A Stash Dive on a Steamy Saturday

What a glorious Saturday!!! It’s definitely very warm outside, but the sun is shining and I couldn’t ask for more. Growing up in South Louisiana, I know heat & humidity. Bring it on, St. Louis 🙂

Today is a stash dive day! But before we get to that, let me tell you just a little about our morning adventure. My sister-in-law, Deana and the kiddos, Will & Nora, picked up Jordan and I this morning to go to the Soulard Farmer’s Market. It was huge and buzzing and full of delicious fresh produce. If you find yourself in St. Louis, Missouri, I recommend a trip.

We bought a huge watermelon, peaches, cucumbers to pickle, tomatoes, mangoes, green beans and even some fresh baked bread. The place was so busy and my hands were so full I wasn’t able to snap any photos of the market. But here’s our giant melon!

On to the stash diving! Today is sort of a cheater day as this is also a highlight of my most recent stash enhancement. Yes, that means that I did break the diet, but it is for a good cause. I was supporting my favorite LYS McNeedles on my  most recent trip to Louisiana. They did just add on to their shop and it is summer so yarn is not flying off the shelves as quickly as it normally does in the colder times. Plus it’s pretty.

See!? It’s Alegria by Manos del Uruguay in Columbina. I’ve used this before in my Color Affection Shawl, but this is a new (to me) fun colorway. Pam says it reminds her of Funfetti Cake. I couldn’t agree more.

Now the question arises, what should this become??
1. maybe some socks? Like moonrivercottager’s Painter’s Palate socks…
2. or perhaps a shawl like tracieknits’ Kvothe scarf…I love the dropped stitch design…
3. Or Newdknit’s Fairy Bread Cowl…I even already have this pattern in my queue and it could look super cool in the dotty colors.
4. mayhaps it could be a part of another design by Veera Valimaki (Color Affection) like the Happy Street pattern?

I just have about 4 more projects to finish before I can cast on something new…at least finishing four projects would make me feel better about casting on something new. We shall see. I’m going to continue to try to just pick up the computer 1 time a day to read blogs, play on pinterest, and make a blog post. So far this week it has helped me to knock out my secret project for my swap partner! It is blocking now! I’ll try to send it out Monday so I can post about it next week and share the fun with you guys 🙂

Until then, what would you do with one lovely skein of Alegria??

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Hello & Happy Saturday!!

All from St. Louis of course. This has been my first move as a married person and it has certainly been different from any other move I have ever done. My very first move away from my parents’ home where I was for 18 years was to college in Memphis, Tennessee. I loaded up all my clothes, shoes, and linens into my mom’s car for the 6 hour journey. When we arrived, we went and bought anything else I could possibly need moving into a relatively furnished dorm room.

I moved in and out of college housing for the next 6 years, getting a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Then I finally moved into a condo with one of my best friends. That was a challenge because it was my first real place with stairs (I’d avoided them throughout college because I didn’t want to trudge up and down them everyday). My parents, brother, and boyfriend (now husband) really made that move possible. I was lucky enough to stay put there for 2 years while teaching school. Then there was the quick move to Louisville which involved renting a shipping crate, packing it jam full of everything I had acquired and having it hauled by a trucking company, delayed for a week, and finally unloaded by my husband and me into our SECOND floor apartment just a month before our wedding 1,000 miles away.

Thankfully, we made it to this move, with another 2 year lease (yay! no packing for at least that long) with the help of my father-in-law. He’s moved a time or two and was able to really help us pack our truck chock full. We made it the 240 miles with only a broken shelf, 2 broken glasses, a broken plate, and a broken hurricane lamp. Much better success. My only complaint? Yes, we are on the SECOND floor again, with daily stairs 🙂 Ah well, I guess it is better to be making the noise than hearing the noise. And the stairs are in our unit so hopefully my cats can get some exercise and stop being the fattest ones around.

All of this being said, it is really wonderful to wake up in a new place that already feels like home AND be inspired to write a post. It could have something to do with the Monster cup of coffee I poured myself.

I have been struggling with time and ideas since we arrived, couple that with our week of no internet and you’ve got a girl who hasn’t been posting and over 200 posts to read in her bloglovin feed!!

You guessed it, it is STASH DIVE SATURDAY!! Since my stash is happily on display in the other room, it was so easy to just swoop in and pick out a skein to highlight. Here is the photo process of deciding.

Hmmmmm, maybe something on the top shelf?

No, no. How about the DK/Sport weight shelf?

Oooooh yes, How about green? I love green.

And it’s Smooshy!!!!

