PayDay! and Earth Hour

I know I mused aloud somewhere about not observing PayDay as usual yesterday given that I am awaiting yarn in the mail...

HA!!!

Instead, I decided to check out a new (to me) shop called Americo on the basis that I had been in there once before, and left with nothing.

Well...


Not this time. Ahem. This lovely stuff is laceweight llama!! The colourway is called kyanite. I've never had llama before, but it is wonderful soft stuff. Approximately 1400 metres of it is now mine.
And...

Laceweight cotton, which I've never seen in such quantity.


The white nearly blinded me - turning it almost into a real colour. I had to snap some up.


I thought that one of these might be perfect to make a stab at the Laminaria in the near future...


What say you?


This is a stunning pattern, in my humble opinion. It looks quite difficult, but hey!

So, that and some drinks at Fynn's then ribs and wings at a new joint near work was all the excitement I could handle last evening... I then sat and fondled the llama all evening.

And tonight - blackout night! What are you all planning to do for Earth Hour anyway?

I have no idea. We're meant to go to a dance tonight which was rather poorly planned, I suppose. The original start time was 8:00 p.m. - which is the Earth Hour shutdown time in this next of the woods.

I suppose I could try to knit by candlelight - but given that I already have bifocals at the age of 37, that mightn't be the wisest plan.

Anyway, however you decide to observe Earth Hour... have a good one!

beware the Ides of March!!!

... because this year it falls on the heels of Non-Rent-PayDay, that most hallowed of feast days in the Brouhaha annals - and the most expensive. Which means that today, the Ides of March, I'm broke.

Well, not quite. Because - wonder of wonder miracle of miracles - today a long-awaited work expenses cheque for $170 odd arrived just before I was to head out to Romni, ostensibly to pick out yarn for co-worker Ws Tuscany which I am to start on Easter weekend.

Now, the wonderful thing about expense reimbursement cheques, at least in my brain, is that they are like free money as I actually spent the money so long ago I've forgotten I spent it in the first place. Handy piece of rationalisation, eh?

Good Kristina: It's not ACTUALLY free money you know. Besides, we should put it into the savings account for a rainy day...

Evil Kristina: Oh, get off your high horse, would you?!?!? #$()$*@($*)#@(.

So, what's a girl to do with $170 burning a hole in her pocket?! Well, two options, apparently:
1. Buy a steak.

or...

2. ...well, you know...
The choice was clear: Handmaiden Lace Silk!!!

Vintage colourway!!! Yippee!!

Not sure which colourway... maybe a one-off based on the Bronze colourway? Anyway, this will be perfect for the mystery project I'll be starting soon rather than the Camelspin (it too is fabulous, but I was thinking that the end result would end up a bit smaller than I had hoped. And the buttercream and crystal beads will work fabulously...).



(Still eagerly awaiting the appearance of Dandelion... then I'll know it's spring).

And, while I was at it, some Malabrigo in the Curacao colourway - couldn't resist! It's so loud.

Oh, er... and the stuff that W. picked out for the version of Tuscany that I am making for her, of course.

W. wanted vegan yarn, so we went with bamboo. It's lovely and silky. The colourway is a tad more muted than I would go for, but will look fab on W. and match her usual colour choices.

I also picked this up:

... where I learned about the $170.00 steak.

A bit rich for my blood. These are the usual culinary choices in the KB/JJ Household:

... and for dessert:

(I love these T.G.I. Friday's chips that are flavoured like bar snax. Best of both worlds!... and movie popcorn - maybe my favourite snack ever. This week, anyway.)

Well, it's about time for junk food lunch, no?!

The Ides of March isn't so bad after all. But then, I'm not an emperor. Yet.

Storm Water Scarf - my travel project

I'm into stormy patterns now, apparently - perhaps not surprising given the current weather here. However, this scarf brings me some joy! And Aphrodite likes it as well... despite the grey weather!

The lovely Storm Water scarf! It seems to have taken forever and the early process was ribbit-ridden, but success is now mine!

And check out this amazing Handmaiden Sea Silk...









Specs:

Pattern: Ciobair Fibre Designs (came with the yarn for $2.00 extra)

Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk (silk/seaweed fibre), one skein (the scarf used 95 of 100 grams).

