Knitting Again

Now that I'm a little more caught up, I've finally been able to find some knittin' time. I'm still working on my Double-Knit Mittens, and as much as I like the way they are turning out, I can't seem to master the technique of knitting two strands of yarn alternately to the point that would make this an enjoyable project to pick up in the evening. It's strictly for the nights that I'm ready for a challenge

For a something simpler, I thought I would quickly knit up a couple of the BYOB shopping bags to give to my sister for her birthday. It is an easy and quick knit, but kind of a dumb finished project. The bag is too bulky to carry around and gets all stretched out if you try and carry anything of weight. I made one, and then went shopping for something else to give to my sister. It turned out not be a total waste of time, because I found a great summer weight yarn in Lion's Brand Cotton-Ease. In fact, while I was out shopping for my sister's new gift, I picked up enough of the it for my next project.

Last night I cast on Currer from Berroco's Second Volume of Norah Gaughan's Collection in the Cotton-Ease. The only color that I thought I could live with and that had enough skeins in one dye lot was Stone, and while I wasn't thrilled about the color when I bought it, I think it will be perfect. I like this yarn so much. It knits up without plying, it has good body to it, and when I machine washed and dried the swatch, it looked great without any blocking at all. I have heard some grumblings about this pattern, though. Guess I'll find out.

Finally, under the category of didn't-really-want-but-don't-have-the-heart-to-pitch, my Mom gave me some dishtowels that she found that had been embroidered by my Grandma. This must have been her idea of fun for quite a long time, because I already had a lot of these from when we closed out her house. Since they aren't much good for drying dishes, I was thinking that I might turn a bunch of them into a valance for our big window in the sunroom off the kitchen. Put it on the list.