FO Post: Mountain Mama Socks

After posting about re-doing the sock toe on one of the socks I'd been knitting, I decided to see if I could get a decent photo of the finished pair. So here's the FO post for those socks!

Project: Mountain Mama Socks

Pattern: Plain vanilla sock pattern from my brain

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici, colorway Country Roads; cuffs and toes are Fiberstory Fave Sock, Barely colorway

Needles: US size 1/2.25 mm

Modifications: I knit the foot longer than I usually do, because when I tried on the first sock after finishing, it felt too short.

Notes: Well, first of all, I had not really meant to buy yarn, but I saw that Felici was available at Knit Picks, and took a gander. When I saw the colorway Country Roads, I had to buy it, because a) I did like the colors, and b) how could I call myself a West Virginian if I skipped this colorway??? 

I decided to knit the cuffs and toes in the lighter shade, because it thought it would "bookend" the stripes nicely, and I'm pleased with how that worked. The colors remind me of a fall day, and made me decide to put the completed socks away until next fall. That way I'll have a nice surprise waiting for me in my sock drawer (and there's a 99 percent chance I'll have forgotten I ever knit them).

So now I think I need to remeasure my feet before I start another pair. I know your foot/shoe size can change as you get older, so that might be the case. But I'll do a measurement, rather than have to re-knit any future toes on a pair of socks. It's one thing to re-knit if the toe wore out and the rest of the sock is fine, but if it's just because you made the wrong size, that's ridiculous!

*****

I am now in the position of having only one project on the needles, and it's a long-ish term project for the fall/winter. I have a few things swirling around in my head so I need to organize my thoughts to see what I might want to start. Because I refuse to start everything I'm thinking of  and then be stressed out because I have too many things going!

I'm also starting to do a review of my stash. I usually do that twice a year, but for reasons like "I forgot," or "I don't feel like it," I haven't  done it for a little more than a year. Some stuff is easy to decide to donate - I've either changed my mind about liking it, or realized I'm never ever going to start the project I thought I'd make with it. But other things are difficult to decide, because I still like them, and *maybe* I will knit with it? This time around, I've given myself a new rule: If I won't tackle it in the next year, it's getting donated.

Of course, this makes it sound like I have an extensive stash, and I really do not. I've whittled it down over the years with my twice-a-year looky-look. But there are still things that I need to admit are just taking up space for projects that I will just never have the time/brain space/ability/patience to make. So it's time to swallow hard and donate them. In the past, I've learned that I regret it for maybe a few days, and then never think of it again, so I know I'll survive. 

And especially if someone else can enjoy and love the yarn, why shouldn't it go to them?

I Have a QO to Show You!

Happy last Friday in August - though I realize it's not the same as most Augusts are.  But still time goes right along, and it seems only right to mark it.  Because I have a Zoom meeting at 1:00 today that I know will only make me angry, I thought I'd use this time to write a happy post.  That way, I can be in a good frame of mind before it starts, and spend the afternoon knitting away my anger and aggravation.  

And so, I wanted to share my QO with you.  You may think, "What in the ever-loving universe is a QO???"  My response to you is, that *this* is a QO:

Then you will say, "But Bridget, that looks like a hat, and like it's an FO."  Which means that yes, you are quite observant, but then again, not quite.  Because although this particular piece may be a Finished Object in and of itself, it is only 1/4 - a Quarter - of an overall planned project.  Hence, the term QO = Quarter Object.

This is a hat for Keith, who is married to my niece Julie.  I decided a couple of weeks ago that I am making the same hat for everyone in the family for Christmas, which then became the KJPO Hat Project.  Above you see the K hat.  I am using the Olmsted Hat pattern by Jaclyn Salem.  I have already used that pattern to make a hat for The Tim, which he really likes and wears a lot in the cold weather.  It uses DK weight yarn, so for me, it was a perfect chance to use some stash!  This one used two strands of sock yarn knit together.  I used some leftover Hedgehog Sock in the Construct colorway for all of it; the brim which looks gold and blue is leftover (and now completely used up - YAY - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Spats colorway; and, the bulk of the rest is Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts sock yarn in the Grey Tabby colorway.  I like how the brim turned out, though I must admit it was as much dumb luck as anything else, because I didn't really do a lot of planning - just grabbed and started knitting.  I followed the pattern exactly as written, and again have to say, it's a great pattern and makes a nice, squishy hat.

