Little Bits of Everything

*aww, isn't it cute?*

Here is my stash, being flashed once again for the SP10 contest. My, look how it's grown! It's now resting in its new basket in our office/guest room/ craft corner/ doggie day care. I moved in with S last weekend, which is why the guest bed is in craft chaos. I swear the mess has improved, but I think S might disagree.

I went to a "yarn tasting" at The Shabby Sheep last night. We each got little to go containers of 5 different yarns and a sample of Soak wash. The yarns are (starting with the blue and going clockwise): "Emotion" by Lang, Shabby Sheep Handspun by Madeline Tosh. Pure Silk by Debbie Bliss, Summer Set by Classic Elite, and Euroflax by Louet.

The surprise hit of the evening was the "Emotion". It's scented. Scented, people! I scoffed at its silly (but delicious) aromatherapy lavender smell and its weird shiny streak in an otherwise cotton tape-y yarn. But it knits up really nicely and it the first cotton I've tried that's easy on the hands. So easy, in fact, it made my knitting fingers softer. It was so enjoyable to work with, I want to make a simple scented tank out of it. Scented clothes seem like a smart way to survive a Texas summer. The combination of lavender and sweat would make everyone smell like a yoga class.

My second favorite was the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. How can you not love Debbie Bliss, or silk? It was a little slippery and my size two's were not an ideal needle size, but I liked it.

The Shabby Sheep handspun was made just for the store. It's a thick / thin deal with scraps of vintage fabric, ric rac, and a bit of mylar. It's totally cute and interesting to use. If your style of decor is shabby chic, a pillow made out of it would be perfect. My style is more is more "modern French country meets mentally ill dumpster diver".

After all of these delights, the Classic Elite was underwhelming. And I didn't get a chance to play with the Euroflax, which feels kind of like waxed dental floss, but I'm intrigued by it, and want to wash a swatch.

As much as I enjoy shopping at this store, and as fun as geeking out and trying new yarns was, I'm not sure if I would do something like this again. I was a little intimidated walking into a roomful of strangers, even if they are as nice as can be.

and now, the best for last....

Lelah, about 3 -4 inches from needing straps and being d-o-n-e.

Color Theory Morphs to Quilts

This is an awesome tutorial on using photos to create color palettes

I tried it out with a picture I used to inspire the wedding flowers and here is the resulting palette.

I love the smokey, romantic colors that came out of it. It would be interesting (to me, at least) to do this again with a photos of the actual flowers.


One day, when I have more free time (haha) I want to learn fair isle and I think this would be a great way to start picking colors.


Knitpicks advertises a kaleidoscope in their catalog as a way to get an idea of how already purchased yarn colors might work together. It's a clever idea that I have yet to try out.

Putting all of the colors in the grid also inspired me to make mini quilts in Photoshop. It alleviated my burning desire to try (again) to make a quilt somewhat. Here are a couple of the results:

Maybe I'm the last to know, but have you seen Denyse Schmidt's quilts and fabric? Swoon! They are so modern and bright and beautiful and classic. The more blogs I read, the more I realize how much the quilting bug has gone around and I'm dreaming of a long, free Saturday where I can play with some fabric.

Also, just so you know, I write posts and save them as drafts all the time. I have a bunch more timely things to post, like a Lelah update (for you, dear SP!), the goods from the yarn tasting, and my updated stash (for you, SP hostess!), but teh interweb was down this morning so hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.

Such a To-Do to Dye Today

*neat*

I had a rash of completion-itis (Lelah's last 5 inches of stockinette are going slowly) so last night so I tried my hand at kettle dying. This is some Knitpicks sock yarn in bare, dyed with Wilton's in the crock pot.

*the real colors are actually a bit darker*

I was thinking of gifting this to my SP, but there are some undyed spots. One day, I'd like to make the Anastasia socks from Pepperknit . One day, because with the wedding, work, and the long list of "want to" projects, I feel like there are never enough hours in the day to do what I want. I'm not sure what it will take to make me realize that both my plate AND my dance card are full.

Know what's not going to help? Going to a "yarn tasting" tomorrow, where you get to try different yarns, drink wine, and eat cheese. I'm sure I'll be inspired for 1,000 more beautiful creations. If only each creation came with time...