Some Good Mail

I got both of these things in the mail recently and I couldn't help but share them. First up, some fiber. I love this so much. This fiber is prepared for spinning socks. I think the seller is brilliant. Its from etsy seller Cupcake Fiber Company. Notice that there are six batts of fiber. 3 plies for each sock for a total of 6 batts. All the weighing work is done for you. See! Brilliant!! And not only that....its superwash BFL so no felting of the socks aaaannnd....there is 12% nylon in the batts for added strength so the socks won't wear out. Genius! I love them so much. I've already started spinning this stuff up and it is great. Batts by nature is a woolen prep, but sock wear better if spun worsted, so I'm spinning worsted. The resulting yarn will not be a true worsted spun yarn because of the fiber prep, but I'm spinning it hard and tight. I'm hoping for some decent yardage since I don't want anklets. I'm aiming for a fingering weight yarn. We'll see. I've never spun yarn for socks before, and I realize a lot of special consideration has to be given to it, due to the hard wearing nature of socks - I think Cupcake Fibers takes care of a lot of it. Plus....its so darned cute!! Go check out her store. She usually has lots of great stuff....sometimes gradients even!

And speaking of gradients....look at this! Its from etsy seller Colorshift Yarns. She does such beautiful work. The change in colour from one skein to the next is very slight and the result is so gradual. I'm crazy about gradations lately. I immediately bought a pattern called Aranami Shawl to showcase this beautiful yarn. But now, I'm worried about yardage. Most FOs on Ravelry have used 500-600 yards and my colorshift set is 480 yards only. So, I'll have to either alter the pattern or come up with more yarn. Not sure what I'll do yet. I'm not casting on until I get something off the needles.

Ysolda - How do I love thee?

Last night 'Twist Collective' went live. That is, the online magazine published their fall issue. I am smitten with a cardigan by Ysolda Teague called Vine Yoke Cardigan. I bought the pattern within the first minute of the issue going up. This is my dream cardigan. I've been saying for some time now that I've been wanting a cardi knit side to side. I'm a sucker for any type of unusal construction. And the best part - its garter stitch. I'm a sucker for garter stitch too. I just need to see if I have any yarn in my stash that will work, because there is no way that I'm buying another sweater's worth of yarn when I have about 8 sweater's worth in my stash. I haven't really taken a close look at the pattern but I'm sure it is well written. This won't be my first Ysolda pattern. I've knit a pair of her tiny shoes. (There are two of them, just didn't get a picture)














I've also knit Ishbel. I had a bit of trouble with that one, but it was my own fault.


















And I've almost finished the Leisl cardigan. I'm so close on this one that its ridiculous. I've just got about 5 inches left on one sleeve.
















Overall, Ysolda's patterns are so clever and well written. They are classic. Okay, I'm off to finish the Leisl and cast on for Vine Yoke. I'm on holidays starting next week for 3 straight weeks. I wonder can I finish a sweater in 3 weeks? We are driving to Quebec. I hope I don't get motion sickness while knitting in the truck. Its a looooong drive. We'll see.

February's Sweater

I may not have spoken it aloud, but my New Years goal was to knit a sweater (or some other larger garment) per month. Two months in and I'm doing well. This is my sweater for February.

Everybody (and their dog) is knitting this sweater it seems. Its a freebie from drops studio. There are two different versions for different weight yarn. It can be knit with full or 3/4 length sleeves. My version is the worsted weight version with the full length (and then some) sleeves.

I need to find the right buttons (or toggles) for this. The ones shown are just laid on and probably mismatched.

A Pattern in the Works?

I made this "Mad Eye" eye patch for my daughter to give as a gift. I've posted the project on Ravelry and gotten some positive feedback and requests to write up a pattern. It was actually very easy and fast, and I'm sure most crocheters could figure it out if they tried, but...I may just try my hand at pattern writing. How hard can it be??? (right, I'm not that naive, but I still might try it)