Did you all get the email about the Webs Silk Garden closeout sale a couple of weeks ago? Did anyone else buy any yarn? Because we (Karen and I) sure did. We didn't go entirely crazy like I'm sure some folks did (did you see how fast it disappeared?), but when I put in the order for 28 skeins I admit to feeling a teensy bit faint despite the fact that the yarn wasn't ALL for me (hey, I'm on a postdoc salary and can't afford to buy too much yarn at once, ok? =P).
I thought maybe the box would be enormous. Turns out, yarn is squishy. Here's the box with an 8-pound cat sitting on top:
The box of yarn balanced on my head:
And the spoils. I won't say who bought which yarn, but that's 3 colourways of Silk Garden, #47, #226, and #247.
The yarn is even prettier in person (top to bottom, #47, #226, #247). I love love LOVE this yarn. If I were stuck on a desert island with only one kind of yarn to knit with, this just might be it.
I have a deep and abiding love for Noro Silk Garden. In fact, a significant portion of my stash (almost a quarter of it) consists of Silk Garden. I usually only buy it when it's on sale or from eBay, since my budget wouldn't be able to handle buying much of it at full price. Over the past couple of years, I've managed to acquire a few skeins in darker colourways, colourways that fall far outside my usual palette of bright and pretty colours.
Not that I don't like the darker colours, they're just not the first things I'd reach for.
So what to do with these orphan non-girly skeins? How about a manly Noro Striped Scarf?
The only man in my life worth knitting for at present is of course my dad, so I'm thinking that this might make a nice Christmas present for him. The thing is, there are a couple of less-manly sections in the scarf, such as the one right here with the pink and green.
Looking at the scarf as a whole, I think it's plenty manly enough, and it's received positive reviews from at least one man (my coworker who was in the car with me when I finished the scarf on the way home from a conference). I'm posting these photos mostly for the benefit of my mom and sister, who get final say over whether the scarf can be gifted. What do you think?
(This scarf used 2 skeins of colourway 86, 1 skein of 82, and 1 skein of 88)
Hello! I'm back. I think. I have no idea how the entire summer got away from me like that, but here it is October and I haven't touched this blog in 3 months. But just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been knitting! I've worked on a sweater, a vest, some socks, an afghan, a scarf, and have also been doing some super-duper secret knitting. All of which will be revealed in good time.
But before talking about the knitting, how about some stash enhancement? This weekend was Yarn-Con, "Chicago's own yarn-centric exhibition", and I went with two goals in mind. To grab some more Sophie's Toes sock yarn (I made a patchwork scarf out of the yarn here, see also the Rav link), and to get a little project bag from Piddleloop. And that's precisely what I came home with:
See the bag? It's got flying pigs on it!
And the yarn, here's a closeup of the yarn. My camera doesn't come close to capturing all the pretty colours. Those are the American Patchwork (top) and Fall Mums (bottom) colourways (with Sophie cat's toes peeking into the photo), I was standing in the booth for the longest time trying to decide which ones to get.
And here's a little confession. By my reckoning I've knit 19 pairs of socks. I now have enough sock yarn to knit over twice that number. You think I should stop buying the stuff already? I've actually been pretty good lately about staying away, but I've got to support the indie dyers, don't I? =)
Well, it didn't take me long to get back on the knitting band-wagon. I'm out of my slump! I actually wound up doing pretty much everything that all you lovely people suggested to me. I indulged in other hobbies (a little crochet, some cooking, and reading), decided to start a new project, hung out for a little bit with other knitters, and purchased some more yarn. So, thank you, all you wonderful people you.
Here's the project I decided to start -- the Curvy sweater in Zen Yarn Garden's Gemilicious.
I absolutely love the colour. Just looking at it makes me happy. (Oh my gosh! I actually knit something of a gauge swatch!)
And then, a friend of mine from work found out that her best friend is now pregnant, and you all know what that means! Just like that, we were searching for baby blanket patterns for her to try (she's a bit of a novice knitter, but with great potential), and then it was off to Lettuce Knit to look for supplies. Once there, it was impossible for me not to get something. Or a few somethings.
