Because what's a knitting blog without knitting?

The field trip to natural stitches yielded quite a stash of Louet Gems sport weight.  Pictured below is a poorly photographed start of Kathy Zimmerman's Welcome Back, Old Friend.  It's a slow knit, mostly because I am not at all interested in trying to frog cables.  I'm hoping the sport weight wool will make this wearable some day.

Re: that field trip to Natural Stitches.  The first time we went (a year ago) I had no plans. Actually my only plan was to pick up whatever yarn happened to strike my fancy.  I got some nice yarn.  I used most of it (except for the 5.000.000 yards of Lorna's Lace Helen's Lace)  Occasionally I buy laceweight yarn as if you could rip one of those out in a weekend.

This time I was quite smug.  I spent the week before the trip taking note of which patterns I knew I wanted to dig into, and the amount and type of yarn I would need for each.  While I would say that I was mostly successful (the Louet Gems a prime example), something happened when I was looking at the Madelintosh sockweight (by the way does anyone EVER make socks out of that?)  

Somehow I convinced myself that I really needed to make not one but three different versions of Color Affection, so I purchased 9 different fabulous skeins of Madelinetosh sock yarn.  Hello allowance- goodbye allowance! (and then some.)  The truth of the matter is that I neither have nor had any intention of making Color Affection.  It was merely the vehicle for purchasing more of that gorgeous yarn. Bad Knitter.  Bad Bad Knitter.  Someday you'll see this yarn but it deserves more than a crappy nighttime photo.

Also regarding purchasing yarn with the planning process.  It's more than a little ridiculous/hilarious that while in the midst of that great store I was convinced that I would have time to knit 2 vests, a severely cabled sweater, several pairs of mittens, three color affection shawls and three intarsia Christmas stockings before I made it back  next year (or sooner.)  Let's just say that if that really happens, I am one Bad Ass Mo Fo Knitter.

And finally in the category of "Welcome to Middle Age,"  My favoritest KnitnightGina brought me an early birthday present last week.  Two pairs (varying strengths) of reading glasses.   She says she looked for the ugliest ones she could find for which I am grateful.  The more garish (I prefer that to ugly) they are, the less likely I'll be to lose them.  So far I only need them for dark yarn and lace weight but I felt like it was an initiation into the "hey you're like us club."  And also a fabulous early birthday present.

As for the birthday, it is still a week and a half away and that Mr. Sophanne cracks me up.  The trip to the symphony was the Best Present Ever.  I have no need for anything else. HOWEVER...

Mr. Sophanne didn't want to go to the casino alone last weekend.  He said "here's $100, it can be your birthday money, let's go to the casino."  And by birthday money he secretly means "birthday money so that you will gamble at the casino money."  I was not a big winner but I didn't mind so much, I had no attachment to that cash.  Spending it at the casino was almost a present to him. 

He handed me the same amount last night (after he had his name drawn and was a winner) and said "you shouldn't spend your birthday money at the casino." So I'm "up" again and instead of going to the casino, I'll be going to a ceramic painting place tomorrow that is donating 10% of the proceeds to a breast cancer fundraising team which is money MUCH better spent.