Sassy Does It

I’m glad Christmas is over, and I’m not sorry I said it.

I had a good Christmas, really, but I’m just so done with it this year.

One excellent byproduct of the holiday nuttiness, however, is a spanking new baby blanket.

Little K was born last week, so this hot potato is ready for assignment overseas.

Pattern: Curlicue

Yarn: Blue Sky Alapacas Dyed Cotton (organically grown) in colorway 617 (Lotus), four skeins (150 yds each)

Needle:  US 3 circulars, 29-inch

Finished dimensions:
28 inches wide, 35 inches long

Modifications: I added a three-stitch garter border to both ends of every row.  To my eye, this was needed to keep the symmetry of the scalloped borders as written.

Clarifications: If this one is in your queue, double-check on how to properly end the even-numbered rows here (the last repeat is finished off with a ssk WHICH REPLACES the final sk2p as written). If you’re clever enough to have worked this out on your own, I hope your prowess is contagious.

Ravelry links: my project, the designer’s pattern

Verdict: Happy.  Easy pattern that doesn’t look super-easy, and it flew on non-Turbo US 3s like you wouldn’t think it would do.  Honestly, I felt like I was knitting on much fatter needles, like 9s.

The finished size was just what I’d hoped it would be (always nice, especially when you go to the trouble of knitting a gauge swatch).

I’m happy with the drape as well - gentle yet consistent.

The fabric is very soft; warm and substantial-feeling while still having the lightness of cotton.  It’s the nice fat feeling of the Blue Sky Alpacas fiber that makes the magic happen.

The finished blanket blossomed nicely with a 20-minute Eucalan soak, and behaved well during the blocking that followed.

The only silly-Amy moment(s) came about in the dash to complete my final rows as my yarn was running out.

Seeing as it’s a baby blanket that lacks the requirement of an exact fit, I should have just stopped when I knew I wasn’t going to squeak out another 5 rows and quit the pattern a bit early to finish gracefully with the final 3 rows of garter stitch.

But I like to live dangerously.

And I figured that blocking would cure all evils if I happened to stretch the yarn (too) tightly to eke out the final rows for a photo finish at the end of my fourth and final skein.

I pulled *really* tightly and finished all rows of the final pattern repetition and the border with only a couple of inches to spare.

Woo-hoo!  I whipped out my Eucalan wash, soaked, patted, and blocked.

But.

There wasn’t enough ease left in the fabric at that far end of the blanket to be able to block any sense back into it:  the width pulled in on itself and started to suck the life out of the rest of the project.

I started having flashbacks to my first baby blanket, a.k.a. The Trapezoid.

No one was ever going to notice that the pattern ended a couple of rows early, not even me.  Duh.

So I blocked all but the crappy end and once the remainder of the blanket was off the board, I frogged back 5 rows and finished with the garter stitch border in a more civilized fashion.

That said, I left out the evidence of my pre-frogged tight end and saved up my photo shoot for the happier times.  Pictured above is the (still sloppy) unblocked but re-knit trouble area which I subsequently prettied up in a second round of targeted blocking.

Below are a few pics of my just-off-the-UPS-truck blocking tools in action.

The Fiber Fantasy blockers I described in my last post did not disappoint.

Along with the curly end of a flexible blocker from this set, the tip of one of the straight-edge blockers is pictured here, next to the happy yellow yardstick that comes with the package.

During the first go at blocking, I ran two super-longshanks rigid blockers down the straight sides and T-pinned them 28 inches apart to set an even width.

Then I threaded a flexible blocker down the not-too-tight shorter edge until I ran out of wire (accounting for the extra length consumed by the scalloped edges, this was about 3/4 of the way across).

I finished off weaving this edge with the second flexible blocker and then pinned down the curves to set the shape.  The second scalloped edge (too tightly knitted, wearing the dunce cap) had to wait until I fixed it before it could be similarly guided.

Here’s a close-up of a flexible blocker in action on the second end after the rip-out-and-redo (you can see that I only re-soaked the last few inches).

You weave the blockers through outermost stitch all along each edge, every half inch or so.

And then you hook yourself up with ship-shape corners by pinning squarely at the joining point.

After blocking, even the reverse of the fabric has a nice smooth look.

Beeteedubyuh, did ya notice my sexy new blocking board along the way here?

Ohhh, it’s delicious.  Boy, did I feel professional voodooing my work down into submission with those T-pins.

