Winding Weekend

Pictured from top to bottom: Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn, Chuckanut Bay 10-Ply Aran, Cascade Eco-Wool. We thought the Chuckanut made enormous balls, but check out the size of that Eco-Wool. I plopped the Colinette on top for comparison purposes. Most of us know what a wound skein of sock yarn looks like, size-wise, so that ought to give you an idea of just how enormous the other two are. So enormous that my ball winder -- gimpy even on a good day -- nearly expired from the effort of holding it.

Now that the Kauni shawl is blocking, I turned my attention to what's next. "Next" meaning not just what's next to be cast on, but what's next to claim my knitting time.

I have these things on the needles:

1. The blue Ishbel. I've finished the body and three of the six lace charts. This one could be completed within the next week or two.
2. The Oskar Loves Ishbel socks. On the heel of the first. Nice to knit, but not compelling. I keep them on my nightstand for sleepless nights.
   
3. The purple Smooshy socks. These are my carry-around knitting. I like to keep something portable and patternless in my purse, and these are it. I'm a bit more than halfway through the first cuff, and that's all the result of picking at these in stray moments.
4. Fulmar. Stalled because my brain was needed for other things. It's not a difficult pattern, but it does require a certain amount of focus.
   
5. The Afghan for Danger Boy. Stalled because it's crochet and my wrist has been swelling here and there.
6. Catherine Parr. Probably will be frogged.
   
7. St. Brigid. Stalled because I needed to wind the next ball of yarn.
   

Three small projects, three big projects, and one disaster. Also, the lace skater's top is on hold until I get some better needles. The points on the Addis just can't handle this pattern, and I'm making a total hash out of it as a result.

On this list, the one that jumped out at me was St. Brigid. It's reason for being stalled is the most east to overcome. This would be fairly quick and easy to finish. The blue Ishbel will be done soon because I really want it off my knitting list, and there's little time involved. So after that, St. B.

Hence, the winder came out.

And you know how it is. Once you wind one ball, you want to wind the rest. But if I wind it, I might cast it on, and I want to finish some things before I start new things. So my compromise was to wind one ball of the Eco-wool for a Starsky (or possible for the Shirt-Tail Cardigan -- still debating which pattern I prefer), which will be the next sweater after the St. B is finished.

After Ishbel is finished, I might try to finish one of the pairs of socks before casting on another small project. I'm eyeing two other scarves for the summer -- light, small projects always being better for hot days. But I don't think I need to have a mountain of small projects on the go at one time just because the days are warmer. In a perfect world, I would keep my knitting list down to four projects at a time. But this isn't a perfect world, and I'm sure not a perfect knitter.

What are your summer knitting plans?

Kauni Northern Lights Shawl

Hooray for finishing things! So much better than letting them hang around inside knitting bags. Cast on to bind off in 29 days. Not bad. I also knit half an Ishbel and half a sock in the same time period, so I think it's safe to say my knitting is picking up speed again. Not like the old days, but still, it's on the calendar every week.

I'm so in love with this Kauni yarn. Yes, it's rustic, but not unbearably so, and the color changes are magnificent. Almost hypnotic. Imagine if Shetland yarn and Noro had a baby, and that's about how the Kauni is. Less raggy than the Noro, less crunchy than a Shetland but with a very similar hand. Plied like the Shetland, dyed like the Noro. I would knit with it again in a heartbeat.

In fact, I'm already dreaming of Stitches and debating whether to buy enough for a stranded cardigan. I'm thinking Kauni in the black/gray/cream colorway paired with a solid bold color like red.

Yeah, and given the state of my stash, I'll put it on the knitting schedule for around 2025.

(Even knowing that, I still want the yarn.)

Yarn at a Writer's Conference

This is a very kind, very goodhearted author, Nathalie Gray, wearing the white hat she deserves. Forgive the picture quality. The window behind her made the lighting difficult, and I assure you her face is flushed from my camera and not from any other factor. The photo was taken at the North Market, just before we indulged in a bowl of delicious Jeni's Ice Cream -- OMG, the best ever. Go to Columbus and eat ice cream. You won't ever regret it.

























Here we have another author friend, Lyn Cash, who tried to make off with Ishbel. Heh. Ain't gonna happen. Ishbel did enjoy being the center of attention, though. (Notice how Lyn is trying to look all innocent and stuff. We're not fooled.)


























Yes, there was yarn shopping. I think my stash-wagon habits are really starting to take hold, though, because all I bought was some laceweight (25% off, so who can blame me!) to make a cardigan. Isn't it pretty? The colors make me think of a winter storm. I don't know why -- gray sky, brown landscape, and everything faded by the low light, maybe.

















My self-control is even more shocking when you realize that the store we visited was FREAKING AWESOME. Look! They have AISLES. It's hard to tell from this picture, but there were four whole entire aisles of yarn! And the staff was super nice, too. My favorite moment, though, was walking in with Rachael Herron (yarn-a-go-go) and watching the clerk's eyes widen as she recognized her. Awesome. I love shopping with a knitting rock star. They were incredibly nice to us and even used their computer to look up pattern details for us. Knitting Mercantile ("the Merc" to locals) -- well worth a visit if you ever get to Columbus.