So weak. I could blame
Stephanie, but that would be a lie. I was still standing strong. In fact, I scoffed. I mocked her. Let the Harlot fall, I said. I can be tough. I am stronger than the lace. I have NO time. I am on a deadline. I cannot start a new project when so many need to be finished. What
pushed me over the edge was
Cate. She ruined me. And I yielded, but with some conditions. 1.) It has to be stash only.
No cash outlay. and 2.) I will not be captivated by the "finished first" game. There is not time for this in the first place, so I sure don't have the time to get the clue and have it done by supper. So far I am sticking well to the conditions. The yarn is...not. It's
16/2 natural linen that I'd been saving specifically for a lace project for the drape and stitch definition. I am not a shawl person, so the chances
that this will be worn are pretty low. I am, however, a lace person; all those lovely charts, like cables, YUM! As a holidays-only table runner it will excell. I have not said what it is yet, have I? That's because I don't want to cop to it. I don't want to admit that I have been sucked in by....by...
MS3. I am not yet done with clue #1. There's a deadline project here staring at me, so I fit in a few rows now and then as a sort of reward for not cutting the dealine project into ribbons. We're not in love right now. I am in love with the MS3. The linen is working out exactly as I expected, maybe better. Great stitch definition, and when blocked it softens but holds it's shape. Not the super soft lacey stuff most people are using. No rabbit, no Mo', no cash, no merino. More a soft but substantial thing. Not cuddly. I could be convinced to actually wear it. I have been challenged as it were by Cate to go for broke and buy some beads. Apparently that part of the investment is not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I tried to raid bead stash, but there was nothing that appealed to me, no holes big enough. Adding beads now would require a rip-out. But there is another option. Let's say I go to
New Hampshire and I find some simply amazing, gotta-have-it laceweight something in the vendor area. Let's say I decide that maybe, just maybe, I want a second MS3. And I forget for a long moment that Mr. Wonderful faints at the sight of Visa slips. Maybe someone in the family needs one. Maybe a more wearable one - or I should say one that the average person would be likely to wear. Maybe the theme, when revealed appeals to me so much that I need another, smokey and beaded. I am not ruling out the possibility. And I now know where Beader's Paradise sneaked away to, and it's convienantly near my favorite Northampton coffee and internet dearly beloved gluten free cupcake hang-out. And Cate assures me beads are cheap. Which is good. Because I am cheap. Painfully cheap when it comes to stuff for me.
In another burst of "I hate this project" energy, I started this baby sweater with the Lonestar I have hanging about. Just had to have those two skiens. I am not sure what compelled me to go baby, but I did, and it's cute. It needs sleeves and some sort of closure. There is no pattern, I just make it up as I go and am writing nothing down. it's super simple, drop shoulder, seed stitch borders, nothing exciting just a basic wearable warm fuzzy baby bit. This will have to be a wool-lover's infant, because it will not go in the laundry. Not something you can give grandchildren with young parents, or best friend who prefers
Encore.
The next time you hear from me I'll be stashed away in a hotel in New Hampshire with free wireless and a comfy room all to myself. And for Mr. Wonderful's sake, hopefully not a huge pile of yarn on the dresser.
An update, or an aside, or something just a little scary:
In preparing to leave for TKGA I determined that I required a couple of crochet hooks. Gee...I wonder if I have enough?
The man calls these "rats with antlers".
Right now they've got no antlers, just empty stomachs. Pretty, but raiding the garden is not acceptable, so noise must be made.
And off they go.
It's very light, warm, and soft. I want to sleep in it.
Mmmm...eggs! Love my birds, I truly do, and not just for this.
I love this, too. Chicken Feet in yogurt on my walking plank things.
I love my house, especially when we're popping holes in the ozone with that smoke (wait - before you freak on me - wood is carbon neutral!!)
One of my favorite places to visit.
Squirt, the most maladjusted chicken on earth.
This was the single chick we hatched and nurtured against my better judgement. Well. Who knew?? She even lays an egg now and again. 
I love to watch the water, and sometimes get so distracted by it that I forget to turn it off or switch buckets. Then there's a mess. Winter+water=ice.
She really does not dig this hat. At. All.
Truffles! The new king of the hill, the new man in demand, the future of chickens around here:
