Monday, March 29

No Idle Hands Here

That's so not my problem. It didn't used to be this way. I was happy with the occasional afghan or baby blanket, secure in the knowledge that I could drop this habit anytime I wanted to.

I can't say that anymore. Thanks to the Internet, I'm discovering new designs and new yarns everyday that make my hands itch. Sometimes it's the challenge; sometimes it's the novelty. Whichever, my meager discretionary funds are more meager than ever.

Take those winter gloves, for example. I have very small hands, and finding gloves that fit is a never ending problem. Especially since I'm prone to losing them. And then one day I stumbled across the answer to my problem when I discovered a pattern for crocheted gloves. And when I spotted the Mini Mochi sock weight yarn, it was love at first sight.

My latest longer-term project is this tunic in last fall's issue of Interweave Crochet. I've got all the pieces done ... I just have to do some tweaking and get it all pinned and sewed together. I'm using a really lovely yarn from Cascade called Venezia Worsted. It's a blend of Merino wool and silk that feels soft and drapey in the hand, especially after a brief soaking. I don't know why, but you can never really know what a yarn will do until after you have washed it. It was nice before, but the stitches loosened up so beautifully that the fabric just flows now.

All the putting together steps take time (I'm hoping it will be ready to wear before it gets too warm out!) though, and I get impatient. Which is why I like to have a smaller, quicker project, such as these socks. For these I used Karabella's Superfine Cashmere. Yeah, cashmere socks.
Ain't that a kick?