Catching up

I adore knitting with handspun. There's something really fun about watching the colors and textures shift subtly as you work. Besides, I get to look down and say "I made that!" Twice. It never ceases to amaze me and this particular project is no exception.

So what project is this? (Can't you tell from that helpful shot of a beehive cone of yarn?) It's Carina Spencer's Whippoorwill, which I'm slowly learning how to spell. The pattern calls for stripes but there were several lovely handspun versions on ravelry that convinced me I'd be fine using just one color.

Maybe "colorway" is more appropriate.

There's more green in there than you can see in this shot. And the yarn is from that gorgeous braid of BFL/silk top from the Portland Fiber Gallery that my sister sent me for my birthday a few months ago. Oh, why did I go click over to their Etsy shop? That almost got me in trouble the last time I posted about this company, too.

I've finished the first - stockinette - section of the wrap and am waiting until my sidekick is asleep for the night before continuing since the next row will require some attention and counting. Not the best plan when she could wake up from her nap at any time now.

My other active project right now is Simmer Dim. That's right, I found it! Who knew that I kept project bags under a pillow on the couch? Not me, for about a week. I'm using malabrigo lace and loving it just as much as ever.

I'm still plugging away at the center triangle section but even garter stitch is a joy to knit in this yarn.

What about those two Leaflets? I actually wove in the ends and washed the baby version last night. It's so humid here that I think it's going to take at least another day to dry.

I'm curious to see how much the fabric grows. My swatch of the Quince Osprey grew by about a quarter of a stitch per inch when it got wet. I didn't swatch for this one out of Chickadee so it'll be a surprise.

The unblocked sweater seemed to fit reasonably well.

But it was a little hard to tell since my model wouldn't hold still for the camera - she's discovered the joys of rolling. Maybe once she can sit up unassisted it'll be easier to get modeled shots.

I'll block my Leaflet soon, possibly tonight. It's tough to be motivated about an aran weight wool sweater when it's 90 degrees outside.

So for now I'm going to plug away at my lace knits and figure out how much of my stash I have to knit through before I can go buy yarn for Catkin.

Along the same lines, here's a puzzler for you: if I want to make Stripe Study with a skein of tosh sock in the stash but need to buy a second skein, too, does that second skein count as adding to the stash when buying it will mean I'd use up both the new skein and the old one? I think it'll have to depend on whether my LYS has the color I'm looking for.