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Rusted Root

I purchased the Rusted Root pattern a couple of days ago and Tracy pointed out that I could use my new purple yarn. So I cast on last night.

I love the deep purple, the lace pattern is simple and it’s top down so I can try it on as I go! I am planning to have it done for Easter but we’ll see just how fast it goes.

Tracy & I hit ross last night. Surprised? You shouldn’t be, it’s our second home. Since I ordered a new Ikea Poang chair for her in our living room (I am so good to her) I had to get some hat boxes for organization & storage for her knitting. Okay, I am guilty. I promptly got home & filled 2 of them with my knitting stuff. This morning she said she is fine with the 1 that is left. I would have happily removed my knitting so she had more room and she knows it ;o)


The bottom one is the perfect size to store all my granny squares in.

And let me leave you with a gratuitous shoe shot (another great find at ross)

i have a problem, don’t i?

Okay, a little side note on the shoe fetish. My mom started me on a shoe kick when I was about 13 and we were living in Turkey. Shoes were so exotic and inexpensive when we lived there that she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spoil me. Plus, my 3 older sisters were in the states & I was FINALLY getting attention ;o) We return to the states and the addiction needed to be fed. She was an office manager so her shoes were all nice quality leather heels and flats. I went punk. I started at classic Vans (there was a vans store in the outlets with classics for $9.99 all the time (leftover from the skater boom of the early 80’s), Vision Streetwear & Converse. From there I climbed to Creepers & Docs, they were my shoes of choice. Now, keep in mind, this was the late 80’s early 90’s. No internet shopping. I had to order a newsprint black & white catalog from a store in SF to buy my shoes. It was a hassle & they cost A LOT.
So I got a job to support my habit. First I went the traditional 15 yr old route & tried fast food. That lasted all of 3 weeks. I bought a VW ’54 bug  (for a whopping $500) with my $$ then needed a job to pay for the insurance. Mom & Dad went halfsies on the car with me as long as I paid them my $25 a month for insurance. Instead of being traditional I started sewing homecoming, prom dresses for girls at school. That brought me enough to start a shoe collection.
Since then it has been up & down. I would go through cleanout phases and get rid of dozens at a time. My average shoe stock is between seventy and a hundred pair. George made a deal with me about 5 years ago that for every 2 pair I buy I had to get rid of, or circulate out, 1 pair. I quickly found he really wasn’t paying attention so didn’t get rid of any until I would go on another cleanout binge. I will do ridiculous things like buy a pair at Payless shoes for $3 just because they are $3. Those are the ones that get tossed. I can honestly say that right now I have 4 pair of shoes I have owned for years & never worn. But I may need them at some future point and they are good quality shoes, not the payless shoes, so I keep them.
Right now I am at a current shoe count of 76 pairs. Before winter I went through a cleanout and it was needed. I always have a goal for the season of what shoes I need. I give myself a limit of $$ and am pretty good at sticking to it. Tracy was surprised that I spent $22.99 on the Nine West shoes I bought because I am the queen of bargain hunting. I normally would have waited to see if they went on clearance but they were too perfect to pass up at that price. Then again I did pay $56 for a pair of BC shoes (of course now they are on sale) but they are more than worth it, those babies will make their money back!
I decided after my second kid that I really didn’t want to do the normal mom look in sweats, jeans that are the wrong size and tennies. I wanted to look hot. For my husband as much as for my self esteem (it also staved off the ugly truth that I had put on weight and hadn’t lost it). Even when I felt like crap I could put on some cute shoes and feel better about myself. Not just how I looked but inside. I knew I was trying feel good and it worked. Like I told Tracy the other day, I would wear heels every day all day if only I had the money for the BEST and my achilles tendon didn’t give me fits every once in a while.

My question to you is, can you ever have too many shoes? (it begs the question can you ever have too much yarn? Obvi, NO)
How can I get dressed & then say I don’t have the shoes I need for the outfit? Actually, I usually pick the shoes first and then build an outfit around them.
And, I judge people by their shoes. There, I said it. I think they say a lot about a person. I won’t go into just how my judgementalism works, that’s my secret. (repentance is probably needed for that)
I have thought of doing an asad, a shoe a day, pictorial (and I suppose I have been) but it makes me feel guilty for the amount of shoes I have so I am passing that one by.

Anyone else willing to flash their shoe stash?