I Swear, This Was Going to be a Photo-Heavy Post

But, as sometimes happens, Blogger is not cooperating. Got two pics to load and apparently tilted the system or summat. Whatever. Perhaps I'll come back in a few hours and post twice in one day. Now won't that be a treat for you! Whee!

It has been so nice to have my life back! No reunion, no craft fairs...just me! Well, not that I knit for myself all that often. But at least I can knit at a leisurely pace and I've been able to finish up that purple handdyed merino for my SP.

Alas, the only pictures that would load are for a charity baby hat. Well, I tried. But the hat is cute, anyway.

The yarn I used was from Joanns, from their Bellezza Collection. It's called Tesoro, and it's currently clearanced at 2.37 a ball (though it's 2.99 online). It's 100% wool, very soft and squishy and knits up like a dream. I read the reviews of it online awhile back and it got horrible reviews. (Go read them here: I love that the first three pages or so are full of complaints that their whole felting project was ruined, and then other knitters start chiming in to admonish them for not swatching first. It's lovely and so spleeny. It's a catfight with ratings. Awesome.) The main sticking point for most people was that it wouldn't felt, yet it was labled as wool with instructions to handwash. It's no excuse for not swatching, really.

But let me tell you, people, a yarn that won't felt in the washer and is this next-to-skin soft--can you say BABY KNITS?

It's perfect. I may go up there later and buy every ball they have left in stock. The pattern is a two-color version of quilted lattice. I broke out the old Barbara Walker treasury and picked a cute stitch. I actually used this stitch with the Chinese baby sweater I made, but it was only worked in one color. And Barb's patterns are all written to be worked flat, so it takes a bit of thinking to figure out how to work it in the round. Because I'm all about working in the round, dontcha know.

The first picture shows the colors the best and I liked how the shadows in the second picture highlight the amazing loft of this yarn. I think originally this yarn was like 5 or 6 bucks a ball, which I consider a lot for 87 yards of wool, but at 2. 37 it's a steal. But you have to like pastels, 'cause that's all it comes in. I really do wish that they'd keep this yarn, label it as machine washable, and carry it in about a hundred or so colors. Oh, and at 2.37 a ball, because I'm not paying 5 or 6 bucks for 87 yards. I have my standards.

I'm inordinately proud of the fact that I figured out how to work the decreases at the top in the pattern. It's not my strong suit, but I managed to pull it off. I should have written down what I did, though. I'm about to start the decreases on a second hat (the same but in green and yellow) and I think if I can pull it off twice in a row, I'll write out the pattern. Maybe I'll submit it to Knitty. It's definitely one of those projects that looks frightfully advanced but is really very simple.

As a preview of my next post, you will see a baby sweater for a friend and classmate of mine who just had a little boy. And you'll see the skein of yarn I made that is so soft that I want to keep it.

Okay, I'll be back when Blogger is cooperating, mmmmmkay?