The Joy of Knit Night

I am so glad to be able to attend Knit Night regularly again! How amazing are these women? I had such a good time visiting with everyone and checking out their WIPs that I hardly knit at all. I did shop, though! If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to grab a new Bamboo Sisterhood 3/4 sleeve t-shirt - I got my asphalt one last night with red and silver printing and am wearing it today. My colleagues remarked upon my fantastic rock 'n' roll appearance today. Ha!

I also bought the Interweave Knits with Icarus. The directions seem clear here, so I may be OK without Miriam's help that would come with buying the pattern from her directly. BUT I saw Carole's gorgeous Seraphim on her blog this morning. Doesn't she look fantastic? And, as if the shawl weren't lovely enough, she knit it from her own handspun in two weeks! "Impressed" doesn't even begin to cover it. So, add Seraphim to the queue. [I feel a post about the queue coming up.]

My destashed KSH in Heavenly arrived yesterday in the mail. It is a heavenly shade of blue. What will I do with it? You mean, besides pet and look at it? No idea yet, but I couldn't pass it up.

Oh, and the Schaeffer yarn? It is Nancy, not Elaine. Did I get that right? It doesn't really matter. The bumpy yarn (both worsted and bulky weights) is great! I need to wash that swatch, so I can figure out that sweater.

Smit pix

Here are the finished Garter Gloves. I'm not sure people are as crazy about the colorway as I am, but it is just so pretty to knit, moving from palest pink/white to deepest burgundy with all sorts of rosy colors in between. And soft? You'd better believe it!

And here is the Lala Scarf for your viewing pleasure, and you can see all the yarn "left over". Now, if I can just figure out how to gracefully finish the top, we'll be in business. I tried picking up and knitting then binding off today at lunch, and about halfway across I'm at 12", but it should be more like 16.5". Sigh. Guess I'm going to have to learn how to be a loose crocheter. Hehe. A loose hooker.

Oh, I think the color balance may be a little off on the new Nikon. Something to futz around with at some point. The body of the Lala Scarf is Candy Girl, which is a blazing hot pink, not red. I will fix at some point.

Anneland22 was impressed with my mohair frogging. I tell you, I'm just an obsessive kind of girl! Hey, be sure to check out her new podcast, Moonlight Stitches. Congratulations on Episode 2! I've got it on the 'pod and will listen to it tomorrow (helps to plug the darned thing in and download the latest episode when you tell someone you've subscribed to their 'cast at iTunes!).

Smit

Deep smit. Why would anyone knit with yarn other than Malabrigo? Lime was right when she said that it cures eczema. It is the wonder yarn. Soooo soft. And the Little Lovely colorway is just beautiful. I scored a skein at Windsor Button Friday as the snow storm got underway and turned it into some garter gloves, since my Sheep 1 pair were lost in the dog recovery adventures at the end of January. Can you believe I've been wearing store-bought gloves for the past six weeks?!? Crazy.

Anyway, I whipped up those gloves this weekend and started a matching cowl/collar thingy with the leftovers last night. I have Purl scarf in this yarn from last winter, but it hasn't aged well, so I need something else. If I have any leftover leftovers, I think I may knit a flower to put on my Blizzard hat.

Of course the only problem with softly-spun, single-ply Malabrigo is that it pills like no one's beeswax. But pulling pills gives you something to do when you can't knit!

I also finished up the little Lala Scarf from Greetings from Knit Cafe. Only problem is I, apparently, am the world's tightest crocheter. The shawlette is supposed to end up approximately 14 x 33", but, after I crocheted along the top edge, it was more like 14 x 14". So, yes, I frogged mohair last night. Ugh. I have two choices (well, three - the third to be to just leave it as is): Redo the crochet edge but try to do so loosely (I had even gone up a hook size, since it was all I had on-hand) or pick up/knit/bind off the edge. Thoughts?

N.B. While the pattern for the Lala Scarf calls for three skeins of yarn, I barely put a dent in any of them. Which means leftover KSH! Yippeee! Oh, that picot bindoff is sort of a pain but ends up just so pretty. Worth it.

