Dis on Stitches

Look closely, because you are looking at the only photo we took the entire Stitches West weekend. Yup, we are THAT good. I think it had something to do with the camera restrictions in the market. I just wasn't aware of my camera the entire weekend. Oh well, at least we have proof in this one silly picture.

There is a rather interesting story behind this photo. In our confusion over the rather bazaar "welcome video" in the lobby of the Hyatt, Nasus finally took matters into her own hands. Turns out, the Santa Clara Hyatt is home to the first (and only, I believe) virtual concierge. The woman in the monitor on the left is actually at home! You can talk to her and she can monitor the desk via the video camera on the top of the monitor. The best part? This was a smart woman's solution to making her traditional job more family-friendly through technology. Pretty cool!

Anyway, on to the recap. Stitches was a different experience this year. It was a lot of fun to stay in the hotel attached to the convention center because it seemed so easy to go to and from the classrooms and the market. The downside was that I didn't breathe fresh air for more than two days. Gross!

Blue Moon Twisted in Lagoon destined to be a simple ribbed turtle neck or other cozy pull-over. Don't judge on its "hank look" alone, it knits up really pretty.

I actually felt really bad for the hotel staff. They were clearly understaffed given our sheer numbers. The highlight - when I was brought a glass of simple syrup from the bar instead of the Pinot Grigio I ordered. Talk about a shock to my senses. They're lucky I didn't hurl all over the dinning room. But they were working so hard. It was definitely more of a management problem than the staff itself.

Brooks Farm Yarn superwash wool Solana in color 45. Please take a moment to gander at the yarn that haunted me. I couldn't even stay focused on the task at hand (choosing a yarn for K's Wicked) once I saw it. All I could envision was my very own hourglass sweater like the one K just finished in Lorna's Laces Sheppard's Worsted. And my splurge was worth it - guess which yarn line I don't see on the Brooks Farm website? It must have been destiny.

I took two classes while at Stitches this year. On Thursday afternoon, I took the zipper and closure class with Margaret Fisher. This was a great class! We practiced putting in a zipper and made i-cord buttons and ties. There were a couple "A-Ha" moments that made the price of admission worth every penny. I am also now confident that I can put in a great zipper. I'll have to post pictures of my sample zipper, because I am so proud of it! You can't even see my sewing on the front. Also, Knitzalot and three three of us took Celtic Cables with Melissa Leapman on Friday afternoon. It was nothing Earth shattering, but it was a good class and very fun. It was nice to learn a little about the design process behind cables as well.

Louet Gems in Fern Green and Cookie's Thelonious Sock Pattern. The Bay Area Co-op booth was a real treat to visit. Sent there on a mission for the German Stockings for Jessica, I ended up with a pair of socks, a shawl, and some really pretty stitch markers I failed to photograph.
Plus got to meet Cookie herself.

And the market place...well, I'm sure you are already getting an idea about the market place. Pretty much anything you wanted was there. I mostly kept to things that were difficult to buy elsewhere (because of colors, feel, etc.) or things I just hadn't seen before. However, I did bring home two hanks of Gems mostly to support the Bay Area Co-op booth directly.

JaggerSpun Superfine Merino 630 yards of lace weight in Peacock #3142. Purchased at the Bay Area Knit Co-op.

One treat throughout the market was the samples! Often times I feel yarn shops are desperately laking in samples. I like to see the yarns knit up. See how they behave and feel once they are fabric. In the case of hemp, it no longer appears to be the unappealing straw mess I had prematurely judged it to be...it is beautiful as finished garments! I also got to see a Four Seasons Manos throw in person as well as several WEBS pattern samples I've had my eye on for some time.

Tess Superwash Lace 100% merino in one of their gradient color kits (left to right: 208204, 204206, 20610). This yarn captured my imagination. The picture doesn't do the colors justice. It's like they glow from within. It was so hard to pick a color set, but I knew one was coming home with me. I finally decided it had to be the one that I grabbed first and didn't put down the whole time I was at the booth. This is destined for a very special project.

And finally, there was the people. K bunked with us and we met up with Kris and Marisa once they got into town on Friday. It was nice to see Kris again after her recent cross-country move. We also had the pleasure of meeting Craftylilly Jennifer and had a great time over lunch on Saturday.

Tess Super Socks & Baby (no color noted). Just plain fun!