This took me about a week to knit, though in fits and spurts.  I'd get a lot done one day, and then not knit at all the next.  So this is all definitely doable.

And now?  I'm working on the next one in the group, which is the P hat.  I've adapted the stitch count for a kid's size, based on other kid-sized hat patterns I've seen.  As you know, baby and child knits go so quickly, I'm just moving right along on that one!  I want to try and get all four of them done before I move on to any other gifts for anyone else.  That way, at least one group will have handknit gifts this year. 😉

*****

I'm feeling pleased with myself this morning because I have been able to get a few things accomplished - got a flu shot and the first part of my shingles vaccine, took a LOT of old but still in good shape towels and dropped them off at the vet's office where they were much appreciated, and I'm almost finished with the laundry.  Always a good feeling to check things off the list for the day.  We have no particular plans this weekend.  Tomorrow it is supposed to rain the entire day, pretty steadily, so it will be a day of inside projects.  Sunday promises to be lovely, and so The Tim is thinking maybe we can take Hamlet to one of the large parks nearby where we can all walk around and not have to worry about crowds.  I hope we can do that, it would be a real treat.  

And that's all of the excitement from my life.  I hope all of you have a nice weekend and get in some time to do the things you really enjoy.  See you next week!

Rain, Sorting, and Ick - A Weekend in Review

I must agree with this pup.  But just as I'm sure his day went on, and hopefully improved, mine will too. 

It was an odd weekend.  Not terrible, just ... odd.  Saturday was a major rain day here in Philadelphia.  I mean, it POURED for the bulk of the day.  And it was windy, too, so if you never looked out the window, you might have thought you were on the English moors of Wuthering Heights.  The good thing about that is that I used a good chunk of the day to review/organize my stash and knitting supplies.  I found some things that had been given to me over the past year that I just wasn't loving, and nowadays if I don't love something, I tend to give it away or donate it.  I have finally gotten my stash to the point where what it contains are things I am keeping on purpose because I plan to actually use them.  Over the years, I had bought so many yarns "just because" that when I decided several years back to be ruthless and realistic, I was left with a stash that was mindful.  In the past year, a few people have given me yarns that they found in a relative's belongings, and passed to me 'since you know how to knit.'  And that's fine, because I have the distinct feeling that if I didn't take the stuff, it would be trashed rather than donated.  But it was almost all things that I either don't like (yarn with stuff in it - you know, like buttons, etc. that make it "artistic") or that I just know I won't ever use.  Since we have a women's shelter in town that has a knitting group, I like to pass that stuff on to them.  According to the person who runs the group, the women get excited to have things that are new/different to them. 

Anyway, I got those things together, as well as some extra needles and notions and got them ready to drop off.  This also served to get the whole room in better order, a bonus for sure.

We also watched some shows and movies during the afternoon and evening.  Every year, we try to make an effort to watch some movies that are nominated for Oscars in one category or another.  So far this year, we've seen "Marriage Story," "The Irishman," and "The Two Popes."  Eclectic, no??

Sunday it wasn't raining, but ugh.  I woke up with all kinds of aches and pains, and for a good part of the day, gastrointestinal issues.  I didn't feel terrible, but I didn't feel good.  So I mostly stayed put, and the good thing is that I got very close to finishing a pair of socks I'm making for The Tim as a Valentine's Day gift!  I have just a couple of inches on the foot of the second sock, and then the toe, and they will be finished.  This makes me happy because now I don't have to worry about them being finished in time.  It also means I can start on a test knit I'm doing (who AM I?) for one of the ladies who runs Nice and Knit.  Then in March, my friend and former Rosie's co-worker Andrea and I are having a sock knitalong.  We are going to try the Clark Socks by Jaclyn Salem.  I'm looking forward to it!

