Lime Street Knits

Well, not all of it. My boyfriend and I visited his relatives in Cleveland this past weekend. While I was knitting in their living room with their sweet dog resting his head on my knee, the picture of tranquility, he suddenly looked up and chomped my Habu. Not cool, Murphy-dog. Not cool.

I suppose I've outed myself. I've been working on a new project. I needed something small and relatively mindless to work on on the plane, so I started a much modified version of Kureopatora's Snake with my Habu Cashmere Nep. I'm enjoying the yarn/pattern combination so far. I wasn't sure how Kurepatora's Snake would work without a variegated yarn, but it's emphasizing the textural qualities of the Habu quite nicely.

Fortunately, Murphy's bite only affected the newer rows of the project, so I was able to rescue the bulk of it. And fortunately for Murphy, he's pretty darn cute.

When I first started knitting, my goal was to eventually be able to make mittens. I had visions of giving warm, handmade mittens to my friends and family for the holidays. And with each stitch of my first garter stitch scarf, I was dreaming of the perfect pair of red mittens that I would one day knit for myself.

At some point between that first scarf and yesterday, I lost hold of the mitten dream. I learned to make cables and lace. I learned that entrelac is not a town in upstate New York. I embarked on many knitting adventures and accumulated a tidy little stash with nary a though for my little, red mittens. At least, that is, until yesterday when I stumbled upon Katie Gilbert's ridiculously wonderful Gifted mitten pattern.

I know that I should have spent last night unpacking or assembling shelves or taking on any of the myriad of new apartment tasks that have yet to be completed. But I didn't. Instead I knit one red mitten. I'll probably knit it's partner today over lunch.

My heart is very full.

The camera has officially been unpacked and apartment functionality is drawing near. Here are the promised pics of the Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky that I picked up in Philly:





The color in the second picture is much more accurate. Also, I neglected to mention previously that I also picked up this adorable circular needle at the same shop:



I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but am intrigued by it.

I have lost all diligence towards my UFOs. I think that the move broke my will.

I would like to join the long line of folks who are singing the praises of Ravelry. I only had a chance to peruse the site yesterday and I already discovered what I believe to be the perfect pattern for my sweet Habu cashmere nep, Kureopatora's Snake. Although the Habu isn't variegated, I think that it's texture will work well with this particular pattern. Plus I dig the shape. My only concern is that I'll have to tinker with the size of the project, otherwise it may only be two inches wide. No more skinny scarves for me.

I had a moment to play with the Twinkle Soft Chunky last night before I went to sleep and it is sumptuous. My plan was to use it on the Aspen Hat, but now I think it may turn into a simple k1p1 scarf. The yarn is so beautiful, I'd like it to speak for itself. Also, a scarf seems closest to just wrapping myself up in the yarn; which is what I wanted to the minute I started playing with it.

First off, I'm back from Philly. Hallelujah! If you live in Boston and anyone tries to persuade you to take the shuttle up to Manchester airport because it's so much cheaper, say no. Don't hem and haw. Don't be polite. Say no. My plane landed at eight and I didn't get back to my apartment until after midnight. And, sadly, my apartment is still full of boxes. So although I was glad to finally be home, it wasn't the most welcoming sight.

I found the most fabulous store in Philly yesterday, Vagabond Boutique. I would have stayed there all day and bankrupted myself if my boyfriend's family hadn't been with me. I had to content myself with buying a few skeins of Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky and a tiny circular needle. I didn't even get to try on any of their amazing clothes. Tragic.

And the big news of the morning is... I've been invited to Ravelry! Hooray! Who needs to unpack when there is Ravel-ing to be done?

I'm officially moved into the new apartment! Yesterday was rough. It was brutally hot and we didn't get the old apartment completely empty until about 11pm. All in all, this move took very few casualties. Two glasses were smashed and one of the bolts on my bed was stripped. The broken glasses would normally break my heart a little, but I'm honestly just relieved that the whole process is over.

I took pictures of all of the boxes in the new apartment, but then realized that the cable for my camera was buried in one of those very boxes. So I'm afraid that you'll have to wait another day for a picture.

The highlight of yesterday was knitting in bed for a moment before falling soundly asleep. I was so tired that I only completed two rows, but it felt good to knit in the new digs.

And in keeping with this summer's pace, I won't be able to unpack until Monday as my dear boyfriend and I are off to a wedding in Philly tomorrow. Hmm... Philly. I may have to stop at Loop to celebrate a successful move...