As you can see, she folds up real nice so that a gal like me can clean up after herself when the blocking’s done.  Or at least have the potential to…do that.

Some call it cluttered, I call it cozy: I’m currently happily surrounded by knitting items, both old and new, and I’m hunkering down to get some things done here.

In spite of my slight tendency toward bah-humbuginess this year, Santa was very kind.

It’s not about the gifts, I know, but my eyes did get all misty when I unwrapped a shiny new ball winder and a gorgeous swift to boot.  Eureka, my heavy hinting worked!

It’s all I really wanted, so I figured the hinting was justified.

If I don’t do it, birthdays get forgotten and it ends in tears.  It’d be easier if gifts weren’t even involved, you know?  But I digress.

I do like gifts.

Oh joy, I felt like a kid - as soon as it seemed socially acceptable to do so when everyone had finished opening gifts (I gave it about 30 seconds), I bee-lined for my knitting bag and whipped out an unballed hank of Mongolian Cashmere and got to work.  I just happened to have this on hand.  Just in case.

That swift spinning away with a steady whir and a gentle breeze was glorious.  After I got it going.

I wasn’t sure quite what to do since I hadn’t done it before, but I figured I’d better just stick the little end into the big end and go for it* (before Tommy came back and hit me over the head with a tack hammer).

I felt like Ralphie on Christmas morning with his new Red Ryder BB gun, with his dad standing over his shoulder asking him if he knows how to load it.  That kid had been dreaming about loading it for so long, he tuned out all extraneous noise, nodding and smiling (maybe drooling?) and just got down to the business of enjoying it.

And then he went outside and (almost) shot his eye out - but thank goodness I didn’t do that.

I did quickly get my fix, however, and then moved the new goodies to the corner (still where I could see them) while I watched Mamma Mia and squealed for nearly two hours like the girl I am.

Now on to the New Year.  I have absolutely no plans whatsoever to ring it in doing anything exciting, but that doesn’t mean that something couldn’t come up.

Right?

I could just knit it in while others are ringing it in.  That would do.  I’ve got a lot of projects coming down the pike (in theory), so that would suit me just fine.

Old. Boring. Lady.

Emphasis on the Lady, thank you very much.

Toodles, dears.  TTYL.

Well, well – somebody’s been absent from blogworld for a while.

And by absent I mean floating adrift in a real pisser of a month.  I feel like I’ve been dog-paddling along in the wake of life as it’s plunging forward, mightily, without so much as a glance back in my direction.  I’ve been struggling in spectacular fashion, but today is when I pull myself up by the bootstraps.

Help me up, girls - I’ll emerge from this yet.

Finished my Curlicue blanket for Kymber’s baby girl – what was it, two weeks ago?  Just needs blocking.  Little K is actually past due, so my shocking pink creation will need to hit the mail any day.  Somewhere in Holland that baby could be entering the world right now.

I’ve been waiting on the blocking because I haven’t wanted to give it my usual (still-frosh) effort: a quick, 30-second soak in the sink followed by a roll-up in a towel to suck out the excess water, and then a layout flat to shape.

My soak in the sink has always included a few drops of Downy (standard April Fresh, thank you) in the water.  No soap - just Downy.

I know – not really a lot of thought about the possibility of my beloved Downy leaving any waxy fabric-softener residue on my little treaure of fine fibers, freshly knitted.

You’d think I’d put more time into thinking it through, given the time spent on the knitting part.

I’ve never put much thought into cleaning my clothes beyond the following:

1. Toss it all in the washing machine.
2. Toss it all in the dryer - unless it’s “delicate” (meaning “might shrink” and make it look like I’ve put on weight).  If delicate, [sigh] air-dry.
3. God forbid it doesn’t fall into one of these categories, which is rare, it goes to the dry cleaners.

It makes sense that I don’t have a good feel for the care of fine fibers, since I’ve not had the luxury of being a person who lines my closet with cashmere sweaters (awww, poor Amy).  Even if I did, they’d probably fall into category 3 above.

Pictured here with its
new-fangled labeling

I have a vague recollection of Woolite being on Mom’s laundry shelf.  I don’t recall seeing it used, but I think I may have inquired once what it was (”but why do we need extra soap when we’ve got the magic of Tide?”).

