SuperEggplant

Yes, I got to meet Rachael today! It was really fun, and she is so charming and great, just as I knew she’d be. She was knitting some socks, and ohmygosh, if there were a speed knitting contest, I’d bet everything on her! She knits SO FAST I couldn’t even see her fingers moving! AND, she doesn’t have to LOOK at her knitting! She was looking at me and talking away as her fingers furiously flew. A m a z i n g. Here we are posing in San Luis Obispo’s “famous” bubble gum alley (which is really quite gross. It would be really awful to stumble and fall into the wall):

I joined the Rogue Along Yahoo Group and from it I learned that the Auracania yarn that I got from elann is the incorrect weight of yarn! Argh! It is supposed to be an aran weight yarn but knits up more like a DK yarn. SO, I impulsively bought some of the Classic Elite Maya today from elann. Now I need to return the Auracania (unless someone out there wants it? It is a beautiful color, as you can sort of see from yesterday’s photo. I have six skeins in bayberry, and I’ll sell it for what I paid for it–$31.50 plus $4 for shipping. Let me know if you’re interested; otherwise, it’s going back to elann!).
Tomorrow I get to meet Rachael IN PERSON! We’re meeting for coffee and maybe some knitting (okay, so I’ve never met her before, but I am going to force her to teach me how to do the magic loop method!) in San Luis Obispo. Unfortunately, my dog wounded me while playing today, so I kind of have a fat lip. Peter suggests I don’t wear red, since that enhances the color of the lip gash. Thanks for that fashion tip, sweetie.

Some days I find nothing to blog about, but today isn’t one of them! The mailman brought not one, not two, but THREE yummy packages today. The first is an amazing array of goodies from Heidi:

See those coasters? SHE MADE THEM.
Second is the yarn I ordered from elann to make Rogue:

If it weren’t for that Rachael, I never would have known about Rogue! And yes, I have joined the Rogue-along group!
And third, some additions to my fabric stash:

I know, I know, I REALLY need to stop buying fabric! I’m planning to make yet another bag out of the Disco Dot (yes, that’s what it’s really called) fabric. I wasn’t going to get the spyrograph fabric, but the online store has a $10 minimum, so what could I do?
Well, the Gleevec seems to be working wonders on my brother‘s white blood cell count, but unfortunately it hasn’t turned him into a cheerful being. He has been “helping” me with my new banner. I asked him why there was that ugly white space underneath the banner, and he said it’s because I have “too much trash” in the right-hand column. I then told him that really, that is HIS fault, since he refuses to create a third column for me. So he e-mailed me back and said this is what three columns would look like (and I don’t know why, but every time I see it, I start laughing really hard):
I            LOOK AT MY HUMOUNGOUS    HERE’S PERSONAL DETAILS OF
bak-              LIST OF LINKS                      MY EATING HABITS
ed
some-
thing
today

I jumped on the Heirloom Woven Labels bandwagon, thanks to Becky and Action Hero Melissa. Now I just have to complete stuff so I can affix my labels!
Please excuse the mess–insane brother is playing around with my banner, so if you see strange things, they might be temporary.

Knitbloggers, unite! The Hedster and I are heading up to attend the Stitches West mart, and it sure would be fun to meet some of you face to face. We are going to hook up with (oh, wait, I heard that “hook up” has a new meaning now. In my generation, it meant “to meet” in a hang outy kind of way. I guess it means something more, well, intimate now. So, don’t get any ideas! I’m using the archaic definition!) Rachael and Gabrielle for sure. Now, how about Silvia? Stella? Runonsentences? Drop me a line!
Regarding the hot cross buns: I couldn’t find a recipe in any of my trusty cookbooks, so I found one online. I think it was a pretty decent recipe, but I must confess that I am no hot cross bun expert.
Oh, and gung hay fat choy! Let the year of the monkey BEGIN!