Yesterday was quite eventful. I’m actually still exhausted that I can’t even think of what to write here. I just want to crawl back into bed and shut the world out. But I can’t win. Ever.
Bernie and Joseph left the house early for their usual father-and-son basketball game. Early meant 7.15am, which is highly unusual in our house on a Friday. I woke up when they were leaving, checked on my torrent download status and was so upset that I was wide awake by then. So I ended up browsing Ravelry, email, and might have looked longingly at Sundara’s April Year In Colour offerings. But I’m glad to say that I resisted. Even though that Pine over Gold sock yarn is so tempting. Still on a diet and have plenty of subscription mailings coming in until June.
Anyway, for Aibi and Patrick up and in the shower so when the boys came back we were ready on our way to a knitting meet-up at the Festival City. Plus we wanted to grab some breakfast at IKEA! Every Friday, from 7.30 to 11.30am and for a little over $1, you can enjoy a breakfast plate with scrambled eggs, two sausages, hash browns and baked beans. If you want coffee and hot chocolate, it won’t break the budget. No wonder the place is always full!
This was Bernie’s second cup of cappuccino!
After breakfast, we went to look at some beds and mattresses but didn’t find anything to our liking (or budget!). And since in IKEA there is no way out other than to walk through the entire store (which is a great selling/marketing tool but can be down right annoying when you are in a hurry!), we just wandered around. Aibi saw this and just had to have a photo taken. No self-respecting Twilight fan would fail to recognise this! 
And then it was off to the Caribou Cafe for me to meet up with the ladies. The family headed back to Sharjah for lunch at my sister-in-law’s birthday gig. Can you blame me for choosing to stay with the knitting group when you have some lovely, yummy knitted projects like Debbie’s Paris Night Clapotis here? It was seriously gorgeous, huge enough to wrap around your body to give warmth. Plus the Malabrigo Worsted is just so soft. 
Jackie admiring the yarn and the shawl. Can’t blame her if she added Paris Night in her Mally shopping list! 
Our Sock KAL is progressing nicely. Here is Jackie’s first ever sock, she’s turned the heel successfully and even managed to switch from working on Magic Loop to DPNs! Well done, Jackie! Sorry the photo is not that good, I was in a hurry to take the shot. I just spoke to Jackie now and she’s nearly done with the first sock.
Charmaine joined us in for the KAL using a fabulous pastel BeBop yarn from sKnitches. She is doing a rather intricate pattern by Yarnissima called Empoisonné. 
Debbie had to frog hers 😦 because she was knitting quite loosely and the socks were really big and slouchy. She cast on using smaller needles and tigher tension. I helped her join the round and she just got on knitting. This was where her sock was when we got ready to leave. Today, she posted an u pdate and she has turned the first heel! Yay, Debbie! Isn’t her Lorna’s Laces Gold Hill yarn just pretty? And look at those picot peaks. So dainty.
Hala was another one who had to frog. Apparently there was a dropped stitch which Charmaine spotted for her and since Hala was a tight knitter she had a tough time fixing the ladder with a crochet hook so she rrrrripped the Malabrigo sock and will start over again soon. Right, Hala?
The pattern says this heel is called a round French heel. Doesn’t look any different to my untrained eye but I like it nevertheless. 
Since it was like show-and-tell every time we got together, we pulled out projects out of bags. This here is Debbie’s Icarus Shawl knitted in Malabrigo lace. How pretty is this, hey? I’m so tempted to cast on for this pattern but I need to finish my Shetland Triangle first, amongst others. 
Charmaine had recently been travelling and she showed us her very restrained stash from the UK. The star of the day has got to be the yellow skein in the middle. Apparently it’s made from banana fibers. It’s almost like silk to the touch, has a great sheen and feels soft next to the skin. Certainly one of the most intriguing fibers I’ve seen so far. 
Lindsay and Lisa (with her cute daughter) joined us as well, but I haven’t got any photos of them :(. Lindsay’s working on her FLS again and I think this time she got the size right. Her Striped Scarf in Rowan Tapestry is so pretty, the colours soft and lady-like. Lisa showed us the Kool Aid dyed yarn she made with her girls. Isn’t it pretty? She is now knitting a hat with it, for her baby expected soon I believe. 
After the knit-meet, Charmaine, Debbie, Hala and myself just had to walk over to Magrudy’s, our so-called LYS.
Their yarn stash is right at the end of the store, hidden away like they’re ashamed of it or something. When we found the Soya Cotton and Bamboo, mayhem ensued. The photos of the girls throwing balls of yarns around came out blurry but I’m sure you can imagine how excited we were. 
I walked away with 6 skeins of the Sublime Soya Cotton DK in Raspberry. I just decided an hour or so ago to knit a Chinese Lace Pullover with it. I may just be able to wing it with the gauge and hopefully will be able to get more yarn at Magrudy’s if I need it.
And then it was dinner with the family. The kids wanted to go to Tony Roma’s Macaroni and Grill and so we did. I had heaven in a bowl Baked Potato Soup to start with. I was starving by then and this went down really well.
My dinner was rather huge but I convinced myself that I needed it after only that IKEA breakfast and a Passion Fruit Blended Tea all day. My New York Strip steak was amazing and the peppercorn sauce was the best. 
Today it’s back to the knitting and some catching up to do with my TV shows. I can’t wait to see Supernatural’s latest episode.
Ten Thousand Dancing Stars 