stash, knit, repeat

Given the big move coming up in our lives (the husband is *finally* going to get us a new place to live tomorrow, we hope), I thought it would be a good time to move the blog yet again.

Well, that's not entirely true. In fact, I feel a little silly moving away from blogger so soon after starting this one. But we finally went ahead and got real webhosting for ourselves, and I've been playing around with WordPress and really enjoying it. My FO galleries have yet to be updated, but! Please follow me over to stash, knit, repeat (the new and improved version) and continue down this fiber-strewn road.

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? ;-)

...and there goes a week. I had a lovely birthday, filled with much knitting-related goodness. In addition to that gorgeous silk, I got some great books: Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan, Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis, the new Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK book, and I finally got with the program and received Yarn Harlot: The secret life of a knitter. In reverse order, OH MY GOODNESS Stephanie is so funny. I have had to read several passages aloud to the husband already, and I'm not even 70 pages in. Love the new Debbie Bliss book, too. There are some gorgeous cardigans, including one that I definitely need to make myself soon:





The detail on the back there makes me swoon, I swear. I like the cable knits book but nothing called out to me immediately. Knitting Nature is full of completely fabulous pictures, and despite the problems others have had with the patterns, in addition to the ordinary number of errors, I think I need to knit several things out of this book. Of course, it basically is marketed at me personally, with all of the lovely little math bits. :) The basalt tank will be the first, I think. I have some dark blue Rowan wool cottom that will be just perfect.

Only one more repeat on the shawl done, but I'm nearing completion on the hoodie!



I always forget that hoods are enormous. Still, the hood is now finished and seamed (though the seams aren't pressed yet):



The sassy recipient Miz. N was gracious enough to try it on.



Just ribbing, seaming, and pressing to go!

One down-side to knitting multiple projects at once is that sometimes, even though you've been knitting and making progress, there's very little in the way of interesting pictures. I finished both hoodie sleeves and they're blocking along with the front ("only" the hood and finishing to go!), I got over my splicing fear and have knit a few more rows on the leaf lace shawl... but that doesn't really make for anything visually exciting.

This, however...



This is my birthday present. Now, my birthday isn't until Sunday, but since Mr. Stash is going to be out of town until next Monday, we celebrated this weekend. That's *two* hanks of Cherry Tree Hill Cascade Silk, fingering weight, Java colorway. It's going to become Seraphim, probably after Leaf Lace is done. Because the Misti Alpaca is wonderful and light and airy and all that, but the Pure Silk is definitely giving me a taste for silk's smooth feel.

So three cheers for Mr. Stash!

I have a brand-spanking-new nephew as of Saturday afternoon, so not much knitting. I had a nice long drive to Maine to ponder the socks, though. I think I just love the colorway too much to let myself knit a pair of "enh" socks out of it. So back into the stash it goes, and if I bring it up again before September, please pour forth with fire and brimstone. It is now *definitely* time-out for that yarn.

I do have a little bit to show, though. The Fibonacci hoodie now has a finished front and a tiny little zygote of a sleeve.



I've also finished four out of ten repeats for the Leaf Lace Shawl.





That sounds like a lot, except that the shawl is started in the center back with just a few stitches. So, the repeats are getting much longer each time. Still, the yarn is a dream to knit with and I really like the resulting fabric. (Well, as much as one can really tell what the resulting fabric is, with lace.)



So off the list with the Oak Ribbed Sock! With only two projects to finish, I should have a new gift and a new shawl in no time.