stash, knit, repeat

We have a house! I haven’t actually seen it in person, but the pictures are to die for. Things will be a little catch-as-catch can here at the blog for a few weeks. The packers come Tuesday, we’re in Maine for a week, we take some time to drive across the country, we arrive in Pebble Beach some time the week of August 21st.

That’s a lot of car knitting time! I’m excited. Because there’s no way on earth the afghan is going to be finished before leaving, given that I have only two squares done!

I should be able to blog from the road, which I think will be fun. For now, off to sleep!

The leaf lace shawl is finished.

…and that’s as far as I got with the photo shoot before Jacob wanted to “help”.

Hopefully I can try again later, because it’s difficult to capture the drape and heft and sheen of this wonderful fabric on film.

Pattern: Leaf Lace Shawl from Fibertrends by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: 5 hanks of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk
Needles: US8s
Modifications: I added one repeat to the “small” size for DK yarn. So that’s 11 pattern repeats before edging.

I love it. It’s truly flexible and can be dressed up or down. It’s shiny, and beyond soft, and actually has a good weight to it (unlike the Forest Path Stole, which floats on air). The pattern is super-easy and looks great. And as I’ve said before, the Pure Silk is an absolute dream to work with.

I’ve finished 2 afghan squares, and I’m having second thoughts about Anne. The afghan is still fun, so I think I’ll keep Anne on the backburner and see how I feel, but… mostly right now it seems like an awful lot of reverse stockinette. I hate reverse stockinette. We’ll see.

Things chez stash are, shall we say, a little crazy. A big move, me leaving my job (for the indefinite future, yay more time with the baby), a long knitting-filled road trip to get… well, we don’t actually have a place in Monterey yet but let’s just gloss over that shall we k thanks what was I saying a long knitting-filled road trip to get to the Monterey penninsula! I’m sure that once we’re on the road it will be fun and relaxing and a great break for the family, but right now things are absolutely bananas around here.

There was some finishing, though.

The hoodie would like a hug.

Please ignore the weird wrinkles, it sat in the knitting bag for a few days before the photo shoot.

It’s all folded up and ready to go to Miz N., who will need it approximately NEVER because your friendly neighborhood New England weather has secretly been replaced with the Deep South Heat of Hell. :) Nah, I’m only kidding. I’m sure it will be cold here again, and she’ll be toasty and stylish and geeky, all at the same time.

Pattern: Striped hooded top from original Baby Cashmerino book
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 4 balls purple, 2 balls fuschia
Needles: US3
Buttons: Oh my gracious cute
Baby: Fiesty and geeky, like her parents
Modifications: Just the stripes, ma’am.

The leaf lace shawl is finished and beautiful and perfect and I haven’t spent some quality time with the camera, sadly. I’ve also started a lap blanket out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca (yum!) for my Grammie, so I owe you pictures of that too.

Wish me luck!

In coincidental timing, I’ve finished both the hoodie and the shawl tonight. FO posts will wait until there is proper picture-taking light, hopefully tomorrow. Am I already swatching for the next great thing? Of course I am! What is it? An Elsebeth Lavold cardigan for my maternal grandmother’s birthday, in Silky Wool. I’m totally in love with the Silky Wool. Divine. Inspirational. Gorgeous drapey fabric.

Where did I get it?

Weeeeelll…. I might have done a little shopping when we went to WEBS. It’s not all mine, of course. The Greatest Enabler Of Them All came with me and bought plenty of what you see above. What’s that? You don’t believe me? Well… you’re right.

See that tiny little pile on the right? That’s hers. This… uh… this is all mine. *cough*

In my defense, most of it (all except the red Silky Wool and the sock yarn) is for birthday, baby, and Christmas gifts. And further in my defense, this haul just about doubles my stash. (Which TGEOTA pronounced “pitiable”, I’m sure just to get me to buy more yarn! ;-) I admit to getting a slightly-crazed giddy feeling when I left the store with bags heavy with wool and silk. Speaking of Christmas gifts, does anyone have a recommendation for a sub for Jaeger Cashmere 4-ply, which I can’t seem to find? It’s for a very special scarf.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to petting my acquisitions… I’ll leave you with some sneak previews.

There are changes afoot Chez Stash, and they necessitated a spur-of-the-moment road trip to Burlington, VT this weekend. And what’s a road trip without a little knitting? The hoodie is finished except for some buttons, but I’m saving the pictures for an FO post. Which leaves the lace:

It turned out to be really good car knitting. I finished the ten recommended pattern repeats (for a DK weight yarn and the small size), but I’ve decided to add one more repeat because I have the yarn and I’m enjoying working with it so much. This Pure Silk gets my vote for Yarn of the Year, all the way.

From Burlington, we drove to a birthday party in CT by way of the Green Mountain Spinnery:

I got some of this truly amazing Mountain Mohair in three colors for a sweater for young master J. I was shown around the spinning-related machines (it’s VOODOO I tell you, TOTAL MAGIC!), and fondled much yarn, and generally had a grand time while the hubby and son were playing outdoors. It was a really nice day.

We also stopped at Northampton for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. After lunch, we went to Webs. All of the times I’ve been to the Pioneer Valley, and I even lived there for a summer, and I’d never been to Webs. It took my breath away. I was literally too stunned by choice to buy any yarn. (The baby was getting really cranky, and after the initial interest wore off husband was loudly bored.) I got out of there with a few hard to find patterns, a couple of books, and a firm resolve to visit again. Soon.

In fact, since the husband is in Italy this week, perhaps I’ll visit Friday! Anyone interested in a road trip? ;-)