Oh my. Gobsmacked!

Thank you all for the heartwarming comments on my last post. I have been thinking about it all and I know that a lot of the success I experienced was due to all of you and the many things I learned and tried through the internet blogging community. I knit the Fingerless Gloves because of the Knitting Olympics. The Trekking Socks were knit for the TrekAlong, but the yarn was selected because I fell in love with the socks my pal in Sockapaloooza sent me. I knit Branching Out because I saw it in the Who Wouldn't Love a HandKnitted Gift KAL last year. The Dishcloth and Baby Genius Burp Cloth resulted from MDK, of course, and everyone who raved about the book and inspired me to buy it. And Moira and Magda LittleLace were started for Project Spectrum, and of course were finished because of Amazing Lace. See how much you all contributed to this? At the very least by all your friendship and encouragement!

Some of you have asked when the Arizona State Fair happens. I don't know the start date offhand, October something of course. The State Fair sends representatives to our county fair and picks up the entries. Otherwise it would be a three hour plus drive for me to get to Phoenix. And three hours plus back home again. I won't see my knits again until they get returned to the county fairgrounds in November. And I don't know if I will get up to Phoenix while the fair is open. Previously the Fair would post the blue ribbon winners on their website, but they didn't do that last year. I had to wait until everything was returned and I could pick it up down here to find out what I had won.

In the meantime, Mario the tile guy has been working away. He has rebuilt the shower floor and has laid the tile in there and the bathroom floor. It looks really, really good so far. He thinks that we may be back in business by next weekend.

The Icarus Shawl has not fared too well. I realized that I had some wonky YO's and tried to frog back and fix them. Arrgh! The mohair yarn, she does not frog very well. At all. I finally gave up and cut the yarn and started over. I figured that since I hadn't gone too far with it yet, I wasn't losing much of the yarn. I have nearly knit back to where I was and I'm being a lot more mindful with the pattern.

Other knits have been moving along slowly. Work has been tying me up the last couple weeks, and my allergies have really been bad. Having a house full of concrete and drywall dust doesn't help, either. But things are looking up. I've ordered some single balls of sock yarn for the little Log Cabin blanket, and I'm intrigued by the color combinations I can play with now. And a lovely package arrived in the mail today. 100% Merino sock yarn from "Laura at Sugar Bunny Boulevard, in the Evening Sun colorway.

I am gobsmacked. Totally. This is indescribably gorgeous yarn and colors.

Doesn't it make you want some for yourself?

Thank you, Laura, for dyeing me such a beautiful future pair of socks!

And thank you again, everyone, for being part of the knitblogging universe.

P.S. And Happy First Birthday today to the best grandbaby in the world, little Miss Nikki!