Then I took a picture of Kidlet's sweater-in-progress:
pattern: Children's Neckdown Bolero, by Knitting Pure & Simple
main yarn: Adrienne Vitadini Trina (butter)
contrast yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran (tornado)
needles: KnitPicks Options Harmony interchangeable circular US#8, US#7; Denise interchangeable circular US#8 (40" length for Magic Loop-ing sleeves)
Knit something soft!
yarn needed: RYC Cashsoft Aran
color: #008 - Tornado
I had every good intention to make this a stash-busting-only project. It would have worked out, too, had I not decided the sweater needed contrasting colored bands, cuffs, and collar; my orphan ball of Cashsoft was enough to do everything but the 2T sleeve cuffs. AARRRGGH!
Aside from the blue shortage, the sweater itself is coming along charmingly. The body is knit in a buttery Adrienne Vitadini Trina (has great sproing, but prone to splitting). I'll try to take some in-progress pictures later tonight.
So if you have a bit of this yarn wandering haplessly around your stash, let me know. It would be well purposed and most appreciated!
UPDATE: How much do I love Ravelry? Let me tell you. I searched the site for Cashsoft Aran, and found a handful of people with this color in their stashes (in varying degrees of project commitment). Claire, a knitter from Alberta, had one ball that seemed to be unpurposed, so I inquired if she could be financially swayed to part with said ball o' yarn. This was her reply:
"Y’know what, how about I just send you the ball. I bought it awhile ago and never did figure out what I’d do with this lone ball... I think it would be better off going to someone who would use it rather than sitting in my stash endlessly."
And the weirdest part of this cosmic knitterly windfall? Claire's ball is the same freakin' dye lot as mine. Woah.
Knit on, earth-friendly ones!
If you do nothing else for Earth Day today, please leave a numbered comment with ONE suggestion for greener living. Brief comments are welcome, as are full DIY instructions or links to such.
Let's see if we can make it to 100 before midnight. No new posts until we meet our goal, so get creative and go green!
Today is my one-year blogiversary. I wasn't sure then what direction things would go; still don't, but hey, it's been an entertaining trip so far. B is also for Beads, another of my crafty endeavors. "Why would Meema mention this?" you may query...
The B is for Blogiversary Beads Contest!
To enter: simply leave a message on this post before 11:59PM CDT on Friday 25 April with a link to your first blog post and a way for me to contact you (blatant usage of Mari's blogiversry contest idea - hope you don't mind!).
If you place a link to my contest post on your blog, your name gets put in the hat a second time. For every entry by another person who mentions your link, your name goes in another time. You get the idea. The lucky winner will be drawn at random by a non-literate 3-year-old next weekend.
The prize: a custom-crafted set of beaded stitch markers in two sizes (Medium to US#10, and Mega to US#17). Each set has six "regular" markers and one glamour "beginning of round" marker. We will consult about what color/type of beads you'd like. If you are a non-knitter or have a strange loyalty to markers already in your possession, take heart - we will come up with an equivalent prize just for you.
Thanks for reading, as always!
It's terribly handy to have a self-appointed gift assistant at all family birthdays.
After lunch, an overcast but pleasant walk/trike ride.
The Best of Interweave Knits Readers' Choice Awards is a collection of FIVE patterns voted on by Knitting Daily readers:
This group will be available as a free (!) download from Knitting Daily's web site until 5 pm MST on May 15, 2008. Go get 'em!
The Yarnery's spring inventory sale is going on 
now through April 30. All in-stock merchandise (yarn, patterns, books, needles, and so on) is 20% off, with some clearance items at 30% or more. Make you list, check it twice, and go shopping.
I need a new nametag: "Hi, my name is Meema, and I'm a professional stash expansion enabler. Oh, and a geek."
All together now: ooooh, aaaah! And the best part? NO KITCHENER! That makes me seriously happy. Addendum: The yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Stile (80 wool/20 polyamide).
I meant a poem, people. Sheesh. ;-D
Feel free to leave your favorite gem in the comments for today's post.
Iambic pentameter ROCKS!
