The Road Out.

I am feeling funky this morning.  Funky not in the cool dude way, but rather more in the gray, dim sort of way, like a cloudy morning when you hoped for sunshine.  Household renovations are the cause.  None of this is nearly so much fun when your heart isn't in it.  Windows and rugs and closets and all manner of things. Yucky.

So when I tell you that in the middle of this, there was very little knitting.  Moreover, I did not even want to knit and yet, my mind was not far from knitting and knitting things.

Interweave is having a sale on it's books and I particularly love their digital book collections.  They are delivered as pdf files, which makes them infinitely transportable and easy to use on any platform.  And the prices just cannot be beat.  I picked up 3 books for under thirty dollars.

My favourite purchase was New Directions in Sock Knitting by a favourite author, Anne Budd.  I have become fascinated by sock patterns lately.  I am just starting to feel the urge to knit sock patterns and this new book has the most amazing sock, by Jeny Staiman, Vanishing Point. 
  I.  WANT.  THIS.  I may even consider using some of my lovely Zaubderball for it!  What is this world coming too.  Knit a monkey sock a few times and then all heck breaks loose!

I also picked up Brioche Chic. When I was in San Fransisco a couple years ago, with my friend, Sweaterrae,  for Knitlab, I took a class in Brioche knitting from Mercedes Tarasovich.  It's such an interesting way to knit and I absolutely  the fabric of it.  The book was out shortly after that trip, and I knew that one day, it would be mine.  There are a couple of garments in it that I would love to knit.  Mercedes steps outside the box and takes brioche to a whole new place.

The third book was pure whimsy, bought solely for the picture on the cover. Vintage Modern, you are mine.  I love that yoke pattern, but more.  There are some very interesting things besides that one must knit.  There is a lovely cabled sweater, two actually, that I can see me wearing in the future, a Roositud technique tam, several pairs of wrist warmers and the loveliest legwarmers in an interesting twisted stitch and embroidery combination.  Interestingly, I also took a class with Courtney Kelly and Kate Gagnon Osborne on twisted stitch knitting at the same San Fransisco retreat.

The other thing I have been thinking about, very seriously is a yarny treat.  I sold my wee house and as I did with each of the properties and things I have sold, it is time to give myself a little treat.  I debated if it should be tools, but I have nowhere to keep what I was thinking about, so yarn it is.  There is always more room for yarn.  And again, the yarn I am strongly leaning to is something I first experienced at Knitlab!  The third class I took there was with Nancy Bush, on Estonian knitting and our sample was being knit with Jaimeson Ultra Laceweight.  Who wouldn't love to knit a  traditional Shetland style shawl with it using all the natural shades?

So no knitting but a weekend full of yarny pursuits.  You know, thinking about these good things that have or will be coming my way has just lifted my spirits.  I think I can look to this weeks adventures in renovations with a clear head and a brighter attitude.