Knit Picks Zephyrs

There's an awesome contest to win a set of the new Zephyr interchangeable needles from Knit Picks. Visit Things Moms Like to enter.

Never Say Never

I don't usually do the same pattern more than once - unless it's something small or by special request. (I've done Calorimetry several times.) Well, I think I've found a pattern I'm going to be addicted to. I'm making a pair of socks for my mom - because I've been bitten by the sock bug - and I find them to be absolutely gorgeous! I'm in love with the pattern and I know I'm going to have to make a pair for myself. I've finished one of her socks (I used this pattern) and I hope to cast on the other today and have them finished by the end of the week.
I have a feeling that another family member might be requesting a pair of these as well...
I also love the yarn I used. I went to my LYS asking for some summery sock yarn, and found this bamboo blend and it is so incredibly soft! A bit splitty to work with, but worth it!

Rainbow Surprise

I've gotten into a sock streak with my knitting. I have several hanks of bare sock yarn (and other weights, too) that I bought to dye myself. I've done this before - with Kool-Aid and with icing tint. It's fun and I love the results. I decided today that I was going to try my hand at painting some yarn with Easter Egg dye. Had some left over that I'd gotten cheap. I figured I'd do all the colors and have some cute pastel spring-y socks. I soaked the yarn in water and vinegar while prepping the dye -- I used the little collapsible cups that came in the kit for dying eggs. I decided to use a medicine syringe to squirt the dye where I wanted it - I had a cup of water to rinse the syringe between colors.

I used all five colors in the kit - planned to paint it like a pastel rainbow. First the red... which didn't turn out to be red at all, but a bright pink. All the colors turned out to be quite vibrant. I was surprised, but pleasantly so! I'm loving my yarn and can't wait to see what it looks like after it's knitted up! It's steaming on the stove right now to set the color. It will take a couple of days for it to dry, and I'll probably be spending my time trying to decide on what pattern to use for my lovely rainbow surprise yarn!









**There is one purple area, but it didn't show up in the pictures -- in the section that looks like a big chunk of blue.**

Organizing my Stash

I have decided it is time to do a major overhaul on my yarn stash and put it together in some sort of functional array. I have to go get some storage containers from Wal-Mart today after my Blonde Tornado wakes up and eats his breakfast. I did begin a data base of my yarn so I will be able to look at what I have when beginning a new project. I wanted to do a spreadsheet, but I only have a trial version of Microsoft Office on my computer, and until/unless I purchase the software, I'd be stuck with a "read-only" file which would be useless. So for now, I'll enter my stash (sans pics) on ravelry.

I will post before and after pictures -- although I doubt this will be accomplished in its entirety today.

Then, the next step... find some projects for some massive stash-busting!

Sadly, I just placed an order on Knit Picks for some much-needed stitch markers and other "accessories" - and a couple of hanks of yarn, of course... and the next day got an email that they have select yarns on sale for 38% off. : ( But looking at all the yarn I have, I really cannot justify getting any more, even during a sale. Or can I???

Felted Bag

I found this cute little pattern in a book I got. I used Rowan Chunky Print yarn -- a really thick, bulky wool, and on fairly large needles, it knit up really quickly. I knit most of it while I was waiting to hear back from my sister - they'd taken my niece to the hospital/doctor for an allergic reaction. I was worried and needed to pass the time. I meant to take a picture before felting, but I forgot. But the magic happened in the washing machine. I love how the colors of the yarn meld together now. I would have liked for the strap to be a little longer, but I used every little bit of that ball of yarn. It still works, though. I rather like it. Can be used for quick gifts.

My First Swap

Swap package
Originally uploaded by iloveyarn

Here's what I received from my swap partner in a group on ravelry.

I've been dying to make the sweater pictured in the pattern and can't wait to get started on it!!

Consolation Prize!

Stacy sent me a consolation prize for not getting the blog candy (didn't link back to her blog -- which I'm still trying to figure out how to do -- lol). And it is so sweet! She sent some chipboard tabs, a clear stamp (flower), these adorable ballerina slippers and sentiment "twinkletoes" stamps and some ric-rac! She shouldn't have done that! My sister is going to fight me over the ballerina stuff -- good thing we live so close to one another -- I promise I'll share! : ) Here's a picture of my goodies!