, folded it in half, and slid it into the drive. I inserted it and pulled it out four or five times before I heard a click and out popped the CD! Hurray!

Speaking of the latest IK, what do you think? There are a number patterns I like. I think my favorites are the Henley Perfected (which I really like!) and the Refined Aran Jacket. The Brushed Lace Cardigan also appeals to me -- I think it's the feather and fan detail. Not that I can actually imagine myself making any of those. Luckily, I also like the Celtic Tote, and I can see myself making it. And I think the Subway Mittens (no bonus photos, so scroll way down) and Kilim Gloves would come in handy (ha! no pun intended!) and the gloves might be a nice attempt at more complex colorwork.

FO - and Ready for Winter!

A couple days ago, I finally finished my Flared Lace Smoke Ring, which I first saw almost two years on Eunny's old blog and started a year ago. I really like it, and will need it -- maybe as soon as tomorrow morning!

If you click on the picture and go to Flickr, you'll see that my brother-in-law thinks I look like a turtle....

Details
Pattern: HeartStrings Flared Lace Smoke Ring by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer
Yarn: Garnstudio Drops Alpaca in 3770, a deep raspberry. This is one of my favorite yarns to work with. I also used it for my mom's Forest Canopy Shawl.
Needles: US6 circs
Notes: This is a nice, easy pattern. I enjoyed it, but did get tired of the last eight-row pattern repeat, which was repeated over and over and over.....

I also got a box from Land's End today, with a real winter coat (in black) and these:

If I've got to wear warm boots, at least they can be pink!

Today's Project(s)

I had this post all planned -- I was going to show you the programmable thermostat I planned on installing today. I bought the thermostat, worked up a sweat getting it out of its packaging, and read the instructions. No problem. I was about to go flip some breakers (the better to not be electrocuted while playing with electricity) when I noticed that a mini-CD was included in the packaging. I slid it into the CD slot of my iBook.

Oops! So here's a picture of my first project of the day:

What was I thinking? The CD's size is "non-standard, " so it won't go all the way in, but it also can't be ejected. I've tried the eject button, I've tried tweezers, I've tried holding the iBook up and gently shaking. No luck. sigh.... How annoying will it be to have to my 3 1/2 year old iBook serviced for the first time just to get a stuck CD out?

At this point there was really no reason not to install the thermostat, but I decided to knit a bit instead. Knitting Relaxes Me, remember? Here's project number two:

That's a bit of the first 20 rows of the Honeybee Stole. Note that the first pale blue row is a provisional cast-on, not some sort of weird contrast edging!

And then I ran to the mall to get my perfume refilled, decided while I was there to see Michael Clayton (very good!), and came home after dark. I'm pretty sure that the thermostat will have to wait until next weekend, since it's definitely a daytime project.

Fall

Did you know that, until the 16th century, this season we're in now was called Harvest? As more people in England moved into cities and became less closely affiliated with farming, they began calling it Autumn (from the French word automne) or Fall. The word Fall fell out of common use in England, but those who came to America continued to use it. Or at least that's what Wikipedia says!

And Fall is really here. When I got into my car at about 8:45 this morning, I saw this

and this!

When I lived in San Antonio, I got homesick every Fall. I didn't miss Winter, but I really missed Fall. In San Antonio, Fall foliage is rare; in fact, the leaves of the native oak tend to turn brown in late Autumn, but don't fall off until late Winter or early Spring. (You think you hate raking leaves in November? Imagine doing it in March!) Not too far from San Antonio, there's a state park called Lost Maples. In good years, the maples there (truly "lost" because they shouldn't be growing that far south) change colors.

Now that I'm back in the Midwest, I've looked forward to Fall. This is not supposed to be a good year for leaves, but I've found some.

The first picture was taken between my library and the UI Hospitals and Clinics. The rest were taken at Iowa City's City Park, which is beautiful year-round. The river in the last picture is the Iowa. In the park, the banks are low. I don't know if that means that the park floods at times. On campus, the river banks are much steeper.

