Coming Up

There's only one way to tame my stash, I think, and that's by making a list of what I intend to knit this year. I noticed that Lolly had posted a list of what she was expecting to work on, and later on I realised what a good, sound idea that was. She was also the one who put me on to Yarn of the Month Club; she is so informative!

I just splurged at Patternworks on some Brown Sheep Cotton Fine to make Berta Karapetyan's Interlocking Rings top from Interweave Press's special Crochet issue. (I wish I had a link to an image for you, but alas... you'll see the top eventually, anyway, right?) The yarn used for the pattern was a Karabella yarn (it's Berta Karapetyan, remember?) but I could not find a Karabella stockist who carried that yarn (especially at this time of year) so I figured Cotton Fine would be a grand substitute: it knits at the same gauge AND it's the finer cousin of Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece, which is probably one of my favorite yarns EVER. When I first considered making Interlocking Rings, I imagined it in red instead of the off-white used in the model. Of course, I always want to make everything in red!

I went through this same struggle when decided what color to make my Unshimmer Shrug last fall... the Rowan Kidsilk Haze came in a lovely dark red (color name: Liqueur!) which I knew would fit into my wardrobe easily. But did I really need another red knitted thing? (A glance into The Sweater Box would tell you that I already have plenty of red sweaters.) After considering each and every other color in stock at LYS (and totally harassing the endlessly patient yarngrrrl there) I opted for the red and have had absolutely NO qualms about it since. I even have a ball left over, which will make yet another pretty red thing, the nature of which has yet to be determined. So I dithered about buying the Cotton Fine in red, and imagined knitting this cute warm-weather top in one of the other pretty shades available, but I always kept imagining the top ON ME in red. Sure, the color "rue" was nice (very similar to what J. Crew usually calls "pool" in its summer swimwear line) but would it match anything I already owned? Would the bright, lively greens turn my dark green eyes to brownish mud? (Hey, I do think about these things.) So, red it was. And there's no looking back. And when (if) I finish Interlocking Rings, it will make me look totally foxy, whether paired with jeans or with a flirty black skirt.

Speaking of red, the only reason I can say I like Valentine's Day is because everyone feels compelled to wear red. "YES!" I want to say to the people. "The red is lovely, and you look good in it, and you should wear it whenever you want!" My mom has expressed a certain hesitation about wearing red, and I wish it weren't so, because she has the creamy skin and dark hair to pull of just about any shade of that color. And red, I reiterate, makes people look FOXY!! Who wants to avoid foxiness? Nuns?

Speaking of my mom, here's something that I want to knit for her, even though she has informed me that she doesn't really have a use for fancy dressy things anymore:



The Forest Path Stole from Interweave Knits is made with a superfine baby alpaca; I spent all my market time at last fall's knitting camp looking for a yarn to make this project... I did find some lovely laceweight alpaca at the booth for Rosie's Yarn Cellar but by that time had spent all my money. Anyway, this project combines two of last year's knitting adventures, lace and entrelac, and that's why I am DYING to make it. And if Mom doesn't want it, I'll take it off her hands. I have less "use" for it than she does, but I also wear my handknits around the house for the sake of enjoying them. (Who else wears her wool-silk Shetland shawl over pj's?)

Could this post be longer? Yes. I want to cruise the Baltic with Merike Saarniit, and am afraid to look at how much a trip like that might cost, because cherishing the dream is too much fun to allow reality to spoil everything.

On the needles now:

* hat for the Beau
* Crackotis (aka Clapotis)
* Ms Ruffles

Yarn is all ready to go for:

* red afghan pour moi (pattern selected finally!)
* grey cabley phenomenon (must write pattern first, ick)
* some sort of sock project

I have a lot of sock yarn in the stash, and I like Ann Budd's ribbed sock pattern on the mag's website... and I'm kind of jonesing for a sock project.

There are a number of patterns for which I have not yet bought yarn. I'm trying to take it one project at a time; Interlocking Rings is taken care of, and once I get that underway I'll give myself permission to pick the next one. Although, I think I need a crocheted bikini top PDQ.