Knitting Obsession

Free yarn! Yahoo!

Gosh, I have a lot of yarn. (Somewhere, my mom is nodding vigorously). I have yarn that I am never, never going to use again because I just don't like it. I would love to just give it away, so here it is.  First come, first served. I would like to mail this out by USPS on Friday so pls. let me know by then as I have someone who will take whatever is left over if it isn't claimed by then. This is a lovely assortment of acrylic, baby yarn, and fun fur so it might be good for charity projects, etc. too. Also, as regular readers know, my yarn is not only free but it comes FREE with cat hair! The cats have free access to my stash room. They generally stay out, but I can pretty well guarantee that there will be some fur or hair on some of this yarn.
Check it out:

1 mostly full and 1 full Caron Simply Soft in autumn red; 1 mostly full and 1 full Caron Simply Soft Tweed in autumn red. TAKEN

3 partial skeins (no labels) of Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick in burgandy; 1 partial skein (no label) of Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick in bright red.

These are all mostly full. From left to right: Caron Wintuk in Fisherman; Wintuk in Navy; Wintuk in Christmas Red; Red Heart TLC in natural; and Wintuk in Deep Periwinkle.

2 mostly full Bernat Softee Baby in Pale Blue  TAKEN. 1 Bernat Baby Coordinates in soft blue.

The most horrible yarn I have ever knit with, but you may well love it. Sirdar Snowflake Chunky Magic, 2 and 1/2 skeins in mocha.  TAKEN, God bless you. You are a better knitter than I.

3 Bernat Softee Baby in white (1 with no label), 1 partial in pink marl (no label), and 2 in mint. TAKEN.

on the top left, several mini balls of Bernat Boa in purple, no label. Bottom left, 1 and some Bernat Boa in black. Top right, 1 and some Lion Brand Fun Fur in peacock. Bottom right, 1 and some Red Heart Kisses in creamy.

Lion Brand Chenille Sensations, 1 skein in antique white and 4 in midnight blue. TAKEN

Left to right, mostly full Red Heart Essentials TLC in dark thyme, partial Techno Lunga in a matching shade; partial Chenille Thick and Quick in champagne; Red Heart super saver in dark plum; and most of a Pound of Love in a cream white. Ignore the red eyelash in the middle; it's not enough to do anything with.
If you want any of it, drop me a comment or email. I would appreciate a few bucks for shipping if you can, but no biggie.
Yesterday, my father shaved his head in support of my cousin Anne who is battling breast cancer. Isn't that sweet? He looks very cute with his buzz cut.

Cinnamon

1988 was a rough year for us with cats. My pretty orange boy Sunny, who had been with me from infancy, died of cancer and it broke my heart. I still get a little teary when I think about what a good cat he was and I have a big soft spot for orange cats now...just look at Tootsie. We then went through a terrible period as the kitten I got after Sunny died unfortunately brought feline leukemia into the house. We lost all of our cats that year...Sunny, Monu, Puddy, Friskie. Cinnamon came in the midst of that but for some reason did not get leukemia, and she was my new girl.

When I left home, I left Cinnamon at my parent's house as she was really now Daddy's girl, and I had Brynn and Tootsie now. Cinnamon was always there when I went home to visit.

She was loud and bossy. She had no problem poking someone with her one orange paw when she needed to be petted.
Cinnamon has been battling breast cancer, diabetes and hypertension, and on Friday my parents made the brave decision to let her go. She had been deteriorating rapidly and it seemed that she was in pain. She was 18 years old, and was a good girl.

Gull Wings

Hey, I have an FO!

Pattern: Gull Wings socks from "Socks, Socks, Socks"
Yarn: HipKnits fingering weight 100% cashmere
Needles: US size 0 Knit Picks DPNs
These need a serious blocking as they are a little snug on my feet, and they are a gift for my cousin Anne whose feet are the same size as mine (I think). Anne is battling breast cancer like a warrior.  Even if she never wears them, they are soft and sweet. I think I am going to wash them and dry them on the blockers to try to bring out the pattern.

If I ever make these again (I'm not a big fan of repeating patterns. Once I've made two socks, I'm usually pretty sick of the pattern!) I would have to make the toes less pointy and adjust the decreases. I ended up with some pointy elf toes.
My dear B was going through his stamps, as he is wont to do, and he came across this gem which he immediately gave to me because it reminded him of me.

I wonder if that is a Dale of Norway knitted hat on there? It's definitely knitted. Isn't he sweet? I used the gift certificate he gave me for my birthday recently to pick up (among other things) a skein of Gems to contrast with a lone skein of Koigu PPPM that my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas last year. I'll use the Gems for heels and toes on a pair of anklets.

Should be pretty!

Maybe stockinette socks are the way to go after all.

Turns out I can whip them out pretty quickly. This is about 8 hours worth of knitting.

Plus, they really do look pretty. Maybe I'll use this pattern for all of the highly variegated yarns, the ones that wouldn't show a pattern well anyway. This yarn is Seacoast Handpainted Panda, a wool/bamboo blend that is very light and airy. There are several new patterns on Knitty that are very appealing because they are anklets that are tempting me as well....I really, really need to work on knitting up some of my sock yarn stash. Recent uploads and editing on Ravelry are making this very clear to me!
I hop everyone who is a dad or has a dad in their life has a wonderful weekend...I am going to B's nephew's graduation party and then we are going to go out to an outdoors show and hopefully to enjoy the weather. I am off work on Monday and Tuesday and I think I am going to make that long-desired trip to East Berlin to try out some wheels at The Mannings. Can't wait!

Don't blow the bank!

I have an illness!

I have second sock syndrome. BAD. I have three lone socks hanging around.

Gull Wings, in HipKnits fingering weight cashmere from Pureknits. For my cousin Anne. I did start the second one shortly after this picture. I got needles that make the simple lace pattern much easier, so it's going a lot faster. The needles are Knitpicks Options dpns, and I am in love.  So sharp! So shiny!

Garter Rib (from Charlene Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks." This has been suggested to me as a pattern to help me use up my neverending handpainted sock yarn stash. Unfortunately, it is mind-numbingly boring. I'm going to try the slipped stitch rib pattern next, and work my way through the easy to memorize patterns. The yarn is ONline something or other, in a cotton or cotton blend. Nice yarn, not my style in terms of fibers or colors, but the sock is pretty comfy on. These are for my aunt, mother of Anne (above).

Remember these? I started these waaaay back in June '06. They are the raindrop lace socks (from Evelyn Clark/Fiber Trends) and are done in Lorna's Laces in brick. For some reason, I did this sock in a size 2 needle which is a little big but back then, way back in the day when we didn't have electricity or anything, I was a bit of a tighter knitter. I've loosened up a bit since then and as a general rule go down at least one needle size for every project and usually two. For my Kerry cardigan, I went down three sizes.
I have some more handpainted goodness to flash at you.


That's Yarn Pirate in Culture Club and Deep Cove. Those of you who have trouble getting Georgia's stuff (and I am usually one of them...I set my alarm clock this time for her etsy update) might be happy to hear that she is now doing custom orders for some of her colorways. NAYY.
Oh! And I finally, finally got some Options.

Have I mentioned how I love Knitpicks and their shiny, sharp needles?

My grasshopper sock from the Socks That Rock Rockin' Sock Club misbehaved. I took care of that. I am not going to use this pattern as it is annoying to me. There's only so much *yo, p2tog* I can take.

I got my invitation to Ravelry. I have been spending a lot of quality time on it downloading my yarn and current projects into it. It is so much fun! I highly recommend getting on the list if you aren't already.