Surprise Yarn

From my cousin in New Zealand, no less!



Thanks, Kuya!

Homespun Headgear

Remember these handspun skeins?

The top is my own and the bottom is from Autumn, my Spin-to-Knit spoiler. Well, over the weekend I finally got around to making this:
I was a thrifty knitter and used every bit of the lilac fleece (thrifty knitters looooove pompoms!) and had just a teensy bit of the variegated merino left over. Hey, this handspun stuff's not easy to come by, right?

A Pair of Threes

What comes in threes?

My first Navajo Ply

I think I put too much twist in it when plying, probably because I was treadling too fast and my poor little hands couldn't keep up. Plus, the crochet-like chaining motion took some getting used to. The overtwist was bad enough to unspin (that's a nice way of saying "break") the single in a few places; there are some ooops! spots hidden in this skein!

Frangos
When we stayed with my aunt in Chicago, we learned that Frangos were really popular there, a regional treat sold at Marshall Fields. Macys bought out the chain out but luckily they still sell the candy. My aunt sent me three different kinds: dark chocolate mint, milk chocolate and toffee. Yummy!

Revival

Last week at Michaels, I picked up a copy of the fall Knit Simple. I usually find a few nice, easy and stylish patterns in each issue, and this time was no exception. Using some stash yarn, I made the hat from the cover:
This is knit with the Misti Alpaca Chunky that Liz sent me way back in SP7. The yarn is super soft, but on its own not nearly chunky enough for the pattern. I ended up knitting the smaller size holding three strands together for all parts, except for the crochet edge and the ties on the ear flaps, which are double stranded. It's neat how the single crochet makes the edge of the stocking stitch much less curlier than normal. Yes, I know I'm probably the last person to discover that :)

This magazine had a tween pattern section too, so I'm making Jersey Girl some legwarmers:
Very Flashdance, huh? Maybe legwarmers are the new poncho, only without the Martha Stewart "freedom" endorsement.

Also in the stash was some leftover Lorna's Laces roving from the ISE4 scarf. I only used a little bit of it to make a slubby single for ISE, so what to do with what was left?
This is the unsuspecting fiber guinea pig for my first attempt at Navajo plying. Stay tuned for the results...