etsy friday

Mini box pouch by dreamrains.etsy.com

I may not be feminine, but I sure do love the cutie kawaii stuff in moderation. This little (super little!) box pouch came along from dreamrains when I bought the superfluous tissue cozy-- even though I had no use for the zippy pouch, I couldn't say no. I've since found a great occupation for the world's cutest (fabric) box...



...an adorable house for the pendants I've purchased from etsy vendors. (i do have a thing about seeing inside and underneath, don't i?) It's not lined or fused with interfacing, a little origami with fabric and thread. It's very simple, and just very cute :) I'm not enough of a real girl to opine on other uses for it, but I'm sure you could think of a few.

Also filed under "more than a few", I've become a bit of an etsy fiber junkie lately. Ravelry needs to get a fiber stash database up so I can stop (my yarn stash notebook has been keeping the yarn purchases somewhat in check with its ridiculousness). Til then, though...


Superwash BFL from dyeabolicalyarns.etsy.com

I'm still choked with undyed superwash merino at home so don't really look to buy it dyed-- but superwash BFL (blue faced leicester, for the secret message crew ;)) is high on my covet list. So is dyework by dyeabolical yarns, aka Rachel. Her scratch art yarn is still sitting on my desk pining for attention, but I think this braid of fiber will have me first :)

I was really drawn to this American Maid colorway since cracking the spine on Deb Menz' Color in Spinning (and also the Twisted Sisters' Sock Workbook)... I keep wondering how the primary reds and blues will 1) draft together and 2) look to the eye once spun as singles and 3) as a plied sock yarn. Can I make purple, or the illusion of it? Dunno, but the color's peaked my curiosity.

Something else has peaked...


Baby alpaca/silk from mataharispinnery.etsy.com

...namely my rational sense. 12 ounces (!!!) of 50-50 baby alpaca and silk in black from Matahari Spinnery. You may remember from a long while back that Arianie of MatahariSpinnery.com sent me a fiber sampler package for winning a contest on her blog-- she included a bump of baby alpaca and silk roving in fawn that I just was head over heels for. It's what my love feels like, my heart as it wavers and aches. She's since opened an etsy storefront to compliment her website. Browsing etsy I found that one of her revolving sales was on this fiber... and I bought it all.

Now really, this is a lot of fiber for me. Even though I keep buying larger qtys of fiber lately, my attention span... well. I really did have a reason for it though-- I've been kicking around an idea I shared on the Stash and Burn podcast a while back, namely to knit a circular scarf using the bmp space invaders sock charts, something decadent and worthy. And because I am like, mad... I wanted to spin the yarn myself. Maybe someday this'd be the background for that.

Maybe it'll just sit in my fiber stash and never be used but just longed for. I don't know.

I do know someone else who thinks space invaders and etsy is a good combo though...


Space invaders handknit sweater by n2Imaginations.etsy.com
(picture used with permission from n2i)

n2Imaginations has HANDKNIT this invaders sweater and has it for sale in her etsy shop. I was blown away browsing and running across this-- dude. so.much.work and something so familiar. Nancy told me that though the charts weren't from bmp, they were inspired by the socks! Yay :)

I think the sweater's already terribly underpriced at $60 (?!!), and she's also selling a pattern for the sweater for $3. Very nice! :)

Also on the very nice front... Pantheon Acres, Knitting in Pink and Grad School Knitter have all posted about some of their favorite etsy finds and I loved them all :) I've been backlogged lately with life and... life, and it was really nice to see and hear from other etsyphiles.

I'll be back Monday (or tuesday-- it's a holiday in the states for the working wo/man... and me) with an odd project I hope to have some progress on. I miss you terribly.

close to surfacing

Thank you all for your kind words about Hanami-- I was glad you guys liked it as much as I do, unwieldy and "chinese" as it is :) Took those photos during a break spinning this over the weekend...


Handspun single, spun from a batt made by stringtheoryfiberart.etsy.com
75/10/10/5 merino-silk-tencel-silk noil, 4 oz
"evening shade" colorway

I think this is the first single I've spun for a singles yarn since my very first time spinning useable yarn. I wanted to keep the shaded color bands separate (there are no obvious bands, but parts of the batts were dominantly green, purple, teal...) as well as the areas with lots of silk noil from those without, so plying wasn't ideal and a navajo ply would have left me with a nice yarn but not enough yardage for a non-hat or non-accent project. So here you go :)

Not plying has left me with a yarn that's still springy, but doesn't have that bounceback of 2- and 3-plied yarn. I'm not quite sure if I like that, but it is kinda fun just taking what you want and being done with it when you are. I admit I prefer the pairing in the longterm, though.

