Yarn Haul!

So, I went to the Purple Purl's sale, and came back with quite a nice haul of yarn and pattern books.

I got 5 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock for an Entrelac Scarf,   I meant to grab the heavyier-weight Silk Garden, but this should work just fine.

(I swear, this pattern is cursed, this is the second time I've grabbed the wrong weight of yarn for it!)

Anywyay, I also got 8 skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Solstice, for a t-shirt,

 

A bunch of different colours of Spud & Chloë Fine, for another pair of Woman's Fair-Isle Gloves. It's the same pattern I'm using for the Birthday Gloves, but this pair is going to be for me! 

 

And some Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label for a pair of basic mittens that will be a Christmas Gift.

 

Finally, I got some Dye-Version Bamboo Fingering, in the custom colourway dyed up for the Purple Purl.   This is the only yarn I don't have plans for, but it's been calling my name for a while.  It will become something awesome, I'm sure, especially with the two new lace pattern books I got on sale, as well.

(Edit:  I've found a pattern for this -- it's the June Bunnies Shawl.  I think it will work nicely with the yardage I've got.)

And, along with all that, like I mentioned, I got two lace pattern books I've had my eye on on Ravelry for quite some time.  The first is 'A Gathering of Lace' and the second is 'Arctic Lace' 

I've already got plans for several patterns in there. 

All in all, it was a pretty good day.  I got a lot of good stuff for cheap, and I won't need to buy yarn again for a -long- while (though I do have some plans that require some Briggs and Little Regal -- might be time for a call to the Briggs and Little mill soon. . . .)

So How Fast can I knit. . .?

Ok. 

So I've gotten work done on a bunch of projects. I got past the thumb on the Birthday Gloves (no new picture there yet, sorry!), and I got 6 more squares done on Christmas Scarf. . . .

The Birthday Socks that I now have 10 days to finish?

No,  I haven't worked on them at all over this marathon until today, and the only reason I worked on them today was because I was out and about, and my work meeting takes place about two blocks from The Purple Purl.  So, I went in and just sat and knit (and chattered to the owners) and got a few inches into the foot.  But I still have another whole sock to do. 

This is going to be interesting. . .   can I knit fast enough to finish these socks in ten days?

Hooded Scarf is done!

Well, the title pretty much says it all.

I put it on my head to get a decent picture -- it's currently stashed away in my room to be gifted later.

It ended up being absurdly long after blocking! (It was long -before- blocking!) I think it was the yarn I used, in part.  But I'm still quite happy with it.  My giftee can always wrap the extra length in the ends like a cowl or something, and I don't think she'll mind.

I ended up with a lot more yarn then I thought I would.  I'm now wondering if this yarn will make really cozy-soft socks . . . I suspect it will.  I will have to give that a try.  (Edit:  I found this pattern for Cabin Socks on Ravelry, and I think it will work wonderfully.  I'll have to pick up the book, but I don't mind.)

Speaking of socks, I really have to finish those darn Birthday socks. . .

Project Update -- August 5th 2013

I mentioned the knitting marathon?  Well, I've got other WIP's too that I'm trying to get more done with.

I did some more work on my First Cable Sweater and almost finished the first sleeve -- I've only got a few more rows before I can set it aside and start on the other sleeve.

And I'm really quite proud of how the Spring Coat is turning out, if I do say so myself.

A Babylon 5 marathon really does make me a more productive knitter, it seems!

Knitting Marathon and a Yarn Order

Hello again all!

So, life's gotten somewhat busier.

1) My role-playing group just started up a new game (we're running a game in the Star Trek setting, after the Dominion War.).  It's the Last Unicorn Games version, which, while a little clunky, is still fun.

2) The new job isn't too crazy, but it is requiring an adjustment given that I haven't been working for a bit.  I'm still having to get in the mindset of 'going to the office.'

3) Given the new job, however, I splurged and got a few more skeins of Lady Godiva from EatSleepKnit.  It's one of their "Power Boost" yarns right now (they change them up once every quarter), where you get additional 'yards' for their loyalty program.  This yarn's going to be a Maddy tank. (Ravelry Pattern link here.)

4) And with all this (or maybe in spite of it), I'm really on a knitting marathon. I -need- to finish the Birthday Socks. I've got two weeks to knit the foot of one sock and all of the second sock.   I can knit during the role-playing session, like always, but I'm actually quite concerned about if I can get these done. So today, I started up season 2 of Babylon 5, (sorry, U.S. link only, also see here) and I'm just going to knit like crazy.

Also, as a useful resource, I found this. It's a shoe size and foot length in inches conversion chart that gives a really good idea of how long you need to make a sock based on shoe size. I needed it for the Birthday Socks.

Ok, that's it for now, now to get back to the knitting.

Yarn Store Hunting in Durham Region

Ok. My new job does have me doing some optional traveling (and I actually like traveling around and seeing new things, so I volunteered to do so).  I won't be doing anything more then a day trip, and I can get my travel costs reimbursed, so why not!

That day trip will take me into Durham Region.  I have sites in Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa, to name a few; and I'd love to get some site visits in.

I feel like a bit of an idiot.  Someone on Ravelry mentioned the idea of looking up yarn stores when you take a trip.  And I started wondering if there are any good yarn stores in Durham.

Apparently, according to Ravelry, there's a Yarn Store right by where I'd be visiting in Ajax called Bouclair. No website, or anything, but I might still stick my head in to see what they have.

This is a double advantage for me, also, because I don't drive. So while I can get out to Ajax Go Station with relative ease, getting to my site will take a bit longer, because Durham Transit buses are every half-hour/every hour.  Now I'll (hopefully) have somewhere awesome to kill time while I wait for the bus.

Also, Kniterary (in Whitby, directly north of the Whitby Go Station), looks promising too, and it looks like it's only a short jaunt from my site in Whitby. 

I won't be doing either of these for a bit, I'll have to coordinate with the sites I'm working with and set up a proper site visit.  But now the idea is even more exciting. 

Exciting thoughts.  Nice to know there's somewhere to get yarn if I end up waiting for a Go Train or something.

Yarn Sale at The Purple Purl!

So, I found out this morning that the Purple Purl is having a sale.  Specifically, they're having their "We don't want to count the Inventory Blowout!"

Details are here, as well, but in summary:

25% off most of their regular stuff.  One day only (Sat, August 10th).  Some stuff will be more then 25%, but you'll have to go in-store to find out.  They also comment that their seating won't be available during this time (I'm now imagining armchairs full of yarn!)

Oh, and if you collect their reward points, you can't redeem them during the sale, but you'll still collect them.


I'm intending to go.  I don't have oodles of money right now, (new job, yes, but no pay until August 31st just due to how their payroll works) but I still want to see if I can get a couple of skeins of Tanis for some more Christmas knitting.  If I'm very lucky with my yarn budget, I might even get a couple of skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine for a pair of gloves I've been planning for myself.  

Since I usually do try to buy yarn on sale, this is perfect.

Hope to see some familiar faces there!

P.S. If you are in the Toronto area and haven't been to the Purple Purl before, you really should. It's actually quite a nice place, and their yarn selection is awesome.   They're right on the Queen streetcar, too, (or you can take a bus down from Donlands Subway) so they're not too hard to get to.  I don't drive, so I can't speak to the street parking, sorry!