Us loopy girls flew back to So Cal Saturday afternoon and to be honest, by that time I was yarned-out. I had a great time, but was super happy to have one more day before starting the new week. Unfortunately, the yarn I brought home must be haunted because it has been talking to me non-stop throughout my last two work days. It kills me not to be able to cast-on for a new project right away. And the worst? With all of that color, guess what my next project is going to be? A solid black jacket for B. I am seriously questioning my sanity as I pull out the needles for another black swatch.

UFO Resurrection Challenge: February

This month we say goodbye to a fierce competitor - Forest Floor. For my February contribution to the UFO Resurrection Challenge, I decided to frog my Birch. My Jelly colored Birch was started about the time of the beginning of the Amazing Lace challenge this last summer. She was named for the way the color reminded me of how the sun lights up the little bits of green when it shines through the trees to the forest floor.

I love the idea of Birch, but I have not been able to get past the roadblocks. Perhaps if I had made it farther along before getting stalled out, I would have finished. But I am stuck in the third repeat and I just don't want to pick it up again. Frankly, I think it is because I know their is a center-out version available, Kiri. I think if there hadn't been the alternate version available, I would have stuck with it once I got my pointier Options needles. But, because there is an alternate version, this now frogged Kid Silk Haze will be knitted up Kiri-style...eventually.

So say goodbye to Forest Floor may she rest in peace.

P.S. We may or may not have just returned from a weekend of classes and shopping at Stitches West...details to come...because there are many and I just want to go knit on my Under the Hoodie! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

The color purple

I've been thinking a lot about color recently, mostly due to the start of Project Spectrum this month. I'm a big fan of neutral colors (including blacks and grays) in the things that I buy for outerwear. I feel like these are safe choices and go with the other things in my wardrobe more easily. I just have to match the warms with the warms and the cools with the cools. I have even purchased more neutral colors for future "big" projects, like Rogue and Eris. However, there is something that I am learning about myself. It is color that makes me want to knit something. I love charcoal grey and it is an obvious choice for a knitting project for me. However, I knit orange or purple or teal. More than I love good practical knits, I love color and I reach for color out of my stash time and time again.

I had purposefully been stashing more basic colors...things that I wanted to make more of thinking they would be worn more. And although I still find my stash inspiring...color pulls me in. Often times when I see good color, I think of a certain project: Under the Hoodie from the first Stitch 'n Bitch. (You can see a finished one here.) And when I saw Elsebeth Lavold Angora in Peacock Blue and Lime Green, I knew these would be perfect for that project. I knew that the blue was going to be the main body and the green would be the center stripe and sleeves. But what for the accent stripes around the green?

It had to be a color that would complement both colors since it would sit next to both and be of the same saturation level. I've had good luck choosing color based on this method lately. It allows you to make more interesting color combinations than traditional complimentary colors on the color wheel. I call it the "Cora Color Method" as she's helped both Knitzalot and I with numerous color choices this way. It is what is going to let me put purple, orange, blue, lime green and red all together for my Four Seasons throw. It's not what the color is, it's how similar their brightness and saturation levels are.

In trying to implement this method, I picked out to complementary colors for my hoodie. The first Purple:

The second Magenta:

I initially brought the purple home with me, but I couldn't help but think it didn't match the saturations levels the same way the pink did. In the photos above, you can see how although both combinations are lovely, the set with the pink is electric. All three colors in that set are equally vibrant and pop-ish. The purple is less saturated and more muted than its counterparts. So, on Saturday, I picked up the pink at the Grove's sale and was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to see how the colors where going to look knitted up. So I knitted like a mad woman this weekend much to the protests of my mending hand. By Saturday night, I made it all the way to the pink color stripe and into the green. It was so much fun! I loved the way it looked.

However, the next morning while I was drinking my tea and reading my book, I kept sneaking glances at my handiwork. Hmmm. Those colors are great. But, they're very childlike. And while I like color and vibrancy, I also want to be able to wear the hoodie...a lot. I started to think about the reality of having a hoodie in all electric colors, and decided that maybe a more toned down color combination would actually serve me better for this project.

So, I ripped out the stripes and started over with the purple. And I LOVE it. It's fun, but not crazy bright. The problem now is that I just can't knit it fast enough! I had to reluctantly put it down last night for fear that I would undo all the healing my hands and wrists had been doing.

