It seems with the change over to daylight savings time, autumn has also arrived in Nashville. Winter feels close on its heels. This morning, while I was walking a couple blocks to grab a pumpkin spice latte, I realized how cold it really is out there. I pulled the hood on my cardigan up, but the wind went right through the loose knit.

I decided it’s finally time to break down and admit that winter is right around the corner and that I’m going to need to go buy a new winter coat for work.

I also felt silly as I walked to Starbucks, realizing I’m a knitter and there I was caught with no scarf, no mittens, and no hat in 40-degree weather. So I’ve also determined its probably time to put down the sock knitting temporarily to knit myself some winter-wear.

A few weeks back, I purchased some Knit Picks Wool of the Andes yarn in the “claret heather” colorway. It’s been living in my stash, waiting to be knitted up into the Irish Hiking Scarf. I think I’m finally going to bust it out and get started. (Good excuse to finally learn how to do cables, I guess!)

I’m envisioning getting a nice dark, charcoal gray peacoat and having my lovely reddish-purple Irish Hiking Scarf, a matching set of Lola flip-top mittens (from the new 101 Designer One Skein Wonders), and a hat of some sort.

*Squee!*

But now, just how to balance the whole needing to knit Christmas gifts versus wanting (needing?) to knit myself some goodies to keep warm now that the weather is changing… hmmm. I sense quite a few WIPs coming on.

Sock knitting has been on hold briefly but I’m definitely ready to get back to it. I have so many sock yarns and patterns I want to try.

<— I completed my set of sock blockers with an order that came in the mail from The Loopy Ewe yesterday. I now have a set in sizes medium, large, and extra-large. So that should cover all the family members and friends that I plan to knit socks for. I also got some Soak Wash and a bit of Cherry Tree Hill yarn from there. (I’m a total Loopy Ewe addict now.)

Mostly I’ve been working on my “cold at work” shawl. It’s kind of a hybrid of the shawl pattern from Greetings from the Knit Café and Bev’s Dishcloth Shawl. I’m using size 9 Addi Turbo circulars. Unfortunately, I only had them in a 16-inch length, so now the shawl is getting too big and I’m waiting on my longer-length Addi’s to come in the mail. I’m also running out of yarn (I’m using Schaefer Yarn’s Sandra) — I had 1 skein of it and 2 more on order, but the ones I ordered haven’t come in yet. So I guess this project is going to go on hold.

Meanwhile, I have a baby gift for someone that’s about 90% done but I’ve been putting off finishing it because the last part involves short rows, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Well, since I put it aside, I’ve learned to knit socks — so now I’m feeling a lot more confident. So I may try to wrap that project up tonight or tomorrow. Then I’ll get back to my sock knitting and I’m also needing to make up some dish cloths and scrubbies.

Erica and I had a heck of a good time at Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday Night. It was quite an experience. We met up with Erica’s friend, Kelly, and her two friends. So it was a rowdy girls-night-out.

Here’s a picture of us waiting in line on the sidewalk outside the theater waiting for the show to start. —>

(Note the fab eyelash scarf that I knitted! It was really cold, so I wound up wearing it wrapped around my arms while we waited in line.)

Once we were in the theater, everyone shared their props with us — I wound up with a Spongebob party hat, a gold party-blower, and a mini-size squirt gun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember any of the callbacks, but some of the people sitting right behind us certainly did, so that was fun! I can’t wait to go again next year.

So. Ravelry… yah. Obsessed. It’s just waaaay too much fun.

If you’ve seen my recent photos on Flickr lately, you’ll notice that it’s been a steady stream of yarn pictures. I haven’t flipped my lid. I promise. I was adding my yarn stash to Ravelry, and the only way to add photos on there is through Flickr.

One thing I noticed when I was going through my stash… I have an ass-load of old chunky and ultra-bulky weight Lion Brand yarns. I am so over super thick yarn. I bought a ton of it when I was first learning to knit because, well… thick yarn + big needles = rewarding knitting results for newbs. But it’s served it’s purpose and I’m tired of looking at it. Anyone want some yarn?

… Hmmm, maybe I can gift it to Erica, along with my giant plastic needles that I knit my very first scarf with. (I’m determined to get that girl knitting so I can have a crafty-buddy. Heh.)

I cast on my second sock last night. I had planned to knit during the season premiere of House (am I the only one who found it rather disappointing?) but that didn’t happen. (I worked on a Grandmother’s Favorite dish cloth instead.) I finally cast on the second sock and worked on it during Scrubs reruns right before bedtime. I finished the ribbed cuff and I got about 3 rows into the ankle before the Nyquil kicked in and I passed out.

I’m already planning my next pair of socks. I’m planning to use the Lang Yarns Jawoll sock yarn (pictured to the right) that I picked up from The Neighborhood Knit Shop on Saturday. I haven’t chosen a sock pattern yet though. I want to try something a little more difficult than the first basic sock I did, but nothing too hard. Maybe just something with a little more detail around the ankle or something. A different rib maybe? The book I’m using, Getting Started Knitting Socks, has lots of good ideas. I just need to take a few minutes to flip through the book and pick something.

I need to figure out what knitted things I’m going to make for Christmas gifts too, because I need to get started on those.

AND (due to the fact that I’m a glutton for punishment) I decided to join my first swap on Craftster, the “Fill a Coffee Mug” swap. I should find out who my swap-partner is going to be today, which is good because then I’ll find out whether they prefer coffee, tea, or hot cocoa -themed items and I can get started on that! Send-outs for the swap are by October 10th. I’m getting married October 6th. (Hence the “glutton for punishment” statement.) I figure it will give me something to work on next week at my mom’s house. It will keep me relaxed so I don’t start having pre-wedding jitters. Right?! Right.

I’m the only real knit-a-holic in my family. None of my friends knit (that I know of) and I haven’t had the opportunity to make any new knitting-friends really (tragedy!), so I don’t really know how many needles the average knitter has in his or her arsenal. But here’s my collection so far (collected since I started knitting about a year ago):

As you can probably tell, I much prefer bamboo needles. I have a small collection of metal needles (in the case in the upper left corner of the photo) that were hand-me-downs from my mom’s collection (which originated from my Great Gram’s collection). The pink basket has all my DPNs, the pile in the lower left are all my circulars. Then you’ll see two piles of strait needles: 13-inch length on the left, 9-inch on the right.

My purpose in posting this is not actually to show off my meager needle collection, but to share a secret with any beginning knitters out there (like myself) who are tired of having to run out and buy new needles for every project they want to do… eBay!!

I’ve had excellent luck ordering from the eBay user “skyridertrd“. What’s awesome is: he sells his needles in complete sets, every size from 0 up to 15, for really reasonable prices. He has circulars in various lengths, DPNs, and straits in two lengths. I have not used the circulars yet (as you can see they’re still in the packages) so I can’t speak for thos, but I’ve used my DPNs and straits extensively and they’re every bit as good as the Clover brand ones that you pay $4+ per set for at a craft or knitting shop.

Now I occasionally do splurge. To reward myself for conquering my first knitted sock (something I anticipate will soon become an addiction), I ordered a set of ebony Lantern Moon Sox Stix. I can’t wait till they come! I hope they arrive in the mail this week so I can pack them to knit with while I’m home next week preparing for our wedding! Knitting calms me… so it will be the perfect thing to pack.

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!

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*