Oh My Goodness! Just like I couldn’t stay away from my spinning wheel this summer, now it’s the knitting. Yarn I didn’t know what to do with is now screaming at me, telling me what it wants to be. I’m not complaining, mind you, because I know what it’s like to have a creative block, but it’s frustrating that I can’t start every project idea that seems to come to me almost every day.

The most recent one is a possible blanket. Remember that 100% organic cotton yarn I bought back in April?

My original idea did not work and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what to make with it.

Recently, I remembered some yarn I bought at a fiber fest this past Spring.

It’s ‘Island Cotton’ in the colorway ‘Sunset’ from The Weaver’s Loft. (yeah, I know…again with the rainbow… )

Both yarns are very similar in texture and weight. I thought maybe if I knit squares and have a mostly natural colored blanket with a few splashes of color, it would be pretty. On US size 10 needles, that would knit up pretty quickly, I’d think. I’ve been wanting to make something for an aunt who is allergic to wool. This might fit the bill. (Even if a blanket doesn’t work out, I think the two yarns would work well together.)

If push comes to shove, I could use the other skein I got from The Weaver’s Loft in a similar fashion and make something for me. (It’s also Island Cotton and the colorway is ‘Twilight’)

So much knitting, so little time. BUT… it gives me something to work toward, right?

I forgot to show you the yarns I have in my stash to make the log cabin blanket. Some are leftover from projects and others are full skeins that I never ended up using. It annoys me to have all this yarn sitting around so I happy to have a project to put it all (or most of it) to good use.

I couldn’t have planned this project better. Blue, purple & red are my favorite colors!

I finally finished this hat. It was sitting on the needles for way too long and last month, I finally sat down and finished it in one sitting.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda
Size: Regular (I did the slouchy last time)
Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Summit Hill in colorway Aquamarine, not a whole skein
Needles: US 7
Started: December 15 2008
Completed: May 17 2009

I love this pattern. Well worth knitting again. This will make a nice gift for a dear friend. It’s nice to have a Christmas gift done so early.

…aaand… this past weekend, I was knitting like a fiend and finished the heels on my Monkey-ish socks so I just need to do the legs and the cuffs. I don’t have a lot of knitting time during the week ’cause I usually only have enough mental power for spinning at the end of the day so this part might take a while, but I love knitting these socks – a combo of my creativity with that of the Cookie A. Lots ‘o fun, in my opinion. (The yarn is Dream in Color: Some Summer Sky … perfect for this time of year, wouldn’t you say? )

This is the Sherman short row heel, great for someone who doesn’t like to deal with wrapping stitches.

I decided not the carry the pattern all the way around the leg. I really like how it looks.

and I got a new knitting book!

and I know what I’m going to knit next … Oh… the anticipation.

I wanted to make some socks. So I bought this:

Dream in Color Smooshy: Nightwatch

and this:

Dream in Color Smooshy: Some Summer Sky

But I needed one more color. I looked high and low in the sock yarn section at my local yarn store but I couldn’t find the color I wanted – Yellow. Actually there was a yellow but it was too Easter-Eggy. So I made the decision to dye yarn to get the color I wanted. So I bought some ivory colored ShiBuiKnits superwash sock yarn. … I mean, I just wanted a single color … how hard could it be? *thinks of previous dyeing yarn disaster* So I set to work this past weekend, using the crock pot I got from Goodwill for the first time.

Well, I am yet at the stage where I can translate what I have in my head to the dye pot, but I managed to get a nice color and there’s even a little variation (and I do mean little) to the color.

I think it came out nice, don’tcha think?

Now that you’ve seen the colors, can you guess who or what inspired them? (startrouble, if you read this, please don’t answer ’cause you already know. )

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time at the yarn store over the last month … wanna see some of what I bought?

Cascade 220

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock (Flamingo Stripe)

Plymouth Earth Mainland (Alpaca & Silk)

Alpaca with a Twist Big Baby (Lumber Jack)

Alpaca with a Twist Big Baby (Mountain)

Five skeins of Dream in Color ‘Nightwatch’. I’ve already started Lady Eleanor with it. I have no goal for completion because I want to enjoy the process of knitting this stole. Such lovely yarn to knit with.

Here’s some lovely photos for you to enjoy.

Happy knitting!