Happy Mothers' Day

Today was the big move (most of it, anyway). I'm leaving this apartment in search of greener pastures and a one-bedroom palace of my own. So Mom, Dad, Brother and Boyfriend all showed up to help out. Things went very smoothly considering that I'd barely finished packing before they got there. Now I just have to clean up a few last things, including my computer as you may have guessed. My plan for the summer is to spend a few weeks between Parent's House and Boyfriend's House relaxing and tying up a few loose ends from this semester. Then, it's off to Florence, Italy for two months of language training (yaaay!). Then a few more weeks visiting Boyfriend and Parents and searching for a new one-bedroom palace, which I'll move into in mid-August before the new semester starts.

Since Mom was here on Mothers' Day I was able to give her her present: 2 skeins Koigu KPM nearly solid in a gorgeous green (a little greener than the pic shows) and a set of sock needles. Mom's never knit socks before but certainly has the skills, as she's a very accomplished knitter. After two pairs of socks I feel sock-knitterish enough to start turning others to the dark side. Mua ha ha ha ha haaaa.

At my current apartment (for the next 18 hours or so) there is one very local LYS, within a five minute drive, and a slightly less local LYS that is about 25 minutes away. I don't get to the distant one as often and hadn't been there since like January. January was before I knit socks, and the new obsession led me to venture beyond my tiny corner of the city in search of yummy solid sock yarns. I'm still a hesitant internet shopper at times, and really wanted the chance to feel some of this stuff.

I went with my friend Ileana, who caught the knitting bug from me in December. Ileana sought yarn for a Fair Isle blanket (her skills are already so impressive!) and I was looking for a) sock yarn, b) a mothers' day present, c) yarn for a crochet project. Before we left, Ileana gave me my birthday present--
Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. I'm so excited! This book is great, and all the socks are gorgeous. I can't wait to get started on them.

We spent probably an hour and a half in the store. I found the Koigu and got a gorgeous... what IS this color, anyway? I'll say raspberry. It's a cross between pink and burgundy. Nearly solid, totally perfect. Green for mom plus Brittany Birch sock needles. And I'll be making "Fit to be Tied" from the Happy Hooker with Creative Focus Worsted by Nashua Handknits in a demure light blue. This is my project to work on during my plane ride to Italy so I don't have to worry about anyone taking my needles away.

The worsted and the raspberry Koigu both decided to be camera-shy yesterday, so you'll just have to pretend there is a lovely picture of them right here:













Speaking of turning knitters to the dark side, Ileana fell in love with the absolute loudest, most colorful, most fabulous self-patterning sock yarn in the place. Do I get a prize for recruits?