Little Things

The last couple days I've been working on items for my swap partner in the Teddy Bear Picnic Swap. I was cruising right along on one of the patterns when I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn for the project.  Who knows why it happened, but when I ordered the yarn for this project, I completely forgot to check the yardage I needed.  Must have been a spacey day!  I ordered more yarn the other day, and thought about waiting (and possibly ripping back) so I could alternate skeins for consistent colors, but I'm not patient enough for that, apparently.  I went ahead and knit as much as I could with the first skein.  Some may find it a bit daring to be so confident that dye lots will match well enough.  I think perhaps I'm maybe just foolish for not waiting! lol

Anyway, this project is super simple.  Really what I needed after all that shower knitting - something mindless.  I found, though, that I was getting bored with it pretty fast.  I think I've finally moved past that point as a beginning knitter where anything (even plain old St. st) seems fun & exciting to knit.  Now I like to have a little something, even increases or decreases, to keep me interested.  But since I don't have the 2nd skein yet, it's all okay, because in the meantime I've picked up some other projects.

I did some more swap knitting last night.  Although I can't reveal the details, I will say that these little buggers are quick!  I had a couple knit in a couple hours.  And I love how they turned out.  The color yarn I used really fits the project well and seems just right.  I even was able to do some stash-busting on this one!

One of the next things I'll be working on will be ID clip adornments for my mom.  She has a few picked out and they are small, so they should be quick.  After those are complete, there will be some major shawl knitting.  Mom's shawl really needs to get finished.  And I just have to remember that it takes a little concentration but in all honesty, shouldn't take as long as it is.

One of my next projects, I think, is going to be making a light box. 

Melissa, over at Knitting a Baby, has a new light box her and her husband made.  It works so well for taking pictures with a clean, seamless background.  I'd love to have that for smaller items.  Especially for those rainy days or late nights after I've finished a project....I wouldn't have to wait for nice, bright weather to go outside.  If you'd like to know how to make your own light box, here are a couple tutorials of homemade light boxes (cardboard box, PVC pipe).

With all that said, I think I've decided to expand a little into sock weight yarn on my Etsy shop.  I got a huge response from all you readers saying you'd like to see sock yarn.  So I guess it's time I give it a try.  It won't be immediate, but look for that in the future.  Until then, don't forget I do have some worsted weight yarn in the shop and soon I'll be adding some yarn very similar to the yarn dyed for my sister's Market Bag.