knit knit knit

well i sort of finished my husband's scarf...

it came out just as he wanted except that it's a bit too short! arrghh! and considering i got the yarn back home in december well i'm just hoping my mom will be able to find it again so that i can make it longer for him... fortunately (other than the length) he loves it! in fact now he has asked for a hat too!

now i have started a vintage cardigan for a friend who's sis is having a baby! i know, any excuse to knit baby things... i just love how cute everything looks in mini form and also how quickly you get results while knitting! plus if you are lucky people will send you pics of their baby wrapped up in your knits : D

anyhow this is where i'm at so far on the back of the cardi...

i'm working with a yarn i found locally (same as the baby booties) that is this amazing sage green color! it works great for a boy or girl except now i have found out i'm knitting for a girl! so i will add some pink ribbon along the boarder i think and then perhaps some pink booties with green accent... but i'm going to have to ponder this some more.

i can get yarn!!!!!!

i'm not one to sit around and talk about how great a corporation is or anything but when they solve one of my problems i have to share!

Aramex has started a new program in the UAE called Shop & Ship. this is amazing because for only 130 AED you get a lifetime po box in the US and one in the UK! yeah both! forever! they empty your PO box 3 times a week and bring the stuff to you! AND it's only $8 for the first half kilo and $6.5 (these figures are rough cause i can't remember the change) for every half kilo after. for all you knitters you know yarn doesn't way too much so this is a great opportunity to take advantage of all those sales going on on all the great sites! i'm out of breath i'm so excited

add to that today is the first day of DSS (Dubai Summer Surprises the 2 month country wide sales) i'm just bubbling over with excitement! although i went to Coach today and was quite disappointed in the selection : ( i guess i'll just have to keep going back until i find something i like ; )

happy father's day!!!

today is father's day back home and i gotta say i'm really missing my dad. i'm bummed that i'm not home to spend the day with him. in the past on father's day i would always spend the day with him doing what "he wanted" which always end up working out to be shopping at Washington Square Mall... hehehe. of course sometimes we would go sailing. when i was younger he would take me skiing on Mt. Hood, bike riding along the Colombia or even hiking in Government Park. he still tries to get me to go biking when i'm home but usually includes early hours and A LOT of working out. oh well that's of the things i love most about my dad... he never gives up on me! and hey maybe one of these days i'll surprise him and say yes to the 27 mile bike ride (but first i need to at least pretend to work out).



my knitting news is that last time we went home to the states my (now) hubby asked me to knit him a scarf! i was so excited so do something wifely for him so we went directly to the knitting store where i got him to pick out the yarn of his choice! he picked out this amazing yarn that i love! well in my ever vigilant, non-procrastination, way i started the scarf end of May (in my defense there was a wedding in there some where) and am now half way through it.... i figure he needs it now more then ever for the sub-zero malls everywhere trying to compensate for the 100 degree weather outside! hehehe but i'll make sure to post pics when i'm done, fingers crossed that will be by december ; )

who's buying the books?

a friend of mine here in Dubai is going home to New York for a visit next month and has been beyond kind enough to offer to bring me some knitting supplies back with her. i'm so excited it's better then purse shopping. i have been scouring the internet looking for the best deals and trying to fulfill the needs of some patterns i have been eyeing so that i can finally knit them. i've gotten 30 skeins of yarn, 2 books, and set of needles from Knit Picks! i know i'm beyond excited too!!!!

but the process has reminded me of just how frustrating it can be to live somewhere where you cant find the things you need (i.e. knitting supplies).

let me ponder something with you... perhaps you may even have explanation for this quandary. why do all of the bookstores (Magrudy's, Barns & Nobels, etc) sell knitting books, yet i can't buy knitting supplies ANYWHERE!!! does this make sense to anyone? really, there must be a demand if the knitting books are in the stores no? so where is all the stuff to make the things IN the books. who is buying knitting books if they aren't able to go right out and buy the supplies for their very favorite pattern inside? that's my very favorite part of getting a new pattern book! i directly pick my favorite pattern (that i think i can knit) and buy the necessary skeins and needles so i can go home and get to work! all though, in all honestly, i usually let the new pretty balls sit at the top of my yarn basket and eye them for a few days before i get started.

i miss my local knitting shop (the Knitting Bee in Portland, Oregon) where i could go in and look at all the beautiful yarns and pick out what i wanted to work on next. sometimes buying yarns that i just wanted to buy because i thought they looked and felt amazing! or buying yarns cause i was having a bad day : ( i miss having people to ask for advice and just somewhere to go and browse.... nope not here in the uae! not ONE knitting shop!

ok i will admit there's a guy that has a textiles shop at the bottom of Carrefour along Airport Road in Abu Dhabi who sells a minimal selection of knitting supplies... this includes to different kinds of yarn each available in 4 - 10 colors (depending on his stock) and he has 3 different sizes of straight knitting needles. now this is as close as i have found to a knitting shop so every time i go in i encourage him to expand his selection but seriously fellow knitters would this satisfy your knitting needs?

oh well thanks to my good friend i will soon have enough yarn to last me a year!
my poor husband

it's a vicious vicious cycle

this time last year i was just starting my brand new job and i was so excited to be working again. it had been nearly 6 months of no work and no school and i was going insane with all the extra time on my hands. i was knitting constantly and finishing a book nearly every day. i was tired of being along in a new town all day by myself while my (then) fiance went off to work and had important meetings and phone calls to make. i would drive the poor guy insane with phone calls and talking every day
also no work meant no money. i had all the time in the world to go shopping but to spend money on something not necessary (books and knitting materials not included) such as clothes, make up and purses.
today i have the job and i'm trying to remind my self of how unhappy i was with out one! now i have too much work... too many meetings! too many responsibilities (not to mention the hours) and now i have NO time to knit and every night, when i go to bed, i'm lucky if i can get through 5 pages of my book with out falling asleep! however, while i'm not rolling in excess money, i can splurge on something special (COACH COACH) if i have the time to shop and find something i like on the same day!
:::sigh:::
don't get my wrong i really do love my job and i have an exceptionally good boss so it's not the actual job that is the problem.... it's all the knitting and reading time that work is cutting in to! hehehe ; )

can you believe i'm looking in to a masters program? i'll be lucky if i'll be able knit one scarf a year! with size 15 needles even!

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side note.... it was 52 degrees in portland today and (get this) 105 degrees in dubai. we were OVER 2 times hotter!!!! TWO TIMES! honestly i need to just stop looking at the temperature gage.