the fabric stash that is. I poked into the library to pick up a couple book that were on hold (Felt Frenzy & Kid’s Knitted Sweaters… from Cabin Fever) and decided to poke thru the regular stock of books. (This was at the branch that I consider to be the size of a shoebox. They still have a decent selection without resorting to summoning from other branches.) Anywho, since this library is the size of a shoebox (unlike, say, the Central Mpls branch by work, where knitting takes up most of one row section), knitting shares a shelf with quilting. And 3 quilting books came home with me as well. One of which has the CUTEST quilt that I, as a knitter, feel I absolutely must make. despite the fact that it has taken me a good 4-5 years to make minimal progress on my first quilt attempt (it took me a year to wash the fabric. I am counting that year.) unfortunately, my fabric stash doesn’t contain many quilt-worthy fabrics, and so I feel I must make a pilgrimage to the fabric shops. JoAnns seems to be having a sale. ooh, or there’s a quilt shop up in town - I wonder what their hours are this weekend… and what the damage to the yarn budget would be…

in knitting news, Dulaan hat #4 is nearing completion (when do I need to get these in the mail by?). and so are my socks. pics coming soon.

(did I mention that we got satellite internet at home now? now, can we keep the clouds away while I’m at home so that I can actually connect?)

so I had a feis (Irish dance competition) this weekend down in Madison. I stayed with my parents for the night, since they live sort of nearby. I had seen something in one of the thrift shops that I thought mom would like, so I went back to grab it. decided to stop at a 2nd thrift store that was on the way, and found a few knitting needles. so I got (another) 29″ size 7 circ, and two orphans: a size 10 Brittany (not sure what wood it is) and a size 10.5 Crystal Palace. anyone else have an orphan they’d like to trade (or trade something for)?

(eta: the Brittany has found a new home. the Crystal Palace needle is still a bit lonely though)

back to the feis… considering I didn’t do much practicing, I did pretty well - I got 1st in one dance and tied for 5th in another. one of the best parts about going to a feis: the vendors with the Irish candies! so I grabbed a few. as you can see, the Flake bar didn’t last long (though they did survive the trip home!)

after the feis, I tried to find a craft store that has a coupon online. I was on the wrong road at first, and stumbled on Goodwill (by EastTowne). ooh, did I have fun in there! they had TONS of yarn. 10 skeins of Pingouin something in 2 colors, a skein of ‘virgin wool’ (I think it’s the same brand as the skein I kool-aid dyed - it’ll probably meet the same fate), a skein of Bernat something or other that’s 70/15/15 acrylic, wool & mohair, and a few zippers. I did finally find the craft store, but by that time they were closed.
  

oh, and I made some progress on the needle case I’m making. I just need to stitch the top and bottom edges, and maybe add a closure of some sort.

I’ve decided to sew myself a needle case of some sort. You should see the small collection of patterns I have to try this from: the one in the SnB book, the out-of-print Simplicity pattern, the one from the Sweater Workshop book, and this one. being the crazy person that I am, I became obsessed with finding the Simplicity pattern - bid on it on eBay, and was sent the wrong pattern. ended up getting it from a different seller. and what did this obsession leave me with? not using it. well, I did steal the idea from it to use bias tape around the edges so it’ll look a little prettier. but for the most part I’m using the one linked with some alterations. so at this point I have the fabric cut, layed out, and am trying to decide how I want to sew it together. and I’m thinking I want to add an accessory pocket of sorts (I’m thinking vinyl with a velcro closure), but I’m not sure where to add it. *rolls eyes* of course, I can’t do things according to the pattern. no I have to modify and make it more complicated than it really is. =)

so that’s my non-knitting update. I think I’ll go stare at it some more and see if I can figure out what I’m trying to do…

Went to the Burnsville SnB group tonight. Met Dawn, Margie? & Nancy. managed to make good progress on the ties for Miss Dashwood - one finished and a few inches on the 2nd one. Just need to get that finished up and it’ll be off in the mail. =)

I’m trying to decide what the next ‘main’ project will be. The curtains I was sewing are finally finished (last week, I think), and now I have an itch to sew more. I found a couple bits of brocade in the remnants bin, and am planning to make a needle case with them - just need to cut the fabrics to size and actually sew them. and then my double point needles will have a ‘proper’ home. yay!