Needles: 3.75 mm addis.


Size: 69" long by 10.5" wide

Start date: 21 February 2008, after two prior aborted attempts back in November 2007 and earlier in February.

Finish Date: 12 March 2008.

Notes:

- I knitted this pattern exclusively in public (mostly on my daily commute, but sometimes in staff meetings.

- I had a hard time getting the pattern (through my fault alone, I think). I actually had started it back in November 1007 at a public legal educational conference, but screwed it up and frogged many times and threw it aside in disgust. Then had to frog again earlier in February when I restarted it. However, once I got the pattern it was simple enough to do in transit. So, if you try it, stick it out - it's worth it!!!

- loved, as ever, working with the Sea Silk. Kudos to Handmaiden.

I brought it to the office today for the post-blocking photo. You may recall that pre-blocking the scarf looked like this:

(One of the coworkers thought it was a windsock!)

Well, now it looks like this...

What a difference, eh? It's officially taller than me! The blocking did its usual magic...

So, what's on the agenda for today? Look what I got in the mail yesterday!

Four fabulous patterns by Sivia Harding. However, must finish the SOTSii first... today Clue 9 (the last clue!) will be released. I'm about halfway through Clue 8 at present.

It's a big day for me in a lot of ways...



Why am I dressed as a lawyer today? Well, I may have some good news within the week (and no, I'm not expecting - that would be very bad news - and no, I'm not getting married). All I can say is - please think about me between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. EST...

And, off to Romni at lunch for the PayDay ritual!

Thank goddess it's Friday!

Cheers,

Kristina

PayDay - The Sequel

(or, how Kristina spent the rent money at the LYS - yet again).

I think I've broken my own past record for lack of willpower vis-a-vis PayDay spending. Remember what I said only yesterday?:

...This typically means, if you have followed this blog for any length of time, that tomorrow you will be expecting a big post with about 50 photos of the yarn I am about to acquire today. Well, I have news for you. There will be no yarn purchases today...

That was posted to my blog at 9:10 a.m. yesterday. At 11 or so I went out on an errand to the bank - to cash JJs pensioner cheque and get his half of the rent to deposit into my bank account. I blame the line up at his bank, really - which is up on Queen Street West, also home of Romni. While (im)patiently waiting my turn, the dulcet tones of Deam Martin emanating from my iPod inexplicably faded, replaced by a little voice:

Evil Kristina: Why not just take a little run to Romni - it's just down the street - and see if they still have any of that Handmaiden Camelspun left?

Good Kristina: We didn't buy any the last time - because we don't need it!! And it is not "just down the street" - we're at Spadina and Romni is west of Bathurst, for goddess' sake!
Evil Kristina: Ah, come on - it's not likely that they've got any left, anyway - you know how the Handmaiden flies out of that store...

Good Kristina: Usually in your hands!

Evil Kristina: Besides, you need buttons for the Tilted Duster.

Good Kristina: I haven't even started knitting that yet!!!

Evil Kristina: Look, here comes a streetcar now - let's just hop in it. It won't take any time at all...

Good Kristina: I have to get back to the office!!!


Evil Kristina: What is 10 minutes here or there going to hurt? It's not like you're punching a timeclock or anything...

Well, I think you can guess the outcome of that little spat. It would also seem as though Evil Kristina slipped Good Kristina some knock-out drops in transit...

As soon as I walked into the store this jumped out at me:

(ahem... having rooted through the Handmaiden bin, anyway). The espresso coloured Camelspun I had seen when they had first got it in - but refrained from buying. How virtuous of me...

But - sigh - there were all sorts of other great colourways of the Camelspun as well. This was another favourite:
I couldn't decide, so had to take both.

I then wrenched myself away from the Handmaiden area (which, by the way, is extremely close to the cash register. They are evil in there, really!) to look for buttons, and found these:
However, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I went back to the Handmaiden section and pulled out a skein of Sea Silk which I had studiously ignored before:


It had a pattern on it!!!


This is the point at which Good Kristina awoke briefly from her deep slumber to protest:

Good Kristina: Have you forgotten about all this then, back at the house?...

