Blog Neglect

I apologize. I know I've totally been ignoring my blog for the last week and a half. I have a lot to post about, but first things first... Let's get down to the knitting.

I started another Haydon Hat this week, this one for Phil. I was going to use green, but he insisted on the burgundy red so it looks very similar to the one I made for Dallas. On this one though, I'm using two colors in Lamb's Pride and one skein of Red Heart. I really needed a break from ribbing on the VCC.

According to the pattern, I've almost reached the arm-holes, but I've decided to make it longer because I have another cardigan that is very similar and measures 15 inches from the arm-holes while this pattern calls for 12 inches. Since there's not much stretch in that direction this would make for a very cropped cardigan indeed. I think I'll go until I'm at 16 inches just to be on the safe side. This could make it a bit tricky when I'm working on the cables for the front, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

I have some more goodies to share that I got for Christmas. Behold the swift...

I thought about taking a pic with some yarn on it, but it looks so pretty just sitting there. Phil ordered this from a friend I met at the local fiber guild. She and her husband make these as part of their home business called Dragonfly Turnings. Aside from it being a bit wobbly, I really like it. The wood is beautiful, it was easy to put together (and can easily be taken apart for storage,) and it works great. For those of you who don't know what a swift does, it makes it easier to wind a yarn skein into a center-pull ball. It essentially takes the place of a person holding the yarn for you so it doesn't get all tangled up... only better, because it turns as you pull the yarn towards the ball. Since I also have a ball winder, winding skeins into balls is going to be a breeze!

I also got some great books, but I think I'll save those for tomorrow. I will share something I received from my mother-in-law though. It's a date book made by the Whatcom Weaver's Guild in Bellingham. It actually has real weavings inside! The only way I can really show how cool this is would be to post some pics, so here are a couple of my favorites...

There isn't much room to write appointments, but I love all the beautiful texture! The book also features some nice drawings of our old home town. What a neat idea... I know I'm going to have fun showing this off to some of my fiber-lovin' friends. :)