Fiber Temptations

Fiber-related temptationss are something over which I have little or no willpower

New Purchases
I had to go to Simply Knit to pick up the yarn for the new baby project for Janis.

First of all, I must say, I'm extremely pleased with the yarn I now have, and I'm very hopeful for how this beauty will come out.

Second, I had to buy everything that the yarn store owners suggested. I'm so weak.

Skacel/Addi has come out with some new knitted and crocheted jewelery kits that are way cool. The knitting is done with very nice silver, fine gauge wire and great little selection of glass beads. They even include bamboo double-pointed needles for making the tube of jewelry. I'm quite impressed, despite the price tag of just under $50.



The owners also left out a bag of 10 skeins of Jamieson Spindrift (jumper weight) in a dark navy with a note asking if I wanted it for $2.50 a skein. "Is this a trick question?", I asked myself. Of course I bought it with absolutely no idea when or how I would use it.



New Temptation
With my self-imposed deadline of finishing the Zachary blanket by the end of this weekend (which you'll read later will never happen), I have been itching to cast on for the knitting necklace in the Skacel kit.

I've opened the packaging (very cool packaging), I've checked out the beads, I've unspooled and felt a little of the wire...but, I have resisted the temptation to start this fun looking project. I have been working only on the Zachary blanket, and nothing else. Maybe I'm not so weak.

Knitting Progress
I have had a busy weekend, and every spare moment, I've been working on the Zachary blanket. Boy did I underestimate how long this blanket would take me to finish. I'm really only about 75% done on this. I'll need a full week of knitting to be able to finish this blanket.



Gage watches on to make sure I stay true to my primary knitting project. That also means I can't start the new man's Jamieson sweater design, I can't start the surprise Janis baby project and I absolutely can't start the knitted necklace.

Busy Weekend
I've decided that I want to continue flying, and it's been since September of last year that I piloted a plane. So last weekend and this weekend, I scheduled some time with a new instructor. Last weekend, he assessed my skills, and signed me off to be able take up a passenger with me. This weekend, I asked him to accompany me to an airport about 45 minutes flying time away, and give me some pointers on landing at a somewhat difficult airstrip (Kutztown, PA, in case you care).

Both flights went well, but the three hours of time away from home does cut into my weekend knitting.

Reader Comments and Questions
First of all, I'm glad you had the opportunity to vent on your pet peeves.

Second, thank you everyone for the feedback on Manos yarn. I still plan on some day knitting myself a Manos throw, since everytime I go to my mom's house, I love the throw I made her more and more.

Third, a few folks have written comments that they didn't like how FiestaWear was starting out, but liked the finished product. I have to admit to being one of those folks myself...that's why when I do color design, I design the entire garment in Microsoft Excel before I cast on the first stitch.

I have no ability to envision a sweater, or combinations of color without seeing them first, so I do some basic design on the computer, and then use my understanding of vibrancy and weighting of color to pick yarns and colors that will work with the overall design.

One other thing I do have to say in defense of FiestaWear. Pictures of this sweater make the colors more bright than they really are. The finished sweater is quite a bit more muted and dark than the pictures portray.

Finally, Aubergine asks whether I might have known Kafka's nephew from my time at Rutgers College in New Brunswick.

All I can say is that if I knew him, I didn't know he was Kafka's nephew, and I don't recall anyone that looks quite like Kafka. Although I have to say, I think he's kind of good looking based on the picture. Here's what the painting looks like (the last post was the photograph on which the painting was based).



But who can account for taste, when I find the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, John Gacey, Scott Peterson and sometimes even one of the sons of Saddam Hussein somewhat attractive.