Rams!

Oh goodness...

Do you remember this blanket that I am in love with?

They have made it a kit.

Yarn and pattern for both blanket and tam bundled together for purchasing convenience.

Oh dear.

With shipping, it rings up at 85 Canadian dollars.

I musn't.

Needle Cases

I recently inherited Grannie's knitting needles. They had originally gone to mum's friend's mom, but she doesn't knit anymore, so mum's friend sent them to me. I wish I'd taken an interest in knitting years ago, since Grannie was a wonderful knitter and it would have been nice to share that with her, but now at least I have this connection.

Anyway. This new windfall of needles means that my already rather messy needle collection just got messier. The small drawer I've been using is no longer enough to contain them. Though, it didn't really contain them anyway, they mostly just migrated all around the house.
So that got me to thinking about needle cases! There are a bunch of cute sewing tutorials around the internets, so I thought I'd compile some here for later reference.

I think I want a small one for travel purposes for one set of each size, and then something more substantial to house the entire collection. And then some other solution for the circs.

The one demo'd here is really nice-looking. Would make a good travel case, I think.
I like the look of this one for the circs, since it keeps them hung up but also covered up (it offends my OCD tendencies to have the needles all hanging out everywhere).
This one is pretty simple, so might be good for an in-the-drawer hold-all.

Another option I'm considering is just getting some trays that fit in the drawer or some kind of tool box. If I've got a pretty roll-up for toting needles around, I might as well just keep the ones that are staying at home in a sturdier location.

Anyway. This wall-of-text entry will soon be supplemented by a picture-filled round-up of my recently-completed projects. Once I take some more pictures, anyway.

Tweed

Tweeeeed.


I want to knit things out of various shades of natural-tweedy-goodness.

I want to knit sweaters!

I want to knit shawlettes and scarves, but not out of tweed.

I want to knit too many things at once.

Things I am craving:

1. The perfect knit sweater. This will have to wait until I am done Christmas knitting. I bought a superfine merino sweater from Banana Republic the other day (hooray for sales on top of sales) and it is so cozy and nice and I want to knit something chunky and cuddly. Winter is a time for sweaters!
2. Speaking of winter... Snow! They've got loads of it in BC for chrissakes, and we're sitting at 13 degrees today! 13 degrees! Ah well, as long as the roads are clear I can still bike to work.
3. Boots! I am getting these ones in brown on a pro deal (aka Learn About the Product For Work and Get Super Discounts) and I am soooo excited. A not-too-casual, not-too-dressy, comfy, useful leather boot that I can wear in the fall and spring and heck, even winter with thick socks? Yessssss. I have always been a strictly runners girl (with occasional flats and flip-flops in the summer time) but I may just be a boot convert, and I don't even have them yet
4. Socks. My feet are cold. I'm gonna go put some on.

In non-list news, and for some visual interest:

 I've finished half of MCM, which is lovely and perfect. It's a seeeecret, so just barely peeking out from under that big pink thing. That big pink thing is one skein of wool for Briana's test knit, which with DK yarn feels like MILES of stockinette (I shoulda used aran or worsted). I like it so far, though not sure how keen on the colour I am, it's a bit too pink/camo for my liking. I almost like it better on the purl side!
Finally, the green thing is one cozy of Project Expedition Cozies/Project Restore Jen's Faith in Humanity/Project Oh God I Am Not Going To Have Time To Finish This (final name to be decided later). As a result of completing one cozy super quickly, I have realised that mug/cup cozies take almost no time at all, and will give me the chance to try out new stitch patterns!
To zoom in:

This particular pattern can be found here and calls itself a 'half brioche' stitch. Super easy, and would make a squishy cozy wearable knit. I think it might look nicer with a less hazy-fuzzy wool and am tempted to try with one of my cottons, but I must push onward with new and different cozies. Yes, I am determined to make all of them different.

Now, what was that about socks?