Madrona and Zombies

I went to Madrona with the plan to hang out and knit with my friends, and buy some Malabrigo for Mal March (I only have 2 partial skeins left from last year).  I also hoped to buy another size 0 ChiaoGoo red cable circular needle with at least a 40 in cable.  I have one already, and it is my favorite for 2-at-a-time socks.  It is good to have a second circ since there are sometimes patterns that can't be knit 2-at-a-time and I like to have both socks on the needles at the same time while I knit them as much at the same time as possible.  Otherwise... I end up with socks that aren't the same size (best result), or 1 sock (worst result).  The other thing I was hoping to find was a Japanese Stitch Dictionary.

AND NOTHING ELSE.

I did really well.

I drove down with Skeinherder, Wajio and Tara1682. We got the last parking space in the first lot!  Then the last table in the Rotunda.  Ok, it was a small table, but still, the ... last... table.

I almost didn't get the needles.  I found one vendor selling ChaioGoos, but they had no size 0 left.  Then I saw Franklin Habit holding a set of ChaioGoos while standing in line for the check out.  After a rather mock heated discussion over who needed the needles most, we agreed to part as friends with him the owner of the needles (ha ha ha they weren't even size 0 so I let them go easily).

I found 1 pair at the Carolina Homespun booth. Only 1. 

Not kidding, by Saturday, they didn't have many needles of any size except huge left.  At the check out I saw these amazing glass needles.

Kitties, bunnies, froggies, etc.  so cute.  I only looked.

I found a Japanese Stitch Dictionary at Village Spinning & Weaving.  They had a nice book table.  I can't really say the Japanese title of my book, but they have "Knitting Patterns 500" on the back.  The various stitches have little tutorials, and the whole thing is charted, so I think I can figure it all out. They had these cute knitted sheep at their check out.

ha ha ha if you only want to spend $5, these are the thing.

I bought 1 skein/ball of non-Malabrigo yarn.  VanesaPolo has this really cute hat pattern she is writing up for the Eastside Knitters Guild to use as a pattern give away at Vogue Knitting, Seattle/Bellevue.  I haven't written about this yet, but the Eastisde Knitters Guild will have a table in the Market there thanks to the generosity of Vogue Knitting.  We will pass out information on the Guild, and take names and emails of potential new members.  One of JitteryKnitter's excellent ideas is to have a pattern give-away to people who sign up.  I am going to test knit the pattern, and I need some yarn that has great stitch definition.  I was originally thinking I would get Malabrigo, but then  wouldn't be able to cast on until March, and I want to get going on this hat asap.  We stopped at the Black Water Abbey Yarns booth.  They are from Ireland, and this is yarn that would be tough for me to find normally.

It isn't the softest yarn, but they had some samples knit up in cable patterns (the hat is cabled) and wow, the yarn shows the cables beautifully, so I got some.  The color is Grey Sea.

There was no Malabrigo for sale on Saturday (or at least I didn't see any).  And really, there shouldn't be.  Madrona has so many wonderful indy dyers that I felt guilty shopping for Malabrigo there.  But, I am trying to knit from stash, except for Mal March, o and that hat... but I'm really trying to knit from stash.  So none of the gorgeous sock yarn for me.

We took a short walk to Fibers, Etc. in Tacoma.  I bought 2 skeins of Malabrigo Arroyo,

Archangel is the pinker one, and Borrajas is the more purple one.  I also got one skein of sock yarn in Tiziano Red.

I know, I know, it's not really "SOCK" yarn but really "FINGERING" weight yarn as there is no nylon in it.  I'm not sure if I will use it for socks.  But with Sock Madness coming up AND Mal Madness, I might double dip with a pair of socks... 

I have been watching The Walking Dead while knitting/crocheting.  I never watch horror movies because I have nightmares.  Or, if not full blown nightmares, when I try to sleep, I see the scary images, and can't relax enough to fall asleep.  Pookie watched this show last year.  I wanted to watch with him, because I love to watch whatever my kids are watching.  They have good taste (mostly) and it's fun to discuss films/tv/books, etc.

I finished Community last week.  Totally loved it.  I need something else to watch.  I have tried Breaking Bad, but the first episode was so violent, I didn't watch any more.  And then I tried Mad Men, and well I didn't like any of the characters, so I stopped after about 3 episodes.  What else were my kids watching?  Walking Dead...  So, I tried it.  The first episode is so scary.  Even though I watched it during the day in full daylight, I had to watch for 5 minutes, then stop it and listen to a knitting podcast for 15 min or so, then watch another 5 min, then back to a knitting podcast, etc.  Honestly, that was what I did.  I wanted to get through at least 1 episode.  When I finished, I texted Moogie and said, I think I'm hooked, but I just don't know if I can watch any more.

I asked the Doc to watch with me and he said, "I am not into Zombie movies." 

That is what he said.

So I watched on.  Yesterday, I finished the first season.  There are only 6 episodes, so it's not that many but last night, or this morning I guess, I woke up at 4 and couldn't go back to sleep.  I kept seeing zombies with decaying faces.  And, I was afraid to look out the french doors from our bedroom to the deck just in  case there was someone on the deck.  And then!  this morning when I was downstairs changing the laundry load, I could hear our Roomba, Robbie, bumping in the dark hallway, and it was so creepy, I just wanted to run back upstairs screaming.

Should I go on and watch Season 2?  I want to.  But, I also want to be able to sleep tonight.  O!  before I went to bed on Sunday and last night, I watched the last few episodes of Season 1 of the new Dr. Who (with Christopher Eccleston) and the first few episodes of Season 2 with David Tennant to clean out my brain before bed.  That was the only way I was able to sleep at all.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with new yarn and sleepless nights.