Bright, Bright, Sunshiney Day

The combination of sunshine and snow on the ground is nice, but it makes it difficult to see when walking from a relatively dim interior to the car and then driving to another relatively dim interior. Either I'm not used to life out here yet, or I'm a vampire. I don't have a hankering for hemoglobin, so it must be the former.

I've started the Starksy Sweater, and I promise I will scan the picture in my newly beloved vintage pattern book as soon as I am able. The yarn I'm using is Vanna's Choice in Linen. When a pattern calls for 2,000 grams of yarn (20 skeins!) you can't be picky. Also, "published" kudos to my husband for helping me raid Michael's bins and match dye lots...and then later helping to untangle the knit-with-four-strands mess. It's supposed to be 8 with fingering yarn (100 grams = 330 meters), but I've found that the only place to get decent fingering weight yarn is one of the LYSs.

I knitted the thumb and began the pinky finger for the second Sack glove as well today. I love how fast the fingers knit up. I used to be afraid of smaller needles, since big needles and chunky yarn give you such quick results. But now the 15s for the Starsky Sweater feel odd in my hands compared to the 4s for the Sack gloves and the 1s for the Saartje Booties.

Speaking of Saartje, I have one done! I'm pleased with it, but I'm hoping that bootie number too comes out a little bit better, and that both look amazing once I've got buttons on them and they've been washed and dried. Yay for machine washable/dryable yarn!

LYS!

I finally got down to the new LYS - C.R. Yarn. You can read the store's blog over here. I loved the selection of yarn so much it was hard to make my mind up what I'd turn into booties for Sofia, but I couldn't pass up the newly dyed "Mmm Brains" yarn.


My first instinct is to make a hat out of it, but I'm not sure if even that would do this beautiful yarn and its wonderful name justice. So it might just hang out in the stash for a bit until I can find something worthy of it. I also picked up a skein of TOFUtsies to do those booties.


Also soon to be added to my growing stash are two hanks from KnitPicks. While browsing for bootie-yarn, I found their handpainted line, Imagination. These are the two colorways I've ordered: Looking Glass and Damsel.


I know I have no business buying more yarn. I've started three projects despite having a bag full of unfinished things that's been hidden away in the closet since long before we moved into the bigger apartment. I pulled out that neglected bag to see what was in there.

From the top, left to right: 100% baby alpaca from the Indiana State Fair, random red yarn (two skeins Homespun), gray and blue wool from The Feast of the Hunter's Moon, random red yarn that was supposed to end up a sweater for the mother-in-law, Sugar'n Cream skein bought because it was pretty, and random bouncle that was slowly becoming a scarf for the little sister.

So I guess the lesson learned is that if I ever TELL someone I'm knitting them a gift, they're better off assuming their never going to get it. :(

Leather and Booties, But Not at the Same Time

I've been thinking more and more about my Secret Pattern Project (hereafter, SPP) while I'm working the thumb gusset on CSLA's knucks, and I finally decided that one of my variations should include leather. Not that micro-suede yarn that is on every yarn store's shelf, but actual, round leather cord. I found this stuff at the Tandy Leather Company (which has a location in Rapid).

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I think I might slip on down there on my lunch hour to pick some up. Who says I can't knit three things at once?

But it gets better. I randomly came across a pattern for these booties on Ravelry, and I immediately wanted to make a pair for the newborn baby of a friend. Aren't they adorable?