Making Stitches…

After last weekends’ fun at Stitches Midwest, this weekend has turned into another one filled with yarn fun – this time it was more focused on turning yarn into stitches.

On Friday morning I was on the 6:28 AM flight from Chattanooga back to Chicago. Since I couldn’t bring coffee on board to keep me awake, my iPod & current travel knit project kept me awake on the flight & I continued to make great progress on this secret knit. Recently I’ve seen several knit bloggers asking about any travel restrictions concerning knitting needles – since 9/11 I’ve never had a problem bringing my knitting on board with me. My only tip is to travel with a project/needles where you wouldn’t mind surrendering the needles if you have to – the TSA website says that ultimately it is up to the screener to allow your needles through. My current travel project is on needles that have no sentimental value. The sash belt that I’m working on is on size 3 needles that once belonged to my Grandma – so for the time being it stays in the desk drawer in Chattanooga on the weekends because I wouldn’t want to lose those needles.

The last couple of weeks at work have been rather intense & nonstop – knitting has truly been a sanity saver. My travel projects are small so when I’m home on the weekends I’m focusing on larger projects.

After the felting fun of the pink clutch (which my sister received for her birthday) I immediately started on another felt project – this time a larger tote bag for me. This is 2 shades of chocolate/dark brown, 1 shade of turquoise and the terra cotta that I picked up last weekend. Round & round…this project doubled in size while I was home this weekend.

The Mason-Dixon Knitting mania continues – I have started on the Absorba bathmat for me. This is my first time doing the log cabin style and I’m having a lot of fun with it. So far, my hands aren’t sore from the knitting – but since I’m alternating between several projects I’m hoping to finish the mat without the aching hands that seem to be experienced by a lot of Absorba knitters. This is 3 colors of Sugar’n Cream yarn on size 13 needles.

I’ve also started another project from One Skein – the felted bowls. This is some Lambs Pride Bulky that I originally bought for a felted bag – but I just couldn’t get excited about the colors in a bag. So far, a simple knit. The only “shock” has been the cost of the size 15 double point needles – but I figure that you don’t need multiples sets of this size & now I’ve got my set for the long haul.

Since I picked up Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles I decided to try it again – the Koigu from last week is now working it’s way towards becoming socks.

I put down the needles for a little bit on Saturday afternoon to go to Arcadia Knitting for their first yarn swap. It was a fun time – I emptied my stash of a few leftovers (plus donated a lot of Lions Brand Homespun and Boucle to a charity) and picked up some fun yarns.

While at Arcadia I also met two Chicago Knit Bloggers that I’ve read – hi Dana and Susan! It was great to meet both of you & hopefully I’ll see you at another knit event soon.  

Assorted odds & ends…
– I finished reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book has received a lot of hype about being “THE” summer read – some of the “must reads” in past years I have found to be disappointing but that wasn’t the case this time. I would definitely recommend this one to you. I’m pretty sure it will make the rounds among my reading pals.
– It has been a while since we’ve had an installment of “Sally Says” – the album getting the most play on the iPod these days is KT Tunstall’s Eye to the Telescope.
– Dinner last night was from a new Italian cafe here on the Northside of Chicago…Ventrella’s Caffe (4947 N. Damen). The Caprese Panini tasted garden fresh & the hazelnut gelato was a tasty memory of the time in Italy last summer. I will definitely be back there again!
– I’ve joined a couple of new swaps: KnitFlix, International Scarf Exchange 3, Dishcloth Shuffle – I’m definitely looking forward to these fun exchanges. (Sorry, I think all of these are closed now.)