Back-to-the-Knitting Weekend

Every time I go into Firefox the first thing I see is that I have 99 blog posts. Well, here's #100 for ya. The 99th post was on March 28th. Funny, I took over my new position on April 5th and have been running around Montgomery County and in my head ever since. This week I have been talking (to myself) about getting back into knitting because 1) I have many many WIPS 2) I have been working too much after getting home from said work and 3) knitting is goshdarn relaxing. There have been several new elements in my quest to get me back into knitting.

First, I started delving into more podscasts. In addition to Stash and Burn, I now listen to The Knitting Show. I love it! It features a brother and sister who live 2000 miles apart and who are both avid knitters. I have a celebrity crush on the guy, Peter. I love both of their midwestern accents. They sound like fun people who I'd want to be friends with in real life, much like the Stash and Burn girlies.

Second, I went to Knit and Stitch = Bliss today and just loved their new makeover. I am a pretty loyal person in general, but when it comes to knitting stores, I am not monogamous. I go to several in the Maryland suburbs of DC depending where I am at the time: Knit and Stitch, A Tangled Skein, and the Yarnspot. (I also love going to yarn stores out of my normal stomping ground just to see what they're like. and WEBS. I love WEBS.)

Third, well I am currently evaluating my UFO's to try and whittle them down. That didn't stop me from buying yarn today though, thanks to AC Moore and Knit and Stitch:

New Debbie Stoller 100% wool yarn on sale 2/$7. I think I will make a gradual color-changing scarf:

And Plymouth Jeanee Cotton/Acrylic on sale for $3 each! Summer tops are in their future:


And this is what I have been working on recently: the Citron quasi-shawl from Knitty:


I am using Malabrigo Lace in hollyhock. This looks a little dusty-rose-ish but it is more of a lilac color. I am currently on the final section which is over 500 stitches wide!

To see my other UFO's I have added updated pics to Ravelry which can be seen in the righthand column. I have also been working on non-knitting craft projects... yes that's right. Actually to be precise, I did find the pattern in a crochet magazine but had already half-way planned this kind of a project. Here it is:

I cut up old t-shirts and sweatshirts from college, originally planning to sew them together into throw blankets. Then in this crochet magazine I get (from which I usually don't like any projects) they suggested crocheting the squares together. I got a 1/4" hole punch for the edges and then crocheted a foundation row using the holes, then I will either crochet or seam the squares together. For the sweatshirts the fleece on the wrong side will add comfort. For the t-shirts, the pattern calls for ironing on fusible interfacing with stitch direction/ stretchability running perpendicular for stability, then crocheting two t-shirts wrong sides together, so there is never a wrong side showing on the final product. I will update you on my progress.

So that's where I am. I hope it is not too long before I write to you all again.