Weekend Fun

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for the amazing suggestions/ideas on what to work on for my next knitting project. You are all awesome and I knew you'd come through for me. I didn't want you to have to wait holding your breath (because really, who isn't? I mean, isn't the project I pick like the biggest thing ever...umm, yeah, I know. No one probably cares. LOL) until Wednesday, so I thought I would share with you what I decided.

I decided to work on something flat before jumping into the in the round train. Autumngeisha suggested the Waffle Stitch Fingerless Gloves. After looking at the pattern, I thought it was the perfect project to move onto. It was a new stitch that I had yet to use, but a quick and easy project. I also knew just the yarn to use. I decided to go with my kettle dyed (by me) Lion Brand Fisherman's wool that you can see here. Since it was a huge skein split up, I had no clue how much I had, but once I wound it into a ball, I realized that I would have enough for at least a pair of the fingerless gloves. Perfect! I started right away, despite Christmas looming (I know, how dumb can I be?). I'm happy to report, it's going great and I should be finished with the first gloves today! I don't want to share a picture, since WIPW is right around the corner, so you'll just have to wait. :p

That all being said, my next knitting project will be a hat in the round and I can't wait! I think I'll be using this pattern, because it looks pretty simple, but still cute. It might be the perfect project for this yarn or this one. What do you think?

On to my weekend fun!

My neighbor asked me to watch her cat this week, so she showed me where everything is, etc. When walking to the door, I saw a set of knitting needles. I couldn't believe it! I asked if she knit, and she pulled me back inside and showed me what she's working on (about three different projects), as well as ones she had recently finished. I had NO clue she knit, not at all. You could imagine my surprise! She was showing me a few different yarns (some very expensive...around $32 a skein) and it was all beautiful. She told me I could ask her any questions and she could help me out. I'm so excited to have someone close by that can help when needed. She didn't know about Ravelry, so I was sure to tell her about it and make sure she signed up.

Lastly, I was able to go to a LYS in a town about an hour and a half away from where I live. My husband needed to pick up a piece he had framed there (shipping was going to be insanely expensive, so it was much easier to make a trip out of it) and we decided to make it a day. We weren't able to leave yesterday until about 2 hours before the LYS closed, so we would definitely be cutting it close. Speaking of which, why do LYS close SO early on Sundays, if they're open at all? This one closed at 4pm, which I found a little odd, but then another one I also looked up in the area closed at the same time. If I owned a shop like that, I would stay open until at least 5pm, especially since they open at noon. So odd. Anyway, we made it in time, despite getting a little lost.

Since I'll be starting a yarn diet January 1st (more details to come in a later post), I had an idea of what I wanted to buy. I realized recently I don't have much chunky yarn, so to make sure I had enough to do a simple projects which may call for it, I wanted at least 2 skeins of something in that weight. I have also been dying to try Malabrigo, and from the store's website, I knew they sold it. Sure enough, not only did they carry Malabrigo, they carried Malabrigo Chunky! It fit both categories I was looking for in one swoop. Here is the colorway I chose. Isn't it pretty?



I continued to wander the store. I didn't want to buy too much, as I'm trying not to buy things for myself right now. Also, we'll be going on a trip up the coast of California between Christmas and New Year's and I knew we would be stopping at a few shops along the way. I was content with my Malabrigo Chunky...and then I saw this. Cascade Eco Duo. OH. MY. GOD. Now, I previously didn't think I really liked Cascade. I'd never used it, but the only lines I had come in contact with were crazy scratchy and I would never been able to use (like Cascade 220). This was different...WAY DIFFERENT. I couldn't stop hugging and petting it. I was instantly in love. My husband could see the gleam in my eye, and knew we would be coming home with at least one skein. Now, normally, when it's an impulse buy like this one, I buy one skein and call it good. But wait! What if I wanted to do a larger project with it, and I AM going on a yarn diet in about 2 weeks. What's another skein going to hurt, other than my bank account? You guessed it...I came home with 2 skeins of it. Here it is:



Amazing, no? I mean, it doesn't look like much, but if you could only feel it. I wish I could just sleep with it. LOL I think this is the first yarn I've felt this way. It's 70% undyed baby alpaca and 30% undyed Merino. Can't you just imagine the heavenly feel of it? Have any of you worked with it yet? The lady at the store mentioned it's one of Cascade's newer lines. I see a lot of this yarn in my future, and in fact, I think it's soft enough that once I start making sweaters, I would be able to wear it without any discomfort. I think this yarn will be calling my name until I made something from it.

So that was my weekend, how was yours?