Some Jojoland Rhythm for another EZ BSJ for my pregnant friend who's decided not to find out the baby's gender in advance.
And some happy, orange Koigu for me. I want some fun and flashy socks. The colour in the photo is quite bad since taking photos in the middle of the night proves, again, to be my nemesis. Let me assure you, this yarn is quite a brilliant shade of orange.
Since I'm on the topic of socks, I forgot to mention that back on Sept 24, Laura Chau had a book launch party at Lettuce Knit for her first book. I really wanted to go, but had a rehearsal to go to. That didn't stop me from popping into the store and picking up a copy to support a super awesome knitter.
I lucked out, and Laura was even there to autograph it for me! Exciting! Please forgive the horrible, out of focus photo.
I've been in a little bit of a knitting slump these past few days. You're probably thinking that a couple days doesn't really qualify as a slump, but I don't really know what to call it. Up until this weekend, I had been working away happily at my Talia vest. And then disaster struck. Hanatarou, my naughty white and black cat, decided to pee on the bag holding my precious knitting (I think he was mad that I gave him a bath). Luckily, all was not lost! Thanks to the plastic bag holding my yarn, and the plastic sheet covers that I put my pattern in, most of the knitting survived unscathed. Only a little bit of the bottom edge of the vest was soiled. I have a feeling that the bag is a total write off though -- I've washed it a few times, and soaked it in special enzyme solution, but I'm not sure if it's salvageable. It was only this cheap black bag that I got at Old Navy, but still.
I put my knitting onto a holder and washed the bottom edge, and I think that did the trick. Problem is, I just don't want to work on it anymore. It's as if just looking at it makes me angry right now. I was contemplating starting a new project to help me get over things, but I feel guilty at the same time. I mean, I've got a perfectly good project waiting to be finished, so why start something else? Plus I'm wrestling with just what to make. I could start my Curvy sweater, or start a baby sweater for a friend due in February (though this one is a tough call too because Jamie doesn't think the yarn I have slated for it is quite gender neutral). Or maybe some toys? I just don't know. Should I just bite the bullet, and truck on with Talia?
What do you do to get yourselves out of knitting slumps?
I made a little hat to go with the Tulips sweater. It's the same pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but I just used the leftover yarn from my sweater kit, and incorporated the same colour changes.
I had a debate with friends about what colour to make the I-cord. Since I don't know the gender of the baby, I wanted to keep it mostly gender neutral. I had a choice between the peach, and a mustard yellow. I liked the pop of the peach, but was worried that it might seem too girl-ish if the baby turned out to be a boy. But then my friends pointed out that a) I already have peach on the sweater, and b) what would the baby care anyway?
And Adrienne, no worries about not posting. Life is busy, and there are other priorities above blogging. I'm sure everyone has posting droughts.
My cousin in Hong Kong is expecting, so I originally was going to take my time and knit some things up for her and ship them over. Then my mom pointed out that her father was coming to Toronto to visit, so why don't I save myself the shipping cost and give it to him. Great idea mom! Only drawback is that I originally had until December to get my knitting done, and now I have until mid-October. Eek! So what's a girl do to when she doesn't know if it's going to be a girl or boy, and she's finding herself in crunch time? Go with something she knows she can do.
And so, my second Tulips kit got knitted up, and will be winging its way to Hong Kong via Uncle Ronald's luggage. I think I'm going to make a little matching hat with the yarn that I've got left over from the kit. Even though I think Tulips is supposed to be for a girl, I think the colours are sufficiently gender neutral that it'll be okay even if it turns out to be a boy.
This time around, I used that trick of weaving in the ends as I went (thanks, Adrienne), so finishing was such a breeze! I think I did a better job of doing the sleeves this time than the first time I made it. The photo is pre-blocking, so there's some curling happening, but the cute little sweater is pinned out and drying as I type this entry.
I just love this pattern!! Even though it was my second time knitting it, I still had a good time!
