it looks so innocent...

This is the bag that we took to Paula's wedding. I'd unloaded all of the clothes and such, so all that was left was the one side pocket, which didn't look like it could hold so much. Somehow, Paula had remembered to bring some roving for me to the wedding, so that's what was in that pocket...

This is the roving that I managed to squeeze into that pocket. It's probably about 5 pounds worth. The pretty blue one on the bottom left is a silk/merino blend, and the mulberry on the right is also wool/silk/something all blended into batts (which is fun, because I rarely spin from batts). Up top is cormo. MMmmmm cormo. Should keep me busy for awhile.

Since I live in Boston (okay, 9 miles west of Boston), I am compelled to knit some Jaywalkers, and so I am. The yarn is from the Dye o Rama, and I love the colors. I haven't decided how I feel about Knitpicks sock yarn, though. It might be that I'm knitting on size 1 needles, and I feel no love for anything that takes as long as something on size 1 needles does. At least I've only had to rip back once, and only three rows, but even that almost made me throw the sock back in my tupperware and abandon it. Oh well. It kept me entertained on the plane to and from the much more blogworthy event:




The woolarina wedding was beautiful, just like I knew it would be. If it takes Paula a few days to respond to any comments or questions you might leave about woolarina, you'll just have to forgive her for being on her honeymoon :)

79 stitches, but who's counting

I'm starting my way into a Flower Basket Shawl. I'm still not 100% sure that size 6 needles and sock weight yarn are the perfect match, but I'm sure it'll be fine in the end. I had to make myself a spreadsheet, just like I did for charlotte, to remind myself how many stitches I'll have at the end of each repeat. I have serious short term memory problems with lace knitting. For example, tonight, after knitting row 3 of the repeat, I did my purl row, and dutifully restarted row 3 as if I hadn't just finished it (and I really had forgotten that I'd just finished it). I'm pretty obsessive about checking my progress as I go, plus with a symmetrical piece, it's fairly easy to tell when you've messed up, as you either knit right past your middle stitch, or you haven't quite gotten to it, as you think you've finished one side. So, I now have an excel that has computed how many stitches I'll have at the end of each row, so as I count back as I purl, I'll know exactly which row of which repeat I'm on. This should be easier than it is, but for me, it just isn't. It is a nice pattern, though.

Whee Dye-o-Rama

Happily, it has been a successful swap experience in the world of yarn. Yay! Thanks, Karen! Aside from a lovely yarn, I also received a translucent Chibi (I have been coveting one), very cute stitch markers in colors I love, and a set of notecards (I even got to send one of these cards to the person I'm dyeing for)!

The Dye-O-Rama, while possibly decreasing my audience for purchasing handpainted yarn, was tons of fun, and folks seemed to learn a lot and enjoy themselves. I got a lovely yarn that has a much nicer color than I ever got Kool-Aid dyeing. Plus, it's self-striping, and I don't have the patience to make my own self-striping yarn, so it'll be fun to play with. Sadly, the yarn store was closed yesterday so I don't yet have two circular size 1 needles, but as soon as I do, socks will begin. I think I'll do Jaywalkers - I think the pattern will keep me entertained. It's about killing me to work the second 2x2 rib sock that I'm currently doing, and I'm working on 48 stitches rather than the 80ish it'll take me to work on size 1 needles.

These are the yarns I sent my dye pal, plus a little skein of handpainted, handspun merino, of which I have no picture. Hopefully it'll make it to her - I accidentally sent it to the wrong city, but the right zip code, so it may take an extra couple of days: