Actually, home is where the yarn is...

Let's talk about stash. I know that this has been discussed ad nauseum on other blogs, but let's face it; every knitter finds themselves looking at their stash once in a while and quietly contemplating whether or not it's over the top. I had that exact moment last night when I went to the post box, found the magic oversized parcel box key, opened the box and found... 2 bags waiting for me to take home and open. What was in the new bags? Well, in one I found my new STR rockin sock club shipment for April. I am totally in love with this pattern and the yarn is simply stunning. The pattern appears to be well written and thought out (there was a lot of criticism over the last pattern regarding gauge, instep issues, and pooling vs striping - some people are never satisfied) and the yarn - yum, yum, yummy. Silkie is my new favorite sock yarn I think!!! So soft and I love the stripe-y effect that it has. MMMMMMM.

Of course, if that were all, I wouldn't have had the moment of stash contemplation. Oh no, it didn't end there. Also in the mail box were the two skeins of STR that I had ordered previously. One is a colorway that was specially dyed for me by the nice ladies at STR (and so I can't mention the name of the colorway) and one is Lucy, which you may or may not know was aptly named by the oh so smart ladies at STR after Wendy's cat, Lucy. Gorgeous, no?

Now, I don't normally ask for custom dyes, but in this case, I was running out of options. See, I have been working on a secret project for a very special person in my life. Someone who has been my best friend and support system since, well, forever. This person, therefore, deserves a very special project. So, I choose the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and picked up two skeins of STR in Chapman Springs and Garnet Dreams. Well, when I started to knit these two yarns together, I wasn't pleased with the results and went in search of something that would offer more contrast compared with the Chapman Springs. I didn't find anything on either the Bluemoon or the Fold Website, so I decided to see if I could get a custom dye and the ladies at STR came through for me. All that remains now is to frog the scarf and re-start it in the new colors.



See what I mean? Muddy on the one end. Don't worry, soon I will have photos to show you of something decidely un-muddy.

As well, the order of Duet sock yarn that I bought last week came in. Amazing, no? This yarn is so vibrant and soft. I can't wait to see how it knits up. I promise a full review as soon as I get some of the other things off my needles. Oh and how cute is the little sock blocker? This came as a gratis gift. Too cute!!

And, last, but not least, I was at SnB night the other night and happened to be persuaded to buy 2 skeins of Tofutsies. Now, I have heard such great things about this yarn and the fact that it contains chitin swayed me. Not to mention the colors... so cool. They seem variegated and yet not. Its also amazingly soft and plushy - almost like velvet. I can't wait to give a review of this yarn too.

Ok, now comes the embarrassing part. I still am waiting on at least 3 more shipments of yarn to come in. I know. I know. I am actually turning red thinking about it. But, honestly, in my defense, it was all bought so quickly and when you are shopping online, it doesn't really seem real because of the waiting time between purchase and package. Right? So, it really comes as a shock when all of the packages seem to arrive at the same time. That's when it becomes a problem.

Also, in my defense, most of the rest of the yarn coming in has been earmarked for baby clothes and other various baby items. We have 3 babies arriving soon in this family and they will all need some togs to wear once they are here. Anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it. I have officially put myself on a sock yarn diet, because although as we all know, sock yarn doesn't officially count as stash, but I am starting to admit to myself that maybe if sock yarn is the only thing you stash, it really does count.

I am also pledging to get rid of some of my sock yarn. In fact, if you click on the "destash" button in my sidebar, it will take you to the place that I do most of my destashing. It's a great site and the ladies that run it are amazing.

Of course, it was all put into perspective for me last night when Terra from SnB mentioned that she was over at another knitter's house the other day - apparently this knitter (who shall remain nameless) has two rooms of her house that are dedicated solely to her yarn... who knew? Maybe my addiction isn't really that bad... right? right?

Sock-lobster

Seems as though I am sticking to my pledge to knit a pair of socks a month has been working. Since I made the new years resolution in January, I have knit 4 pairs of socks and 3 singles. Not too shabby. I also have some WIP's to show you. I started on the STR socks and got hopelessly stalled after the first sock. For some reason, my cables didn't turn out quite right and so these socks were sent to time out for a while. I figured since the new months yarn was shipped last week, I better get to it, so I cast on for the second sock and am as far as the cable section. I have smartened up somewhat and threaded myself a lifeline so that if I mess the cables up again, frogging will be easier. I can just zip down to the lifeline and start over again. At least, that's the theory. Hopefully this time the cables will miraculously work out and I can frog the other sock and re-work the cables in the same manner. Wish me luck. I would really like to have these socks done before the next kit arrives.






Then I got some sock yarn in the mail from HL Miller and started my first pair of Jaywalker's. I know I am late to jump on the Jay bus, but this is such an amazingly easy and quick knit pattern that I know I will use it over and over. It compliments the yarns that I like to buy - namely self striping or verigated- so well and the finished product is fantastic. I even started a pair of baby Jays in the left over "Malamute" Yarn Pirate yarn. I think it's so neat how the different patterns showcase this yarn. I have seen this color knit up in at least 3 different patterns (including the Embossed Leaves socks that I knit with it) and each pattern shows it so well.





