Lolz - I haz them

*edit* I had a pic here, but it didn't fit right. Instead, go see it here.

This is Isis. My roommate took this pic and captioned it, and since it's cute, I thought I'd share it with y'all.

Yarn Delivery!!!

Came home to the delivery of my first ever (and surely not last) KnitPicks order! Say it with me now: "oooooooooohh!!!"




I got three balls of Felici in Mixed Berries



Four balls of Palette (two in Purple, two in Grass)




2 hanks of Gloss in Cosmos

and two balls of Shine Sport (one in Violet and one in Leapfrog)



I also got the first of my collection of KnitPicks Options interchangable needles - a 60" cable (two actually, I didn't realize they came in pairs) and a pair of US 4 nickle-plated tips.




I'm so excited! I can't wait to start using them. In fact - here I go!

To lace, or not to lace

I found myself, not long ago, enamored with Anne Hanson's Fiddlehead Scarf pattern. Not sure why, as I've never really been drawn to knitting lace. But this one called to me, and I answered. Or at least, tried.

I made my first trip to the Yarn Garden last Saturday and picked out some Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb (here it is in my Rav stash). The fine gauge was a little daunting, but I forged ahead and tried casting on that evening. Try as I might, I couldn't manage to loosen up. Ok, so maybe laceweight yarn is something I'll have to work on.

I really wanted to try out this pattern though. I couldn't get it out of my head! So I decided to improvise, a little, and cast on using some Mirasol Hacho and US 10's. The pattern as written is 9 repeats (or 10, I don't have it in front of me) wide, but I shortened it to just 3 repeats.

Here was my progress yesterday afternoon:


And by this evening I had this:


I did goof somehow. I was watching Brother Bear (GREAT movie!) and knitting at the same time. Beginner knitter + lace + distracting movie = OOPS! Click here to see it. Somehow I ended up knitting a wrong side row on a right side. It was at the end of a repeat anyway though, so I just knit another wrong side row (this time on the right wrong correct side) and started over with the first row of the pattern. It's character, right? :)

It's a great pattern though. It's working up so fast, and I can't wait to see it blocked.

Other fun thing this weekend, watching the Dock Dog Competition at Oaks Park.






I would love to do this with my dog, Malakai. He's not interested though.

Picture-less craft update

Tesserae Socks: Stalled. Actually, I'm not sure where they are. Probably in one of my yarn bins, but I can't access them at the moment. Last I worked on them, I was working on the heel flap.

Through Any (Blue) Window: Making very slow progress. I leave it at my desk to work on during my breaks and lunches, but it's slow-going. Since being busted for being online during work time, I've been trying to be good about using the internet on breaks only, which is cutting into crochet time. But, it isn't quite stalled.

Sunflower Purse: Stalled. It, too, is probably in my yarn bins. I'm shooting for finishing it by September. Truthfully, all I have left to do is crochet the "trellis" and sew on the outer lining, and find (or make) some handles for it.

So what AM I working on? Well, not much. Swatching, mostly. Just small things to keep my hands busy and practice the knitting skillz. I found my Knitting Stitch Bible, so I'm having fun playing with new stitch patterns.

I've added some yarn to my stash. I've become a bit of a yarn snob, but I've decided I'm ok with that. My favorite recent addition is some bulky black superfine Alpaca from Lavish Fibers. I also bought my first laceweight yarn, Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb. I was going to make the Fiddlehead Scarf with it, but it's causing me some major headaches so I'm going to re-evaluate that. I also ordered some sock yarn yesterday from KnitPicks (this in Purple and Grass, this in Cosmos, this in Mixed Berries, and this in Violet and Leapfrog), along with the beginning of my collection of KnitPicks Options circular needles (the 60" cable and size 4 nickle plated tips). I hope they're as great as I've read. I want to try my hand at two-at-a-time socks, both the toe-up and cuff-down versions.

Let's see, what else. I'm trying to keep my Ravelry notebook up to date with the new additions to my stash. I'm also building up my collection of bamboo needles. I bought some fabric that I want to use for a needle case specifically for the bamboo needles, and since I couldn't find a pattern online for exactly what I wanted, of course I'm making it up myself. I've got a schematic-type-thingy drawn up with measurements, so I hope to start work on that tonight or tomorrow. Malakai ate some of my bamboo DPNs the other day so I need a too-big-to-eat place to keep them all organized.

Speaking of Malakai, check out this video of him and my roommate's dog, Isha, finally playing together after a week and a half of nothing but barking at each other. (Oh wait, I can't get to YouTube from work. Well, do a search for "Malakai & Isha" and you should find it. If I remember, I'll update when I get home) **Ok here's the link**

Upcoming projects! I've decided to make the Shifty sock with my Knitters Without Borders skein of STR. I only have one skein of it, so I'll have to buy more and hope that the lots are close enough in color to pass. Other than that, I think I'm going to stick with small things, stash busters especially, until I can do some sorting out of my stash. Yarn snob that I'm becoming, I'm thinking of giving most of it away on Freecycle.

I finally started a notebook for my patterns, rather than having the pages scattered about willy-nilly. I'm also hoping to change my yarn storage method from the giant purple Rubbermaid bins to the sleeker, see-through, stackable Sterilite drawers.

I just realized I forgot to blog about my trip to LA. But that has pictures, so it'll have to be later. Look for it!