Well the damage is done and I’m currently waiting for the arrival of a few gorgeous Fleece Artist and Handmaiden kits. I have no idea when I’ll have the time to knit any of them, but I can’t wait to see the beautiful colours in person and at least pet them from time to time. Hee. I also (in my knitty nesting fervor) ordered a bunch of gorgeous rosewood Lantern Moon needles from eBay, I got a fantastic price on them so I couldn’t resist. Knitting on them is just heavenly.

I still have some new yarns available on eBay, some two ply ) Targhee and Corriedale, some Cotswold and Cotswold Lamb and some mixtures of a few different wools. I still have some really nice fiber too, I think I will card it into batts and relist it as ready-to-spin… I think perhaps it might be easier for some if it was all set to just start treadling with, so look for those in the near future.

In knitty news, I just finished the pea’s hat. It turned out impossibly cute:

Pattern: Sweet Pea hat by Susan B. Anderson available from her site shopABCsoup
Yarn: Rowan DK handknit cotton in Ecru (251), Celery (309) and Gooseberry (219)
Needles: 4.5mm Lantern Moon 16” circular, 4.5mm Brittany DPNs, 3.75mm Brittany DPNs

This is the third hat I’ve made from Susan’s patterns, all of which are super cute. The second was a roll-brim hat for N out of manos:

Pattern: Simple Baby hat 3 from Susan’s book Itty Bitty Hats
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay pure wool in Stellar (110)
Needles: 5.5mm Clover Bamboo 16” circular, 5.5mm Clover Bamboo DPNs

And the first was a Christmas gift (Candy Cane hat) I pictured earlier from the same book. Here it is being modeled by it’s recipient, O:

Pattern: Candy Cane from Itty Bitty Hats
Yarn: Rowan DK handknit cotton in Ecru (251), Rosso (215)
Needles: 4.5mm Addi Turbo 16” circular, 4.5mm Brittany DPNs

He looks pleased with it, don’t you think?

I also finished two scarves out of Sandy’s beautiful lamb’s lash yarn. One for me and one for my mom for Christmas. Although I did include a picture of the yarn before the holidays, I forgot to get a picture of her finished scarf! I’ll have to get one next time she visits. Here’s mine, it’s similar just in different colours:

Pattern: co 12 sts, knit each row till desired length, bo
Yarn: Sandy’s Handspun Lambs Lashes in Hydrangea
Needles: 15mm, Lantern Moon rosewood straights

I’ve also been working on another hat from Itty Bitty hats now and again, the Upside Down Daisy hat, in Rowan handknit DK, Lupin (205) and GGH Samoa in white. I can’t find a pic online, but this hat is the primary reason I bought the book… it’s so cute it’s almost edible. It’s a roll brim hat in a solid colour, with an upside down daisy (I know, surprising) on top, complete with an i-cord stem. Simply adorable. I’m making in because I love it so, and if the pea is a girl, it shall be hers, and if not, it shall be gifted to one of many pregnant friends (one of whom is sure to have a girl, there are so many!). Here it is in progress:

I also want to make picot-edged booties (scroll down, they are the second booties pictured in the post) from this book to go with. I have a ball of Rowan Cotton Glace in an almost identical colour set aside in stash just for that purpose.

I also have some lovely Rowan Wool Cotton in a soft, dove grey for a simple garter stitch baby sweater and matching booties, and a matching ball of Rowan Cashsoft for a bunny ear baby hat (also from Itty Bitty Hats- can you tell I love this book?) I won’t have all of these things done by the time the pea arrives, but it’s nice to dream.

One reason I definitely won’t have all the baby knitting done is because of this:

It’s a swatch for a secret project… knit using two yarns… Fleece Artist Kid Aran and Curlylocks in the Mermaid colourway. Yum. The pattern also calls for using swing needles, which I’ve never used before, but are pretty straightforward once you get used to not turning every row, and get great results for blending the colours in handpainted yarns (yay, no pooling!) I’ve even cast on for a Goldielocks shawl (nice, mindless knitting for TV watching). I know I’m totally delusional, but I’m enjoying the pretense that all of this knitting is feasible in 5.5 wks. (Although it’s SO not, especially since I’m not even done work for 3 of the 5.5, and there’s so much else to do in the meantime taking care of the little guy and getting ready for the pea.) Ah well, a lady can have dreams, can’t she?