Electric Blue

I got this yarn (Artful Yarn’s Shakespeare) in the mail yesterday from a yarn swap and thought it’d be perfect for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s Unoriginal Hat.  I like how it turned out.  i think this is the 5th or 6th time I’ve made this hat and I’m still loving it.  Chunky cables are happy.

I also wanted to let you all know that I updated my Etsy store with the Creed pattern (although it’s cheaper if you buy it through the “Patterns for Sale” page here on the blog) and 4 skeins of handspun yarn.  You know, just in case. 😉 Here’s a preview:

This morning I’m using the remaining yarn from the electric blue hat to knit a scarf for my oldest child’s Tigger.  I still can’t believe I’m knitting for stuffed animal friends, but that’s what having children will do to your brain.

Forest

190+ yards (rounded down)
worsted/DK weight
3 ply
50% Extrafine Merino
50% Tencel (lovely shine, strength & drape!)
4 ounces

This is a biggie for me…my first handspun Etsy listing!

It is so soft that if it doesn’t sell I may sleep with it. 🙂

New things!

As of today, I have a new knitting trick up my sleeve: Entrelac.

I used the center part of this pattern to try my hand.  I really like it.  I knit this bit with some of my own handspun, as I wanted to see the effect with the color changes.  Very very cool.

New thing #2:

My local yarn shop got in their shipment of Noro sock yarn.  Katie and I went down to the shop and did a fair amount of drooling. I’ve admired Noro colors for a very long time, but this is a big day because it marks my First Ever Noro Purchase. (insert party noises)  I love the vibrant colors.  I’m looking forward to testing this, too, as I’ve heard dramatically opposing reviews.  It’s very rough, but I’ve heard it softens with use.  If not, these socks may be used for disciplinary purposes…”NO NO! Not the socks, Mom!  I promise I’ll keep my room clean just DON’T MAKE ME WEAR THE NORO SOCKS!”

Posies for My Toesies

They’re finished!  These socks are knit from my Harriet’s Posies handspun…what a thrill to think that these started as a 8 oz. braid of fluff, and they became socks right here in my house. Wahooty!

This project was a great learning experience for me.  I realized while spinning the first single that I was going to end up with some enormous yellow stretches.  For the second single, I pre-drafted my roving a bit to make sure the big section of yellow would be broken up and stretched out over the skein.  When plied, I still ended up with some seriously yellow sections, but I’ve learned how to deal with it better next time.

There is quite a bit left of this yarn…I may use it for socks for one of the wee girlies.

‘Tis the season…

..to start projects.

Here’s what’s currently on the needles:

Bluebell Rib Socks (Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks) in Lorna’s Laces Valentine. I like the unsquished look better than the squished look.  There is something to be said for fat ankles, eh?

Pink Pommies (short for Pomotomous…what does that mean, anyway?), Take Two. I feel like I should already be on my second sock after the massive frogging and do-overing.  I love how this sock looks (the photo has been wokified to highlight the pattern), but I bet this is the only pair I ever make.  Lots of k1, p1…and my first purling through the back loop…that, friends, is not natural. 😉

This is a junky picture of Harriet’s Posies morphing into a sock.  I hope to get a better pic up later to show the very cool color changes happening, but this will do.  It’s pretty thrilling to be making socks out of my handspun. 

Felted Fair Isle Bag experiment.  Mixed reviews on this one.  Lessons have been learned.  Lesson 1: do not mix wools.  Not all 100% feltable wool felts in equal proportions.  Yikes.  Lesson 2: Beard trimmers work very well for defuzzing felted items.

This is slowly turning into this:

I haven’t come up with a name for this one yet.  Emma has just received some unwanted and uncomfortable communication from Mr. Elton…that doesn’t lend itself to yarn naming.

I’ve got another few projects itching to get started, too.  I’m in one of those phases when I want to start a hundred things at once.  It drives my poor husband batty.  This is not kind to his CDO (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, alphabetized, as it should be) tendencies.  One of them I’ll start this week.  My favorite yarn shop, Twist, is doing a Knit Along to Jared Flood’s Hemlock Blanket. How about them apples? It’ll be a first for me…I’ve never done a purely knitting social event. Leaving the house? Meeting stangers?  It’ll be good for me.  Like fiber.