i might be wrong

I ate an entire box of Fig Newtons yesterday.

Um, I can hardly believe this, but I've found my wedding gown already. I absolutely love it. (No pictures or description in case Clay reads this but if you wanna see it, send me an email and I send you a link to the photo.) I was a bit nervous about buying it — not because I wasn't sure about it — but because I didn't bring a friend with me shopping this morning. It's a funny feeling buying a dress for a very special day in your life and not getting a friend's opinion. I thought, should I buy it now or come back later with January? But what if it's not there later? I'd cry. But, it's the one. And I got it as a sample so it was relatively inexpensive. Yay!

I've been showing it to the ladies in my office today and they all really love it, too, which makes me feel better about being so spontaneous. It fits me well, it is gorgeous and it's me.

There it is. The big bad baby blanket from the first Stitch & Bitch book. It's done and it was quick since I used Koigu Kersti instead of Koigu Painter's Palette. Unfortunately, this blanket required 10 skeins of yarn instead of 6. There I was, trying to save money by buying thicker yarn thinking I'd have to use less, but no. I didn't read the packaging. I think Kersti has less yardage than Painter's Palette so that's why I had to use more. Also, the blanket is a rectangle instead of a square. Oh, and I ran out of yarn twice while making this blanket and of course String didn't have anymore in the color way I originally purchased. I was able to nicely blend in some other color ways, however. Despite all this, I think the blanket turned out quite nicely. I tell ya, the books don't lie when they suggest making a gauge swatch. It's really worth the time. Had I taken this advice, the blanket would have been square and in the same color way. Or I could have planned better for blending in different color ways. Hindsight, etc.

"Twinkle's Big City Knits" has so many great patterns, I want to make everything. Modern styling and chunky yarns... what's not to love? Yarn prices, that's what. Good chunky yarn can be pretty expensive, especially when you want to make sweaters. Rowan Big Wool can cost $15 a skein and if I need 8 or 9 to make a sweater, that's over $130. Yarn sold under the Twinkle brand is $17 or $18 a skein. I'd love to make sweaters out of these soft, sumptuous and luxurious yarns, but I really shouldn't splurge. I've got a wedding to save for. So I decided to try some less luxurious yarns, namely Lion Brand's Wool Ease Thick & Quick. It's 80% acrylic. Yes, I said acrylic. (Incidentally, Clay just looked over at me and noticed my pouting. When I told him I was knitting with acrylic, he deadpanned "Tragic.")

Back to my whining... I am knitting with acrylic yarn for the first time. It's kind of shiny in a cheap way that I don't really care for. What do ya want for $5.88 a skein off Amazon? I do really like the color. It's called Denim Twist -- a really pretty two-toned blue. I just don't like the hand. But I will make the Karate Sweater from "Twinkle's Big City Knits". I'm going to finish this sweater and it's going to come out nice and I'm going to wear it. And when it gets dirty I can throw it in the wash because it's acrylic and it was man made to make life easier for the busy woman who can't hand wash her sweaters.

And when I think about splurging for the expensive yarns to make my next sweater, I should just remind myself about the red sweater I made last winter. I made it out of Alchemy Yarns Lickety Split. I think that yarn cost me something like $200. The sweater? It's hanging in the closet. I never wore it. Didn't like the color.