Happy Things

I have been fairly infatuated with the color blue lately.  Somehow bright skies make me happier than anything else, and today, after a thoroughly exhausting commute and a long (but fun!) day at my internship, I decided to make a stop at Knitty City to pick up a few things.  I get paid every other Thursday, and that always leads me down the yarny path to trouble...

But I did have a goal in mind.  I needed a new crochet hook and some darning needles to finish my brothers' hats, and I have been wanting to make a laceweight shawl ever since the Yarn Harlot blogged about hers.  I decided on Aeolian, and in a shocking turn of events, totally splurged on a skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in the most beautiful sky blue I have seen in a long while.  I wish I could find the colorway online, but there are no pictures to be found.  The closest thing I can show you is this:

The yarn isn't as touchably soft as I dreamed it would be, but it is so strikingly gorgeous that I'm a little bit nervous to take it out of the skein.  Then again, I am ITCHING to wind it up and start already.  The only thing keeping me from casting on right now is the fact that I still need to buy over 2000 seed beads to work on the thing.  I am so excited.

The other reason I stopped by Knitty City was because I have been lusting over the Miss Flitt books ever since I saw that the author, Beth Hahn, was doing a signing there.  I am so disappointed to have missed it.  But I knew that I would be able to pick up the first installment of the series at the shop, and I did.  Boy, was it a splurge, especially on my meager college student's budget, but it was so worth it.  I cannot say enough good things.  I read the story on the train home.  And then again in bed.  And then again.  The beautiful watercolors, knitable and wearable patterns, and engaging storyline combined to make the book one of those comfort reads I know I'll turn to at night before bed.  Even the size of the book is perfect, the feel in the hand- the thick paper cover feels like that which an artist would turn to with watercolor paints.

I still can't figure out how I'm going to scrounge up enough cash to buy the next two books.  I don't want to resign myself to the electronic downloads, because the feel of this book is like the hand of a gorgeous yarn- you can't fully experience it by looking at it online.  I might have to wait until I have some more money saved up, but I don't regret purchasing Mrs. Flitt one bit.

If only Knitty City had a student discount...