This curiosity arrived around about the time I reached that plateau of womanhood at which first-ever pairs of pantyhose and the dowdiest of rubber-heeled pumps are bestowed upon thrilled-beyond-words pre-pubescent girls.

For me, I’m pretty sure this occasion coincided with some type of after-school event in sixth grade that involved – oh, dear heavens – square-dancing. 

Emphasis on the square.

I grew up in the Midwest, what can I say?  This is what we did in gym class when we weren’t pelting each other (in my case, being pelted) with surprisingly painful rubber balls.

As I recall, I made it through one wearing of the stockings, miraculously, without any (super-obvious) runs or ladders that required retiring them to the bin.  Hence the onetime use of Woolite to wash my delicate, delicate, $1.99 Leggs pantyhose before they were trotted out for the next later-embarrassing grade school social event.

After that I promptly forgot about Woolite or anything resembling it.

So you get the picture – I’m not well-versed in the blocking or washing or even rinsing of delicates.

But now that I’m a knitter and all, I probably should be.

It’s been on my list to order up some wool wash of some kind.  I remember reading about Kookaburra first on somone’s blog - darned if I can remember whose - and then on another and another.  Something about making your wool super-soft and super-supple.  Super-supple!  Gotta get me some of that.

Then, recently, when the plan to order some Kookaburra was near the top of my mind, SouleMama made a loving reference to Eucalan, of which I had also heard rumblings.  It seemed compelling enough to give me pause about my choice (probably her fantastic photography added to the delicious appeal of her choice), and this put me all in a jumble.

It dawned on me, as if it were a surprise this would happen, that a decision between more than one option would be required, which would necessitate (possibly months and months of) analysis.

You know, since I’m me, and I can’t just pick one without going through the analysis.  Or just buy freaking both of them in small quantities to try - because doing that would be wasteful.

Oy.

Suffice it to say that after a bit of Googling, I forced myself to stop with this review, which was scientific enough to whet my OCD appetite as well as lead me to a conclusion.  In a nutshell: both leading brands are great.  No perceivable differences in method of use or in the look and feel of finished garment.  Both environmentally friendly, both contain lanolin, both excellent washes for any natural fiber.

By this account, only variations in scent seem to separate the choices (and perhaps a slightly different potential for repelling moths, which wasn’t at the top of my concerns list).  Although I’m as picky as the next girl with smell, I couldn’t tell over the internet which I preferred (I’d already contacted my LYS about whether they carried wool wash – ah, no).

Ultimately it was personal preference, and by all accounts I’d read, each of the multiple scents available was very nice.  Subtle, in every case, which helps.

Could have gone with unscented – but what’s the fun in that, pray you?  This recovering Downy Girl needs some kind of scent to remind her that this garment has been pampered in some special way, just like Mom would have done.

So I flipped a virtual coin – something that is very hard for me to do, even virtually.

I went with Eucalan.  Original eucalyptus scent.

I ordered it from Webs, along with some new blocking equipment, since I don’t have any.  I’d purchased some T-pins a few months ago whilst whisking through Jo-Ann’s for something, but alas, T-pins don’t do much good without something like the soft surface of a blocking board in which to stick them.

Yes, I know I could get creative and use a pile of towels, a spare bedspread, even part of an ironing board.  Yeah, that hasn’t happened.

I sprung for a blocking board, the big one, deciding that I’ve waited long enough - and if I’m going to get a blocking board, get a blocking board, you know?

Of course then Webs e-mailed me to tell me it was out of stock and would have to be shipped later.

Oh well.

Good thing I had one other goodie in the shopping basket, besides the aforementioned Eucalan wash, which is en route to me now:  Fiber Fantasy Sweater Blockers.

Sounds exotic, and I’m expecting to be impressed. 

While researching all things blocking that I had been missing out on, I discovered the existence of these little guys.  It’s a set of blocking needles that can be used for more than just your mama’s sweaters.

“Great for scalloped edges”, I read – hey, my Curlicue blanket has scalloped edges! – so I read on.

Twelve of the fourteen needle thingies are used for standard straight-edge blocking (8 are 36″, 4 are 18″); the other two are flexible (but not permanently bendable into a new shape).  Thus, these later two are touted as a nice solution for blocking the curve of the top of a sleeve or, better yet, stretching out and holding an edge pattern by winding wires through the ends of your knitting, locking the design in place during blocking.

