Last month I asked my sister if my niece needed a sweater for this year because I needed something else to do while moving across the country, working a full-time job, Christmas shopping, and traveling for work.
As usual, I was fairly quick to pick out a pattern and buy yarn, machine-washable as requested. I even knit it for a day, Thanksgiving day, and made good progress on it. Since then, I have been toting it with me everywhere, but have not knit a stitch.
2010 is the year to focus on gettin’ ‘er done!
Don’t worry, I have another Christmas knit that I didn’t finish. It comes next.
I wonder if I will ever get tired of taking pictures of snow?
During the 2.5 weeks that I’ve been in Colorado, I’ve spent a bit of time driving around, getting to know my new home.
I’ve wandered around Denver, its north metro area (Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Superior), and Boulder. In summary, the good food can be found in lower downtown Denver and in Boulder. We have good shopping right here, down the street, in Broomfield and Superior. From now on I plan to avoid Westminster if possible. A side note here that I was mistaken in thinking that Colorado is a state full of rich, white people.
So what do you want to know about the place? Would you like to know where to peruse a full selection of French magazines in a warm, cozy bookshop? If so, I recommend Tattered Cover Book Store. Would you like to watch a movie at a theater full of teenagers, lacking in sufficient parking, and with an absent valet? If so, then I recommend AMC Westminster Promenade 24. Would you like to have a delicious and authentic Ethiopian supper? Then I recommend Ras Kassa’s Ethiopia Restaurant in Boulder. Would you like to shop for fabric and yarn in a locally owned shop that specializes in eco-friendly and socially conscious yarns? Then I recommend Fancy Tiger Crafts.
Fancy Tiger Crafts, in Denver on the border of Speer and Baker neighborhoods, is a fairly small shop with lots to explore. I especially enjoyed their sewing sections, including lots of books and patterns. They have those really cute Amy Butler patterns which I cannot afford. I loved all their unique and modern oilcloth, so come springtime, I plan to make an outdoor table cloth and chair covers on my balcony café table. For now I purchased some Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca and a cute, cute, cute yard of pincord corduroy (22 wale per inch), printed with matroiska dolls and ponies. What should I make with my new treasures?
We’re finally getting settled in to our new home in Colorado. It’s great here, lots of sunshine and beautiful views. From our home we have a great view of the Mile High City, plus a spectacular view of the Flatirons. There are several nearby fabric shops, plus some lovely yarn stores downtown. So far, I’ve visited two: Lamb Shoppe and Fancy Tiger.
The Lamb Shoppe was busy, busy, busy on a Sunday afternoon. They have a coffee bar, serving Illy coffee, YUM! This shop is chalk full of yarn, from floor to ceiling. There were tables and lots of chairs for people to sit and knit, drink coffee, read, and hang out. While I was there, a beginner’s knitting class was in session. I overheard the teacher giving instructions for a long-tail cast-on. All in all, I grade this shop as one of my favorite stores in the USA. I purchased some gift yarn there, a new wool-winder, and some Noro Kochoran. I know, I know, Noro’s really not my favorite yarn, but it was exactly what I was looking for because I am making a Mesi hat to match my blue and grey ski jacket.
As you can see, it only has one pom-pom added, but I wore it on the slopes on Sunday anyway. The pom-pom is enormously attractive to snow and becomes quite heavy after I wipe out on the slopes. So I definitely need a second one.
This hat definitely has some maker’s marks in it, but I am happy with the result so far. The Noro is bulky weight yarn and the pattern calls for DK, so it is very dense and warm.
Next time, I’ll tell you a bit about Fancy Tiger and the yarn and fabric I found there.
December 22nd, 2009 in
Hats,
Knitting |
5 Comments
I’m the proud owner of a spiffy, new, magnetic katamari. My lovely friend Sarah made it for me at my request! I don’t know many people who would agree to crochet a bunch of acrylic out of the kindness of the heart, but Sarah is one of those rare few. In fact, our deal was that I would provide the supplies and she would do the work. However, it turned out I didn’t keep my end of the deal; I only ended up providing one small portion of the supplies and Sarah procured the rest. This is only a small example of her generous nature. I love the katamari. It’s heavier than I had imagined and I love tossing it around. For now I’m using it to hold straight pins, but I think it will be more of a toy than a pincushion in real life.
Tonight I had planned to attend Wear-a-Skanky-Hat night, but things don’t always go as planned when you’re in the process of moving across the country. I’m writing to you tonight while sitting in the midst of many, many boxes in my soon-to-be-former apartment in Alabama. This morning we went to Penske to pick up the 22′ truck we reserved for moving week. However, the truck wasn’t ready. The last driver reported some problems, but the mechanic hadn’t had time to look at it. We took the truck anyway, drove it a couple of miles, then turned around to return it. It had major vibrations, the sort which dislodge your internal organs, so driving it to Colorado was not an option. Penske didn’t have any other trucks for us, so we left and decided to work on a different, impromptu plan.
Early in our moving plans we had gotten quotes from many moving companies. They were all very expensive, so we nixed that plan… until this morning. With no Penske truck and full of movers’ fatigue, we decided that hiring movers would be a better plan today. The first company we called offered us a good deal, only $100 more than renting a truck ourselves, so we decided to go with it.
The movers were scheduled to depart Atlanta at 1:30, therefore should arrive about 5:30 or 6.
We were pretty tired by 5:30 or 6 and expecting their visit at any moment, when Guillaume accidentally sliced his finger on a rough metal edge. There was lots of blood and screaming, plus panic-stricken cats. I’d already packed the first aid box, but managed to find it before he bled to death. After I got everyone settled down, he decided he didn’t want to go to the ER. The fingerprint on his index finger may be very different when the wound heals. In fact he may yet end up going to the doctor to get stitches, but for tonight some bandages and electrical tape seem to be sufficient.
The movers actually arrived at 8pm and told us they had come from Miami that morning. That’s quite a drive. They took a look around at our furniture and boxes, then told us that the quote was too low and they didn’t have enough space in the truck for our stuff. We negotiated for a while and I think we came to an agreement. The head mover told us he needed to get some sleep, would get up in the morning to drop off his current load in order to make room for our load, and be back to pick up our stuff in the morning. He told us that a different crew would be unloading our stuff in Colorado, so I assume this means that it will go by train.
I’ll be glad to get all this stuff on a truck and see it away. I have lots of unfinished work on my checklist, but most of it is dependent on getting this stuff westward bound.
