Bluegrass

Today I'm listening to Allison Krauss & Union Station and I'm loving the bluegrass. So I figured I'd find some pretty yarn that is evocative of this music- rich, beautiful blues and greens. I'd like all of these please.

In a circle starting from the top left: Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in Robin's Egg available from The Loopy Ewe; HandMaiden Casbah Sock in Hemlock 2 available from The Backwards Loop; Three Irish Girls in Rhiannon available from Three Irish Girls; Yarn Love in Lagoon, Pagewood Farm Alyeska in Bird of Paradise available from Eat.Sleep.Knit; and HandMaiden Casbah Sock in Rainforest available from The Loopy Ewe.

Hello, Cowboy.

Today I am thinking about old Westerns starring Sam Elliott. Hence the desert color scheme- blue, sand, orange, brown, and hints of green. I think I'll go and watch The Quick and the Dead now.

From left to right: Becoming Art Outlaw on Suave, Madelinetosh Napoli on Tosh Sock, and Yarn Love Tranquil Waters on Juliet.

Inspired

Today I am feeling inspired by a post from last week on Katie's blog, Today I Want, that featured vintage swimwear. It's hot outside and these colors make me feel all cool and happy. I seem to be in love with blue yarn lately.

All these yarns are available from Eat. Sleep.Knit. From top left: Dream In Color Smooshy in Beach Fog, SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Saltwater, Scarlet Fleece Painted Merino in Pacific, Yarn Love Marianne Dashwood in Shipwreck, MadelineTosh Tosh Sock in Cove, and Squoosh Fiberarts Ultra Sock in Beach Comber.

Self Restraint... ha ha ha!

That just happens to be Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Tomato colorway. And yes, I am such a dork that I just had to compare the color of the yarn to the cherry tomatoes we're growing in the back yard. It is the same color. I always thought that tomatoes were pretty much red, but now I see that they're really rather orange. Although, my favorite tomatoes are purple. Anyway, back to yarn. I love the feel of Tosh sock. I have two skeins in my stash but have not done any knitting with it yet.

I've been on the hunt for some good, true yellows. Not orangey, not greeney, but true yellow. And voila! Madelinetosh does some amazing yellows. Oh, I am so in trouble.

This is Butter. Isn't she beautiful?

And this is Chamomile. Oh, my, aren't you cheeky?

Purl, Purl, Purl

I did not take the above picture- I wish I could make that claim.

Today I am waiting for my monthly shipment of yarn to arrive from Three Irish Girls. Notice how I did not say "patiently waiting." I am anything but patient at the moment- chomping at the bit might be a more accurate description. It's not like I have anything planned for the yarn that is currently in my mailman's bag, I just want to possess it. I want to open the plastic envelope, remove the chocolate brown paper bag with the Three Irish Girls seal on it, break that seal and touch the yarn.

I also have a set of needles coming to replace the one I broke working on the Cattywampus socks. So I have all kinds of knitting goodness coming in the mail. Today I am the long suffering yarnaholic.

The Tale of Cattywampus

One of these tomatoes is not like the other ones.

I believe that all knitting has a story to tell. Sometimes the story is about what was happening in the knitter's life when she or he was knitting the item. Sometimes the story is about the person the item is intended for. And sometimes the story is about the item itself. For example: Cattywampus.

I just finished knitting the first sock of the pair and this is the amount of yarn I have left over. That's 3 grams. Yes, the ball is in fact slightly larger than a quarter. Happily, I was smart and divided the skein into two equal sized center pull balls before I started knitting. Not that this yarn likes to stay in a nice, neat center pull configuration.

Yes, that is a broken needle. When you knit with needles that are slightly thinner than a toothpick, sometimes breakage happens. As it did in this case when I was on the last row of the last pattern repeat. No big deal, I just started using 4 needles instead of the usual 5. I can order another identical set of size 0 (2mm) needles and I'll have extras incase of more breakage.

This is the first sock. I love it. The picture does not do it justice at all. The yarn color is Cattywampus and it is on Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight. It is a delight to work with. The pattern is Nanner Socks by Wendy Johnson. I love it too.

And just look at this bind-off! I mean who wouldn't want to put their foot in that?! I just love JSSBO (Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off).

Thoughts, I'm just full of them

This is Beckon Merino Sock yarn from Three Irish Girls. The colorway is Lagoon. I love this colorway. In fact I love this yarn so much that I am having a really hard time using it. I know, that sounds counterintuitive. But like the Yarn Harlot said, "yarn is forever, socks get holes." I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of what she said.

This yarn is currently destined to be knit into a pattern that I have devised. The pattern has a leaf motif, and I need a name for said pattern. I need to stop calling these socks- that have yet to be knit- Leafy Socks.