I think these'll work into something nice, like the hexagon spiral scarf from knitting nature...


(this color's the most true)

...or Argosy from knitty. The color's good for someone, but there's a lot of shine not showing up in my early-morning light pics from the tencel and the silk (tencel is like that fun you have in your hands that you can't keep still or there), so even though the colors are dark overall and the noil looks tweedy I think has more of a femme bent.



I wasn't sure what to "do" with the noils, so I just left them alone for texture. This is the first batt I've been pretty much happy with my spinning from; it's not the batts' fault, just my tendency to spin too fine means all that great blending and texture and fun of batts gets whittled down to a tiny fine line that's just no fun for anyone. I'm working on that fun though, really want it but not sure if it wants me.

Does there always have to be a last one?


...a force when we're together

Hanami stole completed

Hanami Stole by Pink Lemon Twist
Henry's Attic Carrera (aka "silk and ivory": 50/50 wool/silk, 2000ypp)
200gm of Carrera, approx. +880yd
US 5 (3.75mm), 24" Addi
8/0 clear glass beads, lined in colonial blue
Started: July 2, 2007
Finished: August 19, 2007
Blocked: August 24, 2007

I was really excited seeing all of the winged mystery stoles lately, loving the asymmetrical turn they took. The dissonance that works was the reason I chose Hanami (or why Hanami chose me); so different from "regular" lace but makes sense as a large piece worn wrapped around and seen as two halves of a whole.



The back transition is organic and elegant-- a simple execution that really makes you want to see the sister pieces.





Yes Virginia, it is giant. The Carrera is a heavier weight yarn than the Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud the pattern was written for, a stash busting effort even though I have about 4 oz left on the cone I knit from (a guess). I think the Carrera was a good choice for me-- having little experience with a large lace piece it wasn't unwieldy or too gossamer, easily tinkable. Unblocked, the piece measured from my wingtip to wingtip (I'm about 5'6, so my love arms stretched is about that; about as accurate as measuring a bed with a bible...) and blocked it submitted into 92" x 18". So like, giant.

It would look breathtaking in a super lightweight yarn, though. (My favorite I've seen so far has been splityarn's-- ebony seasilk!) I really like the basketweave motif, think it'd make a great scarf in a heavier weight yarn.



I used 8/0 beads strung with my 1.0mm steel crochet hook-- the same one I used to fix bent prongs in my camera's media slotty, earning me my level two macgyver knitting badge (check them out from the way bottom of the page, amy turned me onto them). They're almost like a secret detail; the 8/0 beads called for matched the pattern's laceweight, but on this light fingering weight yarn they almost disappear and add little to no weight on the edge. (Better pic of the beads here). My final shawl weight of 200 gm was with the beads, so it may be a bit lighter yarnwise but really not by much.



Other than changing the yarn used, the only other thing different from the pattern as written was the beaded garter stitch bindoff instead of the ruffled edge on the "cherry blossom" half. It isn't even a mod as Melanie's pattern tells you how to do it-- I love the suggestions she offers in her pattern as far as tweaks go.

My blocking job obviously isn't stellar, and I think I'll try to diy some lace blocking wires before my next lace project needs to be held down. (I've heard now that people are using welding rods and floral wire... any other diy suggestions for blocking wire?)



I still am on the fence about this stole *for me.* It is stunning, but a huge departure from my tshirt and jean lifestyle-- even when it turns cold in my neck of the woods it's a black wool coat and overly large and hugely loved malabrigo clapotis with the tshirt and jeans, not lace and beads. The off-white still looks formal, bridal to me-- I thought about dyeing the finished stole when I started, but I just couldn't now. The white's stunning and reminds me of Moca and its mundillo lace, the unspoken ending-up dream.

I love it, I loved making it and I loved that I could (anyone can! it's not a hard pattern, it made lots of sense once i found that home in the rhythm of it)... it may make a stunning gift, I don't know. I do love it though... think I said that already :)

etsy friday

I've always loved the mailbox. Waiting for the mailman, the thrill of having something addressed to me, tearing into something like a present-- all of it. At six years old, it didn't matter that it was from Ed McMahon (and on those lean days, mail addressed to "resident"). It's rubbed off on my son, the head turning at the sound of the mailman's keys in our box, the jump and joy when he brings the big packages in the door. He even insists on holding at least one package when we make our way to the post office, dropping off orders for my store.

