Stitches East

I don’t have any photos of Stitches East because they didn’t allow photography. Argh! How out-of-touch with the knitting community can you get?! Is there anything we like more than pretty pictures of pretty yarn? Well, the yarn itself, I guess. But you get what I’m saying. I hear the rationale was that they didn’t want people taking secret pictures of patterns and copying them. Is that seriously such a big issue? Wouldn’t it just be easier for the pattern poachers to buy the pattern once and make copies? I’m frustrated because I saw SO MANY people wearing their gorgeous knits, and it would have made a really pretty blog post.

Anyway.

I did find some great stuff at Stitches.

I finally got to meet Gale Zucker of She Shoots Sheep Shots and bought a copy of her book Shear Spirit.  It’s so beautiful, I highly recommend it.  She was at the booth with one of the fiber folk the book profiles, Nan Kennedy of Seacolors.   Nan had a ton of different colors at the booth, but I was drawn to this misty grayish-pinky-purple.

Yeah, that’s a big ball of yarn. I’m not usually one to do the super trendy patterns, but I think this is destined to be a February Lady.  First of all, the pattern is popular for a reason. Second, this colorway very much reminds me of a misty February morning.

I also got a beautiful pewter shawl pin from The Elegant Ewe.

After we were done with the market, we went on a pub crawl that my friend Allison organized. We had a blast!

Me and Allison in our green sweaters. Hers is a February Lady, one of about eleventy-billion I saw this weekend. Resistance is futile…

Here I am in my Serrano, loving my big purple yarn-baby.  That ball of yarn is seriously the same size as my cat.

Woo party!

Allison and spinning superstar Jacie in her Apres Surf Hoodie.

Maura, Allison, Jacie, and Kris of The Painted Sheep.  Kris lives in our neck of the woods, but doesn’t come out with us often, so this was a special treat.

We also made great new friends from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and DC.  Here’s to an even bigger crowd next year!

The Stash

Are we not doing Flash Your Stash this year?  I’ve hardly seen any mention of it.  Oh well, my stash looks just about the way it did last year (except that some of the pink and magenta in the first photo is now Exchequered, the spruce colored CTH in the bottom photo is now Shetland Triangle, and the whole lot of it is being stored in space bags to protect it from moths).

Anyway, instead of the full stash-flashing I’ll present you with a preview of what I’m thinking of knitting this spring and summer.

This loveliness is Tosh Sock in Clematis, a lovely blend of black and purple.  It needs to be something that would really let the color shine.  Maybe Ishbel.

Here we have Debbie Bliss Cathay. I have enough for a short-sleeved cardi, I think. Maybe Decimal without such wide sleeves.

I’ve had this Wool Bam Boo for awhile, but it’s sort of an awkward amount that I don’t think would quite work for a top. I’ve been wanting to make Tuscany for awhile, and it’s the right amount of yarn.

This Sierra was a relatively recent acquisition. It’s a lovely color, and I have a full bag, so it will be a sweater of some kind. I haven’t decided which one yet though.

I also have some Cotton Fine en route from Little Knits which I’m going to use to finally make Orangina.  Something possessed me to cast on for Ester last night, but it doesn’t look like much yet. 

All this finishing has driven me mad.  I want to start a million things right now!

Flashing the Stash

Whoa, hello out there!  Long time no see.  You didn’t think I forgot about you, did you?  Well, maybe I did, just a little.  Hemlock Ring is not a photogenic project, so I’ve been knitting away but not really photographing it.  I’m nearing the end on that though, so I’ll have updates soon. 

Anyway, without further ado, here is my stash.  It really falls into four main categories:

Plain yarn, enough for a sweater:

From left to right, we have Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in teal, Filatura Di Crosa 501 in Pink and Magenta, and Debbie Bliss Merino DK in Aubergine.  I also have Jo Sharp DK somewhere, the same amount and color that I used for Glasgow Lace.  I’m pretty sure I got all of this at Webs’s tent sales.  The teal is in use on Tailored Scallops, is basically in hibernation until next fall.  I used a little bit of the pink for Elijah.  The magenta is quite bright, so I need to find something simple to make with it.  I really love the color of the Debbie Bliss Merino DK, but I hear it pills so I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.

