Needles and Yarn

When I was home I took the liberty of adding to my yarn stash, much depleted over the course of the year. Here is my haul:


Oh, and this, too:



I have many projects planned. A hat, scarf and glove set from the yarn pictured above, some nice washcloths from this:


and some socks from this:



We'll see if I can get all of that done. If, by some miracle, I do, I have other yarn and patterns at home, bagged and waiting:



I also have some finished objects to show off. First, a hat and scarf set I gave my sister for Christmas:


Second, one of two iPod cozies (or iPod "socks," if you will):


In case you were wondering, the Apple logo took forever to knit. The only good thing about having a nine hour flight on Christmas Eve was that it gave me enough time to finish it. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the other one, but it was simpler: black, with a knit 2, purl 2 rib and gray cuff, as well as a pocket.

Third, I have a pair of wrist warmers (also called arm warmers and pulse warmers) I finished yesterday:


Contrary to what you might think, I will actually use these because I (1) am always cold and (2) own practically nothing but shirts and sweaters with 3/4 length sleeves. The pulse warmers are a more affordable option than buying a whole new wardrobe. To give credit where credit is due, I started out using this pattern. However, the beautiful chenille from my stash I chose to knit with wouldn't have shown the pattern, so I improvised as I went along, using a 2x2 rib and adding a picot edge for decoration. In general, I'm pleased with the outcome.


While I was home I also picked up some new knitting accoutrements. My parents gave me a Namaste needle binder:



It didn't fit in my suitcase (it's larger than it looks), so I left it at home. I miss it already, more than I miss my cat, and possibly my family.

I added some new knitting needles to my collection, as well. They might not look like much...


...until you turn out the light.


Cool, no?

My parents gave me one pair of these (size 8) as a gift:


and I loved them so much I went to Michaels and bought two more pair (sizes 6 and 10.5) in a slightly-less-cool version:



I can't wait to use them.