Shopping and Blocking

My yarn haul from my trip to A New Yarn on Saturday. What a great place! I have specific plans for a few of these... and more vague plans for the rest. That variegated pink mohair at the bottom is destined to become a wimple! Found a pattern that calls for just one skein of that particular yarn. =) Most will be used for small, one-skein projects since the quantity available was small and many of these are mystery yarns - no ball bands to help determine fiber content. That's the great part of browsing in that shop though - no telling what you'll find that's been donated! There's some great stuff in this haul and I can't wait to play with it! =) I also picked up another pair of straight needles (can you ever have too many size 8s?), a couple circular needles, T-pins to block my stole and a couple patterns too!


Since I finally remembered to buy T-pins this weekend, I blocked my alpaca stole today! It's now residing on the other half of my now damp bed. haha It was too long to block on the couch and stretched nearly the full length of the bed. I'm just hoping I don't move around too much tonight since it needs the night to finish drying...


I worked on my Branching Out scarf and I'm nearly finished with my leash mitt too (only a couple more inches to go!). Pics to follow soon...

New on the Needles... and a couple of FOs

First off, I knit up a couple quick, small projects this week, finishing them up tonight. The first was a cover for my GPS. I wanted to keep the screen safe when not in use and give it a little protection from bumps in my travels. I also wanted a small, snug cover for my phone and an easy way to tote it around. I had cotton yarn. I had needles. I had time to kill in the hotel here in Seattle. Voila! Problem solved. =)

Knit in the round on size 7 dpn in stockinette stitch with a bit of crochet in the end, sized to fit my GPS and cell.


I started a cabled bag inspired by a handknit purse seen at a shop in Pike Place Market a couple weekends ago. I knew it would be pretty simple to whip up a pattern for my own. I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick super bulky weight in charcoal on size 13 needles and staggering the twists in my 3x3 cables. The size of the yarn and needles makes this a fast-moving project, but the larges sizes of everything makes me feel like a little kid playing with my mom's knitting. haha I'm a little over halfway done now. Just need to finish it, block it, attach the handles and line it.


I also cast on the baby alpaca (Plymouth Yarn grande tweed in camel with flecks of black) for my new stole. This yarn is yummy! SO soft. I'm using a super easy pattern. This yarn is seriously ruining me for all other, lesser fibers! It's so nice to knit with, it'll almost be a shame to finish this one... but then I'll get to use the stole so it's win-win. =) Only about a foot or so done so far...


I also made a trip to another local yarn shop, Bad Woman Yarn, in the Wallingford Center in Seattle and picked up yarn for a Christmas gift. I need to get started on that soon! So many projects, so much time in hotels and airports... =)