LOTS has been going on in this Spinster's knitting stash. I've updated the progress bars, and as you can see, some stuff has disappeared and there are new items up there. But strangely, there are no new photos in the FOs. Hmmmm. Yes, I frogged a lot. Yes I started a lot of new projects. No, I haven't finished anything. Well, I finished two things, but I'm not proud of them, so they're not in the album. I'll get to that in a sec.

There was the Weekend of the Blue Scarf. Every 4th weekend is a three-dayer for me, so I proclaimed that the last one (and we're talking about the weekend of Feb 5-6 here) would be the weekend that I completed the scarf that the monk so rightly deserves. Also, I was hoping to get it to him before it gets to be 90 degrees in Arizona, which should be about...NOW. Anyway, I did great on Saturday, knitting along on it at Hartford with the Urban Knitters, but when I got home this had arrived. I had ordered the brown yarn for a scarf based on the idea of Priscilla's Probability Pullover. I started a scarf with 6 cable runs, and whenever I get a 6 I do the cable cross. And I'm not cheating, so there are some stretches of stockinette that are causing it to roll a little, but that's OK. Here's how it's shaping up: It's a lot of fun to do, and doesn't get boring.





It's my project-ADD and my desire for a very small/lightweight project that made me start this: It's the Arches and Columns scarf from Crystal Palace with their new Kid Merino. It was sitting in this basket at Knitorious and I thought about it for a week and I just had to have it. It weighs practically nothing and will fit in my backpack, so when I'm in London and stop for a pint, or can't sleep due to the time difference, I will have something to do with my hands.

Then there was the hat. I saw a hat on an actress in a television show and got an idea in my head for what I wanted to do. So I had to start it. Of course. My id really loves knitting. A lot. Anyway, I started it and it looked like this: Then I got two solids that picked up the colors running through the brown and did some stripes. I've learned how to do a better job, and will try again. I finished this hat this weekend, but I'm not crazy about it. And, evidently, when you've been doing shots all day and are really impressed with yourself at how fast you are knitting, you should stop. I had three holes in a ribbed stripe from yarnovers that I didn't notice. So, this hat isn't even fit for donating to a charity. The next one will be really nice, though. I'm proud of myself for making a hat without a pattern, so that's what I'm taking from the experience.

But what, you ask, about the monk's scarf? Well, I like the pattern, but it's boring after a while. And I knew I wasn't going to get it finished anytime soon. So I kinda...stopped. Yep, my gratitude for his help was not enough to spend a lousy weekend knitting his scarf. And then there were further developments. He's been helping his dad with some carpentry work, and he kinda....well.....almost cut off his hand. Yeah, like 3/4 of the way across. So now I'm thinking that he deserves more than a scarf. He deserves an afghan. And it's going to be really soft and complicated and georgous and probably very expensive, but that's OK. I love his hands, and I'm really glad he still has two. So that idea is percolating in my head and maybe by the time I get home I'll know what I'm going to do. And he'll probably get the scarf too. And here's a picture of him, just in case you're wondering what an Shingon Vajracarya looks like. (Note: he's a lot taller than average, being American and all...)

I also finished the Sophie Bag. I know what I would do differently, so I'm going to do it again. I added the pink for two reasons: 1) to make it different and 2) because I'm an idiot and can't read a pattern and thought I was going to run out of yarn. I felted it in the kitchen sink because I don't have a washing machine. It took about 20 minutes, but I think it could have used more. The next one I'm doing in a machine no matter what. I noticed that the pink felted more than the green. I would have twisted the handles around each other A LOT more if I'd known that they weren't going to shrink much. I did take measurements before I felted it, but forgot to take any after before I gave it to a co-worker who thought it was really cute. We're both out of the office for a while, but I'll ask her to bring it in so I can measure it, and I'll just edit this post with the details when I get them. Here are the before and after pics:






While I was felting I also did some swatches for another project I'm designing. I put in the little embroidery thread markers and everything. Then I felted them for 20 minutes. During this time I forgot how far apart the markers had been. One would think, wouldn't they, that a girl of not yet 40 could remember how far apart a few markers were? Evidently not. Your guesses are as good as mine:




And I started the Sonnet Sweater from the Knitty archives. Not much going on there until my yarn comes in at Knitorious, where I did not get the first ball, but those people are not nearly as sweet and helpful as Sandy is, so I'd rather wait for her store to get it in than just go down the street and pick it up now. You know what I mean?

Lastly, I got some free yarn from this site that I discovered by accident while blog-surfing. She hasn't posted any new give-aways since, so don't be disappointed if she hasn't got one listed now. But she sent me two balls of this: It's a worsted-weight tweedy angora, and I have no idea what to do with it. Since it was free I'd like to make something to donate with it, but don't know what to make. I'm guessing a lacy scarf could be completed with only two balls, but I haven't found any patterns yet. Any ideas?