One funny thing about us having a knitalong - when we worked together at Rosie's, every time we'd see a pattern that we liked, or a new book/magazine arrived, we'd find something we both wanted to make.  We would spend time choosing what yarns to use, and discuss it ad nauseum.  Do you know how many things resulted from these various knitalongs?  Zero.  :-)  So it will be fun to *actually* cast on and get going this time ... 

I'm feeling better today (of course, it's a work day, right??), and hoping that this week at work will be as uneventful as possible.  We are in the near-end stages of a renovation of our workspace, and it has been horrific.  Theoretically, this week should be quieter.  We'll see.

Anyway, here we go with another week and the last one in January at that.  Let's hope it's a good one!

It Was One of the Good Weekends

Well, it's Monday again.  And time for another team-building meeting later today at work.  Ugh.  Whenever anyone says "team-building" I want to throw up.  But I'll save that for later, and instead tell you about my weekend.  Which was lovely.

Admittedly, there are very few times when I don't enjoy a weekend - I mean, any day not at work is a day well spent, if you ask me.  But you know how every once in a while, even if you weren't travelling, or counting money someone gave you, or eating massive amounts of chocolate that will have no negative affects on your person, it's still a standout weekend?  That was this past one.

Saturday we started out by making a trip across the bridge to New Jersey.   We generally go there because gasoline is cheaper (even though someone pumps it for you - how does that work out??), and if we have other places we want to stop (Target, Kohls, the liquor store,* etc.), it makes it a worthwhile trip.  This time, we wanted to go to Target, the liquor store, and I wanted to stop at the Cherry Hill Mall to return a gift that was the wrong size.  We got an early start, which made it all very pleasant, because we were able to avoid crowds.  And it was one of those outings where everything we wanted to get and do went smoothly.  So by noon we were home again and had the rest of the day to ourselves.  I walked over to Loop since it was Local Yarn Store Day, and boy was it busy!  Which made me very happy.  I did buy two skeins of Andorra yarn from Kelbourne Woolens, for the Adventura Shawl by Laura Nelkin.  I hadn't necessarily planned to buy anything, but they had the sample shawl(s) there and they were lovely, and since I had a store credit which would cover the cost and still leave some in the account, I figured I'd go ahead.  I purchased a skein if Kelly Green and Lavender. 

(Images from Kelbourne Woolens site)

Then I came home and spent the rest of the day and evening hanging out with The Tim and the kitties, and knitting on a couple of already underway projects.  All in all, a lovely day.

Sunday I was inspired to go to the gym and work out first thing (I know!).  Then after breakfast, I decided before I took a shower, I'd do some cleaning (Again - I know!).  I have to say I was quite pleased with myself to have both things completely finished well before noon.  After then cleaning up mine own self, I headed out to get a few items we needed that are not available at places like Target.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon knitting, watching a couple of podcasts, and watching the Penguins/Flyers hockey playoff game (the Flyers lost, but they gave the Penguins a good run).  

Besides the niceness of the weekend, I can also report that last Tuesday, my new great-nephew was born!  (You may recall I made this sweater for him.)

Introducing Oden Cassidy Groff:

Here he is with his big sister Penn - I think this picture is so adorable!

But my *very* favorite one is this one, where Penn first visited her mom Julie and new brother in the hospital.

From all reports, everyone is doing well, and Julie and Oden left the hospital to go home on Friday.  I'm sure they have many adventures ahead.

They had narrowed down the name choices to Rowan or Oden (which of course we assumed was "Odin" but it's none of our beeswax how they spell it.  As The Tim pointed out, at least they didn't do the celebrity thing and give the kid a name like Doorknob or Paper Clip), and I'm guessing Oden was chosen in the end because it's less common these days.  Anyhoo, he has arrived and is healthy, so that is the ideal.

I hope your weekend was a good one as well.  The weather is supposed to be more spring-like here this coming week, so hopefully that will be the case.  After all, we deserve spring weather, not only because it IS spring, but because of having to endure the aforementioned team-building ... ;-)

*technically, we are breaking the law buying liquor in New Jersey and bringing it across the state line to Pennsylvania.  So if I ever mysteriously disappear, you'll know we were busted.

