A knitty sort of day

Mmmm man! I got some good stuff today! At least I think so. :)

The hubby and I walked down to St. Vincent's this afternoon. I was hoping to snag some of the last sweaters they had to recycle. The day was gorgeous and as fragrant as could be! It was great! The walk was tiresome but it was nice to get out and breath some fresh air and spend some time together.

St. Vinney's recently redid their store though and things were gone. Including sweaters (and books! ). They had none left in the entire store. I was pretty dissapointed. I did manage to find their file cabinet of crafting notions though. I got a pair of size 1 needles. They don't match though which kind of sucks. One is a straight and one is a DPN and they are of a weird plastic type material. They bend kind of funbky but I got them so I could make the mother in law something that screams dainty and fragile. :) I also got 5 balls of 3 cord crochet yarn. It's a bit thin for knitting but that was the appeal. I'm sure I could use it for practice on something that would ask for lace. Who knows? Maybe it won't work. I can always free cycle it. One ball is a bit thicker though. I think it was meant for knitting. I was so excited to use this stuff too. It feels like cotton and was a not so bad color. It looks like someone snipped it though. I could have gotten 2-3 average sized washrags out of it and due to the places it was snipped I can now get maybe one smaller one. :( Oh well. It cost me next to nothing and S sure liked playing with it.

Sooo after we got back from there I headed over to Freddies and checked out their yarn and needles. I have that place memorized but it's nice to go look you know? :) I got two more pairs of needles! I got some size 10 aluminum straights after reading about washrags on Mothering. I cast on for a washrag and felt guilty for the soaker I am plodding through. So I headed back over and got some size 6 aluminum straights. The husband thinks I am loopy for going to Freddies so much. I think I was there three or four times today. :) I bought the 6's though for soakers. I know most patterns call for 5's but I knit tight so I'm hoping these will be ok. Plus they didn't have any 5's. They are long though which makes them kind of butt heavy. They're 14 inches which I didn't notice till I got home and had cast on for another soaker (that will likely sit and gather dust). It was too late to take them back and see if they had shorter too. Oh well. It'll be nice when I get to doing longies. The shorties I am working on are from the Tiny Birds longies pattern and they are currently on my circulars BECAUSE of the amount of increases. My short DPN's couldn't handle that many stitches on them.

I feel like I am cheating on my other needles. :) I lvoe my wooden noes. They are easy to make, custom made each and every time, are warm on the hands, and are from natural materials. But they are heavy. I never notice til I get a pair of metal ones in my hands. I'm already addicted to the ones I bought today because of how light they are. Plus they have a little more slip to them. I've noticed more and more lately that I have to fight with the grip my wooden ones provide. While it was great when I was first learning it's a bit annoying now. I'm thinking my needle stash may become obscene. :) I think I will have to get a complete set of straights in aluminums and then a set of DPN's in wood. There are just so many qualities to both that I can't pick and choose. My heart goes to wood most of the time but that slipperyness is so appealing. :)

As I said, I'm working on some shorties for S. They are taking forever. I'm just not thrilled with the pattern .The soaker was so quick and easy and knit in one piece. These are not so quick (though stil leasy) and I'm going to have to do two pieces. I just don't find that idea a lovely one. I would love to find a pattern that knit them flat and in one piece. I have a pair here that are like that. I bought them from an (ex)friend when she bought some diapers and turned around to sell them (she did it in such poor taste :( ). They have a darker orange waist and leg cuffs with an orange body and red drawstring. If I could find the mama who made these and get her pattern I would be eternally grateful. They fit perfectly! I'm just notpattern oriented enough to sit down and figure it out just by looking at them. Plus I'm still learning how to count stitches and rows after they've been knit. I have yet to find a way that works for me.

Acrylic yarn, surprisingly enough, gets soft after washing. At least the brands I do did. After I had finsihed the soaker I was pretty disappointed that it was so stiff but after one wash and dry it's super soft and more "cloth" like. I love it. Too bad it got washed with diapers and attached itself often to the velcroe. :S I need a sweater shaver now.