Lots of good mail

There has been so much going on here lately that I completely forgot to post! First of all, I don't think I told you, but a while ago me and Thomas decided that we wanted to start looking at houses to buy. We have been renting a semi-detached house for a while, but we've figured that we are probably rooted enough here in Linköping and its vicinity, to actually buy a house. And we've found one! At least, we've found one we want, now it's just a question of money. We've put in one offer that has been declined, so right now we're more or less thinking about how much we will be able to pay, where our limit will be. I'll let you know how it goes, but it's very exciting!

I've also gotten some stuff in the mail that I really want to tell you guys about. First, I got my small package from Eat.Sleep.Knit, about a week ago I think. I bought four skeins of yarn, which was very moderate of me, don't you think? The first one is MacKintosh Yarns Celtic Sock yarn, in colourway Black Plum:

It's 366 m/100 g, 90 % wool/10 % nylon, so perfect sock yarn. I really adore this colour, it's very pretty, and the yarn is nice too :)

The second, and third, skeins that I got were Shibui Knits Sock yarn, in colourway Periwinkle:

It's 175 m/50 g, 100 % Merino, and oh so soft! I have two of these skeins before, in colourway Honey, and I adore them. I think a pair of these might move high up in the sock queue soon, as I really want to break into them!

The last skein I got was a skein of The Sanguine Gryffon Bugga! yarn in colourway Oleander Nymph:

It's 377 m/113g, so it's listed as sport, but I think it will do perfectly for socks. It's 70 % Superwash Merino/20 % Cashmere/10 % Nylon, and it's also incredibly soft and squishy. I've wanted to try this yarn for a long time, but it's pretty expensive with over $30 for one skein. But now I finally decided to splurge this time, and ordered myself a skein. I'll let you know how I feel about it once I knit it up.

I also got two pairs of tips for my interchangable needles set from KnitPicks. Actually, the tips I got this time weren't from KnitPicks, but rather Knitter's Pride Cubics needles. But they fit on the same cables, so I just got the tips. They are wooden needles, but they are cubic in shape, and I actually find them pretty comfortable. But I think I prefer the regular ones though, so I'll probably not get any more of these.

I also got a scratch ticket from the Eat.Sleep.Knit shop, I think they send one out with every order, and you can win skeins of yarn or store discounts, things like that. I actually managed to win one skein of Malabrigo yarn! Yay! I haven't decided yet if I want a skein of lace yarn or sock yarn (although the store is having trouble with supply of the sock yarn, so there are about three colourways available right now), but I guess I don't have to send the ticket in right away anyway.

Then on Thursday last week I think, I got my package from the Sarahkincheloe etsy shop. I got three needle organizers! The first one is for my fixed circulars, as they have just been lying in their original packages from KnitPicks, in my very boring, plastic bag before:

Here is their new home:

Isn't it pretty?! It's very well made as well, and takes up a lot less space. I also got an orgaizer for all of my accessories, like my scissors, my measuring tape, my cable needles and stuff like that:

All of that stuff was also located in the plastic bag before, but as that bag was so bulky it was difficult to lug it around with every project I was working on. Most often my notions just ended up lying loose in the project bag I was using, this is so much better!

Finally, I got a smaller notions pouch to keep the smaller stuff in, like stitch markers, buttons, needle and thread, and stuff like that:

Don't you love how they all match! And I am so pleased that I can finally throw out the ugly plastic bag, now every needle in my stash has a pretty home! I have a green needle roll for my small sock dpn's, I have a striped and flower-patterned needle roll that my sister sewed for my larger dpn's, I have a small needle roll with faces on (that my sister also made for me)  for my wooden interchangeable needle tips, and my KnitPicks Spectra acrylic needle tips are currently residing in a very cute pencil case. I think my needles are spoiled...

Oh, did you want to read about actual knitting? Well, there hasn't been to much of that happening around here lately, I've just been so tired these past few days! I did manage to put the sleeves on hold on my Silken Scabbard sweater on Saturday, and then tried it on. I found out that the collar was WAY too wide for me, even though I followed the pattern and the rest of the sweater fit me. I don't know how anybody could wear it without drastic changes, so I decided to do the wide collar option instead. So I frogged the whole thing. I'm getting really good at frogging! I've only finished the collar so far, but I'll try it on soon to see if it looks better this way! Apparently a lot of people seem to have the ribbed collar look wonky, so maybe I should have checked Ravelry first...

Other than that I have no new knitting to show you. I'm passed the heel on the Ookuru socks, but I haven't gotten a new photo of those so I think you'll have to wait until it's done. But today at work the woman I'm working with in Ödeshög, Barbro, had brought her finished sweater for me to look at. She is also a spinner, so she's knitted this Drops pattern in her own handspun merino wool, and it is soooo soft!

Isn't it pretty?! It's a little bit felted, as it turned out a little bit too big for Barbro's Daughter-in-law, but now it fits her perfectly. I really love this sweater, and Barbro was just happy to get to show it off on my blog! Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you: The blanket that the sweater is resting on is a 100 % pure rabbit fiber felted blanket that Barbro also made. Gorgeous!

Ok, now I'll get back to my new Stephen King novel (it's called 11.22.63 and is about the JFK murder). That book is also a reason why you haven't heard from me for a while, and it might continue like that until I finish it...

/ Jenny