Lucky Number 7

Seven years ago today, I started this blog.  I had wanted to join some online swaps, and they encouraged having a blog if you were going to participate.  Plus, some of my knitting friends had blogs, and I enjoyed reading them, and finding out what they were knitting, what knitting books and yarns were out there, and just meeting new people in general who were interested in some of the same things I was.

I never expected to become one of "the" blogs that everyone read all of the time, but I was surprised when quite a few people became regular readers and commenters.  I really enjoyed posting, and the fact that others read what I wrote and would comment was pretty exciting (still is!).  As I mentioned in the previous post, with Facebook and Ravelry, a lot of people abandoned their blogs, and also seemed to stop reading others' as well.  But like anything else, new people came long, and new friends were made.  I know that I don't read many of the same blogs I read seven years ago, but I am still an avid blog reader, because I really enjoy the ones I do follow regularly.

And so, whether you have been here for all 7 years, or are here for the first time today, THANK YOU!  I love knowing that you are reading anything I write, and that on occasion you feel comfortable enough to comment or ask a question.  I have no plans to stop blogging anytime soon, so I hope if you like it here, you'll stick with me.

For those friends who I have met as a result of this blog or you own blogs, I hope you will know that I often feel closer to you than to many of the people I see and talk to each day!  And I do hope to someday meet as many of you in real life as I have the chance to - but even if that doesn't happen, I hope we'll stay friends.

Thanks also for your blogs - they keep me informed, inspired, entertained, and amazed!

You guys are the BEST!

**********

In honor of my 7 years of blogging, I'm ready to give away packages of yarns and/or knitting books to at least 7 commenters here.  At the moment, they are not organized into packages, so I can't provide a lot of specifics, though I can tell you that the yarns are mostly wool or wool blends.

So, if you are interested:

Leave a comment on this post before midnight (Philadelphia, PA time) on August 24, 2013.  Please leave an e-mail address or Ravelry ID, since I don't usually get that from Blogger (which drives me nut, bthe way, but that's a post for another time).

I'll announce "winners" on Sunday, August 25, and once I have your address and everything together, a package will be on its merry way to you.

And whether or not you participate in this giveaway, let me just again say thanks for staying here with me!

This Time I Am Prepared

I realized one day last week that my blogiversary is coming up - which is pretty amazing, since the last couple of years, I missed it!  It's funny, I used to hear from a lot of people via my blog, but not as much anymore, I think Facebook has replaced blogs for a lot of people.  Not for me, though!  I *love* when people leave comments, but I also write this as much for myself as anyone else.

Anyhoo, we have been fixing up the room in our house where most of my knitting-related books and all of my stash lives.  Which means I've gone through both of those, and have some things that I have decided I'm just not ever gonna use one way or another.  Since this is all happening now, I thought it might be fun to have a blogiversary giveaway with some of those goodies as the prizes.  I'm still pondering how I'll do it, so if you want the chance to get some nice yarn and/or nice books/patterns, stay tuned!

Also, do you remember this sweater that I started long ago, and picked up and put down a number of times:

the pattern is from Knitty, and it's Amelia by Laura Chau.  I've been using some Cascade 220 Heather yarn in the colorway Mallard (which is more of a dark blue-green than the photo shows).   I truly love the yarn, but became less and less fond of the project every time I'd pick it up.  So I decided to deep-six it, and use the yarn for some future project that I just cannot wait to make.  The funny thing is that when I was frogging it yesterday, I realized that it was a good thing I was doing so anyway, since apparently every time I picked it up (and there were some long stretches in between), I had a slightly differing gauge!  If I had soldiered on, and noticed that at the end, it wouldn't have been pretty, let me tell you.  So rather than seeing it as a project that failed, I'm seeing it as a project saved.  :-)

Another good thing (I'm just Little Mary Sunshine today, aren't I?) is that now I only have three active projects: my Emerald Hedgerows ('cause I always like to have a pair of socks on the needles.  I also realize I need an updated photo), my Delaware River Waves Scarf (for which my self-imposed deadline is next spring!), and my Breezy Turquoise, which I am hoping big-time that I will finish no later than the first day of fall, so I can just pull it out and actually wear it next spring.  

