Eee-yah!

"Eee-yah!" Is the Navajo equivalent of "Oy vey!" It sounds best in a Navajo accent, although it has no real meaning--much like "sheesh!" or "shyah!"

This week is an eee-yah week.

How's work going, Alaska?
Eee-yah! I'm worried I won't meet my Monday deadline!

Ready for the wedding?
Eee-yah. I would be--but I can't find the time to go get my nails done (which I need to do here since I refuse to pay California prices for the same ten pieces of plastic glued to my nails) and I can't find the time to get over and pick up the two outfits I left to get altered. Plus, there's the whole knitting thing that Charlotte so kindly nagged me about in the comments two posts ago.

Think you're going everything done that needs doing before you leave next week?
I honestly don't know.

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After taking Max to swimming this morning (it's always a "free play" day the morning after a meet)--

OH, wait. I totally forgot to blog that last night. Well, I have no pictures but suffice to say that Max was great. His head was "in the game", he gave it his all, he proved he could survive his first IM, and he was ready to dive back in for his final race (breast stroke) when the thunder rolled in.

And roooollllll in it did. The short version is that only about 12 minutes passed between the first rumble of distant thunder and the moment when the massive dark gray clouds covered the sky and unleashed torrents like you read about. The first few flashes of lightening were impressive, but nothing like the incredible show God put on only 15 minutes later. After the first roll of thunder, the announcer declared a 20 minute break to see if the sky would clear. Within two minutes he was urging people to take cover and then five minutes later he was telling people to go home--at a run--and stay OFF the DECK, PEEP-POL! I had given Max money for dinner at the first sound of thunder, so we actually succeeded in the 12 minutes we had in getting him 2 slices of pizza, packing up everything, and getting to the truck before the heavens cut loose. I didn't get the truck unlocked before this happened, and I didn't get anything IN the truck before this happened, but Max (need I point out that the kid was already wet?) got in the truck as soon as I got it unlocked and I only got meso-drenched tossing everything into the back of the truck. About this time the fancy lightning set in and Max was sure I was going to die. We headed for home, all the while both fearing and admiring nature around us--until we got about a mile down the road and we saw a father pulling a wagon with all his might, across the street. He was past drenched and drowning. There is lightning EVERYWHERE at this point, and he'd just come down the only totally open stretch in the area. He veered into the grass, scooped a two-ish year old out of the back of the wagon, and ran across the street in inch-deep stream running down the road, the wagon bumping and careening behind him. I intended to turn down that road and pick them up, but saw at the corner that they lived right there and the father--no doubt with his heart in his throat--was safely home.

So we got safetly home, too. The lights went out so we lit candles for the kids and then Chris and I sat on the front porch under the safety of the metal porch roof (what?) and watched the storm for a few minutes and talked. Then I got back to work (laptop has a smidge of battery life left. A smidge.) and Chris left to go on errands.

SO. Back to this morning. So I took Max to swimming and cast on for this thing for Alycia, all the while not really satisfied with the yarn I had. I decided it was time for a field trip out to Knitter's Underground. {warning: really cute kitten there}. Chris had been because he got me a swift there for Christmas, but I've never been I've been very, very loyal to Stitch Your Art Out. In this case, no matter how much I will it to be so, my dear SYAO really doesn't not have a cobweb and lace-weight selection of yarns. They just don't. And although I *can* buy yarn online, I hate that I can't poke the yarn and rub it between my fingers before I decide.

So I went.

:::Cue Fiona Apple song, "Criminal":::
I've been a bad, bad girl . . .
That's JaggerSpun Zephyr at a fair price. It wasn't on sale, but the prices at this store are surprisingly low for a Local Yarn Store. The place has been there a good long while, and I suspect that they *own* the property, which lowers overhead.

I picked up the latest issue of Knitter's which has a surprising assortment of Things I'd Actually Like to Knit. I want to make:






Only I would do that in the same yarn and colors you see below in the Orenburg sampler.


Although they're always sticking shoulder pads on that model which make the shoulders look lumpy. So she's a little sloop shouldered, so? Leave off the lumps.


Although I wouldn't be allowed to do that one until I finish my Waves of Grain sweater from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2004. (I'd post a picture, but . . . I can't find one anywhere online!)

That's an awful lot more than the number of items in this month's Vogue Knitting magazine where I liked . . . only the skirt on the cover.

Anyway, I also bought a Jaeger Handknits book from 2002 with designs for babies and children because it has FOUR boys sweaters I would actually knit and put on my kids. The sizes only go up to 4-5, but I didn't let that stop me. The two designs I love the best look like they can be reasonably translated into a larger size.

And as I was waiting for some faceless person in the back to finish putting my JaggerSpun into balls (I gather they were taking it off the 1lb cones it comes in--normally I don't let a store wind my yarn anymore) I saw this incredible shawl on display. I stopped to admire it and it was in the SOFTEST yarn. "That's YaggerSpun, too." Oh! It was in the yarn I just bought for another project! "It's really beautiful," I said, speaking only the obvious truth. "Thanks!" she said. "I knit that for one of our lace classes." "Put it on!"

I put it on.

"So you want the pattern for that?"

I nodded.

Why do men thinking shopping is hard?

Here's a bad scan of it from the internet. It's sampled in black, but the nice lady at Knitter's Underground had rendered it in burgundy, which was stunning. I chose the greenish yarn in the photo above.



I also got a skein of Baby Ulle from Knitter's Underground and some mystery yarn (photo below). It was in their sale bin, labeled "fingering weight, 100% wool" for $2. I just thought it looked pretty and it is perfect for the little knitting project for Alycia.


By and large they carry brands that SYAO doesn't. There is only a little overlap in brands. Although SYAO can oder Prairie Silk for me--they don't carry it in stock. Knitter's Underground does. They didn't have the color I wanted in stock, but they have all of my other favorite colors. Feeling like a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater, I ordered the red Prairie Silk I wanted for Max's sweater from them. They retail it for $1.50 less per skein than SYAO. Dude--he's a big kid and Prairie Silk comes in small skeins.

I still LOVE SYAO, but it's clear to me now that we weren't meant to have an entirely monogamous relationship. Especially not when the place was overflowing with spinning stuff. "Do you offer classes?" "Yes, in the fall. Come. They're a lot of fun. Are you on our mailing list?" "Nooooo . . . ."

So I am now, and I will go.

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So I finished the Orenburg sampler shawl, made inappropriately out of mohair and size 8 needles.


It was fun making the sampler. I used the snowflake design in the center and the finished product is more than three times as large as the sampler was designed to be because of the changes in yarn and needle size. But that makes it exactly the right size for Milo's doggy, Buttercup.

Today is every bit the soggy day the weather people predicted. Max and Chris are watching another Something Something movie--the Japanese animated film-maker guy. The twins may have been sucked-in to that by now, too. I'm off to do some more paying work and then I think this evening I'd better do some knitting.