IDWTMATW?

Wondering what the acronym in the title means? It means "I don't want to make anything this week"! I couldn't not post, seeing as I have such a streak going, but I felt it was only fair to explain to you why there's no IWTMT this Sunday.

First, I am moving. Well, I guess I'm moved at this point, but there's a loooooooot of unpacking to do. We just got the internet back after a few days without it and I'm actually on my hubby's computer. No saved passwords, noooooo! Suffice to say, I'm exhausted.

Second, it's my birthday in like, four minutes and I'm lazy and I can do what I want on my birthday weekend and 3-day-weekend and moving weekend. So there. I'll be back soon, I promise.

Just to switch it up, why don't you share with me something you'd like to make?

IWTMT: Footie Sock Pattern

It's my birthday in eight days, and I decided to go out and buy myself a new pair of shoes a little early. I'm not normally a big shoe person, but these are some of those toning shoes, and I can wear them to work.

Of course, I'm probably going to want to wear socks with these, but socks kind of look dumb with capris and shorts. While perusing the Ravelry boards, I found a sock pattern that would work perfectly with these shoes. I never took dance, but they're called ballet slippers/footies.

I want to make the Footie Sock Pattern from Be Still and Knit. (Rav link) It still counts as a sock, but it's smaller! I love it.

IWTMT: Prairie Star Afghan

I think WEBS stole my brain. That, and I had to work today.

I have a thing for complicated afghans I will probably never make. Prairie Star crochet afghan. (Rav link.) But it's good to have dreams.

Mmm, dreams require sleep. I like sleep. 'scuse me, going into post-WEBS coma now.

Tent Sale 2010

A few weeks ago some friends of mine invited me to tag along to the WEBS Tent Sale, knowing I'd never been. I set my alarm for 6 this morning. Ugh. We got on the road at 7:15.

As a passenger, of course I brought car knitting, a seed stitch scarf I started on Tuesday. Oh, I didn't tell you about Tuesday's guild meeting? Our prez had gotten in touch with with someone who distributed Zealana yarn and they sent us a bunch of their yarns to try on the condition that we let our LYS know what we thought. I got a skein of the Kia Ora Kauri, a merino/possum/silk blend in Pink Roja. So now I can say I've knit with possum yarn, though I'm reserving judgment until the scarf is all done.



We got to WEBS pretty early and were able to look at some of the great vendors outside first. While in one of the booths, I thought I recognized the woman from our Green Mountain Spinnery tour. Turns out I was right! It was Lisa from Boulder Meadow Farm in Fitzwilliam NH. What a small world.

Soon enough I was dragged into the store, which was basically what I like to call baptism by fire. I'd come with a few project ideas and yardage notes, but I was clearly the new kid in school. Let's just say I have no idea how far some of those shopping carts traveled before getting to WEBS.

I did manage to find some Louet Euroflax Sport Weight, which I've been looking for. By the time I got to it, my choices were a bright pink and French Blue. I grabbed the French Blue. Eventually I found some more, but the blue was my best choice, so I took it home with me. (On sale, of course.)



While wandering the aisles, I found some Araucania Ranco Multy I liked, so I jotted down the color number and aisle and kept moving. One aisle over, I realized how stupid that was, so I ran back and grabbed three skeins. Normally I go for saturated colors, but this yarn was perfect considering what I'm renaming the blog. (Soon, I promise!) I have no idea what I'm going to make with it, but I figured 3 was enough. The website says color 317 is black/white, but this is clearly stormy blues to me.



That's all I bought at WEBS, but upon leaving the store I got sucked back into those independent vendors and ended up purchasing a Skinny Stripe Gauntlet Kit in Lipstick & Leathers from Kama Suutra Fiber Arts. (My kit is brighter pinks and black.) Yet again I was torn between pinks and blues (no, this doesn't mean anything!!!), but I went for the pink this time. I think this lady is a genius and someone to watch out for, by the way. You heard it here first.

We left WEBS and hit up Green Mountain Spinnery, but nothing caught my eye this time. When we got back home, I decided to hit up Michaels since I had some extra money and bought a skein of Lion Brand Amazing in Olympia.



I got a 40% coupon at the register, so I might just go back tomorrow and pick up another skein. What am I thinking? I'll never get tired of those Noro Striped Scarves.

P.S. Have you guessed the name change yet?

IWTMT: Baby Starghan

Hi. This IWTMT deserves a better writeup, but it's late and I had a lot of stuff going on the past few days and maybe I forgot about the IWTMT.

So. Baby Starghan. Free. Crochet. Want to make.

Good night.

IWTMT: Darkside Cowl

It may have hit 80+ degrees today, but it snowed last week, so you really never know with Vermont. To that extent, I'm not throwing the winter knitting out the window just yet.

I've never made a cowl. I don't know that I'd look good in a cowl, but what a good use of just a little bit of luxury yarn!

For example, I have two skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran from Christmas 2008. At first I thought I'd make a hat, but apparently alpaca is going to stretch no matter what you do and I don't know that the slouchy look is for me. But then I found the Darkside Cowl, which is pretty and free (though only available as a Ravelry download) and people have made it out of two skeins of Alpaca Silk Aran. Score! (And it's totally okay for a cowl to stretch; it's fashionable.)

It could snow again. Really, you never know.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2010: Day 7

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

Hmm. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a big fan of Noro, especially the Kureyon. The colors are so vivid! I've used Kureyon for two Noro Striped Scarves, Silk Garden for a third scarf, and Iro for my mittens featured in the last post. I also have some Cotton Kureyon and Silver Thaw stashed. Oh dear.

I do have a skein of qiviuk/qiviut. Are you jealous? I should have bought two, but I think I went into a coma and emerged with expensive yarn. Merino, silk and qiviuk. Yep. You're jealous.



This is my coffee table yarn. I pull it out to make others jealous, but I never read it ... I mean, I don't know what I'll make with it. Hopefully something before moths get to it. I'd never forgive myself then.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2010: Day 6

Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that your did just didn’t like that much…



Ah, my first mittens. I think they're somewhere in the side drawer of my computer desk. I don't know, because I think I wore them once this winter.

I was so proud of these mittens. I used the yarn my husband bought me for Christmas 2008. I swatched (and washed the swatch, and didn't rip the swatch out to reuse the yarn). I followed a pattern. It was the first project I finished on DPNs. It was a pretty big deal.

And I don't wear them.

It's not because they're a little tight in the thumb -- I imagine if I blocked them I could fix that. No, it's because I hadn't yet learned about knitting ribbing on smaller needles and the ribbing is much too loose.

I could always insert a post-knit lifeline, frog the cuff, and reknit it down. Unfortunately, I wove in my ends really well, and I'm too annoyed to even try looking for them.

Maybe I'll just buy some elastic.