Two Finished Projects

I finished another pair of socks! Alert the media. They are comfy and warm. The yarn is Limbo Mexiko in shades of rustish-burgundy (yes Roberta there IS a hint of orange! LOL), browns, grey/black and a bit of off white. Love them. Sport weight (in my opinion) and knit on a pair of size 3 needles. Immediately cast on another pair which you will see in a week or so.

Also finished the Kyle's hat aka The Hat From H***. Knitted in bulky weight gorgeous alpaca. Soft and slippery! to knit. This hat looks a bit odd but when I tried it on the look is perfect. This is the second version of Kyle's hat because the first one seemed to be too large. I think this one will fit him perfectly. I think that is why I hate this hat...I had to knit it twice. Kyle is a co-worker and good friend who lives in Erie. For those of you who don't know Erie, PA it is along Lake Erie and gets many, many feet of snow each year. Right now they have over 3 feet. Kyle wanted a warm, knitted hat that he can wear with his nice black top coat. The only ones he found were not warm, were made of "plastic" (quoting Kyle...I am guessing acrylic yarn) and looked like he belonged on the ski slope. I hope he likes this one. It goes into tomorrow's mail.

Currently I am working on my first Ishbel shawlette which I will wear as a scarf. Being knitted from fingering weight yarn I bought at last year's Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm which is located in Vermont. I've sworn off buying yarn this year but might have to break down and get something from her. Love her stuff! Photos soon.

I love the Ishbel so much I went to the stash...wow that organizing is fabulous for finding things...and pulled out 2 skeins of Schaeffer Anne in the "Stadium Blanket" colorway...red, grey, gold...yummy! I'm going to make a large Ishbel and enter it into this year's county fair. The pattern is wonderful and goes rather quickly. Well worth the effort, I think.

Yarn Organizing

Spent a lot of this weekend organizing my sock and shawl yarns...much more of the former than the latter. Now at least I am familiar with the colors and brands of sock yarn I have on hand. There are at least 200 skeins of yarn. Fortunately, some I can use a small shawls/scarves, neckwarmers, fingerless mitts and other fun items.

Also came across my bag of leftover sock yarn. Immediately decided that I need to start knitting a leftover sock yarn afghan for my bed. Found the pattern in the Mason & Dixon knitting book and will probably begin the first square this week. Will blog a photo when I have some progress.

Also decided I REALLY am going on a sock yarn diet! Tough to do with Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival a mere 3 months and a handful of days away but this is necessary. And I cannot imagine finding any yarn that is not in a colorway I already own. Just can't fathom it.

I do make gifts for people so I will go stash diving. Am planning to sell some on Ravelry whenever I get the time. Also am going to donate some skeins to groups that do charity knitting...a major win-win.

Am to the toe decreases on a second sock so off to complete it. Photo when finished.

Neckwarmer Finished

Don't need to say much about this little cutie. A Feather & Fan neckwarmer made from one skein of Lorna's Laces worsted weight yarn. Pattern is in the most recent issue of Spin-Off. Easy to knit and makes perfect knitting while riding in a car. Temps dropped again this evening so I think it will get its first wearing tomorrow. Love those colors. Will look wonderful with my new raspberry colored coat.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I, like many others, engage in New Year's resolutions each and every year. This year I decided to be reasonable and have 12 resolutions that I consider attainable:
1. Pay off all my credit cards and close the accounts.
2. Save money.
3. Let the problems of work stay there when I leave each day.
4. Either finish or frog unfinished knitting projects.
5. Organize my yarn stash and knitting books.
6. Organize my house and give things I can't use to the needy.
7. Learn something new in knitting even if it is basic such as a new cast-on.
8. Knit more.
9. Knit from stash as much as possible.
10. Cook more, eat out less.
11. Be more patient with others.
12. Get a Golden Retriever puppy.

So far, so good. Oh I know it is mid-month but usually by now I would have broken at least half of my resolutions. All remain on schedule. The puppy depends on whether or not the breeding was successful. Hopefully will have that information later in the month. If it was, then I wait to see if there is a little Golden male for me.