I also got some more sock yarn in the mail yesterday that started out being a great deal when I first bought it (10.00 a skein for hand dyed 100% bamboo yarn) turned out to not be such a great deal. I payed about $6.00 shipping for the 3 skeins when I first bought it. Then it was shipped by accident to our old address, and sent back by the new owners (despite my going over there and explaining to them what had happened, leaving my number and asking them to call so I could come pick it up when it arrived - but that's another story, grrr.). So, when it arrived back at the original location, the seller re-sent, but I had to pay another $7.00 for it. And, of course, when it came in, customs wanted another $7.00 for it. So, the grand total for these 3 skeins of yarn came to a whopping total of $50.00 US, which I am aware is not a lot for hand dyed sock yarn, but still $14.00 more than it should have been. However, it is lovely and will be put to good use shortly.





I do have some more amazing sock yarn coming in soon. Husband seems to have relented on his yarn ban, plus, I made over a hundred dollars de-stashing some of the older yarn that I had which I knew would never be used for anything, so I was able to splurge a bit. I did get some of what I believe to be the very last shipment of Sweet Georgia yarn (I hope she enjoys her well earned hiatus), as well as some other yarn that I will be able to show you as soon as it arrives. Hopefully it won't be too long in coming.


Other than that, nothing much is happening here. Yesterday, we took Bunny to a birthday party at a friends house and she played herself out. In fact, she was so tired that she asked to go home at 8pm and went straight to bed. Not like her at all. Turns out, she was getting sick and now we all have sore throats. Everyone is staying home today under soft blankies and much cuddling is happening at this house. I guess the cleaning will have to wait another few days. Oh well. On the baby front, the littlest-little is expected in just over 12 weeks! Time has flown by this time around. Being pregnant the second time around sure is different. I remember with Bunny, I stressed out about everything! I was worried when the baby moved too much or not enough, I watched what I ate, and I made sure that I read as much as I could. This time around, the weeks are flying by, I am still eating many of the things that I shouldn't be (coffee, sushi, and lunch meats - although in moderate ammounts), but I still can't wait to meet this babe... Soon, soon.

Feeling a bit Sentimental

Today I am feeling somewhat nostalgic. Maybe it is the heady combination of pregnancy hormones and copious ammounts of sugar, but I woke up this morning with the strong desire to look at photos and possibly do some serious weeping.

Actually, in truth, I realized with some surprise that I hadn't blogged since April 2 (!) and was desperate for something to blog about. I must confess to not having taken any new photos since my last blog post. Lazy, lazy, me. So, instead of taking new photos (please don't flog me), I went through my old photos and looked at pictures of Bunny from birth to now. Oh, how she has grown. I can't believe that she went from this:

To this:

Can you believe how much she has grown? It seems like just yesterday that I was 300 months pregnant and waiting for her to appear. Now, while waiting for the next babe to arrive, it becomes abundantly clear to me that kids. grow. up. fast. People say this to you when you are pregnant for the first time and you think that you understand this, but really, you don't actually get it until your child starts to grow. I look back on this now and think where did the last 5 years go?? When did she get so big?? Where the heck was I??

I can't wait to see what the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years are like for her. I hope that they are all as wonderful as these first 5 have been.

Ok, for those of you who have made it to this point without throwing up your hands in disgust at the lack of knitting content, I promise to take more pictures of the knitting in progress and have something wonderful and knitting related to post shortly.

Socks that Rock...

I have been dying to start the Chevron scarf that everyone seems to be doing right now using 2 skeins of Socks that Rock, and since we happened to be in Edmonton this weekend, and since River City Yarns happens to be the only store in Western Canada that stocks STR, I just had to get some. I wasn't sure what gauge people were knitting the scarf in, so I picked up two skeins of lightweight in Chapman Springs and Garnet Dreams.

When I got back home, I was able to do some searching on what people are using for color combos and realized that if there is not enough contrast between the yarns, they tend to pool funny and look muddy. I am hoping that there is enough difference between these two colorways so that this doesn't happen. What do you think? Feel free to let me know.




Of course, I also had to buy something for myself. So, I got myself a skein of Watermelon Tourmaline in the Medium Weight. I have no idea what pattern I will use this with, but I'm sure that if I stare at it long enough, inspiration will come to me.




I also started on the Jaywalkers using this yarn from HLMiller. They look great and I would like to show you a photo, but they are in my purse at the moment and I am too lazy to go and photograph them. I will take some pics this week and get them up for your viewing pleasure as soon as possible.

Otherwise, going back to work was as crappy as I thought it would be. I still really like my job, but the joy that I posted about a while ago has gone out of it. I am tired beyond belief. I think that this pregnancy is getting the best of me and I am worried that I won't be able to get back on my feet as quickly as I would like to once the baby arrives. I am thinking of suggesting to my boss that I maybe only work part time from May onwards. Keep your fingers crossed for me.