My Big Knitting Problem

What a wonderful weekend I just had!! Could anything be better than spending a couple of days staying over with your best knitting buddy and mentor?! Thanks to a wonderfully understanding boss I was able to take some hours off from work Friday and all of Monday to journey the 300+ miles that separates me from Su of WormSoup and her family.

We had a decadent weekend with lots of knitting, but actually both exercised an amazing restraint with respect to yarn purchases. Only one shop was visited (Finger Lakes Fibers in Watkins Glen), and Su got out with only 3 skeins. I on the other hand bonded with a skein of red Cascade 220 which insisted that, although it liked me a lot, would not leave the store without eight of it's buddies in red, black, and white. Basically enough for yet another sweater project.

The surprising news is that Red and his pals are all solid color yarns! In general I can't resist multi's. My stash overflows with every color of the rainbow, all inextricably combined by amazing artists into skeins of brain bending beauty. How could this be bad?

Here's my problem. I love to knit Fair Isle. Two colors, one on each hand. One single color each coming from two separate skeins. The kind of knitting project that is generally done in all solid colors. My stash and my project preference are completely at odds with each other! I've already tried one technique to resolve this situation, and that is to plan projects where a multi is Fair Isle'd with black. Notice I say "plan". Not one project has yet come to pass, but I sure have a lot of black yarn in my stash!

Right now I have a couple of ideas fermenting that might help my fabulous multi's find projects in spite of my love of Fair Isle. We'll see if they make it to reality and get some exposure here on FurrPurls.

Meanwhile the suspense builds in the saga of Jo and the Mermaid Gloves. She'll get to see the ShibuiKnits "Midnight" this weekend. (The following photo shows the earlier candidates plus three skeins of ShibuiKnits "Midnight", and also another new acquisition from the Loopy Ewe, Zen String Bambewe in "Sakura" pink. I wish the interesting sheen of that last showed up better in my picture.) Fingers and toes are crossed that "Midnight" will win her heart, getting me going again on Part 3 of my Mermaid Fingerless Glove instructions. I plan to start knitting these without waiting to finish the Comings & Goings cardigan although I'd dearly love to boot that project off my sofa! It's getting so close.

And the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Festival is getting close too! (October 20 and 21 in Rhinebeck NY). That upcoming event provided the strength to resist even larger wool purchases this past weekend, in spite of the excellent selection at Finger Lakes Fibers. Have to save up to buy as much yarn as we each can carry! Can't wait!

One last note… Congratulations to Su on her invitation to join Ravelry! By happy coincidence the invite actually arrived while I was visiting. I'm looking forward to hearing more about that adventure. There are still 14664 people ahead of me on the list, but I'm moving up!