I have something to confess: I have an addiction to Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn. Every time I’m in a JoAnn Fabrics, Michael’s, or other craft store — I can scarcely help myself from picking up a skein or two. If there’s a color I haven’t knit before, I buy it. If it’s on sale, I buy lots. I can’t help myself! (Hence the 50 dish cloths project.)

A lot of knitters are similarly addicted to sock yarn, it seems. I fell prey to sock yarn when I was browsing Etsy one day. Sock yarn comes in the most jaw-dropping colorways. Hand-painted, self-striping, soft, and yummy. It’s easy to see why it becomes an addiction.

Up till now, I’ve been able to avoid the full-blown addiction because I don’t know how to knit socks. The more I read about it, the more I read knitters singing the praises and wonders of hand-knit footwear, the more I realize I need to learn. Like, NOW.

I bought myself a copy of Getting Started Knitting Socks. I spent last night reading the introductory chapters. It definitely made the idea of knitting socks a bit less terrifying.

So I dug out one of the two beautiful skeins of sock yarn that I’ve been hording. I chose to start with the Coral Pink colorway from Fearless Fibers. I cast on thirty stitches, intending to start my very first gauge swatch for a sock. Then I quickly realized that I was far too tired to be working on size 1 DPNs using such teeny-tiny yarn.

(Damn… I’m only 25 and I’m already going blind?)

Anyway, I was forced back to finishing a couple other projects I had going. Not really a bad thing, I guess.

Tonight, though, I will attempt to begin conquering my fear of knitting socks! Then the sock yarn obsession can begin.

(Secretly, I admit I also have a hope that I can sway my hubby-to-be, Nick, into appreciating my knitting a bit more if I can woo him using knit socks, as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee describes in her books… but that’s a whole other issue… he he.)

Incidentally, anticipating this upcoming sock-yarn obsession, and recalling a not-so-fond memory of winding the sock yarn I bought in the past, I decided to order an umbrella swift off eBay today too. Let’s just say: untangling 200+ yards of sock yarn is not something I want to have to do twice in my lifetime.

Lookie! I finally finished the mittens I was knitting! They’re no longer thumbless!

They’re from a pattern in One Skein Wonders. The only thing I didn’t like about the pattern is that it used a M1 increase and it left some little holes. Hmph. But I still love them! They’re the first mittens I’ve ever knitted and overall I’m really pleased.

I also nearly finished my Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf last night. I say “nearly” because I ran out of the burnt-sienna colored yarn when making the last few tassels. Argh! So I had to order a whole extra skein of it just to make three more tassels. I finished tassels on one end, though, which you can see in the photo.

I can’t believe how long this scarf is … and SO warm! If you’d like to knit one yourself, this is the (wonderful!) pattern I used.

The new issue of Knitty was posted last week, and strait away I fell in love with the Cherie Amour sweater.

I’ve never knit a sweater before, but I thought that sweater looked like a good first one to try because it’s knit on slightly larger-sized needles, with a chunkier-weight yarn. (i.e. It shouldn’t take quite as long to knit up.)

The yarn I got came from Handpaintedyarn.com. It’s 100% merino wool and very lovely. The colorway is called “Hortalizas”. I know it’s kind of an unusual color combination (definitely a love-it or hate-it thing). I wanted something very “earthy”-toned, though, so I think it’s perfect!

I’m working on some other projects at the moment (I have some gifts I want to finish) so this will probably be put on hold for a little while. I also need to pick up the circular needles I need for it (my collection of circulars isn’t very extensive). Maybe I’ll get to starting it in a few weeks!

Oh! And an update on Ravelry: I’m now number 3581 in line. They’ve been inviting (it appears) anywhere from 250-500 people a day, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer!

And one final thing: meet my new crafting buddy!

I was at Petsmart and saw they had some lovely crowntail bettas. I rummaged to the back of the shelf and saw this little guy. Isn’t he beautiful? He has SO much personality too.

I haven’t named him quite yet. I think he needs a very crafty name, because his aquarium is right next to my sewing machine. I was thinking perhaps “Stitches” or “Scraps” or something. I decided on “Scraps” — he’s so colorful, it makes me think of quilt scraps!

Finally on Sunday, I finished my craft studio.

Well… okay, technically it still needs curtains and some other “finishing touches”, but for the most part, it’s done. It’s definitely a space I can work in, at long last.

It’s pretty impressive: I managed to fit all of my sewing, scrapbooking, embroidery, knitting, and other craft supplies into one room, along with my computer stuff, my books, my ferrets, my hamster, and two small aquariums… and there’s still space to work!

