Digging into the Stash
So I've begun working on my stash. I've started making cat toys from the Lilly cotton that I bought last winter. So far I've made a couple of cute fish. I'm just putting the finishing touches on the pattern and I plan on posting it by Friday. To tide you over, here's a picture of one of my cats with one of the toys.
I also started the
Branching Out scarf on Knitty with the marigold Misti I have. I want to save the two Misti greens, though, for a different scarf. Although, I think I'm going to make branching out in the lace weight Misti I have in dusty rose.
Seen things are pretty slow at work lately I've been able to read a lot more knitting blogs and I must say that I am feeling rather overshadowed (is that the right word?) by the quality of other knitter's blogs. I mean, they are really terrific. They have custom designed banners and little buttons. When I see these websites it makes me want to learn html!
But I must remember: my blog is just a couple of months old really. It's a little baby blog that needs to grow and develop and one day, hopefully, it'll look just as good as the other knitting blogs.
In my biggest piece of decision making news, I've decided to go to the stitch-n-bitch that takes place in Brooklyn that I haven't had the chance to go to yet. I want to take the sweater that I'm working on for my dad. I got stuck on the sleeves and I have to rip out what I've done so far and ask the girl's and guy's advice on how to read the book's instructions. I am really looking forward to it! Debbie Stoller (that's right!
THE Debbie Stoller) is the moderator of the knitting online community for this particular stitch-n-bitch and, even though I don't think she goes to it anymore, it'll be cool to have actual knitting buddies. (None of my friends knit and the time I tried to teach a friend did not go well.)
First Finished Project of 2006!!!
Hooray!!! I finished a project. I am terrible at finishing projects, but I did it -- I actually did it!
The project I finished was Chocolate Mint, the scarf that I showed a progress picture of yesterday. It looks great and it feels quite soft. I love the dimensions on it too. It's just the right width and it's long, but not too long. It's warm, but not overwhelming. It's perfect.
And I'm done moving this weekend I can begin working on my stash. I'm doing a stash-a-long for the next few months. I'll post my official stash-strategy next Monday.
I'm wondering what to do with my yarn when I move into the new place, though. One of my new roommates has two cats -- very sweet and affectionate -- but I keep imagining what their reaction to all that yarn is going to be. I picture them sitting in front of my wall-o-yarn and staring at it as if they've found the Holy Grail. What do other people with cats do with their stashes?
Resolution #1: Consistency in Knitting Blog
I need a digital camera. I have a camera phone now, but I think everyone will agree that camera phones are pretty crappy (unless you have one of those super-expensive phones that only P. Diddy can afford.) Anyway, here is a couple of very bad pictures of a couple current projects:
Yes, that's me. That's what I look like after spending the better part of the university's week and a half long winter break inside the house. I think I have the the shining now.
Anyway, the hat is just a simple little scully cap. I used Lamb's Pride in "White" and "Spice". I modified the pattern a bit by lengthening the cap so it covers more of the ears. I'm thinking of calling the design The White Stripes because of the color combo and because, when I finished it, I realized that I made something that Jack or Meg might wear. But the name is still a work in progress.
The scarf is just a simple K2 P2 rib with 4 rows per stripe. The colors are not that great in this picture (under/over statement of the year). I'm using Lamb's Pride in "Chocolate Souffle" and "Pistachio".
Maybe it's the weather, but I've been on a real wool kick lately. In the last month I've bought almost exclusively wool. The only other thing I've bought lately is Misti Alpalca in lace and worsted weights.
And may I just take a moment to praise Misti Alpaca? From what I've been reading in other blogs lately and on the
Knitty message board, alpaca is just about the softest, lushiest material there is and I couldn't agree more! The other night I bought two skeins of each of these colors:
I am so anxious to make something out of these -- most likely a stripey, super-long scarf. But I'm also going to mine the back-issues of Knitty to see if I can find a new and interesting pattern. There was also a lace scarf that another blogger was making that I really liked. I believe that she got that from Knitty, too.
Until tomorrow. I promise.
