My local yarn shop had a sale this weekend and I took advantage of the nice weather to walk down to Georgetown.

I came away with some lovely things:

• Mission Falls Superwash Wool in a lovely teal to make the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch and Bitch and one skein in purple for some charity knitting squares;
• Karabella Marble (an alpaca-merino blend) — two skeins in blues and greys for a hat or something else for Rudi and two in teals for a hat for me; and
• those fancy safety-pin style stitch markers, which already came in handy tonight when Rudi broke his handknit socks. (Btw, if anyone has any suggestions for fixing the top of a top-down sock, we’d be grateful for the tips.)

My walk along the Georgetown canal was nice. Except it made me terribly hungry, so I stopped by Snap for a chocolate chip crepe and a rose-flavored lassi. The lassi was a little weird, but Snap is more known for its bubble tea than its lassis. And while I can justify $4 for a lassi, I refuse to pay $4 for a cup of hot tea. It’s tea, people! I know how much a bag of tea sells for! But the crepe was excellent, so I would definitely go back, but just to eat.

The rest of the evening was spent cleaning and watching Witness for the Prosecution, WETA‘s classic movie of the week. I really enjoy seeing classic movies, and WETA makes it remarkably easy to catch up on those I haven’t seen as well as favorites.

Tomorrow, I’m having a couple of friends over for lunch. Rudi’s clearing out and we girls are just going to hang out for the afternoon. Should be great!

Isn’t it amazing the difference the right yarn can make?

When I was knitting Mum’s scarf prior to Christmas, the yarn I ultimately knit it out of was a beautiful, green baby alpaca. It was so soft, and every time I picked it up, I immediately wanted to snuggle into my project. It helped me bond with the project, which was good, because we spent several late nights together. The same thing when I knit a hat for a friend last winter out of Blue Sky alpaca/merino.

This week, I’m working on a charity knitting project for Food and Friends, a D.C. organization that makes sure people with HIV and cancer and other serious and potentially fatal diseases get nutritious food to eat. Every year at Valentine’s Day, they also deliver hand-knitted items to each of their clients, who number around 1,200. This year the woman organizing the drive is desperately behind her target number, particularly for male clients, so I went stash-diving and set to work.

The yarn I’m using is a hand-me-down from my friend Cynthia, who sent me yarn one spring after her basement (where she stored her yarn stash) flooded. After she dried it all out, she filled up two boxes with yarns that she could part with and mailed them to me, a newbie knitter.

This yarn is not cheap. It’s Noro Lily, which is a cotton-silk blend, so it has nice drape and flows smoothly over my needles.

But I hate the colors. It’s the Multi colorway, which combines black, several shades of brown and gray, a silvery-blue, and fluorescent green. Yes, it makes a nice pattern (both skeins match, which I understand can be unusual with some Noro yarns). But still… Luckily, Rudi likes the colors, so I’m hopeful that a male client of Food and Friends will, too.

I just have no interest in knitting this scarf. I desperately want to be knitting something — anything — else. And I feel bad. Because I sort of feel like when one is doing charity knitting that one ought to be infusing each stitch (or, at least, most stitches, when your pattern, needles, and yarn are playing nicely together) with thoughts of love and healing for its intended recipient. And here I am thinking, “When is this skein going to end?” and “I can’t wait to be done with this stupid thing!”

Here’s hoping that’s not what I’m infusing into this scarf….

Well, another year has come and gone. One of my 2006 resolutions was to keep more of my knitting for myself. Let’s see how I did:

• Seven pairs of socks, three of which I kept for myself. (My November socks were finished, have been worn and photographed, but remain unposted.)
• A scarf for Mum, the first I’ve made since that first fall of knitting, aka Christmas present #2. (Photos of this and a couple of the other projects to come in a few days.)
• A shawl for me, using yarn originally bought for someone else, that perfectly matched a dress I found for a wedding. Nothing justifies selfish knitting like perfect coordination of colors. Unfortunately, peach mohair does not look spiffy on a dark blue suit, so Rudi might wish I’d given this away after all.
• A tank top for me that slides down in front to reveal my bra. I need to pull it apart and shorten the straps so I can wear it again.
• A darling little hat for my cousin’s baby and a grown-up hat for a friend. Plus, a roll-brim hat for me (my favorite knitted item regardless of its simplicity), made out of pinky-purply Woolarina merino.
• A tiny baby sweater for my friend’s son.
• Several cotton chenille washcloths, all of which were gifts, although not all have been sent to their recipients. (Bad me!)
• A purse for me that still needs sewing up. How sad….
• Christmas present #1, which I have yet to give to its recipient. What could it be?