There were lots of ducks on the river today. When this group saw me, they came running. Obviously, they expect humans to bring food! As I walked back across the park road to my car, they followed me to the curb. The little fellow in the front was still standing there as I pulled away.

Tangles

If you read the comments to yesterday's post, you may have noticed that Susan and Steve (who both know me IRL) commented on my 'tangled yarn' issues. It's like I look at yarn, and it knots up. Everyone is familiar with yarn vomit -- when you pull on the center and a big hunk of yarn comes out. Well, this is pretty much an everyday occurance for me, especially if I've wound the yarn myself! And too often, there's a big old knot in the center.

On the left we have the yarn Steve referred to -- J. Knits Superwash Me Light Sock Yarn in Los Angeles (lavender). It's being knit up into a pair of Serpentine Mitts. On the right, is Scout's Swag 100% Superwash Merino in Illini (orange and blue). It's being knit into a pair of plain socks. As I'm sure you can see, both balls of yarn have vomited. They're both still usable, but I do spend a fair amount of time untying knots! (Kim, where are you when I need you???)

Here's the yarn for the Honeybee Stole (which is by Anne, not for Anne) -- 1800 yards of Wooly Wonka Laceweight Northern Lights. Notice there's one big yarn cake, one tiny yarn cake, and one cigar-shaped wad.

I had just begun to wind it last night, when the yarn broke. That's where the little cake came from. I slowly and carefully continued to wind. I was almost done, and thinking that I wasn't sure my ball winder could handle it all when, suddenly, the remaining yarn dropped off the swift! And of course, it didn't drop straight -- it dropped in a wad! That's where the yarn cigar came from -- I wound by hand from the other end, and worked for over two hours until I got down to one terrible knot. I cut it out, along with about two feet of yarn. I think there will be enough yarn in the big cake for the stole -- yay! no ends to weave in -- but this is pretty typical for me.

Just so you'll know that my knitting's not a complete disaster, here's one finished Serpentine Mitt.

I've got (almost) nothin'

I knew this day would come and, frankly, thought it might come earlier. Even though I have a sticky note stuck to my computer with a list of bloggable ideas (mostly non-knitting), I guess I'm not in the mood. So you're going to get some randomness.

Randomness #1:
I don't like reality TV. At all. I have reality all around me; why would I want to watch it on TV?

However, I'm addicted to both Dancing with the Stars and Project Runway. I'm always quick to explain how neither of those are really true reality show. They're both about professionals -- dancers and entertainment professionals (usually) on DWTS and designers on PR.

So, this week is pretty special -- DWTS is down to four couples and PR is starting up. At this point, I'd be happy for any of the remining DWTS couples to win, although I'll admit Marie Osmond is my favorite. She's not the best dancer on the show but her personality shines through. She really looks like a fun person.

Project Runway starts tomorrow night and, if it's like previous seasons, I will dislike every contestant. At first. Then a few will grow on me. And of course, Tim Gunn's presence will keep me watching until I warm up to some of the designers!

Randomness #2:
This quiz says I'm 49% Yankee -- more Yankee than I'd suppose after 23 years in Texas (and central Illinois, where I grew up, isn't all that Yankee, either). Iowa must be rubbing off on me, although soda will always be soda, not pop!


Randomness #3, and what passes for tonight's knitting content:

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

Nice Knitter. You would wear an acrylic puce pullover that comes to your knees, if someone knitted it for you. You manage to make lots of friends with your social skills, and often end up knitting things you don't like, for people you don't care about, because you don't stand up for yourself enough. Remember: knit for your own enjoyment, and have fun with all your many friends.
Take this quiz!








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And...... we're off!

So today is the first day of NaBloPoMo. Or as Courtney might say: NaBloBleeMeePooMoo. Yeah, I have trouble remembering what it's called, but it means I'll be posting every day in November. If you're lucky....