There’s a great review of these here, which is where I also found this photo.  [Note to Angelika at yarn-store.com, from whom I also considered purchasing the blocking board: the extra $20+ in shipping for the board couldn't compete with the free holiday shipping offered by Webs, but now that I've found your store, you are on my list of vendors!]

Not rocket science, this bendy wire idea, but since the concept hadn’t occurred to me, it felt like it.

My previous attempts to get scalloped edges to lay flat (for Maizy’s and E-dot’s Little Girl’s Shrugs) involved the traditional approach of pinning the fabric down flat and then steam-ironing the heck out of it – and this did not result in what I’d call a success.  Stubborn, those scallops.

The memory of that challenge made me click on “buy” without much further delay – mercifully, I spared myself further research.

So - it took me all that to fill you in on where I stand with Curlicue.  Final pics once the blocking is done.

Sheer Poncho is moving sssslowwwwly in the midst of tumultuous life lately, but over the weekend I finally got my booty into the LYS to procure some US 5 Addi Turbos.  The cashmere stockinette is looking lovely, but with only a fat inch or so on the needles, my cheapo Michael’s circulars weren’t cutting the mustard.

In my frustration to just Turbo it already, earlier last week I’d swung into another yarn shop (off the beaten path from my usual LYS; I might add that stepping into Someone Else’s LYS and passing it off as my own with the sales lady was seductively naughty, especially since it was such a cute shop) for this purpose.

I was tacking on the quest for these needles to a list of already annoying errands and trying to cram it all in to not enough time (shocker).

I arrived at SELYS four minutes before closing, breathless yet triumphant that I’d actually located this place before it closed.

No standard US 5 Turbos on the shelf – curses! – only the Lace Turbos.  I’d thought about whether to Lace or not to Lace my Turbos before walking into the store.  I’d pretty much decided not to Lace.  Worried that they’d be too slow for simple stockinette; that the previously appreciated fine drag wouldn’t be appropriate for this project or this fiber.

But with only the Lace variety available, and time ticking away – oh, I couldn’t wait – I just went for it.

Shifted the stitches from the cheapos to the Lace Turbos that night, gagging for a few quick rounds of Sheer Poncho before beddy-byes.

Oh, poopy pants - too slow.  Not an improvement, even in all their pretty gold shininess.  Drag not appreciated, cashmere too clingy.  Darn.

But.  Now I’m all set with the right ones - straight up, slick as all get-out, standard Addi circulars.  I’ll be non-Lace Turboing it up for the rest of the week.

Thanks for sticking with my blog and with my writing-lots-of-words-makes-me-happy ways.  I’ve missed you.  

Curlicue Glamour Shots coming soon.

I know I sound like a WEBS commercial lately – but get right out of town, have you seen this?

Yarn.com, now even more addictive

The new overhauled website at yarn.com is the bomb. I didn’t think it was lacking in anything before, but maybe it’s because I spent so much time lurking there that the tricks of the existing navigation had become second nature to me.  I knew right where to find ehhhhvvvverything. 

Closeouts?  Zip zop.  Rowan by brand?  Yepper, over there.  Shazaam.  Got it.

As I’ve shared before, I’ve probably already wasted weeks of my life lingering in indecision over purchases on this one site.  When on a particularly good run of daydreaming about which candidate to choose out of, oh, say, 26 or so shortlisted yarns for a project, I’d just bookmark them all and delay the ridiculously difficult decision until another day when I could deal with the stress of it all.

Of course when I came back to my bookmark list later, I’d realize what a nut I’d been to not just cut to the chase and make the decision sooner; it was too hard to sort through all those choices and not really be able to compare them side by side. 

But I’d feel like I’d done too much “work” to start again, and would just roll up my sleeves and push on through that not-so-short list.

I’d end up copying and pasting my choices into a Word document (I’m not joking - it’s sad, isn’t it?) and sending it off to other people to tell me which fiber to buy.

It’s a good thing I only do this a couple times a year.  The buying, not the shopping.  You know.

Kids, it’s not nice to stare at that poor neurotic girl.

Anyhoo. 

Even good websites can get better.  Better at sucking me in.  (Enabler!  I love me some enablers!)

Wishlists on WEBS are now my friend.

As with on Amazon, this is very dangerous.  But I like it.

Throwing the objects of my desire onto the Wishlist just feels so good. No commitment required, but it does feel a lot like putting something into a shopping cart, which feels decisive.  Such an unuuuusual sensation.

