Well, there goes that idea…

Greg has the camera today. “What if Charlie does something cute while you’re gone?” I asked. Greg just gave me a Look and a comment about how we don’t need 800 pictures of an infant lying in bed. Turns out I was right, though (of course): Charlie took a nap in his swing today, which was completely adorable. I could have used about 3 shots of that. Never doubt, Greg – never doubt!

The absence of the camera also means that I can’t do the post I was planning, which was a summary of all of the handmade items I’ve made or recieved for Charlie, complete with a few modeled shots. I’m actually guiltily relieved that I can’t do that today – I’ve been putting it off. Turns out that when he’s awake he’s usually not in the mood to model, and no one wants to wake a sleeping baby to take a picture of a hat. Hah. So I think we’ll get back to that eventually, but for now – moving on!

I was browsing the yarn on ebay yesterday when I came across this vendor:

lavish

See that? That is 100% superfine Alpaca, undyed and in all of its natural glory. (By the way, somebody alert Knitpicks! They should totally do that. According to the seller, alpacas come in 24 different shades, including various tans, browns, grays, black, cream… I love those colors! And this stuff is almost 70 cents cheaper per skein than Andean Treasure, even including shipping. Undyed is cheaper, I’m drooling over here imagining the Knitpicks price.) The seller offers them in 10-skein packs. 50 grams a skein, that’s 500 grams: 1090 yards of worsted weight, 2000 yards of the fingering. According to The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, that’s enough yardage for me to make myself a sweater. Mmmmmmmm, alpaca sweater.

Why the alpaca love, you may ask? I ordered an Andean Treasure color card a few weeks ago, and it is heeeeeaven to the touch. I love it. I can’t wait to buy some alpaca to actually work with – lurvely. I think I’m going to buy one of the ebay 10-packs in Chestnut, a gorgeous dark brown (really, it looks gorgeous). I love rich browns. I am concerned, though: I’ve heard that alpaca is super-warm (it’s from the Andes, after all) which could translate to “unbearably sweaty” here in Texas. I’m considering crocheting a (fairly open) sweater from it, rather than knitting one, which I think could work better with the natural tendencies of the yarn: I’ve also heard that alpaca is less sproingy than wool, and since crochet stitches are firmer than knit ones it should prevent bagging. It’s the same reason that crocheted skirts work better – why spend all that effort on a baggy bottom? In theory, anyway, it’s a plan. I still need input from those who have actually worked with the fiber. Any advice, o blog-readers?

At any rate, I have found my next project. Usually I prefer to design almost everything that I make; it’s rare for me to find a pattern that I like well enough to make as written. It’s even rarer for me to find a pattern that I love as is and that I have to make right now. As you may have gathered, I found one.

bag

That image was taken from the pattern. Not my photo. Just so we’re clear. Anyway, while browsing the new patterns at Knitting Pattern Central (like ya doooooooo – hahahaa. Thank you, Eddie Izzard…) I ran across the Quinn: Cabled Bag pattern. And I will make it. Asap. I’ve decided to use some of the off-white Simply Soft that I bought for the Abominable Baby Slippers (Originally they were intended to be adult sized, so obviously I have a great deal of the yarn left. Off-white is not the most attractive color on me, especially yellowish off-white. A bag is a great idea.) that’s been festering in my stash for quite a while, now. The pattern (aside from being slathered with big, bold cables – you know I love the cabley goodness) is full of all sorts of exciting words, like ‘provisional cast-on’ and ‘grafting’ and ‘i-cord.’ I’m looking forward to discovering what the heck those things are. It should be a challenge.

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