I think that’s it….

I also bought a ton of yarn and a cabinet in which to keep said yarn and was given a swift by Rudi’s mom and a ball-winder by Mum. I learned how to turn heels, pick up stitches, make button-holes, knit cables, and identify several yarns by sight and feel (this last one was accidental, I assure you).

I joined the Knitting Olympics and the Knitting World Cup. I participated in some yarn swaps. And I made some new knitting friends.

What’s on the sticks for next year? I’m thinking of winding up the yarn and then swatching for my cardigan next. And finishing the reknit of the hat I made Dad (which didn’t fit) back in 2005. And more socks with all that lovely sock yarn I bought. And ….

Pardon me, I’ve got to get busy knitting!

Happy New Year, folks!

I’m celebrating Christmas with a 13-year-old cousin on Saturday and I’m going to give her a knitting kit. (I want Gramma to show her how to knit while they’re together so that she has that memory, so it’s largely irrelevant to me that she might prefer an iTunes gift certificate in the here and now.)

Anyone have a suggestion for an easy first project for a young teen? A scarf might seem kind of intimidating… An iPod cozy? A headband that she could knit flat and just seam up the back? Any other ideas?

I’ve been a bit negligent about posting about my Socktoberfest socks. Here they are:

They’re plain stockinette socks knit in ArtYarns Supermerino in a colorway that undulates between hot pink and purple. I knit the first sock in quick order early last spring and then didn’t start the second sock until I was in Utah and wanted something to knit while I listened to the Yarn Harlot so I could pay attention to her and not to my knitting.

I almost had to rip them all the way back because I ran out of yarn on the second skein. Luckily, I had about a yard left over from the first skein. This is how much I had at the end of the second sock (including that extra yard from the first sock):

(Doen’t it look like the yarn is trying to send me a message?)

I’m really hoping no extra holes appear in these socks because there is nothing left to fix them with. I wasn’t much for throwing out odds and ends before now, but this experience will definitely reinforce the behavior!

I finished the socks over Columbus Day weekend while we were up in Connecticut, but just hadn’t gotten around to posting about them until today. Oops!

I arrived home from work today to find a foreign guest waiting on my doorstep. Why, it’s renowned explorer Leif Erikkson all the way from Iceland!

I knew as soon as I saw the postmark who my secret Yarn Aboard 2 pal was — Carola of No Sheep and the City.

Look at all the goodies she sent me (and click on photos to enlarge them):

The main purpose behind this exchange is, of course, the sock yarn. Carola did a great job picking out yarns I’d like. On the left is Regia Nation in Fun Color. On the left is Dicentra Designs yarn in Solar Energy from Crown Mountain Farms. She also included this Badcaul sock pattern from Amelia at My Fashionable Life. Carola says the pattern is supposed to be a good one for the novice cable knitter, which is perfect for me!

She also sent me a variety of candies from Iceland. Three of them are licorice-based since licorice is a traditional Icelandic flavoring. Rudi is drooling over them. Apparently European licorice is not the same as American licorice and he loves European licorice. The other candy, the Hraun Bitar are chocolate creme wafers covered with rice crispies and chocolate. I’m glad Mum lives far away because she would really like these and I would feel obliged to share. This way I can keep them all for me!

And last but not least, she sent me some great Icelandic souvenirs — a postcard of Reykjavik, a 10 krónur piece, and a puffin magnet. I had mentioned here that I’d like to see penguins in person some day. Since Iceland isn’t noted for penguins, she offered me some native, but still unique birds instead!

Carola, takk fyrir for all these goodies. You are a kick-ass Yarn Aboard pal. I am unworthy of such spoiling. And thank you, once again, Amanda, for being such a good hostess and allowing me to play along. (And please thank Mr. Clothesknit for the two of you matching me up so well.)

Leif and I will be hanging out for a couple days while I show him the sites of D.C. and while he recuperates from his long journey and refuels for his next stop.