The new Wishlist feature:
Isn’t it fun? Fairy Godmother might come along and buy the whole lot for me.

Seriously, though - it’s a lot easier to keep track of my little “I’d like to keep an eye on this” items.  There they are, all splayed out for me with pictures and prices and (new feature!) updated inventories (hourly updates, people).  Thus, my need for a little extra juice to make my next order reach the 25% discount amount is met by a ready and waiting list of alternatives.

You do need an account on WEBS for your wishlist to work - which I thought I had, since I get a load of e-mails, but I guess I was only on the mailing list after having purchased. 

Update: I just stumbled upon the extended list of wonderful improvements, and having an account with WEBS is actually a new feature and wasn’t available before.  So I wasn’t missing out as a mailing list-only person.  Whew, I wondered how I could have missed that one.  (”How did i miss those, baby? Oh, behave!” - Austin Powers, in the opening scene of The Spy Who Shagged Me, with reference to Vanessa’s previously undetected machine-gun jubblies.)

Other observations regarding the sexy new site:

• Sidebar list of recently viewed items provides help for the ADD/scatter-brained among us
• Inventory amounts not only are updated hourly but also, I noticed, are now listed simply as “50+” if over 50 balls in stock (duh), rather than the previously listed exact count (yeah, listing 247 balls of Pure Cashmere clearly a little dig by Kathy to invoke cruel imagery on the rest of us non-WEBS owners - the knowledge that Kathy and her hubby can roll around in, rub up against, and be submerged under mountains of cashmere every night is just too much to bear)
• Customer Review functionality - for those of us who like to blab a lot about our opinions on things (see more below)


Kathy and her hubby Steve
• More pics of Kathy and Steve - at least it seems like it.  I know there were photos before, but somehow they seem more…there.  Maybe it’s the Wishlist-glow talking.  Check Kathy out - how cute is she?  [Full disclosure:  Kathy has commented on my blog a couple of times, so now I'm officially in love with her.]
• Not a new feature, but something eery that I noticed while I was madly clicking around.  The blog post from yesterday mentioned that Kate Jacobs was coming to WEBS in January (wait for it).  Kate Jacobs is the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I’ve had on the shelf for months but started reading…yesterday.  A few hours before that post was posted.  Is that a weird coincidence, or is it just me?  BTW - On My Bookshelf let me know that over at Stephanie’s Written Word they’re giving away a copy of the Friday Night sequel (called Knit Two) - which I obviously don’t need yet, but I will, because I’m already completely loving the first one and it’s only Chapter 2.

There are lots of other new things to play with, but I’ll let you either discover them yourself or read the big list.

I really do like the new Customer Review capability.  Now the reviews are few and far between (which gives me the desire to go through and comment like mad about yarns I love, as if I were to run across a snow-covered field just waiting for footprints and snow angels), but I know before too long it will be well-populated with yarnie opinions.  I do like going to Ravelry to do yarn research, but more onsite help will not go amiss.  Maybe a tie-in with Ravelry (e.g., links to reviews there) could be a future development?

While I’m at it here, I’ll share one other discovery before getting back to the to-do list I’m supposed to be working on right now.

The Twist Collective:  who knew about this?  I didn’t know about this.  It’s fantastic.  This discovery came courtesy of Sknitty, whose blog is quickly becoming one of my top 5 must-reads.

The ladies running Twist Collective web-publish each season with the objective of showcasing promising designers, as either a springboard for further publishing or simply an outlet for their creativity. 

The format is like an online photo-magazine to click through (big arrows on the right or left help the navigation-challenged - although it took me a few minutes to figure it out).  There are no page numbers or hyperlinks, just drool-worthy pics and a few fun articles.  The idea is to stimulate pattern development with fair pay via online pattern download sales (if you see something you like,  just hover over it and the details for download are right there).

However they’re doing it, it’s yummy.  The winter edition just came out last week.  Take a look.  It’s inspiring.

Fun, huh?

Quick WIP update:

Curlicue is now 75% done.  One skein of dreamy Blue Sky cotton left.

Sheer Poncho is now cast on.  Was my first provisional cast on, so I took some time to get it right.  Not that it’s rocket science, but I like to get it right the first time if I can.  Usually.  Sometimes.  I didn’t realize there were so many different ways to cast on, so perusing the options was a learning experience (when I learned to cast on from the Yarn Girls with their Simple Knits, they only told me about one way, so I assumed that was The Way - as you do, right?).

