Flurry of Activity

I must be feeling motivated these days because there's been a lot happening on the knit front over here.

Firstly, I am thrilled to tell you that I blocked the blanket!  In what is probably a FIRST for me, I blocked the blanket the day after my MiL dropped off the board.  (She has a blocking board, I have a swift and winder- we have a mutually beneficial relationship.)  Say hello to Ties that Bind!

Pattern: Ties that Bind by Diane Conroy
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Cotton Bamboo in colorway 3604 (light blue)
Needles: US 4
Notes: This was a great pattern.  I'm not sure how it distinguished itself from other patterns that find me bored halfway through, but this one never made me bored.  I was always engaged enough that I find the knitting interesting.  Also?  This is the first time I've done i-cord edge.  I love it.  You're going to see it a lot more- it is 100% worth the pain it is to cast on in this manner.

(Look at all that beautiful i-cord!)

I also really have to give kudo's to the yarn- not only is something that's been in my stash forever, but it was REALLY great to knit with.  It's very very soft and leaves this beautiful sheen on the after project. I would totally think about buying more- when there's room in the stash to do so!

With Ties that Bind off the needles I've begun on the new Stampede mystery project.  (Which, I added an i-cord cast on to as my first modification.)  I knew when I begun this project that it was going to be heavy bobbin and ends to sew in.  But I knew that the final results were going to be worth it.  This blanket has pretty heavy intarsia work in it.

I'm moving on at a fairly decent clip but here's the issue- there are so many balls of yarn and bobbins to keep track of (SO MANY!) that the act of pulling this blanket out and giving it time is a whole "thing" unto itself.  It's not the kind of project I can just sit down and start knitting on, it requires organizing oneself and the 80 zillion yarns that go with it.  (In fact, I've counted, there are 17 bobbins and different balls of yarn going SO FAR... there are more coming.  THAT IS SOME KIND OF RECORD I'm CERTAIN.)

Anyways on nights where I'm feeling a little worn out- or just lazy, the sheer idea of pulling out this blanket is just too daunting to manage, so the plain old Maui socks have been seeing a bit of action too.

(Last picture of these was in Maui... quite the contrast hey?  *sigh*  Calgary spring is DEPRESSING.)

I also managed to resolve the issue of running out of the blue yarn in the stripey blanket that I was talking about last post.  Turns out MiL has a decent quantity of sock leftovers in a color that is very close and so I've raided her stash for it.  Can I just say how NICE it is to be related to a knitter?  It has it's benefits!

I must get back to my projects- I can't wait to show you more of the mystery blanket project.  It's going to be so cute.