So it was with that thought that I bought this for him...


Surprise Ball from LadyBugCircus.etsy.com

I know, what's a surprise ball? So, LadyBugCircus takes a hollow, handmade papier-mâché ball and fills it with trinkets and foil confetti, and wraps and wraps and WRAPS the entire thing with paper ribbon (tucking little stickers in the wraps) and finishes it off with a sticker and embellishments to hold the entire thing together. She packages it super carefully in a poly bag nestled in crinkle cut paper, and sends it off in a whimsical gold box that fits into your mailbox.

My son LOVED this. Seriously, it took him a good ten minutes unwrapping it, and he played with the trinkets for HOURS afterwards. It's a combination of newness, the thrill of having something special sent with love just for you just because... The toys inside were simple, the kind you'd find in a kid's party goody bag, and they've been played with a lot over the last two days (still going). This might be the best $6 I've ever spent, and it certainly is the best $6 ever spent on my son.

I bought one that was described as "something a boy may enjoy," but honestly found the contents unisex. I suppose a girl-themed one may have something less gender-gapping, but eh. :)

Are tissue holders unisex?


Tissue holder from dreamrains.etsy.com

Probably not. Kawaii probably isn't either though...



As they may or may not say in my backwoods hometown, business in the front, party in the back! I'm trying to be one of those prepared moms with a maw on their shoulder they can reach into to solve toddler crises, and tissue is one of those things my grandmother and mother could always have been counted on in having on their person at all times. Admittedly this just slips into my loobylou purse when I use it to carry knitting, so I'm not *always* prepared... but cute when I am :)

I actually had purchased before from dreamrains before when she was still in Japan-- I bought the fugu and shinkansen fabrics for my JapaneseHandmadeEtc knitting box/toddler toy bags before her stateside relocation. I didn't realize she was the same seller til much later though (she has an etsy "sister store" in Japan selling kawaii fabrics too... tg I don't sew!)

A sewing maniac turned me onto this...


"floating shift" vintage typewriter key pendant and necklace, from KeysAndMemories.etsy.com

Jen regularly blogs some of her etsy finds* and I really liked the look of the vintage typewriter key jewelry from Keys And Memories that she had featured. They do a lot of custom work (you can choose your key and type of jewelry, etc), but I fell for this one already listed in their store for sale. The only drawback (for me) was that it was paired with a heavier chain than I like-- but K&M switched out the chain to the thinner one pictured and I'm happy as a clam :)

Another above and beyond the listing etsy seller...


Handstamped postcards from threedogparty.etsy.com
(My photo's dark; these look better in person)

I've liked ThreeDogParty's hand stamped postcards for a while now, but was put off from buying because they were all packaged in sets of 4 and I don't buy duplicates of cards. On a whim I convo'd TDB and asked if they'd package and sell me a mixed set of their 4 cards, "of course!" was the quick reply :) So now I have an anxious set of 4 postcards waiting to be licked and stamped... we'll see if I hear back on the "loves me, loves me not, undecided" one ;)

Don't quite know what response I expect from the "kotex: special delivery" card, but again... til next week, stay tuned :)



* do you have a feature or blog post featuring etsy sellers that float your boat you'd like to share? i'm *way* behind on blog searching for blogs praising etsy sellers (brobdingnagian project underway, soon-soon debut... you'll flip!) but i was thinking about maybe next or next-next etsy friday putting together a list of links of other blogs doing something similar to what i'm trying here on fridays... not so much etsy store blogs, but posts about stores you've admired or have had a great purchase from. (an already-existing super time killer is the etsy sellers who blog ring, process and product!) if you switch teams like me and do both that's cool though, you know what i mean :)

you can leave me a link in the comments or email to the address at the waaay bottom of the page; i'd love to take a look and link them up with your permission! if i get enough or a consistent supply of links i could do it every week even; may be a fun idea for a blog ring as well.

just a late nite thought, along with the others :)

post and run

...letters and sodas...


Handspun merino/tussah silk (70/30), 4 oz
worsted to bulky weight, 10-11wpi
Roving from ashland bay, "pewter" (i think! bought from angoracottage.com)

I've found myself in a my-fault timecrunch, but really pictures as words, etc... :)



Spun inching/short draw, semi-worsted so it wasn't fuzzy but quite smooth like the roving itself; not a lot of twist in the singles to keep the loft of the fiber and unabashedly soft with a sheen from the silk. I wish there was more for a super simple garter stitch scarf. (Would you wear a scarf?) Maybe there is. Is 4 oz of fiber enough for anything besides a hat?



