Stash Enhancement

Whoops! In all the holiday hustle and bustle, it's the poor crafting blog that gets shafted, I guess. I did finish hub's hat and scarf, even if I was weaving in the ends on Christmas Eve! He says he's very grateful to have them -- especially when he walked home in an ice storm without them! I also was commissioned to make a co-worker a scarf, which I managed to complete this morning and hand off. It's only two weeks late ... right? :) And one of hub's co-workers is interested in a scarf. But now that I work at a yarn store, I have no time to play with yarn!

Speaking of, I've engaged in some serious stash enhancement lately. I bought two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Night on sale (and no, I don't get the employee discount on sale items!) in a gorgeous gray, and I just know they're going to make a beautiful Ice Queen. Now to learn lace ... I also bought four skeins of Noro Silk Garden to make another Noro Striped Scarf, even though I'm not done with mine yet! I have a lot of crafting to keep me occupied ... and warm. :)

The Start of a Trend?

The holiday crafting still goes. I'll be done with it all by Christmas, since it's really just finishing up new hubby's scarf. If only I could tear myself away from my Noro scarf ...

I keep it out when I'm working at the shop, and a lot of people have petted it and exclaimed over it and generally made pleased sounds. Seeing my scarf "in the wild" has certainly had an influence: at least one person bought Noro to make another pattern, but ended up doing the striped scarf! Another woman came in last night and said "Someone told me they were doing striped scarves here", so I showed her mine and she also bought some Noro. A co-worker is tempted, but resisting!

I love that something I'm making inspires others. I didn't come up with the yarn or the pattern, but it's a bit of an ego boost and I love spreading the joy of color. Everybody could use a little brightness in their life. Why not add some to yours, whether it's through a Noro scarf, a new plant, or a shirt in a color you normally wouldn't buy? You deserve it. :)

Twisted Stitches

Here, my friends, is what I spent most of my Saturday evening doing. Not partying. Not doing chores. Not writing the thank you or Christmas cards.

Swatching.

Turns out the way I taught myself to knit wasn't quite "right". No, it's not a matter of Continental vs. English. It was literally a matter of my knitting through the back of the loop, therefore producing twisted stitches. You can see those on the top of the swatch, where I attempted some 1x1 ribbing. The correctly-done stitches are on the bottom. Ironically, garter stitch looks pretty much the same to me done either way, which is probably one of the reasons I never really noticed my stuff looked different before.

At first I was upset and disappointed with myself, but whatever! It's a learning experience, I know how to do the knit stitch for real now, and I'm miles ahead of others who have no clue how to knit in the back of the loop. Nyah-nyah.

All of this swatching was done, really, so I could start a new project. (Hey. My husband's hat is done, his scarf is getting there, and that prayer shawl ain't going nowhere.)



Why yes, I did fall prey to the Yarn Harlot's post about Noro Striped Scarves. I had a generous gift of two skeins of Noro Kureyon from a Ravelry pal, and I work at a yarn store with an employee discount. No contest.

It's very smart yarn. It started out green and magenta, and when the magenta turned to purple, and the green to blue to purple, the other purple moved to pink. I didn't tell it to. I literally left a tail and casted on. It's smarter than me. You may notice some curling/tightness in the bottom right corner; I've been playing with how best to carry the yarn and didn't keep my tension well. I figure I can block it out, because I don't want to rip it back. Gotta love knitting denial.

Ohmigod, ohmigod you guys!

I have a second job ...

At a yarn store!

I don't want to jinx it, so I won't be dishing about the details quite yet, until I feel pretty secure there ... but then there will be some major advertising! And some more interesting content, for sure!

Typical Holiday Project Post

The title says it all. In the beginning, I had dreams of making my mother queen-sized afghans and the ladies of my family reusable market bags. Scarves that didn't suck and weren't made out of yarn I didn't pick out and just wanted to use up. Hats that fit.

Ah, pipe dreams.

Instead, I'm being realistic and making a hat for my husband. Thankfully I've got him right here so I can plop the yarmulke on his head occasionally so I can see how I'm doing. I'm using Kathy North's Crochet Hat pattern in the large size (you may recall my hat -- same pattern). It's made out of Wool-Ease, which I've never used before. So far, I like it, but I had to go down to a G hook to get gauge, and it's stressing my arm a little. Then again, I started yesterday and don't really need to rush.

I haven't decided who's going to get the other thing I'm making. I'm on a bit of a Kathy North (Kathy North! Kathy North! Kathy North!) kick, so I've also started her Liquid Gold Chain Mesh Scarf in some Patons Brilliant. Ironically, I had to go up to a M hook to get gauge. I might frog it and start over, I don't know. This one isn't as crucial -- I haven't promised it to anyone and I can always give it to myself!

Bound and Determined

I promise I've had the very best excuse ever for not blogging recently: I went and got myself married. Or at least that's what I'm going to think until the county clerk calls and says we didn't!

I have a lot to blog about, and no time to do it -- you'd think things would get easier after the honeymoon! Nope.

But I was thinking of yarn while I was there, I promise.



See? I look out for my readers.

It's a Tiny World!

If my Statcounter map is to be believed, I've had people (or bots; who knows) looking at my blog from Canada, England, Australia, Israel, India, and Thailand. Considering I've just got 300 hits (and I think half of those are from me anyway), that's pretty cool. So if you're one of my foreign visitors ... hi! Thanks for visiting my corner of the crafting world.

The wedding is officially in 12 days, and I'm a little sad. I meant to have that charity shawl done by now, but I just haven't had the time to work on it. I contacted the person in charge and they said they could help me finish it, but I think I'd feel bad about that. Seriously, garter stitch on size 15 needles should NOT take a long time, unless you're me. In which case it should take forever and stop being a nice gesture, and instead become a thing of stress. Bah. We'll see what happens. Either way, I'd like to donate it to charity. And as soon as I finish it or send it out unfinished, I can start on almost-husband's hat. And then I can start on socks. Keep plugging away on the Ugly Afghan. I have it all figured out, really.

Anybody want to take over that shawl for me? Garter stitch. Size 15 needles. Mindless. I can pay you in cat fur and perhaps a wedding cupcake!