My Yarn Stash

One of the things that I want to do is keep track of my yarn stash, so I can know at a quick glance what I have (though, of course, it's always fun to actually poke through the stash). So here's my current yarn stash.

Partially used:

RY Cashsoft DK – (57% extra fine merino/33% microfibre/10% cashmere) – cream – 1 large ball

RY Cashsoft DK (57% extra fine merino/33% microfibre/10% cashmere) – red – 1 large ball

RY Cashsoft DK (50% extra fine merion/40% acrylic microfibre/10% cashmere) – black – 1 large ball

Malabrigo – Pink Frost – 1 very small ball

Unknown brand – cotton? – pale blue – 1 large ball

KP Shamrock (100% Peruvian Wool) – Dougherty (green) – 1 small ball

KP ShineWorsted (60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal) – Bachelor Button (blue) –1 small ball

KP ShineWorsted (60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal) – Grass – 1 small ball

KP ShineWorsted (60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal) – Coral – 3 small balls

KP Twirl (69% Superfine Alpaca/28% Wool/3% Nylon) – Cream – 1 large ball

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Snickerdoodle – 2 small balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Carrot – 2 small balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Violet – 2 medium balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Tulip – 6 small balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Blue Bonnet – 2 medium balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Hyacinth – 2 small balls

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Amethyst Heather – 1 small ball; 1 medium ball

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Sapphire Heather – 1 large ball

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Forest Heather – 1 medium ball

Unused:

Malabrigo – Purple Mystery
Worsted
Yards: 216

KP EssentialSolid (75% Superwash Wool/25% Nylon) - Petunia
Yards: 231

KP Swish Superwash (100% Superwash Wool) – Wisteria
Worsted
Yards: 110

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Snickerdoodle – 2 balls
Worsted
Yards: 110 x 2

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Daffodil
Worsted
Yards: 110

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) – Blue Bonnet – 2 balls
Worsted
Yards: 110 x 2

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Violet – 2 balls
Worsted
Yards: 110 x 2

KP Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) – Forest Heather – 1 ball
Worsted
Yards: 110 x 2

KP Gossamer (100% Merino Wool) – Sweet Peas
Lace Weight
Yards: 440

KP Telemark (100% Peruvian Wool) – Snow Leopard
Sport Weight
Yards: 103

KP Telemark (100% Peruvian Wool) – Alpine Frost
Sport Weight
Yards: 103

KP Shimmer (70% Baby Alpaca/30% Silk) – Morning Mist – 3 balls
Lace Weight
Yards: 440 x 3

KP Gloss (70% Merino Wool/30% Silk) – Dusk
Fingering Weight
Yards: 220

KP Crayon (100% Pima Cotton) – Blue
DK Weight
Yards: 128

KP ShineWorsted (60% Pima Cotton/40% Modal) – Wave
Worsted
Yards: 75

KP Twirl (69% Superfine Alpaca/28% Wool/3% Nylon) – Cream
Bulky Weight
Yards: 67

KP Dancing (41% Cotton/39% Wool/13% Nylon/7% Elastic) – 2 balls
Fingering Weight
Yards: 253 x 2

KP Shamrock (100% Peruvian Wool) – Flanagan (red) – 2 balls
Heavy Worsted
Yards: 82 x 2

The Stocking That Wasn't

I was really excited when I saw this free pattern on the KnitPicks website - the Twirl Top Stocking. I ordered some yarn right away (the stocking is in Shamrock - this one is Dougherty and I have more yarn in Flanagan - a red - for another stocking; the top is Twirl in Cream) and couldn't wait to get started on it. I'd been wanting to try my hand at socks, but I was scared of using double pointed needles. Since this is one big sock, I thought it might be easiest to start with it.

And I started out okay. Once I got the hang of the double pointed needles, I found that I liked using them. I created and turned the heel just fine. That's when I hit the problem area. I somehow got the needles placed differently and found that I was knitting "inside out" - purl "bumps" on the outside when it should have been the knit "V". I didn't figure out what was wrong at first. After about 6 rows I figured it out and got myself going correctly again. I know that I REALLY should have frogged back, but I just couldn't bear to do it (I really wanted to finish that day, which was Christmas Eve). So I kept on. Also in my rush, I think I should have made the foot part longer. And then the tip of the toe is super pointed. It said to knit until 8 stitches remain, and I did but it just seems like too much. I have yarn for a second stocking, so I think next time I'll knit until 16 stitches remain to have the toe part be a bit wider.

