Goodies from across the ocean

My DH has recently returned from a trip *home*. It was a work trip primarily, but seeing as he was in the mother-country he decided to add on a few days to visit with his parents. He hasn't seen them in 5 years. So I took the opportunity to make some purchases that aren't that easy to make locally and have some stuff sent to my ILs for DH to bring home with him.

First up, some lovely Malabrigo from Little Knits.




I do have to say though, that I wasn't all gaga over this yarn like I thought I would be. The hype would have you believe it is the softest most luscious yarn ever, but in all honesty it doesn't feel any softer than any of the lovely yarns I've already used and been able to get locally. That's not to say that I don't like it, or I don't think it's soft. I certainly do love it! But I think maybe my expectations were not met based on the raves it gets on places like Ravelry. And I'm yet to knit with it so I still have to have that experience. I may change my tune after using it!

And I couldn't believe the good fortune of finding out that not only are Little Knits located in the same city as my ILs, but that they had some excellent sales on some of the very yarn I wanted to get my hands on! So how could I pass up the chance to get some Koigu sock yarn AND some Dream in Color Smooshy?!?!


I don't have pics of the DIC smooshy as one is already a WIP and the photo came out all blurry of the other skein and I can't be bothered re-photographing! Both were purple colourways though, and I think the second skein will actually become socks. The WIP is not socks.

That was pretty much the extent of my *gifts*. And I had to purchase them myself LOL I did get this mug and a t-shirt from NYC also. Here's some fusion for you - drinking English Breakfast Tea in a NYC mug in Australia lol

Happy Fluffy Mail Day To Me!

Look what my parcel man delivered for me this morning....



It's the much-coveted (by me at least!) Fairy Bread colourway on Four Bags Full merino!! I need a dancing smilie to pop in here LOL I was so disappointed when I missed out on at least one skein of this at Elissa's last stocking - my hyena skills have really waned lately. I made up for it the next morning with the purchase of something else from her store though!

Wow, I can't believe it! Thanks so much Elissa :) I have no idea what I'll make with it yet, but I have 200gms so will have to have a good think about it. Something for F I'm sure.

Oh, and to my PIF recipient - I haven't forgotten about you :)

Wooly Mail

I know I said back here that I was going to curb my yarny spending habits, but I did succumb to a few small purchases recently, but all with good reason.



Sock blockers and some Merino/Cashmere sock yarn - Passionfruit - from The Knittery, and two skeins of Lorna's Laces in "Tickled Pink" from The Woolshack, which are birthday presents (or at least spending of birthday money) so don't count as yarn purchases on my part! The other skein is Lorna's Laces "Rainbow". I love the colours of this, although I must say after a look around Ravelry I'm not all that keen on how some of the projects have knitted up. But I had to have it since it was on sale anyway, and have plans to make something for L since he loves rainbows. Maybe some socks for him.

There's also a ball of WOOLganic in "Blossom" in this pic (dark pink at top of pic) which I bought from The Yarn Cafe. I have another ball and plan to make another Kimono for F in this, but I think I'll need another ball judging by the last one that I made. And last but not least, the variegated yarn on the right of the pic is some BFL in "Berry Fuschia" also from The Yarn Cafe, which I had to have also, since all of my yarn stash specifically for soakers etc are boyish colours, and I knew F was a girl so of course I'm justified in enhancing my stash with some girly yarn for her, right?!




And this is the March installment of the Yarn Collective Sock Club from Stitch Sista. I love this and I think I want to cast this on (pattern came with the yarn) ASAP, but knitting time is limited (read non-existent) atm, so not sure if I can manage it just yet.

I have some FO's that I can post now too, but that will have to wait for another day as I'm supervising Mother's Day card making (for Nana), toileting and a baby that needs to be fed all at the same time, while DH is out doing the grocery shopping. Knitting? Some time in my future I think LOL

Hey Mojo, where'd you go?

So I'm back. At least I think I am. And apparently it's NaBloPoMo, which I've failed miserably at since this is my first post since early October. If I get one post in for November, does that count?

