Finished Clapotis # 2 & Elann is my new bestfriend

Well I finished up the Verdes Clapotis and spent about two an a half hours unpicking the "dropped" stitches. I'm positive the Malabrigo yarn felts like a dream because it grabs onto itself with only the slightest encouragement. Unpicking EVERY SINGLE dropped stitch is a big pain in the a**. After making two Clapoti (I assume that would be the plural of Clapotis - Clapotises sounds really wierd) I am starting to seriously reconsider making myself one out of the same yarn. I'm ready to use a yarn that actually unravels by itself. That's supposed to be part of the fun of this pattern right? I guess whenever the urge to Clapotis strikes me I will cruise around the blog world and look at other examples to get some yarn suggestions. I've seen some gorgeous ones!



This picture is a very good representation of what you get in terms of the color and variation of Malabrigo yarn. Each skein varies subtly within itself and from other skeins - even within the same dyelot. If you enjoy a bit of an organic look and feel than you will really enjoy this yarn.

In any event - one thing is for sure. No more wool for me for awhile. The sun is finally shining, the days are long and I finished the Clapotis just in time. I can't imagine sweating away the summer under huge piles of wool like that! I know, I know, I really will finish the last two inches of the sleeve for my York sweater but after that no wool for me. I have discovered the look, the touch, the feel of cotton! It really is the fabric of my life! Which brings me to the title of todays entry - Elann is my new best friend. She's fast and cheap and has great yarn. What more could you want in a best friend? ;) I visited her the other day & came away with this:



It's Katia's Regata in Whitecaps. Lovely cotton. It will become this:



With the stripe in Navy Night:



The whole thing was under $30. It arrived on the day I finished the Clapotis so to my credit I actually did dive in and start the summer hoodie right away. Even more astonishing - I actually swatched. Repeatedly. I am discovering that I usually need to adjust down at least one, and half the time two, needle sizes. Is that normal? Does knitting make me relax so much that really knit that loosely? Because of this it is sometimes impossible to get the yarn to knit to the EXACT gauge. Instead of 19 stitches per four inches I end up with either only 18 or 20. I chose to go with the 18 since the size medium that I am knitting was actually going to be a wee bit big anyway. Hope that was the right choice! I guess we will see. Progress so far:

I also - during the mundane, boring, non-knitting parts of my life - visited Old Navy and found these:



They were about $20 each and I think they will make great knitting bags. There are several pockets inside for all of the do-dads and gadgets. The bags are lined and fit comfortably over the shoulder. Not too big & not too small. I love the print on the light green one and the lining and glittery bits on the army green one.