The cuff around the top and the loop to hang it (single chain of crochet) came out okay. I have high hopes for my next stocking and I plan to buy more yarn and do this one again at some point.

My Scarf in Mmmmalabrigo

So I had been knitting all these scarves for other people. I wanted one for myself. I found a pattern online called the Irish Hiking Scarf that used cables. I decided to give it a try. I thought that cables would be really hard, so I had been reluctant to give it a try, but I'm so glad that I did. They weren't really that difficult after all and I love how this scarf turned out.

I love it even more because of the yarn that I used. On the Knittinghelp.com forum, people were talking about this yarn that they called Mmmmmmmalabrigo and they were raving about how nice and wonderful and soft it was. I found some on eBay and bought two skeins in pink frost. I just knew that this yarn and the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern would be perfect together.

I worked on this over a period of several months, doing a little here and there between other projects. And one day I finally finished it. I was so right about the yarn and pattern. It looks so wonderful and it truly is extremely soft. I'm very proud to have this scarf to wear.

Snake for Kyle

I wanted to do something for my nephew. Since his room in decorated in a jungle theme, I decided to try another stuffed animal (since the rabbit didn't quite fit the theme!). I wanted to do either a monkey or a snake. I went to my local yarn store to look for yarn and these colors called out to me, so I had to use them - so snake it was.

This was my first project with stripes. I've added a new skein of yarn before, but it's always been in the same color. So I got lots of practice with that on this project. I used felt for the eyes and crocheted a single chain for the tongue. It came out so cute that I had a really hard time packing it

Dishcloths for My Husband's Grandmother

Another Christmas gift, this time for my husband's grandmother. I went for the dishcloth idea again, but this time I used the same color but with two different patterns. (Shine Worsted in Coral)

This one was fun to do but turned out a bit larger than expected, but not too bad over all.


Then this one came out a bit smaller than expected, so the two together are a bit of a mix, but I think that's okay. I had a great time working on this one (once I figured out the pattern - you can see in the bottom right corner where I was figuring it out).

Clogs for My Sister and Niece

And I made two more pairs of clogs in matching but reversed colors for my sister and her daughter (who picked out the colors - Tulip and Violet). I love how they go together - I've placed them for this picture to take advantage of the matching colors to really show them off.


I do have to say that by this time, I was pretty darn tired of knitting these clogs! Here are all four pairs together before I sent off the gifts for Christmas. May they all meet up together again some day!

Dishcloths for My MIL

I decided to go with my new hobby for another Christmas present - this time for my mother-in-law. But what to knit? I needed something fairly quick as I had several projects to knit and not much time to do it. So I decided on some dishcloths. I chose the same pattern and used two different colors. (KnitPicks - Shine Worsted [60% Pima Cotton; 40% Modal] in Bachelor Button and Grass)

Once again, I was able to practice yarn overs with this pattern. I really liked how it turned out.

Clogs for My Mom

After my success with making clogs, I planned to make some as Christmas presents for my mom, sister, and niece. I let them choose their own colors. My mom chose Snickerdoodle and Carrot (both Wool of the Andes - it just felts really well). These knitted up pretty quickly.

Before felting:


After felting:

Mary's Scarf

Birthdays just kept coming so I kept the scarf making going. Since Mary lives in Texas, she doesn't really need a heavy scarf, so I made a different pattern from the ones I had done before. This one is only about half as wide as those and the pattern itself created "holes" in the scarf. I found the pattern in a knitting magazine - the Diagonal Eyelet Scarf in Creative Knitting (September 2006). It helped me practice working with yarn overs, which were fun once I got the hang of them. The yarn was once again from KnitPicks - Wool of the Andes in Forest Heather.

The pictures don't do the color justice, nor did they turn out all that great - for whatever reason, they are pretty fuzzy.

Rebecca's Scarf

Another friend. Another birthday. I decided to use the same pattern as Kristin's scarf (since I had enjoyed working on it and liked how it turned out) but in purple. This time I again ordered from KnitPicks, but I used Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) in Amethyst Heather. It turned out to be softer than the yarn I used in Kristin's scarf.