Anyway, where have I been? Well I can now reveal the secret to my disappearance, although I suspect that most of the regular readers of this blog already know why, but just in case there's any other interested parties out there, here it is. I'm pregnant. And boy did morning sickness mess with my knitting mojo. I've really only just started to feel like doing anything again. Strangely I felt most sick in the evenings - prime knitting time - and of course very tired. So instead of knitting I've been sleeping and throwing up. Yahoo. And to top it all off I also managed to catch myself some kind of cold/sinus infection which has been hanging around for over a month now. Life has been pretty great the last few months.

All of that seems to be behind me now though, and I even managed to cast on something last night. Lets not mention that after about an hour of knitting I ripped it all out and will start something else again tonight I hope, but I did manage to knit. And it didn't make me want to vomit. Here's the yarn I cast on, mainly because it's all I have to show you since I didn't actually make progress with anything. This is "Cherry Pie" hand dyed by Elissa of The Yarn Cafe as part of the Yarn Collective Sock Club (my first installment!). It's beautiful, but my pic probably doesn't do it justice. Now I just need to find a suitable pattern, cause the one I started last night isn't going to work out.


I shall post some progress pics when I finally get something going. But don't expect too many FOs from me anytime soon. Mojo is only returning slowly.

Flashing My Stash

Another *entry* for Woolaholics! This time it's *flash your stash*. I must say that I'm quite suprised by my stash myself, after unloading it all from it's storage onto the bed. I know it's not as huge as some, but it's certainly pretty big for someone who's only relatively new to knitting and wool hoarding LOL So what do we have here (you'll have to pick them out yourself, but I'll try to work from left to right in the pic):

• *Pacific Moon* dyed BFL from NDS on ebay
• Patonyle sock wool (black and white) which were for DHs Jaywalker's
• Sock Swap yarn (green/blue/white)
• Monster Knits sock yarn *Kai*
• Cottone from spotlight (for dinosaur toys)
• 200gms Utiku white yarn, hand-dyed badly by me LOL
• Various balls of Monster Knits yarn - Earth Sky, Channon, Shipwreck, Navy and Green Treliske
• Utiku Gems
• Utiku Chocky Swirl
  
• Utiku Chocolate
• FBF Merino in *Black Rainbow* (including small black skein) hand-dyed by Rach from Stitch Sista
• Longies yarn swap (green/blue/white)
• Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed - approx 7 balls there, the rest is my CPH
• Zhivago in a navy colour (there's more of this somewhere but I can't find it)
• Cleckheaton Country Naturals (dark yarn in bottom right hand corner) for DHs throw
• Patons Shadow Tweed, which is for my Small Things Swap on Woolaholics
• 150gms cream Merino Supreme
• 400gms cream Merino Spun
• 50gms of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in cream
• 200gms some merino yarn that I bought ages ago from ebay
• Some undyed BFL from Monster Knits

and the piece-de-resistance......

• 700gms undyed FBF merino *insert incredibly shocked smiley here*

There is more that isn't in the pic also. I have more MK *Channon* on the way, another ball of the shadow tweed and some other bits and bobs of yarn that I have for some reason, which is probably not ever going to be used for anything except maybe stuffing the toy dinosaurs, if I ever get around to making those.

Phew. Feels better to have that out now. I knew there was quite a bit, but when you spread it all out like that, it's looks a bit scary! Now I really must get knitting!!

A little more self-indulgence

Well this purchase actually occurred before the Debbie Bliss self-indulgence purchase, but it only arrived today, so here it is:

*Kai* sock yarn from Monster Knits.

I haven't got a pattern for this yet. Must get to work finding something suitable soon.

Nothing like yummy yarn to make a girl feel better ;)

Sock Swap

I participated in a *Sock Swap* on Woolaholics recently. You could either send 150gms of sock yarn, or you could knit socks for your swappee. I chose to send yarn because I have zero confidence in my sock knitting abilities! (being because I've only ever attempted one pair and they didn't get finished :( ).

