Getting settled

Hi everybody! It's been a while! I was planning on participating in the Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week this year as well, but as it took place during the last week of April, right after we moved, I just didn't have the time. We're finally getting a bit settled in the new house, and we love it! It's an old house, probably built sometime around the end of the 19th century, but it's been renovated in 2005 and 2009, when two new parts of the house were added as well. On the ground floor there is a HUGE kitchen, with lots of light and air, a living room which we've painted these past few weeks, a big bathroom, a small guest bathroom, the laundry room and our bedroom. On the second floor there is a small hallway, Thomas' computer/music room and my very own crafts room! You won't get to see any photos of anything just yet, as I haven't gotten around to taking any! But we are very pleased with the whole thing.

Once the living room was painted and finished, we could finally move all of the furniture out of the kitchen and into its proper place, and since then I've managed at least a small bit of knitting. On Tuesday I finished my seventh pair of socks from the 10 socks collection I'm working on, and I'm very pleased with them. These are the Blue Lagoon socks, made with KnitPicks Stroll yarn (75 % wool/25 % nylon) in colourway Saphire Heather:

I adore this gorgeous blue colour! I made a pair of socks with it for my mom about a year ago, and now I finally have my own pair as well. I wore them to work yesterday, and they are very comfortable as well!

Since I hate not having a sock on the needles, yesterday I cast on for a new pair. I chose the Owlie Socks, and I'm making them in The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga yarn (70 % Merino/20 % Nylon/10 % cashmere), in colourway Oleander Nymph, and this is how far I've gotten so far:

I decided quite late on Tuesday night that I wanted to bring the yarn to work on Wednesday to cast on there, and went upstairs to wind the skein into a ball. Let me tell you: This yarn was a NIGHTMARE to wind! It just kept getting tangled in itself, and I ended up having to wind the whole thing by hand, just so I could move the growing ball around the tangling skein. I then re-wound it with my ballwinder to get a center-pull ball, and it took me almost an hour! But now that I'm knitting with it, the yarn is totally worth it. The stitch definition is to die for, and it is incredibly soft.

I also chose to bead the owls, and I've settled on a set of yellow/orange beads from my bead stash. I'll make sure to post photos of it once I get so far on the knitting!

I'm also knitting a bit on the Ethereal Triangle shawl I'm making in Madeline Tosh Prairie yarn, and this one is turning out very pretty. The colourway, Oxblood, is incredibly beautiful, and I really enjoy the pattern as well. I think the yarn feels a bit stiff though, but that might change once I wash it. In the middle of July my cousin is getting married, and he asked me to sing something at the ceremony. I plan to wear this shawl then, so I better get a move on!

Ok, I plan to hang some curtains before it gets dark here, so I think I'll leave you for now. I hope we get some sunshine this weekend, so I can get some daylight photos. I want to show you all my crafts room!

/ Jenny