Back From The Clearing

With loot!  Not much knitting went on.  Not much of anything else went on either, but it was great to get away and just veg in a glorious setting and fabulous meals that I didn't have to plan, cook, or clean up after (not that I do any of that at home, Durwood does it, but you know what I mean).


KS and I went to the Door Co. Shepherd's Market on the 19th and here's what I bought.  The skein's 526 yds. of pure, undyed wool, light worsted weight, and the locks (oh, the locks) are kid merino.  (be still my heart)  I plan to turn them into a shawl and knit in a lock every now and again.  I'm not a fringe girl so they'll be incorporated into the garment.  I can't wait.  I'll be searching shawl patterns later today.  You can bet on it.



I also bought myself a shawl pin from another vendor.  Durwood thought it was a drill bit but I quickly disabused him of that notion.  Isn't it pretty?



A Facebook friend "liked" Off The Wheel pottery in Egg Harbor so I went there on our afternoon off on Thursday and spent twice what I'd intended on this coffee mug.  But isn't it the coolest?  She has lots of designs, mostly birds, cats, and insects, but this mug shape and the skyline sold me on this one.  It's good to drink out of too.


I knitted one preemie hat up there but haven't taken its picture yet.  I will.  Cross my heart.

Nearly Halfway

Yesterday it was so quiet at work the kimono I'm knitting for KZ's bean went from this...





to this, and I'm not that fast a knitter.  True, it's only 48 stitches across the back (I'm casting on stitches for the sleeves; this is a very clever pattern) but this is light worsted, almost DK weight yarn, and still I'm zooming along.  Although knitting without much of a break for 7 hours sure makes my vision screwy.  Maybe it's time to go get my eyes checked...



I wish someone would make a sewing website (Stitcherie, maybe?) like Ravelry for knitters.  I bought 2 yds. of this gorgeous linen the other day and I'd like to have a place where I could list all the fabrics I have and the sewing books and stuff like batting and interfacing and elastic.  There'd be a lot less duplication.  Somebody get on that, please.

Done!

I can't believe how quickly I made the Reclaimed Shrug but it's done.  My fingers must have been flying.  It was finished last night and I'm wearing it right now.  I might not take it off because it's so soft and warm and it's barely over 40 degrees today which is crazypants for May 12.  This shrug (it seems more like a sweater-ette to me) is smaller than the Green one.  I might like it better but I'll be wearing both of them.  For the longest time I couldn't figure out why you'd make or wear a sleeveless sweater but then I thought "vest" and I got it.  I'm sometimes slow but I eventually catch up.  Anyway, here it is!  







Now I'm off to cast on a baby sweater for K&GZ's bean.

Perking Right Along

I have knit the Reclaimed Shrug almost exclusively since casting it on last Thursday and yesterday at work, shortly after I took this photo, I put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and got going on the body.  I am so going to have enough yarn.  Yippee!

I Am Incorrigible

I can not be trusted leaving yarn loose because I just go downstairs, grab some, and start knitting even though I have perfectly good projects OTN.  It's a compulsion; I have an idea and it nags at me until I succumb.  Take this poor yarn.  It began as a wrap that looked great on the pattern and like dog doo on me.  Then instead of unraveling it I just picked out the end and started knitting a Rib Warmer from the corpse of the wrap, but before I was halfway through the first half I realized that I didn't have enough yarn and couldn't get enough yarn because the black wool/cashmere I carried with the thick/thin colorful wool is discontinued.  So I shoved it all into a bag and left it in timeout downstairs.  Then I knit the wonderfulness that is the Green Shrug.  It used about 2 lbs. of yarn and that's how much the wool & cashmere blob weighs, or near enough.  The idea has been rolling around in my head but I've been telling myself that I should finish at least one of the projects OTN before casting on another.  That worked until yesterday morning when I went downstairs before work, grabbed the yarn, pattern, and one set of interchangeable needles, took it to work, cast on, and started knitting the Reclaimed Shrug.  In the back of my mind I can finish it before I go to The Clearing in 15 more days, especially if I don't extend the body beyond the pattern directions as I did with the Green one.  We'll see if my hands hold out.

I did knit the last 10 rows of the leg of the Spring Boot Sock and segue into the heel flap and heel turn in lime green, then pick back up with the pastel-ly shades of the main yarn.  I think for the next sock I'm going to use a different yarn for each sock part.  That should keep me interested and monogamous, right?  Maybe.