I sat in there last night chatting on AIM with Erica and finishing up my Harry Potter Gryiffindor scarf. I could seriously just stay in that room forever. I love it so much — it’s so “me” and everything is in perfect order and right where I want it. It really makes me giddy.

I actually finished the HP scarf last night, all except the fringe. I hand-washed it and laid it out on my cutting table to dry today while I’m at work. Hopefully I can finish it up (and take photos) tonight.

One of my favorite knitting books is One Skein Wonders. I always seem to have stray balls of yarn lying around. (Typically because I’m at the yarn shop and see something beautiful and exotic, but can only afford one or two balls of it.) The mittens I’m currently knitting are from a pattern contained in this book.

Anyway! The folks who brought you that book (and soon their new book, 101 Designer One Skein Wonders, which you can now pre-order on Amazon) now have a website! The site includes several projects, organized by weight of yarn.

[via Lime & Violet's Daily Chum]

As promised, here’s a photo (as of 9 p.m. tonight) of the progress thus far on my Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf:

I’m pretty happy with how it’s turning out so far! I’m using this pattern with Plymouth Encore Worsted (25% wool/75% acrylic) in Butternut and Burnt Sienna.

Even though it looks pretty big, it’s only just over half done. When complete, it will have 10 rows of the scarlet color and 9 rows of the gold. It’s knitting up pretty fast though. I just love circular needles.

Thanks to Eden’s announcement, I saw that the new fall ‘07 issue of Knitty is out.

I’ve never knit a sweater before, but when I saw Cherie Amour, it was love at first sight. (Appropriately enough.)

I looked to see what yarn it was: Merino bulky from Handpaintedyarn.com. I immediately popped over to their site to see how much it would cost to knit said sweater (using the yarn recommended). I was pleased to see they have very reasonable prices! I decided on (and impulse-purchased) the Hortalizas colorway. It’s a very oddball combination of colors, and I love it. Oh! And icing on the cake: the website’s shipping costs are also quite reasonable. I have a feeling I may be a frequent customer there.

I’m so darn excited! I’ve thought about knitting a sweater before, but I’ve been fairly intimidated. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee books lately, but suddenly I’ve grown some (knitting) balls!

Quite some time ago, I purchased some absolutely breathtaking handpainted sock yarn from Fearless Fibers on Etsy. I’ve wanted to desperately to knit it up into some socks … but I’ve been really intimidated. You hear the words “turning the heel” and it just strikes fear into your heart. (Unless it’s just me?) But just this morning, I thought… I’m scared of socks? WHAT?! And I keep reading that handknit socks are just the cat’s pajamas.

So after I add some thumbs to my thumbless mittens and finish my HP scarf, I think socks are the next order of business. (Incidentally, anyone have suggestions for a good first-time sock knitter pattern?) Then onward to my beautiful first sweater. *SQUEE*

Look!!

Goodies from Craft Leftovers arrived yesterday! Unfortunately, I didn’t get too much of a chance to play with my new stuff because last night was a hectic night. Hmph. Look at those buttons though! And that fabric! *Squee!*

Also in the mail yesterday, I got some more goodies from Sublime Stitching. I swear this is going to be my last order for a while. Really! I have plenty to work on for a while: I got a banner, two tea towels, an apron, and t-shirt stabilizer so I can work on embroidering some Onesies (gifts for my cousin who is expecting a new baby in December). That should be enough to keep me busy for quite a while!

In the spare time that I did have last night, I worked on my Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf. I really love it. It’s knit as a tube on circular needles, so it’s going to be double-thickness. It’s going to be so warm and cozy! I’ll post photos of my progress later.

The craft studio is also really coming along. I loaded my new cabinet-cubes in there yesterday:

When I took the photo, they were still empty. I started loading scrapbooking and sewing supplies into them after I snapped the photo, and they’re working quite well. I have one more cabinet (a 2-drawer unit) that’s on it’s way still. (Actually UPS tracking says it’s being delivered today! Hooray!)

I also was viciously attacked by my sewing dummy yesterday. I was trying to get it all adjusted to my size. When I was doing the height-adjustment, I loosened it too far, and the pipe slid down with a crash and pinched the side of my finger. I have a lovely blood blister! My mother says that it was probably retaliating for being called “dummy” all the time. So I’ve decided to give it a name: Adnama (my name, backwards).

Yup. I’m a dork.