Knitting, Yarn and Stuff

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The Knitting

A couple of finished objects:

Barnes & Noble hat

Specs:

• Yarn: Crystal Palace Iceland, 100% bulky wool, purchased from Lettuce Knit.
• Needles: U.S. size 11: Denise interchangeable circulars; Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs
• Gauge: ~3.25 stitches/inch
• Pattern: Cast on 72 stitches. Join in the round. K4,P4 for ~3 inches. Then knit every row for 7½ inches, changing yarn colors to make stripes, as the mood hits. Decrease & finish following Super Simple Hat Calculator instructions.
• Recipient: Thanks to Issy's generous idea, the Tuesday Night Knitters are knitting various items for the Barnes & Noble employees who so graciously put up with our boisterious behavior every week. We're supposed to knit the items in Barnes & Noble colors. So, how did I do?
  

To say the hat matches these colors is a stretch.
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The hat's a bit on the big side, so I will specify that it should go to a large-headed male. It's very warm, though, which will come in handy if we ever have a winter.


Another F.O.:

Mason-Dixon Ballband Warshrag

Specs:

• Yarn: Lily's Sugar & Cream 100% cotton, in #00001 (white) & #01009 (dusty green)
• Needles: U.S. size 7: Denise interchangeable circulars
• Gauge: who cares?
  
• Pattern: from Mason-Dixon Knitting, p. 21.
• Recipient: family member whose name I've drawn for Christmas. I intend on knitting a second one identical to the first, in order to match their master bathroom colors. We'll see if that gets done, as I'm already sick of knitting with non-elastic fibers. [I'm also working on linen dishtowel(s) for that person.]

One of many, many works-in progress:

Moebius
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I started this during the Knitter's Review Retreat. The yarn is Fiesta La Boheme which is one strand of rayon boucle and one strand of mohair wound and dyed together. I purchased that yarn at the Spring Fiber Festival with the intention of knitting a moebius via a different method from a different book. I never felt brave enough to try the moebius on my own, so was glad to have a chance to knit one with this yarn via Cat's method.

I've had to set this knitting aside until after Christmas, though. And I have no idea how this will turn out until I bind off. What you see above is just after I joined in the second ball of yarn. This thing might end up being a hat, a neck warmer, or a shoulder wrap -- I just won't know until all is said and done -- that's sorta half the fun. But there won't be a finished moebius picture until after the New Year, most likely.

The Yarn

I've shown these first two pictures previously, but didn't have time for lengthy descriptions back then, so I thought I'd share them again here and identify what's what.

Yarn (& stuff) purchased during the KR Retreat:

1. Handmaiden Sea Silk. No one in Virginia sells Handmaiden yarn. After reading about it on various blogs and websites, I've lusted after it for months, so snapped it up while I had the chance. And no, I don't know what it will become, but I believe it is lace weight, so is most likely destined to become a shawl someday.
2. 100% Cultivated Silk Sliver from Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I have ambitions of knitting something (?) with it, unspun, much like people I know who have knit with unspun silk caps. (That bumper sticker in the background also came from Spirit Trail).
   
3. Knitting Memories, edited by Lela Nargi, with essays by Clara Parks, Teva Durham, Lily Chin and others. I was able to get Lela's, Clara's and Teva's signatures during the KR Retreat.

Yarn (& stuff) acquired from the swap room at the KR Retreat:

1. Unidentified acrylic yarn in my favorite blue/green/teal colors. I think I will add it to the potluck scarf I'm knitting, as I'm about to run out of that yarn purchased while on vacation. (That unfinished scarf will also have to wait until after holiday knitting is complete).
2. ~750 yards of Blue Sky Cotton in color #604 (minty green). Score! It may become a tank top.
3. Hank of Lang's La-se-ta 100% silk (~150 yards) in color #7618 (jade/forest green). Gorgeous. No idea what this will be used for, but most likely will be part of a larger project.
4. Mini-hank of Artyarns Supermerino - this was actually a freebie in our KR Retreat goody bag. Again, no idea what I can do with that small amount, so it will probably be part of something larger -- perhaps the potluck scarf (see above).
5. Port-a-pocket for carrying small project & yarn (e.g. socks) on one's wrist. I later found out that this was donated to the KRR swap room by blogless Marie from Massachusetts. Thanks, Marie! I hope I have as many good years with it as you did!
6. Elle Mohair 2000 in the world's greatest color. ;-) I will most likely use this in the potluck scarf, as well.

Not pictured above, but also purchased during the KR Retreat, is this yummy yarn:

400 yards of 100% Merino laceweight from Spirit Trail Fiberworks

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I know, I know. I'm stuck in a color rut. But I'm happily stuck, not unlike a contented pig in slop. I just love those colors. I'm drawn to them like moth to flame. I also know that 400 yards isn't enough to make a full-sized shawl, so I'm picturing a lacy scarf of some sort.


Here's some yarn purchased locally, and more recently:

I'm in blue-green heaven!

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Left-to-Right:

• 2 hanks kid mohair
• 1 hank wool/mohair/nylon boucle
• 1 hank 50/50 wool/silk blend (luscious!)
• 2 hanks of handspun 100% Australian wool top

All of that yarn was either dyed or spun, or dyed and spun by Patsy, our knitting group's knitter/spinner/dyer extraordinaire. Patsy and her friend and fellow TNK'er Nancy had a fantastic craft sale a couple weekends ago, but since I was out of town at the KR Retreat, I was unable to attend the sale, (my one regret). Lucky for me (but not so lucky for my wallet), Patsy had some yarn leftover from the sale and brought it to TNK the following Tuesday. I bought all the yarn she had in those colors. As I've mentioned, I'm pretty much helpless when it comes to blue-greens!

Here's a close-up of Patsy's handspun wool:

Love these colors!

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The Stuff

I've previously described our trip to Orange County Choppers when we were in New York. But I haven't yet shared my purchases, so here they are:

Cell Block O.C.C. thermal shirt - this will be great to sleep in!
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Worlds collide! An O.C.C.- Redskins chopper -- I've died and gone to heaven!
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Last week, Webs had a few Lexie Barnes bags at half price, so this was purely an impulse purchase:

The Lady B in "Little Miss Perfect" fabric. Love it!
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And finally, I think I've figured out why I like yarn so much:

Yum!
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