More crack

I should post this over on the Kidsilk-along, but I'm lazy with the snowstorm and all.

I bought two skeins of KSH (click link for colors on Webs' yarn.com) in Heavenly off Destash this morning. And then I went to Woolcott at lunch (helping a friend "return" an unknit skein - you know it was an exchange), and they had a skein of KSH in Fondant, which will look gorgeous with the Candy Girl I'm knitting up into one of those Lala Scarves Kat Coyle designed for Greetings from Knit Cafe. And I have a skein of Knit One, Crochet Two's Douceur et Soie in Cornflower from forever ago, which will make a great edge. Yum.

I was between Fondant and Grace and am so glad I went with Fondant. Grace is very pretty but too ethereal next to Candy Girl. I wish they'd had some Jelly or Villain or Liqueur. Those colors are delish.

So, what will I do with that destashed Heavenly? I don't know, but it will be something heavenly, I'm sure!

In other knitting news, I'm swatching for the Hourglass Sweater in Schaeffer Elaine. I think I keep saying it's Nancy, but it's Elaine, and it has 600 yards in a skein. Craziness. I was thinking of going top-down raglan on this sweater, but I'm not sure what I want to do with the neck, so I think I'm going to end up doing a bottom-up shaped raglan and figure the neckline/collar out lately. Maybe I'll knit up a separate cowl...

Shrugfest

I seem to be on a shrug or small sweater kick at the moment. Perhaps it's an instant gratification thing. Or a sign of spring that I don't need to be completely covered in wool. Except perhaps for the Schaeffer Elaine. Man, that's some soft Merino. But we won't be working on that one until the Sheep 3 Shrug is finished. It really should be called a mini-cardi, since it has sleeves and a separate waistband and sides in the front.

Anyway, I had to frog the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater, since it stopped about mid-bust. I added another inch of stockinette last night and started the ribbing again. I'm getting close to the end of the skein but figure finishing the armholes will take only two smidges of yarn, so I should make it. It's just that this is one skein (again with the one-skein wonders), and I'm loathe to cut it. I know: wimp.

Anyway, the yarn is awesome. Can't wait until it's really available.

One-skein Shrug Wonder

With a little tinking I ended up doing the Reading-in-bed Shrug in one skein of Brushed Suri. I ended up with about 8" left over. Eep! Oh, and two rows less of ribbing on one armhole. But with this fluffy yarn, you can't tell. What a great little shrug! Just the right amount of cosy.

So, now I have this other skein of Brushed Suri. Options are to swap it for another shade and make another one of these for myself. Or as a gift. Or exchange it for something else. Or ... ? Well, maybe just pet it. But that yarn is even better knit up.

I don't think YITF has the Earl Grey color in stock, which looks very pretty. Whipped Cream would be yummy, as would Toasted Marshmallow or Lollipop. I'm getting hungry.

Woolapalooza details

Spring lambs! Hope to see you there!

Woolapalooza
Saturday, March 31
Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary
208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773

10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Adults: $9/member, $12/non-member
Children: $7/member, $10 non-member, kids under 3 free

* Join Drumlin Farm for a day to celebrate sheep with fiber crafters, food, and fun! There's something for everyone at this one-of-a-kind event.
* Kids will love visiting our resident sheep and our cute-as-can-be new spring lambs, the stars of the show.
* Visit the Sheep to Sweater interpretive trail for hands-on experiences with wool. Try your hands at all stages of wool production including carding, spinning, felting, and dyeing. You'll literally follow the wool from sheep to product!
* Purchase beautiful hand made natural fiber products from local crafters-cashmere scarves, wool sweaters, and much more. And you won't want to leave without a visit to the country store for natural Drumlin Farm-made products like goat's milk soap and yarn from our sheep.
* See live sheep shearing, and watch border collies herd sheep.
* Sample delicious all natural, locally-grown and harvested Drumlin Farm food.
* Bask in the beauty of Drumlin Farm, the perfect setting to celebrate the coming of spring.

Visit www.massaudubon.org/drumlin for more information. Call 781.259.2206 for tickets.

Events run rain or shine, tickets are non-refundable. Your ticket price provides critical support for our education and conservation programs.