stash diving

Inspired by my recent foray back into knitting on something that isn't the wrap I was working on forever, I revisited my Ravelry queue, my yarn stash, and my brain to see what is next. I have already started a new shawl when I decided to be brave and go to knit nights at my LYS. Having monogamously knit the last wrap, I'm feeling it's going to be more fun for me to have a few things going and plans for others that I can start when I feel momentum stalling. 

Voila. I wound a bunch of yarn. It always seems like more effort than it actually is to set up the swift and winder. It really is only as slow as clearing off the table is, and it's so magical to do the winding. Plus, it's a good thing to visit one's stash when one is spending one evening a week at a yarn shop surrounded by beautiful skeins! 

These three cakes will find themselves transformed into a Shift cowl. Mom picked out the colors after we saw one made up in the LYS and I think it's going to a be a fun one to work on. And all cotton! 

I have had this kit for a Quadrant cowl for some time. I think Dave and I bought it on our last trip down to Pacific Grove together. Can't wait to work it up. The yarn has some silk in it that makes it have a lovely sheen, and I unexpectedly love that light blush color. What is the world coming to when I like a neutral?? 

I wound up this skein of redwood color today, but the iris leftover is the same yarn that I used for a hat not long ago. I am considering making the same hat with the redwood and maybe adding a brim stripe of the iris. The combination is quite something and may be just the thing to make that orange-y color look good on me. 

gnoah the first

You guys. It happened! The gnome workshop this weekend was so. much. fun. And look at the little guy that came home with me - so much whimsy packed into this little dude. 

Sarah was friendly, well spoken, and has a knack for teaching. A lot of techniques are packed into this pattern, and I was able to follow her instruction quite well and was grateful for the chance to see it done in parallel and hear her useful tips along the way. Her love of the craft and of the little personalities we were bringing to life was apparent, and I was charmed both by her designs and her reflections on how magical her path had been to bring her to the point that she is doing and loving what she's doing now. 

It was a companionable experience to sit in a room full of knitters all puzzling over the same pattern, helping each other with questions, and generally cheering each other on. Marinating in the atmosphere of Just Having Fun was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. I have been enjoying social knit nights at the shop for a few weeks now, and this experience was right in line with the supportive community of women I have met there. This place is a gem and a gift to my crafty heart. 

As to the project, I was intrigued by the clever use of i-cord, the relative ease of sewing all the bits on (despite my normally extreme dislike of fiddly bits like that), and the many ways a bobble can be fashioned to make a nose. Gnoah came together relatively easily for me, and I am definitely planning on enjoying and being challenged by each of the patterns out of Sarah's book. 

When I got home and started messing around with his hat and stance, I decided what he really wanted was a walking stick. I had cut some rosemary for a flower arrangement on my way inside, and one of the leftover twigs was the perfect size. He makes me smile! Which is of course the point of it all, isn't it. 

trippy tropical table runner, finished

Having started this the last day of my winter time off I am pleased to say that it did not take me too long to cross the finish line. It hung around on the wall for a few weeks while I procrastinated backing, basting, and quilting, but of course none of that was nearly as cumbersome as big quilts are. I took some brain breaks from work yesterday and quilted squiggly lines using a preset stitch on my machine with some pretty deep turquoise thread. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do those lines across the width or down the length, but I'm glad I chose the long dimension. I think it plays with the movement of the hexagon braid nicely. 

The backing I pieced from a combination of Folk Song and Loulouthi fabric from Anna Maria Horner - I have always loved her designs! That striped wallpaper-like floral was a leftover from a quilt kit that mom and I finished up together for her birthday in 2015, and the blue floral is the sister print to the green border print on the front. 

Whenever I have looked at this piece, it has brought my mind to flip flops and summertime. The combination of colors reminds me so much of being at the Caribbean Resort at Disney World, so I'm dubbing it the Trippy Tropical table runner. Pretty soon I'll be packing it up and sending it off to brighten my mom's table!