When Obsession Cancels Itself Out & Juliet

This morning I met a galfriend for coffee right outside a quilt shop (I think you may already know where this is going). Anyway, we're knitting and chatting and I'm feeling a bit of a soulful breeze and I look over my left shoulder and spot the quilt shop. And instead of the sign saying "Quilt Shop" or whatever the heck the name is, it says "Come to me! Come in and spend 76 bucks on flannel!" So I did.

(And I could just hear the women who work at the quilt shop dropping their betweens and jumping off their comfy chairs while smacking high-fives all around and doing a round of "Whoop! There it is!" the second the door slammed behind me.)

Not that I quilt. I mean, I used to hand quilt way back when, before I was this self, but now I wouldn't even know where to begin. I tell you what, though, when a girl who knits (GWK's) goes into a quilt shop, she must buy some flannel. Especially the stuff that has the Sock Monkey theme splattered all over it. Really.

On another note, this evening, after I told him how nice the latest Hatha class was, HWWV declared that this would become a Yoga blog. I said, of course, it would not, and that if I had anything relevant to say about yoga, I'd definitely start a different blog, which would be an interesting venture, but something I'll never, ever do. Wouldn't want to tee off the yogis, you know.

I was just thinking how funny the whole Hobby/Obsession Thing works. First, you get excited about Knitting and next thing you know, you're visiting the LYS and buying wool or whathaveyou in lots the likes you ponder might, once knitted, clothe a small city. Now, not only am I eating up the yarn like a crazy giant moth with a serious hormonal imbalance and an angry habit of eating while sleepwalking and dreaming about flannel, I'm carrying canvas totes here and there for groceries, and meditating on the subject of about how I'll ever get Girlfriend to stuff those plastic water bottles into that giant recycle-r thing that'll give her a few cents in return.

At least, with the knitting, I could give out the knitted garments so someone else would feel better. With the yoga thing, I'm feeling better, but while I do it, I am thinking about cutting back, and looking for cans to recycle, or buying boxed wine because it'll collapse better than a bottle while in the garbage. Come to think of it, on my way to Whole Foods yesterday, I had to wait for a well-dressed lady to riddle through the trash for "stuff" before I could make my way into the joint, where, just around the corner, they displayed those expensive Heirloom tomatoes.

I wonder if she does yoga.

Interesting conundrum.

Done with Juliet. It is honestly fabulous.

Info & Mods: Worked with Tahki Stacy Charles "Bunny" on size 9's instead of two worsted's held together (they do give info about working with a bulky yarn, though.) I also had 14 yards shy of what they called for, so I just worked the length until I thought I'd nearly run out, ending with a Row 6, and instead of working a wrong-side row, I started up with the garter stitch right away and only worked 2 rows. Then I bound off. Who knows how long the thing is--I haven't measured it--but this is the sort of thing you can try on as you go and work to the perfect length. For me, it was a crap shoot because of the dearth of yarn, but heck. It looks great and I love it. (I used Pearle Cotton, crocheted--16 chains--for the loops.) Oh, and I did a size extra small, which I could never wear under normal conditions, but with the raglans, I tend to err on the size of small. It worked!

Comments

[mad-knits]

that is sooo cute! bought the pattern yesterday can't wait to knit it up!

[Wendy Eastwood]

Juliet is wonderful!!! Purple looks great on you.

[g's mama]

Thanks, Wendy--I'll just keep going. Hopefully mine will turn out as nicely as yours did.

[Jenn]

Julitte looks GREAT!

I know you always hear silly things at your yarn shop, so I wanted to tell you about a site I just created specifically for silly snippets of conversation at a yarn shop:
Overheard In A Yarn Shop.blogspot.com

[Lisa]

Why do you err to a small on a raglans? Does the fit seem big because of the styling? Or just because you are petite? Since I am color challenged, I use plain colors and try to really make a big deal with fit and I haven't knit a raglan before (they look AWFUL on me).

[Wendy]

It's just the way the math works sometimes. Raglans are usually increased at regular intervals (sleeve/back/sleeve/front) and sometimes you have to work more intervals to get to your desired chest circumference, so unless you do some fancy footwork, your sleeve might be too wide. I find that if I err on the side of small when someone else has designed the pattern, I do better. Just my thing, I guess.

[Kathleen]

I love that top/sweater! Gorgeous!

[Shannon]

Juliet looks great and so do you! A great colour and fit. And the glass bottle is better 'cause you can recycle it whereas wine boxes aren't recyclable. Boo. Just buy the really big bottles of wine ;)

[MonkeyGurrl]

Juliet is gorgeous; and looks gorgeous on you (which is an important point, b/c they had something similar at Tarjayz, and it made me look like a big, fat, fluffalump).

[Michelle]

Damn another super cute Juliet...I really am going to have to make myself one! Nice, and love the color!!

[Debbie]

Love the top! Your hair looks really cute pulled back, by the way!
Where's the flannel?

[Wendy]

The flannel went home with my friend. (I'm going to her house on Tuesday so she can show me how to get started.)

[Heather]

That sweater is gorgeous. It looks so much nicer on you than the models on the Zephyr page. I must be out of touch cause I haven't seen that pattern before!

[Kristin]

Your Juliet is fabulous!! I can't wait to get started on mine. You are so inspiring (and so quick!)

[Shelley]

Heh, she *thinks* she'll see the flannel again.
My stash has snacked on it....

[MX]

Great Juliet!

[flutter]

Juliet is fabulous and that color is heavenly on you

[Sarah]

Pretty, pretty Juliet! Must add to my Ravelry list!

[Rosie]

Your Juliet is beautiful. I immediately put it on my Ravelry queue.

[Kim Goldstein]

Wendy, I love your Juliet! I love it so much that I immediately went to the Zephyr website and bought a pattern for myself.I cant' wait to get started on it but first I want to finish up my Something Red sweater that I am knitting in a green heather yarn. Thanks for your help with the short rows. It is coming along nicely.

[Mona]

Bravo for going ahead with the project! I'm glad you had enough yarn. You ALWAYS bring a stylish flair to photos of your FOs. I always look forward to reading your blog, both for content and the fab pics. YOU ARE A KNITTING ROCKSTAR!

[Wendy]

Heh. Mona. So nice of you to comment. I thought it was funny because just yesterday I went into the LYS and someone who reads the blog said she read this day's post and said she didn't recognize me!

[Cindy]

The Juliet is beautiful! And it looks great on you too! Sigh, someday I'll have my own Juliet!

[Melissa!]

Found my way to your blog...love your Juliet - beautiful!

[Lis]

W- you look adorable!!!!!!!
L