It's Saturday Again

Time just seems to fly by now that I'm working full time; I seem to have gotten on to the same treadmill that many employees have... eagerly waiting for the weekend. Now that it's here, I hate to admit that I'm kind of bored. Oh well, Monday will be here soon enough.

On to knitting. I'm afraid I don't have much actual knitting to show you. I'm slowly working away at a couple of projects, but I'm finding that knitting in the evenings isn't the easiest thing to do around here. The lighting at this time of year, in a basement suite, just isn't conducive to complicated knitting.

I do, however, have a couple of purchases to share with you. The first is this book...

I saw it and decided it deserved a place in my knitting library. It's "Sweater Design in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti. It's well written, easy to read and full of sensible information. The first half of the book explains the basics of measuring, body types and what styles suit those body types, as well as explaining the math involved in knitting and designing. For those of us who are mathematically challenged (read ME), it's explained simply and logically. This book definitely deserves a place in my knitting library!

The second half of the book contains some designs and explains how they're designed. Helpful, yes, but the designs are extremely dated (batwing sweaters???) and I can't see myself referring to that section. That said, it was worth the price just for the first half of the book.

Last weekend, when John was away (still can't talk about that), I went for a walk and checked out Art of Yarn's new home. They've moved across the street into a larger, brighter and much cozier location. (This is the yarn store I worked at for 3 years, until just last month.) Sally's also been bringing in some new, and luscious yarns. Could I resist?? Nope!

I bought two skeins of this yarn, Hacho. I've never heard of it, but it's lovely. It's 100% hand dyed merino wool from Peru. This one is DK weight and I thought a cap would be perfect in this yarn. If I read the label correctly, the yarn company is Mirasol. They have a web site... MirasolPeru. According to the tag, "A portion of every purchase is dedicated directly to the funding of a school in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno."

Then, I saw this...

It's from the same company; this one is called Sulka. It's an absolutely decadent blend of 60% merino, 20% alpaca and 20% silk. It has a gorgeous sheen to it and is super soft. I could just stroke it and be content! It's a chunky weight yarn, 16 sts=4" on 6 mm (US10) needles. I'm thinking of making myself a hat with it. The main colour will be the charcoal, with the three other colours worked into a fairisle design. I'm still in the considering stage... considering what design I want to use. I'm content to think about it for now.

Incidentally, the price of these yarns wasn't bad at all. The Sulka is $7.95 for 50 grams (only 55 yards though) and the Hacho was $7.99 for 50 grams, 137 yards. Not outrageous for the quality.

In the meantime, I'm bound and determined to finish a couple of projects before starting anything new. Period!

...but that yarn is sure calling, whining, wheedling... pleading....