Rediscovery

This weekend I took some time to explore the forgotten portions of my stash. I'm often rifling through the fingering weight baskets but it's rather less often that I look at the rest of the beautiful things I've picked up over time.

When I started buying yarn I knew nothing about fibre and little about what there was to like (or not) about yarn. Soon after I took a long trip out to the US and discovered a fantastic yarn shop - my lessons in yarn began there.

Initial purchases were often from the bargain bins - some perhaps a mistake, but others are clearly just waiting for the right project to come along. I've recently knit a very successful summer project and this heavy-worsted cotton feels like it fits right in with this trend:

Queensland Collection Pima Fresca in colourway Sapphire
from Natural Stitches, Pittsburgh

On a subsequent trip to the states my yarn purchases were more about buying good quantities of well-known American yarns to be able to knit a garment with sometime in the future when I'd got my brave up:

Dream in Colour Classy in colourway Midnight Derby
from Natural Stitches, Pittsburgh

More recently my yarn purchases are typically focussed on a specific project that I've deluded myself into thinking I will start right away. Strangely I'm often wrong...

Noro Kureyon in colourway 206.

In this case I was pretty sure this yarn was about to become an Entrelac Scarf. I'd never tried entrelac (I still haven't) and it seemed like a great project to learn a new skill. Soon after purchase doubts crept in and having rediscovered the yarn this weekend I'm now wondering about a Lanesplitter skirt instead.

How do you buy stash?

Growing Things

I recently switched desks in my office so that I could see out of the windows. One entire wall of our office is windows. With my new easy-reach windowsills, and a sudden interest in growing things (I think I've suddenly turned middle-aged), I've set about seeing what I can achieve.

First, my chilli's and a lone pepper (one of eight planted). These were first in and are the most recent plants to start looking like plants rather than just pots of soil. There's a slight chance that it's one chilli and a few peppers coming up, my labeling wasn't quite up to the job when I started planting.

One of a my Chillis?	A lone pepper?

Next, some sugar snap peas:

And finally, some very keen tomatoes:

There's a few more bits and bobs that haven't shown themselves yet, I look forward to introducing them when they do :)