So Much Going On

Now that Tasha has seen her blanket, I am finally able to post pictures of it here on the blog so that you may all admire it's hip-ness. What I love about the current baby blanket I'm knitting, (see that? I'm trying to tell myself that I LOVE baby blanket knitting and I'm not sick of it at ALL!), is the colors. The colors aren't traditional baby pastel colors... they're bold, they're vibrant, they're cheery and well... they remind me of watermelon bubble gum.

Behold... the latest baby blanket incarnation:

(Excuse the shadowy pictures... I'm too lazy to wait later in the day for the shadows to move... besides I'm certain there will eventually be more pictures of this bad boy in progress.)

Oh? You wanted to see it in ALL it's glory? I got you covered!

Pictured here is ten inches of completed baby blanket goodness. (I have until mid June to finish... and then I've promised myself 4 months of baby blanket hiatus... with, of course, allowing for a break in that should another friend call me with "news".) I traditionally make my blankets 40" in length... so we I've got a fair bit of ground to cover here.

And... since there's been a few trips to NYC this past week, I also managed to do some hard core train knitting.

Behold! The Candy Necklace Sock Part Deux!

I'm loving the yarn I'm using for this sock. Both the Koigu (CAUTION: only click on this link if you're strong enough to resist the beauty and wonder that is Koigu!) and Claudia's Hand Painted Yarn have this delightful sprongy feel to them- both yarns are simply wonderful to knit with. I'm trying to fight the urge to horde the Koigu. I am. Really. I've promised myself that I could not buy yarn, except for my class {more on that in a bit}, until my mother in law visits and we make our sojurn to WEBS. I cannot tell you how hard it's been-- I was in a yarn shop the other day and found a GORGEOUS Koigu in purple that I held in my hands for 20 minutes before I remembered my little rule. *sigh* It does not help that I'll be in NYC this week for a little yarn shopping and will, again, be tempted by the luscious Koigu.

What's also been distracting me lately is my continued interest in dying my own sock yarn. (I see a rather large Knitpicks "naked" yarn order in my future...) I'm still working on getting the color of the yarn just right... and you can see two sample skeins here. I've decided that I'm using entirely too much yellow- as I want the dominant color to be the blue color over the yellow.

Behold! I am crafty!


Pictured on the left is what happens when you fear using too much color. While it's very pretty- it's too light for what I want. (Although husband tells me he prefers this since the colors seem to blend better.) On the right I got the colors brighter, but still feel like it's too yellowy... BLUE.... BLUE.... BLUE. There is another sample planned for this evening. (It is currently soaking in the vinegar solution.) I will keep you posted on these developments.

In other knitting related developments- I had my first "Knitting for Pleasure" class on Thursday. Thankfully it was the class I was supposed to be in and not like the disaster I had last Saturday. There were a lot of "alum" from my certified knitting class and it was nice to see some familiar faces. I'm bummed because I'm going to miss two of the six classes, the two at the very end, due to the husband's graduation, and just hearing everything that Arnetta plans on covering, I'm sad I'm going to miss out. But, I will focus on being greatful for having an opportunity to take a class that should really answer a lot of my questions about knitwear design.

My homework this week is to sketch out a pattern (EEK! I may be crafty, but I assure you I have no abilities to draw whatsoever) and buy the yarn necessary for my garmet and knit a swatch. (And no pansy swatches either-- a big ole more than 4 inches swatch!)

And... if all that wasn't enough going on with me- I'm currently can't stop thinking about the latest Vogue Knitting pattern, (the dress that pops up in the link)- that little knit dress is so pretty! So very, very pretty. I really want to make this. Really... REALLY.... but I don't even know if I could. (It's like, for me, probably the Everest of Knitting) Plus- I just priced out the yarn-- approx $200. *sigh* I've been scouring the internet looking for possible yarn substitutes- but even they are pretty pricey. (And, as I've learned so much already, spending the money on a quality yarn not only assures that you'll be happy with the finished product, but you'll probably wear it also!)

Oh? Did I mention I also have no idea what to design? I didn't. Nothing. Inspiration has left me a weak and withered, helpless woman. I'm hoping for a late hour- panic, inspiration!