fat chickadee

we're back

We are back from a lovely family Thanksgiving in Chapel Hill, NC, and my Etsy shop is once again open for business. I didn't get very much time for knitting in between the turkey-eating and the cribbage-playing, and when we got back I discovered that I had messed up the socks I was working on pretty much irretrievably; so today, in the midst of laundry and grocery shopping and needy pets, I ripped it back to the hem and started over. Oh well, more knitting for me.

I'm thankful for...

...colorful, warm, clean, (and soon to be) dry, handknit socks. I'm like Dumbledore that way.

This blog and my Etsy store will be closed for a week of giving thanks -- as you can see, I have a lot to be thankful for. We'll see you again next Monday. Have a great holiday (or don't, if it's not your holiday or just not your thing)!

wanna be startin' somethin'

I'm going to have a lot of enforced knitting time (read: kids' activities to sit through) in the next few weeks, so I have got plenty of portable knitting projects going on right now. Alpaca cowl (made with handspun alpaca, probably for the shop):

Part lace, part ribbed shawlette in some very textured pink and purple handspun for me:

And, of course, socks:

Finally, some less-than-portable mohair on the wheel:

I think I'm going to try making a bouclé yarn out of it -- it's so shiny and wonderful.

Okay, I know it's in your head already, you might as well just give in and dance it out with me: mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah, mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah

alpaca lace and high octane socks

I had a little extra yarn leftover from this handspun alpaca, so I knit up a little lace swatch to show it off:

That's a Shetland lace pattern from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby.

I also finished up these high octane socks. With such a busy yarn I figured I'd better pick a pretty simple pattern; Turbo Toes is mostly stockinette in the visible parts of the sock, with slip stitch patterns on the toe, heel, and sole for maximum wearability.

Pattern: Turbo Toes by A. Karen Alfke
Source: The Knitter's Book of Socks by Clara Parkes
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball

ballet snood and alpaca yarn

The starchild is in this year's production of the Urban Nutcracker, which means she's at dance at least four days a week right now. I knew I was going to be in for some knitted dance accessories, and fortunately what she asked for was a lot easier than a wraparound sweater (or even legwarmers).

She picked out some sparkly black and gold yarn from JP Knit & Stitch, and it took me probably about 30 minutes to whip up this bun cover aka snood, including the time it took to look up a pattern. And crochet isn't even my strong suit.

Pattern: Ballet Bun Cover by Rachael Faith
Source: Happy Quirky Creations Ravelry Store
Yarn: S. Charles Collezione Eclipse

And, over in my Etsy shop, I've added the finished alpaca fingering-weight yarn; however, I'm so enamored by it that I may yet change my mind and keep it all for myself.

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