Oh.Dear.Lord, I need to stop.

So, I jumped on the opportunity to do a little organizing this afternoon. I've recently enhanced my stash with some beautiful new yarns, and wanted to see how many I could stuff, I mean, store in the yarn closet.

Upon closer inspection of the yarn closet, here are (most) of the contents in gallon zippies:

Baggies of yarn:

* 3 bags of alpaca yarn and alpaca/silk yarn
* 1 bag with 3 balls of Scottish Tweed
* 2 bags of various colors Malabrigo worsted
* 3 bags of various colors Malabrigo silky
* 1 bag with 2 skeins of worsted local yarn (can't wait to dye it!)
* 1 bag with 2 skeins Lamb's Pride and 2 skeins Sylan Spirit
* 1 bag with crochet cotton, twine, and hemp
* 1 bag random worsteds
* 1 tiny bag of baby cashmerino (3 colors)
* 1 bag with Woolease chunky in red
* 1 bag of sock yarn scraps
* 1 bag of worsted scraps
* 1 bag of completely random yarns
* 5 bags (HOLY CRAP) of laceweight yarns

Now for some of the loose skeins:

* 1 skein Encore Colorspun
* 2 skeins Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed
* 2 skeins of Classic Elite Miracle
* 5 assorted skeins of Woolease
* 1 skein Avanti
* 2 skeins Light and Lofty
* 4 skeins assorted Paton's Classic Wool
* 16 skeins NatureSpun Sport

The random tools and stuff:

* 5 cross-stitches in progress
* 3 cross-stitch hoops
* 1 cross-stitch loom
* dyepots
* Cake icing dyes
* lots and lots of Kool-aid packets
* bottle of RIT red dye (when dyeing fails, color it red... mwahahaha)
* tealight candles
* hot glue gun and glue sticks
* 3 sock blockers

Stuff that's spoken for/in progress:

* 5 "second skeins" for socks-in-progress
* 5 skeins Paton's Classic Wool for a neighbor's kilt hose
* 4 skeins navy yarn for a sweater
* Lion Cotton for a "Hey, Teach!" for my sister-in-law
* Pima/silk for a "Hey, Teach!" for me
* enough Tahki Bunny for a sweater
* 3 skeins sock yarn for greyhound legwarmers

And last, but certainly not least, the sock yarn. Many people have told me that sock yarn doesn't count as stash. At this point, I must disagree. The next time I say I want to buy sock yarn, someone smack me. Really. Here we go.

Currently, in my stash alone, there is enough sock yarn to make (are you ready?)

59 PAIRS OF SOCKS

Someone, please stop me. I need help.

After a lot of heartache...

... things are looking up. I even won a blue ribbon at the State Fair! :) Check it out:

That fruity-colored goodness in the middle is Sakina Needles Superwash Merino in colorway Fruit Salad II, purchased at the Loopy Ewe, handspun and 2-plied by moi. Yay for the novice spinners category! I'm in trouble next year (just look at the skein to the left of mine... and that's 3rd place!).

I've really done a lot since my last post. I'll update this soon, really. For now, off to play with the Malabrigo sock yarn (I'm making Honeybee socks! This link will take you to a .pdf).

Miss you, sweetie.

April 1998 - October 13, 2008
Mira Deara Roo, we love you.

Looky what I did!

Tadaaa! I feel really good about the singles... I need help with plying. Can someone please help me?Roving: Sakina Needles Superwash Merino, colorway Fruit Salad II, purchased from The Loopy Ewe.

Still alive, I promise!

So, really... I am still alive and kickin'. I got totally wrapped up in the Ravelympics over on Ravelry. I am so hopelessly addicted to that site. Love. But, here's what was finished:


First up, the Butterfly Hat in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, colorway "Black Forest". Lovely yarn, a bit more purple-y than the color shows, just not feeling it with this pattern. Looks like spiders, right? Off to the donation bin we go...

Next up, what I thought would be my moment of triumph. Here we present the Chevalier Mittens, again in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, colorway "Ibiza" (which I personally think has changed names to "Emerald Blue").

So, so pretty... worked up fairly quickly, and not so bad for my third attempt at cables, ever. So imagine my horror... I knitted the first mitten (on the right hand) on size 2 needles. I knitted the second mitten (on the left hand, duh) on size 3 needles. *cry* The left mitten has been ripped out and is currently in time out in the yarn closet.



Finally, success! These are the River Rapids Socks by Sockbug, in Mountain Colors Bearfoot, colorway "Copper". Size 0 needles, no mods. They fit me perfectly, and I'm thinking... possibly State Fair submission. :-D Remember, for any picture on this blog, clickety-biggity.

Also completed, a pair of Fleegle-ized Saartje booties! They were well received at the baby shower, and an excellent way to use up almost all my leftovers from the Eleanor socks:

FOs! Hooray! Now I don't feel so bad about start-itis.

Since my last post, I've completed the "Blue Butterfly" Swallowtail Shawl. I'm so proud of myself, I could bust! I now dream of making even more complicated things.

Also, I finished up the golf club covers for my, um, "professional" golf club. It's just a few folks from work who get together and play best-ball, 9 holes, but it's awfully fun, and there are always prizes (and some tasty frosty beverages). So, here's my contribution to the prize pot:

Start-itis and the wishlist

So, I think I have a problem. I like to start projects. Lots of them. 'Specially when the BHE isn't around to notice the mass quantities of yarn lurking about the house...

Spring Forward Socks in Claudia handpainted "Walk in the Woods"...


Azure Socks in Cherry Tree Hill SuperSolids in "Blossom"...


Dolores Park Cowl in Malabrigo Chunky "Col China" (in my defense - I started AND finished this one this morning - even sent it off to Mom today - love you!)