Now the other thing that is going to be fun/interesting/heart-pounding/anxiety-inducing about this project is that I don't know if I have enough yarn. I don't if you go by requirements alone. But as we all know, how often do we actually use everything that is required? Not only that, I still need to add my obligatory arm and torso lengthening to the sweater. The place I am most likely to run out of yarn is with the blue. The pattern calls for 750 yards and I have 637. I realized that the easiest way to lengthen the sweater without using any of the precious blue was to make the stripes longer. The purple stripes will each be a row longer (not much, but something), and I plan to add a full inch to the green stripe. As for the arms, I added the purple stripes. They pretty much add the extra inch by themselves. Also by using the purple in the ribbed section and saving the green for the stockinette portion only, that extra yardage is saved. The plan is to work the sleeves, so that I will know precisely how much green will be available for the lengthening of the stripe. I think I'm going to have enough green...but it will be a squeaker!

P.S. Happy Presidents' Day to all those who don't have to work today! Yay!
P.S.S. It is actually raining in San Diego this morning. What a great way to spend a day off! Maybe I'll wear my pajamas all day :-)

UFO Resurrection: Starsky

So I've had these photos loaded in since last week when Nonnahs took them, but to say this week has been busy, would be an all-time understatement. Things are starting to slow down and except for a little trip next week, my schedule is fairly open now. ANYWAY! - on to the good stuff!

Starsky est fini!! I finished just after the first of the month, so pretty darn close to actually finishing in the month this project was resurrected for the UFO Resurrection Challenge. I am so happy to be done and couldn't be more pleased with the final fit. It is so comfortable through my shoulders and arms. Nothing pulls or tugs. And the best part? I can throw this sweater. Literally. I throw it on the chair. I throw it on the ottoman. It is THAT carefree.

As for the details, I made it with the recommended yarn Knit Picks Sierra in Cranberry. I used about 9 balls without the belt. I decided to leave off the belt, because with my longness it just didn't sit right. I added a single toggle as a closure instead (mainly because I only had one in my sewing bin). It still needs a hook and eye on the inside to help it stay shut and I am still thinking I should add a couple more toggles. The reason? Well, after trying to choose a good photo for this post, I realized that the sweater makes me look a wee bit preggers.

Other than that, I pretty much made the sweater as recommended. I made the smallest size and I do believe I knit a slightly smaller knit gauge to manage the ease. I say "I believe" because I didn't make very good notes when I packed this project away last summer. There were needle size issues that I just went with figuring that I had probably thought through everything at the time despite not remembering a thing now!

As for the collar, we had heard that there were various issues with the collar. However, since I never read anything directly myself, I don't really know what the issues were. Fresh off the needles, mine road up since the ribbing wanted to pull in on itself. I steamed the collar flat and that helped it (p)lay nice. The more I wear it though, the more it starts to ride up again, so I have a feeling that the ironing will be taking place regularly.

Overall, I would give this pattern a big thumbs up. It was easy to follow and straight forward. The pieces came out as advertised and except for the sleeves (were I stalled out), it knit up really fast. I'm still shocked at how quickly the collar knit up. I have a feeling that this sweater will be getting a ton of wear. It really is perfect for San Diego. It adds a nice layer of warmth and replaces the need for a jacket. I don't know about you, but I'd rather wear a sweater than a jacket any day!

Weirdo Wednesday: Loopy AND Weird

Hey, speak for yourself, lady!

Well, after thoroughly enjoying reading about the weirdness of others from people's "Six Weird Things About Me" lists, I thought it was about time I divulge six weird things about me. Narrowing it down to just six was a bit of an arduous task, but it should provide a nice sampling.

1. When I eat certain food (such as burgers, sandwiches, toast, and Reese's peanut butter cups, just to name a few), I eat around the edges first, and then the inside. The inside is where all the good stuff lies, so I like to get the less tasty parts ( i.e. crust, edges of sandwiches where the filling may not make it to the edge, etc.) out of the way first and savor the yummy inside nuggets for last.

1a. I always spread butter, jam, peanut butter, and other bread/toast toppings all the way to the edges of the toast. B, on the other hand, just does that little dab in the center of the slice. And yet, he eats the entire thing. I stare, perplexed.

