The Crafty Ladies Go to A2

After I finished my first pair of socks, I dove into my next knitting project – tube socks for my father-in-law, one of his Christmas presents. Since I was beginning to get the hang of them, and because I was having fun, I made a pair for my husband. On Christmas day I presented him with the first sock and finished the pair just a few days after the New Year. J was very excited, and said he’s never had socks fit so well. He may just be acting the sweet husband, but I’m inclined to agree with him about how awesome his new socks are. I’m not conceited at all, am I?

With the completion of J’s socks I itched to get some more yarn. I have quite a lot, and should probably destash at some point, but the yarn I have isn’t very good for the projects I have in mind. I have some yarn left over from afghans and a few bulky scarves, but nothing suitable for socks or other lightweight projects.

The Crafty Ladies came over to our place a week ago and we went for an excursion to A2 for some sushi and yarn shopping. We hit up a little yarn shop on the north part of town, the Knit A Round Yarn Shop. The shop is full of knitting goodness, with many types of yarn to choose from. Now, I’m usually a cheapskate when it comes to purchasing yarn, but I’m beginning to appreciate quality fibers. KAR is not a place to try to pinch pennies with some hanks and skeins reaching $35 each, but these are good, quality fibers. There are also yarns that are also good quality and somewhat easier on the pocketbook. I picked up two skeins of ArtYarns Ultramerino sock yarn (specialty dyed MSU green & white – a sock project for J’s coworker Par), one skein of a beautiful blue-green variegated New Zealand laceweight, and a set of Brittany birch hardwood needles. As I am trying to be mindful of my expenses and also the economy, I was quite pleased with my purchase – the ArtYarn and needles were products of the USA!

Once we got back to my place, we set about getting our craft on. I flitted about the kitchen, too, getting dinner ready – spanakopita. I love it when I have company because then I have even more reason to try new recipes. It’s even better when the recipes turn out well!

Spanakopita

(I added a little extra garlic and feta, and used 2 packages of frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh. The pie was quite tasty!)

After dinner I started playing with my new yarn, then realized it needed to be wound into balls. I spent most of the evening balling my new yarn while enjoying lots of delightful conversation with the ladies. I’m so glad they were able to come over and I can’t wait for the next craft gathering!