Another trip to the mill.

On Thursday my husband I went to East Jordan, Michigan, so I could get a sweater's worth of yarn at Stonehedge Fiber Mill. Ever since I worked with their worsted weight for the CookieA sample knitting, and their DK on my Zori sweater, I've been wanting to knit another sweater from their yarn. The perfect pattern presented itself in Rafters, by Stephanie Tallent, and once I added up how much I'd need, we headed out to the farm.

We had a lovely drive there, once we got through the traffic jam in Traverse City. It seems like everyone is trying to get in their last bits of summer fun before Labor Day, just like we are. As we got a little farther up the road, the traffic cleared out and we drove past lovely fruit orchards and smaller lakes. As we pulled into the driveway at the mill, their little black farm cat came over to greet us. This is the same little guy we met last year, still just as deaf, but still as fond of ear skritches as last time. Anyway, the shop door was closed, so I pet our little friend until the owner came by and showed me in. She said the door was closed because the goats couldn't be trusted not to eat the yarn. She told me that one of them had eaten a check from a customer - actually snatched it out of her hand and ran away!

Once I got inside, I was able to choose a color pretty quickly - I'd been thinking I wanted a heathered purple, and there were two skeins of pansy front and center. After a quick look at it in the sunshine, I asked for 10 skeins, which she had to get from the mill shed. She hadn't twisted the hanks, but no matter. She added an extra tie to them so they'd make the trip home safely. I can't wait to start on this sweater! Of course the search for buttons will be kind of a pain, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I'm looking forward to all those pretty cables and the shawl collar, too.

Once we bought my yarn, we decided to go to Bellaire to the Short's Brewing Company pub. They make a variety of really tasty beers and my husband knew that they had a restaurant, so we took it in our way home. I had a delicious (and big!) avocado BLT and their Kolsch 45. It was so good! My husband had the Reuben sandwich and one of the IPAs. I took a picture of him with his sandwich, but he didn't want a picture of himself while he was eating posted to the internet, so you get to see my sandwich instead. I also took a picture of the beer board, just so you can see all the options. These guys aren't fooling around. If you're in the area, check them out.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. We're headed home in the morning, so there's lots to do tonight before we leave. Until next time, Friends.

I love to travel.

So, last week I had a work-related trip to Atlanta. I love when I get to go out of town, especially when it's for work and I get paid for it! Those of you who know me IRL know that I work for the local affiliate of an international non-profit housing ministry (if you Google that phrase, you'll know exactly which one), at which I do design work. The conference had about a million workshops, of which I attended seven. I learned a great deal about the new Energy Star guidelines for the construction of new homes, about the dollar amount of claims paid out on various types of falls on construction sites and the kinds of things that frustrate construction guys across the country. A few of the workshops were less scintillating, so I won't bore you with that, just suffice to say that capacity-building, as it applies to the non-profit housing ministry field, is pretty dry stuff.

I did get to go out and have a little fun while I was there, though. The first night, a bunch of us went to an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls. Once we got everyone together, got them a MARTA ticket and got them to the arena, we got ourselves some $10 seats in the very top row and watched the Hawks get spanked. I had hoped the game would be competitive, but we ended up leaving at the end of the third quarter because the Bulls were ahead by 35 points or so. I did, at least, have a very tasty $9 beer. It was good and cold and big. There was also a little hilarity as a group of out-of-shape, middle-aged men calling themselves the "A Team" danced to a song I didn't recognize. The close-up of the really fat guy shaking his moneymaker was worth the price of admission.

The second night, I got to go to Knitch, a lovely LYS that carries lots of yarns that aren't available in Louisville. I went specifically for the Habu Textiles silk/stainless steel blend yarn, but I also wanted to get a look at Jared Flood's Shelter and the Quince & Co yarns. I was so happy to meet up with my friend Jamie, who brought along a couple of people whose posts I'd enjoyed reading on Ravelry, Melanie & Olivia, and who happen to be pretty hilarious in person. It was Knitch's weekly knit night, and they had wine and pizza. Yay! They also had cupcakes in honor of someone's birthday, but that person didn't actually come, so the rest of us got to eat them. It was a balanced meal. I ended up only getting enough yarn to make the Kusha Kusha scarf, though I spent a good long time considering the Quince & Co Tern. I may end up ordering it online, we'll see.

The third night was blocked out for a trip to Ikea, for picture frames. Two of my coworkers came along and while it took us a minute to figure out where to get the free shuttle to the shopping, we did finally get where we wanted to go. We stopped for dinner at Rosa Mexicano, which was nice, albeit a little expensive. The guy who made our guacamole at our table was a nice touch, but a quick 'n dirty sandwich shop would have done just as well for me. We were so full from dinner, that the sprint to catch the shuttle damn near killed me. For second there, I was worried. Once we got to Ikea, I took a lap around the store, mostly looking at the loveseats and dining room chairs, as we don't have enough seating at our house. I didn't really find anything that I was all that crazy about, but maybe I was just tired. By the time I made it to the section of the store with the frames, I couldn't decide whether I wanted black or dark brown, so I got neither. All that work to come home empty handed!

Friday morning started with one last workshop, then the drive home. I was grateful that one of my coworkers did the driving, as I was exhausted from all the week's activities. We didn't get home until 8 o'clock that night, but it did ensure my progress on the Vesper sweater. And by progress, I mean that I've completed 6" of the 10" I need before I can divide for the sleeves. Keep in mind that these are 432-stitch rounds in DK weight yarn, with US4 needles. It's a wonder my hands still work. But progress is progress, so I'm not really complaining. Really.

During the workshops this week, I worked on my new sock project, Herringbone Rib, from Carol Sulcoski's Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn. I'm using Punta Yarns Merisock hand painted, and it's lovely! The psso patterning is making all the difference and everyone who has seen them has loved them. I cast on last Monday and have knit about 4.5" since then. I can't wait to get the heel turned - I may be able to finish these socks in less than three weeks!

I think that's all I have for now. Knit & Crochet blog week starts tomorrow, so I have a lot of writing ahead of me. Until tomorrow, then.