Raindrop Lace Socks - yeah, I’ve rounded a few more rows on this just to keep the pattern fresh in my mind.  I keep thinking that I’m ready to turn the heel, but I’m not going to do it until after I finish the first of my two balls of Happy Feet.  The second will be plenty to finish up the length of my foot - it’s getting chilly out - so I might as well make these as longshanks as possible while I’m at it.

Longshanks - it’s what Sissy B and I say instead of just “long”.  You know, Longshanks, the English king guy that tried to take over Scotland, the one we probably should have known about before Braveheart but in reality did not.  Thus, his name for some reason elicited giggles in us once heard in the movie.  It’s just fun to say - longshanks, longshanks, longshanks.

And you can add “shanks” to other things, just for kicks.  Shortshanks.  Fatshanks.  Coolshanks.  Softshanks.

It doesn’t mean anything.  Which is why it’s so much fun.

OK, no more proscratinating.  I have (other, less fun) things to do.  See you latershanks.

I passed by a concert venue in the city this weekend that was featuring a band called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head.

At first I thought it might just be the sign guy being funny, but the warm-up band listed was a normal-sounding name, and it seemed like a lot of trouble to put all those letters high up there on that marquee just for a laugh.

Well, color me pink  - there really is a band with this name (I checked on it later, in between Curlicue rows).  NPSH for short.  If I’m not mistaken, Nat had her head shaved for that V for Vendetta movie, so I’m guessing there may be a link there.  Ya think?

That movie looked scary to me, so I didn’t see it.  I’m a wuss.  I’ve learned not to pretend I can watch scary movies unscathed - doing so ends badly for everyone in the same house with me once the lights get turned out that night.

In less frightening news, I’ve whipped out my cashmere, and life is good.

Isn’t she lovely?

You’ll remember my recent ode to the Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere I bought from WEBS.  I unhanked my first skein and unwound it (by hand), then re-wound it (by hand) into a center pull ball - all 400 yards of it.  (Yes, I’ve been hinting pretty heavily to the fam that a ball winder and swift would make a grrrrrrreat gift at some point, sometime.  Any old time.)

It’s gorgeo.  Really, so soft and delicate.

A little too delicate, at first, for my unaccustomed-to-such-fineries man-hands.

I thought I was winding it loosely enough, but once the ball was completed, the first few yards I pulled back out were tougher than I expected.  After breaking the thin fiber a couple of times inadvertently (eeeek! eeeeeeek!), my fingers took the hint and handled it more gently.

Sheer Poncho
by Amy Arifin

Now the center pull is playing nice and I have a pleasing on-gauge swatch on which to base my work for the Sheer Poncho.  Remember this?  Yippee!  So happy to think I can cast this on any day.

The Jade Sapphire (2 ply) label provides guidance for a 6-8 stitches/inch gauge on US 1-3; the Sheer Poncho pattern calls for stitches that are “loose and open” with a 6 stitch/inch gauge.  The pattern as written by Amy Arifin (and featured in MagKnits, Warm 2004) features Jagger Spun Zephyr Lace Weight knit on US 5.

I was curious to see how the fabric of my cashmere pick would knit up on US 2, so I tried that first, just for kicks.  I came in at 8+ stitches/inch, and the stitch definition was nice and even; a smooth, solid look.  You can see this tighter gauge knit in the first four rows of my (small, lazy) swatch at the left.

However.  It’s a good thing that the stitches are meant to be more open for this garment, because I’d go buggy knitting on US 2s for the entire duration of something like this (all stockinette, all the time).

I finished my swatch with US 5, and the stitches are airy and sheer as prescribed.  Gauge is 6-7 stitches/inch:  close enough.

I’ll knit on the bigger side, and the fabric will be a bit stretchy - I think we’re going to be OK here.

As the WIP turns:  Boy, the Curlicue is flying along.  The tininess of the US 3s is a red herring when it comes to progress because the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton is such a nice full fiber that the fabric feels like it knits itself.

Done with my second of four skeins, so we’re now at 50% length - well over 16 inches.  (See my quarters next to the blanket?  You know, for reference?  Thought you’d like that.)

Amy = Happy.

Happy with knitting, happy with the state of things in the country at large.  All is well.  Hallelujah.

