What I did on my holiday part 2

I bought some yarn... This is Colinette Parisienne Listen - can you hear it whispering? Voulez vous tricoter avec moi? And because I don't have enough projects waiting to be knit: This is Autunno , a worsted weight merino which knits up like this: No need to adjust your monitor, there is some very subtle light/dark shading of the yarn. I intend to use it to knit the dropped shoulder sweater from Yarnplay. One of these days. And finally, the heat seems to have done something to my brain - I am giving serious consideration to knitting lace. Maybe it's because I am finding more "solid" stitch patterns like this:

Sockapalooza socks fit!

I finally have a photo of the Sockapalooza socks modelled properly - on feet: Nikki was my Sockapalooza downstream pal. In addition to having very photogenic feet, she is also a talented dyer, and has her own etsy shop. We are in Las Vegas right now - The Gambler is down at the poker tables already (we haven't gone for breakfast yet). By the way - if you are ever in Vegas, and are in a casino with a name that starts with MG...bypass their buffet. Very underwhelming, and more expensive than the buffet at The Mirage, which is vastly superior in variety and presentation (they toss your salad for you - how cool is that?) I managed to pass a few hours at Gail Knits, which is the only LYS in Las Vegas. I am always struck by how quickly many Americans are to share fairly intimate details of their life with strangers...I realize that this is a huge generalization, and I am well aware that I may be more reserved than many other Canadians, but I've heard tales about how someone is "an abuse survivor", or about how an elderly relative had "implant sugery done because their spouse insisted on it" while travelling south of the US/Canada border. Not that either are something to be ashamed of, but to share them with someone who you just met? At one point, I thought that I was going to be stranded in the yarn shop when the cab hadn't arrived after waiting for over an hour and a half (the shop is 7 miles off The Strip, so they don't make as much money heading there and back as they would shuttling people from casino to casino). One of the women who knits at the shop on Tuesdays was kind enough to drive myself and another out of towner back to our hotels. I've manged to pick up some nice yarn during this trip, and should really take advantage of my free time in Vegas to photograph them and blog about them, but I'm thinking that it's time to see how The Gambler is doing. BTW - Thanks for the comments on my last post. Nothing like an afternoon baby shower full of strangers/near strangers plus being unable to fall asleep to create some late night angst. Plus I am probably suffering from mild cat withdrawal.

What I did on my summer holiday part 1...

My uncle got us awesome tickets to this: And we saw this guy manage to put in just over an hour's work: He bent it... Made it... And there was much rejoicing.

If it's The Happiest Place On Earth (TM), why are there so many crying children?

Two words explain why the most brilliant decision we have ever made was to stay at a hotel across the street from Disneyland: Afternoon. Nap. (That, and the fact that I didn't have to drive The Charger today - gave the ozone a bit of a reprieve today. Has anyone ever seen a Car Rental Agency that offers hybrids? Seems more sensible to me to pay extra $$ to rent a hybrid car than buying "carbon offsets" which may only line someone's pockets with green.) The nap gave The Gambler the edge on the Space Blaster ride: My Hero.

Postcard from The Edge

Hi All! We are on holiday this week and next - spent the weekend in Palm Springs, are just starting 2 days in Anaheim (in a hotel sitting on the brink of Disneyland), then heading to the San Fernando Valley for 5 days before we head to Las Vegas for 4 days. Because we like to do things like a) go away for 2 weeks shortly after moving, and b) visit not one, but TWO desert locales in the middle of the summer. I cast on for Coachella, but have no photos to post yet - will do so within the next few days. Sadly, my knitting time is less than I had planned; it turns out that Someone's Driver's Licence expired the day before we left on holiday, and Rental Car Agencies don't like to have unlicenced drivers operate their cars (they are kind of funny that way). So I am the designated driver. Of a Dodge Charger, which is an aircraft carrier masquerading as a car - just to add insult to injury. Yep - driving a car with a hemi; it's like a dream come true, except for the fact that I have never been a 17 year old guy.