Malabrigo March...

There is a group on Ravelry called Malabrigo Junkies. They have declared it to be Malabrigo March (or at least, it will be in a few hours).

I am only planning one Malabrigo knit in honor of this month, and it will be Mr. Greenjeans from Knitty's Fall, 2007 issue. I've taken to calling mine Mr. VaaJeans, in honor of the lovely colorway I am using. It all started with the
Malabrigo Swap. I fell in love with this yarn and had to have more. Thankfully, the yarn shop that my pal got it from still had some of the same dye lot, and she picked it up for me and sent it, along with one amazing skein of the Vaa laceweight.



Isn't that gorgeous? I have tentative plans for it already too. I may just turn into a lace knitter one of these days.

Anyway. Back to the Mr. VaaJeans. I wound my 6 skeins the other night with my ball winder and make-shift TinkerToy swift (I either need a more complete set of TinkerToys or a real swift, but that is another story), and did my half-assed swatch yesterday.



OMG. Look at those colors. I am almost wishing today wasn't a Leap Day just so it'd be March 1st instead so I can cast on this amazing beauty.

As a side note, this is my 97th blog post. Post number 100 will be a contest for a gift of hand-knitted baby goodness. More details will come soon.

198 Countries Peace Project...

I came across the 198 Countries Peace Project earlier on Ravelry, and am posting this partly as a reminder to myself, but also as a request for others to join as well.

The original blog post about this project is here, it has a link to the country list in it as well if anyone else wants to sign up. Be sure to check the comments before committing to a country, I noticed a few countries hadn't been updated on the list to their taken status.

I have claimed Iceland and the Netherlands - both are red, white and blue, and fairly simple designs. I have no specific affinity with either country (though I am pretty sure somewhere in my heritage there are traces of the Netherlands), but I think it's a great idea for a project and I am looking forward to helping in it's construction.

I am thinking we may have to finally plan a trip to Columbus, Ohio when it is on display too - we've been wanting to visit, and it's not that far of a drive, and it'd be great to see the project when it is completed.

Harley's socks

I finished Harley's socks, but forgot to post about them here.

I am still in awe of how the yarn knitted up, with it's swirling striping and twisting turns. The second one (on her left foot) knitted up very differently in the last 2 inches, and though they are identical in length, and the yarn was divided exactly in half, I had less than a yard left from the first one and close to 10 yards left from the second. I suppose that isn't a bad thing, as I can use it if they ever need repairs (knowing her tendency to wear through store-bought socks, I suspect that there will be repairs in the future).



She loves her socks, and is already asking for more. Maybe after I make some for myself, which I have yet to do.

SKB - complete with a photo

As posted the other day, my Simple Knitted Bodice is finished. The Berroco Comfort, being a machine washable and dryable yarn, got put to the test immediately after weaving in the last end, and though it fuzzed a bit in the dryer, it came out beautifully... super soft and squishable with little to no shrinkage. I wore it to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival, and got several compliments on it, mostly from shop owners, though a few from random people as well.

When another knitter or crocheter stops you to compliment your work, it is a wonderful feeling indeed.

I definitely will be making this pattern again, probably in a more delicate yarn. I love this pattern, from how simple it was to follow (and modify), to how elegant the finished result is.

SKB v2.0 update and random thoughts

I have been busy knitting away on my Simple Knitted Bodice and haven't bothered doing any photographic documentation of the progress. The body is finished, as is the neckline (which came out wonderfully this time), and the first sleeve is within 3" of being done.

I am hoping to have it finished by Saturday, as I'd really like to wear it to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival this weekend. I do not know if I will have it done though... my hands are a bit sore today from having done the majority of the first sleeve yesterday (I started yesterday halfway through the lace inset, and stopped yesterday about 10" later).

I am really looking forward to the festival - I didn't go last year, as we had just moved here and I not only didn't know about it, but we were also very strapped for cash after the move. I don't really need more yarn (though I do want to get more Malabrigo merino worsted in Vaa to go with what I got in the swap on Ravelry), nor do I really need any knitting accessories or anything. But... I am hoping to pick up a few random things for my Malabrigo swap pal (I have almost everything ready for her, but I am hoping to find that one last finishing touch to add to the package) and my Hogwarts Sock Swap 3 pal. And maybe I will find something positively irresistible for myself as well.

My next post should have a photo or two in it. And maybe it won't take me another two weeks to post again.

Edited to mention that the black background/light gray text was really getting old, so now it's reversed. Much easier on the eyes, I think.