Three times as strong as the rope that you buy domestically

I got hemp yarn:



Isn't it purdy? It's Hemp for Knitting's allhemp3.

Unfortunately, it has to go back. It's not pure white, which is what my mom wanted for her jacket. And thinking about it, I think it's a bit too rustic for Mom's tastes, anyway. Maybe I'll keep a skein to play around with, but the rest are going back (there are 11).

Instead, I think I'll order some Elann.com Lara (a sportsweight, mercerized cotton) for my mom's jacket. The weight and color are right, and it's inexpensive. I'd still love to do bamboo or soysilk, but I just can't afford it right now, esp. if Mom ends up not being crazy about it. I know she likes cotton, so I don't think I can go wrong with that...

Kudos to Kpixie, though. I ordered this yarn at around noon last Saturday. An hour later, it was shipped to me, and it came this morning! How's that for awesome service?

I'm rich!

Or, more to the point, I'm poor and broke, but with alot of yarn. BECAUSE of the alot of yarn.

See?



This is my birthday yarn loot. It doesn't include the alpaca I showed y'all in the last post, but it shows everything else. The Knitpicks order got in at 8 am today. I'm so happy!

Disclaimer: I know, I know, I don't use the highest quality yarns. I do love that pricey alpaca, and Lorna's Laces is awesome, but how often can I justify a $20 pair of socks? I can justify a pair of $6 in Essential, or, better yet, a $3.50 pair in Palette, though. I generally try to use the best yarn I can afford, but right now, that's not much for how much I want to knit. In any case, I'm generally happy with my projects, so neener.

Anyway, in case you're wondering what all this yarn is and what it's for, lemnme tell you. In case you're not wondering, you may want to scroll down...wayway down.

From the top, going from left to right:

1. My work basket, containing the sock showed below and the Circle Cardi

2. 9 balls of Aunt Lydia's Fashion Crochet thread, 100% mercerized cotton, in Natural. To make two of these dresses. This is my first time working with this yarn, or thread, or whatever; I'll keep y'all posted.

3. 4 skeins of TLC Cotton Plus in Red (51% cotton/49% acrylic), to try some sort of camisole or tank top. I ordered 6 skeins, but only got 4 (only got charged for 4, too), so I'm not sure what I'll be able to make with it yet. It's got a pretty nice feel to it, but, again, it's my first time using it.

4. My very sad aloe plant, which fell off the windowsill and broke half its leaves. It seems to have recovered nicely, though, and I froze down lots of aloe for burns and soap-making.

5. (second row from top) 3 hanks of Knitpicks Shadow
, 100% merino wool, in Lost Lake. This is to make the the Sweet Mary Jane cardigan, which I ordered a while ago. By the way, I loooove this yarn; it's soft, sturdy, and works up beautifully. I've tried 4 of the colors, and they're all very vibrant. This green is a bit less green than I expected, but I like it.

6. 4 hanks of Knitpicks Palette, 100% wool, in Cream, Sky, Red, and Hyacinth. The red and cream will be mittens; the rest will be baby socks. The remainder of the red and cream will also be baby socks. This is my first time working with this yarn.

7. 4 skeins of Knitpicks Merino Style, 100$ merino wool, in Frost, to finish the Circle Cardi. So far, I can't tell the difference between the two dye lots, so it shouldn't be a problem. But yes, it means that you can expect to see the finished cardi soon! Yay! I hope I like it...

8. 16 skeins of Wool of the Andes, 100% wool, in Blue Bonnet. These will be a sweater for my husband. I did not expect this color to be so dark -- he wanted electric blue, and this is more cobalt blue -- but we both like the color anyway, and I learned a valuable lesson on color cards. Again, first time using this yarn.

9. (Bottom 2 rows will be done together) 4 skeins of Aunt Lydia's Fashion Crochet thread in Warm Teal and 4 more in Lime, for making the flower dresses from Adorable Knits for Tots. One dress will be teal with the green flower, and the other green with the teal flower. Or that's the plan, anyway :)

10. A bunch of Swish Superwash, 100% superwash wool. I have 3 skeins each of Trufle, Capri, and Bordeaux to make thick, warm, washable socks for two friends and a sister-in-law who are expecting soon. Then there's also 4 skeins of Dublin, to make Trellis for one of the new babes of the abovementioned friends :) This is new yarn, and I don't know anyone who's used it, but it feels quite soft.

11. And finally, 8 skeins of Wool of the Andes, 100% wool, in Mist, to make a vest for my dad. I'm going to be "making it up," incorporating the DNA helix pattern down the center, because he's a virologist. I'm not sure what all else it'll have on it, but it'll be equally thematic.

So, overall, here is about 16 projects (actually more, because each skein of Palette should crank out a couple of pairs of baby socks). I feel so rich :)

And also, I finished that Lorna's Laces sock:



The top was a bit loose -- I bound off using Eunny Jang's yarnover method from the last issue of Interweave Knits. I did a YO after every stitch, because I have big calves and needed alot of stretch, but it turned out a bit too loose. So I'm going to go back and do YOs every other stitch, or something like that. Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with how long these turned out -- this is all just one skein. If I were shorter and/or thinner, these really would go up to my knees. As is, they're a couple of inches shorter than knee socks ought to be. But since I'd never wear them in knee-sock capacity -- with a skirt or something -- it really doesn't matter. They will, however, keep me warm in the winter by closing the gap between my long coat and my boots. Hooray.

