Putting the yellow obsession on hold for a moment...

for a new focus on some easy stash busting.



Only one sleeve left to go. Hurrah!

Who says that obsessions can’t be pretty?

I’ve recently become quite enamored with the color yellow.
Quite, quite enamored.
It all started with one pretty handbag that caught my eye and suddenly, I've found myself in a yellow period. A quick succession of yellow possessions have found their way to me -- a sunny pair of sandals, a summary top, a breezy skirt (with pockets!)...



...my new favorite robot…(okay, so he probably would have made it even if he wasn’t yellow -- you try and resist those eyes…).



With my newfound love for yellow, even an avowed yarn diet (yes, again) couldn't stand in the way when I spotted three plump skeins of squishy merino in the most perfect shade of ambery yellow buried in the sale bin at the lys.
But what to do with 300 yards of an impulse buy? Having just returned to the fold of the blogging and Raveling legions, I of course consulted the internets. A few clicks later and I, like the 525 others before me, decided that my wardrobe was in sore need of a Gretel.


The round, multiply yarn (Classic Elite Waterlily) was an absolute joy to knit with. Unlike all the other types of yarn I done cables in without using a cable needle, the stitches in Waterlily held firm while I maneuvered them around for the various C4F's and C4B's. Not having to do the ungainly stitch grab everytime a stitch sat needle-free during the cabling process made for much faster knitting. Some backtracking aside due to my belated realizations that A) yes, the hundreds of Ravelers were indeed correct that the regular size gives just the right amount of slouch, and B) I didn't have enough yarn to make the slouchy version anyway, the hat virtually flew off the needles...at least by my slow, easily distracted knitting standards.
Voila the cabled pancake view...


And the woolly-hat-modeled-at-the-height-of-summer view.



Details

Pattern: Gretel, by Ysolda (Ravel it)
Yarn: 3 skeins of Classic Elite Waterlily, color 1943 (Goldenrod)
Needles: US8/5mm
Size: Regular

Great pattern, great yarn, and highly obsession-fulfilling. What more could a knitter ask for?

A flying leap for the bandwagon

One thousand five hundred fifty three Ravelers can't be wrong...

The sound of silence…

…is really make up of the noises of frantic multi-tasking. Around here anyway. With less than three weeks left to finish my thesis, extricating myself from lab experiments, and ready myself for a move across the country, there’s not much time for things of the fibery persuasion. (Excepting the odd spurt for those moments when everything just gets to be a bit too overwhelming, of course.) So, it will be rather (frantically) silent around here for the next few weeks while real life takes over. Keep your fingers crossed for me that all that needs to get done will get done (it’s never a good thing when really, it’s never been a question of “will I get it all done on time” but a matter of “it doesn't matter, I simply have to get it all done on time.”). I’ll leave you with another picture of a recent spinning acquisition. Fiber Denn Finn Shetland batt, just squishing it does wonders for the soul. And the stress level.

A Square for Pterry

We knitters are lucky. When tragedy strikes, be it us directly or those we know, we can do a wee bit more to assuage that desperate need to “do something to help” than your average person. We can knit.
So, when there is bad news, we can pull out our yarn


And knit...


And knit...


And tidy up...


And embroider*...


And make something that we hope will at least bring a smile to the face of the person afflicted.



This is my contribution to the afghan (Pratchgan) we of the Ankh-Morpork Knitter’s Guild over at Ravelry are putting together for Terry Pratchett, that wonderful creator of Discworld and author of numerous delightful books (and a knitter and spinner to boot). He was recently diagnosed with a rare early-onset form of Alzheimer’s. Because we, being mere fans and not family, can’t do much besides think good thoughts and send well wishes, we knit our appreciation for his work that has made so many of us laugh and hope that he remains well as long as possible.

*Afghan square explanation for those uninitiated to Discworld: Eta Beta Pi (sound it out…), the unofficial motto of the Unseen University, domain of the wizards and constituting one of the best satirical send-up of old-school Ivory Tower academia stuffed with quirky, pompous, often gluttonous, and frequently lazy academics of the elderly male sort. Really, just go read some of his books. You won’t be sorry.

Behold the Pinecone

There’s not much I can say about the Koolhaas that has not been said already. Twice. Like almost everyone else, I found the hat to be extremely enjoyable knitting. It’s satisfyingly fiddly to precisely the right degree – just enough to engage the brain but not so much as to require complete concentration. Perfect for me since the majority of my brain cells are currently mired in pondering thesis writing (six years of doctoral work and it all boils down to what I churn out on my laptop in the next month. Fun.). The Pinecone was just right for bouts of stress-induced knitting. Working with merino wool so soft that it would give cashmere a run for its money helped too.
The Pinecone will need a bath with some vinegar before real wearing since the yarn dyed my needles a rosy pink but otherwise, it is everything one would want a hat to be. Soft, wooly, and warm. With a nifty texture to boot!


Project Details:

Pattern:
Koolhaas Hat, by Jared Flood; Interweave Knits Gifts, Winter 2007

Yarn:
Handpaintedyarns.com natural dyed two-ply worsted weight merino in Cognac (I think this was in their odd and ends section)

Needles:
4.5mm/US 7 DPNs

Ever fickle

Because I now have a particular urge to resemble a pine cone (or an architectural feature). In a good way, of course.