YARN!

Yarn yarn yarn yarn yarn!!!

I actually bounced in my chair. :)

Yes, the Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! in Honeybee has arrived! It's just what I was hoping for--a rich golden medley of ambers. I think it will make a beautiful Shipwreck shawl. I need to buy beads now, of course. And blocking boards, though I doubt I'll need those for at least another year...

Last night on my way home, I realized there was a big fuckup in my Vernal Equinox. I don't know how the hell I'm going to fix it without ripping back to the lifeline. >:( Then again, that's what lifelines are FOR, right? There go my first four or five rows of Clue 6A. Meh.

But...YARN. OMG. I would like to be able to take a good picture of it to show off. In the meantime, here's a crappy webcam shot at work:

Travel = knitting progress

Yay, TSA didn't give me a hard time about my knitting! I transported my shawl on the cable, but took the needle tips off and put them in a small compartment of my backpack to keep them safe. I had button ends on the cable. When I settled down somewhere, I'd take the buttons off and put the needle tips on and get to work. I ended up finishing Clue 5 and starting Clue 6a. The rows are starting to get loooong! I keep looking at the shawl and going, "Holy CRAP this thing is getting big." It might take me a while to get through the rest of this, but I will definitely be wearing it this summer.

My Skinny Bugga! should be coming in SOON! I got an e-mail saying it was shipping! *does happy dance*

Knitting at 20,000 feet

Don't modern planes fly higher than that, usually? Anyway, today will be the first time in ages that I'll be bringing my knitting on a plane, provided TSA doesn't mess with me. I've got my Vernal Equinox on the cable, with button-ends to keep it on. The needle tips are in a separate compartment of my bag, to keep them from getting damaged. I've got my cable key, my stitch markers, my dental floss for a lifeline, and my yarn needle, too. There's actually a Ravelry forum dedicated to flying with your knitting, and from what people there have said, it sounds like my departure and destination airports (Boston Logan and Washington National--I refuse to call it Reagan) are not usually problematic for knitters, nor is the airline I'll be using. Yay! Also, wooden or bamboo needles and circular needles seem to be less "threatening" to TSA agents than metal needles or straight needles. That's convenient, seeing as I'm using Knitpicks Harmony Options!

I'm terrified that my Skinny Bugga! yarn is going to arrive at my house while I'm away and get stolen. :( I hope that doesn't happen! Of course, I don't even know if it's shipped yet. The status says "processing" or something. We'll see.

I realize I haven't said much about how I feel about the Vernal Equinox pattern itself, yet. I'm enjoying it very much. The fact that there are seven charts to work through means there's a variety of different stitch patterns involved. Each of the patterns has so far been reasonably simple, but entertaining. The pattern is well-written, very clear. The half-pi shaping method seems very simple. I do have some experience with the pi method, since I made my cat a Kitty Pi bed, which is basically a very small and unlacy pi shawl knit in bulky yarn and felted. You know, maybe that Shipwreck won't be so difficult--after all, the biggest section is just faggoting stitch, which is quick and easy and mindless. So all the more complex work will be done in the smaller sections of the shawl.

Some thoughts

1. Holy CRAP, people who want Sanguine Gryphon yarn have fast fingers. True story: I was on their site this morning at 9:30, hitting "refresh" every couple minutes to catch when the Little Traveller in Hotel Tassel went on sale. The first time it refreshed to being on sale, there were only THREE SKEINS left. I thought, "Whew! JUST made it! I need three!" Then I put them in my cart, and by the time I hit the "check out" button, I got an error message saying they didn't have enough stock left. Yep. They were down to ONE. But Gryphon said they will re-dye these colors over the next six months, so I will wait and get it later, rather than buying the (much pricier) Skinny Bugga!

2. But oooooh, it's just SO pretty. I'm now really dying to make the Shipwreck shawl in that colorway, with gold, bronze, and amber beads. I know it will take forever and a day, but...damn. Gorgeousness and gorgeousity, as my little droog Alex would say.

3. Why is their other 100% superwash merino fingering weight yarn (Eidos) $25/skein for less yardage? I am confused. I'd have to buy FOUR skeins of that to make Shipwreck.

4. I'm really pleased with the progress I'm making on Vernal Equinox. I think it's going to turn out lovely. I'm almost done with my fifth row of Clue 5 now. The crochet bind-off is going to be challenging. I might have to ask a crochet-skilled friend for help. I can't wait to wear it later this spring/this summer!

5. I should still be able to block Vernal Equinox on the futon in Spare Oom, but when I do finally make Shipwreck, I'm going to need to get some foam tiles. That thing is BIG.

6. Annnnd now. I must edit this. Reason being, I broke down and bought the Skinny Bugga! I can still use just three skeins to make Shipwreck. If I'm careful. (There's a 30-yard bumper, but...) I think what finally did it for me was looking at reviews, trying to find out which base was better, and if it was that big a difference. I still don't know, but I do know that people said over and over again that Skinny Bugga! DOES NOT SPLIT, EVER. Considering that I am currently knitting Vernal Equinox with THE SPLITTIEST YARN IN THE WORLD, EVER, I think I am entitled to this nonsplitting wonder yarn. Yes. Thinking about my weak will with regards to this yarn, I came to a conclusion: they could have kept me from breaking down and getting it if they'd named it after some icky spider instead of the glorious honeybee. Really. The Honeybee name gave me just enough of a pull to the yarn. A spider's name would have given me just enough of a push away from it.

Buzzzzzzzzzzz....

Temptation

First, the progress report: I finished Clue 4 of the Vernal Equinox shawl! Yay! It's really coming along. I started Clue 5 today on my break. I took a couple pictures of the WIP the other day, but haven't yet had a chance to connect the camera to the computer and see how they came out. If they're any god, I'll share 'em!

Now...temptation! I think I need some Sanguine Gryphon yarn. I'm leaning towards getting enough of the Little Traveler in Hotel Tassel to make myself a Shipwreck Shawl. Gods help me. I love the sound of the Skinny Bugga! but the Little Traveler is SO much cheaper, and I'd have way more room for "oh no I screwed up!" because of the longer skeins. Nothing wrong with pure merino, right? Though I will still and always think of the color as "Honeybee," which is what it's called in Skinny Bugga! because I love honeybees. Think how gorgeous that would be with some amber, brown, gold, and bronze beads! *swoon*

OTOH, I do have a lot of yarn already.

I think...I think I need to have a stash swap or something. Or just say, "TAKE MY YARN, PLEASE" to my friends. I think my wool-averse friends will like my brightly colored acrylics bought for baby clothes. And there's just so much random stuff in my bins. I definitely want to keep my Sparkle, my Cherry Tree Hill Lace, my merino-silk-bamboo(?) blend of navy worsted that feels so nice...not sure what else, though. Some cheap stuff just for practice (I do, after all, need to practice knitting continental and then try fair isle, and also learn intarsia.) Time to purge! And make room for more!

Damn it all, lace has gotten me UTTERLY HOOKED on buying yarn. But I can't be mad. I love it too much. :)