Lots of FOs!

This past weekend, we drove about 3 1/2 hours to spend some time camping with friends. We were out near Pateros, WA staying in the trailer. There was some work to be done, as the property owners (my friend C's parents) are getting ready to have their manufactured home brought in. I mostly walked about, going to find and retrieve things that were needed for everyone else to keep going...Things such as duct tape, beer and water, and so on...This gave me lots of knitting time. I finished so many projects this weekend!
On the way to Leavenworth to meet up with our friends, I finished the Lace Wing Scarf. (See the details here.) Since it was dark on our way from Leavenworth to Pateros, I worked on Green Gable for while. On Saturday I finished the second May Day Sock, and then went back to Green Gable, finishing on Sunday. After that, I turned to Snowmen and Skates, finishing up to the point where I needed to sew & then cut the steeks! After all this, I worked on the Luna Moth Shawl. I knit more than one skein of yarn into it, though I had to spend about 2 hours fixing some mistakes. When the pattern mirrors for the left side, I seem to have troubles remembering to change the pattern that I was knitting for the right side of the shawl. I do love it, though and expect to get much wear out of it. (I'm going to try to get more pictures up of my FOs later this week, maybe one a day? =) )

Finally, to answer a great question from Put a Sock In It:

"How do you decide which ones to work on? I only ever
have 3 or 4 on the needles, and I struggle!"

I, too, often struggle with this one...There are many different things that will get me to work on a specfic project: 1) if it is nearing a deadline (for gift knitting or KALs,) 2) if it is nearly done and I really want to have a FO, 3) small items are great for knitting on the road, 3) simple projects are great for either knitting on the road or knitting when I'm tired or there is little lighting (like in a movie theatre!) Sometimes, I just reach for whichever project is closest to where I am sitting. This reason, I guess is just out of laziness, but I do get some knitting done!

Lace Wing Scarf

I kept telling myself that I would not start a new project, but I just couldn't wait to start this scarf. It is the Lace Wing Scarf from Let It Rain Yarn, knit in Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Tweed. This yarn is so soft that it is making the perfect scarf. I have about 14 inches knit, already! The lady in the shop said that the pattern was designed to be a first lace pattern for those that want to learn lace knitting, or a simple knit for those that have already knit lace. I found, however, that the pattern was not very easy to memorize. It took me about 14 pattern repeats before I really down! (Its only a 4 row repeat, but the the 5 stitch edging, there is pattern work on all 4 rows.) Now that I have it down, I'm zooming along, having a great time. On size 7 needles, the scarf seems to grow by several inches in a half hour! (It probably isn't that much, but it seems like it!)

When I arrived home, Saturday, there was a package waiting for me from Fire Mountain Gems, containing some bead that I had ordered to make some more stitch markers. I made these on Saturday night. (Click the picture to see it bigger.) They may or may not go for some exchanges that I have coming up!

Saturday Yarn Tour

Saturday was the day that my friend C & I set aside for the Local Yarn Store Tour. Since she was not picking me up until 11AM, I started to work on another pair of fingerless mitts. I have the first one about an half hour away from being done! I'm knitting them with a skein of the burgundy alpaca from my stash. I'm reworking a pattern from Vintage Socks so that I can use the lace pattern. Its coming out beautifully.

For the LYS Tour, we started at Great Yarns in Everett. No purchases for this store, although there was, of course much to tempt us! Next, we headed over to Let It Rain Yarn. I think this was our favorite for the day. It was so cozy and inviting to just sit, knit and talk with a friend. We both bought a skein of yarn to knit the free pattern. I have also been looking for a longer needle to put my CWS on, and they had the right size in a 47" Addi Turbo Lace Needle, so of course, I bought that, too! They are a small shop in a brand new building, but we have already decided that we'll have to go back for one of their Wednesday night drop in knitting sessions. The 20% off coupon for later this summer, will certainly be used!

Next, we drove into Seattle, stopping first at Fiber Gallery. This store had an amazing selection of yarn. If I hadn't been on such a tight budget, I could have purchased a ton of yarn, here! I did find 2 skeins of yarn in the perfect color to send my Secret Pal. I loved their free pattern, as well, but it will be added to the stack of patterns until I find the perfect reason to knit it. We walked across the street to a market/deli to buy lunch and then continued on toward the University District. On our way we stopped at a store that was not part of the tour, Acorn Street Yarns. This is a small shop, but with nearly floor to ceiling yarn, they had plenty to choose from. They have the largest selection of knitting needles that I've ever seen!! Going on to the next store, we headed for Weaving Works. We found parking easily, next to the store, which was wonderful and unexpected. This was another store with a great selection. I really liked the way the store was arranged. They had almost an entire wall, divided in 2, with wool yarns that would felt. It was divided to make it easy to see which yarns were worsted weight and which were bulkier. Once I have my partner information for the ITEIV, I may go back to find yarn for the tote, assuming my partner would like a felted bag! I did find a skein of sock yarn in dark colors with some black, purple, rose and green. That was my splurge for the day.

Finally, we drove to the 2 stores that we most frequently go to, Main Street Yarns and Village Yarn and Tea. At Main Street, we had our passports stamped picked up the free pattern and looked through their clearance shelf. I found some beautifully hand painted needles for my SIL's birthday gift. (These are the ones that are painted by women in Eastern Europe. I don't remember the country or the brand name.) At Village Yarn, we loved the free pattern, but the yarn they had available for it was not quite what I wanted to use to knit it, so no purchases for me, but C found some great clearance Eco-Wool. (I had a difficult time passing that up, at $13 per
skein for almost 500 yards!) The day was absolutely wonderful!

In sock knitting news, I worked on the second May Day Sock, almost finishing one pattern repeat for the leg, while riding in the car between stores.