Fiber and Color

What a lovely couple of days. Yesterday was meet-up for spinning in the park, and yummy lunch stuff. I didn't bring my wheel, since I was coming from an errand beforehand, but I brought some knitting with handspun. Mittens in alpaca, in a nicely textured bubbly pattern.

We're getting a bit more formal in our park set-up. Drinks used to mean a thermos of whatever. But this time there was a portable Coleman stove, and a table, and all the fixings for tea and coffee. Wonderfully luxurious, really. And happily, the rain which was threatening held off, but there was enough breeze to keep cool by. Of course, then I didn't notice until I got home that I had a bit of a burn, and a funny one. Heavier on one side, and with the position of the necklace I was wearing clearly marked!

After a quick stop home to drop things mid-afternoon, I headed for Colonnade. Warehouse sale at Wool-Tyme, and I kinda found a few things. 

I have this little problem resisting pretty colors. All fingering-weight alpaca and alpaca blends, and my excuse is that they will turn into colorwork mittens for selling at craft fairs. Having done that damage, I met up with a friend and we did a flying tour to Brockville, as the Thousand Islands Guild was having a quilt show. I forgot the camera in the car, but there were so many pretty things, and we were so pressed for time, that I barely had time to see everything myself, and only glanced at the vendors. Really, the quilters are expanding their creative range as fast as the knitters - every time I see a quilt show there's new and interesting ideas to take in. 

Off again this morning to the annual Glebe Garage Sale. And oddly enough, the fiber and dyeing theme continued here, as I found three books on the topic.

 Casselman's dye book I've heard cited as a good one, the Weaving and Dyeing book looks intriguing, has the old recipes, and weaving patterns, so will be of interest to my mother as well, and Women's Work I had from the library and loved, so was thrilled to find a paperback copy. Besides my book pile, I found a few movies, but nothing big. I did, of course, get some edibles...lemonade from a kid's stand, a hot dog from the Scouts, and half a pound of homemade maple fudge by way of dessert. Really, the limiting factor for the Glebe sale is how long my feet will hold out. Otherwise I could really spend longer there, listening to bands and buskers, nibbling at various bake sales, seeing what treasures people have found, looking at the houses and landscaping...but as it was, I was very happy to get home, and put my feet up for a bit. 

Friday's Yarning

Yesterday proved to be a very satisfying sort of yarn-centric day. I got my submissions in the mail for the 101 Lace One-skein Wonders book, and sent a few belated yarn and knitting related Christmas gifts also.

On the way out the door to knit night, I found my new Piecework magazine in the mailbox, and took it along.

Spent an enjoyable few hours absorbing coffee and chatter with the knitters. And discovering the surprising fact that it seems we have been hanging out there long enough to have groupies. Part way through the evening, two (rather good-looking) guys on their way out stopped to chat, ask what we were all working on that night, etc. And after they left, one of the other knitters said people notice if we're not there for a few weeks (in the 'where were you' versus the 'oh good, they're gone' sense, even). Huh.

I got so close to the end of my socks during the evening, that I stayed up and finished them when I got home. Second project of the KAL, done - after being on the needles for the better part of a year. They will wait until after summer to get worn, though - I want to keep them nice to show off at the fair.  Pattern is Pamina by Caoua Coffee, yarn Berocco Ultra Alpaca. I love the look of the twisted-stitch patterning (just it's so slow!), and the yarn feels very nice on the feet.

So that's some yarn out of stash. Only - someone was destashing last night, so I came home with 2 balls of Paton's Classic and 4 balls of Tilli Tomas raw silk (Thanks, Sarah!) Um, yeah, this is why my stash keeps growing faster than I can knit it up. Can't say no to free, good-quality yarn (or fiber).

New Year, New KAL

The beginning of the year is always a good time, traditionally, to set goals and challenges for the year ahead. A lot of knitalongs seem to start about now, often for the same reasons. I've gone and signed up for one.

Elizabeth, one of the knitters I know, suggested a 12 in 2012 KAL, complete 12 projects from stash or WIPS. Obviously a lot of us have stash, because a pile of people besides me jumped on the plan. At least one already has the list of projects planned. I'm not quite that far ahead, but I thought I ought to at least record a list of possibilities.

WIPS:
1: Myrosia's scarf. Currently at 3 feet long, it will probably be my first complete project of the KAL.
Another week, and she will be able to wear it this winter.
2: My gold Pamina socks. About 3/4 done.
3: My Autumn Rose sweater, which I had hoped to finish last spring. It's been on hold, but maybe it will be done for THIS spring.

Stash Projects:
4 and 5: A lace shawl and a lace scarf from Joanne's cria. She didn't think she could do justice to her share of the spun yarn, so she requested that I make something.
6: The lace shawl from my handspun for the Guild challenge. I got the stitch patterns figured out, I just need to do some math. May knit a sample scarf first (I've some laceweight alpaca in stash), so I could get two projects out of this.
7: A textured stripe cardigan/jacket in Briggs and Little I got from a destash. Pattern is called Marsh, it's in a magazine I have but not on Rav yet. Maybe I can enter it when I get to needing it.
8: Socks in the grey alpaca I bought at Rhinebeck year before last. Pattern "Alpha" in last winter's Interweave Knits.
9: More handspun - the Borealis sweater in my peacock 3-ply. Someone I know made the sweater, and it looked so good I went to find the pattern. It's a bulky weight cowl-necked fitted tunic sort of sweater, and ought to go comparatively fast.

So that's 3/4 of the projects settled. I've got possibilities for some others, we'll have to see how things go...!