The stash is getting out of control

I have to confess to a fiber-buying binge recently... I don't know what happened, but last weekend I fell hard off the fiber diet wagon. It started at the store where Caitlin works. They had this brightly colored bump of BFL from Mountain Colors. And they were having spin-in that night... and I'd magically brought my spinning wheel without being asked. Man. It was just serendipitous all the way. So I bought it, finished the alpaca that I'd been fighting with, and started spinning the new bump of fiber, even though I had brought a different braid with me, just in case. Anyway, I finished that bump this week.

Pretty, right? It's gorgeous, and it's BFL, which I adore, and I'm trying really hard to think of something luscious to knit with this. Something that will really show off the colors. Otherwise, it might have to be some kind of yarn art for a while. The colorway is called Springtime, which I think is pretty perfect, since the weather is acting pretty spring-like lately...

Then, Caitlin and I spent Saturday on a button hunt. I required buttons for the February Lady sweater that I intended (and did!) finish last weekend. Well, we ended up going to the Fancy Tiger, in Denver, which has a great selection of fibers. I may have fallen down in there, and accidentally purchased 2 braids of fiber from them.

As I mentioned, the alpaca fiber is done. It was a labor of love. You know how much I love alpaca. It's one of my favorite fibers, and it feels so pretty, and this bump of fiber had been taunting me from the top of my yarn bureau (yes, I have a yarn bureau, you don't?) since November, when I lost the battle to not purchase it in the face of a massive sale.





Alas, I fear that I'm not quite ready for non-sheep fibers. I just haven't had enough practice. By the end of the bump, I think I was doing pretty well, but starting out was painful. Anyway, the finished yarn is luscious and wonderful, but I'm not ready to get back on the alpaca for a while. (See what I did there? Like getting back on a horse, but with a fiber animal. Hahaha, I'm hilarious, I know. You don't have to tell me.) I'm thinking of turning the alpaca handspun into a cowl or hat or something that I wear next to my skin, it's so soft and pretty. I love that it's kind of an oatmeal color, and looks a little rough. We'll see what it wants to be next winter. I can't knit alpaca in the summer.

Finally, this week I found myself tempted by several braids of fiber by various online sellers. I bought a braid of merino/silk from a destash on Ravelry, and some merino/bamboo from Etsy... well, it just got me in the mood to make an effort to restrain the spinning stash. So I've made a new resolution: when at home, I'm going to spin spin spin spin spin. I finished the sweater, and haven't really got any knitting that I want/need to do until the test yarn for Mariah's chuppah (did I tell you that I'm knitting a chuppah for a Jewish wedding next summer?) comes in. Since I'm feeling uninspired on the knitting front, I shall apply my efforts to spinning. Already I've made a pretty good start, I finished the Mountain colors bump, and have started a new braid of merino.

It's very pretty, very easy to spin, and I'm enjoying it. The colorway is Rue (from the Hunger Games), and it's from Storied Yarns. Pretty awesome.

Wish me luck in keeping the new resolution. I'm really hoping I can make a dent in the stash before I run out of oomph. We'll see. Next time I'll post a picture of the new sweater, and hopefully something newly spun.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had plenty of turkey and pie yesterday. I certainly did! I love Thanksgiving, it's one of my favorite holidays because of the food, but also because of the fact that we get to see people who are pretty much family. My favorite.

I don't have any pictures, since I was having too much fun, but I did take a picture of what I purchased today, since I went out on Black Friday and I was right near my favorite yarn store, which was having a sale!

This is a ruffle yarn, called Flounce that I"m going to use to make a scarf that I may or may not keep. Mostly I just want to be able to say I did it. But I do like the colors, and it's supposed to be a quick, fun project. So it may end up being a Christmas present, which, hey, isn't that bad an idea, since I'm a little slow going this year.

Some Alpaca with a Twist Fino, because of the beautiful shawl that was made out of it. Unfortunately, they were out of the book that the shawl is in, so I need to find that book somewhere... I'm working on it. It's beautiful, and I shall have it, even if it's scary real lace that looks like poo while you knit it. Much like the edging that I'm avoiding.

