Patterns and toronto

So, after my allergy shots yesterday, I ran a few errands. The last of these errands landed me on Innes Rd, and since I wasn't ready to go home yet (plus it was the beginning of rush hour, so the way to downtown would be hell), I decided to keep heading east, and ended up randomly picking major roads in Orleans, until I found myself on St. Joseph, and decided that since I'm all the way out here, why not head to Wool n' Things? I spent a good hour and a half looking through pattern books, and then the great big pattern binders. I was delighted by the pattern binders, and the fact that they have a really different selection than I found at the other 3 stores.

I bought Evening in Eden by cabin fever, a lace wrap that I plan on knitting as a scarf instead (half the repeats wide), since I just don't have that much yarn, plus with my attention span the project would have no chance otherwise! :P I think I'll use my cashsoft dk.

I also bought Fine Filigree Fingerlings by HeartStrings, gorgeous fingerless mitts. Oh so elegant and lovely!

Honestly, I really really need to stop going to yarn stores for a while, and actually knit at least one thing I have in full, BUT I'm headed to Toronto for a couple of days just after the weekend, so I'm bound to head to one of the stores. The only question is which.

I've been to Romni once, and was completely overwhelmed by it, but then it was in the middle of a massive heat wave, and their air-conditioning was broken, and I only knit with non-wool things at the time, so it's probably worth another visit. But I'm also tempted by Lettuce Knits, to which I've never been. I visited Passion Knit last fall, when I spent an entire day walking down yonge (from davisville through to somewhere ridiculously further north), but didn't really like it much.

Perhaps the Wool Mill if I go to visit my friend who now lives on Danforth? Or the Naked Sheep which has a sale on, PLUS has a knit-in in the afternoon on Tuesday? Oh boy, the choices!!!

How to spend over $40 on ideas in one afternoon

Since I finished the Fetching, I've been trying to decide on what to knit next. As with many knitters, while I'm knitting something I want to cast on a trillion different projects, (and frequently do), but now that I'm done, nothing has quite felt right for the next project.

After spending many nights doing nothing but looking at patterns and rejecting them on Ravelry, I finally got up and dressed on Saturday morning and headed out to Wool Tyme where I spent a good hour or working my way around the store looking at patterns and molesting yarn. Finally I found the Great American Afghan and the Great American Aran Afghan books and bought them. I then stopped by Knit-Knackers on my way home, but miraculously left without any yarn at all!

Once home I went onto Ravelry once more and bought two patterns that had caught my eye: Nunt's Cabled Wristwarmers (which looks absolutely beautiful and elegant, and as a bonus the designer is REALLY nice and offered to help me if I need any while I'm working on them), and Pretty as a Peacock, which is the most beautiful lace piece I've ever seen, really clean and modern, not all frilly and flowery. I don't care that I've never knit lace before, and that this is a terrible choice for a first object, I'm in love! I've been searching for a smaller lace project to perhaps tackle before I attempt the shawl, but so far haven't found anything that appeals to me at all.

Now, time to go back to swearing at the afghan books for "place 28 increases evenly" (The reason I bought a bloody pattern was so that they would do all the figuring out FOR me! #^&!!!!!!!)

Forget the glass slipper, I've got an alpaca-blend mitt!

I recently finished my first ever pair of Fetching, which I've been admiring since I first discovered the pattern years and years ago. I had avoided starting a cable project for so long, thinking it would be way too difficult, only to discover in February that it's one of the easiest skills to learn in knitting. It's easier than nearly any plain pattern, since it keeps me engaged, but it's simple enough to memorise the pattern.

So finally earlier this month, when my fingers were frozen solid as they so often are, I decided to take the plunge and finally cast on. Within a few days I was done my first mitt, and then after a mini-hibernation, due to an insanely busy, stressful, and, in the end, heartbreaking week, I finally picked the second one back up, and finished it 2 days later. I loved how easy the pattern was, but how beautiful they look! Unfortunately, they're too small for my chubby hands (they're all stretched out and URGLY), so I now need to find someone who fits them well. I suspect for several of my friends they'll be to big, since so many people in the comments section talked about how huge they turned out on their hands. So, here I am, transforming into the Prince from Cinderella, searching for the girl whose hands will fit just right!