MDSW goodies

I have all the yarn I ordered from the virtual Maryland Sheep and Wool event.  It was a little bit like actually going, because I ended up with a lot of little bonus things besides the yarn.  There were cards, buttons, a soap sample and several mini skeins.  I decided to go for yarn that was dyed specifically for the event.

From left to right:  Hope Springs from Toad Hollow, May Flowers from Bumblebee Acres,  Purple Joy and Exuberance from Miss Babs,  Dandelions and Daffodils from Cece’s Wool.

From left to right:  Shark Week kit, First Time for Everything from A Hundred Ravens, Power to the Protectors from Avalon Springs.

A sweater story

About two years ago I spotted the Ixchel sweater published in PomPom Quarterly.  I gave it a try.  Halfway down the body I realized it was going to be a bit too small.  My initial enthusiasm disappeared.  The sweater went into hibernation and I moved on to more fun projects.

A couple of months ago I finally exhausted my Ravelry queue.  Trying to restart the sweater with more stitches sounded more interesting.  I jumped right in and suddenly I had a completed sweater.  Well, almost completed.  There were several dozen ends to weave in.  I also was not satisfied with the work in a couple of sections.  I ran low on the main color of yarn toward the end of the sleeves and my changes to accommodate it did not look good.  The cherry on top of this sundae was that the sweater was a bit too big.

Should I frog it and start again?  Should I weave all those stupid ends, block it, and live with it as is?
Time to do something else for awhile.

I grabbed a couple of braids of BFL and hand spun some yarn.  I have an idea for using it, but it will take some more planning before that can start.  I have not had enough energy to do much (sleep problems, not anything viral) so another project was needed.

I knit these socks from a pattern called Hello Sunshine.  I used some recently acquired yarns.  The multicolored is from The Dyeing Arts.  It has metallic threads in it.  The twist is good, it doesn’t split, and the metallic part stays put without ending up all over the place.  The pattern has cables that aren’t actually twisted.  There is enough going on to keep you from getting bored, while being easy enough to memorize.

Then there’s the sweater.  Remember the sweater?  This was a blog post about the sweater.  Midway through the socks an email appeared.  The Ixchel sweater pattern has been updated to increase the size range.  I gave it some thought and decided to try again with the updated pattern.  I am going to order an additional skein of the main color just in case I need it.  The yarn is slightly more semisolid than solid, so it should blend in okay.

My next project is frogging and swatching.

(Virtual) Maryland Sheep and Wool

I always wanted to visit Maryland Sheep and Wool, but didn’t think I would ever get to do it.  This year’s festival has gone virtual because of that stupid virus.  I have been visiting the MDSW marketplace and having a good time.  I bought a show mug and T-shirt because I would’ve done that in person.  I have plans for ordering some yarn, hopefully some show exclusive colorways.

My big find was a kit for some socks that I never thought I would get to do.  It is the shark week socks by the late Tsarina of Tsocks.  She passed away several years ago.  A company called BeadBiz is offering some of her kits under the name Art for your Feet.

In between virtual shopping trips, I am working on my Ixchel sweater.  It was frogged and put in time out almost two years ago.  I figured out how to increase the size without making too much of a mess of the pattern.  There are several zillion loose ends to adjust and secure which will improve the appearance.

I did one project before I jumped into this.  A woman on Ravelry made a blanket pattern called Safe at Home.  I liked it but did not want to buy a bunch of worsted weight or commit to yet another blanket.  I had a pillow form and more than enough fingering weight, so I made a pillow.  I think it is cute.

Back to the sweater and PBS.  Bob Ross painting happy little clouds always cheers me up.

Can of Koigu

Clever packaging?  Check
Yarn I like?  check
Quarterly credit at Jimmy Beans?  Check

This is a Koigu Paint Can in the Troll Valley collection.  Most of the other colorways sold out before I snagged this one or I would’ve been tempted to get more.  There are 5 mini skeins.

K-9

A few good things have come out of this virus mess, especially for Doctor Who fans.  There have been watch-alongs of favorite episodes.  These have included Tweets from past cast members and new mini episodes written by past show runners.  I loved the one by Steven Moffat that featured Strax.  The most recent, by Russell T. Davies, really got to me.  The actress who played my favorite companion, Elisabeth Sladen, passed away nine years ago.  This left a big gap in her character’s story.  The mini episode described Sarah Jane Smith’s memorial service.  We found out what happened to a number of characters who were suddenly left in limbo when The Sarah Jane Adventures ended.

Among the original Doctor Who characters to appear was my second favorite companion, Ace.  No longer a teenager with a backpack full of Nitro-9, she has reverted to her real name, Dorothy.  We discover that Dorothy now is the keeper of the little tin dog, K-9.  It is silly to admit, but this made me happy.

What the h*ck does all of this have to do with yarn?  I saw the episode over the weekend.  Today (Monday) my Doctor Who club yarn came from The Dyeing Arts.  Colorway is K-9.

Acadia National Park...

...was the inspiration for the latest Must Stash kit.  I visited it in late October of 1992 which doesn’t seem as long ago as it actually is.  Yarn and candles and stitch markers and sock soap and a patch for my favorite yarn tote and more.  Yay!

I have pretty much cleared out my Ravelry queue, which is a dangerous thing.  I have reverted to my old sock knitting habits.  I have one pair in the works and KAL pair that starts in a couple of days.  That one will use some of my Must Stash stash which is a good thing the way it has been piling up.

The project after that might be a sweater that’s been in time out for at least a year.  It needs to be a little bit larger.  This requires doing a new graph for the yoke.  It is a bit complex and I am a bit lazy.

If I keep the sweater in time out, I will probably do the Safe At Home blanket.  The goal is to work from stash, and if there’s anything I do have it is stash.

Yikes, stripes!

I bailed on the brioche class after the second lesson.  I can’t begin to guess what my problem is with this technique.  I am filing it with calculus as two things my brain refuses to grasp.

There is good news, though.  I finished my Birdsong sweater.  There will be a picture as soon as I get around to blocking it.

Things are tough for yarn companies these days.  Shows are being cancelled left and right.  I made an effort to help Must Stash a little by ordering this self stripey goodness.

That’s Exploding Rainbow, Pippi, The Doctor, and Lavender Apple Blossom.  The colors are really nice.  They are pretty as skeins but downright irresistible when you see swatches of the stripes.

I took some time out to stitch this.  The quote is from GR Mom of the Golden Ratio, if you are familiar with them.  It is silly, but why not?