Gadgets

I'm not usually a fan of kitchen gadgets that are only designed for one purpose or gimmicky items that purport to make a job easier.  Really, Slap Chop?  I can wash my chef's knife in far less time than it must take to clean you with all your fiddly bits.

One exception, though is my metal lime juicer.  It gets the job done, keeps the pips out and is easy to wash up.  Occasionally my local produce market has them in stock for far less than they run in the chain retail stores.  I think I paid about $3.99 for mine.  The only problem is that my lime juicer is good for just that - limes.  So I was thrilled when my mom presented me with two more juicers in larger sizes (she shops at the same market).

I love that they're color coded for limes, lemons and oranges.  Now these are some single use tools I can appreciate!

Score!

Picked up some yarn yesterday for $2 a skein at Abuelita's sidewalk sale.

I got 3 skeins of Fiesta Yarns La Luz.  It's 100% silk, which I've not worked with before.  I had second thoughts after getting home with this one because I failed to note the "dry clean only" instructions on the band before buying it, but I think it might make a nice shawl.  I also bought 7 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light and 6 skeins of Classic Elite Inca Marl.  

While I was there, I checked to see if they had any Malabrigo Lace in stock because I want to make a couple of Jeweled Cowls as gifts.  I hoped to find some red - and lo and behold they had Ravelry Red in stock!  I also got a skein in the Paris Night colorway.  I apologize for the bad photos but my camera sucks.

My mom, ever the sneaky one, also bought my some gorgeous Prairie by Madelinetosh.  840 yards of lacy goodness.  The colorway is called Grellow, which describes it perfectly.

I don't know whether I'll use it on its own or with my other skein of Prairie in Byzantine.

Think I'll have to go on a yarn diet for a while.

More Color Affection

I've just started adding in the third color on my Color Affection shawl.  No time to knit today, though.  Off to a taping of the public radio show Says You (working on a Saturday night - what an exciting life I lead).  Hopefully I'll be able to make some progress on this tomorrow.

The colors are a bit off.  More pics later.

What to Do?

I've had this yarn for a couple of years now, having bought 13 skeins on sale for $1 each.  Such a deal, right?  Except when you can't decide what to make with it.

I'm leaning towards the Juliana wrap cardigan, available on the Berroco website, but do I want to be swathed in such a vast expanse of bright pink?

Color Affection in Progress

I started working on the Color Affection shawl on Friday.  Even after knitting up a swatch I'm still not sure whether I'll end up liking it.  I love the pattern; just not sure whether I'm loving it with this yarn combination.  Since it knits up so quickly I won't feel any remorse if I end up frogging it.

Using size 3 needles for this since I didn't like the loose gauge on larger needles.  Since the 3s are giving me stitch gauge but not quite row gauge for the lace version of the shawl I'm winging it a bit with the pattern by combining elements from the fingering and lace instructions.

Another one off the needles

At the public radio station where I work we have a wonderful volunteer who comes in help us once a week.  She complimented me on an infinity scarf I made so I thought I'd make one for her as a way of thanking her for all she does for us.

The yarn is Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) in the Plum(ish) colorway.  I used a bit less than 2 skeins of yarn.  Since Sheep(ish) is a machine washable acrylic-wool blend I figure it's suitable for gift giving.  I try to give easy-to-care-for items to my non-knitting/crocheting friends.  

I found the triple diamond stitch pattern in a collection of stitch pattern cards that belongs to a friend.  It's reversible so it looks nice when doubled around the neck.

The recipient was thrilled, and I have another go-to pattern for quick projects. 

Project Start-itis

I got some lovely sock yarn at the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild Weaving & Fiber Festival back in November and am finally ready to do something with it.

I have two skeins of Sock-aholic from Knitters Brewing Co., one in Jungle Juice and one in Grasshopper.

I've been wanting to make the Catkin shawl, by Carina Spencer but I wasn't happy with the result when I worked up the swatch.  Even on size 4 needles the gauge seemed too loose, which just made it look sloppy to me.

The other skein is a lovely purple hand dyed superwash wool from Bee Mice Elf.

Another pattern I've been drooling over is Veera Välimäki's Color Affection shawl, so I'm going to do some swatching to see whether these will work.  If not, it's back to sifting through patterns for me!

I'm in love

I'm madly in love with Malabrigo lace yarn.  Yes, it's a pain to rip it back if you make a mistake (as I learned when I forgot a row of beads and didn't discover the error 'til a few rows later).  But the yarn is so soft and the subtle color variations are lovely.

I'm also in love with this pattern.  It's the Jeweled Cowl by Sachiko Uemura, available as a free download on Ravelry.  I think I'll be coming back to this pattern again and again.

I purchased the yarn over 18 months ago at Abuelita's Knitting & Needlepoint in South Pasadena and think it's a perfect match for the Jeweled Cowl.  I love the contrast between the soft-as-a-cloud baby merino Malabrigo and the Japanese glass seed beads, which I bought online from Fusion Beads.

This infinity scarf has become my new favorite.