Well, my sock yarn arrived today!! Yippee!!!



It's gorgeous. And my swappee included a cool African bookmark also. I think that L has commandeered the bookmark though, so I'll have to run a rescue mission tonight when he's in bed LOL

Thanks swappee!!

Wooly Mail

My latest purchase from Monster Knits. I am planning to make L and earflap hat out of some of it. I had planned to use the one on the right, but as soon as he saw the colourful wool he claimed it LOL Probably just as well anyway. It will make a nice warm hat. Hopefully it will be a quick knit and he'll have a new hat soon.

Arrived today!

This lovely haul was from the last Monster Knits stocking on Ozebaby. Definitely got a rush getting these! The multi ball is the colourway "Channon" and it's just gorgeous. I wanted the Blackberry Ridge Merino, but someone beat me to it ;p so ended up with this, which is Aran BFL. Hopefully enough to get a pair of shorties out of. I plan to use the green ball as a contrasting cuff and waistband so that should extend the yarn out a bit. The solid colours are Treliske Organic Merino. The navy is to go with another MK colourway I have sitting here waiting for the warmer weather, and that will also become a pair of shorties if I can manage it!

I love how the balls have been tied up with a coordinating ribbon :)

The postman couldn't fit this in my letterbox so he left it on the front porch! I might have to leave him a note that precious parcels like this need to be handled with care and not left where anyone walking past can see them! LOL

Afraid

Of this wool. BFL hand-dyed from Four Bags Full (Katanya from Baa Bum). "Sea Horse Dancing" colourway.





I so desperately want to knit this up into longies for M, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it as yet. I've swatched it. I just need to adjust the pattern for my gauge. I think this is part of the problem. Everytime I knit pants for M I always need to adjust and I'm always worried that the sizing will be all wrong. But that's never stopped me before! I think I'm also afraid of not doing this yarn justice LOL It's so beautiful, and I really want them to be *perfect*. I know that's not going to happen :) Maybe that's what's stopping me? I should just do it. What's the worst that can happen? They'll be too big/small? I can redo them. I know once I get started it will all be fine. This is just like when I'm about to fly. Especially the long-haul OS flights. I know once I'm on the plane a calm comes over me and I *know* it will be ok and we'll get there safely, but in the leadup to take off (weeks and days before) I feel nervous and afraid about being up there. I'm not afraid of flying. Just afraid of the thought of what could happen LOL And I'm not afraid of knitting! Just afraid of having to undo/redo. But I don't know why pants for M cause me to feel this way especially? I should just get on with it. If I delay starting much longer, by the time I finish winter will be over and the point of the wool will be lost! It's *just* a nappy cover after all, right?!

The trouble with Dyelot #95

Someone was selling Jo Sharp yarns for half price on ebay recently, so I snapped up 8 balls of the Silkroad Aran Tweed for only $36! In colour Taffeta #142, dyelot unknown. I had been thinking of using this yarn for the CPH, but in a different colour, but at half the price, Taffeta would work just fine for me :)

I went to my LYS to see if I could see the yarn IRL (after I made the purchase of course LOL - more to check that the colour was what I thought it looked like) and what do you know?! They only had exactly 7 balls of it left - dyelot #95! I needed 7 more balls. So I bought them.

Now, I *knew* that the dyelots would probably have some variation, but I figured it wouldn't be so different that I couldn't incorporate the different dyelots into the one garment fairly invisibly. Oh, how wrong could I be?!

The ebay purchase arrived and the colour was SO different as to be almost a completely different colour :( Very disappointed, however I soon discovered that later dyelots than those I bought from the LYS were more like the ebay balls. Unfortunately no one local had anymore of dyelot #95 left, which was the dyelot I preferred. Tried a few online stores also, with no luck :(

But! -

A big thanks to Kelly from Dyelicious, who managed to find me some stores that did actually have dyelot #95 left!!

First batch arrived today, and now I have 14 balls sitting her waiting to be turned into something lovely! and the colours match perfectly, of course :)

Three more balls in the mail!