...including Sea Silk, by the way, which you just had to have back in the summer, and which still sits there?!?

Evil Kristina: Yeah, yeah, yeah - but those ones didn't come with a pattern!

Good Kristina: You don't need another pattern! You went and got that whole Victorian lace book, and then another lace book!!!

Evil Kristina: But this pattern looks easy. We could take it on the trip with us...

Good Kristina: We're supposed to be trying to design patterns now!!! Why buy another scarf pattern?!?

Evil Kristina: It's only $2.00.

Good Kristina: What?!? It's $39.50. Can't you read?

Evil Kristina: Yeah - $37.50 for the yarn, $2.00 for the pattern = $39.50. Can't you add or subtract?

Good Kristina, perhaps wisely, gave up at this point.

So, this is how Wonder Woman here, who was going to spend no money on yarn on 30 November, ended up shelling out... um... well, let's just say it was less than $170.00.

The kind woman at the cash actually asked me if I run a knitting business, seeing as I apparently buy so much yarn there. When I said no, she suggested I join a knitting guild so as to get a 10 per cent discount in future. This might be a good idea...

But of course, this is now it for the yarn spending for the calendar year 2007. I won't be buying any more yarn until 2008. I am most certainly not going near any yarn store in London while I'm there... I don't need any more Rowan products either!

(And, if you believe that, I've got some really good bargains on never-used Fleece Artist and Handmaiden to show you...)

Happy Saturday! Please note that on this date in 1835, Hans Christen Andersen published his first book of fairy tales. The Emperor's New Clothes is sounding pretty familiar right now...

Well, I'm off to make some breakfast (my weekend standard - jumbo twister Montreal-style bagel with peanut butter and bacon. I used to make this at work during the week but got tired of everyone asking me if I was pregnant!), then deliver the rent cheque... sigh.

PayDay! and 'tis it the season?

Well, today marks that ever cherished holiday in the annals of Brouhaha - PAYDAY!

(I should note that PayDay occurs twice a month, luckily for me. The Ides Payday is my preferred holiday, as the End of Month PayDay is immediately followed by that most dreaded of dates in the Brouhaha calendar - Rent Day - that day when I'm forced to write out a four-figure (eek!!) cheque and give it to the dreaded LANDLORD).

This typically means, if you have followed this blog for any length of time, that tomorrow you will be expecting a big post with about 50 photos of the yarn I am about to acquire today. Well, I have news for you. There will be no yarn purchases today.

I imagine that you think I am deluding myself... and that in fact a little skein of Handmaiden will manage to leap into my hands as I pass Knitomatic this evening - or that I will be scooting over to Romni over the lunch hour. However, I have tremendous willpower. I even managed to quit smoking for three months once! And if I can do that, I can do... well, just about anything but quit smoking again, apparently.

But what is the real reason I'm not buying any yarn today? you ask.

Well - there are a couple of reasons.

First, I came across this in the stash, which I have been avoiding looking at:Rowan Calmer, purchased for making the diabolical Morrigan by Jenna Wilson in the No Sheep for You pattern book.

This is my progress to date on the Morrigan:

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2 inches into the first sleeve, back in August. That's it. Then it went into the back of one of my stash shoeboxes, never to see the light of day again.

And, I've finally come to terms with the fact that I will likely never knit this pattern. It's not in the cards for the next few years, at any rate. I love the way the finished pattern looks, but frankly I do not enjoy the level of cable knitting involved, so there seems little point. If I were to try to do it, this would just be setting an unpleasurable and tedious challenge for myself. In my blog post in August about this, I wrote that I thought knitting it would be "fun, in the masochistic sense of the word, to knit." I have no idea what I meant by this at the time, as I don't really think masochism is fun. So, I'm packing it in. Life is too damned short.

(I am just type A enough that I could not actually convince myself of this logic until it dawned on me that Jenna Wilson, another lawyer - and a higher-falutin' one than my legal aid self, I should imagine! - did not even knit this pattern although she designed it. Someone please do correct me if I'm wrong about this! Anyway, if she didn't, then why do I feel obligated to? Hmm...)

