stranded in oz yarns

nearly forgot -- but how could I forget? -- my laceweight handpainted mohair arrived yesterday from stranded in oz, while I was busy exploring the possibility of buying yet more -- this lot perhaps for Anne Hanson's irtfa'a ... some confusion over the number of metres per hank -- will email back to Mel and ask ...

Veronique: provisional cast-ons

I've been a smarty pants: not only did I do the starting PCO on my knitpicks cable (so that I can eventually start knitting the edging by just attaching the right size points), I have used the ends of the same cable to PCO the "wings" of the upper piece:

it means the lower piece is doubled over, but that's good -- less risk of it dragging in spilled coffee or crumbs :-)

it's not stash -- it's my legacy

life is too short to agonise about stash -- I don't go on crash food diets, so why should I go cold-turkey on buying yarn? especially when so many ravellers are producing so many beautiful yarns! as long as I bequeath my stash to someone who will make good use of it, and not just dump it at the op shop ... although I occasionally find some pretty good stuff at op shops ...

not another shawl/scarf?

I was minding my own business, browsing Colorsong's Handmaiden yarns, and saw the Vintage colorway in mini maiden! spent the next long while searching for a suitable pattern, aside from the obvious scarves and shawls. The lacy shrug from Knit 2 Together is a possibility, but no one has used mini maiden for it, and the pattern calls for 730 yds of DK weight yarn. Otherwise, it will be a swallowtail shawl, or Anne's promised pattern for Kris' shawl, or the Victorian lace scarf that uses exactly 1 skein.

falling off the wagon ...

I came across an orgy of drooling over Handmaiden Sea Silk, e.g, for Caricia. There's also a superb Faroese shawl pattern that was specifically designed for 200g of Sea Silk (but it's a posted hardcopy instead of a pdf, and I'm into instant gratification) ... but I must look for other Faroese patterns -- I like the idea of shoulder shaping ... or I can just wait for Anne Hanson to finish her next shawl pattern, which will be (sort of?) a Faroese. Actually, she already published a Faroese, in Nov 2007 -- it requires 1300-1400 yds! but the yarn comes in 226g/1750yd hanks for US$50, plus under-US$10 shipping ... and it's a very pretty pattern! but which colorway(s) to buy???

anyway, I thought I was safe from stash-bloating, when I saw how much One Planet charges for shipping (almost as much as a 100g skein of Sea Silk!) but today came across this forum post about online shops for Sea Silk -- followed a link to Colorsong (after looking at the other sites) ... not only do they have a large amount and variety of 150g Sea Silk (for only US$6 more than 100g skeins), they are offering free shipping, even to Australia! and, as I couldn't decide which I like more, I ordered both Renaissance and Seashore -- I'll probably use one for Caricia and the other for another of Anne's shawls.

oh, and this happened after I bought some SWTC Karaoke (a bag of 10 Loganberry) from ecoyarns (for the Cat Bordhi calla lily bag) and threw in a skein of Tofutsies, just because it was on sale and looked like a good colourway ...

Note: the link to Addicted to Sea Silk group was on angelknit's profile and I got there by following links from completed Silk Corsets -- an Annie Modesitt design -- another one that would look fabulous on Ruth ... 

postal services

My Romi shawl pins arrived today from California -- I ordered them on 29 Jan ... the Rare Yarns Fire skeins have not yet arrived from Adelaide, although they were probably mailed before 29 Jan -- was it the heat? did they send all the postal workers home? did they lose the parcel? how do I make inquiries?

decisions, decisions ...

Hip Knit Hats arrived yesterday -- a lot of good information about designing and knitting hats to suit different types of faces etc, but only a few interesting designs ... the entrelac beret will be fun!

but hats are on hold while I decide which Anne Hanson shawl to start -- the Fearless Fibers Majestic arrived yesterday, too! only 8 days after I ordered it, so I can start swatching for Palimpsest ... or should I start Veronique? or Satine (need to get needles)? actually, Palimpsest calls for 3.75mm, which I might have somewhere, embedded in a hibernating project, or I might need to get some ... bamboo, at the very least, if I can't find rosewood :-) -- although, since the Majestic colourway is rather dark, bamboo might be the better choice anyway.

as to the name, Anne says on her blog:

palimpsest refers to the faint tracings left behind when an image or written page is erased. this stole is inspired by winter architectures in nature—ghosts and skeletons of gardens past (which are really premonitions of gardens yet to come)

which is a lovely thing to think about while knitting this, although it's still high summer now, and Melbourne winters aren't all that bleak, anyway ... maybe I'll save this until July, and take it to NZ to knit while gazing at Lake Tekapo ... (as if! ... sigh)