Full Disclosure... mostly

It's seriously hard to keep up, people. Yarn and patterns have just been a-jumping into my hands and on to my credit card lately. I promised full disclosure, but it's not entirely possible. You see, some of the yarn I've bought is already perilously close to being a garment!

Ok, so in Ithaca, I went to the Homespun Boutique, the only yarn store I have ever regularly patronized. I'm more of an online buyer myself - I get most of my yarn on sale. I particularly love Webs' end of the year clearance sale. I tend to stock up for the year, then knit the stuff up unless I get taken in by a pattern. Sock yarn, though, I like to actually see first. I'm a big fan of the Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport. Very affordable, wide range of colors, good yardage.That's what all the yarn here is. I also purchased the most recent Interweave (I've got to get myself a subscription to that), Knitting without Tears by EZ, and Jo Sharp Knit Issue 3, which has some great patterns for both men and women, along with a lot of variations on the same idea.

Then, my friend D took me to Threadbear for the first time ever last Saturday. I fell hard for the Man's Vest in the Classic Elite Summer booklet and purchased enough Four Seasons to make my size. I'm already halfway through the back. Crazy! Oh, and a little splurge on some high quality sock yarn. That's Dream in Color Smooshy in Butter Peeps.
As if that weren't enough on the needles, I started a sock (the one based on the loon in Knitting on the Road) which I'm sadly going to have to frog because I was trying to use up loose ends of yarn, and there aren't going to be enough ends to make two socks. I have about 1/3 of the back of the Deep V Sweater from Classic Knits by Erika Knight sitting in my knitting basket (ended up frogging the Saddle Shoulder sweater), plus a little baby sweater in a deep, deep blue for a "nephew" which is also about 1/3 done. I'm not usually a multiple knitter, but somehow I caught a massive case of startitis these past 2 weeks. Probably because I'm going to be in a bit of a knitting drought this summer at Aspen. There aren't enough hours in the day or room in my suitcase to plan anything specific for that.

And, as if that weren't enough, I bought fabric for a Built by Wendy dress (Simplicity 3835), which I'm hoping to start this weekend. A nice green shirting that looks like chambray, plus some buttons to punch it up a little. So excited!

I also may or may not have purchased the Nora Gaughan vol. 1 booklet with the yarn for the baby sweater. That's it! Enough buying of the yarn! Now, knit!

RIP

Let us take a moment of silence for those knits which are no longer with us....

Butterfly, you seemed like such a good idea at the time. Silky, green, with what seemed to be a forgiving fit, and in a gauge that wasn't going to take half of forever. As I knit you, it became obvious that you were a bit of a tease, eating up more yarn in a shorter period of time than it seemed like you should, creating pieces that didn't look proportional, and generally talking a good game and not delivering. Sadly, though I finished you, I am not pleased, and after you have sat for an appropriate amount of time in the back of my closet, I will reclaim your (horribly expensive) yarn for another purpose.

Ms. Marigold, I tried. I really did. I knit you twice, and still the sizing didn't work out. I think, ultimately, the fault is mine. I always want the cute, fun clothes - the kind that are meant for teenagers without boobs - and in the end my obvious cleavage, long torso, and squishy belly were not the match for your fun and sassy design. Fantastic yarn, though.

Ballet Camisole, last night I sent you to a good home. As I pulled you out of my drawer, your soft silkiness caressed my hands, seeming to say, "No, don't let me go!" But then I remembered how I hated the way you fit - how you bagged and gapped (although the shaping made is a surprisingly attractive baggy, gappy pink top) - and I handed you over to Caitlin. I hope she appreciates you more than I did.
From these failures I have learned that I must lengthen all tops by at least 2 inches, and that if it doesn't look right, it probably isn't.

Onward. Webs is having their summer sale. I caved. Yarn for the Dollar and a Half Cardigan and for the Deep V Sweater is on its way to my new apartment!

Windy

It would be a fantastic day if it weren't so windy - one of the first sunny days we've had in a while. I hear it's worse out East. I'm feeling hard core for those marathoners in Boston. Not only do they have to run one of the most difficult marathons (including the infamous Heartbreak Hill) but now they have to do it in some wicked wind. I managed (barely) to catch a picture of one of our daffodils, which somehow survived two weeks of snow. I love daffodils. They are my favorite flower. Anyone know what that says about me? I don't know my flower meanings. Let me tell you though, it was no easy feat to get a pic in this wind.

It's been kind of a crappy day. I saw the sun this morning and decided to go for my first outdoor run of the spring. Then I listened to the way the wind was whipping around the house, and I thought better of it. I had no desire to have the skin ripped from my body a la Jean Grey and Wolverine in X-Men 3. And the day spiralled downwards from there.

Went to Michael's to get a US5 29" circular (because I finished the body for Ms. Marigold) but they didn't have any. The didn't have any the last time I went, nor did the LYS in Kalamazoo this weekend. It's very possible that I'm not going to be finished with Ms. Marigold for a while, since apparently US5 circulars are really hard to find. (Speaking of Ms. Marigold, it fits better this time, but as predicted, it's not significantly larger than before, though I went up 2 sizes.)

The best part of today is that I got the last part of my shipment from Overstocks.com. Classic Knits by Erika Knight. Just look at the gorgeous picture of the Deep V Sweater on the front - immediately I want to knit that sweater. Well, that and the fact that Gabriella is (or was) making one now. I think I'm even going to spring for the Debbie Bliss Cathay after her rave reviews. I'm also loving the Silk Shrug and the Classic Turtleneck Sweater.

Now, I've heard there's been some problems with errata in the patterns - particularly with the camisole - so I'm going to have to be on the lookout. Plus, there aren't any schematics for the patterns, which is annoying, and it makes the patterns harder to understand. I just have to decide which size I'm going to knit and order the yarn!