Early Fall and what I want to knit......

Bad blogger. I know I told myself I would not be one of those bloggers that let their site go without a post in ages, but I lied. I did not intend to, but it just happened. I really am going to try to keep this up. If not for the random person that may be interested, just to get these 5,284,767,902 thoughts down and not just jumbled in my head. So, let's make this one a quickie.

I had to share some upcoming patterns that I am dying to get onto my needles. Unfortunately, the patterns are not yet available. Trust me. As soon as they are, I will be casting on for at least a couple of these beauties. Norah Gaughan never fails to wow me with her designs, but the sneak peek that was offered up on the Berroco Blog recently just blew me away. You're going to have to scroll down to the April 11, 2011 posting, but it's well worth it. Check out these pics and I dare you to not find one you love.

Off the Needles!

I love when I can honestly say I finished a project. No ends to weave in, no lingering adjustments. It's done and I've already worn it. Out.Of.The.House. In Public. For everyone to see! This was a quick knit. Fun, too. I downloaded the pattern for Creature Comforts Cardigan as soon as I knew it was available. I had been waiting for Amy of Madelinetosh to release this pattern after I saw a preview on Ravelry. Luckily, I had the Madelinetosh Vintage in my stash, because I had just purchased some at Stitches West. So glad I decided to buy it, because I was able to cast on immediately. Here's it is. Creature Comforts Cardigan in Celadon Vintage by Madelinetosh. Lovely yarn and lovely pattern.

Creature Comforts

Since the time leading up to Stitches West and the time since, I have been overwhelmed with possibilities. So much yarn and patterns and so little time. Why is that always the case? Are there people out there that are so enamored with their current project that they don't even think of straying? If so, hats off to them! I am constantly being tested and tempted.

So, prior to Stitches West, I had such grand plans. I ordered the yarn for Sabbatical and had every intention of knitting that one up right away. In the meantime, I agreed to knit a sample of Citron for Lisa at Wabi Sabi Yarns. That project took up a lot of my knitting time, since it had to be done on a deadline. It was really fun and a great success, but it did lead me off my Sabbatical track. Seeing all that fabulous yarn and project possibilities at Stitches West muddled up my brain and now, I am all over the place. Let's recap what I have started since returning:

Another Citron using Madelinetosh Prairie in Tart.

Drops 103 Cardigan with The Fibre Co.'s Terra in Walnut (purchased at Stitches West)

Manu with Madelinetosh Pashmina in Stovepipe (another Stitches West purchase)

Creature Comforts Cardigan with Madelinetosh Vintage in Celadon. (another Stitches West purchase).

This last pattern is what did me in. Amy, the owner of Madelinetosh and designer of Creature Comforts Cardi, had been posting teaser photos of this beautiful pattern over the past couple of weeks. Of course, I kept checking to see when it would be available. Lo and behold, I saw this posting on Ravelry and, like a bee to honey, I was hooked. Who can blame me? Look at this! It's perfect. I casted on March 12, 2010 and have been working on this exclusively ever since.

I would love to finish this and maybe wear it for Easter/Passover. The color is a pale, soft green with hints of grey. Kind of a color that is half way in Winter, half way in Spring. Perfect for the season.

Poor, abandoned Manu:

My new love: Creature Comforts Cardi

Stitches Overload or..........

How I went to Stitches West, bought a ton of yarn and now will be eating ramen for a month!

Not really, but close. Whew! That was one, crazy, yarn-filled weekend. Lots of fun, but who would have ever thought that being surrounded by yarn, taking knitting classes and attending fashion shows would render you totally useless on this Monday morning? All that fun can be exhausting. I can't believe I have to go to work this morning. I am going to try to be productive, but I think I will be dreaming of all the beautiful yarn I was surrounded by this weekend. I will update later with more info on the fabulous weekend. It was a blast and I am really glad I decided to go this year. For now, here are a couple of teaser pics of some yarn I picked up. Definitely much more to come.....

Help for Haiti - Brandywine

Just a quickie post. I casted on the Brandywine Shawl last night. The pattern is lovely, but the purpose behind it is even more so. Rosemary Hill, the designer, is hoping to sell 10,000 copies of this pattern and send $5.00 of each pattern purchase to Haiti Relief. I encourage everyone to purchase a pattern, even if it's not something you plan on knitting right away (although, I can't imagine why not...this pattern is beautiful!). It's for a great cause and every little bit will help.

