Seriously Addictive!

When I write an essay or have to do a lot of readings I will break it up into pieces. Once I've accomplished one piece I give myself a reward - something small like one round of a computer game. My current reward is to read a few minutes worth of back posts of my new favourite blog, that of the Yarn Harlot (Hello, my name is Sarah and I have a problem...). Seeing pretty pictures of somebodyelse's knitting is having a seriously disturbing affect on my brain because on my way home from Brownies today (we went to the house of one of the other leaders and cooked - stew, grilled rice balls, and desert - good fun! See...


Okay, so it is a picture of rice balls. Not terribly exciting, I realize. The ones on the left are have salty konbu (a type of seaweed) and the ones on the right are cheese and itty bitty fishes (yes, cheese, and boy were they yummy after being grilled!!) I have plenty of cute photos of the girls making the rice balls and chopping vegetables, but as those of you in Guiding know, there are issues about photographs with girls in them. I don't know about the rules for GS Japan, so thought I should play it safe. I am fairly certain that I don't need written permission from the rice ball's parents for the use of the picture.)

Anyways... where was I? Oh yes, I was walking home from Brownies and obsessing about yarn. I know that one cannot buy good quality yarn at the dollar store, but that was the only store on my way home and I was desperate (I told you I'm not sane). I figured I'd look and see horrid colours in cheap bad yarn and then just wait until mid-February when I have enough time to hunt down a yarn store to provide me with something to finish off my green scarf and maybe make another scarf or two for friends. I was in for a nice surprise, however, as I was reminded once again that Japanese dollar stores (100 yen stores actually) can have some pretty nice stuff. Sure they have a bunch of junk I wouldn't even pay 100 yen for, but they also have some nice stuff. And nice yarn they did have. I'm sure it is cheap and not actually nice yarn, but it is pretty and it is soft and I like it! I bought some blue variegated yarn that varies in weight too, from really thin to really chunky. Having reminded myself that I do know how to knit (very very very simple things) I'm not following the pattern I have, just trying something out. I haven't done very much (I do have another essay to finish and a major translation to work on so I have to discipline myself) but, I am happy with it so far! My friend was complaining just last week that she doesn't have a thick warm scarf and, if I use knitting a few rows as my reward for the book report I need to write and the translations that need to be done, well then I might even be able get the scarf done before the end of winter!

So without further ado, this is the side with the texture...


and this is the plain side, with a close-up of the yarn itself...


Now I have to get back to reading the book for my book report... sigh...