8 am, inside my guest bathroom . . .

get the picture? lace, right??
i knew you would see it like i do.
it’s a little chilly in there. and those old windows aren’t exactly the thermally-sealed efficiency type.
but they’re pretty, so we’re keeping them. and fortunately, we don’t have that situation in every room.

and i have debbie, who kindly called me last night to let me know that they were warning the elderly to stay in the house and keep warm. heh. thanks debbie. she’s just mad that she didn’t win anything in my birthday celebration.

so—YAY! today was teaching day and i got away from my desk to go to classes, knit and just chill a little. now that all the mitts for the blogiversary are done and in the mail, and i finished two pair of sox last week, i got thinking that i need a small project or two to tote around with me (yes, the starlight evening wrap is my main gig right now—i’ll get to that in a minute—but, i still need a couple of small projects i can work on in class and whenever i have a few spare minutes) (ok, i admit it, i’m itchy to have something else to do, too . . .).

and let’s face it, nothing fills the gap like a couple of WIPs that have been languishing since
christmas . . .
the first one isn’t exactly a WIP.

newly-started fine cabled mitts in vintage cashmere—look familiar?? yes, i am finally making myself a pair. see, this is actually what i set out to do at thanksgiving when i cast on that first cabled mitt. which i decided i should give to my friend. which spawned another mitt, and yet another one, which spawned some patterns, which led to some sock patterns. heh. and i never actually got around to making my own pair.

and now my hands are cold.
so those are for me. the astute among you might also remember these.

i know laurie remembers—she’s keeping me on my toes alright—she’s got an eagle on on what i say i’m gonna do. and, as you can see, i do tend to take the roundabout route in finishing some things.

anyway, the navy cuff belongs to a pair of fine cabled mitts and the quiviuk is a new design. i really wanted to just make one of the existing designs, but the gauge won’t work, and then i got thinking that probably what was needed was a special design for that knitter who has one precious ball of this stuff (like me).

so those are the small projects that are going into the knitting bag for this week. i also find myself with only one—ONE—single sock on the needles at the moment, but i’ll put off starting a new pair at least until tomorrow.
just kidding—actually, i think i can hold out on that one til the end of the week (laurie, don’t you write that down, now!). i’ve been so busy that i am seeing the wisdom of keeping the project count down a little in order to have the satisfaction of finishing things (stop with the chorus of angels).

so, i think i’ve held out on you long enough. i did not work as much as i would have liked this weekend on the starlight shawl because of my other work commitments. however, i am extremely pleased with what is happening on it, and all looks promising for a final design that i’m happy with

i know, you can’t see anything worth looking at here. i’ve been able to put some time into it today, and am hoping to have the edging completed on this half by tomorrow. then i can spread it out and maybe even pin it so you can drink in the full effect.

once i got home from classes and answered my email, i strolled up to the yarn closet.
i had to put this away

i won this yarn in a contest at The Mosh Knit back in the fall and i received it over the weekend. it’s a unique yarn spun up by jacey at Insubordiknit. it’s punk-knitting yarn designed exclusively for the mosh knit. it’s pretty cool. i put it in the closet while i think about what to make with it.

and while was in there, i thought i’d have a gander (this was monica’s fault—she had to talk about stash today, and then i had to check it out to make sure all was well there . . .). but you know, what’s the use of having a stash if you don’t enjoy it on many different levels? yarn isn’t just for knitting—and sometimes i need to just look at, or touch it.

ok, i confess—i was snooping around looking for the makings of a hat. i’m not gonna start it right now; i was just thinking. and while i was doing that, i decided to look, too.

i had been thinking of knitting up a quick, shoulder-length stocking cap in something handspun; i have several skeins in various colors that are enough for such a project, but not much more. i am considering this one

it’s a bit bright though, so i’m not married to it. i’m not sure it’s a good color for me . . .
(see what i mean about geting sidetracked?? what i need is a shepard or something . . .)

i also want to make a nice hat—something more intricate and involved. my interest is being pulled toward the stranded knitting i’ve been seeing around. i haven’t done any of it in ages. i know i don’t have the patience to do a sweater (though i’d love to), but i thought it would be nice to have a stranded-knit hat. the fabric is so warm and tight. and i even had a design in mind—one that i’d come up with a few years ago while teaching a color-knitting class.

i knew i had the swatches and the yarn in the closet so i hunted everything down.

this is my idea of stranded knitting with a modern twist. much as i love traditional patterns, i think something like this is more my speed as far as my (cough, . . . COUGH . . ahem) fashion sensibility goes. i think a stocking hat with a deep cuff of this pattern and a solid stocking would be fun.
the yarn is rowan kid classic—one of my all-time favorites. it’s light, warm, and comes in great colors. the patten was inspired by a kaffe fasset color pattern that i just did rather randomly, mixing sizes and colors to suit my taste.

i think i could have the patience for a 4- or 5-inch band of it. we’ll see . . .