I just wanna go there

It has been gloomy here all week. The whole day it looks like 6AM on a winter's day. I think the sun broke through for a couple of hours late on Tuesday and hasn't been seen since. Not good for picture taking.

I haven't done any sock knitting for a couple of days, except for a few rows yesterday morning while I was exercising my blog reading rights. I may go do a little now before it's time to get ready to go to Skein. Last night I did some swatching with the new Interlacements yarn I got at the weaving show. It's very pretty and I got the gauge on the recommended needle size. Tried a couple of stitch variations but decided I think it looks best in plain old stockinette. Then I added a strand of embroidery floss. I have several thousand yards of this nice copper colored floss that I got at another weaving show a couple of years ago. The two fibers are both cotton so they should behave okay together and I like the look. I went up a couple of needle sizes and got pretty close to the gauge for a Berroco pattern that I think I'm going to try. So I cast on and worked about 10 rows. Seems a little stiff on the smaller size needles but maybe when I start the main body it will be looser. If that doesn't work out I'll just rip the whole mess and try something else with it. But I'm definitely going to use the two yarns together. I may have to order another hank of the Interlacements in order to add sleeves. I was assured that would not be a problem when I bought the original hank.

Skein will be closed for vacation (and annual trip to TNNA convention in Columbus, OH) the last week of June and until the day after the July 4th holiday. So I'm wondering if I can put the finances together to take a trip somewhere. I've been reading, assiduously, Bess's journal of her trip to England. Not that I would actually be able to do this but it sure makes me want to. I'd also like to go to Maine and see Clara's new shop and just see the other side of the country. The first ocean I ever saw was the Atlantic, at York Beach. For a kid who grew up in the middle of the continent (Arkansas) that was a pretty unforgettable experience. But then I'd also like to go to Michigan. I've never been there but I read Lynn's blog every day and also Sarah's journal and I think it would be so good to meet these two dynamic women and spend some time seeing all the sights of Ann Arbor and East Lansing. But I probably won't do any of these trips. I might go over to Scottsdale AZ and see my sister and her husband. But Scottdale in June is hot! So I'm just thinking about this. Maybe I'll go to New Mexico instead.