I will probably require a great deal of moral support.

This is some luscious baby alpaca fiber that I have had my eye on for a while. It's pretty much amazing. And it's mine, all miney mine mine.

In other news, I did some good work on the leaf lace shawl, and really need to get back to the melonstrosity, since I left it here for the last 2 days and am therefore behind. Gotta catch up!

Guess what I did this weekend?

So, I may have mentioned that it's just me and the dog this weekend. As a result, I've had the time and the space to block some of my backlog of knitted-but-unblocked projects. This included my fabulous alpaca cowl:

Which looks a lot better now that it's not all rolled over itself. I also blocked the Haruni that I made over the summer, because I was unsatisfied by my first one:

Lovely, no? And the right size. I love it. It's a great pattern, but I won't be making it again for a while. It's a little monotonous. Which isn't bad, when you have something else to focus on. But I like variety in my projects.

I also blocked the big chunky sweater, but I haven't found the courage to sew it up yet. So it's still hanging around. The body is still a little damp, so I have an excuse. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And now, in direct violation of a self-enforced rule, I'm going to go cast on a new shawl, because I really want to.

You can be the centerpiece of my obsession...

The title of today's post is particularly apt, since I'm feeling a bit obsessed this week. With many things: the song "All your life" by the Band Perry (if you haven't listened to it, I recommend it), the chunky scarves that never end (I started another one), and The Bridal Shower. There are often times that I find myself wholly taken up with a concept or activity. Therefore I know that these obsessions will pass, but for the moment, they are all-absorbing.






I had a good reason for casting on another of the big scarves, I swear! I was going to work, and I didn't have anything on the needles, because yesterday I finished Dj's scarf, and the day before that I finished the socks, and the Runcorn (what Runcorn?) isn't very portable or work friendly since it involves 3 colors and an ability to pay attention to the pattern, and... well, you get the idea. Anyway, since I have the yarn for 2 more of those giant scarves and Abby expressed an interest in one, and her birthday is in December... I cast another one on, just so I would have something to do at work.

Stop that laughing. I can quit whenever I want to. I just don't want to right now, ok?

The bridal shower, well, it's a big event, for one of my very close friends, who I haven't seen in a while, so of course I'm obsessed. Not to mention that I like girly things and decorating and baking and all that. So it's totally natural that I walked in to Michael's today and started freaking out about all the cute things that I could make from the baking section: cake pops, mini brownies, tiny cookies in the shape of her initials, little chocolate candy hearts... let's just leave it at that. I told my sister that I was going to open a bakery, so I could make those cute things all the time. She just laughed at me. Psh.

She's probably right, though. I'm more of a box-baker. Not that I can't make things from scratch, just that the box mixes are so much more convenient and quick! Anyway, probably not opening a bakery. But it's a fun thought!

Another of my totally fabulous obsessions is the fact that my friend Mariah is interested in learning to knit, and it's her birthday coming up, so...

I got her some yarn (Simply Soft and cotton, since they're both pretty accessible), and some needles (straights and circs in metal, and wooden straights). I'm planning on finding some pretty simple patterns too, maybe, and adding those to the bag of crac-- uh, I mean, her lovely birthday present. I'm such a good friend.

And, one last obsession that I forgot to mention up top: I'm knitting a cowl. Out of the most wonderful alpaca yarn that I got on sale from one of the LYSs where I live, because they are going out of business. I don't know about you guys, but when I'm confronted with the kind of closeouts these guys were offering on some absolutely wonderful yarns, my defenses crumbled! So I have a bunch of alpaca in this soft grey, and in a pale green. I'm not sure the green is really a color I would use, so I may be forced to over-dye it. Which will probably end up being another obsession. At least I can spot them coming?

The cowl will likely be done by the end of this weekend. I really like the pattern, A Noble Cowl (ravelry link, so if you don't have ravelry, it won't work). It's simple, easy to follow, easy to spot where you've made a mistake. Basically perfect. I hope my mom likes it. It's going to be her Christmas present.