Hello,

The Boy here.

ThePerfectDiem.com and the Perfect Diem Knitter blog will be moving to a new host over this weekend. If we disappear for a little bit, don't worry. We'll be back.

Thanks and see you soon.

The Boy

April 15, 2007:Changing hosts is going to take more time and is more complicated than either Alicia or I had hope. We'll be trying this move again in a couple months.

note = This is a long post, but not picture-intensive.

In an effort to 'be one with the crowd' or 'jump on the bandwagon', I decided to make a few last-minute purchases before I join those who are also Knit(ting) from Your Stash 2007, an idea proposed by Wendy of Wendy Knits!. However, while I would have followed her rules beginning January 1st, 2007, I just *had* to go to the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival in Tacoma, WA today. I mean, I only live about 30 minutes south, and even though I wasn't technically attending the retreat or taking any classes, I just *had* to go to the vendor faire. I fell, and I fell hard. The image below represents 'some' of my purchases made this morning, and also presents I got from Christmas, since, well, I haven't posted since Thanksgiving 2006 anyway



First, I'll list what I got for Christmas:
1. The plastic yarn container in the back row was from my sister ... great for those loose skeins that tumble all over the place when I'm knitting.
2. I personally bought four skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash wool in brown shortly after I graduated from college, to knit A Cardigan for Arwen from IK or maybe Kepler.
3. A Denise Knitting Needles set. I got this from a knitting friend. I was really happy about this, as I've been asking for it every Christmas since 2004, when I began knitting. I added two more cords: a 40-something inch cord and a 60" cord for afghan knitting.
4. A Norweigian Knitting Thimble was tucked into the yarn container from my sister. I want to learn continnental knitting, and this was one of the easier ways to learn.
5. One skein Cascade Sierra in a rose colorway. I bought this right after my college graduation, for a friend that was with me. She wanted a hat ... I already knit the first skein into the hat; she will be getting this second skein in the mail sometime this week along with the hat.
6. 2 skeins Regia Bamboo for socks for me
7. The last skein pictured from Christmas is the miscellaneous colors (green, yellow, brown, etc) from The Boy's mom. It is Cherry Tree Hill Superglitz sockyarn in Monet. My first skein from CTH. This will be socks for me later this year.
8. Not pictured: 10 skeins Lion Brand Boucle in fall colors and 10 skeins Bernat Galaxy in Nouveau. The LB Boucle is knitting up into the Diagonal Baby Blanket for my sister's newest bundle (due in May). I don't know what I'll do with the Galaxy yarn, yet.



As for my most recent purchases at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival (a closer look at the yarn only):
1. 3 patterns from the previous picture are as follows: FiberTrends Felted Clogs, FiberTrends Estonian Lace baby blanket, and FiberTrends Spinner's Lace Shawl. These will be knitted for various people this year, including the shawl and clogs for me These patterns were purchased from Acorn Street Yarn in Seattle, WA.
2. My most priceless purchase: Handmaiden Seasilk in a beautiful red colorway, bought from The Fiber Gallery in Seattle, WA. This will be a shawl for me.
3. One skein Socks That Rock mediumweight superwash merino wool in Beryl, most likely socks for The Boy. My first skein of STR from Blue Moon.
4. One skein Lacewing superwash merino wool in Roses from Angora Valley Fibers. I already have two previous skeins in this same colorway (though two separate dye lots) to combine with this one to make the I Love Lucy cardigan from knitty.com
5. One skein Zephyr yarn in Elderberry from Acorn Street Yarn shop in Seattle, WA. This is definitely for me, and will be the FiberTrends Spinner's Lace Shawl.
6. The last purchase today is a second STR skein in lightweight Backstabber colorway. These will be socks for me.

As you can see, there are many wonderful purchases and presents acquired in the past month. While these are a great enhancement to my already growing stash, I need to par down this year, knitting more and purchasing less. So, here are my modified rules for Knit From Your Stash 2007:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start February 1, 2007 and run through October 31st, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
2. I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count.
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I may buy yarn to knit that gift.
2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. I get two "Get Out of Jail Free" cards -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon twice, for these occasions only - my 24th birthday in August, and at our Western Washington Fair in September 2007. I have not set a limit yet on those, but I'll know by this summer whether I need to use those occasions or not.
3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
4. Trading stash is not allowed. Use what you have. After all, I am knitting from my own stash.
5. Spinning fiber of any sort is not exempt. I haven't even started spinning the fiber that I do have. Once I do that, I may buy more fiber to feed that craving.

And because she's my cat and cat posts are cute:



Sassy the cat - tortoiseshell short-haired 16-pound female, 10 years old. She's in her 'buddha' pose

Here's an action shot of my niece in her new Baby Weasley sweater ... see post below for more information. Disco Dancing Baby. We tried it on her. She's got about two inches growing room all around, especially in arm length. I had to fold the sleeves over a few times so that she could use her hands. She likes it very much. I held it at her level and she walked over to it, wrapped her arms around it, and walked off Soooo cute. I'll have to make another in yellow or green. She's going to have a new brother or sister sometime in May.