I'm amazed (and a bit weirded out) how the Harlot songs have been making the rounds in the knitting sphere. I wrote them just to serve as a funny little thang before Stephanie Pearl-McPhee took the stage last week in St. Paul. Now the video clips have had thousands of hits on YouTube, kind words are flying about, and we were even mentioned on Lime & Violet's Daily Chum. (If you don't know these two ladies, check out their podcast here - I think they're hilarious. The DC is their daily blog of knitting tidbits.) Dang.In knitting news, I just frogged my Chevron Scarf morsel. Ah, sweet freedom! I wasn't happy with the appearance of the scarf (not a fan of scarves that have a distinct wrong side), and the color combination I chose wasn't knitting up with the contrast I was hoping to see. Sometimes it's a relief to put an unsatisfactory project out of its misery and liberate the yarn for another project. Maybe a pair of socks with the Claudia Hand Painted? We shall see... Knit on!
p.s. Happy Tax Day.
me; a person can knit the same pattern over and over and, depending on the fiber chosen, the entire character of the piece shifts and evolves. Seriously, how cool is that? Wool is the foudation, walls and roof of my own stash. In my knitting fantasies, I develop a relationship with the sheep that is about to be shorn, whose fleece will be spun into the ultimate skein of goodness for my waiting needles. Author 
she and her partner run a working sheep farm. Her memoir, Hit By a Farm, is a wonderfully entertaining read about daily farm life (which was not her first choice, BTW). Her accounts remind me of my dad's stories of growing up on a dairy farm. I laughed out loud often, sometimes uncontrollably. Even though Catherine isn't a knitter, and their flock isn't purposed for wool production, I loved reading about the lives of these women and their sheep. If you're looking for a humorous nonfiction read, stop and pick this up.
The Minnesota Knitters' Guild Yarnover was held today, and though I didn't attend any sessions, I enjoyed myself immensely (read: crazy shopping opportunity). Showing much personal restraint, this is the sum total of my haul: 
Guild Bling, in the form of project bags.
Colorful stash: green and blue angora/merino blend from Kimmet Croft Fibers, and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock.
[note: the Kimmet Croft web link is not working, so here is the analog contact address: 5850 Schudy Rd., Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54495; phone: USA+1-715-421-012 for Janice Kimmet; and e-mail: jkimmet@wctc.net] 
A long-coveted mug and demi bowl from Jennie the Potter.
The highlight had to be The Yarnery's guest for the event, Franklin Habit. I tried to meet with him this fall as I travelled to Chicago, but our schedules did not line up. 
Then, like today, he was nothing but gracious and friendly as all get out. I sat for his 1000 Knitters Project, which with the participation from today's shoot now totals over 600 knitters. Yay, Minnesota!
nataliedee.comThanks to Jess for saving the dignity of my purple 1824 Cotton on Thursday night; maybe this could be your next class at The Yarnery... Off to Yarnover - see you there!
How Do You Host a Knitter Like the Harlot, part 2
Our Favorite Things
Stephanie
(footage by The Heathen Housewife - thanks, Shelly!)
The Harlot photographs hundreds of knitters with her sock. 
My parents even came (mid-picture, in the black shirts).
Future knitter... and current Men's Knit Night-er Bob.
Talent abounds in Minnesota - look at the projects!
Hopefully I'll have some music for you tomorrow. Good night!
We are officially in the throes of Celebrity Weekend Mania. Really, it couldn't get much crazier and exciting. Squee! 
Tomorrow evening The Yarnery is hosting Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot, in Saint Paul on her whirlwind book tour. I didn't see her when she came to town last year (scroll to her April 8 blog post), but I understand it was an amazing event. This year there are over 600 pumped-up knitters waiting to soak in every word that tumbles from her Canadian face. Jess, Eric, Scott and I will be providing a musical appetizer to her presentation; more about that tomorrow or Friday. Heh heh heh...
The second Friday each month is Men's Knit Night at Ye Olde Yarnery, 
under the gentle tutelage of the aforementioned Scott and Eric. In two days our next celebrity visitor will hopefully arrive in town in time to join them: Franklin Habit, another amazing wit and knitter with a penchant for photography. This Chicagoan's blogging makes me LOL ATDT.
Saturday. Ah, Saturday. The Minnesota Knitters' Guild is holding its annual Yarnover at Minnetonka High School in Hopkins. The Yarnery is bringing Franklin to the event to photograph willing subjects for his 1,000 Knitters Project. If you are interested in participating, there is still room on his schedule. Call The Yarnery ASAP to reserve a time - I'm guessing any remaining spots will be filled immediately by walk-ins on Saturday.
All right, knitters. Synchronize your watches. And come Monday, I don't want to hear anyone saying there was nothing to do this weekend.
Hope to see you out and about and proudly knitting in public!