I'm pretty sure the roving is commercially available from ashland bay & repackaged later; I purchased this 4 oz while at stitches west this year, more attention being paid to the crowd and companion than anything. There's a depth to the color; the silk is either not totally dyed or not dyed at all so there are beautiful flashes of white throughout. The merino also isn't a flat grey but has hints of purples and blue as well, ending up with a yarn suitably compared to the ice of deadliest catch.



I pulled this off of the bobbins this morning, having finished it the past weekend and never getting around to setting the twist. I think the majority of the handspun on hand now is like that-- rushing to empty bobbins with the need to fill them with something else. (yes, story of my life, thanks for asking :))

Finally, a new twist on the old favorite...



:)

i can has mittens?

sorry, couldn't resist :)


twee mitts, pattern by magic-fingers.blogspot.com
handspun merino/silk, ashland bay "rose"
US 8 (5.0mm) dpns, 4
started & finished: 20 august 2007

What a fun, fast pattern. I knew when Anushka posted pics that it would be perfect for using little bits of lovely handspun-- mine finished with ribbon weighed in at 42 gm (and I still have leftovers... there's a compulsion in me to squeeze to the last drop when it comes to something good and special like yarn I've spun myself).



Mine were a little different than Anushka's, both on purpose and on accident :) On purpose, I started with a folded edge picot caston instead of a provisional that's finished later... I'm just more familiar with it. The folding over gives a little more puff and weight to the edge. I CO, knit 2 rnds, did the yo/k2tog row, knit 2 rnds and then attached the CO edge by knitting it together with the next row. Needles same throughout; I CO an extra st (56 total) and k2tog'd when starting the actual fingerless glove pattern after "seaming" the co edge. It does leave visible a little seam edge when viewing, you guessed it, up the skirt...



...but it's not noticeable from the business side. Meanwhile, back on the farm-- I worked the slipped st cable rib a little differently than written; I slipped as if to purl, knit next st, replaced slipped st to LH needle and knit into the back of its loop. Again, this was just a change b/c it's what I was used to doing. Finally for the on-purpose portion of our program, I knit the hand 2 repeats longer than written (and waited to start the palm ribbing to match)-- my row gauge was on, but the column gauge wasn't. No big deal, even with the added length and extra yarn used for the picot cast on, I had plenty of yarn.



Very pretty mittens :) A pain to put on (and take photos of) by your lonesome, but Anushka has much better ones here. (And is like, the cutest designer-cum-knitwear model in the process.)

Speaking of MITTENS...


Magnificent Mittens by Anna Zilboorg


Latvian mitten technique encyclopedia, Russian (?) 1994
"Latvijas enciklopedija," isbn 5-8869-057-4
Latvijas enciklopediju redakcija riga 1994
BapeЖkи 350 y3opob
Cimdi 350 Rakstu

I know Stacey's chomping at the bit wondering where I found Magnificent Mittens (since it's oop and amazon sellers have it listed for ridiculous amounts...) :) Dumb is as lucky does, I bought the last copy from elann.com for retail. I guess I just luck into finding rad mitten books I shouldn't be finding... maybe I should actually knit a mitten or two soon :)

As excited as I am about Magnificent Mittens, it's totally overshadowed by the Latvian/Russian book. I don't really know a thing about it-- the first 25 or so pages are in Russian (?-- apologies if I'm way off base), detailing the pictures inside and with a few knitting techniques/keys to instructions. The rest of the book consists of 350 different images-- full shot completed mittens, cuff edgings, line drawn techniques and charts. (Each link leads to a flickr photo, and here's one of the back of the book-- Latvian?)

edit, 8/27: shake-your-booties was kind enough to leave me this comment about the mystery latvian mitten book:

Your book appears to be in Latvian, but the title is in Russian.
Варежки (pronounced var'ezhki) is Russian for "mittens" and узор (printed as узоров because it is associated with the number 350) is "pattern."

This was another serendipitous find, I was googling for Upitis' Latvian Mittens (high on my elann mitten score) and stumbled upon this one. It reminds me a lot of the online Latvian mitten collection here (and gloves here). Both are slow loading pages, but lovely. The source page has socks and other stranded knitting pics linked from it, as well.

