closet

I cleaned out my closet yesterday. It's not a huge closet, but once I had all the yarn and unspun fiber out on my bed, it was frightening. I have a cedar chest in there and 6 big canvas bin thingys that I bought for off-season clothes. Haha. They hold my yarn. It's a very good thing that Eric and I don't have a lot of clothes, because they wouldn't have anywhere to go.

There were some happy re-discoveries: this Elsbeth Lavold gold Silky Wool that got swatched and then forgotten in the rush to make Presto Chango; some Dalegarn Stork that's meant for a little lacy bolero for PeeWee; some blue 1824 Wool intended for my middle son; and this beaded wool from Blue Heron Yarns in Leaf--that I had no plans for, but I bought anyway because it was just so beautiful. (Go look at those Blue Heron color cards--they're gorgeous.)


I ordered it from my LYS based on a color card and a sample skein of the colorway in Egyptian Cotton. When the beaded wool arrived it was vastly different from the color card and I was rather disappointed. (You may kindly remind me that cotton and wool take up dye very differently.) I promptly socked it away in my closet.

Boberly walked in my room yesterday just as I was taking the beaded wool out of the bag to look at it. She started saying words like "lurve it" and "make me a sweater" and "pleeeeeease". I'm sure you can guess what came out of the closet next. Yes. The swift and the ballwinder. I now have a ball of Leaf and an anxious daughter. She pestered me all last night about when I was going to start swatching for her sweater. She drew up a design and with a little help from Maggie Righetti and Sweater Design in Plain English, I will be knitting the Boberly Sweater: a top-down raglan with an off-center two-button placket, stockinette body, and deep ribbing at the cuffs and bottom. My two Maggie Righetti books (the other one is Knitting in Plain English) are the two most frequently referenced books on my knitting shelf. I HIGHLY recommend them. They're not flashy, there's no eye-catching color photography--but there is the wisdom of a veteran no-nonsense knitting instructor who will spell it all out for you at any time of the day.

I'm still spinning away on my Hello Yarn BFL for my Bohussy mittens. It's slow, but steady progress. Hmmm, am I seeing a color theme in this post?