Okay, I've been bad.....

I haven't been knitting. I've been prepping for American Thanksgiving. I spend about 6-7 hours in the kitchen and I just curl up on the couch afterwards to stare at my SAD machine. I'll start knitting again on Sunday with a fury one rarely channels into.....knitting.

Yarn Harlot

Tonight I dragged the darling husband to see the Yarn Harlot speak. I didn't take any knitting with me (why embarass myself in front of other, more experienced knitters...I can just imagine the conversation, "What are you knitting?" "Oh my eighteenth billion scarf. I'm almost done and then I'll move onto other, perhaps larger, geometrical knitted stuff"). Isn't being obsessed with geometrical shapes a sign of insanity. Okay, its triangles but its close (I'll let you know when I've managed to make a triangle). Sorry, tangent.

So one of the first questions that is asked is about the use of acrylic for baby blankets. Evidently its not recommended because it's quite flammable. Honestly, I've never considered using a baby blanket in the actual crib, usually I see them used in the baby carriage. I understand there there is a slight fire danger in a carriage but even in the big city, it's rare to see someone flick a lit cigarette into a baby carriage. I'll just add a quick note that the blanket shouldn't be used in the crib. I mean, most likely the baby blankets I knit will be used to line the bottom of the cat litter tray so I consider it a bit of a non-issue.

I did get a book signed and I bought a knitters without borders pin. I'll have to make a bigger donation early next year - maybe I can use whatever money I save on Christmas presents. I'll have to talk to the darling husband about that.

Picture taken on my camera phone, sorry for the poor quality.

Project #5

Knitting up a storm and my trip to Michael's was a chance to pick up some fun yarn. This was a scarf that I made for a friend who is relocating to Beijing for a few years. I wanted her to have a little something from home.

Project: Scarf
Pattern: None, Garter Stitch
Needle: Size 10 bamboo
Final Size: 3.5" x 79"
Yarn: Paton's Divine in Regal Red
Material: 76.5% Acrylic; 10.5% wool, 10.5% Mohair, 2.5% Polyester
Weight/Length: 3.5oz (100g) and 142 yards
Wash Instructions: Hand-wash only, do not dry.
Comments: A very unforgiving yarn, it has very little give. Not the nicest yarn to work with and it sheds quite a bit however the final product is rather lovely.

Looky what I got!

It's like Christmas in November! My mom sent me her alpaca yarn, needles and half-finished scarf! Say what you will but knitting with alpaca is truly a pleasure. Now I just have to finish up the scarf and do two more in a month! Wish me luck!