Knitting Up A Storm

A little less than a week ago, I started my Camp Loopy project for July. July’s challenge is to knit a popular pattern that you have never knit before. Since I’ve knit very few popular patterns (I do not pay enough attention to the knitting trends, so I’m usually two or three years behind the bandwagons), I had a lot to choose from.

I decided to knit the Tempest Cardigan by Ann Weaver. I’m using Dream In Color Smooshy yarn in the colors Charged Cherry (a cranberry) and Rosalita (a pink), so I’ll have a nice tonally striped sweater.

Guys, I have never knit anything so fast in my life, I swear.

This was where I was on late Monday evening:

Fifteen rows done, not too shabby

This is where I am now:

That’s a back and one and a half fronts done!

Seriously. This sweater is just flying. As long as I can keep from procrastinating on the sleeves (Ugh, sleeves), it’s definitely going to be done by the end of July. I don’t know if it’s the stripes or the fact that I really love the yarn, or the fact that it’s a pretty easy pattern (Straight stockinette with some increases, some decreases, and shaping that I modified to be shortrows instead of bind offs) so I can take it basically everywhere, but I’ve never had a sweater work up so fast.

It’s like magic. It’s the opposite of the knitting black hole. I feel knitting charmed right now.

(Now let’s hope that my happiness doesn’t totally cause a knitting meltdown where everything is ruined.)

 

Yarn Club Awesome

So I’m a member of two yarn clubs. I love yarn clubs. I get surprise yarn presents in the mail periodically, which just makes me really happy. Plus, in both I’m getting cool extras, like patterns and recipes. I already showed you my first shipment from the Cookie A Yarn Club. But I got my second shipment in the mail this week.

Dream in Color Everlasting Sock in Violet Hour. Cookie A picks some great yarn!

This time it’s Dream in Color Everlasting Sock in the colorway Violet Hour (which is exclusive to Cookie’s sock club). It’s a lovely purple color. The yarn is really soft; it’s 100% superwash merino. It’s an 8-ply too, which I think means it will wear really, really well as socks. The patterns that come with it (Tulip and Pirouette are both totally gorgeous. Plus the recipes this time around are for chocolate cookies and lavender shortbread, which both look crazy delicious!

Unique Sheep Yarn Club Shipment

I’m also a member of the Unique Sheep’s Gourmet Yarn Club. I got some lovely worsted weight yarn in some pretty spring/sage green and lemon yellow. I also got recipes for cookies (almond shortbread cookies and peanut butter cookies), a pattern for a potholder (which I likely won’t knit because I don’t need a potholder, but it’s really cute), and some adorable cookie cutters (a sheep and a chick). The yarns go great together. They aren’t terribly soft, so I’m not sure what I’ll make with it. Any suggestions?

I also really can’t wait for my life to calm down so I have to some time to bake some of these cookies and play with this yarn. But right now I’m consumed with a lot of other projects (some knitting, some not.) But I just love yarn clubs. Even though I pay for them, it feels like getting a gift every month, because I never know what to expect, but I always know it’ll be good.