Oh, the "Enablers"!

For several months (actually years), I've been lusting after the Hanne Falkenberg sweater kits. I just didn't really see one that "I had to have"....though there are several that are incredibly tempting. It also doesn't help that two of my friends (Nora and Yvonne) are working on some fabulous looking Hanne Falkenberg sweaters. It's very difficult to "ignore" the "call of the sweater" when you get to see and touch them over a period of months....watching them develop, getting caught up in the excitement as the sweater takes shape, etc. (If you recall, I'd posted a photo of Nora's progress a few months back - March 28, 2007 - at the half-way mark.)

This month, I got a peek at the one Yvonne is making. With not one, but two "subtle enablers" in my guild, I couldn't resist any longer. I started perusing the web in search of the "perfect" style with the "perfect" color.....and I found it! At a fabulous price as well! It's the "Mermaid" in lilac, purple, and aubergine. It's going to be incredible! (Sorry about the slight blur of the photo....I tried to get a close up)
I ordered the kit from the Cucumberpatch out of the UK. They are an absolute delight to deal with and ship VERY fast. I ordered on Aug. 23 and received my order today...Aug. 29! All the way from the UK to the US in 6 very short days! I highly recommend this vendor. Shipping was very reasonable as well.

Oh, speaking of the "subtle enablers", after seeing Yvonne's Norwegian sweater (see my Aug. 23 post), Lisa and I were desperate to get the pattern...and we started searching. Lisa succeeded in locating a couple of copies and placed the order, so they should be on the way (wahoo!). I have plenty of great yarn to make the sweater with, so I can even knit it from stash! What a bonus! Keep your fingers crossed....getting the pattern book has proven to be quite a challenge...and it's not over yet.

On to my knitting progress...I've done several more rows on the Lilith and had to wind up another ball of yarn. I did have to "undo" a row because there was a knot near the end. It was very frustrating - with only about 10 meters of yarn left, I encountered a knot just 15 stitches from the end of the row! Grrr! THEN when I was winding the second ball of yarn, I found that there was a knot about 1/4 of the way through that skein. ARGH!!! And since the yarn is a very fine double stranded (one strand of lace weight linen and one strand of lace weight kid mohair), you really can't "gracefully" connect a new skein mid-row...you need to do it on the ends. I wonder if anyone else has run into this with the Louet Kid-Lin Pixie? (I usually don't have a problem with the Louet yarns...I've used several skeins of the Euroflax line and had no problems!)

I started the heel of my Wildfoote socks in "Purple Splendor". I'm about 2/3 down the heel flap...almost ready to turn the heel. Then, it's smooth sailing down the foot as I'm one of those people that has short stubby little feet. The big advantage with that is that I don't have to ever worry about having enough yarn to make a full pair of socks! (And my friend Elizabeth loves it as she gets some of my "scraps" for her "sock yarn" afghan!)

And, believe it or not, I've managed to work another 14 rows or so of MS3. I'm deciding that I'll definitely do this one "as designed"....I'll see if I like the asymmetry of it. If not, I have plenty of Zephyr and I'll just make the symmetrical version or wait until I purchase the pattern and check out the "double wing" version.

I still need to do the washing/rinsing of my yarn and fiber samples from my dyeing adventures last Saturday, but that may have to wait until later this weekend. I also need to make it to the fabric shop and pick out some nylon strapping for my yoga bag as well as some interesting fabric so I can try out my new sewing machine. Maybe I'll make a couple of spindle bags???? Hmmmm.....


Today's "cute animal" shot is one of my doggie. She loves to lie on her back in the most ackward positions....and this time, she actually stayed still while I shot a photo! Her normal reaction to me reaching for the camera is to hop up and "check out" what I'm doing or to "sniff the camera". This position must be comfortable, why else would she keep on doing it?