Three or four hours later...

It doesn't look like gorgeous stuff from the LYS anymore. It looks more like a big ball of something from Walmart or the bins at GoodWill, except I know deep in my heart that it's got enough natural fiber to make a much better shawl than 100% acrylic would. I'm still getting over the tangled mess I made while trying to wind it from the skein into a ball, and how much less vivid the the colors are now that they're not all perfectly aligned anymore.



I like it better knitted up, so I guess I'll keep my swatch close until Tuesday morning and hopefully by then I'll know if I want to buy enough to do a shawl.

Oh, and Ruffles is finally done now that I've woven in the ends and taken a picture!



Pattern from Scarf Style...TLC Cotton Plus...size 6 Denise Needles...more short rows than I ever would've imagined possible... But it was fun, and I might do another one if I had the right yarn or recipient in mind.

After a little pregnancy scare last night -- that now seems to be absolutely nothing to worry about -- I'm not supposed to lift today. So I'm taking advantage of the break to catch up on little knitting projects and hope to finish that baby sock tonight, if my fussy baby boy stays happy or goes to bed early enough.

I need better equipment

This is the sort of thing that makes me think I should save up for a swift and ballwinder instead of spending all of my yarn money on yarn and patterns! I've got to conquer my fear and wind it into a ball today, though, because they'll only hold the other skein for me until Tuesday and before I buy another 500+ yards I should make sure I actually like the way the colors work up as much as I hope I will.

AND I've got to pack boxes, and maybe drive down to get the playpen, which I'm furious with myself for leaving at the new house.

I've got Silky Wool on the brain...

It started when I saw the finished Barbara Shawl at Missouri Star. Then it escalated when I pulled up the pattern for Branching Out and saw that it was done in the same color I had in my hands the last time I was at Fabric Depot. I don't know why I talked myself out of buying that yarn. I spent a big chunk of an afternoon helping my husband move one of his old trucks and wishing I had some of that yarn. It's possible that my desire for the yarn was magnified by the really really disgusting interior of the truck.

Of course the LYS's in town don't have Silky Wool, but they did have the gorgeous stuff I fell in love with a few months ago was still there, and it was 30% off, and I had cash in my purse from hauling a ton of books to the used bookstores around town. So now I've got a huge skein of gorgeous orange/brown/flamey yarn that I'm going to swatch and see if I can make a shawl out of.

That -- and all the rest of my yarn -- will have to keep me entertained until I can get to the next 30% off sale up at Fabric Depot, probably in October.

I did got to spend most of the day yesterday in a back bedroom of the new house, watching the baby play and knitting while they put the new carpet in the front room. I could've finished his little socks, but I left the finished one at home and didn't know how long to make it. At 6am, it hadn't seemed like a good idea to take my whole knitting box in the car. By noon, I really wished I had it with me. So I did the cuff of the sock and then 2 1/2 repeats of the scarf. Don't know if it was the knitting or just being able to sit for such a big chunk of the day, or maybe almost sorta sleeping in this morning (had to explain to Quinn what we were doing every half hour or so), but I'm feeling a lot calmer and more rested than I have in a while.

The sock is just barely the tiniest bit too small. Another round or two, and it would have been perfect. I suppose I could undo the toe, frog back and add a few rounds, but I'm not going to. I'm going to finish the second sock, and save the pair for baby #4. And then I'm going to make Quinn a bigger pair out of the more colorful yarn.

Ruffles is all done except for the ends, proof that if you plod along for long enough you will finish something. It was a fun project to work on, and I'm not sure what I'll replace it with.

I started out on a bit of a wild goose chase this afternoon, after reading on someone's blog that Elann had a new merino laceweight. I never did find a trace of it on their site, so either they sold out instantly, or the blogger meant Knitpicks. Either way, I found a really cute pattern for baby socks. Only one problem...all of my sock yarn is fifty miles from here. I'd already driven down and back today, so there was no reasonable excuse to make another trip. Maybe two problems....I don't think I've got any single skeins of sock yarn in boyish colors and it would be wasteful to use part of one skein and leave myself without enough for an adult pair, right? I've got the solid colors I bought for the Better Than Booties Baby Socks, and they're here, but they're solid. And the whole point of today's little obsession is to make striped baby socks.

Then the kids and I went to visit Aunt Nita and came home with a big bag of yarn. Including partial skeins of sock yarn in about five different colors! And a partial skein of Fixation, which is going to be a pair of Baby Broadripple Socks when it grows up. There was also a gorgeous skein of Opal, two gorgeous skeins of Regia, and more great stuff than I have time to list right now, but I'm all excited about having yarn for my baby socks and will play with the rest of it later.



Now, do I hope he stays asleep until morning, or that he wakes up soon so I can make sure it fits?

This morning, I abandoned my boxes, grabbed the kids, and headed for the thrift stores. The plan was to see if I could find stuff that, combined with some of the goodies I've discovered while filling boxes, would justify joining the Vintage Swap, but that didn't work out. The swap filled up while we were moving trucks yesterday. But all's not lost. I'll happily keep the stuff I did pick up.



The apron was never going to go live with anyone else anyway. It's so perfectly what I would have been looking for if I'd had a row of aprons on hangers to pick from...and it came out of the bottom of a GoodWill bin and probably cost a quarter!



The sweater has problems, but it also has six absolutely gorgeous metal clasps that I plan on removing before I toss it into the washer and see what felting does to it. I haven't knitted anything that needs a clasp yet, but I'm sure I'll make something sooner or later. And I like the pretty clasps.

I'm so happy with my apron and the sweater claps, I didn't feel too jealous when a pair of ladies next to us unearthed a gorgeous quilt top. I'd seen quilts in their basket, but assumed they were the mass produced department store kind. It never crossed my mind that there would be a real quilt lurking under the rest of the nasty bedding. Next time, I'll pay more attention!

Now I suppose I should get back to the boxes.

Heaven...I'm in Heaven....

I was starting to worry that by the time I got all of the boxes and Rubbermaid bins and mesh laundry bags and everything else inside, my sewing room would be bursting at the seams. Somehow though, it all tucked nicely away and I've still got plenty of room to knit and sew and dream. I swear I could double - maybe triple - my yarn and fabric stash and still fit it all in there!

The pictures aren't great, but you get the idea...





I spent a big chunk of the last two days stretched out on the twin bed the previous owners left, nursing my baby and staring at my yarn. After getting up at 5am and packing like mad until I had enough full boxes to justify the trip. It's even better than stretching out on the new couch and watching trees flutter outside the windows.