progress and plans
With Anya's sweater finally off the needles, I didn't wait long to start something new. I have a drawer full of sweaters for myself already, but that didn't stop me from beginning another. I've wanted to make Irish Coffee from Baby Cocktails since I first saw the design a few months ago. A couple of nights ago, I dug up some yarn and got started! It's a top-down design, and you can see what I've got so far posing by Daniel's hilariously creepy jack-o-lantern. (We seem to get an early start on jack-o-lanterns chez Madtown Mama.)
The yarn is Peace Fleece worsted that I bought a few years ago for something else. The gauge is right, and the yarn is not too dense, though very warm, so I think it will work nicely for this design. Since Irish Coffee is a long sweater, I wouldn't want anything heavy and stretchy.
Next, I finally got my sock mojo back! It's the chill in the air, I think, that did it this time. I'm not sure who needs socks more badly, me or my kids. I have all these smart wool socks I bought over a decade ago from a camping outlet, and they are finally wearing holes in the bottom, so I need warm replacements. My kids' feet grow so fast they can't wear any socks from last year, but they don't need absolutely everything to be hand knit by me, do they? I'll probably just buy my kids all their socks this year.
You see, I'm trying to be more judicious about what I commit myself to making. I'd love to make everyone baby gifts and Christmas presents and winter socks, but there simply isn't time. I'll do what I can, but I have to be smart about it. Same with buying yarn. I have reached saturation point and don't want any more until I can use some up. It's not even so hard.
Weeeell, almost. There's one exception: A very sweet woman at the farmers' market sells yarn and fleece from the wool of her own sheep. She has the wool spun in a Wisconsin mill and then dyes it herself. I bought a few skeins of Romney wool from her earlier in the summer with good intentions to do some colorwork mittens. Romney is a bit scratchy, but hard-wearing and should be good for mittens. Those have yet to materialize, I'm afraid, but they are still on my radar. Last week, I noticed she has started selling 100% Rambouillet yarn, which is reportedly as soft as merino. She didn't have any colors I wanted, but she offered to dye some for me. I let Anya pick out a color to make her a scarf, and of course she chose yellow - bright, sunny, beautiful yellow.
This is what I brought home today, specially dyed just for me!
It's soft and bright and beautiful. Not a color I could wear in a million years, but Anya loves it. I think I'll do something extremely simple, like moss stitch. If I think too hard about choosing stitch patterns and making it extra-special, I will get mired so deep in indecision, the scarf will never get made. Anya's been asking for a yellow scarf for quite some time (since last year, believe it or not - this girl is nothing if not tenacious), so I need to get on the ball. For adornment I could always make a knitted flower and attach it later. I can't wait to get started.
The yarn is Peace Fleece worsted that I bought a few years ago for something else. The gauge is right, and the yarn is not too dense, though very warm, so I think it will work nicely for this design. Since Irish Coffee is a long sweater, I wouldn't want anything heavy and stretchy.
Next, I finally got my sock mojo back! It's the chill in the air, I think, that did it this time. I'm not sure who needs socks more badly, me or my kids. I have all these smart wool socks I bought over a decade ago from a camping outlet, and they are finally wearing holes in the bottom, so I need warm replacements. My kids' feet grow so fast they can't wear any socks from last year, but they don't need absolutely everything to be hand knit by me, do they? I'll probably just buy my kids all their socks this year.
You see, I'm trying to be more judicious about what I commit myself to making. I'd love to make everyone baby gifts and Christmas presents and winter socks, but there simply isn't time. I'll do what I can, but I have to be smart about it. Same with buying yarn. I have reached saturation point and don't want any more until I can use some up. It's not even so hard.
Weeeell, almost. There's one exception: A very sweet woman at the farmers' market sells yarn and fleece from the wool of her own sheep. She has the wool spun in a Wisconsin mill and then dyes it herself. I bought a few skeins of Romney wool from her earlier in the summer with good intentions to do some colorwork mittens. Romney is a bit scratchy, but hard-wearing and should be good for mittens. Those have yet to materialize, I'm afraid, but they are still on my radar. Last week, I noticed she has started selling 100% Rambouillet yarn, which is reportedly as soft as merino. She didn't have any colors I wanted, but she offered to dye some for me. I let Anya pick out a color to make her a scarf, and of course she chose yellow - bright, sunny, beautiful yellow.
This is what I brought home today, specially dyed just for me!
It's soft and bright and beautiful. Not a color I could wear in a million years, but Anya loves it. I think I'll do something extremely simple, like moss stitch. If I think too hard about choosing stitch patterns and making it extra-special, I will get mired so deep in indecision, the scarf will never get made. Anya's been asking for a yellow scarf for quite some time (since last year, believe it or not - this girl is nothing if not tenacious), so I need to get on the ball. For adornment I could always make a knitted flower and attach it later. I can't wait to get started.
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