The stash comes, the stash goes

I've been stuck in the house this last week due to being on call for work. While at first it seemed limiting, it now is kinda nice. It's a treat to not have lots of stuff scheduled for the weekend. Since I can't really go far, I've taken the time to relax a little and just knit. Last night I sat on the back patio, enjoyed the wonderful weather, watched the pets frolick, listened to A Prairie Home Companion and knit for a couple hours. The only thing that would have made it better was if I could have had a glass - or three - of wine. But since I'm on call and could get paged into issues at any time, it's better if I don't.



I've been adding to my yarn stash lately, there have been some great sales on yarn (which doesn't usually go on sale). I'm going to have to knit from the stash now for awhile as I've definitely blown my yarn budget. But I think I might be good for at least a little bit now! (Ruth - I got you some cotton yarn. You have your choice of the hand painted 100% cotton yarn or the slate grey 75 cotton/25 silk yarn. I have 5-6 skeins of each, let me know what you might want)

I picked up 4 new sock yarns, my two favorite are these: The blue-ish/purple-ish yarn is for a pair of socks I'm making for a coworker who has been particularly helpful lately (see completed socks below). The yellow/green/blue/purple is for a pair of socks for Brad that I still need to make.

Here's the purple yarn knit up into a pair of socks, and a pair of mittens that I recently finished. It's amazing how nicely the machine works with higher quality yarn. It makes such a difference.

There was some beautiful hand-painted yarn at just a rediculously good price. Here's a sample skein,it's already almost done being made into a swirl hat. It's so beautiful that I practically had to rip it out of the hands of the yarn store owner who had a really hard time letting it go. It knits like buttah.

This is the sweater I started a few weeks ago using Brown Sheep's cotton tweed. It's 60 cotton/40 wool. It's a common pattern that I've knit up lots of times, but this time I'm trying something different. I didn't put in a neckline opening because I'm going to cut up the middle front and put in a zipper. Yes, I know, cutting knitting sounds kinda counter-intuitive. But I've been reading up on it and think I can do it. I will, of course, be making a test swatch first and cutting that first. A little nerve-wracking, but it's time to try something new! Plus, knitting in the round and then cutting it into a cardigan or cutting in a neckline is a good way to be able to knit in the round as long as possible. I really don't like to purl.




The next project is one for the hope chest. Eventually, it will be a christening gown. I'm just working on the skirt for now since I don't really have a pattern for this. Once I get the length right, I'll decrease a bunch for the bodice and then put some arms on. Shouldn't be too difficult. I'll be trimming it in a silver/grey yarn at the bottom, a band between the bodice and skirt, and maybe even the neckline. Just something to take away from all the white. This one may take me awhile to finish - not because the pattern is difficult (which it isn't) but because I have to figure out what I want it to look like. I looked EVERYWHERE for a christening gown pattern with no luck, so I'll have to see what I can come up with on my own. It's my first attempt at knitting without a published pattern.





Here's also a closeup of the pattern, it's quite nice. Perhaps I should have used some finer yarn, but I'm pretty happy with it.



And, lastly, seriously - how handsome is this puppy? He's been full of energy lately and has been very well behaved considering that I've been a little busy lately and he hasn't gotten as much playtime as he might like.