Fredericksburg and STASH!

I went to Fredericksburg, VA today with my Mom. We stopped at the super Jo-Ann's, A.C. Moore's, Everything Cross-stitch (a cute little cross-stitch shop), and The Knitter's Corner. We made several other stops along the way home, like Home Depot, but nothing very interesting.

I love coupons! I had 40% coupons for Jo-Ann's and A.C. Moore's. I was able to get The Ultimate Sock Book by Vogue Kniting with the coupon. All magazines at Jo-Ann's are 10% off, so I bought the latest Vogue Knitting magazine. I saw the cover and some cute stuff inside the magazine so I had to get it. I only buy a magazine if I like something inside. That's why I don't do subscriptions anymore. Each crochet or craft magazine I ever had a subscription for had more editions with nothing of interest in them than editions with something I liked, so they were generally a waste of money. Turns out Agnes of Knitting in the Valley has already done the cardigan on the cover (very cute!)

I also bought 2 balls of sock yarn on sale from each store (except the cross-stitch store, obviously).

I have learned the stitches for knitting in the past year, but haven't done a real project yet. I plan to do a simple sock first in Deborah Norville Premier Yarn Serenity Sock Weight yarn in Chili colorway. I love that the yarn creates a pattern so that I can use a simple sock pattern. Knitting is turning out to be relatively easy to pick up, but I still need practice. I've been wanting to pick up knitting for a while now, but since I have been doing mostly projects as gifts for others I could not justify the time to learn. I can crochet pretty quickly normally, so it was an obvious choice. Now I have time for few projects for me, hence finishing the Special Effects bag.

Speaking of the Special Effects bag, I have added a row of stitches on three sides of the front and back panels, and am attempting to stitch the sides to that row. The last attempt proved that adding the sides of the bag directly to the panels ruined the "special effect" of the bag. I am almost half-way done with the sides, and so far I am happy with the results, but I won't be able to tell until it's done or almost done.

Science Connection

The Science Museum celebrated the 400th anniversary of Galileo using the telescope to gaze at the sky for the first time. There were lots of activities, and the students involved in the after-school science outreach program, Science Connections, were invited for free. I volunteered for the Science Connections program this semester, and was invited to come. I brought a friend and his son, since I was allowed to bring family and have no kids of my own. There was free pizza and bottle rockets and 5 hours of fun.

It turns out I was further along on the Special Effects bag than I thought. I already had six panels finished before I picked it back up the other day and I finished the remaining two panels by Friday evening. I am now constructing the bag from the panels. I am worried that I may lose power tonight, depending on how strong the storm is outside, so I may not be able to finish or post again tonight.

Does anyone besides me save the little tails of thread when they crochet? I know a lot of cross-stitchers save their threads to use for things like filling clear ornament balls or other projects, but have never heard of people saving their scraps of yarn. I figured they would eventually be enough to stuff something.

Tweedle Dumb

I like Moda Dea fashion yarns in general. Bamboo Wool, Fashionista, Sassy Stripes. They are generally fun yarns.

Except Tweedle Dee. Tweedle Dee is a beautiful and wonderfully soft yarn, but it is a pain to work with. I think it is overwound or something, because it starts to coil after a few stitches unless I let the stuff unwind regularly. Unwinding takes longer than crocheting does. I am taking easily 3 times longer to make a shawl for my mother than I should be.

But it is so pretty! I am using the Blue Heather, and the colors fade into each other so well. The picture from the Moda Dea website doesn't do it justice.

I just won't buy it again. I am ready for a more agreeable yarn.