It's also the day I swore I'd begin my second (and last) Christmas knitting project, Anne's Honeybee Stole. Here's how far I've gotten:

That's 1800 yards of Wooly Wonka Laceweight in Northern Lights, impaled with the proscribed US5 Bolivian rosewood needles from Jenkins Woodworking. I'll get it wound up tonight and begin tomorrow. I've already practiced the bee pattern but might work on it a bit more before I actually have to knit it. You can see the bee pattern best in the 3rd and 5th picture of this post.

Actually, the winding may be almost as interesting as the bee pattern. I seem to be a little "winding challenged" lately. But -- that's a post for another day!

I'm in!

I've joined NaBloPoMo, which means you'll be hearing from me on a daily basis during November. I'm sure it won't be pretty, but I'm going to try anyway. And because of this -- you won't be hearing from me again until Thursday, November 1st!

Crazy Aunt Purl, Meet Peoria. Peoria -- Crazy Aunt Purl.

When Laurie announced her fairly-short book tour, I was first excited/disappointed to see that she was going to Houston. If I still lived in San Antonio, it would be an easy 3-hour drive to go to Houston. Then I realized that she was also coming to Peoria -- less than three hours from Iowa City! Peoria is also only about an hour from Mom's, so I visited Mom for a couple days after my Albuquerque conference, and drove up to Peoria on Saturday.

Laurie was appearing at the Women's Lifestyle Show, which meant an admission charge and that many in the audience weren't knitters. I decided that the importance of representing knitters was worth the $8 admission charge, and I'm really glad I did.

Laurie sounds just like you'd expect her to -- she has a Southern accent, but also speaks really fast. After reading a few passages from her book, she took questions. She's still learning the book-tour business, and admitted that she was nervous, but she was just so cute! She didn't even roll her eyes when someone asked why her blog was called "Crazy Aunt Purl." She also said she wouldn't be writing a book about dating -- too depressing! Considering the number of people standing in line to buy books for her to sign afterwards, I think she must have enchanted even the non-knitters in the crowd. When she signed my book (pre-ordered from Amazon), she recognized my name as a sometime-commenter, which surprised me -- sometimes, having an unusual name is a good thing! She also stood up and hugged every single person in line, and took pictures with most of us. I think most of us wanted to take her home to our mom's house for dinner! Or maybe wine...

Where's my picture? Well, my camera's battery had almost died by then, and a single picture was taking WAAAY too long, so someone took one of us with Laurie's camera. I'll be watching her flickr site for it!

Next time: actual knitting content, with pictures!

ETA: She's quicker than me -- here's our picture!

Busy, busy, busy!

I mentioned that I was going to be gone for a while. Well, technically, I'm still gone! I'm at my mom's through the weekend, then it's back to Iowa City.

Last Friday morning, I drove to Mom's (3 and a half hours) and dropped off Harley at "Camp Ninny." I kept promising her she would have fun! Then my brother drove me to St. Louis, so I could use my free Southwest Airlines ticket to fly to Albuquerque for the annual meeting of the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association. Technically, this is my "old" chapter, since I now live in the Midwest Chapter's region. However, there's nothing that says you can't belong to more than one chapter!

The meeting didn't offically begin until Sunday. For the past more-years-than-I-can-remember, I've had to be there on Saturday for pre-meeting meetings. But this year, due to my new "outsider" status, I had no meetings to attend! So a friend and I drove up to Santa Fe, and spent Saturday shopping. And not shopping for yarn, although this is the same friend that I dragged to a yarn shop in Phoenix.

Once we got to Albuquerque, there was not time for yarn-shopping, which is too bad -- a couple other knitter/conference-attendees got to Village Wools and loved it! However, I did see plenty of knitters and even some hand-knits!

Here's Steve wearing the beautiful sweater he knitted, steeked, and zippered, engaged in lively conversation with our friend Craig at the closing banquet.

The conference gave me the chance to almost-finish the first Serpentine Mitt. Unfortunately, I haven't taken a picture yet, and my camera battery is almost gone. Of course, the charger is in Iowa City. I promise a picture before both mitts are done!