Love.

The Lace Ribbon Scarf is finished and off the needles.

I love this scarf so much, it was hard for me to see it go. But in the end, it made it's way into Joe's sister's hands. She loved it.

It was an enjoyable knit. A quick knit. It was also a great way to use up one of those skeins of sock yarn I had laying around.

The specifics:
Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf from the latest issue of Knitty.
Needles: US #3
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Gothic Rose colorway.
Gauge: Somewhere between 5.5 - 6 stitches and inch.
Modifications: Cast on 44 stitches for a narrower scarf.
Notes: This was a fun pattern. It was easy to memorize, but surprisingly, not at all boring. The final scarf was 8 inches wide, and 4 feet, 4 inches long. When all was said and done, I had about 2 ounces of yarn still left! I highly recommend this pattern and have every intention of knitting one of these for myself!

For those of you wondering....

Becca asked in the comments how wide the Lace Ribbon Scarf was. After blocking, it's about 8 inches wide. That's with 44 sts cast on.

Blocking really opens up the lace pattern

By the way, if you have a minute or two, check out Becca's new Wollmeise socks (on Ravelry, click here.) She'll be sharing the pattern for free with all of us once she has it written up. I can't wait to knit myself a pair. They are stunning!

Not socks!

I love knitting socks. They're portable, relatively quick and can vary from simple to complex. But lately, I've been thinking about what it was like before socks. I kind of miss knitting other things.

So this weekend, I cast on for a scarf. It's a birthday present for Joe's sister. Her birthday is tomorrow, and well, it will not be finished. I'm aiming for Easter. (For once I can honestly say that the tardiness of this hand knit gift is not my fault. Joe has a bad habit of mentioning family birthdays to me at the very last minute. Grrrr.)

I wish I could keep this one for myself!

The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy, in the Gothic Rose colorway. It's a second, so it's actually a little darker than what the colorway is supposed to be, and personally, I think that I love it more than I would if it was "normal".

The pattern is The Lace Ribbon Scarf from the new knitty. It's an easy pattern to memorize and not at all boring. I cast on 44 stitches, which is less than the pattern calls for because I wanted a skinnier scarf. At 44 stitches, it is still incredibly wide. The next one I knit, I'll be casting on 35 stitches.

My latest addiction.

The first time I saw A Swell Yarn Shop's Duet sock yarn. I thought it was genius. I absolutely loved the idea of contrasting toes & heels. But I'm not a fan of sport or DK weight sock yarn. I'm a fingering weight kind of gal. So I just filed it away as "maybe one day...."

Then A Swell Yarn Shop debuted it's Skinny Duet sock yarn. I just knew that one day, some of it would find it's way into my stash and on to my needles. But still I held off. The thought of all of those extra ends to weave in stopped me in my tracks. I'm a lazy knitter. I hate finishing.

But about a month ago, I was browsing The Loopy Ewe and a few skeins fell into my cart. Next thing I knew, I tripped, accidently hit the paypal button and had some new to me yarn on it's way to me.

Bought from a Ravelry destash. My favorite skein to date.

Once the yarn arrived, I knew I was going to like it, what I didn't know was how head over heels (pun kind of intented) I would fall for it.

I don't know how Angela, the genius behind Duet Sock Yarn, does it, but this yarn does not pool at all. I love watching it knit up without those gigantic pools of color most sock yarns produce. The yarn is super soft once washed, in fact, I think it's safe to say this yarn is the softest yarn I've worn to date. It also produces socks a little thinner than I've become accustomed to knitting, and I just love it. They fit comfortably inside of my work shoes.

So Pretty!

The Specifics:
Yarn: Skinny Duet in Spring Glen
Needles: Knitpicks Circular, size US 0, 32 inches
Pattern: None. Just my standard stockinette stitch sock.
Notes: I opted to leave contrasting ribbing off because I wasn't sure how much yarn I would have for the heels and toes. Once finished with the sock, I realized two things. I had enough to do at least some ribbing, and I could easily make the leg longer without worrying about running out of yarn.

See! No pooling.

Yum... Yarntini!

Yum.... Yarntini!
(from L to R: Appletini, Three Rivers, Pumpkin Spice, Sangria, McDreamy, Ice)

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to catch a Yarntini update at Woolgirl. I quickly selected a few skeins and checked out, thrilled that not one of them was stolen from my shopping cart by someone who was just a little quicker than I was.

The next day however, there was an email in my inbox from Jen, the owner of Woolgirl. My heart sank as I read that the shopping cart over sold one colorway to two people and I was one of those unlucky two.

Jen offered me either a refund, a store credit, or a chance to exchange that skein for a skein of anything else in the store. She also offered to let me have first pick from her next shipment of Yarntini to make up for it.

I couldn't believe my luck. I mean, you all know how hard it is to get your hands on Yarntini. I felt like I should be thanking Jen for the shopping cart fiasco.

The next shipment was due in November of last year, but Jessie, the brilliant dyer behind Yarntini was pregnant, and so everything was (rightfully) put on back order.

Jen did a great job of keeping me updated of when the Yarntini was expected to arrive, and then last weekend, I got the email telling me it was here. A few days later, it arrived at my house.

I have to say, Jen went above and beyond what I personally feel she was obligated to do. She is an amazingly sweet, kind person, and has more than won me over. She has made me a fan of all things Woolgirl, and a customer for life. Since her first email, I have joined one of Woolgirl's sock clubs, been lucky enough to make it on to the list for the Charlie Brown, It's An Easter Beagle kit, and have added many of her yarns to my wish list.

My favorite... Pumpkin Spice