My Stash Overfloweth....

When I got married and moved in with my hubby, my goal was simple and achievable:

KEEP MY YARN STASH SMALL ENOUGH THAT IT WILL FIT IN MY MOTHER'S HOPE CHEST. (A large cedar-lined chest that should be large enough to store any reasonably sized stash).

Hardy har har har.

It was all fine, really, until my friend B started showing up with thrift yarn. She found FIVE SWEATERS' WORTH OF WOOL at Goodwill for a grand total of $10. This haul included:

Eighteen balls (1650 yards) of Jacques Fonty Tweed Aran



Ten balls (1300 yards) of Emu Superwash DK



Twenty balls (2740 yards!!!) of Emu Naturally DK



and Ten balls (1370 yards) of similar but slightly darker Emu Naturally DK




YEAH. A lot of nice wool.

THEN, a couple weeks ago, she showed up one Saturday afternoon with a FAB-YOU-LUSS score: Eight balls of Rowan Calmer in pale pink and ten balls of Louisa Harding Grace (50/50 Wool/Silk Yumm) that she scored for EIGHT DOLLARS at a garage sale.

That's a grand total of SEVEN sweaters' worth of yarn, two sweaters' worth of high-end current yarn, for $18.

Meg, you have mad thrifting skilz, but I think the gauntlet has been thrown. :-)

I Heart Austin

Spent the weekend at the Austin City Limits Festival. It was hot and fabulous.

I didn't take any knitting, but I wish I had! This woman has the right idea!!!

Check out this great photo from last year's show- perfectly captures the vibe of the fest...

What's on my needles?

I've been a frighteningly monogamous knitter recently. Which is... scary.

The Mitered Square Blanket is still in progress- I think I've finished 10 squares. I'm really pleased with how this is turning out, but may give up on my dream of a queen-sized blanket. I just don't think I have it in me, and it would weigh a TON in the Tahki Cotton Classic.

I'm almost done with a Kaffe Fassett Tumbling Blocks throw pillow. The knitting is done, and the fabric backing is washed. Now just need to drag out the sewing machine and back it. I really enjoyed this project. Learned how to do intarsia, which really isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be! Now I'm much more confident when I think about approaching other Kaffe projects. I remember my Mom bought the Rowan magazine with the Foolish Virgins pattern (Ravelry Link) and thought it was stunning. My desire to make that pattern has passed, but his other stuff is so fun!

Anyway, here's what the cushion cover looks like right now:




The cushion cover is raveled here.

I'm also nearly finished with a pair of magic-loop toe up socks. I used Silver's Sock Class tutorial for the basics of magic loop, and Fleegle's pattern for my heel. I'm using some of the Regia Kaffe Fassett landscape yarn in the... fog?... colorway. I thought I'd LOVE this yarn, but I'm feeling rather meh about it. Socks are almost done....

The socks used to look like this:


But are now almost done!!!

Socks raveled here.

Last but not least, I'm working on Veronik Avery's Lace Ribbon Scarf from the Sprin '08 Knitty. I'm making it out of some very lovely Malabrigo Lace Weight I got at a Ravelry white elephant held at the Knitting Nest last year. LOVING the yarn. Here's roughly what the scarf looks like:

Scarf is raveled here.

I love this project, but it is only this big:



because I've been trying to finish the socks!

So, that's what I'm working on now.

Oh Thank Heaven.

Whew!

Yesterday’s high was a freakishly low 79 degrees (average for this time of year is 90 degrees). We slept with the windows open and the air conditioning off for the first time since early May, and it was heavenly. We’ll be back in the low 90s by the end of the week, but even that is welcome relief from this summer’s massive heat. I can finally be outside without wanting to die immediately.

You may think I’m kidding, but this has been a very hot summer. Austin had 49 days of triple digit days- that’s 100 degrees or higher. The heat came early and stayed late. I’m serious when I say 95 is a relief.

The weather has such a profound effect on me. I’m a winter person. I was born in December and grew up in the mountains. Snow skiing is my all time favorite activity. I love Christmas, and sweaters, and warm foods and hanging out around a fireplace. I joke about getting reverse seasonal depression here, but it is true. March brings a sense of doom about the upcoming extended heat. August is always miserably hot, but somehow made bearable- it usually occurs to me a week before Labor Day that we have at most six more weeks of super heat and then things will cool down.

Labor Day signals fall, even though fall won’t truly arrive here for several more weeks. My parents were from Michigan, where Labor Day means pulling boats out of the lake, back to school, and cooler weather. I realize how silly this inherited clock is down here, but I am nevertheless impacted by it.

Our cooler temperatures make me feel lucky to live here. We have several months a year of perfect outdoor activity weather- those months just happen to flank summer, not embrace summer. I do miss winter, though.

While the summer heat zaps every ounce of energy, the recent dip in temperatures brings new energy. I’m toying with the idea of blogging regularly again. The last two weeks have also made me itchy for knitting. I have several sweater projects competing for an actual cast on. I have spent a significant amount time trolling Ravelry for inspiration. I have also stocked up on sweater-quantities of wool (oops!)

Here are some of the things I’ve finished since last we spoke:

Several squares for my Mitered Square Afghan:




A pair of cashmere socks (Nancy Bush’s Conwy out of HipKnits Cashmere purchased while I was in London) that were a birthday gift for Meg:



A razor shell neckwarmer out of single-ply Victory Ranch Alpaca:



Next time: WIPs and stash enhancement.