The Wonderful Wallaby

Earlier this afternoon I was writing an e-mail to Punkin and I realized, "gee, this would really be a good blog entry." So with a little editing, here ya go...

Punkin has been raving about The Wonderful Wallaby, and naturally she's been telling me that I should make one. Last week we were chatting about what projects I would take with me on my Elderhostel trip, and she brought up the Wallaby. And it got me to thinking--all stockinette, knit in the round, it just might be the balance I need right now. But I really don't have any sweater yarn in my substantial out of control yarn stash. Just some Elisabeth Lavold Angora, but not quite enough for the size I want to make. And I can't really justify spending money on yarn for a sweater right now after coughing up nearly a grand for this semester's classes, not to mention my car insurance that's due shortly and the Forester needs four new tires....

So yesterday, as I was driving up to the house, I got to thinking... you know, Webs is right on the way and they're open today. Maybe I could find something in the warehouse. Yeah, you know, if I could find something for under $50, that wouldn't be so bad. $50. That's totally justifiable. So I stopped at the yarn garden of Eden Webs...

I wandered all around the warehouse, but nothing that I really liked came close enough to the magic number. So I wandered around the store. I was thinking about biting the bullet and getting some Cascade (my first choice for the Wallaby), but then I remembered that they now have their own version of Cascade--Valley Yarns Northampton. More yardage (247), lower price ($5). I found a color I liked (dark gray, heathery), so I decided to buy 10 balls to make the really big Wallaby. And then I thought hey--if I just spend $10 more, I'll get the discount. So despite pawing fondling drooling over considering a skein of the Classic Elite Alpaca Sox, I decided to look for something for Punkin (yes, I'm rewarding the enabler, and I know it's wrong) and I found this really neat sock yarn for her. It's not her favorite, but I think she'll like it just the same. (There's one part of her present that I think she's really going to love, but I can't talk about it yet because it will ruin the surprise.) And with that last selection, I got my 20% discount and a really cool new project!



I started swatching last night and hope to cast on for the sweater by Tuesday night. My goal is to finish the Wallaby before we return to Boston. Think I have a chance?


By the way, we have mice. I put a trap down in the pantry last night (after seeing evidence of their presence) and had one in it this morning. They probably came into the house last month when Jim moved stuff into the attic from the storage space in Wilmington. I'm not thrilled.

Now before I get flamed, let me just say that I'm really not thrilled about the traps, but I don't have a choice right now. I don't live here full time, and, well, I saw the first evidence of the mice Labor Day weekend--4 weeks ago. And Jim didn't do anything about it. And now we're/he's going to be gone for two weeks, so who's going to release them from those live-catch-and-release traps that I'd really rather use? They'd die a slow death instead of meeting a relatively quick end. So, I'm sorry little guys...

And besides, if they're not going to help pay the mortgage or contribute to the household, then they can't live here.