Lots of Knits this Week

The Royals have returned home.

Home to the Farm.

A bit weird to have a new home to return to.

But oh so nice to be home.

Close to 4,000 miles of journey gives a knitter

lots of time to get projects done!

Specifically these two:

Langston, in Grace silk and wool yarn by Louisa Harding.
For Princess #2's 10th birthday.
{{Whew, got light-headed there a moment,
I just typed 10, as in two children in the double digits.}}
Pretty cables down the front, lots of pretty ruffles
at the cuffs and hem, perfect for my Princess.
Fun unicorn buttons from etsy seller, TessaAnn.
Her buttons are amazing pieces of art!

A plain old vanilla sock pattern from my head, using
afterthought heels so I could control the color pooling
  with the gusset and heel, in some wild,
crazy, super fun, self-striping yarn from
String Theory Colorworks.  Her yarns
are so cool.  This colorway is Cassiopeia dyed
on her Inertia sock base.

We have these two huge retaining walls in our back yard

on the way down to the garden, corrals, and river.

They were made for sock modeling!!

Here is another pair that I knit up for Princess #1,

modeled on our new fab sock modeling location!

So glad the oldest Princess scouted out this spot.

Don't you just love the little hearts on the heel!
Adorable-ness!

Princess #1 loves to mis-match her socks,
so mama obliged!!
These are called LoveSocks and were knit up in
Spud and Chloe fine sock yarn in the tutu and sassafras
color ways.  Very fun pair to knit up!

The Great Stash Bust of 2012

So, I have a lot of yarn, by some standards.  I am not apologizing or asking you to understand my obsession with string.  It just is what it is.  Last week, I took some time to clean out my yarn cupboard.  My cupboard is three shelves high, just about 3 feet tall, so it's not like wardrobe size or anything. All of my non-sock yarn is grouped by weight or by project, if I know the yarn's destiny. My sock yarn is kept in a different location, because in my world, sock yarn does not count as stash, sock yarn is special and set apart, lovingly handled as the need arises.

One of my biggest peeves with knitting is leftovers.  I try desperately to use every last inch of yarn and when I have a smidge left behind it annoys me.  It annoys me because I have a hard time throwing it away.  I might need it someday or it was expensive good quality.  I have gotten better and each time I clean out the stash, more of the littlest bits leave the nest.  However, there are a few stray balls of yarn.  Not big enough to make something on their own, but too much yarn and too good of quality to just trash or Goodwill.  (I do donate yarn to various charities, but most charities prefer machine washable yarn, and I just don't have much stashed.)

So, why tell you all of this dear readers, well, it is because this year I have determined to knit from the stash as much as is humanly possible (for me).  I have two shelves in my little cupboard of yarn that is for potential projects, and by George, I am going to knit them up.  I'll keep you posted (yah, you saw that one coming didn't you) on my progress, and may possibly have a give away or two this year.  I'm working out the logistics of that.

Here's to stash-busting!!  My needles are loaded with three projects right now, all of which are from the stash!  It is on!!

2011 Knitting Wrap Up

I did this last year, if you'll remember, and found it so encouraging and inspiring for the new year of knitting.  So I am doing it again.  This is not to brag or any of that stuff, this is for posterity's sake. {grin}

The tally goes:

Pairs of Socks:  10  (approx. 3,500 yards of yarn)

Toys (stuffed):  13  (approx. 5,000 yards of yarn)

Sweaters: 2 adult; 12 child size  (approx. 8,000 yards of yarn)

Scarves, Shawls, or Cowls:  8  (approx. 2,000 yards of yarn)

Hats:  7 (approx. 700 yards of yarn)

Pairs of Mittens:  1  (approx. 150 yards of yarn)

Bags:  3  (approx. 900 yards of yarn)

That is a whopping (approximately) 20, 250 yards of yarn I knit this past year!!  

I'm suddenly feeling very tired.

My favorite project you ask, well, hmmm.

Favorite socks.
Love the stripey goodness on these.

Favorite cowl, this double knit
beauty.  It is completely reversible, and
absolutely lovely.

Favorite new skill, planned pooling shown
in this poncho for Princess #3.
I controlled (as much as I could) how the colors
would stack up by tension, and where I started
knitting from the skein.

This one is still my absolute favorite piece
from 2011!!
The Hitchhiker scarf.
You'll be seeing it again in 2012. {grin}

Thanks again for all of your kind comments and encouragement along the way.

I already have quite the long list of knitting projects 

that I dream about having enough time to do for the coming year.

Happy New Year!!

Happiness Is . . .

. . . wearing hand-knit socks on a blustery day!! I'm wearing this pair of woolly goodness on my feet.

A Knit A Week

Just in time for that first bite of fall weather

a new pair of socks.

These are by far the laciest socks I've knit thus far.

So feminine and so delicate looking in this yarn color.

Pattern:  Shani by:  Nancy Whitman 

Yarn:  Malabrigo Sock Yarn in the natural colorway

Verdict:  This yarn is so soft, but I do wonder how it will

end up wearing, it just feels flimsy. It would knit up a

fabulous shawl though. 

The pattern was well-written and fun to do.

However, definitely not a project to just

toss in the purse and work on during soccer practice.

I worked on this with a group of other knitters 

I met through Ravelry and it was 

a good thing to have that accountability . . .

these might have languished a bit longer if I hadn't had their

encouragement!