Oh yeah, I have a blog!

Hmm, so this blog has been a bit neglected. But no worries, because my readership is very limited. This is mostly for me. As I said many times, I was working on that crazy baby blanket for a third time. I'm sad to say it has officially moved into hibernation. I kept telling myself: "no new knitting projects until you finish that blanket". All that talk resulted in resentment of the blanket. I wanted to other things, so I would pull it out and do a few rows, but then I'd get frustrated at the slow progress and put it back away. It's hibernating, not frogged, so hopefully I will resume one day.

I got a few new books from my brother of my Knit Picks wishlist for Christmas:

• 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
• Toe Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
• Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd

So, as you've probably deduced,  I am interested in tackling the world of socks! I have DPNs on my wishlist, but not in my possession, so I'm starting with the the 2-at-a-Time book, which knits two socks at the same time on one circular needle. Another great use for my Knit Picks Options!. I am doing the sample project out of the book first to learn the method, and then I'll be on to making adult-sized socks. I can give the sample socks to the twins I work with, if they end up fitting them. I like these as my first project, and I'm already shopping yarn. I'm deciding between Knit Picks Capretta, Stroll, and Comfy.

I'm ready to stop buying Simply Soft and Bernat yarns (which make up 95% of my stash) and start transitioning into Knit Picks Yarns. They get great reviews, are reasonably priced (although they are more expensive than SS or Bernat) and come in a fantastic assortment of colors, fibers, weights, etc.

So that's my knitting world. I'm out of my temporary hibernation and ready to be a knitting fool again :)

My Needles Are Here!

After a painstakingly long wait...(okay, okay, it was only week), my Knit Picks TRY IT Needle Set arrived! My first impressions are good! I pulled out the needles so I could inspect and feel them. I'm not a needle expert, but they were a lot lighter weight than I expected, which is a good thing in my book, as long as they don't snap. The needles came with some charts of stitch patterns to try, so I will take a rest from my baby blanket knitting for a little while to play around with the needles and form an opinion. I am making a swatch with the Harmony Wood ones first, and I like them so far.

Knit Picks TRY IT Needle Set: 2 - 24" cables, 1 cable key, 4 cable caps,  Harmony Wood tips (size 6),  Zephyr Acrylic tips (size 8) and Nickel Plated tips (size 7)

I decided new needles deserve new yarn, haha. I've been wanting to expand my yarn horizons, so I looked up some local yarn shops. I've been knitting almost exclusively with Caron's Simply Soft which is easily obtainable from Hobby Lobby and Michaels, and I really like it, but the self-proclaimed yarn snobs say there is yarn out there that is so much better. Well, time to see if they're right. The most popularly used yarn on Ravelry right now is Cascade 220, so I thought I'd start with that. I like it so far, I guess, but I'm not convinced yet that it's better than my cheap and soft Simply Soft. I'll keep going for awhile, but I'll definitely go back to my Simply Soft if it doesn't get better. I love the Simply Soft color choices, and people claim there is a big variety in the Cascade 220, but the store I went to must not have been carrying the whole line (which I can't blame them for), because I didn't see a "huge" variety. I've been looking at Ravelry reviews for Knit Picks yarn, because hey, if they make good needles, why not good yarn? But, they reviews are less than impressive thus far. So I might stick with exploring my LYS a little more.