Adding to the stash

Last week, Suzy and I took a field trip to one of our favorite LYS Nangellini on South Street here in Philly. It was Monday, February 18, and it was about 60 degrees. 60 degrees? Yes, you read correctly. So, me with my leather boots on, and Suzy carrying her hat took a walk to go shopping for some wool. BTW, 4 days later there was 3-4 inches of snow on the ground, and parents wanted to know why school wasn't cancelled. When I went to school, if the snow wasn't up tp your knees you went, none of this close school BS.

I digress. So, I just wanted to look around at Nangellini because we have a yarn crawl coming up in about two weeks, and I was in the process of ordering my sweater yarn from Knit Picks. I said I really wasn't going to get anything, maybe some sock yarn. We no sooner got there and this bright pink yarn was screaming my name.

It is a cashmere/merino blend from Newton Country Yarns. It is so pink, squeeshy, and soft. There is about 440 yards there, so I'm thinking a pretty lace scarf is in order. It is a bright pink and unfortunately this picture really does not do it justice. Suzy and I are not professional photogs, so we do the best we can. instead of my kitchen table for background, we used a bench in Suzy's office. This bench is awesome! Everytime I go in there I sit on it. You could lay on it and take a nap. You know, if you had to.

This is the other yarn I bought, because you can't buy just one. 3 skeins of Ejido for another felted bag. One that I could use comfortably, and not think my stuff is going to fall out. Pink and brown. Suzy had originally picked this up, and when she showed me I got a little dazed. Needless to say, Suzy pretty much said, "Take this you need it more than I do." I certainly did turn it down. I just love the colors together. Can't explain it. A lot of the things I pick are pink, red, warm colors. You would think I am a girly girl, but I'm not. I am most comfortable in sweats with my hair like pebbles, falling out all over the place. Kind of the way I look right now.

On to my WIPs. I only have one, this multidirectional scarf made with Inca Print left over from my urchin beret.

I made a mistake the first time around, so this has been frogged once. It was going in an L shape, which is not scarf friendly. The pattern is easy in garter stitch, so it makes for good tv knitting. I love Lost, Big Brother, Survivor, Jericho, and Torchwood, just to name a few. My husband thinks I'm crazy for the BB but these people just crack me up. And regarding Jericho which deals with an apocolyptic event in the U.S., I awalys think, well at least I can knit garments if need be. But where will I get the yarn? Hurry! Run to the yarn store before someone takes it all!

I did also have a sock OTN, but realized, just after the heel, that I was not knitting my yo correctly. The sock should have looked more open, and it didn't. I just couldn't go on doing it wrong, and then it's mate wrong. So to the pond it went. So sad. I do like the Zokni pattern from Pepperknits blog I'll co again after I wait a while. I need a timeout.

TTFN!

Finally! Some FOs

So I finally have some FOs, and boy am I glad. The first thing I finished is the cute bunny you see here:




I got this pattern from the Lion Brand website http://www.lionbrand.com/ The pattern was free but you just have to create an account. The bunny is made from Lion's velvet spun yarn on 10.5 and 8.0 needles. It takes 2 skeins, and knits up very quickly. Very quick in fact. The difficult part for me, was the face. I am not good with faces. Never have been. The eyes or the spacing between the features never looks right to me. This one came out pretty good. Can you tell I impressed myself. This bunny was made for a co worker who already had a baby, boy obviously. I intend to make a yellow one for my other co worker whose wife is expecting in February. They want to be surprised. They already have a little girl, so I'll make something for her eventually as well. Don't want to encourage sibling rivalry.

My next FO was my comfy scarf. Just in the nick of time too, because it has gotten a bit nippy here in Philly. Look at my luscious comfy scarf:

This is the Misti alpaca I mentioned before, knit in a ribbed seed stitch, on 11.0. Very easy, mindless, and pretty quick. I used two balls, and it's about 5 1/2 inches wide (relaxed) and about 5 feet long. It does feel soft, pretty, and comfy cozy against my neck on those cold mornings. It also does the trick when I wear it in the office when I have a slight chill. I am in love with this scarf, can you tell. I highly recommend this yarn, and will be looking for more future projects that use this yarn.

So, OTN I have the mate to my brown striped sock, and I started a Booga Bag by Julie Anderson http://www.blacksheepbags.com/booga_bag.html

I am using Caron Felt It yarn in neon colorway. Grabbed this on sale 2/$1 at AC Moore. You just can't pass up a bargain like that. This also seems to be knitting up nice and quick as well. It's basically just garter stitch, so it's not that hard. I can't wait to finish and felt it.

Suzy Girl and I also took a road trip to another LYS in Philly called Nangellini http://www.nangellini.com/ Nancy and her husband run the store together. It's located on South Street between 8th and 9th. It's a pretty big store with a wide selection of yarns, books, and knitting notions. Prices are reasonable, and selection interesting. Recycled silk sari yarn, banana silk yarn, sock yarn, fancy yarn, all kinds of yarn actually. Nancy also has many knitted items on display, which I assume she sells too. In any case it gives you project ideas with the yarns she offers. She also has a nice sale section too. They bought stock from other LYS that were going out of business. Sad, but it does happen.

Both Suzy and I bought some yarn. I would like to make the gauntlet gloves in the Holiday Edition of Interweave Knits. So I bought 3 skeins of Silky Wool by elsebeth lavold

I thought I was prepared with my new little project book in hand, however, as usual, I wrote down my info half ass. Plus, I am just not that knowledgeable about yarns and stuff yet. I'm trying, but it's going to take time. And maybe a little reference book or something. If there was a class titled "Yarns and info you need to know and remember" I would take it! It will come to me after I make enough mistakes. Anyway, I should have enough yarn. Guess we'll find out. I'll start the gloves sometime in December and keep you posted.

Well I think that's about it for now. It's time to go knit or lurk on Ravelry.

TTFN!