Itchy Fingers

I've got 'em.

After finishing the monkeys, I don't have another pair of socks on the needles, and it's getting to me. Although I swatched for the Rocky Mountain Dusk toe-ups, getting them started is a bit of a learning curve (they'll be my first pair of toe-ups) and I want mindless knitting. I think I'll cast on another pair of plain old top downs, just to have something to carry around in my purse.
For now, I'm working on this.



Just a plain dress scarf, Fan and Feather pattern, in Apple Pie (English Garden.) It's beautiful and surely the most monotonous thing I've ever attempted. Fortunately the end is in sight; perhaps another six inches of knitting will finish this ball, and when the ball is done, so is the scarf.



Without my sewing machine, I've been doing some hand-quilting on the duvet cover, the two blocks that are appliqué and that I couldn't stitch-in-the-ditch anyhow. I took about two hours to do three-quarters of a single block, and quite honestly, it looks like ass. Okay, it looks fine from the right side, but the only reason I can get away with it is that no-one will see the wrong side since it will be in the middle of the duvet cover sandwich. Hand quilting is obviously an art I have not mastered, and have no intention to master. Major pain in the butt. My fingers are sore... I couldn't wear a thimble as I had to preserve the (highly suspect) accuracy of my fingers.

As this cold, rainy August draws on (what is up with that???!), I begin fondling my loverly soft alpaca a little more and dreaming of the need for a winter scarf. I think I'll do a plain (but not simple) two-colour brioche stitch scarf, switching colours as I consume each ball. I've never done brioche but I've read it's the perfect scarf stitch, the deep ribs and spaces serving as wonderful thermal insulation. I think I'll try to figure out this stitch and cast on for my scarf. *lol* And here I was just complaining about the unceasing monotony of the Fan and Feather scarf.

I received the first month's package of fabrics for Storybook Farm from Hamel's Fabrics in Chilliwack. I am loving them... not only were they quick and friendly, but they're thoughtful, too... every tiny shard of fabric is neatly labelled with its purpose. This is such a good thing. Now all I need is another few meters of Steam-a-Seam (not to mention several more days of FREE TIME) to make my favourite block, Room to Breeze.