Malabrigo March

March is shaping up to be a great month.

First of all - I received my lovely gift from my swap partner in the Ravelry Malabrigo swap. I was spoiled. She gave me 2 - two - lace weight hanks of Saphire Magenta. I love lace weight because you can make something really, really big with two hanks. The color is lovely and even better - not in my stash. I've been so spoiled with Malabrigio in February so I have got to make something with it in March.



Then - she made me matching stitch makers. The greens and purples of the yarn are duplicated in the beads she choose. Won't I look cool with a project where the stitch markers match the yarn :)



And then for the goodies. Dark Chocolate Truffles mmmmmmm :) And Good Earth Organic Sweet and Spicy Decaffeinated tea. I came back from Seattle a bit run down - sore throat, coughing, etc - and the tea has really hit the spot. It is so lovely and flavorful and sooths my throat and makes me feel all over good.

What a great treat!

I'm having so much fun with the Mystery Shawl - I've just finished clue #2.



Starting Clue #3 this week.

And - the first Sock Knitting Pentathlon started this week. I have yet to start - hope to cast on tonight. It's my first Magic Toe cast on, Toe-Up, Short-Row heel sock. I've been sort of stuck on the traditional top down. The pattern looks good - a gansey diamond pattern. This contest is great for trying new patterns and styles. I know I won't win, however. The first winner from Germany finished both pairs in 9 hours of straight knitting! And there were several shortly after her. I won't even try to stay in their league. First of all my neck, shoulders and arms would kill me. I have to take breaks just to keep from tightening up. To knit 9 hour straight sounds like a recipe for being totally locked up in bed for a week. I love to knit to much to put myself out of commission for that long. :)

Here's the pattern - and I picked out some green handspun BFL sock yarn for the sock. yum.





I've also started back on Jada's Tomten Jacket. I was a bit irritated with having to pickup the stitches, the first few times looked terrible. This go around it is a bit better and I'm tired of frogging it.

Mystery Shawl Clue #1

I'm not quite done but not sure if I will be able to post pics before I move to Clue #2. I will be visiting the lovely ladies of the Eastside Stitchers tomorrow and hope to move past clue #1. That is if I can resist spending time with my new spindle.

I decided after a lot of deliberation to use Morehouse Merino Varigated lace weight. I'm only knitting from the stash these days, and I was going to use this for something else, frogged it, and decided to use it for this project. So far - I like it - it will be the perfect colors for spring & summer. We have several vacations planned - I can see this shawl going with me stuffed in my bag for a chilly evening or dinner AC.

Handspun

I'm slowly getting better, emphasis on the slowly. This isn't a craft for those who like instant gratification. I'm working on my patience.

Green Merino - I was aiming for a sport weight. I need to check the WPI, it looks to be more like DK to me.



And this is a mix of lots of different fiber samples I have - including a 1/4 silk hankie. Also a wool, angora silk blend - yummm. Not much fiber of any sample so I spun it thin, and then just did a simple 2-ply. I liked spinning silk :) And softness and feel of this hank is so different than the wool handspun, even the merino. It is soooooo soft and it feels very fine. Begs for lace IMHO.



I also bought some superwash wool on Ebay from Brown Sheep. It is very silky and soft, no grip to the yarn at all b/c it's superwash - duh - didn't expect that one but it makes sense. I'm still learning how to spin it because without the little grip on the yarn my small spindle keeps flying off into space. Maybe I'm spinning it too thin, but I'm just not a fan of thick yarn.

I'm now really wanting a wheel. Must resist.

On another note - this is my year for fearlessness remember!!

I've signed up for 1) the Year of Lace 2) Mystery Shawl and 3) Sock Knitting Pentathlon 2008 on Ravelry. Let's see how this goes - it may not be Fearless Knitting, but Foolish Hoping. Let's hope it doesn't turn into the latter! I've also joined Stash Burning on Ravelry - I've got to knit all above from the stash! Bust the stash in 2008 :)