A cup o'rooibos

My postman made me happy today.

I ordered a birthday present for a friend from Knit Picks and it arrived today. Because I'm mostly selfish, I also ordered me 3 skeins of bare yarn and a dye sampler kit. Take a guess what my Thanksgiving vacation is going to consist of....

I also ordered some of Gnomeacres holiday yarn. I already made myself Christmas socks and Amanda from GA has put out this year's round of holiday yarn. So I'm making a pair of Christmas socks for my mom and sister. The catch is they must be done by Christmas...hoo boy. Looks like I need to start working less and knitting more. Anywho, I got Under the Tree and Mistletoe. Wound up Under the Tree to start and it's gorgeous. Going to cast on a pair of vanilla socks tonight so they are on the needles and ready to be knit.

Started knitting a cap in Knit Picks Brava. I wasn't sure about using 100% acrylic but they had an offer a bit ago for a free skein to try so I got my free skein. I actually really like it! I'm making a cap for a friend who is going through chemo and it's the perfect softness with wash-ability.  I'm using my standard, go to cap pattern, Just a Beanie. Again, I want to get this complete soon so he has it when it turns wintery and cold.

I don't think my other friend reads my blog so I'm going to go ahead and show the pattern I'm knitting up for him. I'm taking this pattern and making it in gray for brain cancer. He does runs in memory of his sister who passed away a year ago from brain cancer and I thought this would be a good cap to keep his noggin warm and spread the awareness message.

And holy crap.... I need to make an adult size of this for myself:

Trying to figure out something fun for the December Knit N Bitch. One member suggested a get together at the Mounds Park pavilion. That could be good, with maybe a dessert pitch in or cookie exchange. Thinking...thinking.....

Not doing a terrible amount of holiday knitting this year. I've learned my lesson! But I'll post what I get done :)

A little bit geeky

Every time I travel, I look for local yarn stores. I got to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for work and managed to sneak out of a conference for a bit to find a LYS.

I found Charlotte Yarn. I was a little nervous at first because it wasn't open at 10, like the sign said, and I had a limited amount of time away from the conference. I was worried I would leave my trip without yarn :( The owner was a little late but so sweet and nice that I didn't care. I was in one of the cutest yarn stores! Then, to add to the cuteness, she brought in her little dogs. Very friendly, very loving dogs. Made my day!

I did end up with a bit of yarn (*cough*) and bought a copy of the Downton Abbey knits magazine as well. I always always try to support the local shops when I am traveling. Because someday I want my own knit store where Eva can lounge and greet customers.

In the bag

I was in Charlotte to attend the SQL PASS Summit. Yup, I'm a geek. Technically, the title on my business cards is Data Architect but it pretty much equals geek. With over 190 sessions to choose from, it was a bit overwhelming. I took knitting to the conference with me, because that's normal... right? There's always down time somewhere. HECK NO.... I never once pulled it out. Never once knitted in the 3 days I was there. Charlotte had a lot to offer and I tried to take advantage. We hit some really excellent BBQ places and I was beside myself with happiness when I realized the breadth of beer that Charlotte has to offer. Not your standard Bud, Miller, etc. (until we hit Whisky River - that was slightly disappointing).

The SQL Sentry company set up a trolley to take conference folk around Charlotte. My mom, sister and I took it to the Music Factory area and hit Mattie's Diner. Oh wow...what great diner food. I honestly don't think we had a bad meal while we were here.... Anyways, it was dark by the time we got going and I have to admit, it was great seeing a SQL Sentry person at the stop. A nice touch :)

The first night there we went to Queen City Q's and met with my friend Warren for dinner. Delicious BBQ sliders and they had Chimay blue in little bottles! *swoon* This was walking distance from the hotel (pretty much everything I needed was...which helped a lot).

Lunch the next day had me and Warren at the Carolina Ale House. I got a huge (and delicious) chef salad and a Victory Golden Monkey trippel. I also went there after hours with several other SQL geeks to drink and talk.

Another excellent place was Leroy Fox. We went there after trying some beer flights at Ass Clown Brewery. Yes, that was really the name. The GPS got a little confused but we made it. They have very unique beers and I tried 4 of them. Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt was my favorite. I saw too late they also have wine.... shoot. But I got an empty growler, a pint glass and cozy and some cozies to take home to friends. Good little business they have!

Onward to Leroy Fox.... good food. I had the catfish and chips but I really loved the pretzel apps. Little pretzel bites with 3 dipping sauces. Yum.

Our last dinner in Charlotte was at Dale Jr's Whisky River (mom and sister are huge NASCAR fans). Disappointing beer selection but the food was terrific. Pulled pork BBQ sammich with the best mac and cheese I've had.

I usually flat out refuse to go to chains that are available back home. Traveling is time to try what the area you are in is famous for. In this case, it really was BBQ and microbrews. Who am I to say no to that?!?!