Since we're on the subject of books, for posterity's sake my Interweave Hurt Book Sale purchases (last year's are here):


Alden Amos' Big Book of Handspinning (back in stock @ Amazon)
Meg Swansen's Knitting
Color in Spinning by Deb Menz

Like last year, I can't tell what makes these books "hurt." There's a little wear on the bottoms, but really not a big deal.



Don't be bummed if you missed out though... at 50% off plus 4.95 shipping to start, unless you were snagging books that were going oop or buying several you could get a similar deal by shopping amazon. (I'd thought that The Big Book of Handspinning was going oop since it was gone from amazon for so long; Schoolhouse Press says that Knitting is going oop soon.) Mine were fine, but a few reported on Ravelry that they received books that were more damaged (I thought I'd read somewhere people were missing actual pages from their books as well...?)

Anyway! For next year :)

...for next time? Hanami's done, but I still am borked on blocking and don't really want to bother with it :)

etsy friday

it's been near on a week, and the withdrawal pangs haven't subsided.


superwash merino sock yarn from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com
"harvest" colorway

I keep telling myself I'm not buying any more sock yarn, that I have almost enough to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 60 pairs of socks and I should just really stop looking... then Pigeonroof Studios puts up her etsy updates like a thief in the night and I get to seeing pink and can't help it. (I know! I should unsubscribe from her shop's rss feed. I know.) Orange is still one of my favorite colors in sock yarn, and I just love the way her yarn feels knitting up. (No progress on Twisted Flower-cum-Mona yet, I'm considering frogging again for a colorwork sock. No laughing.)

Anyways. I said before that I like Krista's colorways better than koigu (yes, really) and it's still true. They're just really fresh and bright, even the darker leaning ones. (And you can special order any colorway from her sold items list by convo'ing her and not feel like it's the holy grail or something you're reaching for-- it's still just yarn yall, not the love of your life :))

Not the love of my life either, but still nice...



I know, what could it be?


12 pocket circular needle holder by grannyscloset.etsy.com

A circular needle holder by Granny's Closet, with 12 pockets and this awesome orangey red bird on a ball fabric. I've been kinda sorta in the market for a circular needle holder for a while, really liking what's out there but a lot of it far too hip for mah "little life" here (other beautiful circ. needle holders are made by honeycakedesigns.etsy.com and sanfranciscocrafts.etsy.com)... this one is just right for me :)

12 pockets actually, technically, isn't enough, but I've consolidated the US 1/1.5 and US 2/2.5 needles together, and all of the leftover oddly large I have no idea why I own these treetrunk needles in the last upper pocket. I've also been slipping my susan bates knit-chek needle guide into a bottom pocket, easy way to spotcheck I have the right needle since the pockets are (thankfully) not marked-- I think it'd be a little distracting if they were.

In any case, it's a *huge* upgrade from my previous circular needle filing system...



A hard sided metal photo album, with openings in the top for 20 horizontal 4x6 photos. Cost: $1 at the local thrift store. Not bad really, but since the "spine" edge was hard set, the case with all of the needles inside tended to fan upwards and take a lot of space, and needles would often fall out and/or uncurl. The Granny's Closet organizer has super deep pockets as well as a little folding inner lip of fabric at the very top to keep those upper needles from wiggling out of their bonds.

Now if you're looking for a fancy Knitpicks Option organizer, you know you can hook one up from Zonda's talented little hands, right? (She may even make "regular" cases for those of us stuck in the circular dark ages with our Addis ;)... maybe?) There is a waiting list, but if her cases are as well made as the sockfish bag she made for me is (and I'm sure they are)... it'd be worth it.


Stitched and tatted cards purchased from etsy, l to r:
stitched tulip and you are my sunshine stitched cards from minecreations.etsy.com
tatted flowers card from AprilsFlowers.etsy.com

More cards of course, even though as it is with sock yarn I don't think I can possibly use them all. I still try, and that's what's important, eh? :)

I keep saying it, but I really like stitching on cards-- something is so sexy about thread and paper that I have to have and share. And really, you *are* my sunshine. :) The cards from Mine Creations use stitching and fabric together, which I really like since I can be a bit of a sewing voyeur/groupie (so fascinating! i love being intimidated). She also makes her own envelopes using machine stitching for the edges:



Awesome.

I have no idea what tatting is (wikipedia does), but broadly know it's a form of lacemaking. I actually read about it on the choka-on-it site a LONG while back... but how neat is this? April's Flowers makes delicate hand tatted flowers and attaches them to handdrawn "vines" on cards. I think it's so special, a perfect card for someone who appreciates handcraft and would immediately recognize the work that went into this.

