Red + Celtic + India = Summer

My SD converter for my phone was hiding in the couch for the past several days. It's an evil plot hatched to prevent me from updating . . . by chickens . . . evil evil chickens.

Confused? Yeah, me too.

I've been to two LYSs (LYSes?) in the past week. The first was North Woods Farm Fiber and Yarn in Carrboro, South Carolina. It's a really cool store in a little house in a cute little town in the rural south. On the outside it is everything I love about this area.

The inside is really cool too. Every room has a theme. The kitchen is dishcloth cotton, the breakfast nook is sock yarn, and there's a wool room. A wool room. It was really pretty. They also have roving for spinning which was really fun to look at and fantasize about some day learning to work with. The owners also have alpacas, which would be cool to see, but aren't on the property. I believe there was some yarn spun from their own fiber, but I'm not sure.

In any case, I bought some really nice double-pointed bamboo needles. I don't know what it is about these, but they're so smooth! It's like they have been lacquered with something that makes them slide so easily, which is great for sock knitting. Hopefully now that I have size 2 needles again I'll have another completed pair of socks to tell you about soon.

I also picked up the perfect button for my new hat. It's the Indian Summer pattern. Totally worth the $2.50 I payed for the pattern. Particularly since the yarn was free! (a gift from my really cool friend Louis) I had to modify a bit because I used a lighter weight yarn, but that makes it a real summer hat. Plus a little less slouchy, which I like.

My mom actually found the button. It's a lovely Celtic knot, which of course stood out to her because my mom's family is Irish and we're a tad bit obsessed.

The yarn is South West Trading Company Bamboo. Very soft, very cool, very splitty. Not the kind of yarn you want to knit in the round on sticky bamboo dpns. But the result is totally worth it, don't you think?

(this was intended for my Star Wars post. See? That's Boba Fett! Boy's size 7 if you find any more)

The other LYS we went to was Wildskeins in Hickory, NC. My aunt is friends with the owner.

This is my ideal yarn store. Small without being too cluttered and you're not pressured to buy anything. There are often locals knitting on the couch and everyone chats away but don't hover or ignore you. I love it. Last week there was a sale on project bags, and so, of course, I bought one.

Isn't it cool?! I'm so excited. A lot of project bags I see are made out of fabrics that look like they belong in a kindergarten room, which is ok, but not something I want to be carrying around with me. This one actually looks like it could belong to someone over the age of 6. And it's a triangle! I keep seeing them being raved about everywhere, and now I know why. I put a sock project with two skeins in it and it all fit with lots of room to spare. Plus the needles fit easily since it seems to have more volume than other bags. It's a lot nicer than gallon plastic bags that I normally carry around.

And remember, knitting needles are only for knitting. Well, unless you are being attacked by an evil alien robot. Then they're excellent for jamming gears.

Purple Rows

I'm sitting on the same couch from which I wrote my previous post, only in a much better frame of mind. After three really long weeks I have an apartment! I'm moving in next week, so in the meantime I'm living with my aunt and uncle. I have been blessed to have a lot of people help me as I deal with everything that was going on, and now am happy to report that next month things should be more settled.

In the meantime, I have, of course, been knitting. Last week I misplaced the pair of circulars that I needed to knit the next section of my Great Gatsby Dress, so I stopped by AC Moore and picked up supplies to knit the Grace Lace Beret. This beret is a fast knit, but intricate enough to yield a stunning result. I used NaturallyCaron.com Spa in "Green Sheen", which as you can see is quite a nice color. This is the first time I've used a bamboo yarn, and I've been very pleased with the result. It's a very soft texture that is different from other yarns I've worked with. Smoother, I think would be the word for it.



I've also been continuing to work on my Great Gatsby Dress. The picture below is of the completed back skirt, but I've finished the ribbing on the back bodice and am starting to increase up to the arms. I had a lot more completed but unfortunately I somehow misread the pattern to read "three inches" not "three rows." To those who don't knit this might not seem so bad, but in a tight knit, this can be very long. Add the fact that the section is done in stockinette, which bores me to no end, and I was not a happy camper when I found out my afternoon of knitting was for naught. However, my summer job ends this week and then I hope to put more of my attention on finishing this garment.



Earlier this week (I guess now it was last week) I picked up a copy of KnitScene for Fall 09 in celebration of finally finding an end to this madness. I love the style with which the designers approach garment knitting. Every page made me think "I want to wear that." Ultimately I bought it for the Balmoral Vest pattern, but I see myself making time to knit most of these pieces if I have the funds for all of that yarn. It has definately succeeded in reminding me how much fashion is influenced by knitted items right now, which makes this so much fun.

My last bit of news is very exciting. My friends Frank and Andrew host the Echo Alert Podcast about the show Dollhouse (I believe I've mentioned it before). In their last episode they interviewed Miracle Laurie, who plays my favorite character Millie/November/whoeversheisnow. On a whim I had the guys ask her if she'd wear something I knit, and she said yes! Now I'm searching for patterns for a light scarf that I can make in a really soft yarn (I'm pretty partial to bamboo right now). She said her favorite color is purple, so I'm waiting for something to inspire me. Right now I'm just very excited that one of my favorite actresses on current television is willing to wear one of my handknits.