It’s Dream in Color’s Smooshy with Cashmere. This may be my only yarn I have with Cashmere…so it must be made into something special. I want it to be something that will be close to my skin since it is so soft. I also love this color, Emerald Darkness, and really want it to be visible. So probably not socks since I don’t have any clear shoes…Maybe a shawl or scarf or cowl? But the catch is that I only have 1 skein…
Ideas:
1. How about this Nautilina Scarf by Sybil R on Ravelry? The colors look fun, and I’m sure I could pair this with another gorgeous yarn from my stash or perhaps break the diet?? Her pattern is available free on her blog, Knitting and so on.
2. Mayhaps The Age of Brass And Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower Yarn on Ravelry? Plus there are some very lovely yarns on the Orange Flower Yarn website that would be amazing in this pattern. Oh the temptation…
3. Maybe I should stop adding patterns to my queue and just look through that? Or the books I have here at home, but where is the fun in that adventure?? Maybe the Churchmouse Yarns & Teas Welted Fingerless Gloves (here on Ravelry). These have been in my queue forever and I may even have the pattern somewhere…I bet the softness would be so nice on my hands.
4. Or perhaps Jared Flood‘s Ptarmigan cowl (here on Ravelry). I bet the lace in the round would be beautiful in the green I have. And another doozie that has been in my queue for far too long.

The hard part about looking at all of these beautiful patterns is that I really should not start anything new. I’ve been working almost exclusively on the Midsummer Baby Blanket for my soon-to-be-here niece. I’m literally 4 rows away from starting the 4th color. It’s a little bulky to travel with since I have a big bag full of yarn. I don’t want to leave any of it behind because I’m paranoid that I will run out of a yarn I need RIGHT THEN! Here is the progress.

I’ve also been working on the Mother-Daughter Knit-along which is the Putney Shawl in my Kentucky Festival purchase 🙂 I love that this project is still very portable and very brainless. And Sis likes it. Here is the progress.

If you had the Smooshy in your possession, what would you make it?

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Tall Birds & Slinky Yarn

For this Saturday’s Stash Dive, I decided to highlight my Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in Celadon. It’s a DK weight and comes in at 550 yards. Woah woah woah!! Check out all the yards! The possibilities are endless…

I did wind this right after I bought it for a specific shawl. Of course the lovely ladies at McNeedles made a Saroyan in this gorgeous yarn which inspired my Mom to make one.

Then I saw the lovely and wanted to make one myself. We all know that I tend to have many a project going and that was no different when I had this inspiration. Therefore, this lovely skein is waiting in the wings of my stash.

Since this gorgeous skein has been waiting so long, I am considering other options for this yarn, but I’m not sold. I just know it will have to be something that needs drape and luster.

Also, today is WORLD WIDE KNIT IN PUBLIC day!!! I’m planning to grab my needles and yarn and head to Sophie’s Fine Yarn Shoppe in Louisville for some stitchin’! I hope you get out there too and knit it up with friends. If you are looking for an event in your area, you can visit this website to locate one.

I know this is a short post, but hopefully you can relate. The weather is gorgeous, there is a farmer’s market to visit and some knitting to put together to take to WWKIP!! Have a fantastic Saturday!!!!

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

Stash Dive!!!

Since it is Sunday, Mother’s Day, I am a little late in getting this post out. First though, I’d like to wish my mom and all the moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day 🙂 I am so thankful to have such wonderful moms in my life!

Stash dive you say? Whatever could that be??? Well, it’s a venture into my stash. I know my stash is not as big as some, but I love it. It’s been growing for about 5 years and I do try to venture into the stash before I start a new project to see if I can find something to use first. The problem is my stash is for ME! Whenever I buy yarns that end up in my stash, I buy them because I like them. It’s a very selfish hoard. That may  be more descriptive than “stash.”

So this Sunday I’m going to highlight a solo skein I’ve had for a while: Jade Sapphire’s Lacey Lamb in Doubloon.

It’s a lace weight 100% wool yarn. It has 825 yards or 754 meters. I bought this on a trip to St. Louis visiting family. Of course, I had to slip on over to Knitorious just to check it out. They had such a big selection of all types of beautiful yarns. I have only been once and would love to go back! I bought this skein because of the color and the soft, lofty feeling it has. I love all colors, especially rich ones. I have a hard time choosing a favorite and tend go through color phases. I bought this on a sunny kick. I think I also bought some Berroco Pure Pima for this Awesome Shawl in a Mustard color.

Anyway, the challenge with this lovely Lacey Lamb is what to do with it! So, I turned to Ravelry. Here are my top 5 ideas so far:
1. Knitterjenny’s E t h e r e a l top–I love the light, airiness of this knit. Her post says 1 skein is enough…
2. lismete’s Castello Scarf–The textured pattern on this is wowowowowow! I bet in the Lacey Lamb it’s like a cloud!
3. JuleeQue’s Third Time’s a Charm Stole–The texture on this is gorgeous and I think it would be beautiful in the gold color.
4. yellowbird’s Ready to Go Shawl–The lace pattern is a beautiful texture and it looks easy enough to memorize.
5. Failli’s Bridesmaid Shawl–This looks lovely. I think the stockinette section in this would be a relief to knit after the edging.

In an effort to get this out before the end of the day, I’m going to go ahead and post. On a final note, I’m sure you have yarns in your stash you bought for you. I’m curious what draws you to those yarns? When you choose to buy a skein for you, with no project in mind, what are the factors? Color? Fiber? General Flurfy-ness?

v’s & bumps,

Jenna