Sheep, Alpaca, Soy... a New Obsession

Years ago I loved to knit. It was one of the first crafts I learned, and I remember knitting a baby hat and booties for an older cousin's baby when I was just 9 years old. I sat there on the sofa with my maternal grandmother and she walked me through all the steps of understanding the pattern. My mother was also an excellent knitter, but for some reason it was more fun to learn the skill from my grandmother.

Over the years I made sweaters, an afghan, lots of mittens, a few scarves and hats, and several Christmas stockings. But, the knitting got put aside because I started to crochet... and then sew... and quilt, and do cross stitch... well, those of you who love to craft know how it goes.

The last few years I've really been doing more counted cross stitch than anything else, but for some reason I really became interested in knitting again. It could be from my friend Linda and reading about the scarves she was knitting. Or, maybe it's because I came across some of the old notes, booklets and knitting accessories that belonged to my grandmother (which I shared in a previous post).

In any case, I've really gone a little crazy the last month or two visiting a new favorite yarn store called Yarnivore (cute name, huh??). Since I've been away from the craft for a long time I'm sticking to scarves ~ in different patterns, but a lot of the same fibers.






I seem to be really hooked on the boucle type of alpaca and silk blends, like this pink and green one that are in progress.












This ivory scarf is the boucle. The pretty deep red yarn with the gold flecks is part alpaca and part silk and so soft and pretty. But, this yarn was jinxed (it must have been, or why would I have started a scarf and pulled it back out over 10 times!!!!). Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out now. It's a little wider than what you see here, since it's curling under a bit on the sides as I'm working :)






And finally, on my last visit to Yarnivore, I saw this yarn in the tans which reminded me of my mother-in-law. She loves to wear clothes in these shades, and I thought it would make something pretty for her. This yarn is partially made of 70% wool and 30% soy. Neat!

The red yarn is all alpaca and oh so soft!! The teal yarn and scarf are the boucle alpaca-silk blend again. (Yes, I'm hooked on the stuff!)








I'm not spending ALL my time knitting... I'm also reading a lot. Of course, right now I'm hooked on the Debbie Macomber Blossom Street books (about a knitting shop and friends who take the knitting classes), and also the Maggie Sefton knitting mysteries thanks to another friend, Lizzie.
So as you can see, I'm diversifying and doing some reading as well as knitting :)




Oh, and I also got this baby blanket for a friend just about finished. It's crocheted and just needs a pretty scalloped edging before it's sent on its way. I'm pretty sure I shared a picture of it before when it was still a work-in-progress.