Stash dive
Took a dive deep, deep into the stash and found a treasure. It's from the second Sock Summit back in 2011. Stash doesn't normally stick around quite that long in these parts, but this one managed to hang in there. Even better, the company, Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts, is still around and still making lovely yarn. So I cast on. And yes, we are in the crumpled and weird stage of all knitting projects, but I think it's going to be awfully pretty in a few more rows!
That was quick
This was supposed to make the snow stop. The traditional approach is 'it's snowing, I'm cold, oh I know, I'll knit something, oh look spring came long before I finished the knitting.' It's usually foolproof. But not so much this time. I started it Saturday, finished it Monday, blocked it this week (still loving the lampshade approach to blocking cowls), and still the snow hasn't melted. So maybe the final step is to show it off here. Perhaps that will take care of it. I do note that the forecast today puts the temps well above freezing!
Has it really been that long?
I got a lovely message a few weeks ago from someone who told me she'd found a book that totally reminded her of me and my patterns, and she really really wanted to tell me about it. At least she did, right up until she realized it was actually my book (it was the first Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet book). Now this is awesome and hilarious (and she said she was totally fine with me talking about it). But it also served as a good reminder that the first Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet book came out a long time ago (summer of [...]
Uncharacteristic
This is not like me. Not at all. It's thick yarn (Capella by SpaceCadet). It's huge needles. It's bright colors. It's a very mellow, unstructured cable. This is more or less the complete opposite of my normal approach. And I'm more or less smitten. I'll be over here petting the pretty. Try not to be too jealous.
Brrrr
So while the cold weather took its own sweet time getting here, now that it's here it seems to want to stay a while. I'm fighting back in traditional knitter fashion. Wool. Both in the form of socks, and on the needles as a talisman against snow. Some day we knitters will learn casting on a new project isn't the best response to being cold, but today is not that day
Starburst
I have strong feelings about hat tops. Which is probably silly, as when you're wearing your hat most people can't actually see the top of your head. But the feelings persist. Which is why I'm unreasonably amused by this. I love love love a flat hat top (the secret is to decrease alarmingly fast), and this is no exception. But if you take that and add in a wee starburst of the most cheerful yarn ever (Capella in Tantrum by SpaceCadet)? I'm going to be doing a serious happy dance.
Tip Top
Hat? Hat! Fast? Unreasonably so. Amusing? More than I would ever have expected. Colorwork? Yup...and it's my first go at it, and I'm bad at it, and I still had fun. Slightly sloppy insides and all. More? Oh yes. There will both be more hats in this series and at least one more shot of this hat...the top is too damn cute not to share. Soon. Very soon.
New Skills
Bear in mind I know nothing at all about colorwork. This is the first proper project I've even sort of tried it on. But with that in mind, I really do rather like how this is coming out (I'd take it as a kindness if you'd refrain from telling me all the things I'm doing wrong...I'm just enjoying the pretty for now, I'll learn what I should be doing later). I'm starting with the wee spikes all nestled up close to one another. Then after a while they start drifting farther and farther apart. Assuming this relaxes and evens out [...]
Smug, so very very smug
Public Service Announcement: Your swatch doesn't count if you don't block it. Remember the photo of the swatch I showed you last time? Take a look at it after a little soak! Totally different beast (with a whole stitch per inch difference in gauge). If I'd started the project without blocking the swatch, the finished project would have been way way way too big. I also feel like blocking the swatch helped me decide which color to go with (which was proving unreasonably challenging when I was just staring at the yarn). Tantrum it is. But don't feel bad if [...]
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