By the way, let me just tell you how great Lorna's Laces sock yarn is. It is so great! It just feels so...silky. Yeah. Silky. I love how sturdily spun it is -- it's not nearly as loose as Essential, and softer, despite having the same fiber composition. And the colors -- so rich. I'll definitely be buying some of this yarn...once our finances recover from my little yarny shopping spree (in my defense, the Joann's order was covered almost completely by a gift card, and I haven't bought any other yarn in, like, two months!).

Oh, I also have a sewing question for all you crafty ladies out there: For my wedding, I got the bridesmaids these wraps to wear with their dresses. One wrap was extra, because one girl already had a wrap, and one of the other bridesmaids knew she'd never use hers again and gave it back to me after the ceremony. These wraps are, I dunno, 2 square yards each? Something like that. They're polyester, and they're satiny. I have no idea how else to describe it. Anyway, I'll never use them as wraps. What would you do with them? I was thinking of making a dressy skirt...or top...or, depending on yardage, a dress. Or not, because I'm bad at sewing!

Look what I got in the mail today!

It's the lovely yarn from Grumperina!



It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Irving Park. Isn't it gorgeous?

Plus she sent along a MUCH-appreciated bar of organic chocolate and a sweet note.

Seriously. Chocolate and yarn -- what could be better? Except maybe throwing cheese into the equation. Although not on the yarn. Anyway. Dove is a happy, happy girl today.

From Russia with yarn

My mom (who loved her scarf, by the way) just got back from visiting my brother and niece in Russia. When she got back, she sent me a big box of Russian treats, and she used this as padding:



The top four skeins look like variagated sports or DK weight, in a VERY soft 75% wool/25% acrylic. Each skein is 400g.

The bottom skeins are unlike anything I've ever seen. It's basically white, light mohair with black chunks of fluff thrown in. I'm not sure what the fiber content is, as the label is in neither Russian nor English.

She also sent a big ball of unidentified black yarn.

I'm rich! Mwahahaha.

Yarn porn, progress, and an FO (!)

Today was Christmas, people. The mail carrier showed up with 5 packages! Four were the Husband's Amazon book orders, and the last -- and biggest -- was my Knitpicks yarn!

This is what it looked like:



The brown stuff was 15 balls of Main Line, and the rest was sock yarn:


On the left: two balls of Essential in Navy, with two balls of Simple Stripes Snapdragon to make Fair Isle socks from KnitPicks. Then come two balls of Essential in Grass. Two balls of Sock Garden in Daffodil, and two skeins of Sock Memories in Grandma. I've never worked with Garden or Memories, but they feel so soft. Main Line feels quite wonderful, too, and I hope it gives nice fabric.

I provided the links for what I'm going to make with this yarn earlier, so I'm not gonna do it again.

Anyway, I've made quite a bit of progress on Trellis:



This is the completed fronts and most of one sleeve. I'm still maintaining central symmetry and reversing cables, and I'm doing the same on the sleeves. It's such a quick knit! Each front took maybe an hour-ninety minutes. Unfortunately, it's coming out a bit small. Blocking will stretch it, and it is a stretchy fabric, but it might not fit my niece. Which is ok, because my brother and his wife have another on the way, and it's a pretty unisex sweater!

Moving on.

I started a lacy scarf for my mom for Mother's Day. That means I need to have the sucker knit, finished, blocked, and sent by next Wednesday. Yes, I'm insane, and yes, I'm looking into other gifts.


It's the thistle leaf pattern from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury. Have I mentioned how much I love that book? I love that book. The yarn is Knitpicks Shadow in Jewels, and I love Shadow yarn.

And finally, sort of a FO:



It's a little baggie/clutch made with my handpainted yarn. It still needs buttons, but it's pretty darn completed otherwise. I didn't count on the seed stitch border to spread out quite so much, but, whatever. The stitch pattern is from the Second Treasury, of course. Basically, it's going to be a little baggie to carry tampons in, so that instead of pulling out tampons and carrying them to the bathroom in hopes that no one sees, I can pull out a cute little bag and carry THAT to the bathroom, and hope that no one stops me to ask, "Did you make this? Lemme see!"

Uncharted waters

Last night was my first dyeing adventure! I used leftover Easter egg dye and some old Russian wool I had laying around. I'd previously made a Coronet with one skein of it, and had two-and-some skeins left over.



The right skein is my first attempt. I didn't wet the wool prior to dyeing, so the dye just all seeped down into the bottom of the pan and ran together. Hence the very, erm, indeterminate color, which I kinda like.

The left one was done with fewer colors and larger sections, and I mopped up the dye that seeped through with the yarn before adding a new color, so the colors didn't bleed as much. Also, the green turned out to be a more vibrant dye than the others. I then wrapped it in plastic, so each section saturated in color while it microwaved. This is a larger skein, too, because I wrapped the yarn left over from the Coronet into it.

I'm not sure what I'll do with this. It's too scratchy for hats, scarves, or gloves (the Coronet was awful to wear!), and there's not enough for a sweater, of course. Probably bags? It would felt quite well...And it'll be my first felting adventure! Or maybe afghan squares?