She hasn’t made her entrance yet, but she’ll be here very soon.

Kymber is going to have a girl baby to go with her boy baby, Little J.  Well, he’s a toddler, now, really.  Little J is two years old already, how can that be?

Anyway, Little K (as I’ll call her for now) is due in mid-December, so I better get cracking on her Curlicue blanket.  Yes, in celebration of the giddy girliness of a girl baby, I’ve decided to go with a daintier spin, and I really liked the Curlicue Blanket as given the “yay” by Allison on my Blanket Vote post.

The pic of the Curlicue I’d posted at that time as my inspiration was crafted in real life by Stashquisition (here on Ravelry) in a lovely baby blue.  The blanket design was shared on Ravelry by Skruddevutt, who posted the pattern on her site so that people like me can access it…for free!  Thank you to Skruddevutt, who makes furniture by day and blogs in Swedish about this and more here.  The photos of her blanket in a lovely red hue are shown below.

No, I’m not fluent in Swedish, but my good friend Google translates into English for me and brings the words to life.  Isn’t it cool that a mouse click can do that?

As for yarn, I was inspired by SouleMama’s adoration for Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton as documented in her “blanket for baby” post a couple weeks ago. 

SouleMama is coolio, yo - Sissy B turned me on to her a few months back, and then made sure I didn’t miss this cuter-than-cute post on SouleMama’s blog, in which she presents the yarn of my current desire.  She also describes recently taking the Ravelry plunge, waxing sweet newbie wonder at the “vast expanse that is Ravelry” and expressing the initial trepidation all Ravelers have felt at first dipping the toe into the sheer abundance of it: ”so much goodness!”

I digress for a moment because I just read Amanda’s bio on her blog:  she’s from Portland, Maine (I think Sissy B told me this, but clearly it didn’t stick).  I was just there a few weeks ago.  Maybe I ran into SouleMama in a parking lot or something!  Hmmm.

But I’m not a weird stalker or anything; I just think it’s funny.  Funny ha-ha.  And funny strange.

Kinda like me.

Anyway.

One more thing and then I’ll continue about my yarn selection.

SouleMama, in her fabulousness, has a book out called The Creative Family.  You can tell by the Amazon ratings and reviews that it’s pretty darn cool. 

Sissy B had this book on her coffee table the last time I visited and I couldn’t stop raving about it.  It’s not just the craft ideas that make this book cool; really it’s the concept she’s getting across, as highlighted in the subtitle, “How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections.”

I mean, come on.  Too cute.  And I don’t even have any little ones. 

I do have a knitting obsession, though, and Amanda had me at hello with her comments in the introduction of her book.  She described a compulsion to knit that became rampant during her first pregnancy - and since then, she admitted, she has been known to knit at long stoplights.

I love it.

Right.  For my Curlicue, I’m going to go with bright pink (not neon, no thank you - but still bright).  Kymber is like a big sister - she’s a lot like me, which is a polite way of saying that she’s spicy, if you will - assertive and independent, with a penchant for überwoman exuberance (some people would call this being loud and opinionated, others - the cooler ones - would call it being hilarious and all-around awesome). 

Not that either of us are short on sugar in the sugar-and-spice equation; let’s just say we’re heavy on the spice.  Any girl of hers needs a shade of pink that can keep up with her.

So I can’t go with the undyed organic line that Blue Sky Alpacas carries, but I can go with the next-best alternative to au naturel, which is the 100% organically grown cotton that is dyed “in a fun array of colors.”  I’ll say.  Click on this link and check out the happy hues.

My shade is Lotus, number 617.  Haven’t ordered the yarn yet, but I’ve shopped.  I have a hard time committing sometimes, for no good reason - especially since I’ve already decided to buy the yarn. 

Blogging about this should help.  JUST BUY THE YARN, Amy. 

Yet, I do not, preferring instead to hem and haw, and tell you more about my shopping. 

It seems Fabulous Yarn may have the best deal once you figure in their discounts, but over at WEBS they have a whole lotta delicious sale yarns listed, of which they could throw in a few skeins while they’re packing up my Lotus. 

That’s the real reason I’m stalling on the purchase - because I want to be able to justify buying more than just the blanket yarn.  OK, I said it.  I’m not going to lie to you.

Time’s a-wastin’, though (*wink* doggone it, says Sarah Palin), so I better get movin’.