2. I avoid driving in the fast lane or carpool lane, or any lane on the freeway (on one stretch of the 405 South near the 10, it happens to be to the right of the slow lane) that is right up against a wall. It makes me nervous that I'll get side-swiped from some vehicle in the lane next to me, which will slam me crashing into the wall. Normally I'm not claustrophobic, but I am on freeways. I also don't like driving next to huge trucks, especially male overcompensation vehicles (you know the ones) and semis.

3. I hope this won't gross anyone out, but I rarely ever brush or comb my hair. This has been the case since...I don't even remember when. I don't know if it's because I like to take the term "low-maintenance" to new levels, or because I'm just blessed with untangly hair, but the only time I might utilize that object called a brush is when I'm blow-drying my hair...another rare occurrence.

4. Most of the time, I do my own nails, but whenever I do opt for a professional manicure or pedicure, I prefer to cut my nails before going to the nail salon. (Kind of like the people who clean their house before the maid comes over to clean.) I'm afraid they'll hack off too much, thereby injuring me or causing a hangnail. No fun.

5. I won't drink out of those squirty tops of "sports bottle" water bottles. Something about it is creepy to me. Not to mention, the slurpy sound it makes when people drink out of it. Instead, I treat it like any other (normal) cap top and unscrew the whole thing off and then drink out of the bottle. Note: I don't buy these kinds of water bottles if I can help it.

6. I have the hardest time coming up with usernames and passwords for things like online accounts, and yet I have an uncanny ability to come up with names for people, pets, and inanimate objects in the blink of an eye.

So, now you know. I hope we can still be friends.

FO: Plum

Everyone loves a beret! Don't they? Well, I certainly do. I've always been a hat girl. Love hats. Even though I live in Southern California, I find excuses to break out the hats whenever our weather permits. I haven't had a beret in a while, but once I saw this one, I knew it was time to knit one for myself. And so, here it is! Plum.


As soon as I saw Julia's berets in person, I was further convinced. And then, I was allowed to try one on, and I fell completely in love. Thankfully, Julia didn't seem to mind me hijacking it, professing my love for it, and petting it throughout the day.

Lucky for us all, I decided to knit my own. I used the fabulous Kat Coyle's fabulous beret pattern from Greetings From Knit Cafe and one skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight in #512 (Eggplant). So soft! I can't gush over this pattern enough. It's perfect.

Beautifully constructed, easy to follow, and shockingly (only for me) quick to knit up. I highly recommend this pattern if you sense a beret in your future. Love, love, love!

10 Things for Thursday

1. I realized a funny thing about the fact that I am officially in my 30s: I put on my anti-wrinkle eye-firming cream...

2. ...right before I hop into my sock-monkey-clad bed.

Aren't I supposed to have grown-up sheets if I need to use eye cream?

3. This is My So Called Scarf:

I knit this at my office in January as my break from knitting socks (i.e. Operation Little Needle, Little Yarn Hand Recovery). It was knit with one hank of Lorna's Laces Sheppard Worsted in Black Pearl. I cast on 24 stitches to make it a little narrower. I wanted to make sure I got a full scarf out of the hank. It was awesome! I literally had 2 2-inch trimmings left over from each tail when I was done. Now THAT is how I like to use yarn for a project. It's plenty long and perfect for how I wear scarves - a little accessory that happens to also keep my neck a little warm.

4. This also marked the first time that I scrapped a project because it just wasn't showing off the yarn the way I thought it deserved to be. I had bought the yarn specificly to make the multidirectional diagonal scarf. But it ended up looking like a generic garter stitch scarf because the color changes were so short. The My So Called Scarf shows the short changes much better, so I ripped it out and started over. So glad I did!!

5. Warning to Sprint PCS users: Both B and I as well as our friend recently had our contracts "automatically" renewed for another 2 years. In my case, they had added a bogus inquiry and acceptance note in my account. So, if you are off contract, watch them carefully and check your correspondence. The only reason I found out is because I happened to review the account update letter they sent me...which came in a junk mail-looking envelope similar to the ones they send all the time. They fixed the account after 4 phone calls, but the issue is vigilence. I think they are trying to catch people who aren't paying attention. We would have been subject to $400 in early termination fees if we hadn't noticed when we did.

6. We are now Verizon customers.

7. I been so tired lately and I'm not sure why. It's scary when you are driving and you actually think that it wouldn't be a bad thing to just...close...your...eyes......for...just...a........second.

