To the kind persons waiting to be testknitters for my new sock pattern: Please stand by. We are experiencing technical delays. Thanks for your patience. XOXO - MD

I can’t wait for the new VK – Have you SEEN IT? - For the love of yarn, GO take a look! They have some major pattern-porn going on in the winter07 issue. I just love the sneak peaks. Seriously – even some of the new intarsia stuff looks good to me (though I would have to go for different colours) and I am just not into that stuff.

Their new modular star-fish cabled cover pattern is positively drool-worthy!!! I want to wear it so badly, but I really couldn’t. Step away from the capecho, Ma'am. Nice and easy. Keep your hands where we can see them. It would look absurd on a very busty gal. It makes me wish for a petite or average chest (sigh. maybe in a future life).

BTW: have you seen these?
I found them on the Fall Cable KAL and they are my next new small project. She made them as a variation on this pattern (scroll down for English instructions), and she added the partial fingers – I might need a little help to get that right. Want ‘em. Need ‘em. Gonna make ‘em. SOON.

Hey – I just realized the mitts will go perfectly with the new cabled hat I bought from Liane last week!

Speaking of cabled goodness, I am still swatching assorted lovely things from stash to find the right yarn for the sexy curvy cabled cardigan . I have some sinfully soft and sensual SRK Truffles (80-20 virgin wool/cashmere) in the deep red Maroon colour, but I don't like the way the reverse stst background looks in it. That's the tricky thing with this pattern. The assymetrical cables are gorgeous in almost everything, but reverse st st doesn't look good (to me) in many yarns. Hmmm... It might work in some of my dk or light-worsted cotton blends, but they're buried deep in the stash. That stuff will be easy to find. I'll do that until I can work up the nerve to go spelunking in the stash.

And of course I need to pick up the Manos vest and finish it - now for the DH. Oh, did I forget to mention that I never did finish the vest for my stepdad? I was getting so many mixed messages and opinions about whether or not he will like it or the colourway are too bold for him or what my mother thinks I really should do:
what he really needs is more slippers (despite having just bought himself a new pair he loves), so I should make him slippers, not a vest (well, I'm halfway through the vest) and those colours are too bright, I don't think he'll wear that (the man proudly wears a kilt in Buchanan plaid!),and how is the vest coming along? is it ready yet? and you know his birthday is this weekend...

SO my head was spinning and I misread the simplest of pattern instructions (you don't do the pattern every round, you just knit the alternate rounds straight) and I had to rip the vest back from the armholes. I just couldn't muster up the heart to redo it right away, so at the last minute I gave him these felted slipper booties instead (courtesy of the multi-talented and speedy Liane, and I'm not ashamed to say I left that last part out).

PLEASE - if I am ever so insane as to knit something - anything - at the suggestion of my mother, will you all immediately march right on over here and smack me hard upside the head? Really. No hard feelings. I promise.

Anyhow, DH loves that yarn and pattern, so now that I have it going the right way it will be his next new handknitted gift from me - no special occasion required - just thanks for coming into my life and sweeping out the madness, preventing me following that crazy lady down the rabbit hole / going totally and completely bonkers / being carted off by the nice men in a white jacket with moebius sleeves following in the family tradition. Really, I am feeling much better now. (Please ignore the twitch.)

But I digress. Okay - back to the swatching and stash saga.

I really have to go through my stash and catalog it all so I know what I have and where it all is.
I am way past the stage where I can remember everything that's in there. But I am just not in the mood for a stash excavation right now... maybe on the weekend.

I have spent the last few weeks sorting and purging and otherwise digging through our own stuff around here. Then, just when I could see the dawn of a new clutter-free era here at casa MezzoDiva, a family friend brought over a car-full (!) of second-hand clothes for me to choose from before they go to Goodwill. Seriously, there were twelve HUGE bags of the stuff, as well as a mound of things on hangers in the trunk. Yippee! Just what I needed – more STUFF to sort through. But she has a great sense of style and a champagne budget, so I persevered gratefully. I found lots of good diva-style things as well as about 50 Tshirts in assorted fabulous jewel tones and brights – many of them new, with the tags on – which I might share with DH. If he's good.

And speaking of glorious colour, Project Spectrum starts February 1, 2007. Come along and sign up for a colourful year!

I think I'll combine my stash reclamation project with Project Spectrum 2007. That will be a really fun way to use up lots of my stash. Every couple of months I'll make a new colourful project (or two or three...) out of stash yarn.

Stash-along is a tricky thing. I don't believe an organized moratorium on yarn acquisition is a very good idea - mostly because it wreaks economic havoc on your local LYS and I believe it's very important to support the smaller independents. Besides, who really wants to stop buying yarn (even if you do get one day off a month)? Still, we can decide to shop more judiciously and meanwhile commit to knitting from your stash at the same time.

Oops - really gotta go now. We’re dashing out for a walk in the nice weather before the sun goes down and it gets too chilly and DH wants to check his email. He recently accused me of excessive verbiage: “Everything you write has to be the Great-Canadian-Email!”(Okay, Tell me how you really feel.)

Yes, dear. That’s why Haley told me to get a blog.