little bit of crazy leaking out

It’s been two weeks since the last chick update, and boy have they grown. Soon they will be ready to move out to the coop with Gimpy.

Reba

Dixie
(Sorry for the arm, hubby was trying to
keep them from jumping off the table.)

Wynona is starting to look more like a Wyatt,
we’ll have to just wait and see.

On the knitting front, I am still working on the top-down sweater for Bubba.  I should have finished this by now but I did take a break from it to knit a Magic 28 Sock and a few swatches for TKGA Master Knitting Level 1, Rebecca and I are working on it together. 

This weekend was the LYS Tour.  I had no plan on touring, and for the most part I followed through on that plan.  I popped into VYT on Friday morning and ended up walking out with the tour pattern and the yarn to knit it up, Fleece Artist Suri Blue.  It is a lovely lace weight Suri Alpaca/BFL blend, yummy.  I also picked up some Addi Turbo Lace needles and a set of Amy’s stitch markers.

On the way home I decided to stop by Let it Rain, actually it is the closest LYS to me, but my heart belongs to VYT.  Let it Rain had just moved to a larger space and I had a look around.  I picked up the shop pattern, a scarf, but not the yarn for it since I have several skeins of Silky Wool in my stash. 

The shop had some cute kids sweaters on display, free pattern with yarn purchase.  I bit, picked up 3 balls of Dark Horse Yarns Fantasy to make a cardigan for Bubba, I’ll have to upsize the pattern since it only goes upto a 4 and he wears a 5/6, no problem.  The Fantasy yarn is a nylon acrylic blend and very soft, I usually go for the natural fibers, but I just couldn’t resist.  I also picked up some sock yarn I had never seen before, Celestari, a 75% cotton/25% wool sock yarn. 

Let it Rain also handed out a coupon for 20% off on a purchase between June 15th and August 15th. I’ll be going back.

That night I cast on the Lace Wing Scarf and have been working on it off and on all weekend. 

On Saturday morning I met Rebecca at VYT out Master Knitting Support Group (ok, not really, but sort of).  When I got there they only had 4 skeins of the Suri Blue left!  I was so glad I stopped in on Friday, as I hadn’t really planned on it. They had had a huge pile of the Suri Blue in a bunch of colors, poof, gone. 

As Rebecca and worked on swatches more of the Saturday morning regulars arrived, along with the LYS Tourists.  We all chatted, knitted, drank tea.  Then after taking a lunch break . . . we knit some more.  So much for going to any other shops.

I should mention that while we were there on Saturday the shop received an order of ShiBui yarn.  I resisted the urge to purchase any of the beautiful sock yarn, or any of the yarns the shop had on clearance.  I was very good.  Until Sunday.  The ShiBui kept calling me, in chorus with the Silky Tweed.  I caved.

3 colors of Silky Tweed (40% off):
Blue for the Fiddle Sticks Lotus Blossom Shawl
Orangy-brown for stash
Black with red/pink flecks for the Victorian Shoulderette

Pink Opal for knee highs for Bug (35% off)
ShiBui Sock Yarn for socks for Hubby,
brown vari with burgandy heels, toes, and ribbing

The week has flown by and it’s time for another chick update.

Reba

Dixie is getting her pretty buff feathers
and loosing the yellow baby fluff.

Wynona - not happy about the photo shoot
and expressed her feelings about it, but I
edited those feelings out of the photo.

Why, yes, it appears you did . . .

This last weekend was the Great Yarns! Spring Sale, I went on Friday and picked up a bit of yarn.

First was some gray Maggi’s Merino Aran.  It’s a light gray basic yarn, not very exciting, or photogenic, but will make a lovely sweater for one of the kids. Maybe, gasp, an aran.

Next was it gi-normous hank of red yarn.  I can’t find the tag but I know it’s wool, 540 yds, and a bulky weight yarn.  The colors go from a bright red to almost burgundy, and it called out to me for the Red Scarf Project 2008 (or Dulaan since RSP is limiting the # of scarves next year), maybe as My So Called Scarf or Yarn Harlot’s One Row Scarf.

Lastly, was this Tahki Yarns Shannon.  Love. This. Yarn.  While working on the sweater at Saturday knitting group, I may have mentioned wanting to marry this yarn, I love it so much.  Leaving my husband to marry this yarn was discouraged by my fellow knitters.  It’s for the best, I think. 

I cast on this sweater Friday night.  This may be the quickest yarn turn around, ever, usually yarn has to age quite a bit before I use it.  No strange pooling, swirling, or anything disagreeable of that sort.  The pattern is Knitting Pure & Simple #9730.

They always have a bin of free patterns and magazines, so picked up one of each.  Most are older patterns, think 70s and 80s or earlier, but once in a while you find a real gem.  There was also a table of 1/2 price books, from which I picked up Knitting for Babies & Kids.  The book has its’ share of . . . interesting . . . patterns, but has enough classic patterns to be worth the price.

April was a good month for Dulaan Project knitting; hats and socks seem to have been the prefered projects.

• 1 dishcloth  
• Moss Grid Hand Towel
• 10 hats for Dulaan
• 10 Magic 28 socks (2 pair + 6)  (and below)
• Avalanche Vest (see below soon)

It wasn’t the best month for the fiber/yarn stash, between the Knitting Expo and the Cascade Yarns Warehouse sale, maybe it’s best we just don’t talk about it.

Magic 28: socks 7-10

    

    

Avalanche Vest

(photo soon)

pattern:  Avalanche Vest (pdf)
yarn:  Brown Sheep Burley Spun Lotus Pink (from stash)
notes:  Quick knit, great pattern.