8. B's mom (who lives in Houston) is in San Diego but we won't see her until Friday night. That just seems so weird that she'll be here for 2 whole days...not even 10 miles from our house...before we get a chance to see her. We haven't seen her since last May!!

9. The Shins new CD, Wincing the Night Away, is AMAZING!! If you liked them before don't miss out on this CD.

10. This is our 600th post! I can't believe it!

Lavender

I've been all about small projects lately. This was one of them. A bridal shower gift for my very good friend, HSG. I wanted to give her a special (girly) gift that was just for her (as opposed to a kitchen gift, for example). I also wanted to give her handmade gifts, so here's what I ended up with: A box of homemade lavender-themed goodies, since lavender is supposed to be soothing and relaxing, and planning a wedding can be anything but.

I decided to knit a couple of sachets from a Hello Knitty pattern, using some Tahki Cotton Classic I had stashed away for a project long since abandoned. I filled the sachets with fresh lavender- they smelled amazing! To go with the sachets and in keeping with the theme, I made a lavender salt scrub and lavender bath salts that she can use to pamper herself. The shower was a couple weekends ago. She really liked the gift, which made me really happy.

As for my other small project (and another FO, if you can believe it), I will unveil that coming up soon.

Meanwhile, in Project Spectrum 2.0 news, I came up with a Blair Warner-style "brilliant idea!" For my birthday, my Loopy girls gifted me the Almost Solid Sampler from Spunky Eclectic. (Woo-hoo!) Included in the sampler are several types of fiber (Superwash, wool blend, Corriedale, Merino, and BFL), in a rainbow of colors. Do you see where I'm going with this? For PS 2.0, I will be spinning up some of this yummy roving, keeping with the PS colors. It's the perfect excuse - I mean, opportunity - to not only practice my spinning, but I will also get to try out different types of wool, and work with all the PS colors- all at the same time! How fun is that? I'm really looking forward to sampling the sampler and sharing the colorful results of my handspun with you as we make our way through the upcoming months.

Ehem, me-me-me-meeeee

I've been tagged by the lovely MLE for a little meme. The rule is that I have to list 5 Secrets About Me that I haven't previously revealed on the blog.

1. Well, the first one is going to be the easiest: my name. I'm a Jenifer. Now you know why I use an alias. Although mine is spelled differently, I am still one of the bazillion "Jennifers" that were born in the 70s. I still have flashbacks about always having to be "Jenifer K." in school. For this reason, I also don't respond to my name in public since it's almost never meant for me.
2. Along those same lines, I've always been more of a "Jen" than a "Jenny". And no, Jenny is not named after me...well not really...we named her after my uncle's puppy (we thought it was a cute name despite the funny looks we knew we were bound to get), which turned out to have been named by my grandma, after me. Oh well.
3. When I was a kid, I couldn't eat a hamburger without it "exploding" as my mom always said. I would eat about 2 bites, then pull off the buns, wipe off the condiments on the wrapper, then eat the patty. Gross, huh?
4. I submitted an essay to Cast-On last season and Brenda accepted it. She even had me record it, which I did in my brother's nifty recording booth. But, she ended up not being able to fit it into any of the episodes. The good thing is that because of all the submissions she received for the "sense of place" theme, she decided to make it a regular part of her show, so it may still turn up yet. I never mentioned it, because somehow, I knew something like that was going to happen. Stuff like that always happens to me.
5. I'm extremely competitive, which I combat by not being competitive at all. I've never liked how I feel when I get competitive (all tied up and crazy), so whenever something comes up, I do all this "talking myself down" stuff so that I'll be ok if I don't win. It's still always an effort, though.

