Silken Goodness...

...or, How a Shameless Silk-Coveting Hussy Succumbed Yet Again.

Yesterday was Payday, the Kristinaland statutory holiday dedicated to new yarn acquisitions. So, off I skipped to the LYS at (well, before) the lunch hour... with my usual steel-like focus and dedication. The quest: Sea Silk, or nothing. (my attempt to self-regulate my silk habit as they hadn't any Sea Silk in stock on previous ventures and told me it would be quite some time).

So, I got there, only to find no Sea Silk. My pocketbook and I almost made it out intact until, at the last minute, I with my little eye spotted...something that is Silken:



(well, to be honest, I didn't actually "spot" them. Unless one can count rooting through all the Handmaiden bins in sheer desperation and retrieving these "spotting", that is).

What followed was about 30 seconds of the usual internal debate:

GOOD SELF: You don't need that... you have two more at home and all sorts of other stuff besides.

EVIL SELF: Yes, of course I don't NEED them... but look at that pretty blue! And I had that same multicoloured one before and it knitted up so lovely, like a rainbow next to my skin.

GOOD SELF: But what are you going to make with it? You just bought all this other sea silk to make lace!

EVIL SELF: You're right, you're right...(longish pause)... well, these might be nice for that Tuscany Shawl.

GOOD SELF: (exasperated) YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO MAKE THE TUSCANY SHAWL YOU SAID YOU WOULD NEVER MAKE IT AND BESIDES THAT CALLS FOR THREE SKEINS AND THERE ARE ONLY TWO SKEINS HERE. Just walk away...

EVIL SELF: Hmm... good points... (pause) but didn't someone say that they only needed the two for their Tuscany?

So - evil triumphs over good... yet again. SIGH.

Your faithful servant,

Kristina

PS. on that note, who out there has made the Tuscany with Silken, and how many skeins did you use? ;-)

sheer and utter lusciousness...

...because I detest the term "yarn pron" (although really and truly that's what this is if I take a good hard look in the mirror!)

1. Lace Silk

I, Kristina "I will never, never, ever, and I mean NEVER knit lace" B, have just acquired ... get this ... a skein of Handmaiden Lace Silk and TWO sets of Addi Lace needles.


The yarn looks to be in the Origin colourway although I can't always tell.

2. Silken and... Beads!


My beads arrived today from Earthfaire much quicker than I thought they would - thanks, Ellen for the great service. Aren't they lovely! I'm hoping to use knitting with beads as my September challenge for the Do Something New KAL... that is, if the blogmistress Tina will let me deviate from my original September challenge (learning to knit cables without a cable needle)! I'm so fickle. Either way, I plan to make the River Rock scarf by Sivia Harding in the No Sheep For You book.

Here is another container of beads I bought from Earthfaire and I like them ever better in person than I did on the website.


I'm thinking they will look very nice on the fringe for my Montego Bay scarf (says She Who Used to Detest Fringe). Fickle AND inconsistent. Hmm.


3. Sea Silk

This has been in the stash for some time now (if one can count a couple of months as "some time" in the parallel yarn universe). It is in the Ocean colourway (I think). I had originally intended to knit the Goddess top from Stitch Diva with it. However, I've gone off that idea and will probably make something lacy with it instead. I'm really far gone on the lace path, I think.

4. vintage Coats Crochet Cotton


I came across this when trying to impose some order on the stash. It was rescued from my yiayia's (grandmother's) house some time back - I originally intended to use it in needlework but am not doing any at present. It is extremely fine gauge and I don't know whether I can use it for lace or not, but will have to find something to do with it just because I love the colour.

And then there's all that Super 10... sigh. Far too many projects and too little time, methinks. Maybe my 6/49 numbers came up on Saturday... ?

birthday gifts!

Yesterday I treated myself to some wildly expensive yarn as it is my birthday today! I bought Alchemy Silk Straw...


...and I got as a present a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk!



These are intended for the following projects:
Oriel Lace Top and
Montego Bay scarf from IK Knits Summer 2007. ;-)

I also (coincidentally... not for my birthday) received this gift from a coworker and her partner yesterday:



It's a really funky wrist bracelet-type thing (wrist cuff?) made from all vintage materials (yarn, fabric, buttons) and is very cool. ;)