Forts, Fiber, and Fair Isle

The weather has turned frightfully cold, and I'm keeping us all cozy inside today. The boys built a fort in my bedroom and filled it with toys...

Jamie put a ball into a bowl and pretended it was ice cream - it was pretty cute. Yesterday I received some fiber in the mail, so I laid it out on the floor to take a look...

The one on the left is actually what I bought at the fiber sale at the Valley Spinners Guild - it is a combination of superwash merino wool and alpaca and it is super soft. I can't wait to spin it!!! The other two are the ones that came in the mail from the Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club. The one on top is 4oz of dyed Falkland Wool called "Pie for Everyone". The one on bottom was sent along with it because my October shipment got lost in the mail. It's 4oz of Romney Wool called "Goblin Eyes." Oooh, aaahhh... Oh, and that fabric leg in the bottom corner of my snapshot??? That would be my stash weasel...

The cheeky girl can't keep her mitts off of it... I should cross the dolls and stuffed animals I have on my "to knit" list and just give her a big batt of fiber to cuddle instead! After I (gently) extracted my wool/alpaca roving, I managed to get a photo of her wearing my latest finished object.

I found this pattern online (it's written by a Seattle designer) and it's a great practice piece with an easy fair-isle design. The pattern is written for bulky yarn and I had sportweight, so I knit the largest version on Size 5 needles to get the desired size for a toddler. This hat is a baby shower gift for a friend who is receiving her adopted 10 month old son next month. It had been awhile since I had dabbled in fair-isle and I loved it! I immediately wanted to start another one and had plenty of yarn to do so... but I wanted to try something new as well and thought I must have some patterns in my Nicky Epstein book collection that I could experiment with. If you're a knitter and you haven't looked at her "Edge" books (I mean really looked at them) I encourage you to do so. The sheer volume of design elements on those pages leave me in awe, and even if I don't find what I'm looking for I always feel inspired. This time I found an ocean wave and decided to chart out a little boat to go with it...
I hope this looks as cute on the hat as it does on paper. :) Oh, oh... I just got an email that I got into a class at Madrona that I've been on a waiting list for!!!! Basics of Lace with none other than Evelyn Clark!!!!!!!! Eeeeeee! It's not until February, but I am soooo excited!!!!!