Cicely, PA

So some good news... the two pups I had in my sidebar for a while, Charley and Gabriel, both found good homes. They were two of the best dogs I've had the pleasure of meeting, and their adoptions are bittersweet. I guess one of the really great parts about my job is getting the opportunity to get to know some really awesome animals. I get to be a part of their lives for at least a little while, and that's pretty great. So now that spot belongs to Chip, the most tolerant and affectionate cat I think I've ever met. Check him out.

In knitting news, I've been doing a lot of it. I have more WIPs than I've had in a while. I finished this sock the other day:

It's a Diagonal Rib sock by Ann Budd in Shibui Sock Yarn colorway Peacock. I acquired a bunch of new yarn from Webs as a sort of birthday gift to myself and this is the first one I've used. It was really nice to work with, although it did turn my needles a little green. In addition I've acquired:

Ready to start some more socks... I've also started some plain stockinette socks in Noro Silk Garden Lite, a surprise cowl, and a Shetland Triangle in Malabrigo Lace Weight. Busy little beaver over here.

So, what is allowing for all this knitting, you ask?

Yep. That's Marilyn and Maggie knitknitknittin away at a wrestling match between Holling Vincoeur and Officer Semanski. And that's me watchwatchwatchin a whole heck of a lot the past few days. My Jeffrey got me the entire Northern Exposure Series in a spiffy Sherpa satchel for my birthday and I've been enjoying the hell out of it. If you've ever been a fan, I suggest revisiting it.

Scrappy Tam

Scrap Happy Train Tam by Cosette Cornelius-Bates

This hat arose from the scraps of a few projects with leftovers. The brown is from the leftover Beaverslide Organic wool I used to make the Drops Jacket, and the yellow and blue are Debbie Bliss Donegal Aran Tweed from some impromptu Irish Hiking Mitts. I was initially planning to make the mitts simply in yellow, but ran out of yarn halfway through the second mitt, so I ripped that out and made one yellow mitt and one blue. The scraps seemed to fit perfectly into this pattern with the Beaverslide. They're all really rustic and hearty wools and it coordinated with the pattern really well. I was, not only inspired by Cosy's pattern, but by her creative use of leftovers and great color combinations.

While I was making this hat, I was keeping in mind a group I joined in Ravelry called Color Coordinated which has got me thinking about my own use of color and questioning the colors I'm often drawn towards. It's so easy to pick out grays, blacks, browns, and I keep trying to break out and squish around the yellows, purples, and greens that I might overlook normally. A recent trip to the Cultured Purl (LYS here in Erie PA - see map behind my head, above!) and I came home with this little nugget:

This is some breakthrough yarn for me. First of all, it's purple. And I was drawn to it. Which has never really happened before. Second of all, it's sock yarn, and I've never knitted a sock before. And so, through my Ravelry addiction, I looked at a few patterns and found that this exact yarn and colorway was used to make the Froot Loop Socks from Knitty, and I immediately cast on. So I feel I've come a long way. And I'm actually having a blast knitting the pattern. It's quite easy to remember and the yarn is so awesome. It's Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Potluck and it's like butter. I think I'm a convert to sock knitting. We'll see where this leads...