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I went to a yarn store

Sep22

But I had a good reason, I swear! I’ve been working on my Spring Rain shawl with the Seaglass green and I’m obsessed with it. But I realized that the 24″ circular needles I started with weren’t going to be long enough for a full shawl. I have one pair of 2.5 interchangeable tips, and I found out that one of them is stripped and wouldn’t screw onto the cord. It just popped right off. Now, I couldn’t just STOP knitting that shawl, right? It simply wasn’t an option. First I tried to be good and went to Michael’s, because I’m rarely tempted by their yarn anymore. Sadly, size 2.5 is apparently not a common size, and they didn’t have it. I was going to have to go to a LYS.

I went to the closest LYS, which also happens to be the biggest, with two yarn stores combined in one huge brick building. So much yarn. I petted a lot of it, even carried a skein around for a while before putting it back. I was just there for ONE size of needles.

But.

One of the stores had a sale section. And in that sale section were needles! Addi needles, which I love! Well how about that?? They didn’t have the size I needed, but I found two other sizes that filled gaps in my needle inventory. Then I went straight to the ChiaoGoo circs, found the size I actually needed, and went to the counter, yarn free.

But.

They had a big display of new yarn up there, all spread out before the counter. Colorful new yarn, in bright pink and purple and green and blue and turquoise and it was all so PRETTY. And that’s how I ended up coming home from the yarn store like this.

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The yarn is March Hare, a worsted from Wonderland Yarns, in their new Luminous Collection. It’s super hard to photograph it well, especially since it’s pouring rain outside so I had to take the photo inside. But you can see their photos here, along with all the other gorgeous colors that I wish I had. It might be a cowl, or I might go a little mad and make a crazy colorful sweater with all of these.

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Bright, right? I may be entirely Bonkers, but all the best people are!

Shawl Storage

Sep20

Someone commented on my post yesterday, asking how I store my shawls, and it reminded me that I wanted to ask for advice on that! My skinny scarf/shawls go on hooks on my closet door and that’s great, but it’s getting full.

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When I started making full-sized shawls, I used some scarf hangers and hung them over the top and through the loops and it was okay. But I keep making shawls because I love to make them so much, and my situation is getting out of hand.

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I’ve added at least three shawls since I took this photo. I just keep layering more shawls on top, and I can’t see them all, and the hangers are getting heavier. I love having them out where I can see them, but either I need to buy more hangers or I need a different solution! How do you store your shawls??

 

I need some lace, stat!

Sep19

I sat down to knit last night and realized that there was a big gaping hole in my WIPs. I currently have two in-the-round stockinette projects, and two simple socks. That’s it. Now, those are very nice projects and I like them, but what happens when I want something more interesting, more engaging? I got nothin’.

Fortunately, that’s easily remedied. After a little bit of time on Ravelry, and a little bit of time digging through my stash, I’ve got a new project ready to cast on.

img_5567I was kind of saving the green (MadTosh in Seaglass) for a fade project, but it looks so good with this mystery gray/green that I’m willing to make the sacrifice. Plus, heck, I can always get another skein of Seaglass green someday if I need it. This one is going into a pretty two-color shawl called Spring Rain!

Estonian Lace Cowl

Sep16

I spent the last three days working on donation knitting, but today I need to share a cowl I finished over a week ago! I was just really slow taking pretty photos. This is my Estonian Medallion Lace Cowl.

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This is some of my most recent vacation yarn from Colorado, from a local dyer called Herd of Cats. If I read the tag right, the base is Streets, and this might be the Champion Street colorway. Because it was only around 181 yards, I had to modify the pattern a little bit, just by casting on fewer stitches. Toward the end, I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn so I only did 2.5 repeats of the lace instead of three. (Probably could have done all three, though.)

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Anyway, the important thing is that the yarn is delicious! It’s thick and squooshy and so soft that I really thought it had some cashmere or silk, but it’s all merino. I believe they sell under the name Road Trip Sock Yarn on Etsy, and this looks like what I had. But also, if you’re ever in Denver, stop by the LambShoppe and check out their yarns!

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Okay but seriously

Sep15

Do mittens need to be exactly the same size?? I’ve been working on my donation hats and mittens, and I have two awesome mittens but one is two rows longer than the other. Argh.

img_5534I have enough green yarn left to make either a hat, or a second set of mittens so that I have two sets that match. I prefer making hats to mittens but I also prefer to have mittens be the same size. What would you do, mittens or hat?

While I ponder, I’ll make a set of brown mittens and cross my fingers that I can make them the same size! And if anyone else is interested in donating, here’s the info: Maine Access Immigrant Network, 237 Oxford St, Suite 25A, Portland ME 04101.

A hat in a night

Sep13

The other day I saw a post on Instagram calling for hat and mitten donations for asylum-seekers in Maine, and I knew I had to send a few things. I even knew which yarn to use: I had some Cascade Superwash Aran in green, tan, and brown. I’m pretty sure the only reason I bought it in the first place is because it was on sale. It’s very nice yarn, just not my colors. It’s thick and warm, soft for kids, and easy to take care of. Plus it knits up quick: I made this in one evening after work.

IMG_5494This one is child-sized, which made it quicker too, and a very simple ribbed pattern. But it’ll be stretchy and forgiving, and I hope it keeps a little head warm this winter!

I’ve already got a second one done, a little smaller and in the brown, and I’ve got a few balls of leftovers that I’m hoping to make into simple mittens. But first, I discovered a partial skein of hot pink KnitPicks Brava Bulky in my stash that will make a great hat too. It’s a pretty small ball, though, so it’ll probably become a baby hat.

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend awaiting you!