Distractions

I have no knitting to show you today. I did not finish the Monkey sock; in fact, it's only about three rounds further along than it was Thursday. The secret something is still secret and still taking over my desk. Miss Darcy's still on hold. I couldn't find good pictures of some of the catch-up FO's I was going to show you. And the scarf pattern is still a collection of scribbles on engineering paper, but I'll get it typed up in a day or two, I promise!

So to distract you from my utter lack of knitting, I'm going to show you pretty fiber.

First up: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Jumper Weight. This yarn was intended to become a couple of baby surprise jackets. It's nice wool, but it isn't superwash, and it's a little coarser than I think something going on a baby should be. So now it's strictly stash. It might be destined to become something felted. A purse maybe? Felted boxes? I'm not sure. But I desperately want to try felting.


It turns out that one of the best things about having other knitters in the family is that we all think yarn is a great gift. The rest of the yarns in this yarn parade were all gifts from my mom and middle sister (the youngest isn't quite into yarn yet, and we're still working on my dad).

Gift number 1 (and a complete surprise, which is pretty rare given the way my family does gift shopping): Rustic Wool by Queensland Collection. I have no idea what it's going to become, but that's all right. For now, I'm content to fondle this incredibly soft, squishy wool and look adoringly at its charmingly purple variegation.


Gift number 2 (also a surprise, but not so much, since I'd let it be known that I had something of a crush on these colors): Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Ice House (the multi) and Island Blue (the solid). I'm pretty sure these will become socks and that the little bits leftover will go into a blanket or hats or mittens or something. Or maybe I'll skip the socks and go straight to a blanket or a hat or mittens or something. Who knows? In any case, you really can't have too much sock yarn.


Gift number 3 (not a surprise at all, since I picked out the yarn, and then stood in line behind my mom so I could buy other yarn, which I think included a yarn gift for her. This is pretty much the usual way we shop for each other.): Wildfoote sock yarn by the Brown Sheep Company. For me, this is really branching out color-wise, since probably 95% of my yarn is black, blue or purple. (Egads - I just realized that my stash resembles a bruise more than anything else.) Perhaps surprisingly, given my usual color preferences, I'm quite enraptured with this yarn and have spent much time trying to figure out what sock pattern will best complement it.


Gift number 4 (also picked out by me, but still a bit of a surprise in the amount): Harlequin by Dale of Norway. The picture might be misleading, since I actually have 17 balls of this yarn - plenty for a sweater. For reasons unknown to me, I've been strangely attracted to tweeds lately (I can't remember ever being so before, and I can remember at times thinking tweeds were generally hideous, but clearly, I've gotten over that). This tweed is incredible. It's a blend of wool, microfiber, alpaca, cashmere, and viscose, and is positively hand-sucking. Plus, it comes in some very lovely colors. This will become a sweater for me at some point, but I don't have a pattern in mind yet.


And I think I'd better stop there. I'll probably get in trouble with the FCC or somebody if I show more yarn pr0n in a single post.