Other than that, I have a couple of ideas for things in my head that I want to see if I can figure out how to put them on paper and then translate to needles.  My math skills are non-existent, but I'm thinking that if I have real trouble, I can ask some of my friends who design things regularly for some help.  And if all else fails, I'll get The Tim to assist me ... I mean, he has to be good for something, right????

Enjoy this last day of the weekend, and I'll see you in another couple of days with blogiversary info.

After the Fact Baby Sweater

Back towards the end of February, The Tim forwarded me an e-mail from one of his brothers, announcing that there was a new family member.  The Tim's oldest niece Laura, and her husband Lee, had a baby girl on February 8, and named her Fiona.  There were a couple of pictures from the hospital, and of course she looked red and scrunchy, with dark hair.

This was a complete surprise to us.  The Tim's family is not known for being particularly close, even though some of them don't live that far from us, and thinking of it, I guess we should be glad we found out as soon as we did - by comparison, his brother-in-law who was the best man in our wedding, died in January, and no one bothered to tell us until March ...

But I digress.  We had a new great-niece, and I wanted to knit something for her.  Since I had had so much luck with my great-nephew Parker's Owls Vest (Ravelry link), I wanted to try another project other than a hat.  A few of my friends had knit the Garter Yoke Baby Cardi, by Jennifer Hoel, with varying types of yarns and modifications, so I thought I'd give that a try.

I poked around the stash, since I'm trying not to buy yarn until I've used some that I already have, and found a skein that I thought would do the trick.  So I sat down to get started, and once I could finally actually start casting on the correct number of stitches and getting started without messing up, I was on my way.  And I was very pleased with the result:

Then I was able to find some really adorable wooden buttons, with  a teddy bear carved into them.  (There are no pictures, since I couldn't get any that showed the detail, you'll just have to take my word for it.)

I think it's so cute!  I sent it in the mail, and about two weeks later got a lovely note from our niece thanking us.  She said she thought it was beautiful and admired my handiwork, but never mentioned trying it on the baby - which makes me think it was too small.  But, them's the breaks when people find out after the fact that a baby is on the way, right???

The color was hard to really capture with my limited photography skills, but it is really more of a pinky-lavender, with the occasional dot of blue, which I thought was nice for a baby without being a) too babyish, and b) too girly.  Though I'd originally bought the yarn for socks, I thought it made a lovely little sweater.

The details:

Project:  Fiona's Sweater

Pattern:  Garter Yoke Baby Cardi, by Jennifer Hoel

Size:  newborn - 3 months

Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy, colorway Wisterious

Needles:  size 4US

Modifications:  none

Comments:  This was a very straightforward pattern, and fairly easy to knit.  The resulting sweater is really cute, and I think it's one of those that could be made to be adaptable to any yarn, or design (one friend I know made the yoke stripes, which looked fantastic), or personalized for just about any baby.  The Smooshy yarn is superwash, so it is also nice when you don't know how likely the person is to handwash anything - and I'm doubting that many new parents want to spend time handwashing baby clothes.

I would recommend this pattern to any more-than-beginning knitter, since it is easily completed, and can be made in nearly any weight of yarn.

Most amazingly for me, this is the third FO I have for 2013 - which, considering that in 2012 I knitted 6 things and made a quilt, is already putting me on track to do better than that!  

Greenery!

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic is:  Ten Favorite Things That Are Green, in honor of St. Patrick's Day this coming Sunday.  I couldn't wait to participate in this one, because a) green is my favorite color, b) St. Patrick's Day is one of my very most favorite holidays, and c) I haven't gotten my act together in time to participate for the last few weeks.  So here you go!

1.  Shamrocks.  I mean, if we are talking St. Patrick's Day, you gotta go for the shamrock.  

2.  Ireland.  Truly.  There is a reason it's called The Emerald Isle.  Granted, not every single inch is green, that would just be impossible, but you see a lot of it when you are there.

