It was wash day at my house. Nothing makes me happier than this pile of pure handknit love. Have you ever seen such a lovely and colourful sight? Sigh.

I have too many projects on the needles right now!! And all I want to do is cast on more. I think it’s the heat. These triple digit days have fried what was left of my pea brain. I have told myself I must finish two projects before casting on any new ones. Which two?

Well, the Springtime Bandit I’m knitting with Dream in Color Smooshy for one.

And then I think the Just Enough Ruffles (which is a gifty for my Mom).

Then I’m going to knit myself a sweater. And dream of winter and cold and ice and anything else that is frigid to take my mind off the searing hotness that is Texas.

Finally!! Shipwreck is done!!! And let me tell you, so hard to photograph!! It’s still on the blocking board (not dry yet, Dotty!) so hopefully tomorrow we will have a sunny day and there will be better photos.

Here is a small montage for you…

In the raw, soaking stage:

cooking away:

all done and getting a much deserved wool wash soak:

BLOCKING!!! (No, Dotty, still not dry!)

Yippee!!

I’m in that weird, what next phase. Shipwreck is done knitting,  just need to dye it. I just finished a hat. Now what? Do I start something big and time consuming? Do I do another small and quick? I’ve been purusing Ravelry and digging through my stash but nothing has inspired me to cast on. I want to knit something, but what?!?! Maybe what I really should be doing is cleaning house for my Mom’s upcoming visit. The Squid is turning 4 in one week!!

It’s coming along.

See my pretty beads

What a great time for something NEW!  There was a baby born today and I am SO glad I was wrong!  It looks like there is a crochet dress coming and it’s gonna be PINK! 

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this!  I have been looking on ravelry and found a lot of cute dresses, but haven’t decided which one yet.  This yarn has just been waiting for the right (baby) person! 

On to the New Knitter!  I taught her Christmas of 2007, but it didn’t take right away.  Right before Halloween of 2008 she decided she wanted to give it another try and this time, it took.  She has done 3 scarves, a baby hat, some can cozys, and is almost done with a pair of mittens that she started and has her first one almost done without my help.  She read the pattern by herself and everything.  To be fair, she did ask two questions.  One, how should she cast on the two extra stitches for the thumb, because all she knew was the long tail cast on.  I told her to look up the backward loop cast on, she did and figured it out.  The other question was “what is a darning needle?”  Cute huh?  She asked me if I had one she could borrow… actually, SHE has one but doesn’t know it yet!  Special thanks to Aubyn, Botgurl, Jenn and the Pirate for donating their extra stuff to the New Knitter.  It can get very expensive to make sure you have all the tools you need and most of us have some extra stuff  lying around.  So thank you so much guys for your generosity!  She has a GREAT set up! 

Wow!  It’s only the second week and there are new babies and new knitters, what a great year so far!

It always makes me feel good to finish things.  I seem to start and start, but not typically finish!  HA!  I have a few things to show today, woo!  

First, it’s Baby Starghan for Cheerio.   (That’s NanC and Matty’s bebeh.)  This was done in cotton-ease.

I also have a couple of caps for friends going through chemo.  The first one being modeled by my baby Nephew.   He actually walked around the house like that, running into stuff and laughing. He really cracks me up.  This cap is based on the Yarn Harlot’s basic hat pattern and I used part of the We Call Them Pirates pattern for the band. 

 One more… this is a sleeping cap for a friend with breast cancer.  I used organic cotton and the Lace-Edged Women’s Hat pattern.  I made this same cap for my Mom when she went through breast cancer and she loved it. 

In the current pile “to be finished” are two scarves, two socks, and a variety of other things that have been in the pile for a while.  I didn’t make any New Year resolutions related to that pile.  They don’t work for me.  I do intend to stick with my yarn diet of sorts… I can only buy yarn when I travel, called souvenir yarn.  I did really well with that last year!  I travel enough for work and fun that I didn’t feel deprived. 

Had a great time New Years Eve!  We went to a friends house and had a bonfire. 

Happy 2009!  Hope it is filled with love, fun, friends, and good knitting mojo! 

Really?  Is it celebrating the cotton plant?  Or, the silk worm?  Maybe, the flax (linen) plant?  Because, really wool is crazy, right?  HAHA!  If you like to knit, you are going to knit with wool at some point.  So, the Pirate, Squid, Pirate Mom and I were off to Kid & Ewe and Llamas, Too! 

It isn’t a really big festival… but there were a lot of classes (that we didn’t take) and a decent amount of wool.  There were also musicians! And cashmere goats! 

Now, about the goats… cashmere goats should mean cashmere yarn, right?   We found one bag where they were showing the goats, but other than that… nada!  We kept thinking we were missing something.  But, it wasn’t very big, so we aren’t really sure where they would have hidden it.

So, now you must be thinking… What about the haul???   Check it out!  Notice a theme? 

On the left, we have a silk blend, in “Hook ‘em Horns” orange, at the top left, is Brooks Farm Arcero, and the 4 skeins on the right side and right bottom, i Plain & Fancy, Sheep & Wool Co. from a farm in Henderson, TX.  I also got a couple new shawl patterns and can’t wait to get started!  But, I do have a ton of other projects to finish first.  HA!  (Who doesn’t, right?)  It was a fun trip and a great opportunity to spend time with my friend the Pirate and the Squid as well as Pirate’s Mom!  Also, of course, there is the fact that I got to buy yarn.  This self imposed yarn diet, with the one cheat rule (souvenir yarn is allowed) was getting a little tough.  I feel much better now!

Hey y’all!  I think we have this new blog under control.  At least it is here and one of us is blogging!  YEAH!  So, what all has happened since the last we spoke?  I have a couple finished projects, that unfortunately, you will have to see later because I don’t have pictures of those.  But, I do have a few pics of Italy!  We had a great time.  I was pretty disappointed in the yarn stores, but honestly… I didn’t go to Italy to buy YARN!  HAHAHA!  I bought a bag of yarn, something I may never use, but hey, it wasa great souvenier.  It is a berry colored ribbon yarn. 

How about some pictures?

This is me and the hubby in Florence at the Ponte Vecchio.   Yes, I am wearing the Tuscany shawl!

This is me doing some of my favorite things… knitting and drinking wine!  We packed a picnic lunch and trekked out to the Pitti Palace Gardens.  We loved our day in the gardens, we had such a nice relaxing time.

Look!  It’s a leaning tower!  (Pisa of course)  A little wine and Tuscany at the Roman Colluseum. 

Remember the Sea Silk that I was going to make another Tuscany out of? 

Here is the NEW Tuscany traveling from Florence to Rome.  I still have a bit to go, but it’s coming along nicely.  I love the way the Sea Silk looks and feels in this pattern. 

I have finished one of the two pairs of socks I am making for my SIL’s.  I finished it on the way home from Italy.  I have almost finished the first sock on the second pair. 

I hope to have another post coming soon, with more pics of some finished projects, but until then, thanks so much for stoping by!