An Embarrassment of Riches and Stash Enhancement:)

Oh boy... what a week it's been on the knitting front.  Am in the home stretch for the Bright Sweater (finally!) with four more repeats of the sleeve patterning for the second (left) sleeve and then the twisted stitch ribbing and stockinette roll at the cuff.  I actually tried it on and - who knew?- it will fit! This sweater is meant to be extremely over-sized for a petite woman.  Since I am already over-sized, it fits pretty darn well. I am not complaining.  I have enough over-sized sweaters.

Despite being incredibly (for me) monogamous lately - most likely because I haven't had as many opportunities to knit in the last month or so - I have worked on a few other projects and yesterday began a new one (as I usually do right after our bi-annual yarn swaps, but I am getting ahead of myself).

I often take some bit of knitting with me on Sundays when I spend two services in the choir loft playing bells.  There's the homily (Rector, this helps me listen better, I promise) and the time between services during which I knit to keep out of trouble. Recently, I brought along my version of the Brick Sweater.

I have moved well beyond the above picture; am well past the armholes on this top-down pullover. Hoping it will become some sort of staple item, as many of my clothes are black.

This week has added to my yarn and knitting book collection more than usual. A local yarn shop has decided to go out of business and has incrementally reduced prices leading up to the final date.  What is left will be sold at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the weekend after they close. I have been visiting on and off since I learned they were leaving us.  Their feeling was that they could not compete with the internet - a true shame.  Their shop was a way to involve their disabled daughters in making a living and making their way in the world. I wish them well.

When their prices got to 50% off, I felt I should go - to help them (and of course myself) while there was still a substantial choice.  I needn't have worried.  Yarn was 50% off, magazines $1 and books $5. I purchased a good bit of their offerings of Jamieson's Shetland DK yarn and a couple of skeins of a Berroco yarn I have been using in a project not pictured here. 

I was also able to get a number of books I know I will enjoy - many of which are parts of series I have collected but didn't yet have.

As if that weren't enough, the Columbia Sip 'n Knit group had a yarn swap yesterday morning. I was able to divest myself of a rather large bag of decent yarn that I knew I would not be knitting any time soon - so why not see if someone else could enjoy? In return, I received a new set of goodies.

Yes, the beautiful orange Namaste bag is part of the haul, along with the yarn pictured, five magazines not previously in my library, two tunisian crochet hooks (seen on top of the purpley yarn in the picture), and a pair of straight knitting needles (I picked those up because I hadn't brought any knitting with me - DUH! - and thought I'd start something while there.)

Eight skeins were of Harrisville New England Shetland wool.  Combined with the Jamieson's DK haul of the previous day, I'd say I have enough for at least a colorwork sweater.

I'd say I did pretty darn well.

That project I started yesterday? It will hopefully be an afghan eventually.  Right now it's a six-foot long skinny scarf:) in "thick and thin wool' (I think).  Because it's thick and thin and therefore highly textured already, I am just crocheting it with an extended half double crochet.  A few months of doing this relatively mindlessly in front of the boob tube, and I should have something to show for it.:)

Here's hoping.  The yarn fascinated me, but it took me three tours of the yarn tables to pick it up - because I wondered what I'd make with it. I think this is the most sensible use of the yarn.

In addition to the above, I picked up some bunches of partial skeins of fingering weight wool or cotton or alpaca with a view to combining them into a cowl/scarf/what-have-you.

And what about these beauties? The Kauni will likely go with another similar ball I have in the "Red" (which is really orange to rust in color).  I am pondering what to do with the Verb for Keeping Warm yarn in "Dusk." Maybe include as part of a What the Fade shawl? I think that's what I love most about a new skein of yarn: thinking about the many possibilities.  In this case, I am enjoying the fruits of someone else's good taste and hopefully upgrading/informing my own.  Well, it's Sunday and the gang is coming over for dinner.  Time to do some dishes and peel the laundry out of the washing machine....

God be with you 'til we meet again+