More Random Yarn

the lovely and incredibly talented Sarah traded me some yarn for some amigurumi. I, um, haven't finished the amigurumi yet, but I'm close to finishing them. I do feel guilty about it, especially since this gorgeous yarn is sitting in my stash already: This is Sarah's "Ode to the Sea" sock yarn, which is a merino/tencel blend. it is deliciously soft and yummy! The colorway is "Jungle". I think this yarn is going to become a pair of Monkey socks. The colors are perfect for the pattern, and really? Monkey socks? Jungle colorway? It's practically begging for it! Sarah does some beautiful work, folks, and you should go snatch up what you can. You can find her amazing creations in yarn over at Perfect Day Yarns. Thanks so much, Sarah!

Monsterette and I had a great day today hanging out with my sister-in-law. We went to the park, took a little trip to the store, got Chinese food for lunch, and came home to a much needed nap for all three of us. I made my first batch ever of red chile, and we had frito pies for dinner. It was pretty good! After Monsterette went to bed, we sat out on the balcony with some wine and talked for a while. Now, I'm pretty much ready for bed! Tomorrow she's leaving, and we'll be having some people over for a little nerdy gaming get-together in the evening. Bring on the Munchkin, the Gloom, and the Lunch Money!

Cold and Rainy

It's a cold, rainy afternoon here in Albuquerque, which is rare here. I love the smell of rain in the desert, though. Yum. today was kind of a crazy day- I had an old friend pop up online, and we talked for a while. He's like a little brother to me, and I love him dearly. he's currently serving in Afghanistan, and has five more years in the service. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster to talk to him- great to catch up, and fun to reminisce, but I still found myself crying more than once, just out of joy to talk to him, to hear he's doing well, and also the heart ache for a close friend who's so far from his loved ones. I'll be praying for him and hoping he makes it out okay. It was a very comforting and familiar conversation, though, like we'd been talking every day, instead of having not been in touch for over two years. Some days I miss friends like this. Now, I hope none of you get me wrong here- I love all my friends dearly! It's just been a really long time since I've had a connection like that with anyone but family, and man, I miss it. I hope you all know the feeling, that type of freind: The one person you can call any time day or night to talk to about anything, the one who is always on your side, but will tell you when you're doing something stupid. The one who'll hang in there no matter what, and shares a special bond with you. Scuzzy (my nickname for him- don't ask) is one of those friends. yes, even after not talking for years. Signing off before I get all weepy again.

Mini Yarn Crawl

Saturday, Erin and I decided to have a mini-girl's day. We had lunch, knit a little bit, and went on a mini yarn crawl around Santa Fe. We only stopped at two yarn stores, but we surely didn't come away empty handed! The first yarn store we hit was Needle's Eye, which has a lot of basics and other good stuff. I got two balls of this, at half price! It's Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, in the colorway "Straw Into Gold". It's going to be a cozy scarf! The second yarn store we visited was Oodles. They carry a lot of the more "funky" stuff, mixed in with a few of the regulars. I love to go and fondle the bamboo, corn fiber, and the other fun, odd fiber choices they have. There I picked up some Austermann Step sock yarn, in these great colors- they remind me of a New Mexico desert landscape. I'm still waiting for Erin to post pictures of her stash enhancement- she got some great stuff! (nudge nudge, girl!)

A Plethora of Stuff

I have quite a bit to write about today! some of it is new news, some of it is older news that I finally got around to. All of it is good news, though! For starters, here is the picture of the wrap dress I made for Joie. I have to put ribbon in the proper places so I can tie it in the back, but I think that can wait a while, seeing as this won't fit her for a few more months. This next one is a sweater that our friend Autumn knit for Joie. I've been meaning to share it with you guys since I got back from my vacation, but haven't found time to photograph it until now. Isn't is darling? It is going to fit her perfectly this winter. She did an awesome job on it, too! If only I could knit so flawlessly... Now for some fun news- our friend Amber just had her twin boys! We went to go see them on Sunday, and they are so tiny and precious! I can't even imajine having twins- I wish her the best of luck with her two beautiful little boys! Here is baby Cheden- he only weighs about 4 pounds! And this one is little Phoenix. He was about a pound smaller than his brother. Aren't they precious? Here is a picture of Joie trying to stick Cheden in her mouth. It's a good comparison shot- Joie is pretty small, and it makes you see just how tiny this little guys are! In other news, Joie is cutting a tooth. Her very first! It has made for an interesting few days. She had been pretty crabby, and I feel bad for her. I guess now I have to start figuring out our solid food regimen. I haven't really been feeding her solids regualrly, but I always said once she got teeth I would quit nursing. I'll probably go a little longer, but once she starts biting, that's the end of it! In knitting news, I decided to cast on for my Fuzzy Feet. The yarn I dyed is knitting up beautifully- once I get a bit further into the cuff, I'll take some pictures of it. I adjusted the pattern a bit instead of adjusting my needle size for gauge- it should work out just fine. turns out that I am a tight knitter- the main issue with the wrap dress was that I used a worsted weight yarn, and apparently the pattern yarn was smaller. Oh well! Realizing that patterns can be adjusted and learning more how patterns work want to make me design something myself. Maybe something else to do in the future...

Lost and Found

Today started like most of my days- waking up around 8:30 with little Joie, eating breakfast, checking my bloglines and email. Joie went down for a nap around 10:30, and I decided to get cracking on my project for the baby shower (for twin boys!) on Saturday. I'm sewing some cute little things- I want to keep it a secret because I know mommy's sister reads my blog. ;) I decided to put on some music while I did my crafting, and the first cd to catch my eye was the Dixie Chicks album "Home". I popped it in and sat on the floor to get to work. As track number three started, I got a little teary-eyed. The song is "Travelin' Soldier" - for those of you who don't know it, click away. I've always gotten teary-eyed when I hear this song, because it's a sad song to begin with. When one of my awesome friends Patrick (aka Scuzzy) joined the army about a year and a half ago, it hit home even more. A little history- Scuzzy and I met at rough times in both of our lives, and got really close. He is an awesome person and is like a little brother to me- I love him like family.Last I talked to him was a year ago, when he was sent to Virginia to await his assignment. well, hearing that song today made me miss him and wonder what he was up to. I looked online in a bunch of places for about half an hour, trying to find anything that mentioned his name, a phone number, address, anything. No luck. I then remembered his grandmother lives in Minnesota, and since he used to live with her, she would surely remember me! I dug up my old cellphone, and her number was there. I called her up, and she kindly gave me his email address. I inquired as to where he was- my Scuzzy is in Iraq. She said she hadn't heard from him in a few months, and would I please say hello? I said I would and thanked her. I wrote him an email, and then looked at his picture on the yahoo! directory. I cried- he looks thin and tired and scared- it looks like he is in a tent in Iraq in the picture. I prayed that he is okay. I hope I hear back from him soon-if I do, I'll let you know. For now, my heart and prayers are going out to him there, hoping he is staying safe, and I'm trying to keep myself from crying.