Saturday, June 23, 2007

A girl could get used to this

"This" being finding skeins of yarn magically in one's mailbox. Yesterday, I got this little gem:















It is 360 yards of hand-dyed superwash merino wool sock yarn from Cherry Blossom Fibers in the "90s Youth" colorway. Gorgeous! I absolutely adore all the colors in this skein! Thanks again, Secret Pal! I cannot wait to figure out what this will become!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I didn't order this...

...but I am certainly happy to receive it! I returned home from work today, checked the mail, saw the package of KnitPicks yarn I had ordered (hey, they were having a sale), and then saw another package. It was from Elann.com, a site I had visited but from which I had never ordered. Intrigued, I opened it up to find this:




















600 yards (!) of 50% alpaca/50% fine merino laceweight in the loveliest plum-y shade! I can only assume that I have my generous Secret Pal to thank for this! I am so excited to use this - I'm always seeing these lovely lace shawls that I'd love to knit, so I'm eager to browse through some lace patterns to find the perfect one for this. Thanks so much, SP!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

An FO a long time the making

I FINALLY finished knitting hubby's Shifting Sands scarf last week! I still need to block it, but I figured I could show off some pictures anyway.


I used under 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Cedar for this. Unblocked, it's about 55 inches long. Here's a closer shot of the many, many, MANY cables in this scarf.

Truly, though, the cables were not so difficult to do, following Grumperina's instructions on how to make cables without a cable needle. It's really a great pattern because it isn't too boring, but it also is not so complicated that it requires focused attention. And I truly think this is one of the more beautiful items I've ever knit. I hope lucky hubby appreciates this! I think he does, see that it took me, oh, 6 months to knit this! Not dedicated knitting, of course, and many other projects were begun and completed in the interim. But still, 6 months!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Another gift

As promised, I need to show off another gift I recently received. But a bit of set up first. If you read Knit Mongrel's blog (which you should if you don't), you're probably aware that she recently completed a Clapotis. This Clapotis was actually her second one, since, heartbreakingly, she had lost the first one she knit some time ago. Boo. However, in the course of cleaning her place in preparation of an imminent move, she found Clap the First. In response to her blog post about it, I jokingly told her that this meant she could give one Clap to me. Well, little did I know that before I had even posted that response, Mrs. Mongrel had already wrapped up Clap the First for me! I was (and am) so excited! It's gorgeous. See:



I absolutely love it! It was actually a bit chilly in Chicago yesterday, and I was thrilled because it meant I had a reason to wear my Clap! Thanks so much, Knit Mongrel!



In other news, I finally finished hubby's Shifting Sands scarf. No photos yet, since I haven't yet had a chance to block it (seeing as my blocking room aka our guest room is occupied at the moment with my in-laws). But I'm very happy with how it turned out. I still can't believe I actually did all of those cables. An entire scarf's worth. With sock yarn. Yowza.



Periodically, I go through organizational phases. I've cleaned out my closet (mostly - I have a lot of crap to go through still) as well as the kitchen pantry. So I decided to put my organization craze to some real use and organize the stash and my WIPs. Now, my stash is modest compared to some, so I have all my yarn stored in just a few plastic Container Store-type drawers. But the coup de grace of my anal retentiveness was the creation of an Excel spreadsheet, listing out my needles, WIPS, future projects for which I have yarn in my stash, future projects for which I need yarn, and extra yarn in the stash. I roll my own eyes at my nerdiness sometimes.



But this means it's quite easy for me to tell you what I currently have on my needles. I have a pair of house socks that I'm knitting for my mother-in-law for Christmas (yes, I'm slowly starting my Christmas knitting already - I refuse to be caught at the last minute as was the case last year). I am in the middle of a Branching Out, which will probably also be a Christmas gift. I just the other day cast on for a Monica for my daughter. And last, but not least (well, maybe least), I have a Norberta. Now, technically, Norberta is not on my needles, being something that's knit in pieces and seamed together. And you all know my history with seaming. So I've knit some of the pieces, but we'll see if I ever finish it. But since I'll probably never have another use for the yarn I purchased for it, I guess I might as well keep it in the WIPs list as a possibility. I know my daughter would love it, so in the end, that may be the incentive I need to finish it.