Saturday Stash

I have noticed that as Saturday gets closer, I start to knit faster.  I really want to have something to show in this stash reduction project.  So, not too many things because I was madly working on this:

I call it Wildberry Mousse and I used Deborah Newton's pattern,  Buttercream Jacket.  Mine turned out not  as jacket-ish so I can wear it for a pick-up sweater anytime.  My yarn, which is an acrylic/mohair blend is very light.  It was hard to find buttons which wouldn't be too heavy for the fabric. I do like all the crunchy textures which aren't lost in the mohair halo.   The shawl collar was a bit fiddly but not hard at all and turned out well, I think.  Probably, it'll mostly be worn unbuttoned. 

 
I bought the yarn at a garage sale a few years ago.  I  made a cardi for oldest gd, Becky, just after I bought it.  Being made of this indestructible and quite washable yarn, I'm sure will last through all the other girls, too.  I must have had around 20 balls - I'm down to eight and a half now.  I dreamed that I would use it all up.  There's a whole other sweater in the stash still.

And, last weekend, when I was enduring enjoying all the ferry travel back and forth to Vancouver Island, I took along a sock to knit.  What else?  I found this fun striped yarn in the stash chest and cast on.  This is another made-up pattern to make those stripes not so, um, stripe-y.  I call it 'Walking the Line' because it reminded me of walking along railroad tracks.  It's a very simple lace and slip-stitch pattern.  I'll be writing it up for ravelry later this month. I think it gives some extra dimension to those plain rings of color which will be so happy-making to wear on a gloomy winter day.  Not sure why I can't stop buying the striped yarn...maybe I just do it to challenge myself to make them different?

Today, I'm going to experiment with felting swatches to make a few more pairs of those clog slippers. Since some wool yarns felt better than others,  I have to try them out in the hot water first.  I might even try the pink mohair.  Can't hurt - and it might work.  Stay tuned.