So - while saluting Wannietta, who knit the original photographed for the pattern, and Laura, who is the only person I'm aware of to actually have completed it besides Wannietta, I will have to content myself with admiring their efforts. I note that on Ravelry there are only those two finished Morrigans and a few more in progress - most, like mine, hibernating.

So, all this to say that I've decided to use the Calmer to knit this instead:

The Jess Gansey, which is featured in Interweave Knits, Winter 2007 - pattern is available for free through Knitting Today!! Similar idea to Morrigan, but far less daunting.

Which means that effectively I already have new "luxury" yarn available to me... which, in turn, means that I don't have to buy any today.

(Does my logic make sense to anyone else but me? I really doubt it.)

Where was I again? Oh yes.

Second, I just bought Handmaiden and Fleece Artist earlier in the week.

Third, I'm leaving for vacation in 2 1/2 weeks' time and will not be doing much knitting while away.

Fourth, ... agh!!! I'm going to stop rationalising now - and I'm just not going to the yarn store today, damnit!

I must confess that I will be heading over to Chapters after lunch to hunt for some books - and I am not undertaking to refrain from buying a pattern book or two if I see anything interesting!!



On my way to work this morning, I thought I'd splurge on a little treat for the co-workers - it is one of my long-standing PayDay traditions to buy some food treat to share with others on the time-honoured principle that coming to work shouldn't be a drag all the time.

(What is this photo doing here? you ask? It was what came up in my first attempt to import John Cleese, above, from my desktop. I cannot for the life of me remember what I used this picture for - probably some joke on the coworkers. However, Panoramix was always my favourite, so I'll just leave it here)

Well, given that it's nearly December, it is increasingly difficult to avoid tripping over monster-sized over-priced snack displays nearly everywhere you turn! At Timothy's coffee shop this morning, for example, a huge table had materialised right next to the entrance containing all sorts of treats such as chocolate covered cranberries and espresso beans, fancy teamug sets, gadgets for making coffee - etc. Nothing for less than $15, mind you. I could barely get to the front to order a coffee! At least Tim Horton's doesn't subject one to this type of display (I guess they make enough money...).

I then stopped at the new local food mart, Fresh & Wild(ly Expensive) where I drop in to get bagels most days. The bagels are about the only affordable thing in this joint. I'm told they spent $40,000 on a sound system - for a mini grocery mart?! You can sit and watch four plasma TVs while waiting to order a coffee, that sort of thing.

I guess this is why you have to pay $15 for a tin of hot chocolate.

That's right - $15.00. But it's the Barefoot Contessa's Sinful Hot Chocolate Mix, mind you:
Here's the blurb:

Rich and smooth, chocolaty and so sinfully delicious. Nothing is better on a blustery cold day than a steaming cup of hot chocolate. This mix is incredible, made from only the finest chocolate. Just add milk!

Oh - does the $15 include a litre of milk too?

Let's have a look at the ingredients:

sugar

dutched cocoa powder

coffee powder

vanilla

salt

Hmm - no gold dust? Amazing. I reckon $15 could get me at least 5 kilos of sugar or cocoa powder, about 10 kilos of salt, 1 1/2 kilos of nescafe... and how much does vanilla cost, anyway? With this, I could have enough hot chocolate for me and all my friends for the rest of our natural lives.

Or, for $15, I could make this one and probably still have money left over from the $15 for a mickey of Frangelico to slip into it...

I'll pass on the cocoa powder. For that price, I wouldn't buy it unless the Barefoot Contessa threw in a catered dinner on top of it.

Other delights at Fresh and Wild:

christmas fruitcake: 6" diameter (approx. 5 kilo weight from what I could tell!) = $20

paella mix (rice and a packet of spices - just add shrimp and chicken!) = $14.00

cookie mix in a mason jar: $14.00 for 24 cookies approx (for that, I think they should throw in a self-cleaning mixing bowl and baking tin, frankly).

What did I end up buying? Some oatmeal cookies. $5 for the package, but they're tasty, anyway, and I didn't have to bake them.

Happy Friday! And, you'll be glad to know that today marks the wedding anniversary of Lucy and Desi.


They eloped. How romantic is that? Too bad the marriage didn't last.