Sad, when I have plenty of projects to finish... like the Swallowtail Shawl. I'm SO close! Maybe I'll knit on it this evening. And the golf club covers... I have a 2 week deadline, but these other yarns are screaming at me for attention. What's a girl to do? Create a wishlist at the Loopy Ewe, of course: http://www.theloopyewe.com/wishlist/show/19565/?token=b3cc13228c1f

New stuff and stuff that's done (Flickr heavy)

Woohoo! I did a little yarn shopping with some extra money from a gig - hooray! Here's the loot:

Louet Gems fingering grab bag from Yarn Discontinued



Crystal Palace Panda Silk in color 3010 from Quilts Like Crazy/Yarnbirds that I think needs to be turned into Snowflake Socks.



Araucania Ranco Multy in color 306 that is destined to be pretty socks.

In the midst of all this goodness for the stash, I actually also finished up a project! It's taken me since January, but they are done - Auntie Beth's Southwestern Socks. I even added a few (10) extra stitches up the calf for AB's zaftig figure. So proud. :) The BHE took the pictures - we love the new camera! Here you go:

Easter Egg Eleanors are DONE!

Hooray! And the Beast even helped model them. :)


Remember - clickity-biggity.

WWKIP Day

Wow - how fun! It was great to meet folks around the area and see lots of neat projects and yarns. I definitely think we should get together again; start looking for some light-colored animal fibers that you might wanna color... party at my place soon!

My own dyed roving

So, I tried an experiment. Yes, I've dyed yarn with Wilton's cake icing dye. No, I've not tried dyeing roving. So - here are the results from my experiment [step 1 - roving coiled in baking dish, step 2 - add different dye colors (red, peach, and yellow), step 3 - bake for 30 minutes and add water at end to fill up dye dish, step 4 - enjoy the slightly felted but still spinnable dyed roving!]

Spinning

Here are pictures of my latest spinning project (see post below for roving details). Remember - click on the picture for a (much) bigger version.

New stuff!

So, I've been really wrapped up in Ravelry stuff. I've updated a lot there, but not so much here. I've made a couple of Mug Cozies that are awesome (out of Mmmmalabrigo), a few seamless hearts, and I've been working on some big projects. Here we go:

1. The Swallowtail Shawl, made with Drops 100% Alpaca. Beautiful. So close to finished (even with the oopsies in the last section of pattern. I'm finishing, I'm not ripping back, and I'm positive my giftee won't mind).

2. Eleanor Socks! I like this pattern, and I'm knitting it in my KnitPicks Bare yarn that I dyed with Easter egg dye tablets. Note to self - go bargain hunting after Easter next year. These dyes are great, if a little obnoxious (just how I like it). I would link the pattern, but I can't seem to find it... if you're on Ravelry, it's a free download.













Best gusset pick-up yet! :)








3. Lots of Amanda Hats.




4. Learning to become a better spinner. Here's what I've got so far:
And here's what came today from the Loopy Ewe for me to get even better with!
(SakinaNeedles Superwash Merino Roving in colorway Cockles)

I'm still alive, I swear!

I know it seems like I've dropped off the face of the Earth, but I am indeed still alive. I've been updating my Ravelry stuff a LOT, and have neglected this. But - soon my friends! - there will be more here. Like, my first foray into a lace shawl, a super cute heart pattern, my newbie spinning stuff, and my attempts at writing a pattern. :) More soon! Promise!

Christmas in April!!!!

So - I arrive home - and find a box from the Woolery inside the door. OMIGOSH! I am now the proud owner of a spinning wheel. HOLY CRAP! My family rocks SO much for doing this - I owe y'all! Here's what we've got so far:












Of course, I learned from Judy from the Guild. She's AWESOME. If you need a class, call her. E-mail me if you want some info about her.

Teaser...

I'm learning how to spin yarn on a spinning wheel. I helped shear the sheep today. Here's proof:

Quick FO post

Another Boy Hat! I love this pattern. I'm calling this one the Girly Boy Hat. It's Malabrigo Merino Worsted in colorway "Amoroso". No pun intended, but I love it. :)

Mmmmmalabrigo March!

I love Malabrigo. I really do. Here's my first project for Mmmmalabrigo March on Ravelry. They're the Herringbone Mittens by Elliphantom. This is a great pattern! Remember, click on any picture to show it in a larger size on this blog.







Then we have an update on Auntie Beth's Southwestern Socks. Love this pattern too, especially since I have a hard time getting gauge with regular sock patterns on decent sized needles.













And speaking of needles, here's the latest needle-nose that we're fostering. Presenting: Beast, Jr.! She's a sweetie. I'm thinking we might fail fostering with this cutie...

Project update

First, in Ravelry, I've joined the Mmmmmalabrigo March group, and am a part of the Herringbone Mitten KAL. I can't wait! Here are the (newly revamped) colors I'll be using:

I started knitting the pattern in some Cascade 220 just to practice before the KAL begins, and got this (an enjoyable knit so far):
I've also been working on Auntie Beth's socks, and started some new socks using my last Kool-aid yarn and the Springgrass pattern from Craftoholic. Pictures to come. And last, but certainly not least, the Beast. He's so sweet.

The Boy Hat

I love this pattern! Click on the picture to enlarge and see some details (like the awesome shaping at the top). Elizabeth at LimulusKnits - you ROCK!



Pattern: The Boy Hat
Needles: Addi size 3 circular and DPNs
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted in Rich Chocolate
Mods: Not a durn one!

Baby socks!

Cute, no? The pattern is from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, the Crosshatch Lace (36-stitch) pattern. I did these toe-up with short-row heels on size 0 needles. I hope the person they're gifted to appreciates the 100% alpaca goodness (Araucania Atacama)!