Friday, November 30, 2007

Mmmmmm, coffee!

And goodies, too!

From my KCS3 partner Emiko:

kcs3 box
Diablo roast from Caffe Ladro, a book about coffee, Sharon's Soaps N' Stuff Coffee soap, Australian black licorice, a magnetic notepad with little post-its (that somehow missed the photo op), and a lovely coffee card.
The card looks like it was hand stamped with beans and mugs.

smooshy
A closer look at the yarn. The color is not quite right in either picture. It's a blend of reds and burgundy called Ruby River that is just what I would pick for myself. This yarn is perfectly named, it is totally smoosh- and squeezable.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Sherwood

OK, this has actually been finished for over a month. Just now blogging. Anyway . . .


I love this FO. Maybe more than anything I've done to date. The fabric has a wonderful drape, the texture pops, and there are no obvious (to the non-knitter, anyway) errors.


It actually fits him a bit better than this photo shows. He was wearing a baggy t-shirt under it to brave the chill.


Pattern: Sherwood, Knitty Fall 2006
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton, color Elf
Started: August (?) '07
Finished: September '07

I love it! He loves it, too. He was upset with me when I made him change before eating spaghetti.

Silly me, I thought things would slow down around here as fall arrived. First of all, if the toddler never slows down, chances are the rest of my life won't either.

And I've been working Saturdays at my LYS (Boersma's Knitting Basket). They actually approached me about working. (!!)

I love it! It's so fun helping people find just the right yarn/project/tools. Not to mention getting paid to go to Knit & Chat! I'm working on two projects for the shop.

If/when I find some childcare/preschool thing for E, I'll work another day or two, but only if it falls in my lap. I am going to be teaching two classes in the late winter/spring.

Ravelry is another obstacle to blogging. It definitely hasn't improved my lurker habits, as it's so easy to browse and look things up, without the extra effort (and toddler-free time) blogging requires.

I've been knitting like crazy. I finished the 2nd pair of a4A socks in time to make the deadline.

I sent a SASE with the socks, and they sent back the cutest postcards.

I also finished a YYMN* custom.



Pattern: Perfection Pants
Yarn: Marr Haven dyed by Spiffy Knits, color AMK

I loved this yarn, which came as a total surprise. When I first took it out of the envelope, Isighed and resigned myself to knitting something less pleasant. I usually steer clear of the "fluffy" yarns, like Sweet Grass Targhee and others. They snag on dry skin, and don't slide as smoothly through the fingers. It gives my a feeling like those old fake flannel nighties everyone had in the '80s. But this stuff is different. It is soft and squishy and very nice to work with.

This project was a total adrenaline rush, as I used literally every scrap of the multi-colored yarn. I was prepared for some serious frogging when I remembered the swatch. That little 4x4 square gave me enough yarn to get the last inch or so of leg.
*Your Yarn, My Needles

I knit 6" of the KPS toddler vest when I realized I was going through yarn awful fast. It slowly occurred to me that maybe I had knit the swatch on 9s, not 10s. I stopped, knit a swatch on 10.5s, gave it a dunk, and let it dry. Sure enough, the yarn grew. A lot. Going from 14 st/inch to 12. Sigh.

I love the fabric so rather than going down a needle size, I'm starting over following the numbers for the next smaller size.

It's sort of on hold now, as I'm rushing to finish some stuff for sale, and then some gloves.
M actually asked me to knit him something! Since 11 year-olds are notoriously fickle and short of attention, I better get them done soon. He wants convertible gloves "with a button on the back for the flap". The yarn we picked first is one I'm getting through a coop, and it looks like it will be a while, so if he doesn't like anything in the stash, I'll take him to a yarn store or two and see if he can find another good choice.

OK, it's getting late (yay for school inservice day tomorrow!), more later.