New year yarns

Remember some time in the past, I mentioned that I received a free ball of yarn in the mail. And then I ordered from their flyer --- oh, they are evil enablers! They know I have enough yarn already -- but they want me to have more!

Yesterday, a package arrived with my yarn! I almost forgot about it, and here it was. The package was opened, but all of my order was there. I guess everyone wanted to see what I got! hehehe

And here it is:

The problem with Mary Maxim is that they don't have much at all made of wool or any natural fibre! It's all that plastic stuff, but I did find some Paton's Up Country (100% wool), and only got 3 balls. I really like the colours, so may have to get more of it. And of course, some Regia sock yarn; a sock is already started for my grand-neice -- couldn't wait! Those were the only colours left. They will be alright for children!

And the other yarn I got was some Molash -- a kind of eyelash made with some mohair. It looks like fun, but I only got those 3 balls, and I will incorporate it into something.

I really liked the fast service from Mary Maxim during this busy holiday season, but do wish they had better selection of yarns. I will keep an eye on them, and will get a few more things, when they have another sale.

Looks like I am going to have a very quiet New Year's Eve -- as always. It's just another day for me -- I will finish those socks, and start another pair. I think these will be too small. Oh, and I need to get my fleece washed and samples spun for the class next week -- yah, sure!

To everyone: The very best of all good things in 2006, and may your days be filled with warm fuzzy [fibre] things!

Surprise Package

On Monday, I recieved a small package in the mail. It was from Mary Maxim. Now, I know of the store, and have looked through their catalogue, but have never ordered anything from them. So I had no idea what it could be.

But inside was a ball of Bernat's Disco yarn. Just one. It was a free ball, along with their current catalogue, and a sale flyer. At one time, I had registered for something and forgot about it. Now I recall something about a free offer from Bernat, and this was it. I'm not sure what I will do with 50 gm of this yarn, but it's nice to add to my stash!

One of the reasons I have never ordered from Mary Maxim is that there is nothing of wool in their whole collection! Everything is plastic or acrylic. So looking through the flyer, I see that they have Regia sock yarn, which is only 75% wool, on sale for a good price. These are the self-patterning yarns. I have to look on the website to see the colours; there are only two selections available, and they are not the nicest of choices! But I finally break down and decide to get a couple of balls, enough to make a pair of socks, and they will go to someone.

I also ordered a few other items, and will see what I can do with them when they finally arrive. It's always good to have a few extra things in your collection, right?

Nightmares

I really need to get another pic of our street now. It suddenly turned very HOT and it has all melted, and the sun is shining! What a difference a week makes! Even a day.. it was below freezing one day, but by 10 pm it had gone up to +3 and by 3 am, it was +5. I stayed up just to be sure.

I don't seem to be sleeping well, and suffering for the lack of it. So this morning, without having anything really pressing (it can all wait), I just stayed in bed. I finally decided that I should get out of bed, since I DO have things to do. It's already mid-afternoon, and so half the day is gone. I did sleep most of the time. I would doze, listen to the radio for brief moments, and more sleep. I do feel a whole lot better now. One more day, and I would be back to nornal. Maybe another nap later this afternoon -- gee, better get back to bed, or there isn't time left for a nap!!

I did have a horrible nightmare though. I can't remember how it started, but I was working on the shawl (in the dream) -- that vexing lace shawl -- and for some reason, I had to rip out some stitches. Now, as some of you may know, I NEVER rip anything out. But for some unknown reason (dreams are like that), I pulled and pulled and pulled... not for a long time it seems. I have already started my third ball (odd-- I didn't find the join), but I noticed that I was ripping an odd section, so I stopped to see what was happening. Oh, no!! I had gone all the way back to the end of Clue 3!! That is about 2 months work! I couldn't believe it! I simply stared at it.... what did I do? What was I thinking? I just felt sick! So what do I do now? I really didn't look forward to starting that horrible section again! It was the part that gave me so much trouble in the first place. I liked it up unitl then -- up to the point that I stopped ripping.

Perhaps I was thinking that I would re-design the shawl, and do it MY way. But there I sat, looking at it in my hands, and wondering what am I to do now. Then I awoke -- that is the only good thing about nightmares -- and realized that I had better get working on that shawl, and past this unhealthy section. I am halfway through the second run of Clue 4 (I liked it that much!! LOL), and it seems there are too many stitches. Well, of course: I added four more repeats of the 22-stitch pattern!

I am coping with it well, or so I thought. It is not as confusing as it was, but still tedious. Well, all lace-knitting is like that, so I will just plod along, doing one row at a time, and get through this. There is still the sideways knit border, and I'm thinking of making a few changes to that one. I don't like the way others have ended up, so I'm working it in my head to make a few modifications -- just so it looks more pleasing TO ME when it is finally done. And it WILL be done!!

For now, I have to start on my fruit bread. Never enough time!!