Back to Knitting

I have finally begun a new project, so now I have four, no, five, ooops, no four projects OTN. This one is a hat for younger daughter:

It is the Basic Tam with Flowers from One-Skein Wonders: 101 Yarn-Shop Favorites. I'm using size 7 needles, 7 inches long and I'm having a hard time with the stitches coming off the needles. My LYS was out of 8 inch needles when I checked last night, so I'll make do. Thank goodness I don't panic/freak out the way I used to when I drop a stitch.

I'm using Noro Silk Garden, color 47, which is a mix of browns, grays, and a few colors yet to show up. This is the first non-baby hat I've ever made, so I'm having fun with it. And if I decide I love it, don't worry younger daughter, I'll still send this one to you and make a second for myself!

Noro Two

I finished my second Noro striped scarf, and this one is for me! It is made from two skeins each of Silk Garden, colors 8 and 211. Some of the other kids at knit-night are on their third so I need to catch up...just kidding. But they are fun to knit; every two rows the color changes so it's never boring knitting. Since it's k1,p1, the knitting rhythm becomes sort of trancelike, and it's kind of a zen project. Very relaxing.

SCORE!

This past Sunday, my LYS had its yearly open house which included a great sale. I picked up what cannot technically be called stash, since I purchased it all for specific projects. (I have borrowed that idea of stash from another knitter and I LIKE it. BTW, stash also does not consist of any yarn that is bought to make something for someone other than the knitter. Yay!)

I am making a second two-stripe Noro scarf because the first one was so much fun to knit. The pink Cascade 220 is for a sweater for Elizabeth Anne, since I stole her Araucania yarn to make socks for myself. (Shamelessly promoting my own posts here)

AND, I am throwing caution to the wind and knitting something for younger daughter, whose tastes are a mystery to me. She may or may not like this something, but since I am copying it from a knitter friend's completed project, I know what it looks like and I know I will like it and it will find a home with me if necessary.

The shop was so crowded (great for the new owner)that four of us went across the street to a small diner to drink tea, talk knitting, AND knit. It was a great afternoon, in spite of the fact that I still can't duplicate stitch (more shameless promotion) decently. Poor Elizabeth Anne....

Holy Sheep!

Another finished project! I'm on a roll...a skein....a ball? Oh, never mind. But I've been knitting a lot lately and I think the key to finishing lots of projects is to have lots of different things OTN. That way, I'm never bored and I can just keep switching from one to another. I have a knit-night friend who once said she had eighteen projects OTN. That is too many, WAY too many for me. I would just get confused and end up with a sleeve on a scarf or something. But two or three I can manage.

This scarf project is FUN! It is made with two skeins each of Noro Silk Garden, colors 255 and 211. If you know Noro yarn, you know that there is an unlimited number of combinations for striping, since the yarns are multicolored. I don't think I've ever seen a solid color Noro. I don't know if there is one...

Anyhow, for an easy, fast and fun project, check out Jared Flood's pattern on his Brooklyn Tweed site. If you need a Christmas gift for someone, you can finish this one in time. I promise!

Now I have only one project going, and it's a summer weight wrap, so I'm off to shop in my stash for something more to do!

If All the Other Kids Jumped off a Bridge

Would I jump too?
Apparently it's a possibility. At knit-night last night, one of the knitters was making this gorgeous scarf. She found it via The Yarn Harlot's site and fell in love, and so did the three of us who are now knitting the same scarf. It takes four skeins of Noro Silk Garden in two (or more) different colors. No two will be alike, of course, so we're not totally copycats....but close.







(To see more combinations of Noro yarn worked into this scarf, go here.)


(Photo from Brooklyn Tweed website)