Knitter for hire

Is that not just the coolest idea ever? I mean really... I'm clearly a process knitter, not a product knitter, so it really doesn't bother me at all to give my creations away. (Except for my Very First Hat...I'm still kind of sad about that. Only because it was my very first, though.) My awesome mom has recently discovered the joys of felted knitting, and has requested a purse/handbag/thing in a coffee-colored wool, felted. Get this, though--she's actually paying for the yarn & needles. Is that not awesome?! She's also made noise about bags in other colors, and possibly hats, and I've got a felted vest pattern I'd like to show her...I mean really, she could keep me in free knitting for months! I'm so excited! This will also keep the husband happy, too, as I know he starts to get a little nervous when I go to the yarn store three times in one week. We are trying to save for a house, and the stash can sometimes make that pretty difficult.

Anyway, the bag itself is of very simple construction, as I am still pretty new to this, but I hope to practice on my mom's stuff enough that someday I'll be able to make this bag for my husband. Mom's all excited because she gets relatively inexpensive bags customized to her specifications. I'm just happy that I get to knit good wool, and not pay for it. Poverty's a real bitch sometimes.

Of course, all this free knitting still won't keep the Stash Gods completely happy. They've instructed me to take advantage of a big sale at The Yarn Exchange this Saturday, and geez, who am I to argue with the gods? I'll be picking up some super bulky yarn to make a sweater for myself (really, for ME! What a novel idea!), and some alpaca (maybe alpaca silk blend?) for an Irish Hiking Scarf. Twist my arm.

And that's another thing...after much hemming & hawing, the final selection for the Olympics project is officially the aforementioned Irish Hiking Scarf, of knitalong fame. It's all cable-y & cool, and while it is a scarf, the cables are completely new to me, thus creating the challenge required. The nice thing, too, is that once I get the whole cable thing down, I'll be that much more ready to attempt a sweater for my gorgeous Irish husband, who would look awesome in cables. Even if they must be black & grey cables. Men & their crappy color aversions suck.