Still Stashing!

Thought I would jump in and show off some of the packages I received in the mail this week. And share my plans for it at this point.

I got a great deal on some worsted superwash wool from Webs last week. It's their label Valley Yarns Dana. It was just $2.39 for 50g ball, so I got enough in green, blue, and pink to do a baby sweater each. But it could easily be used for hats, blankets, etc. It's really soft yarn! The pink is planned for a Marian Shrug for one of the little girls in my life, probably for Christmas. Not sure what the others will become but they will be for my little boys. Something matching with Rowan (4) in blue and Miles (2) in green. These are their standard colors. When we get them anything the same, R gets a blue one and M gets green.

Yesterday I got a special package from the UK. I've bought some Juno Fibre Arts before but I haven't made anything with it yet. But I am really attracted to her color sense. She does muted tonals and interesting color combinations. I got a skein of Alice in Rasin (on the left) which is Alpaca, Silk, and Cashmere and is super yummy soft! Plus a sock weight skein of Toughie Buffy which is BFL and Nylon in the Magic Colorway (on the right). The Alice is going to be a shawl of some type and of course the Buffy will be socks.

 

Soaked

 

Hope you all had a great (holiday) weekend! We spent the weekend at an out of town soccer tournament. It rained through most of the games which would have been ok if we didn't have 2 young boys. They are puddle magnets and ended up covered in mud and sludge. But our team won our division, so it was worth it. And we had fun! We spent the Monday off at home. Equally nice.

I mentioned last week that I am participating in Camp Loopy. I was assigned to Glamper #3 which is turquoise and awesome! This is my first time doing this challenge and I am only looking at it as such. I will not have any guilt if I don't finish. I am only using this and Stash Dash as motivation to get stuff done. The June project is to make something of at least 400 yards that reminds you of your favorite TV show, movie, or book. I have had the Water for Elephants socks in my queue for quite a while and I plan for them to be Christmas sock for my best friend who LOVES elephants. I am going to use The Loopy Ewe's Solid Series in Cranberry and Butter. I tried to match the project picture colors since they are so lovely together. I should have no problem getting these done in June. It is all my other monthly goals that could become a problem.

I also want to participate in the Stockinette Zombies' Summer Tops KAL which is also due by the end of June. I want to do a Tink Tank by Megan Williams. And I'll be using yarn that I got on sale from Webs a couple weeks ago. It's SMC Extra Soft Merino Cotton and I'll be doing it in the Silver colorway.

Less than a week into Stash Dash, I am still working on my Stitch Surfers for the Must Stash KAL/Month of Socks. I am about half way through the foot of the second sock. I've made a couple mistakes and they are kinda wonky but I really like them.

I also, this weekend, started another baby cardi in Hawthorne. This time in the Sunnyside colorway.

Drama!

Everything in my life has been dramatic the last couple of weeks and I've been coming home exhausted. Kids, work, everything has hit that May (it needs to be summer) crazy. Even though there have been several nights where I haven't felt like knitting at all, I've gotten a lot done. And I plan to be more organized and productive in the near future. This weekend at least!

I did a Mad May project out of Tosh Sock from Jimmy Beans Wool in the Technicolor Deamcoat colorway. It makes me happy and I wore it that day even though it was 90 degrees out. It's a Sockhead, love the pattern, and I plan to make at least another one for my oldest son. I have nicknamed it my Happy Koolaid Hat.

I also finished a quick baby knit for a shower I'm going to next weekend. I don't have any good pics yet because I haven't blocked it. But it was the perfect match of yarn, pattern, and colorway and I plan to make a couple more this summer as baby gifts. The pattern is pretty new, Sweet Little Butterfly, and it's quite simple. It's mostly stockinette except for the butterfly stitch which is really easy and cute! The yarn is Hawthorne by Knit Picks. It's a new sock yarn and I grabbed a skein on impulse when it first came out, not knowing what I would do with it. I have to say that it is a great yarn for fingering weight baby knits. The colors are beautiful. This first one is in Nob Hill and I have since picked up 4 more colors. Each time I have been concerned when placing the order online, but super pleased when I have them in hand. They are all subtlety variegated but interesting. For example the Nob Hill is mostly shades of purple but it has these bits of a light sage that make it so fun. The other colors I got are Belmont, Goose Hollow, Irvington, and Sunny Side. Goose Hollow is probably the most contrasting one I've seen in person. Irvington is gorgeous! The next baby sweater is going to be in the Sunny Side.

I am working on some Stitch Surfers for the Must Stash Podcast KAL going on through the end of June. I really didn't think I would like Stitch Surfers when I first saw them, but they are a little addicting and not much harder than a plan vanilla sock. What pushed me over the edge was Fibernymph Dyeworks inversable sets. She had a sale on Mother's Day and I got Black/Silver stripes on her Bedazzled base. I'm not flashy. I like color, but I usually wear solids. So stripes are ok but I didn't like the stitch surfers I'd seen with 2 different variegated yarns or even worse 2 different self striping! But these are perfect for me. They seem classy, almost "formal"?!? And the yarn is wonderful!

I have lots of knitting planned this summer. I'm jumping in on Camp Loopy, Stash Dash, and Tour de Fleece on top of my other goals for the year (one sock per month and/or 1 self striping project per month). Today I'm gonna list the projects I have planned to finish up during Stash Dash.

1. Darin's Grizzly Mangyle due approx. 6/22 for the Yarngasm Podcast KAL
2. In a While Peacock? Top for me. This stalled out last summer when I got to the crochet sleeves. I'm going to frog the sleeve I've already done and just do the knitted sleeves.
3. My Carson, should be a straightforward and fun knit. I've already done one for my mom. I'm almost to where the second color comes in and I may do the extended lace boarder.
4. Sperry Style (Custom Fit), this is my birthday sweater (January). Just needs sleeves!
5. Garnet Ornette Socks I'm working my way through Cookie A's Jazz Collection. This will be my 3rd of 6.

I've also been doing quite a bit of reading lately. Well, technically listening, since I'm addicted to Audible. I'm making my way through the Outlander series. I finished book 3 yesterday. The audio book reader is so good! I listen to this one to and from work in the car and while doing spreadsheets at work.

I also randomly read this because of some friends who enjoyed it. It's YA so I read it in a little over a day. It was enjoyable for what it was and I will go ahead and read the series. I read this on my kindle.

Next up is The Agincourt Bride. This is also a kindle book. I love Historical Fiction!