Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Some Hurricane, Pft!

How sick is it to hope a hurricane hits just to get some rain? Sorry, and I wish no damage to anyone but Western MA is soooo dry the impatients are always wilted. If you've grown impatients you know they're hardy little buggers. The grass can crisp up and turn brown but those tough little flowers will carry on.

Last Friday we had the customary warnings for hurricane winds and rain. The talking heads positioned themselves and talked up the importance of leaving the coast and securing lawn furniture, lalalalalalala. I left work, stopped at the library, stocked up on additional dvds and headed home. I had done my usual Friday grocery shopping on Thursday cuz I hates to shop in the rain. (It has to do with my inability to hold an umbrella and steer a grocery cart successfully.) As Friday progressed the air became heavier and heavier with humidity. I was fine with this because the prize was going to be a weekend in the 70's--cool and cloudy. A cold front from Canada was going to smack Earl creating a potential Nor'easter which in New England terms can be nastier than a hurricane. The 8pm deadline for weather came and went. It got hotter, more uncomfortable. I gave up at 10 pm, flipped on the news to find out Earl had lost all his steam and would not be sharing the rain we so desperately need. Jerk.

In response to my disappointment I went to WEBS. I heard a rumor via the email they sent me that there would be free yarn. Let me repeat, free yarn. Being a typical New Englander I was sure there were rules attached. A "with your minimum purchase, dadadadada" but lo and behold, there was the table piled with bags of 100% wool yarn. The sign read "Grandpa's Garage" the text underneath scratched out and the word "FREE"  in place. The group of us that had gathered just looked at each other. I said, "okay, what's the rules?" The clerk replied, "no rules, take as much as you want." Huh! Now, you're thinking, "ugly yarn" and I have to reply, no, not really. I mean, it wasn't Malabrigo or Noro but it wasn't bad. I picked up a bag of tweedy looking  worsted. Mom picked up a coral bulky yarn. Nobody got pushy or piggy. It was very civilized, like knitters tend to be. If a psychologist was hanging around the sight must have been at the very least interesting. As we strolled around the rest of the store,  patrons would look in each others  baskets and exclaim, "Free yarn!" It was a little weird to be honest. What will I do with this free yarn? I'm going to be brave and attempt a felted project for the first time. If it comes out crappy-who cares! The yarn was free.

I designed and started a new knitting project with Valley Yarns Goshen in a pretty mulberry color. Then, as it progressed, it changed. (the design, not the color.) This is normal. The PROBLEM is I didn't purchase nearly enough yarn in one dye lot. What? You're shrugging your shoulders and thinking there is nothing new with that, Sandra does this all the time. Yeah, and I wish I'd stop! There's no way WEBS will have more of the same dye lot because I bought this bag weeks ago. We'll have to wait and see how I handle the dilemma. I really should discuss these things with myself more.

So, to wrap up, the hurricane was a flop, the flowers are still wilted, I got free yarn that was really free and I've once again changed my design in mid-knit. Stupid hurricane.

No comments: