What's on my design floor, needles, hooks, etc.

 
Crazy busy week last week.  Between yarn dyeing for Sock Madness 7, sewing, knitting, crocheting, and feeling generally lousy with the acid reflux from hell,  I went nonstop.  I was so happy when Saturday rolled around and we had a lovely field trip to Warwick, NY. 

Sewing news:  I've fallen in love with the Scrappy Trip Around the World that's sweeping the blogosphere.  As you know, I'm not the greatest machine sewer in the world (or for that matter, the greatest hand sewer, either), but I kept looking at this neat quilt, and decided to go for it.  Mine is not scrappy; I'm using a Marmalade jelly roll from Moda.  It's such fun to do it.  First I get to pick out the strips, put them in order (all color work that I love), and then the machine work is easy.  I'm in love!

No EPP went on.  Just no time for hand sewing.  It really was a crazy busy week.

Knitting news:  So, here are my current knitting projects.  Yep, I have a bunch more, but these are now on the frontline.

1. Baby sweater and hat for Benjamin Bunny.  My own hand-dyed SW merino DK yarn.  Softer than you can imagine.  Cushy, cuddly, and perfect for a Frozen Northland Baby.  It needs the buttons sewn on, and a good blocking.  (And that's why the front edges looks so odd.  It's the nature of knitting, but wool sorts everything out.  You'll see.)

2.  Garland Shawl revisited.  I made this about 3 years ago, and it never photographed well.  I wanted a shawlette in soft avocado, rust, etc, etc.  In real life, it's very pretty, but the photographs made it look very dull. 

I am playing with this incredible singles yarn, and so I decided to reknit the shawl.  WOW!  That's all I can say.  If you follow me on Ravelry (ruth), you'll see that I'm over the moon with this yarn.  I don't like commercial singles, but this yarn is beyond gorgeous.  Yep, it's a singles, which means that it wants to get this little kink in it, but the yarn is of such quality, that the kinks just disappear as you knit.  The yarn glides through your fingers. 

Here's the original followed by the singles version.  Non-knitters:  it will block out into lacy wonder.  This is just what knitted lace looks like in progress (an old tatty bag).

I should finish this today. I hope.

Dyeing:  3 different colorways for the Sock Madness group on Ravelry.  Lots of work, but very satisfying. 

AND, take a look at this singles yarn.  This is the same yarn I'm using for the new Garland Shawl, but in a different colorway.  See that bit of sheen?  That kink?  Yep, this is a singles yarn.  And you don't feel the kinks as you work with it.  Now, that's a singles!

Next time I order yarn, I'm buying 3 kilos of this. 

Crochet news:  This is another version of the singles above, only this one is a bit softer, and with virtually no kink.  They are both beautiful yarns.  This one is not yet available for me to order; this is a trial skein.

And that's that.  Now if i could get this acid reflux thing solved.......  Going to the gastroenterologist tomorrow.  I'm pretty nervous about it, but I feel so awful, and this simply has to get taken care of.

Ya think I had a busy week?