on the needles

Wow - the last couple of days have been a veritable yarn-a-palooza! first the sale at the craft store. Then I went on a yarn playdate with my mom. One of the LYS was having a 20% off sale on Noro. Being a total Noro ho I was in heaven! I got a bag of Kochoran #21 for my stash.

I also got some Silk Garden #208 which I think will become Karlsro.

AND I got some Silk Garden #204 which will become a sweater for my DH.

Then - because good things come in threes - the very next day I got my latest order from Marcos at Handpainted Yarns. This box had the extra skein of Mango which I needed to finish the Clapotis for my sister. I also ordered "insurance" skeins of Verdes Esperanza and Oriental Night in case I run into the same problem with those colors. The good news is that these skeins - even though they were ordered a month apart - are identical to the ones I already had.

I also got seven or so skeins of Azul Bolita.

It looks just the same as the picture on the website - super vibrant and saturated with color. The entire box of yarn was a feast for the eyes with super bright orange, green, purple and blue. A feast for the nose too! I love the vinegar smell of hand dyed yarn - it keeps me awake on all those late night knitting sprees! It's such a homey smell and I associate it with the super softness of the Handpainted Yarn line. I sat right down and finished off the Mango Clapotis. That only took a few minutes because I only had the last ten rows to do! But then I stayed up until 3:00 am unpicking stitches. The Handpainted Yarn doesn't unravel at all. I think it was born to felt. I will definately have to choose which projects I use this yarn for because I don't think it will retain a crisp stitch definition for long. So really intricate textured patterns would probably be lost as the yarn blooms over time. But something intended to be soft and comfy - like a hoodie or sloppy cardi would be perfect.

My good old DH spent the evening updating and adding to my blog site. He came home to find an extensive list of demands - poor thing! "I want this flashy button, this cool link, these funky icons - puhleez...all the other knitter's have them! I don't want to be uncool." poor hubby. He thought that making a blog for me would be fun. He never thought he was unleashing the blog monster.

So anyhow - thanks to him - my blog has lots of new bling bling and lots more to come. I joined the Purling Puppies - which I thought was only fair since at least one of my dogs is an active participant in my knitting. It is my little shadow Luca, an Italian Greyhound. Here he is giving you his best smile.

No really that's how he smiles. He keeps my left side warm while I knit - or if he can't squeeze in there because my DH is knitting too then he snuggles up to hubby too. He's not picky, he has a job to do.

This is Susie our Lab. She has the biggest heart in the world but beware if you are an intruder in our house. She is totally serious about guarding HER family.

We have a third dog too. Gracie, a cocker spaniel. Typical middle child, full of subversive mischief she hopes she can blame on someone else. Here are the Three Musketeers with Grace on the end.