Yarn Fever

I've got yarn fever.

In the middle of last week, I was almost convinced that perhaps my obsession with yarn and knitting had waned. It had been 4 weeks since I finished my class and I was knitting, but I wasn't really into it. I had finished Hubby's sweater and I wasn't really interested in anything. I visited Butterfly Yarns on Saturday for the first time since August. August, people. I went in to find a baby sweater pattern for some chunky yarn I had attempted to make into a sweater for myself, but that had failed miserably. At this point, I figured I might as well use up the stash if my knitting interest was fading.

I left with a pattern, some monkey buttons:

and some sock yarn (mostly because I felt like a fool not buying yarn and this was the most gorgeous charcoal gray I'd seen in a least a couple hours. Yes, I'm still dressing like an undertaker.):

It's Lana Grossa Seta Cashmere 65% wool, 15% silk, 16% polyamide and 4% cashmere. If you've got pattern ideas, I'm ready to hear them.

It was good to be back at the Butterfly. I adore Kim and she's always full of ideas.

On Sunday, I cast on for the Minimalist Cardigan. My Monday night group is knitting this together. I had hopes of showing up on Monday, but we got slammed with snow and I was too tired from hoofin' it around the city all day in my boots.



I've been working steadily on these socks since Christmas:


This is Cherry Tree in a colorway I don't remember. I bought it about a year ago at Windsor. I made a feeble attempt back then at a pair of socks. I've made myself a few pair of socks and none of them fit me well. Always too big, too loose. I ripped these back three times and I think I've got it. These are plain stockinette 60 stitches on size 1 addis. Eye of partridge heel, twisted rib at top and soon a kitchener toe.

I was working on these socks early this week when my inbox got hit with that disgustingly cute baby wearing my sweater. Hm... she needs another sweater...hm.... I just bought that pattern this weekend and what? I already have the yarn? So, I'm almost done with the hoodie version of the Oh My! Baby Sweater:

I see that disgustingly cute baby's mom on Wednesday night and I plan to deliver her another sweater. :)

So for someone losing their interest in knitting, this was a pretty production week right? This is where the yarn fever hits me. Thursday I impulse bought some Brooklyn Handspun in Persimmon (!!!!!!!!!). There is only one skein left folks. One skein. This yarn is a favorite of my pal The Nut and she carelessly made mention of it at our SnB on Thursday. This color caught me and I needed it. Again, pattern suggestions are welcome.

Then, I spent most of Friday morning *cough* working *cough* and mentally casting on for no less than 5 projects. Yes, mentally casting on. You know, a project comes at you from a website, a friend, a blog, and then next thing you know you're about to hit purchase on the pattern and trolling the web looking for just the right yarn at the cheapest price all the while your head is screaming "I NEED TO MAKE THIS NOW!!!", but you're at *cough* work and you can't and you already got a bunch of other things on your needles and "Oh hey, look at this sweater pattern..."
and there you are, off to cast on something else and repeat the whole process again.

Here are all the crazy ideas I had Friday morning. I'm not proud folks. I'm not ashamed either.

• Yesterday morning I listened the CRL episode with Debbie Stoller. I forgot that Son of Stitch 'n Bitch was out. I spent a good 30 minutes viewing the patterns on Ravelry. "Perhaps I should just order it from Amazon?", I pondered. I had decided that I needed to make a hat, a hat and mitten set and a sweater from this book.
  
• Then I spent some time looking at what yarns people are using to make their Tangled Yoke Cardigans. I've been wanting to make this cardigan so badly. I'm a little afraid of the fit. Leary of the cost of yarn.
  
• The Babette. Probably my craziest idea of the morning. For this I was going to enlist my grandmother to make squares for me. I don't know Ka-rate, but I know Ka-razy. I actually emailed my mother and asked if she thought my grandmother might want to make all these squares for me. Yeah. Not my proudest moment. It was the wool, officer. I had yarn fever. Temporary yarn-sanity.

I think I'm scaring the pooches. I think they're looking to escape.

Satisfaction

I think there is no better satisfaction for a knitter:

Remember this sweater? I forgot to take a pic with the buttons. I asked momma to take a pic for me and this was in my inbox this afternoon with this note:

"just wanted to show you how fabulous your sweater looks!! i LOVE it. i may have to commission you to make another! i put it on her all the time!!! thank you so much"

Aren't the buttons perfect? What about that dimple?! Oy!

Cobblestone

The Cobblestone is done. DONE! ...and I'm very happy with it.

I think Hubby likes it. He says he does. I can't tell. It doesn't really matter. If it sits in his drawer, unworn, I don't care. It's good looking and I got pretty close on the fit (try sizing a runner whose weight fluctuates like New England weather!). The first time he put it on he immediately rolled the cuffs. It doesn't change the look of the sweater, but I winced. That's 2 inches of knitting I didn't need to do!

He hasn't worn it yet because I had to block it in the basement during our visit to Ohio. 5 days, damp without turning, flipping, proper circulation. Hubby says, "Um, can you wash it again? It smells basement-y." And so I did. And so it dries upstairs on the drying rack. I even searched for the manliest smelling wool wash for him. Which, in my opinion is SOAK Aqua - which smells like nothing actually, but it's not girly.

Pattern: Cobblestone by Jared Flood
Source: IK Fall 07
Materials: Classic Elite Skye Tweed in #1206; roughly 11 skeins
Needles: US 7 Addi Turbo Circulars
Start Date: August 2007
Finish Date: December 2007

I highly recommend this pattern. It is well written, beautiful in it's simplicity and classic, yet different. I love it.

The yarn: I would use something else next time. The lack of give in it makes it really hard to work with. If you're looking for leftover Skye Tweed, stop looking. Find another tweed, my friend.