Mail call! And all the other good stuff...

OK, I've got mitts to knit, 2 pants to hem, swatches to swatch and wash, blah, blah, blah...but-I had to take the time to share some stuff I got recently...

I didn't think to blog this order and then realized-why not? Is not Knitpicks blog-worthy? I'm not a yarn snob, but I guess it is so much easier to gush over handpainted stuff that is more "one-of-a-kind" than to gush over less expensive, massively available yarny purchases! Nonetheless, yarn is yarn and we loveses our yarn!

I think I shared that I'm participating in Secret of the Stole II? If not, well-there you have it-I am! I needed some yarn for it and didn't have enough of any one laceweight that was appropriate for this project.

Enter our good ol' standby, Knitpicks for affordability and good, basic yarn! For less than $8, I got enough of the 'clearance' color for the stole. Of course, I had to meet the minimum for free shipping, so it was really more of a $40 purchase...(Nartian threw in some circs to my order, so that saved me a bit!)

So here's what I got:

In the rear, already wound, "Shadow" in the clearance color "Redwood Forest Heather". Dang, but this color is excellent and so much nicer looking than the pic shown on-line! Glad I went 'cheap' to save the .50 per skein, cuz I really do love this colorway!

Being inspired to make more Dashings, I purchased the aran tweed yarns, not realizing that Dashing calls for DK weight! Yes, Dashings, the cousins to "Fetching" is knit with DK weight, folks, NOT aran/bulky, as is the recommended yarn for Fetchings! Go figure. Someone'd better read her patterns more carefully next time!-lol! No worries, cuz I've done one in a Jo Sharp Aran and was able to alter it to work out.


Save the best for last, yes? Look what else arrived one day...what could be in this lovely package, sent to me from British Columbia?...
Look at the wonderful goodies I got from Spinnybunt's PIF! Not only a handmade item, but YARN!!! And an awesome color that I love!

And in case you don't see what she made, it's a needlecase that she beaded! Look at all the gorgeous detail!

Sorry folks, there is no way I can hold a candle to this, so don't make this the standard for my PIF!

So while we are talking gorgeous yarns, look what Nartian gave me for Christmas? It's from The Knittery and is her merino/cashmere yarn! I love this stuff-it is so soft! And look at this color-it's the "Autumn" colorway! Nartian-you are awesome! Thanks for a wonderful gift!


So remember the Fetchings and Dashings I need to work on? Well, one more pair of Fetchings down, 1/2 a Dashing complete, and a few more to go...


Oh-and about the Knitting New Scarves book I posted about earlier, with the crappy pics--I found all the good pics from the book here, in case you want a better look-see,,, Just goes to show what a bit of sleuthing will result in! Actually, it's kinda dumb that one should have to work so hard to find pics that only promote the desire for this awesome book!

And what I didn't post? The latest Rockin' Sock Club shipment! But I think most of you got that same kit, so I'll wait on it for now. Afterall, I've tortured you enough with yet another lengthy post and I need to go hem some pants!

Where to begin...?

My shameless stash? My shameless pile of UFOs?

Well, first let me send out a warm thank you to IrishGirlie! I decided it was my duty to enable her BMFA shopping spree-er, I mean help her destash, so I took a skein off her hands! It is a wonderful Yarn Botanika sock yarn in Evergreen and I have to admit that it looked pretty good along with the others in my Wall of Shame...

The one I acquired from her stash is the top right. I think it ties the other three skeins together beautifully! ;)
And look how well it blends with some of my other green sock yarns?

And here is the best treat: IrishGirlie included two other skeins from her stash dive at the BMFA destash sale!!! She sent one for me and one for Stilaholic Nartian and thought it would be more fun to let us 'duke it out'. Truth be told, Nartian and I are quite good at sharing and swapping out stash. I loved both, so I asked Nartian to do the favor of just picking one, cuz I just couldn't decide! Here is the one I got:

And, well...I didn't get a pic of the other! (for shame!) Nartian ought to have a pic up on her blog-it was a lightweight (what we guess to be) Raven-possibly the Pallos Athena or Rauen, since it was plummy brown black.

So...speaking of UFOs...I was looking through my pile of stuff trying to find my Cedar Creeks to finish, now that I have IrishGirlie doing a bit of pushing on that end towards seeing that project complete! I got sidetracked. Seriously sidetracked. The kind of sidetracked that is gloriously fun because all those feelings of inspiration came flooding back as I looked at the many results of impulsive-inspiration-on-needles. Then it was the feeling (but for a fleeting second) that gads-I truly do NOT need more yarn! Mind you, what you are about to see is not in any way ALL the projects on needles, but a sampling of what I found just looking through a couple of corners of the Wall of Shame and a few 'knitting bags'. Some you may recognize, some you may not...

First up, a few non-sock projects (yes, I do sometimes *start* non-sock projects...)

I think you are all familiar with the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern?...


And the Baby Surprise Sweater pattern? Here is my second one I got inspired to knit. The baby it is being knit for was born a few weeks ago, so I still have time to get it done...if I ever pick it up again any time soon!

Did you ever see this one? It's the Summer Braids Cardigan! Hmmmm...in the round...I think I need to knit to 17"; it is about to perhaps 8" at this time...

And let's not forget the non-knitting stuff like spinning...
Actually, this is a farce, because I actually only spun up a bit to get an idea what the final was going to look like. Haven't done much beyond that-but hey-this whole big ol' bag was on *sale* at Purlescence!

And are you ready for the socks-in-waiting...?

My first Baby Sky (Cat Bordhi) learner sock, once torn back due to a terrible oversight on my part!
Remember the two-at-the-same-time sock trick? I wasn't impressed. And smarty me decided to do two different colors, should they end up a tad different in size, so now I just have two unmatched socks anyways!

But wait-that's not all! Below, you will see a mere six different socks I started...I think I need to reward anyone who has made it this far through this post! A spontaneous contest, if you will! Prize-hmmm...obviously it would have to be sock yarn, since that is what I have tons of and can spare a skein of! (And since I was just having a discussion about my abundance of Fleece Artist, perhaps it shall be one of those...?) Name the yarn and sock pattern! The winner will be whoever gets them all correct (or the most correct). If there is a tie, I will draw names. Let's see...I will give 'til December 1, how's that sound? I think the majority can be figured out from this blog...so GO FOR IT!!!



I think I mentioned starting the Waterfall socks, right? Here is the first, only I had to stop so that I could start some felted slippers for a Secret Santa swap my quilt group is doing.

And to end with a positive note, I wouldn't be starting so much if it weren't for...

FINISHED OBJECTS!

Proof of the finished Lenores...(yeah, yeah...I know I already showed ya!)

Solstice Slip socks completed! (and pictured alone this time!)
And look-I redeemed myself and did complete a Baby Sky sock on the second go-round! Too fun!

And FINALLY...(guess this will be my PIF post, too, while I'm at it!)

I saw that Spin Bunny (Burried in Fiber) and I have a mutual friend at Ravelry. So while checking out the site, I came to her post: "Here's the blurb:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Ta-duh! I am now making that promise to the first three who respond! Reminder-it can be any handmade gift, so I am already meowing out in that it may not necessarily be knitting, though most likely will be. It will all be a surprise! I will contact you if you (make sure you let me know how to reach you) and will want to know favorite colors, hobbies, and anything interesting about yourself. If you've gotten this far-thanks for reading!