A show and some knitting content

Last night the boy and I trekked up to Baltimore to see Rilo Kiley, one of my favorite bands. They generally attract quite the hipster crowd. At least, they did when I saw them last in DC and felt I was underdressed. But ah, good homey Baltimore is quite different. I went to school right outside the city, and last night's concert attendees were so familiar to me. Mostly in khaki shorts and polos and sundresses, with just a few hipsters spread throughout who are long-standing fans. Besides observing the dress code, I was entertained that during the show Jenny (the female singer/guitarist/bassist/wonder woman) starting playing a riff from... Everclear I believe. And the crowd was genuinely upset they wouldn't play the whole song! Rilo Kiley, for what it's worth, sounds nothing like Everclear. And they certainly have plenty of their own material. We left before the encores, since somehow the two opening acts became three and it was obscenely late at that point, with a long long drive back to Arlington ahead of us. But we did get to hear "Never" before we left- a song I have always somehow associated with my boy, and one of my favorite songs more generally. He doesn't care for it, though. Repeating the word "never" over and over again could get old, if you don't get into the mood of the song. Maybe.

I know you didn't read this for the concert update- you came for the knitting! I'm trucking along on the cashmere stole; I am just about to start the fourth pattern repeat. As soon as I retrieve it from the car, since I brought it on our little road trip last night. I did finish something else, though.


This sweater has a few issues for me.
First: this is going to be a belly sweater. I realized it pretty quickly, but was WAY too lazy to go back and add another few inches of ribbing. It has a beautiful swing and sway to it, however, with the cotton bamboo yarn, so I think I will just wear this over a tank top or a camisole anyways and be just fine if it swings up and exposes what would otherwise be naked belly and back.
Second: I adore this yarn. I think it's sheen is unmatched, and it has amazing heft while not being too warm. But there is no good way to say it- the yarn hurts like crazy. Knitting with this stuff is killing my wrist, my palm (where I grasp it with my little finger). I can't really change the way I hold the yarn now, since it would destroy my perfect tension. That means I can only knit a few centimeters at a time without wanting to cry. I hope that now I'm doing the fronts it won't be so bad- at least there are fewer stitches to a row. Sheesh.

I have been trying hard not to waste money, but I fell into the allure of using my stimulus money for what it was intended. A third of it went straight towards prescriptions and other useful and necessary stuff, but I also bought a wee bit of yarn and an OttLite. I am so excited to try cross stitching with this amazingly bright light! Here's a review of these latest fun purchases, lickety split.
The OttLite in its new habitat:


And my yarn purchases. This one I bought from someone on Ravelry- it's Vesper, a heavenly sock yarn:


The others are from Sonny and Shear, a great online yarn vendor. First up, Shibui Sock in a luscious deep purple:


Zen Yarn Garden in the color of clouds:


And two neat skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy:



Ah, my love of sock yarn is strong.