Here's the beginning of my Brandywine Shawl. I am using Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the Figue Colorway. I LOVE this color and wish I could get my hands on a sweaters worth of this color.

Mushroom Citron

I've been busy. I've been working, almost exclusively, on Citron. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am knitting this for Lisa from Wabi Sabi Yarns for her to display in her booth at Stitches West. It's been a challenging project, because it's made with very thin laceweight yarn. It's fun, though. The yarn is very soft and lovely to work with. I definitely plan on using it again for another project. Here's a pic of my progress. It's kind of smooshed up on the needles, but I can't pull it out to show you more, because I am afraid all those tiny stitches are going to slide of of those needles! Hopefully, I will be done with this very soon. I may even try to make another one. It's a very simple pattern. Really nice. I can see making this pattern multiple times in different colors. It's a great shawl/scarf that can be worn a multitude of ways.

Better late than never, right?

Maybe it's the rain. The photo above is the view from my living room window. It's been very rainy here in Southern California. I think it's making me a bit lazy. Maybe that is why I haven't updated this blog. I have already broke my promise to myself that I would not create this blog and then let it languish for over a week. I hate when I find a blog or podcast that I like, I start following it and then I go back and it hasn't been updated for an extended period of time. I know that it's silly, because a blogger or podcaster does not owe anyone a post or an episode at regular intervals, but it's fun to look forward to seeing/hearing what's next. I was at our local Knit Night at Panera Bakery, hanging out with a few of my knitting friends and one of them told me she had read my blog. I said, "I need to update it" and she said, "Yeah, you do." I guess I didn't realize anyone was really reading it. So.....even if it's just to prove it to myself that I can follow through on this promise, I'm going to really make the effort to post something, anything, once a week. Maybe more, if I'm feeling kind of wild!

I do have some knitting news. I discovered some new yarn. W

abi Sabi yarns...gorgeous! I hadn't seen them in person, but you can tell from the photos that this yarn is something special. Lisa, the owner of Wabi Sabi Yarns, will be exhibiting at Stitches West this year and I am so excited to see her yarn in person. I bet I will be coming home with some. I'm also knitting a sample for her booth. There was a call for test knitters on her Ravelry group and I responded. I am knitting up a Citron shawl out of her new 50/50 silk merino blend laceweight yarn. It is so pretty. The color is named Taupe Blend, but it's a very complex taupe/lavender with hints of some olive tones. It is really lovely. I am on a deadline, so I will be spending most of February knitting this. I am really nervous about knit

ting this, because I want to do a great job. I know I can do

it, it's just kind of scary. Stay tuned!

Work has progressed on Tea Leaves Cardigan. I'm almost done. Just one more sleeve and one button band and it will be finished. Other than blocking, of course. The Madelinetosh Merino is a dream to work with. It's so buttery soft. I love it. The only drawback, well two drawbacks, is that 1) it tends to pill, but every non-plied merino will do that and 2) the yarn is so hard to find right now. I heard that the supplier of the merino is backordered, so a lot of online stores are also backordered on the product. Hopefully, the issue will get resolved and we can all get our fair share of this gorgeous yarn. I think I may want to make somewith with the Parchment colorway. I made a hat for my daughter with one skein of that colo

r and it is really beautiful.

This has been a really easy, low stress knit. I can see myself making another one in Tosh Dk or something similar.

And, just for your viewing pleasure, Tosh Merino Light in the M

olly Ringwald colorway. Don't you just love the name? I was in my heyday when The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles were showing at the cineplex. I love Molly Ringwald and when I saw this yarn, it had to be mine. Currently it's not in the regular lineup of Madelinetosh colors, but I am hoping it will make its way into the permanent collection. I think this would be a really cute Peasy or, how about a Molly Ringwald made out of Molly Ringwald??

Okay, have to run. It's Winter Formal tonight and I have been enlisted to expertly apply makeup to a group of 17 year old girls. It kind of reminds me of Pretty in Pink. All that's missing is Ducky.