Washburne

Wonder where I’ve been? Betcha thought that a swarm of angry nekkid sheep, alpaca & goats hunted me down demanding their coats back. Or maybe you thought some wrongly convicted then released man-turned canabalistic barber hacked me into bits, put me in a wood chipper, and served me to the unsuspecting peoples of London? Oh, wait, that’s a whole other story…

Nope, still here! Well, as much as I can tell, and as much as I have ever been, which isn’t saying much. Can I say much, much? Well, having 1 entire vacation day left [insert sarcasm here], I took it on Friday, not only to have a 5-day weekend, but to join my Colorado brother Aaron and his family for much crowded fun in the sun at Disneyland.

Hey, I’ve got a question for you. Having observed several of their numbers, why on earth would an Emo kid go to the Happiest Place on Earth? Nevermind.

Anyhow…

On Friday we had a blast! Alex, aka The Nephew Following In His Autie’s Footsteps, aka UberGeek wanted to get into the Jedi Training Academy show so badly that he, upon the recommendation of said Geeky aunt, made a sign that was sure to stir the force…

I’ve Traveled 1,000 miles to defeat you [sic] Lord VadarIt did. . . And HE did…kicked Vadar’s spandex-clad ass!

The galaxy is safe once again!

And that makes me & lil’ brother Zane VERY happy!

Sunday we celebrated Christmas with my family. The Colorado Clan was leaving for home on Christmas day, so we celebrated a little early. Let me tell you, family portraits picture taking, lots of good food, much sangria, lotsa margaritas, loud, boisterous, animated conversation, grumpy men, excited children makes for a wonderful, but tiring day (hence the grumpy men part). But it’s moments like these, that makes it all worth while.

What do YOU think?

Oh, ye of little faith!

Stats:

Pattern: My own, not-quite-right-so-I’m-gonna-tweak-it-a-little-more-and-try-again attempt to recreate a cable I saw in a sweater I saw on T.V.
Yarn: 4+ balls Noro Cash Iroha [99 yards, 40g]
Needles: US size 6 [4.0 mm]
Started: December 7, 2007
Finished: December 22, 2007
Mods/Notes: As you can tell by my pattern name, it’s not quite right. The outer curves of the cable aren’t roundy enough. and it’s a little on the wide side.

I think I’ll take the yarn down to a worsted or DK-weight, and see if I can’t lose a few stitches along the way as well.

Oh! And the yarn. Let’s talk about that for a few, shall we? It was part of a wonderful (and extremely generous) gift from Karen, and it pains me to talk shit about something someone so thoughtfully gave me, but she now feels the same way, so I’m not gonna hurt any feelings by airing mine. But there’s just no delicate way to put this…I HATE this yarn. At first it lures you into thinking it’s amazing, with it’s glorious fiber content of silk, lambswool and cashmere. It’s so soft to the touch, and so squooshie too! You just want to rub your cheek on it all day. Take my advice, and leave it at that. You’ll be much happier than trying to knit with it. And actually, I didn’t even mind the thick-and-thinness of it either. No. What I took issue with was it’s unspunness (uh-huh. that is SO a word) and it’s proclivity towards breakage…not to mention the various twigs and sticks (but that’s to be expected, it’s what Noro’s famous for, isn’t it?). If I didn’t know any better I’d say that Karen had played a well-executed joke on me, but it bamboozled her too, going all pilly and felty on her!

In its favor, I do have to say it sure does make for one soft and warm and sproingy scarf, perfect for an 81-year-old-man’s sensitive skin. But still. That’s not enough to redeem the yarn. Nope, this is just further confirmation of why I have yet to spend one red cent on any Noro yarn, and justification to continue that non-buying habit, and rightly so! Yet one more thing I’m an anti-fan of, ranking right up there with FOX and NBC executives, The New Bionic Woman and memes.

Lovely