3.  Jetsam's eyes.  They particularly stand out against his charcoal gray fur.  He is a beautiful kitty with a very expressive face.

4.  Christmas trees!  (Did you really think I'd leave out something related to one of my other very most favorite holidays???)

5.  Fresh herbs, like basil, parsely, oregano, rosemary - well you get my drift.  I don't just love seeing them, and think they are tasty, but some of them have the best scents!

6.  My favorite water bottle.  It's about three years old now, but I love it too much to think of replacing it, and it's still in pretty good shape!  (Plus it has ladybugs on it!)

7.  Yarn!  If you ever visited me, and saw my yarn stash, you would wonder if I realized there were other colors out there ... granted, it's not all the same shade of green ...

8.  Veggies.  OK, there are other colors of veggies besides green, but the green ones are some of the very best - I'm even a person who loves Brussels sprouts!

9.  My new shawl!  Except you have to wait for a separate post to see it ...

[Photo not available]

10.  The Barnes & Noble sign.  

 

This may seem like an odd choice, but it actually plays a huge part in our lives here at Chez Ravell'd Sleave.  When we first moved to Philadelphia, we moved here because The Tim had a job in publishing.  After approximately 10 years at that job, he was unceremoniously laid off (long story, but not mine to tell).  Fortunately, he was hired at Barnes & Noble, and the rest, as they say, is history.  I know some see it as one of the evil-empire big-box stores, and I can appreciate that.  But I can tell you that it is thanks to B&N that we have been able pay our mortgage as well as our other bills. So I am a big fan and supporter. 

:-)

And I know there are only supposed to be ten things, but with baseball season so close to starting, it's worth remembering that baseball fields have a lot of green too ...

 

[GO PHILLIES]

Next on the List ...

I've been taking my time formulating my ideas for my goals and intentions for 2013.  Because, I finally realized that they are mine, and technically don't even need to be recorded for/reported to anyone else.  However, one of the main purposes I started this blog was to write for myself, and keeping track of goals and intentions is one way to check myself throughout the year without feeling like I may have forgotten something.

One of my intentions and goals has already been reached.  I was really itching to review my stash, and did so last weekend.  I try to do it at least twice a year, but I had decided that it was just time to say goodbye to yarns that, even if I loved them and they were beautiful, I was just not likely to ever use.  I decided I was going to be ruthless.  And though I could probably have been even more ruthless than I was, I had a lot of stuff to give away and/or sell.

First - the yarn, bags, needles to give to Interim House, here in Philadelphia.  They have a Knitting Club for their residents, and it is wildly popular.  As a result, they have a hard time keeping everyone in supplies!  (Last year, we collected for them at Christmastime at Rosie's, and it was a huge success.  This year, I didn't have my act together, so it was a no-go.)  Anyway, I decided that besides "lesser" yarns that I had, the knitters deserved some of the nicer stuff as well.  By the time I was finished, I had jam-packed two large boxes (the kind that bottles of wine are shipped in) with LOTS of goodies.

I always like knowing that I can find a new and good home for my yarn.  :-)

The yarn that I didn't send to Interim House, I was going to sell on Ravelry.  But then I realized that there was so much, by the time I photographed it, uploaded it, and described it, months might pass.  And the whole purpose of this exercise was to move things out of here NOW.  So, I've decided to so something a little bit different, and create "Mystery Boxes."  What are those?  Well, I'll take a few boxes, fill them with various yarns, and sell them for an all-inclusive price.  Any given box could contain laceweight yarn, sock yarn, a sweater's worth of yarn - you get the idea.  I queried a couple of Ravelry forums about this idea, and though some responses made it sound as if I were trying to send Komodo dragons in the mail they were so incensed at the idea, there were a lot of people who thought it sounded like fun.  I figure it's worth a try.  So stay tuned, 'cause I'll be posting the Mystery Boxes here for your perusal as well.

