Finally Finished

In the quest to finish some of my lingering WIP's, I finally tackled the seaming and the blocking of Central Park Hoodie. And it's DONE!!!!



Pattern: Central Park Hoodie. Raveled here.
Yarn: Valley Yarns Northampton in Fawn
Needles: Knit Picks Options in US size 10
Date Originally Started: 6/27/08
Date Frogged: 8/1/09
Date New Version Started: 8/14/09
Date Finished: 6/23/10
Mods: I made the body and sleeves longer than the pattern calls for. I'm 5'10". So my monkey arms have to go somewhere!



Thank goodness for blocking. I tried it on before and it was a hot mess. But once blocked, it looks like an actual sweater. I can see myself grabbing this instead of a jacket as I run out of the house. Very useful type of sweater. Too bad it's 85 degrees here today!

Blanket for Bigger Baby

I went to visit my nephew yesterday. Of course, my sister and her husband were there. But you know who the star of the show is, right?

He turned 1 on May 31. And I, like the terrible aunt I am, was in Mexico. He got his presents yesterday instead.



Pattern: Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. Raveled here.
Yarn: Berroco Comfort- it's machine washable!
Needles: KP Options size 8
Date Started: 10/14/08- Before he was born
Date Finished: 6/9/10- A little after his first birthday... oops!
Mods: I did a crochet edging instead of picking up more knit stitches.



The boy loved it. He bounces up and down saying, "happy, happy, happy." Quite possibly the cutest thing ever.

Quick and Lovely

This really is the perfect summer knit.



Pattern: Ptarmigan Cowl by Jared Flood
Yarn: HandMaiden Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk in Amethyst
Needles: KA circulars size 8
Date Started: June 11, 2010
Date Finished: June 18, 2010
Mods: None. And it fits over my big head. Raveled here.



The yarn is absolutely delicious. It's soft, yet warm and it has beautiful drape.



The stitch pattern up close. Love this one.

It all started with a moth

It's been getting pretty warm up here in Napa. So we've been opening the windows, especially at night, to get some cool breezes flowing through the house. Suddenly, there it was. A moth. IN.MY.STASH.ROOM..... Not good.

When I started imagining the wool munching party that the moths were probably having, I decided the stash needed more protection. And since I haven't really looked into the depths of the stash in awhile, I decided to take on the great stash reorg of 2010.

Yesterday, I took all the stash out of the closet. I made sure both my stash spreadsheet and ravelry were totally updated. I thought the reorganization would take 3-4 hours. But 8 hours later, I learned one thing.... I have A LOT of yarn. Holy cow.

138,788 yards to be exact. And there's more on the way. yikes.

On the up side, I own a lot of really nice yarn. Yarn that deserves to be knit. There's also a lot of yarn that I've grown out of as a knitter. You know what I mean. The cheap sock yarn I thought was fantastic until I discovered handpainted varigated merino. Some of my yarn needs a new home. But just getting it all sorted and reorganized took all of my energy. Someday soon, I'll have to come up with a destash list. Or maybe I'll just gather up what I don't want and donate it to a knitting club somewhere. We'll see.

Until then, it's all sorted and fluffed and safe from hungry moths in ziplock bags. And for added insurance, I bought these sachets today. They actually smell really great.

Here's a link to my stash page on ravelry. Enjoy. And then tell me what to knit with it!

Electric with Ideas

Do you ever have so many ideas that you aren't sure where to start? Or stop, for that matter?

According to Ravelry, I have 6 WIPS. A couple of them just need seeming or finishing and they'd be done. If my anal self were in charge, I'd require myself to finish these before casting on or buying anything else. But we all know, Anal Nell is so NOT in control at the moment.

Yesterday I went to a baby shower in San Francisco. Good excuse to go to Imagiknit. Not good for the wallet and all the ideas already buzzing in my head. I went there specifically to buy yarn and the pattern for this. My friend knit is and it's lovely. I already have a single ply laceweight in this champange/bronzy color. And I wanted something softer to warm it up.



I think the silk with the malabrigo lace will be perfect. Now I just need beads and I can jump in. Unfortunately, Imagiknit didn't have the pattern. So I had to order that online anyway, plus a little something else. You know, for free shipping.

Also, this may have jumped into my basket yesterday.



Totally squishable.

Also, yesterday the June Shipment of the Rockin' Sock Club landed in my mailbox.



Sweet Pea- Gorgeous, of course.

Amoung other projects I want to start...
1. Tea Leaves Cardigan- Maybe the tiny version
2. Ptarmigan
3. Anther pair of Leyburns
4. This gorgeous baby blanket.
5. A Traveling Sweater

I'm also talking myself out of placing a MASSIVE Blue Moon Fiber Arts order. The little devil on my shoulder is mentioning something about a sock club discount code. So I'm being swayed bigtime. I know I should fall back in love with my stash. But new yarn is so... delicious.

In case you were wondering, I have been knitting a little.





Pattern: Bamboo Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Zombie BBQ
Needles: Knit Picks Circulars in Size 1
Date Started: April 2010
Date Finished: May 20, 2010

So there. I am getting something done.

Where to begin? Or end? Or... Or.... I'm spinning a little at the moment. Secretly, I'm really excited to be so inundated with ideas. I haven't been knitting much lately. And I hope this means my mojo is back.