Stash Enhancement

I made it four days into 2014 before I added new yarn to my stash. Uffda. Glad I didn't bother writing down any resolutions this year!

Pretty though, right? This is Zitron Wolkenspiel, a 4 ply fingering weight yarn in the color Abendrot. We popped into Knitters Palette Yarn store in Lakeland Minnesota on January 4th and this little lovely followed me home.

The color on the photo just doesn't do the yarn justice. We don't get enough natural light around here in the winter, so it's hard to showcase the glory of this yarn. There are some hot orange tones to this yarn and I just fell for it. Num num num.

At least the pressure of NOT adding to my stash was blown early. Now I am free to be a glutton of yarn the rest of the year knowing I am not breaking any promises to myself or the Internet!

Off to the Yarn Store!

So my need to make the Ovate Wrap created a needle need. The needles on this pattern are HUGE Size 19 Circulars. I ended up getting 40 inch length because I hope to use these again for stash busting afghans? Fantasies float through my head..... I also needed a size P crochet hook! Dang! That is a big hook! :) A few other items followed me home as well....

I picked up these 4 pins at the register. Bad photo.

Pin1: Sheep with a ball of yarn hanging off of him.

Pin 2: "I ate your grandma's knitting for lunch. (& it was crunchy)"

Pin 3: Lime Green with Skeleton holding ball of yarn

Pin 4: "Idle Yarn is the CATS play thing." [So. True!]

The yarn, Artful Yarns Old Western, was on discount for $6.00 a ball. I thought it would make nice mittens or hats. I see there are not many projects of this yarn on Ravelry and it's labeled discontinued. Still - It feels nice and I have never worked with Artful Yarns so I am happy!

My Three Needles. The HiyaHiya is a 24" size 6 that I needed to make the Citron eventually. I like HiyaHiya needles. They are way more affordable than the Addi Turbo's and they have nice flex in their cord. Paying for Addi's always kills me - but I know they will stick around for many many years, so I try and think of it as an investment. :)

I took this shot for a size gauge. The needle is longer than my finger and as round as a finger. HUGE! A fast knit indeed! I bet I could quickly knit a car cozy with these.....

Emma gave me the "Why are you bringing more yarn in this house?!?!" look while I unpacked and photographed my haul. I think she would have forgiven me had I given HER one of the balls of yarn to destroy, but that never happens (on purpose). Izzi our devil cat was sneaking up on Emma as I took this picture. She likes to attack and run. Charming little thing.

And that was my haul from the Yarn Store. This time I went to 3 Kittens Needle Arts and the entire haul was under $50.00. I had a 25% off one item coupon (for the huge addi) and a $50.00 Gift certificate from my mother-in-law for my Birthday, so it ended up a free trip! Sweeeeeet!

Day 14 of Blogtoberfest

If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it's OK. But you've got to shoot for something. A lot of people don't even shoot.

Confucius

We had a full moon earlier this week. It was really pretty and I grabbed my camera and snapped a couple shots. Sort of looks like a single hole punch laying on a square of black velvet - but it's the moon, I promise.

I joined my first KAL on Ravelry this morning. Not sure why really. I have never done a KAL and I wasn't all that enamoured with the pattern when I first spotted it on the cover of KnitSimple this month. It's a Vickie Howell pattern and I have always liked her so much. And I have wanted to knit with her yarn - so I guess it was meant to be. I joined the stitchrocklove group on Ravelry and hopped on the KAL wagon for the Cover Cowl. We cast on Wednesday October 19th. I am a big fan of cowl's and I found a color that should go well with my new red wool coat. Now I just have to wait for next Wednesday to roll around..... If anyone wants to join up with me drop me a note.

Oh - and since I needed this yarn to knit the pattern with I ended up at JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts on my lunch hour BUYING MORE YARN. Are you kidding me?!?!? Ugh. My stash is SO going to explode. I might have to join yarnaholics anonymous if I don't knock it off. I laughed with my husband about this once, but when I am dieting and feel deprived I will often find my spending money on yarn increases quite a bit. This week has been a tough week - work outs feel hard, energy level is low, and I WANT food, so I guess it's not surprising I am going a little ballistic on the yarn shopping. Must knock that off though! ;)

Tuesday is so exhausting.

All that pet hair on that pillow makes me nuts. I have tries beating it outside. I have tried the vacuum. Tape or sticky rolls are the best at getting it clean - but the hair sort of becomes one with the fiber. Yuck. Sort of takes away from the cute of the pillow. I think I will research polar fleece covers as I think this is a prime candidate for an upgrade. Why do they even make pet things in dark solid colors?!?! Oy.

Wednesday I am off to the dentist for a cleaning and fully expect them to tell me I need another crown. I have silver fillings in all my molars - and apparently they crack your tooth over time. So I have two crowns in and probably 6 more to go. Depressing as heck. I have just been dreading it. I have made it my ritual to go to the yarn store that is about three miles away from my dentist after any appointment. I mostly only buy a little thing - a treat verses a buffet - but I have a 20% discount saved up so I think I might splurge this time. I will need to head over to Ravelry and see if there is something that entices me. I am hesitant about knitting a sweater or anything too involved while I am trying to lose weight. It doesn't make sense. I think that is why I love hats and accessories so much. Or at least one reason. I have a terrible one skein buying habit which lends itself to that as well.

So we will see. This week, like so many, will contain mixed blessings.