I've also been meaning to answer the 6 weird things about me meme for, well, forever. So, while I'm at it, here it goes:

1. I have a thing about using appropriate sized paper clips for the task at hand. Nothing bugs me more than a large binder clip being used to hold 4 sheets of paper together.
2. When I close my locker door at the gym, I always have to open it back up to check that it is in fact my locker before I lock it. Why? I'm paranoid that somehow I am going to lock the wrong one and my stuff won't be locked up.
3. I can't help but take it a little personally when the air freshener in our public office bathroom goes off when I'm in there. I know it's automatic, but sheesh, is it me?
4. I can't go to bed with dirty feet. I shower in the morning, but if I wear sandals or go barefoot during the day, I have to wash my feet before I go to bed.
5. I NEVER flip ahead in my calendar to see what the next month's (or day's) picture is going to be. I think it's fun to be surprised. So, imagine my shock and horror when B sat and read his entire "You know you're a red neck-a-day" calendar that he got for Christmas.
6. Now, I don't know if this is really something "weird" or just something I do, but I'm a bright side of life kind of person, so whenever someone tells me something bad that's going on, I can't help but respond with "At least, [insert random positive thought/outlook, no matter how ridiculous or far-fetched here]. I'm sure this makes me super popular at pity parties.

Well, that's it for me. I think you probably know more than you ever cared to. Please feel free to snag either meme, although I'm pretty sure I'm one of the last to answer the weird things one.

Camera-less update

So, it's been awhile. We've been having trouble with the feed for our blog that most people are subscribed to and so far, we just can't figure out how to fix it. It happened as soon as we switched to the new blogger last weekend. The other two feeds updated, but not the main one. Since none of us are web-people, this really has us stumped and the explanations are confusing if you don't already understand how this whole thing works to begin with. The fixes that we tried last time we had this problem aren't possible with the new version of blogger (having the ability to re-publish the blog manually), so I guess we are just stuck. We notified Blogger of the issue, but haven't heard anything...as I'm sure they have their hands full right now.

I decided to just proceed as usual and maybe the publishing of posts and updates to the template will help "re-publish" the whole blog and fix this problem. It just sucks, because we have no way of telling the people subscribed to that feed that there is a problem. Hopefully they will see the error message in Bloglines and eventually check in to see if everything is alright...

Anyway, I have been busy with my various projects and managed to not only finish Starsky for my January UFO Resurrection, but a little scarf that I was working on for my office project. I would love to show you photos of them, but it seems that my camera is M.I.A. I'm not too worried because I know (more or less) where it is. I was taking pictures at Nasus and K's wedding party yesterday and I'm sure I left it at the house we were at. So, no scarf photos (they were already on the camera) and no Starsky photos as there is no camera to take my FO photos.

But, there were a couple things I've been meaning to mention for awhile, so maybe these pictures will serve as an adequate distraction. First, as proof of my Starsky progress, here are the finished pieces blocking.

However, with this photo I also wanted to share a little hint and tip. I've had wonderful success wet blocking using what I call my "thirsty" towels. These are those blue towels that they sell at camping stores or sports stores. They are made out of a thin fabric that sucks up many times their weight in water and dry super fast. They are great for camping because they are compact yet work just as good as a regular towel. Swimmers often have smaller versions to help dry their hair quickly. Turns out, they are also great for wet blocking! Because the fabric is designed to wick up the moisture, they pull the water out of the wool quickly. I usually place a plastic grocery bag (cut open like a big rectangle) under my thirsty towel. Then pin out my fabric like normal. The plastic keeps the moisture from soaking through to my carpet (which makes for longer drying time) and the wicking towel continually pulls the moisture from the wool. Add a little moving air with a small fan and I've been able to dry a full sweater overnight. My Deep V vest that was 4 layers thick in some places was dry in one day! Anyway, I don't think I could go back to using regular towels for this job and I hadn't heard anyone else talk about this method, so I thought I would share. Try it, you'll be amazed!

Next up I decided to apply this year's Project Spectrum in a specific may. I've become obsessed with making "block" blankets. Now, I actually haven't made any yet, but I have plans, big plans. The blanket that has inspired me the most is a rendition of the Manos "Four Seasons" throw. Lickety Knit made one as a wedding gift for a friend and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I realized that a blanket like this would be an affordable project if done in stallments and since I want a blanket with a different color for each block, I can pretty much pick up a hank of Manos whenever I am so inclined.

However, in order to make this a project that actually gets completed, I thought I would knit the squares according to the Project Spectrum colors. This will let me participate in a way that is realistic for me (i.e. low stress) and will help me get my blanket done. I had previously purchased a hank of beautiful red Manos to start me out, but since blue is first, I went out to Lori's in Alpine (which is currently going through a very exciting expansion!) and picked up a hank of Mallard.

I've cast-on and am happily knitting away on square number 1. Thank you, Lolly for the great inspiration!