Plain yarn, not enough for a sweater:

This is mostly Cascade 220, mostly intended for things like hats, felted bags, and other small items. I have enough of the Valley Yarns Northampton in green and gray to make a vest, so I will swatch and see if it works for the Deep V Argyle vest.

Noro:

It’s pretty clear that I have a thing for Noro. I have vague plans for all of this yarn, actually. For instance, there is that sweater design project that I told you about awhile back. I won’t be working on it for awhile though, because I’m not working for clothing for myself until I see how this fitness plan turns out. (I’ve lost 11 pounds! Woo!) That pink and orange color in the upper right needs to be something for my sister, and I’m still figuring out what, exactly.

Cherry Tree Hill:

About a year and a half ago I went a little nuts with ebay and Cherry Tree Hill mill ends. I put one to good use with Serranoand I’m trying to figure out how to use the others.  The mauve and teal on the right is enough for a simple, light pullover.  You can see that I’ve started to wind the stuff in the center of the photo.  That was a gift from my wonderful Secret Pal Jody about a year ago.  I’ve been calling it “spruce” in my head because it is a mix of spruce green and brown.  I think that my next project will be to use that for some sort of shawl, maybe Tuscany or Shetland Triangle.

 Well, there you have it.  I didn’t show anything currently in use on a secret project, nor my oddball bin which is lost in the basement somewhere.  Man, that’s a lot of yarn.

What Next?

It’s official. I only have one more week at my job in Boston. We’ve been insanely busy on one huge case for months and months, which actually makes the whole thing bittersweet. I’m excited to move on (and not be at the office until 2am), but I’ve been so wrapped in this whole thing that I’m a teensy bit bummed that I won’t be around the finish it out.

I am extremely excited about the three weeks I’ll have to do basically nothing before I start law school. The trip was wonderful, but it wasn’t relaxing. I can’t wait to just sit on the dock with some knitting for a few days and clear my mind. The question is, what should I work on?

I became reacquainted with my stash during the move, so I know of at least five (eek!) sweaters worth of yarn that I could start working on. Here they are, in no particular order:

Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky, Teal: I bought two bags of this when it was on sale at Webs three years ago. One of my friends had made Simply Marilyn, so I was thinking of doing that. But then I realized how different our body types are, and how maybe if Simply Marily looked good on her it wouldn’t look good on me. I have to be really careful with chunky yarn anyway, because “chunky” is one of the looks that I want to avoid, thanks. Whatever I do with this it will have pretty agressive shaping so it’s at least somewhat flattering.

Debbie Bliss Merino DK, Aubergine: This yarn is a very sophisticated dark purple-brown. I’m not sure what I want to do with it, exactly, but I have plenty. The color is so dark that a lot of textures might not show up, so I’ll have to play around with it quite a bit before I decide.

Jo Sharp Merino DK, Dark Red: This is what I used for Glasgow Lace. In fact, I chose Glasgow Lace because I only thought I had one bag of it. I actually have two. This color is perfect for my mom, so I was thinking I’d use it to make her something for Christmas or her birthday. She hates being hot, so it would either be a lacey cardigan or a vest so she doesn’t overheat.

Filatura de Crosa 501, Magenta: I love this color, I’m just not sure this color loves me. I keep going back and forth about whether or not it’s too bright. If I can’t swing this color, my sister can, so it might be for her.

Noro Kureyon, #150: THESE are my colors! I am a blue-green-gray kind of gal. I love these colors. Once again, I’ve had this yarn for awhile, I just need to decide what to do with it. I have a Rosedale U already and I don’t wear it all that much, so I want to do something other than a plain striped raglan. But what?

So.  That’s a lot of yarn.  Where should I start?