Startitis came to visit

You've heard of Knitting Malaise, is there a term for the opposite? Last two weeks I've had the worst case of Startitis! It's been very difficult not to cast-on for dozens of projects; no idea what's caused my recent flare-up of this Knitter's Disease.

I've had the yarn and beads to make Schaffer's Undulating Scarf for a month or so but couldn't wait any longer; I cast-on and got it started.


You should click on the picture to see the largest size. This yarn is so shiny; 100% Kid Mohair. It's Primero Yarn from Brooks Farm Yarn. This was a prize several years ago through the Lace Symposium held by the Knitting Beyond the Hebrides Group. (I usually can't work with Mohair, makes me very itchy between my fingers, but this yarn is so soft that I'm enjoying knitting with it.) The beads are from Michael's; their mix of colors minus the turquoise beads. You have to pay attention to which side of the needle the beads are on; this isn't a project you can knit mindlessly.

I'm worried that I should be knitting it at a tighter gauge, that when finished the weight of all the beads will pull the knitting out of shape.

The Curlicue Pattern came in so I had to start that.


I'm almost done with the first section which is flat, adding the second section should tell me if I'm going to have problems with it laying flat. The Silk Garden Skeins in the picture are just the first few skeins I've bought to test the pattern. If all works well much more to buy$$.

The latest Noro I've bought, Silk Garden and Kureyon, seem to have much less VM (vegetable matter) that the skeins of past years. Have I just gotten a good batch or are others finding cleaner Noro yarn lately?

Next I started a pair of Fair Isle Socks from the book, Knitted Socks by Anna Tillman

I'm using Elann.com's Sock-It to Me

I've found a free Fair Isle yarn holder that keeps the skeins separated.




It's a free wine bottle carrier from the grocery store. (I bought three bottle of wine and the tote was free. Not sure if there is a minimum numbers of bottles) Ralph's is the same company as Kroger's so you might check there. Haven't knit enough with it to know if the velcro handle cover will be a problem. If it is I'll just cut it off.

Then there's the six skeins of Mauch Chunky I bought for $3 a ball.
They're going to be scarves for the Red Scarf Project.
BTW: The Red Scarf Project seems like such a worthy cause; reminding young adults in College who have aged out of Foster Care that they're still cared for and valued members of their community. All you need do is knit or crochet a red scarf (any color actually). Mail it to the Foundation between September 1 and October 31, 2008. The shipping address is:
Orphan Foundation of America
The Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive
Sterling, VA 20166

I've tried several patterns for chunky yarn that I found on Ravelry but I'm not happy with them for one or more reasons. Any suggestions for a Chunky single-ply?

Two projects were finished in between all this starting. A pair of my plain socks.

Several meetings the last few weeks and these socks just seemed to finish themselves.
This is Trekking (XXL) color 108. I love the bits of burgundy that pools every so often.

And the ZigBagZ Felted Bag is done. The felting, that I was worried about, came out perfectly.


I love the whole thing. The handles, a double I-cord, is the best felted handle I've ever seen. It's all made with yarn, no cotton cording or plastic tubing inside.
The bottom of the bag which was always my favorite looks as good on the inside as the outside.

Out side is on the left and inside is on the right. Click on the pictures to see a larger version.

I liked the inside bottom so well that I didn't want to cover it up with a base so I bought a scrap of plexi glass and The Photographer cut me a base for the bag.

Now I have stability and can still see the pretty pattern on the bottom of the bag. That is until I fill it with stuff.

That's it for around here, the tomatoes are growing


And the Basil is barely keeping up with our culinary demands.

I sneak a sniff every time I go out to water - I love fresh Basil.