Rainy Day

Update: I've finished my baby bib & think I will start some quick booties today. I've finished the back & left front of Kenobi & am steadily working on the right front. My blanket yarn should be arriving soon, so I'll probably jump right into that. I constantly feel slightly overwhelmed by my list of upcoming projects, yet any time I have nothing scheduled I go a little crazy and feel like I've forgotten something. It's a very strange dichotomy.

Anyway, Spring has sprung, although it feels more like the beginning of Summer here, so my blog has a fresh new look. I'm using a new browser and will soon have new email. Things are changing, huh? Let's hope so. My old browser was never very compatible with Blogger and I had to type out a lot of HTML myself so this is going to be much more fun & efficient. Thanks to phydeaux3 for helping me sort out my label cloud. By the way, I make no apologies to anyone who doesn't like pink!

Look at the yummy sock yarn that Greg gave me for my birthday. They're so bright and squishy. The colors are Girls Just Want to Have Fun & Crush Me. The yarn is from Crash Into Ewe.



And of course another skein of Kureyon!


I also received quite a lot of crafty books: Hollywood Knits Style, More Sensational Knitted Socks, Knitters Book of Finished Techniques, Lace Style, Folk Shawls, Died in the Wool, Simple Sewing with a French Twist, & the Stitch-It Kit by Jenny Hart. Yay! Now if only I had the room for them. I even ordered a couple others from Amazon the other day! Knit 2 Together is something like $9 and I ordered Charmed Knits because I need to get seriously busy on my HP knitting before July!

Hope you enjoy the new blog!

Knitting Gifts

Okay this is the very last time I mention Christmas for at least 6 months! I thought I'd share the haul donated by my generous family. Books include Folk Hats, The Harmony Guide Vol. 5 for cable inspiration & my mom bought me a couple of beret patterns I'm interested in and included a lot more patterns she found on the net. I also received a "Learn to Spin" kit from www.skeintilyclad.com I've been wanting for awhile, not that I really need another addiction. Not pictured: the Knit Picks Options interchangeable needle set. I love my bamboo, but I thought it was time to branch out, plus I need that metal to work with any more cotton. I'm hoping to learn Magic Loop on them this year.



My mom just returned from England & brought me a bag from John Lewis brimming with English yarns! I received the same treatment last year, however I wasn't the best in updating the blog...um, anyway I can't wait to whip something up with all these lovelies!



Top Row: Rowan Felted Tweed in a Dark Raspberry & Burnt Orange
Middle Row: Rowan Kid Classic in Dark Violet & Rowan 4 Ply Soft in Bubblegum Pink
Bottom Row: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Dk (!) in Goldenrod & RYC Cashsoft DK in springy Light Apple Green

Pretty nice for not having to leave the house, huh? Thanks mom!

Updating

Well, gee, I guess I haven't been keep up with the blog at all. Seein' as how I am now linked on someone else's blog, possibly to be viewed by others, I guess I should get crackin'.


To start with, I'm going to show all of the awesome knitting loot I scored for my birthday last month. The first two are oh-so-pretty Koigu PPPM from the "in-laws". I'm hoping to learn socks in the next month or so. I'm thinking of using a different yarn for my first pair because they will probably be kind of wonky, but this yarn is so yummy-looking, I want to dive right into it.











The solid pink is Lobster Pot 100% Cashmere received from my brother & sis-in-law. Isn't it luscious? I can't get over how ridiculously expensive it is. I'm going to have to find a really special pattern to use it. I'm thinking lacy gloves or something.









From my momma I got some Wool of the Andes in Natural. I'm so excited to try Kool-Aid dying. It's going to be fun to pick out colors.






Next up are the gorgeous skeins from the KnitPicks Palette sampler that my dear Greg got me. 30 colors, ahhh! You can tell I love taking photos of my yarn, I usually take 3 or 4 shots of each to get the perfect picture. I've already delved into these to make the Candywrapper Sachets from One Skein for Mother's Day.
















He also got me the Debbie Bliss yarn I've been eyeing for the vintage capelet from spunmag.com

This birthday was just so much fun with all of the knitting goodness. In addition to all of the yarn I received, I got some money, which has already been used to order some Colinette Giotto for the Waterlily top in IK's Spring issue. I was going to buy it from cucumberpatch on eBay, but she only had 2 skeins. Luckily for me, loop in London has just opened an online store: http://www.loopshop.gb.com/ I bought the yarn for less than half of what it costs over here. Yippee!! Knitting books received include: One Skein- which I'm already using, Knitting Rules!- I read it right away, Scarf Style- I can't wait to try Lady Eleanor of course, Sensational Knitted Socks- I will be using it shortly & Modular Knits- I love the color combos. My mom also got me a book on updated hippie crafts.

Ok, I think this is a good start to actually keeping up with my blog. I'll try to figure out how to make the format look better. I'll post some recent FOs and WIPS soon.