Up close:



Nice way to head into the weekend. Not the best way (hard to beat!) but still :)

Have a good one, miss you.

now with 69% more love

Handspun superwash BFL
(Blue Faced Leicester, silly :))
4 oz, approx 14-15 wpi (sport weight)
roving from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com, "blackthorn"
singles spun long draw

If it were possible to put more love into handknit socks (not convinced quite yet, I always feel toppedoff in that department), I suppose it would be by knitting with handspun yarn. Sure, yarn I've spun myself (and sometimes dyed myself) is more work, super special, but it's the love that's gone into it with extra pairs of hands and head on top of the knitting, more time spent thinking with hands busy in and on the yarn. Maybe it's why I like handpainted yarns so much as well... they're more expensive but it's because they've been thru someone's head and thought process, not a machine and printer.



I'm really happy with these skeins, even though they're not totally even. This is my second (completed) attempt at spinning long draw... and it WORKED. It looks like magic flying out of my hands, like it shouldn't work this way but it does. My main goal in spinning is to spin my own sock yarns, and inching thru I've been happy with the result but not the time it took. Using the long draw method, I was able to spin almost all of the singles for this yarn over a Saturday afternoon filled with anticipation-- where before it would take me (much, much longer than that).



The roving is from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com -- in Krista's "blackthorn" colorway. I just love the look of it, and this time (as opposed to my last 2-ply sock yarn), this yarn has a lot of loft and light in it. And the color! It'll be fun to see how this one knits up; as a sportweight it should be quick. Too bad I already have a stockinette pair otn...

I wonder if the longer staple length of the BFL helped with my long draw... I'm going to try out some superwash merino later to see if there is a difference.



I'm glad I've overcome my fear of 2ply sock yarns... the 3 ply bfl knit into pomatomus look beautiful, but I was a little bummed running out of yarn at the toe on that pair and 3 plys are pretty much necessarily shorter yardage wise than comparable 2 ply in the same weight. I also think the colors will pop more to the eye, having one color bouncing off the other as opposed to the threeway mishmash, giving up individuality for the good of the team.

Since it's your favorite...



There were two, but we'll save that secret for later.

i worked it all weekend

...at least i have a new pair of socks to show for it.* :)


Toe up simple socks, Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' heel and toe
64 sts CO, 14 st space at heel/toe
Mountain Colors Bearfoot, "mystic lake"
US 1.5/2.5mm dpns, 4
Started: 25 July 2007
Finished: 11 August 2007

Lately I've been trying, as boring as it is, to keep one big project, one sock project, and one walkaround sock project on the needles. (So right now-- Hanami, Mona sock, and PGR socks living between worlds.) I keep hearing the sirens' call for new projects and am trying to trick myself using some flute before the flautist thing (if I finish Hanami, maybe I have some business thinking about Celtic Icon or Tangled Yoke Cardigan, etc.)

I keep "stealing time"/walkaround socks on the needles like these stockinette ones for long waits at the post office, on the bus, while reading and/or daydreaming... I don't have to look at my hands or even think about a pattern, feels good like soothing an addiction or sleeping next to someone you love. I don't usually take pics of these kinds of socks til they're done, they move so slowly and I'm apparently an impatient type of girl. :)



I really like the yarn (Mountain Colors Bearfoot). Like, a lot a lot. It's thick, fuzzy and warm-- I can imagine these being a great cool weather pair to wear. I'd also guess they'd wear well with their nylon *and* mohair content (did I read somewhere, someone reinforcing heel/toes with laceweight mohair instead of woolly nylon/reinforcing thread? somewhere.) This skein has sat in the stash for a while though, always too dark for patterned socks-- but now that I've become gung ho about knitting plain vanilla PGR socks, I can see a bigger dent in the stash being made already with yarns I can't quite match a pattern to.





The color's also nice, no pooling at 64 st CO/8 sts inch (US 1.5's). Your mileage may vary, on the k2p2 rib at the top, I noticed that the bright orange started spiraling around. I really wish Mountain Colors didn't have so many dark (value wise) colors, I could easily see Bearfoot becoming a left field, barbeque pizza favorite otherwise. The photos were taken amidst full weekend summer sin, darker colors than lit like this.



Still a PGR heel/toe, click for big and no holes at the turns :)

Miss you already, the time always too short. Need to work on that.


* "...without the box," yay!