Reviewing my stash is such a good thing for me.  It reminds me of what I already have, what I can let go, and what things I am likely to actually use.  I am really going to try my best to knit from my stash as much as it's possible this year, and ideally, I would like to have made a reasonable dent in the remaining stash by the time I am ready to review it again.  Granted, some of the yarn is already designated for specific projects, but unless those projects actually get started or finished, the yarn isn't going anywhere, right?

Next up: trying to decide what to knit/who to knit for this year.  That's gonna take me a little bit longer to determine.  But I'm on my way!

Stash Sale

For the last couple of weeks, I've been cleaning out some stash, and have already sold a few things on Ravelry.  But in the meantime, I also found some bags that I either haven't used, or haven't used enough to make it worth keeping them.  (I have no shortage of knitting bags, so don't feel bad if you are interested when I post those!)

Should you be interested in the yarn, please PM me on Ravelry, unless of course you are not on Ravelry, in which case you should leave a comment, with your e-mail address (i.e., georgeclooneyATgmailDOTcom) and I'll get in touch with you.  I can do PayPal or money order, since then I don't have to wait for a check to clear, and you don't have to wait until it does to get your stuff!

First, the remaining yarns.

Lil' Loop from Dancing Leaf Farm

1 skein / no colorway marked

$15.00, includes postage

SOLD

Heritage Hand Dyed Laceweight (50% silk/50% rayon)

1 skein / Colorway: Blueberry Hill

 $20.00, includes shipping

  Plymouth Yarns Indiecita Alpaca 

5 skeins / Colorway: 208 

(light brown - marked on label as 

"Natural Fleece no color)

$25.00, includes shipping

   Rowan Pure Wool DK

 2 skeins / Colorway: 037 (burgundy)

 $10.00, includes shipping

I'll post the bags I have next time.  Thanks for looking!

Will Power (not)

At the beginning of the year, as I was thinking of all the wonderful and magnificent ways I would become a better, more organized, kinder, and all around more wonderful person, I said to myself, "Well, Self, you really do have plenty of yarn here.  So why not decide to not buy more yarn unless you TRULY need a type of yarn you don't have for some special project?"  Self replied, "Oh Self, I think that's such a good idea.  I shall try it."  Myself was then quite pleased with itself.

Then I got an e-mail about the Rockin' Sock Club.  I had no desire to sign up (been there, done that, enjoyed it), and even if it had been my fondest wish, could not afford the price anyway.  But then I thought, "Well, I wonder what else it out there.  It's fun to get packages in the mail, and try new yarns."  So I Googled around, and came across the Mad About Tosh Club, from Twisted in Portland, Oregon.  I have limited experience with Madelinetosh yarns, but I know that they are pretty, soft, and have colors that appeal to me (even the ones I don't really like I think are beautiful). It was an every-other-month deal, and for what it was, the cost was reasonable (meaning I had some money left after buying Christmas gifts), so I decided that I would join.  My reasoning was that a) I could afford it, b) the package in the mail every other month would be nice, since I wasn't buying other yarn, c) I would only have six more skeins by the end of the year, and d) I am weak.

The first package arrived in the mail last week, and I was more than pleased with installment one:

Now you have to admit that it's mighty pretty!  (Even my questionable photography skills don't make it look bad ...)  It was accompanied by a pattern for a really lovely shawlette that just looked like springtime to me.  I hope to get it started before too long, because it would be nice to have it once Spring arrives.  I was determined to finish the one remaining Christmas gift that I was knitting before I started, though, and I finished that last night.  (But that will be a whole 'nother post.)  So maybe this weekend - which is a three-day weekend, as the library is closed on Monday for Presidents' Day - I can start!  Granted, a glance at the pattern shows some Wrap & Turn stitches (my nemesis), but I'm gonna try and get it figured out as best I can.

So to review:

• I talk to and respond to myself a lot;
• I make lots of grand plans;
• I have no actual follow-through when/if something new and shiny shows up;
• I hate W&T;
• I finished knitting the last gift for Christmas 2011;
• I have an upcoming three-day weekend.

Maybe my will power leaves something to be desired, but at least I have self-awareness ...