A Day Well Begun

I am sitting in the kitchen this morning, working on a jigsaw.

I am also boiling some eggs and don't want to forget them which is why I am not knitting at the moment.  The day is bright and I am planning to open the doors* for a while today.  It's spring and it is time to blow out the cobwebs.

I had a good day yesterday.  The digging in the yarn part went way too fast.  I found this.

It is a heathered grey, just a bit deeper in tone than the grey I first picked.  It will go nicely with the many heathered colours I have picked for this sweater.  I think that is what was wrong with the first grey.  It was a plain grey, a sort of crayon grey that just did not sit right.  It stuck out like a sore thumb.  I feel much better now and am really looking forward to knitting Flea.

I have been waffling about this sweater.  I always wanted to knit it, but since I first decided on it, other interesting things came across my path.  Rebecca Clow of The Creabea put out  Kintra and I love that design too.  It's a simple 1 x 1 colourwork that invites colour play that could easily be made with this batch of colours I pulled for Flea. I almost switched my plans for Flea but when I started mucking about with colours, Flea began to excite me again.  I will knit a Kintra but first Flea.

I did knit on the vest again yesterday.  I am so pleased with how it is going.

I am at 9 inches from the underarm so it is time to start sorting out just how long I need this vest to be.  I am going to compare it with my Threipmuir vest version for the details.  Threipmuir is just about perfect for slipping over a dress or wearing with a skirt as an extra little layer over a shirt.  The only change I want to make is to have the back a bit longer than I have on the Threipmuir.  

So, eggs are done.  The day is well begun and it is time to knit.

*only on the south side of the house and if the wind dies down.

A Magical Mystery Tour of My Own

I did goof off on the weekend!  It was great and I need to do more of it.

I picked up my vest project and made some major headway on it.  

Last time I featured it here, I had just joined it in the round.  I am about halfway down the body now.  That is some good knitting in my books.

All the time I was knitting, I was thinking about the Flea sweater.  The longer I go on thinking about it, the more I am sure I have to/ want to switch out that grey.  That means I have to do a stash dive, and before that happens I need to do some sorting and ordering in my room.  I started that yesterday.  Today's job is to get in the bins and see what else I have that might be better.  

The other thing I want to do is to dig out the bins of leftover yarns.  I need to go through them and see if I need to keep them or if I should send then to a new home.  I am using my sock leftovers for a zoom loom blanket, but the rest, well, what do I want to do?  

There are many things where there is enough for small projects.  Hats, mittens, gloves, cowls.  All sorts of small things.  There are several yarns where there is plenty left for a vest or kids garments.  Then there are yarns which are just ends.  Do I want to use these yarns to knit those right now?  Do I have other yarns to make that kind of thing?  Yes.  Many, many skeins and colours.

The only thing I am thinking about making with any leftovers is a scrap yarn blanket mixing yarns together willy-nilly.  I don't want to start that right now because there is a blanket I already have on the needles.  One blanket at a time is enough.  I also really would like to see the scrap yarn bins  disappear.  Logically, that is not going to happen.  There is always more going in to them so the idea of no leftover bins...  yeah. There will always be a leftover bin.

I am looking forward to the stash dig.  It isn't going to be a big dig and there are some choices to be made, I love a just poking around, looking for fun stuff kind of dig. Who knows what I will find in there? It always feels like a magical mystery tour of my very own.

General Goofing Off

It's been a week.  Not a bad week, just a mixed up week.  I had company over night on Wednesday and that company will be back on Saturday.  The company is my brother who has finally decided to retire and he has visited while he gets his motorbikes serviced.  The man has motorcycling plans.  Yay retirement.

I did not knit at all on Wednesday.  Okay, that is not true.  I knit two rows. In the wrong colour yarn.  

I had a bad feeling so I set it down and got on with my day.  Thursday, I dug deep and sorted it out.

Two finished side panels.  

Today's work is this.

To pick up the other front, shoulder and back stitches and get on with the knitting.  These rows are long so it is not going to be quick.  The knitting is fun though.  There is the 4 ridges of the main colour.  Then a ridge of the main colour with the different dyelot and a ridge of the Noro sock yarn.  Stripes!  We all know how I feel about stripes.  

I am off to knit and play and generally goof off.  With coffee and knitting by my side.